Hello CK blog readers! I am so excited to be a guest blogger for CK this month!
My name is Shelbi Bywater, you may have seen me or know of me from our fantastic Creating Keepsakes Scrapbooking Conventions as I’ve had the opportunity to teach our great classes and spend time creating with our attendees.
I wanted to tell you a little bit about a fantastic class that we have this year. It is called “Write from the Heart.” It is our newest and coolest journaling class. We are sharing some great ideas and tips to improve your journaling and creating a fabulous layout. It will be so much fun and I hope to see you there.
One journaling technique that I have fallen in love with recently is using letters from family members. That way your journaling is already done, and you truly capture the feelings of the moment.
I simply photocopied the letter and then used the story to explain the photos on the page.
I also love using definitions. Here is another layout I did where definitions helped fine tune my journaling.
How do you add journaling on your layouts? Share with us by leaving a comment on this post!
Happy journaling, friends!
Shelbi
EEK! I hardly ever journal. I just have the hardest time with it, not my fav thing to do. I do however, journal on the backside of my lo’s.
I have a challenge with journaling too. I’m never sure exactly where the line is between revealing too much and telling a compelling story, so I tend to err on the side of less.
I do find that journaling spots tend to work well. That way, the journaling is actually part of the design, not an afterthought.
One of my favorite ways to journal is to write the story or details on a tag and tuck it behind a photo.
I love journaling! Sometimes I wonder if I am too wordy though. (Nobody has complained so far though!)
OMG!. Your idea of using a letter reminded me that hidden in the depths of my closet is a book of copies of letters that my dad sent home when he first moved away and after he got married. They are full of information and glimpses of his life. What a great revelation!!!! Thanks.
My Boyfriend sends me the cutest text messages. I try to type them up and I will eventually use them in a layout for us soon.
I use journaling to help me narrow down my 1,000 baby pictures…if I don’t have a story to tell, it goes in a photo album and not the scrapbook! It really helps. Plus, it will give my son’s scrapbooks more meaning to him in years to come!
These are some great ideas! I love to use journaling spots. They are a great way to add some color/design and also limit me to what I write. I have a tendency to want to write A LOT! It’s not always necessary to tell the story.
I add journaling every way I can, hidden or in plain sight. My favorite technique is to stamp or draw lines on the layout and then right my story.
I love your classes, great layouts and fun Ideas! i can’t wait for 2011! See you in Class!
I would scrap a photo of my husband. He is so hard to get a picture of and I’ve neglected him in my scrapbooking for too long!
I use the goofy little family sayings or stories to personalize my pages.
I write as much as I can. Therefor, I usually have a tag tucked behind a photo. I am creating these albums for my children and my grandchildren and even my GREAT grandchildren. I’d hate it if I weren’t here as long as I would want to be, and my “future” family was wondering what this picture was of, where, (who, what, when, why, where). So for me, there’s never too much journaling. It’s amazing how I go back now & look at my old albums & HAVE to look at the tag. Now jump ahead 30 years and try to remember when your son rode that pony! lol.
What a great idea! I can’t wait to get started. Shelbi always has the best ideas and makes the hardest things so easy to do.
Recently, I found a box of photos that had belonged to my Grandmother. There were wonderful photos but we have no way of knowing who the people are, the date they were taken, the time and place. And any story is lost except for those I create in my imagination.
I journal so that when my books or photos are found years from now, either through family or in some estate sale, I want the people looking at them to know about what was happening when the photos were taken. To me, the trick is to make the story fit within the scope of the layout. It is not just stating “Here is a photo of X. It was taken Month, Day, Year at such and such a place.”
Rather I want folks to know the story of the photo, yes all the normal who, what, when, where, why and how but more, the story woven together to make it an interesting read. Journalling doesn’t have to be front and center, but I do believe it is important.
Aloha,
Cheryl Wordweaver