Titles and Journaling

Scrapbookers often find journaling the hardest thing to do, whether it’s coming up with a catchy title for the page or writing a description of the events pictured. But, in my opinion, it is the most important part of the scrapbook.

I have a four year old who loves to look through her scrapbook. She often brings it to me and asks me to read ‘her story’. Without the journaling, the book would just be photos. Yes, photos can tell a story. But there are many benefits to adding journaling to your pages.

The simple fact is, you will not always be around to tell your children about the pictures in their scrapbook. And frankly, it’s hard to remember detailed facts about every event, vacation, and holiday for which your family has pictures.

I love sitting with my daughter and reading ‘her story’. It brings back memories of the special time it was for our family when she was born. In fact, I recently submitted a story about her birth, and without the scrapbook to remind me, small details that enriched the story would have been forgotten.

When you are looking for ideas for fun and creative journaling, browse through magazines and jot down any quote or title that appeals to you. Look up quotation sites on the Internet. Also, don’t overlook your favorite songs and poems. I’ve seen lots of darling scrapbook pages that included a meaningful poem for the journaling. If you blog, or email stories about your children, these are great places to find journaling ideas. You can even simply copy them directly and put in your scrapbook.

If you think your handwriting isn’t good—don’t worry about it. The personal touch handwriting lends to the page is very important. You handwriting is part of you. When you create scrapbooks for those you love, you are essentially sharing a part of yourself.

There are tons of fun ways to add journaling to your pages. The most simple way is to write directly on the page. You can also write or print your journaling on paper and mat it with another coordinating paper that matches your layout. You can make pockets and create a journal card, attach ribbon to the top, and slide it into the pocket. You could also make a card with journaling inside, or a journaling window with flaps folded like shutters over the journaling. The ideas are endless!

Have fun journaling and scrapbooking this week. If you have any fun journaling ideas I didn’t mention here, I’d love to hear about them.

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