Digital Scrapbooking 101 BLOG

Scrapbook Journaling - A Critical Step Most Often Forgotten

By: Wes Waddell

Scrap booking is a great way to pass the time. It’s also the #1 BEST WAY to preserve your life’s most treasured memories. You need to be conscious of time though… You don’t want to lose the sight of your main goal. Be sure to make the best use the time you spend on your scrapbook to produce a book of memories that tells the whole story. Try to capture not only the technical details, but also record the emotions that were felt when the memory was created. This way, you can not only show your friends and family all the memories that they missed or couldn’t share with you, but let them really FEEL what it was like to be there.

Most people forget to journalize (add journaling text to) their scrapbook and it is one of the most commonly missed attributes to later generations that are trying to make sense of what was taking place in the scrapbook photos.

They say that a picture paints 1000 words… and, while that is true, it’s not always the right one thousand words if the stage isn’t set properly to begin with. That’s the reason why journalizing is so important. It sets both the technical and emotional stage so that you can fully remember what was really going on in the photo images… and you can really feel the emotions of the event years and years later.

Step one in scrapbook journaling is to begin by creating a title for each page. Keep it simple and to the point. Your journaling titles for each page is the easy way to begin setting up the pages story. Just tell what the event was for or you can be funny or even say something heartfelt. If you just think of your page as a story, it then becomes easy to title or name it.

Always use big bold letters for the title to draw attention to it, but make sure it does not overwhelm the most important elements of the page—the pictures and captured memories and dreams come true.

Each picture on your page, almost always, should have a few words as a caption or story intro. This is to make sure the photo story starts out in the right direction. You will want to name the people in the pictures so future generations that read your scrapbook, know who the participants are without needing to guess. If it’s not a well known location, you’ll also want to let them know about the places and landmarks that can be seen in the background.

Always remember… while you may know these people and places well, your future generations and even your current family and friends may not be able to decipher where the pictures came from or who certain people are years down the road. As you get older and your mind starts to fill up… You just may find that you too will benefit from these labels.

Scrapbook journaling or text elements should be planned for and include in your (digital, computer or traditional) scrapbook page designs. Personally, I like to keep this journaling text around the same size as the smallest photograph, but of course, this depends on the final scrapbook page layout and design. Many pre-made layouts, especially in the new digital scrapbook templates, will already include a space for your journaling text. Use this element of the design to record the introduction to the “story” behind the pictures.

Think about it in a way as if you were looking back with a close friend of family member. Just consider what you would say to them, how you would describe the emotions of the event or what questions that they may ask of you? All of this information is readily forgotten and totally unknown to future generations, so it is important to jot down a few words even if you place it on a piece of notebook paper and save it with your photographs. I do that when I go through my photos when I first get them back or save them to my computers hard drive. That way I always have my journaling notes handy as I create the scrapbook pages. Inevitably, time just seems to blend the years together. Very few people can remember everything they did by date, so if you include a date or time in your notes you will be able to preserve the memories and emotions much easier.

Just as a note, sometimes you may want to tell a lot of the story in words. Occasionally you may forget your camera at an important event, lose your pictures, or not be allowed to use a camera at all. Even if you went somewhere and you didn’t take pictures, you can still document that part of your life by using the scrapbook journal to preserve the memories.

Digital scrapbookers have been using digital stationery and backgrounds as journaling pages for years now. The old-fashioned traditional hand scrappers have used pre-printed papers and hand written pages from the beginning. You simply use descriptive words to take the place of the photographs and to describe the emotions and events.

For those who have a fear of using their handwriting to journal or have a physical disability that makes it difficult to read, you don’t have to worry because you can use your computer and decorative fonts, letter stickers and cutouts to help you to create your scrapbook journaling. However, when you use your own handwriting or a special font made from your hand writing, even if it is bad, this personal touch lends itself to give your scrapbook pages some personal character. What ever you choose, you will want to choose some way of journalizing that will allow you to scrapbook in a dramatic descriptive way and help to create a wonderful memory album filled with all the emotions you felt when the memory first took place.

Happy Scrappin’

Kathy -n- Wes

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