JOURNALLING

Our monthly theme for September is journalling. Over the next month our creative team's layouts and blog posts will all feature journalling in some way.

In today's joint post the team are discussing if we journal on our layouts, and how we incorporate journalling into our scrapping...

Maria: Journalling is a very important part of scrapbooking for me. 99% of the time I include at least a line or two and the date to my page. On some occasions, I even go the extra mile and tell a whole story behind the photo. Personally, the whole process of scrapbooking is divided 50-50 between memory keeping and a form of art that I get to keep. I have created pages that were all about the art and the products and not so much about the story behind the photo, and those layouts tend to be my least favourite. I spend more time looking at the layouts that tell a story. Unfortunately, though, sometimes journalling comes as an afterthought in the scrapbooking process. If I have a long story to tell, I make sure the journalling is designed into the layout from the beginning. Otherwise, I just find a spot somewhere suitable to add my lines and date.

Michelle: When I create my layouts I create them for future generations of our family, I want them to know who we were, what we felt and the small things that made up our daily lives. I hardly knew my grandparents and have nothing that tells me about the kind of people they were, which is why journalling is so important for me. I tend to journal less on my 12x12 layouts but give short explanations on what was going on in the photograph and why it was important to us at the time. I use a traveller’s notebook as a mini album that I really go all out on the journalling in. I find that I’m not as fussy in my TN and often use scraps from other projects to create my layouts and then I add lots of journalling, sometimes it’s big events, other times I might journal about small things my kids have said or done.

Emma: OK, so in total contrast with the lovely Maria, journalling is really not a priority for me when making a page. It’s the very last thought, and if I do anything it will usually be surface level journalling like; who, where, when, etc. I sometimes feel that I need to make an effort to look a bit deeper and tell more of a story but it doesn't really ever happen. I’ll usually add a couple of lines of journalling, not for the words, but more for the design aspect. For instance, if I feel like the layout needs a bit of balance, I’ll use black pen and write a sentence or two to add weight to certain areas of the page.  I have made more of an effort to journal on pocket page spreads. I have been documenting a trip to Barcelona in a pocket page album and have definitely made more of a conscious effort to record more memories and experiences from the trip. 

Lisa-Jane: I’m guilty of not putting enough journalling on my layouts.  I used to be really good and not consider it finished until I had written a little bit about the event etc.  Now though I do most of my creating at a crop and I find I can’t concentrate enough to write my journalling.  Also I find that I prefer to add my journalling once the layout has been published on-line and then I forget!  I’ve got so many layouts in my albums without their story attached and I really need to go back and sort that out.  Of course, not every layout NEEDS journaling.  Sometimes we take so many pictures and yet we’ve told all the story that there is to tell but we just can’t resist scrapping even more cute photos.   I was scrapping with my little girl the other day and she asked what else she could put on her layout.  I advised her to add some journaling and she said she didn’t really like writing on her layouts because it spoils it and I know what she means.  I know it’s important to have examples of our handwriting etc for future generations but I do find that sometimes the journaling ends up looking untidy.  This is the time to use hidden journaling.  If I’ve wanted to share a particular story but perhaps it is not something I want to share with the world or I don’t want it on the front of the layout for some reason, I have been known to use photos as flaps and then write on the underneath.  Another option is tucking a tag behind one of your layers, and the option I went for in this layout was something called a ‘Scrapalope’.  They probably don’t exist anymore but any envelope will do or you can make a pocket from scrapbooking paper if you are concerned about longevity.  In this layout from quite a few years ago now, I used the Scrapalope to contain a letter to our first baby who we lost a couple of months after this photo was taken.  It’s the only photo of me whilst pregnant with her so I wanted to tuck the journaling away.  It’s still there for me to read  but you have to make an effort to get to it so anyone just browsing my album wouldn’t really bother to read it and would just enjoy the layout as it is.

Jess: For me a page just isn't complete without journalling. The whole reason I scrapbook is to tell my stories. Sometimes that means a whole 6x8 page of text and sometimes it means a few lines on a project life card. I love the creative outlet of scrapbooking but really the words are equally as important as the photo in my eyes. I keep a daily journal that I started for the 100 day project. I use a weekly traveller’s notebook insert from Traveler’s Times on Etsy and each night I fill the 10 lines with a few details of the day. This helps me loads when I'm scrapbooking especially if I get a little behind with project life. I don't always take enough photos so it’s great to look back on what else happened that week that I didn't have photos for. When I'm scrapping one photo at a time I try to think back to how I felt when the photo was taken, what could I hear, what could I smell, what was I feeling, who else was there and what nice or funny moments were there. Doing some of that helps to inform my journalling. Sometimes I will alter the format and write my journalling in the form of a letter, this means I can direct my thoughts to a particular person. I have written letters to my son as well as myself and that makes for much more personal and honest journalling. If all else fails and you just don't know what to write try to imagine you have a friend next to you and they ask, "What is this photo about?" Then write down what you would tell them. 

Pol: I generally add a few lines about the photo, place it was taken etc, to my pages, but because a lot of my layouts are design team work that will be shown to a larger audience, I tend to do my journalling after I've photographed them. Although I scrapbook for the enjoyment of the process, when I do journal I try to include my own handwriting. I never really knew my grandparents and I think how much I'd cherish my Gran's handwriting, or even my mum's when she is no longer here, so I'd like my children and future generations to have a that record of me.

Hidden journaling on the 'Details' tag, a small letter to my daughter tucked away...

Sheena: Journalling on my layouts is a bit hit and miss. Because I also do Project Life I know I’m already telling our stories there so am less concerned what I add to my layouts. If I have something important to record I sometimes write on the back of my layouts.

Susan:  I’m afraid I rarely journal on my pages beyond recording who is on the photo and the date. I am not scrapbooking to record for future generations, and, having read the comments of some of my design team colleagues I wonder if I should be thinking more about recording for posterity. To be honest I regard my scrapbooking  as an artistic hobby; I scrap photos I like, in no particular order, and spend a lot of time on elements of the page such as the title. Occasionally I do write a few lines by way of explanation, but only rarely. I am going to make a determined effort to at least record the circumstances of a photo on the back of my future pages. One thing I do do, though, is incorporate journalling as a feature usually in place of a title, which I will show you more of in my post next week.

Gemma:  Like Susan, I would say I scrapbook as an artistic hobby. I don't journal, but I do always add the date of the photo onto the page, with my roller stamp. This was until recently when I actually tried journalling! I was really pleased with the result, and what it added to the page. I think it's something I want to go back and add to a lot of my layouts as over time I will forget places and events. I do keep a traveller’s notebook which holds stories I want to tell with their photos. I see the journalling in this book as being personal to me, so it's a project I keep for myself. Overall I would definitely say my journalling style is something I am still discovering. 

Sarah:   I like to write a line or two of journalling on my layouts. I go more in depth if I feel there is a story to be told, but as so much of my scrapping is just everyday snaps of my 2 year old there is not always much more to say. I prefer to keep my journalling hidden. Not for privacy, more that my handwriting is a bit hit and miss. I think hiding it on little tags, and in pockets adds a fun interactive element, too. 

Jackie:  I sometimes struggle with journalling straight onto my layouts, but I do like to add hidden journalling on tags when I can. Sometimes if I'm doing a series of layouts from an event, then I will add pocket pages and will use that space to add my journalling. 


Sarah T: As a Pocket Page scrapper journalling is a big part of my layouts. I like to include a little story on each of the photos. Occasionally I need to tell a bit more of the story than I can fit on a little journalling tag, so I'll use a fused on pocket on do some extended journalling on the back.

Thank you for sharing with us! I hope we've helped and inspired you to have a go at this months new challenge featuring journalling!