Three Things : Lines (and a Designer Digitals giveaway)

i keep a notebook in my purse so that i can jot down the funny things the girls say in the car, the doctor, the store, etc...and honestly i pull a lot of stories+words from my blog too.

I was on my high school newspaper and yearbook so I was used to always writing a caption for each photo. I've continued that into my scrapbooking. I simply write a short line next to each photo, as if it was a newspaper layout.

I cannot seem to leave a project without words. Even in some of the paintings and other crafts that I do, I feel it necessary to jot down a few words. My projects always seem to be missing something without them. I was once told by photography instructor that I shouldn't feel the need to "push the viewer" in any kind of direction by adding words... that I should allow the images to speak for themselves and allow the viewer to interpret for themselves. I suppose in some cases that could be true, but I consider myself the viewer, since I don't produce my art for anyone else, so I like the have the added words. It helps me to remember what I was feeling at the time the piece was created. I think my very favorite way to add words is with my Dymo labeler. It's just so easy to whip that thing out and click out a few words. I also use my own handwriting a lot... to fill in any empty space.

Hi Ali,
I like to write the story down right when it happens so that when I do the page I can either cut and paste with the computer or hand write the story. Unfortunately I usually wait until later and then the details are forgotten.
Katie

I need to read the comments here because I need tips! I just jot things down on whatever is handy and it's usually a bit of a mess. I'm off to read more comments...

Like you, I love to use blog entries as the basis for my pages, so the journaling is done before I even start the page.

I've been drawing my own lines with a vanishing pen lately.

I do not allow myself to start another page before I complete the current one. That includes my journalling. I usually find my photos I want to scrap, then decide what I am going to journal about the photos or situation and then start my LO. That way I have no excuses for not getting the journalling done. My pages all have some type of journalling as I feel the page is incomplete without it. It truly is the heart of my pages.

blogging is great but the tried and true sticky note works well...just attach to any picture or jot it and put in a spiral bound journal. when the pics come back or the memory is ready to be documented-the journaling ala sticky note is there.

I found some templates on one of the scrapbook magazine websites to do your own planning notebook. I bought a three ring binder and made my own notebook that I write down things that I want to remember and I got to decorate it with my own embellishments and make it my own!!! Thanks for the give away. I myself have stepped into digital a little and you can see a few of my beginning layouts with digital at http://sybilcreations.blogspot.com thanks again!!!!

I love to write things down as they happen, either just as a note in my diary or more in-depth in a beautiful suede note book that my husband gave me :)

i'm a digi scrapper these days, so the best way for me to get the words down on paper is simple typing in stream-of-consciousness mode. i want my writing to sound like i'm talking to the reader, not all formal and planned out... and since i can edit using the backspace key, i don't have to worry about sizing or the amount of what i'm saying fitting on the page. it's one of the best parts of digi scrapping, in my opinion!!!
can't wait to see your designer digitals stuff, ali!!!

I have only recently started to carry around a small pocket size journal with me (as suggested by Stacy Julian) and I have found that I have already captured some great stuff from the kids to include in my planned LOs. I am loving this idea!

wow - lots of great ideas here! must say i too am a fan of lines - always have loved the office supplies and back-to-school time of year ----- new notebooks, calendars, etc. Love to write down on things of that nature. Definitely easier to journal when I do digital, but for 'regular' I have fallen in love with cool journal stamps and the products out there --- tags, journal spots etc. my family (parents, sister) is too lazy to check out a blog, so becuz we email each other every morning round-robin style - and was typing TWICE becuz it was the same as the blog basically, I have dropped blogging. BUT the daily email sure makes it nice for journaling. definitely a positive there!

I really like to do my journaling around my photos or in a pattern of some kind. Either I do it on the computer or directly on the background paper.

I'm really bad about jotting things down on my pages so I usually write in pencil on the back of my page just in case I don't get to it right away. I also keep a journal for each of my kids seperate from their scrapbooks because I know I'm not the best at getting down on my layouts.

I journal via my computer with my suitcase full of fonts. I don't care for my handwriting so I cheat. Love your new digital stuff it's very cute!
:)Rachel

i usually write on the paper without any lines. i write around the edges and make it into a square.

My favorite tip is to intentionally leave a block for the journalling to go in. I sometimes put a post-it note with a few key points I want to include. My journaling usually happens the day after I scrap -- I often scrap with friends and cannot journal when I visit! I alternate between using the computer and my handwriting -- both works well for me!

My favorite tip for getting words down on projects is to keep a blog of daily life as it happens. It's always nice to be able to look back on old blogs to see what happened on a specific day.

Cool mug!! I like to use some stamps similiar to the one you showed to add some notes to a LO. Or just tuck something behind the picture.

I like to journal on labels and hide it away behind something. Lately I have become a bit more daring, and writing on lined paper, or open areas right on the lay out. Love lined paper and these stamps!!

I always try to have some type of lined paper with me when I go to a crop so I can use it (I don't write very straight!!). At home, I will sometimes type my journeling on the computer and print it out on all different types of paper.

i usually journal on tags and add them later.

i usually write a little something in my notebook right away as i'm taking pictures. thoughts, ideas, words etc. that will help me to journal when i get to scrapping my pictures.
j