Three Things : Lines (and a Designer Digitals giveaway)

I was inspired to go buy a journal so that as I get scrapbooking ideas, I can jot down the story behind it or sketch out the idea(s) in my head. As far as the scrapbook journaling goes, a lot of the times, I like to have my thoughts already written so that I can work them into my layout. Although photos capture the moment, our words tell the story.
You, Ali Edwards, also insired me with the piece about your grandmother "Tell Your Story" so, I went out and bought a journal that captures just words - as well as - in my own handwriting, which you described as "a treasure" for future generations. Thanks for the inspiration!

When I first started scrapbooking I didn't think my handwriting looked good enough to journal. So I always waited until the end to journal and made the journaling fit the space by typing it in my computer and printing out on vellum or cardstock. For the past few years, I have been doing the journaling while I scrap the photos and put it down in my own handwriting right away, as part of the scrapping process. I love the ideas that others have posted, especially about doing a journal to write stuff down as it happens. I keep meaning to copy the posts I put on the Pixies thread at Two Peas where I post every few days about what is going on for me, as a substitute for journaling every day. I don't consider a page complete until there is some writing about what was going on at the time of the photos. The sooner I scrap after the photos are taken the better, easier to remember names and important stuff.

I keep a small notebook to record all of Ripley's funny little sayings -- I take this with me to crops so that I can build a layout around these little journaling jems.

Lately I am liking journaling brushes with dots. I keep a notebook and sticky notes of kids' words and expressions in an album.

Don't over-think it. Just write it down.

I keep a daily journal, so when I get around to scrapping some photos I can go back to that day, see what I've written about it, then all the memories come flooding back and I then tell the story behind the photos!

Hi Ali. My thing for getting the words down is either making notes in my journal or when the pictures are printed, I use a 'post-it' and write the words that describe my feelings or 'trigger' words then stick it on the back so it's all there when I'm ready to go. I've been trying to expand my journalling too - i.e. one word decriptives instead of lines and lines of journalling.

I have a small basket of inexpensive notebooks with different colored papers. As I complete a lo I jot down, off the top of my head, what I would like to say... tear it from the notebook, trim it and adhere it to my page. Sometimes the grammar, spelling and sentence construction isn't great, but it comes from the heart.

I keep a small journal with my camera. As I take photos, I sometimes make notations in the journal about the photo and just a brief summary a special memories. That might jar my memory when later, I am journaling at length.

I must have the right pen. If I have a poor pen I hate writing. So what I think I'll do is go through our stash of pens and throw out the yucky ones. Why clutter up my desk with yucky stuff? (Could I transfer that to my life as well?) Thanks for a great blog.

I start with my story and develop my layout around it--whether it's a long story or some short sentences or a quote. This works for me.

I keep a checklist taped to my monitor:
Paper
Picture
Embellishments
Journaling
Title
Date

My best success was keeping a vacation journal. I journaled first, adding paper and embelishments, leaving room for the pictures to add later. I remembered so much more from our trip by doing this.

Adding memory trigger key words to post-it notes and attaching them to the inside of page protector with the photos and materials as a way to protect them.
Another way to be succinct but cover the bases - write 10-12 three word sentences about the event or relationships. Noun- verb - adj/adv. It helps you see connections that make journalling a little cut above. And you might come across something out of the ordinary to make mention of.

I build off the first word that comes to my mind when I look at my group of pictures. Then I write that word in the center of a piece of scratch paper, circle it and just start writing down the next words or phrases that come to me. I get a lot of good titles from doing this and if it turns into a paragraph, great, but if not, that's fine too.

Journaling is my favorite part of scrapbooking.

Love journal paper and lined things!! My favorite tip would be to just do it! I am pretty random about how I journal and I just do what feels right for that page or project. I don't like to be put in a box so I am open to all types of journal tools. Lined paper and stamps make me happy! I have never used digi templates or brushes, but I would like to! Pick me, pick me!!!
Joy

I love journaling line stamps.... they have made the process so much quicker and straighter! I get my journaling from my journal and blog entries that I have previously written, or I just start writing. This isn't always perfect, but I figure I'm such a slow scrapper I can't let another thing slow me down!!!

Wow. Did that really say 415 comments. Can you even read all of those!! PHEW.
Anway, I'm horrible at journaling, so many of my pages are without it (just a place for it). So, my new goal has been to journal prior to doing anything else. I e-mail myself journaling, I keep a word doc at work with journaling, and I keep a word doc on my laptop with journaling. So, far, it's been working well with the journaling, now I just have to move the journaling to pages with photos!!
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to win your digi designs!! I'm planning on starting to do more digital scrapping (especially since the journaling is already digital) and would love to try some of your designs.

The line products are great! I've had a "thing" for office products & paper since I was a young child! Too neat! Also, can't wait for your products to hit Designer Digitals! They are my favorite digital store, so it's great to have two of my favorites together! I don't have any wonderful tip for journaling, other than just "do it" at the same time that you do the rest of the page. I don't scrap nearly as often as I wish I did...but every page that I've done includes journaling. To me, the words are on par with the pics. You need them both to clearly bring back the memory! As always, thanks for the inspiration, Ali.