Three Things : Lines (and a Designer Digitals giveaway)

I carry a small notebook in my camera bag that I jot down notes, thoughts, feelings, moods, etc about the pictures as I take them. That way when the time comes to scrap, I have me journaling ready and all I have to do it put it on the layout.

Journaling has been difficult for me...but then I remember how easy it is to forget the little details and that's what's important, not how well it's written, or spelling or grammer...my kids are not going to grade me.

As I am working on my layout, I have a notepad where I jot down my thoughts as I work. Each photo brings back a different memory or thought of what we experienced on that day. By the time I am ready to add my journaling, I have an outline of what to write. Easy breezy! And cheaper than therapy! ;-)

I just do it. Because if you wait for someday down the road it never comes. My mantra, "It is ok if it is not perfect. It is who I am......"

I have a journal I keep by my computer and as I upload photos from my camera I write down details of the day, event or names of people in the photos. I use iPhoto on my Mac, so I also write down the film roll number, and they tag my images by keywords. This just works for me. I write down smells, visuals, key phrases spoken, colors....you name it.

oh, I have a really hardtime getting words into my layouts. I really have to think about it. Sometimes, I take a blank piece of paper and just start writing down words about the way I feel when looking at the pics or just about the pics in general.

I always keep a little notebook in my purse - which goes everywhere I go. At home, I have pads of post-it notes in every room just in case I need to jot(?) something down. When I'm creating a page, I'll temporarily place the post-it note down until I'm ready to write something down permanently.

I always keep a notepad with me - and jot down thoughts in it everyday - especially when traveling so I don't forget anything.

I use a journal spot, or a tag, and sometimes I just journal around the picture. It's not always the same.
Shannon

I'm a last minute journaler. So I have to shove the words in somewhere. I do like putting it in my photos if I can. Just the area where nothing important is.

I carry a moleskine with me everywhere I go to jot down journalling ideas as they happen or as they come to me. When I am sitting in a waiting room, or having lunch at my desk, I can jot down stuff during those quiet moments in my day. I also keep a folder on my mac called 'active scrapbooking' where I write my stories or expand on the ones is my notebook. Since I usually write before I scrap, my journalling is ready when the page is. Even if these stories don't make it into a scrapbook, I still have them to look back on. My husband and my 10 year old daughter both keep journals as well, which we use to tell stories from their perspective. Luckily they love scrapbooking as much as I do!

Cute paper is always good inspiration for journaling, or just a "spot" on my layout where I can't figure out how to fill any other way! Thanks, as always, for the great ideas and inspiration.

Cute paper is always good inspiration for journaling, or just a "spot" on my layout where I can't figure out how to fill any other way! Thanks, as always, for the great ideas and inspiration.

I love to cut 1/2" strips of paper and then jot down the words on those. Quick, easy, and if I make a mistake I can easily toss the 1/2" strip and cut another. Sometimes I do one word per tiny strip and sometimes the strips have whole sentences on them.

I keep a box beautiful colored pens right at my fingertips, also journaling stamps and cards! I like to journal first and then add to the page!

My current fave is the Autumn Leaves (?) stamp set by Katie Pertiet that have the brackets, parentheses & quotes with lines in between for journaling. My longstanding favorite though, is to journal around the outside of my collage of pictures. Quick and easy!

I love to make lists to use for journaling. I am a natural "list-maker" anyway, so this is the easiest way to journal for me. :-) Cute mug too... love it!

I used to type everything, because I didn't like my handwriting, but then journaling would get left for "later". So, I bought the Heidi Swapp handwriting book a few years back and changed my handwriting. Now I write on almost all of my pages, so the story gets down right away. My handwriting has now become one of my "signatures" on my pages, and I get complimented on it all of the time!

love these! I'm a teacher...may have to get one of those lined mugs - so cool!
Shannon
www.applesandchalkdust.etsy.com
www.scrapsnthings.etsy.com
http://scraps-n-things.blogspot.com/

If I'm absolutely at a loss for what to say, I pull out a favorite inspiration book (not just quotes, but one full of motivation and 'feel good') and read through it until there is a message so important that I just have to pass it on to my children. I tear the page out (yep, really), cut the words into strips and use that as the basis for the page. Then I find the right photo to go with the message. For me, scrapbooking is about being able to express something that might be hard or awkward to just come out and say.