Three Things : Lines (and a Designer Digitals giveaway)

Lately I have loved your "reuse old mail" concept...I have used a few cute envelopes on my pages and tucked my journaling in them as if to be a letter received in the mail... Sorry no link to them though.

I do lots of hidden journaling so that I don't have to worry about it not being perfect.

I've gotten into digi scrap so pretty much all my journaling gets done. I've found with digi scrap too that I tend to tell more than I did when I regular scrapped. I am SO excited for your new designs!

I always work the placement of the journaling into the page design, and as I am working on my pages I am thinking about the story I want to tell. This helps me to easily handwrite my journaling in a sort of "stream of consciousness" way.

I love lined products too! (Don't enter me in the RAK-I don't digi-scrap)

G'Morning Ali! Welcome Back home!
Love the mug!! How exciting about your partnership with Designer Digitals!! Too Cool!
My journaling tip is: Whenever I look through my iPhoto, there is always a message/story I want to tell as I look over the photos. So instantly, I take out my 'scrapbook notebook' - and write my thoughts out about what set of photos I was make a layout of. Typically, this process triggers me to sketch out a 'possible' layout. So far this process has worked for me!

I like the clearish plastic office notes from Maya Road...they're small and easy to journal on, add some dimension and a different texture to the page, and look cute. I use those to add journaling a lot.
I also have plans to go back into my old scrapbooks and add more journaling in the form of small page protectors between old pages with the CK monthly kit (I think it was April or May?) that has all the officey envelopes and notes. I want to add my thoughts to previous layouts without changing them completely.

Just do It!!! Write it on the edge of the page, use a journaling spot, write on the pictures, write the journaling on the back if it is private, tuck it behind another element, put it on a CD, write a letter. Just do it!!! Don't wait for the printer, don't wait for a better time, don't wait for "I'll do it later". Just do it!!!

I like to use little journal tabs or spots on my pages. It's easier for me to jornal on smaller spaces. Looking forward to seeing you products at Designer Digitals.

Ah, I love the look of lined papers and journaling products! I do find it challenging to use lined digital products (I'm a digital scrapper) since I have to fool around with the font size and spacing between lines.
My favorite way to get the journaling in on a digi page is to create a text path after I put the photos/elements on the page. This way the journaling becomes part of the design - like I did [url]http://www.digishoptalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=293812&ppuser=888]here[/url] or [url]http://www.sweetshoppedesigns.com/inspiration/showphoto.php?photo=30193&ppuser=339]here[/url]. Or, if I just opt for "regular" journaling, I find it's more fun to use a handwriting font, especially script, as it makes it look more personal. This way I can pretend my own handwriting looks that nice! LOL

I actually love writing in the dead space on pictures. It makes me happy and I think there are times when it looks really neat. So it encourages me to write.
I also think about the lack of my own history and my mom's and dad's. I don't know anything about my relatives beyond those who are living and in my family you don't ask about the past.. so I'm starting a history here that never existed before. That's a lot of encouragement.

To keep from leaving journaling off my layouts I keep to the "do it now" theory. I either type it on my digital LOs or I grab my pen and write...if I put it off, then I never come back to it.

I use lots of 'found' items - postcards, recycled mail, ticket stubs - in my l/o's and put them in a prominent place that begs to be written on. Thanks for the inspiration!

I have become a journaling product junkie! I use stamps, tags, and any product geared to writing. My favorite find recently included some tags I bought on etsy. I also still love the imagination project coasters and 7 gypsies stamps.

I know this sounds terrible but I don't like to journal because I don't think that I am very good at it. My husband is a college english professor so I always feel intimidated. (Even though he never make me feel that way.) So I have to make myself journal first after picking out the pictures and before I start the layout or it may not get done!

I am doing mostly digi scrapping now, and I run across so many things that make me want to journal just so I can use them! And date stamps and clever ways to record the date, I am a big sucker for those!

The best way I have found is to use some sort of office supply memo paper or stickers. The words are the most important thing...without them the pictures have very little meaning. I love that you are with DD!
Cindi

Thanks for the great post and giveaway offer! I love Designer Digitals and I love your stuff so I so excited to see both in one place. My advice for getting some words on paper is to pick a couple photos that you like and want to scrapbook and before doing anything else, ie picking papers, sketching, write about how they make you feel. Make it bullets, make it simple, or make it long a elaborate. Just get it down first. Then proceed with the rest of the process. That is what works best for me. It also often helps me with the rest of the process. And if you feel like you can't write anything about the pictures you chose, not a since word, that's a clue to set those pictures aside for the moment and go find some others that speak to you!

I'm a deadline person so I give myself a month to get the journaling done, that way it isn't too far from my mind. I really am going to try to use a notebook to journal in for times when the feelings are strong and need to be recorded immediately.
Thanks for sharing all the cool stuff, Ali.

My favorite way to get words and stories on my LOs is to pull stories from my blog. I always blog the fun, the mundane, and the big moments in my day. In fact, I still need to scrapbook the last day of school from last year. I'm not too worried, because it's all on my blog and I'll get to it when I feel inspired. :)

For short journaling I use lined paper and punch out circles or squares with my punches - for longer stories I often go for digital writing, making a hybrid layout or write on the photo before I print it out. Simple, fast and focusing on the words, the story!

I always think about who will look at the pictures down the road. Isn't that why we scrap? I want whoever that is to know what was going on when those pics were taken and who everyone is in them. Then my words flow freely. I love that part. Nothing frustrates me more than to look at old family photos that no one knows anything about.How sad. I don't want that to happen to my family 50 or more years down the road. I love clean empty lines just ready to be filled with words.

I keep a little 3x5 spiral notebook in my bag at all times. Then I can tear out the pages and tape them into a larger notebook I keep on my desk.

I usually journal as I make the LO. I Digi scrap, so I don't print the LO until it has the jounaling I want on it.

I usually do short and sweet journaling on the spot, it often includes little arrows pointing to what I am referring to. OR, just a numeric date. To me, better something short than nothing!