Wednesday Sponsor Giveaway : Get It Scrapped, Transparent Touches, & Blue Moon Scrapbooking

Journaling and storytelling are not my strong points! I try to number 1-5 or so and share small bits and facts about the story I am trying to tell!

Write it down as it happens. Carry a small journal, paper pad, etc with you. If you are anything like me - you will forget those small details that makes it so special.

I take a ton of pictures and am wayyy behind on scrapping. Sometimes I see a pic on my computer and wonder what we were doing, what the context was. So recently I've begun journaling at night. When the kids are in bed I just pick up a notebook and write about the day, what pics I took, what we did, special stuff, etc.
When I get around to scrapping those pics i can match the date of pic and date of notes and voila, memory restored.

What I have recently started doing is keeping a small notebook with me at all times where I can right down things my 3 daughters say or do RIGHT after they say or do them. I was relying on my memory too much. I'll be honest, they say that each pregnancy takes away some of your brain cells related to memory, and in my case I think it's true, lol! I have also tried out Shutterfly's share site where I now have an online journal for each child and myself and I transfer everything from the notebook in more detail. The share site is free, and it's like a website, photo album, journal and blog all rolled into one!

i am a big keeper of emails because often the stories i want to share or capture are contained within them. i like to think of my nephews one day reading an email their mom sent me about the first time they rolled over, or some funny phrase they used. it will be fun for them to be privy to the correspondence about them that they were unaware of at the time.

I'm the type of person that's always got the most awesome, cool, excellent ideas....and no paper within a 100 mile radius it seems. So I took a digital and portable route. Under the guise of school supplies, I bought myself a Zoom H4 and became obsessive about carrying it around. Now, whenever I feel an idea coming on, I record it, and then upload it onto my computer at the end of each day. I have files upon files of just raw me. Nothing was lost in translation, and I get the time to really think about how I'm going to bring that story to life. No more finding random pieces of paper six months later, or accidentally throwing out a receipt that I didn't realize had an idea on it.
As far as actual journaling topics, I look no further than a few excellent blogs (your's on the top of the list, of course!) to see what's getting everyone else's creative juices flowing. Between this and my own hectic life, the topics flesh themselves out.

So many pretty things...yeah! I'm a blank book fanatic...so I write everything down in my blank books. I have several laying around...all going at once...one for gift ideas...one for album/page ideas...one for recipies...one for decorating ideas...etc. When I see something that inspires me....I write it down...then I don't stress over things when it comes to completing a page. I use my calendars to remember important dates and my blog now...yeah!
Roberta
http://con-tain-it.typepad.com

It's always best to jot down your ideas/thoughts right away before you forget the special memories of that day/event. Then when you get the time to create, you have your notes on hand. Great giveaways...I would LOVE the Blue Moon kit :)

By tip is: Just do it. Too often we worry about getting everything just perfect....

I have friends who have albums with everything completed...except the journaling! With each layout, I try and think about what I want to remember about the pictures 10 or 20 years from now to help me get perspective on the story behind the pictures.

My best journaling/writing tip is simply to try to write like you talk. Don't try to use big words or get fancy. Just pretend you're talking to someone and let the words flow.

My best tip has been to write things down in my calendar - like a first word, or funny thing my daughter did - so at least I have something to jog my memory when I have time to flesh out the details.

Sometimes I farm out the job. I will create an insert or design a journaling block and then hand it over to someone else in the family to write. They think I've done the hard part already and I get lots of different perspectives and voices (and capture handwriting), too!

I'm always buying vey small pocket notebooks and either carrying them around with me or having several around the house, that way I've always got one to hand to jot down little happenings, incidents and things my children say.

The sooner I write it up, the less I forget, the more accurate the account, the clearer the little details. Blogging is wonderful!

I love using CatsLife Press round journaling stamps and punching them out with a round scalloped punch. I can fit those into nearly any layout. Thanks to Ali for introducing me to these awesome stamps! Words and Photos!
Carol G

Story telling tip -
I tend to quote my kids a lot. Even as teen agers they say the funniest things. I like repeating their stories, the way they tell them. They are great in their scrapbooks and even better in our Christmas letter. Kerry

I jot down notes on my calendar then every sunday write an entry in our 'family journal'. When I'm ready to create my layouts, I just cut and paste from the journal.

I use my blog as a journaling tool: I post pictures with thoughts/explanations as soon as I snap them, but don't scrap them for unfortunately a long time, so I can look at my blog to remember what was going on at the time of the pictures.

My best journaling/story telling tip....
It's not so revolunary, but I think putting emotions into the story or journaling always makes it more real.