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Post by crimsoncat05 on Aug 18, 2015 23:34:17 GMT
I don't want to take over Elannah's page kit thread, so I thought I'd post a new thread about this topic so everyone can add their ideas. dewryce mentioned she sometimes has a hard time with journaling: "Journaling is the hardest thing for me, but I feel it is so important. So much so that I am paralyzed wanting it to be perfect. What if I forget something? Does it sound like my voice, the way I think? So I have an album full of pages that are complete save for the journaling. so I gave a few suggestions about how I sometimes do it-- "I usually just start writing about the topic, and it turns out more stream-of-consciousness than first think (which is more like my journaling pages are), and it usually takes up more space that I left for it, but it sounds more 'authentic' to me when I do it that way. I do it by hand, which helps me to not 'edit' myself like I would if I was typing. If you have space left over when you're done writing, you can always fill it in with an extra embellishment of some sort. And if you need more space, you can add it on the back, add a pocket to the back with a tag, or add a 6x12 page protector with just journaling, to go with your layout." 1) I write by hand to make it more authentic, so as not to over-edit myself (like I can do if I'm typing) 2) if I run out of room, I have written on the back of the page 3) I've made a pocket on the back of the page and added a tag with journaling that sticks out the top of the page protector 3) I've added a 6x12 companion page that has plenty of space for just journaling And I will say, I have sometimes 'messed up' the page design because I haven't left myself enough room for what I end up writing, but that's okay with me, I guess, because that means the story was bigger than I thought, and at least the page is done. Any other ideas out there for authentic journaling strategies, and how to overcome the quest for perfection in order to get it done?? |
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Post by dewryce on Aug 19, 2015 0:23:07 GMT
This thread is a great idea, thank you! I've been thinking about it since that thread and realized something: 1) If I forget something or find a way to somehow improve it later, I can. In all likelyhood I will be able to remove the paper and replace with the 'better' version. If I can't remove it, I know I can attach the paper over it. I hope this helps get me over the paralysis and finally putting my words to paper. As I have to tell myself in most other areas in my life when I am having this same issue; do it now, perfect it later. (Did I use the punctuation correctly?  Looking forward to seeing the other suggestions! |
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Post by abr79 on Aug 19, 2015 0:27:59 GMT
Great topic. Journaling is so important to me and one of my favorite parts of my projects.
In PL, I usually don't have a problem but in LO, I find that if I have my journaling figured out before I start making the page, it helps a lot. I have a notebook where I write a rough draft of my journaling...so I have all my thoughts laid out and I don't have to worry about "forgetting" something. Then I design my page around the space I'm going to need for whatever length of journaling I have.
On LO's where I'm maybe focusing more on the design than the "story" (often for challenges) and I run out of room for journaling, I will do a smaller "companion" page for the journaling or will write on the back or will find a place to stick a journaling card or something like that.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2015 2:02:00 GMT
I almost always write my journalling last. Sometimes I have an idea before I start a page, but usually I start thinking about it as I'm putting the page together. When the page is done, I let the page design and available space dictate how long/short/what shape my journalling is. My favourite way to journal is to take a stack of finished pages that are waiting for the story, sit down with a drink (vodka preferred, tea is OK too  ) and my typewriter or laptop. I close my eyes, and type.  |
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Aug 19, 2015 2:54:43 GMT
^^^ this is sort of how I do journaling on some of my layouts, too, ashley- If I'm not in the mood to write the journaling when I make the pages, I'll set it aside, and when I'm in the mood to write, I write. I should get out the vodka (or Drambuie, or hard cider), and see if that helps my writing, lol!  |
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Post by crazy4scraps on Aug 19, 2015 3:23:46 GMT
I usually do my journaling last too, but I always plan for a decent amount of journaling space and I can write pretty small if I have to. I kind of do the stream of consciousness thing too and get all of my thoughts out, then I go back and edit that down to weed out anything that isn't necessary to the story being told.
Usually I know when a group of photos is a bigger story right from the get-go and when I'm planning what to do with the page I can take that into account. If I know I will need more room, I can mat one or more photos on top of a folded piece of cardstock (think blank greeting card) and then I have all that extra space to write, add journaling on tags tucked behind photo mats or into one or more pockets, or even add an envelope that can hold several folded pieces of paper if needed. These things are great too for when you maybe don't want all of the journaling readily visible as well.
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Elsabelle
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by Elsabelle on Aug 19, 2015 3:31:46 GMT
This thread is a great idea, thank you! I've been thinking about it since that thread and realized something: 1) If I forget something or find a way to somehow improve it later, I can. In all likelyhood I will be able to remove the paper and replace with the 'better' version. If I can't remove it, I know I can attach the paper over it. I hope this helps get me over the paralysis and finally putting my words to paper. As I have to tell myself in most other areas in my life when I am having this same issue; do it now, perfect it later. (Did I use the punctuation correctly? Looking forward to seeing the other suggestions! I'm so glad you posted this! I don't feel too much hesitation about journaling, but when I look back on my past layouts I wonder why I didn't proofread more often.  |
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Post by impearia on Aug 19, 2015 4:04:18 GMT
I find this so interesting! How we all journal differently. One of my more popular scrapbooking classes I taught at my LSS back in the day was on journalling because the owner said she had a lot of requests for classes on it.
Journalling is an integral part of my pages so I almost always start with the story when I am scrapping and then I go find a picture to tell that story. Or if I am looking through pictures I want to scrap, I ask myself : "What is this picture saying to me. Why did I take it and keep it in the first place." Sometimes this is obvious, occaisionally, though a picture I take for one reason actually tells a story I do not have photos for! I just did a layout about my son and something funny he said which I had no photos for, but I had some "unstoried photos" that were perfect.
I often write a draft of my journalling before I even start designing the page, so I know about how much space will be required. I almost always do my journalling by hand directly on my layouts, although sometimes I type it if I have a lot to say or I want to add that as a design element. I was at a crop recently and I was so distracted by chatting and paper play that I forgot to leave space for journalling! I got home and made it work by writing my journalling on some PL cards that I stuck behind my photo, peeking out the top. I was happy it looked purposeful!
One thing I find helpful aside from pre planning is to mix up my journalling style. Not every layout has to have journalling written in that dry reporting style : We did this...We did that...It was the BEST day ever! What about a top ten list, or just bullet points? Write a letter to the subject (even if it is yourself!) Think about descriptors and use the five senses to make your journalling seem more vibrant and in the moment. What did you smell, taste, touch and feel instead of just describing the visuals. Do the journalling from someone else's perspective...if your child is old enough have them do it! You can preserve their handwriting that way too. Do an interview: ask the subject questions and record the answers. Do something different...earlier this year I did my journalling as a fairy tale (you know "Once Upon a Time...") and I relaly enjoyed that one. The points are still made, but it was fun to write and to read later on.
Above all give yourself permission to tell it like it is: be honest in your writing, if the day had problems it is okay to record those too. I have a stamp set Shimelle did for 2Peas which is hilarious in all the fail type sentiments it has. If you don't have much to say about the pictures that is okay too. If nothing else just put the date and a sentence or two saying who or what the pictures are documenting. Not every page has to have a novel or a long story to be important...sometimes the pretty pictures tell the story by themselves.
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Post by anniefb on Aug 19, 2015 5:45:33 GMT
This is such a great topic! Usually I write my journaling last but I signed up for Ali's story kit with the aim of getting better at story telling. So for the layouts I did with my first kit, I did my story writing/ journaling first. I found that really helped my creative process so will be trying to do this more.
Love the ideas for trying out different styles of journaling as well. I think I need more variety, particularly in PL spreads.
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Post by LisaDV on Aug 19, 2015 12:11:33 GMT
93% of the time I start with a photo and if the story is NOT right on my tongue, I do the stream of consciousness journaling (like crimsoncat05) but always on the computer. Sometimes it takes me in a whole different direction than I had anticipated. Then comes the editing. My titles almost always come from the journaling or are part of the journaling. I do use my handwriting a lot on my pages even if I journaled first on the computer. Sometimes all you need is a title, the date and who is in the pic. 7% of the time I start with the story, having journaled first on the computer and then look for a picture. I need to have the story first to know which papers to select, although I still pick my papers before and sometimes have to go back when my mood has changed due to the journaling I've chosen (I'm trying to switch that to journal first, choose papers second, but old habits die hard). I also need to know the journaling part so I can decide on layout due to space needed. When I first started scrapbooking everything was computer printed. I don't like my handwriting. And when I decided to do it, I did hidden journaling for quite a while - writing on the back of the layout or adding a pocket with a tag on the back or even under a layer on the front. I've also used envelopes on the front to tuck in journaling. I made my photo mat into a card so I could journal on the inside. Used journaling strips, because just like printing it out it seemed easier to write on smaller strips. |
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Post by mikklynn on Aug 19, 2015 12:58:34 GMT
crimsoncat05 I never thought to add a 6x12 page for journaling. That's brilliant and I am totally going to start doing that. It would work great for memorabilia, too. Thanks for sharing your ideas.
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Post by guzismom on Aug 19, 2015 13:00:39 GMT
Of course, it would be easiest if I wrote the journaling before starting the page design...but I never do! I have been known to make little "flip books" to allow a small space to have multiple pages of journaling; I basically take two or three pieces of same sized white cardstock or journaling cards and attached them together (and to the page) using brads. It helps if you score a little bit at the top to make them easier to flip/lift. I like to place them near the top of the page to make them easier to flip; but I have occasionally not done that and then I'm left with the choice of either having to remove the layout from the protector to read the journaling OR cutting a slit in the page protector and putting the top pages of the journaling on the outside with the bottom page of the journaling attached to the layout inside.
I also am a frequent user of the "strip method" of journaling. I often overlap the strips on the photos, especially the parts where not a lot is going on (i.e., no faces). Doing that (or writing right on the photo) opens up a lot of space for journaling, especially if it's just a sentence or two.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Aug 19, 2015 16:29:34 GMT
a few more thoughts from me about journaling:
Sometimes I will scrap a photo I particularly like but don't think it really has a 'story' to go with it. But then when I'm showing the page to people, I end up explaining what the photo is about, why I took it, etc. I mentioned that I didn't know what to journal on one particular page, and someone said 'write the story that you just told us of why you took it' and it was sort of one of those 'duh!' kind of moments, lol!
I guess the moral of that is: if you think it's important / pretty / fun enough to make a page about it, then your reason for doing so could be your journaling.
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I also sometimes do 'strip' journaling, using my typewriter-- that way I can get more info into the space, and fix any spelling errors, etc. I also overlap them onto the white space on the photos sometimes, but haven't done any handwriting directly onto the photos yet; I really want to try that one. I suppose I could type directly onto the photo, too!
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Sometimes if I don't have much to say, I'll do the 'epically long page title as journaling' type of layout, where the page title doubles as the journaling, and I use all different kinds of letter stickers or rubber stamps to make a many-word title.
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@mikklyn, I'm glad I gave you a useful idea with the 6x12 page for journaling space! I must confess, though, it's not my original idea- I think I saw Noell Hyman do it on paperclipping.com, and really liked the idea. I also use this idea when I have too many photos for a 2-page spread, but not enough photos for TWO 2-page spreads- I'll stick a 6x12 page (front/back) in between the two-page layout, so basically I'm giving myself another 12x12 worth of space total to use with my layout.
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And one tip for fixing a spelling error that you might find later: if you've done your journaling directly onto one of the papers in your layout, look for some of that paper that's covered up somewhere else on the layout. You can cut a small piece of the covered-up paper to re-write the word and glue the correction over the mistake. Fixing a mistake this way really isn't very noticeable after you put the page back into your album. This one is also easier to do if you don't use a ton of adhesive on every side of every piece of paper-- so you can peel up the edges of the paper easier, or you can carefully take the papers apart using UnDo and re-stick them after you cut your small piece out.
An even easier way to do type of correction would be to find a new piece of paper that complements your layout, re-write the word you misspelled onto a small piece of that paper, cut it out, and glue it over the top of the mistake. Then do this same thing to a few more words here and there, to make it look like you designed it that way!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2015 10:43:51 GMT
I will occasionally do my journaling on a pretty paper and put it in a pocket. I usually use vellum to make pockets so it is visible when flipping through the pages.
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Post by dewryce on Aug 20, 2015 11:56:51 GMT
A lot more great ideas, thanks ladies! This will be the first thread I book,ark for reference |
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Aug 20, 2015 12:22:59 GMT
If I have a story to go with my photo(s) I tend to write a lot.
I'm not a brilliant writer, and I know this, so I tend to just write exactly the way I think. Sometimes I even write in bullet form. And this is okay. It gets out the info I want on the page.
When I have a lot to say, but don't want to share everything on first glance at the page, I will use an envelope to be able to tuck in a folded-in-thirds letter (8.5x11" letter size). That gives me plenty of space to write, and also to embellish.
Sometimes I use white business letter envelopes, and just layer and decorate them to incorporate them into the layout (the only thing that needs to be open-able is the flap, to get the letter in & out).
I have also used vellum envelopes from the Post Office. They kind they give you when you buy loose stamps. The printing is only on the front side. I line the inside of the envelope with a piece of patterned paper to block the printing from view, and then all you see when you adhere the envelope to the layout is the back side (flap opening towards you side). I slip my letter in and decorate the top/outside of the envelope.
I have no problem writing on the back of the layout.
I tuck PL cards behind photos, so that I can slide them in and out. I usually use a tab peeking out, or a little pull string to remember that they are there.
I hide journaling that I never want anyone else to read, but that I know is there by writing it on a layer of paper, and then layering on top of it. My feelings are on the inside of the layout, just as they are on the inside of my heart, but protected from others' view.
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scrapnnana
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 20, 2015 13:02:16 GMT
I always start a page with the photos. I often don't have enough room for the journaling if I am not careful. I try to leave space for journal spots when I design my page, but I am also a big fan of hidden journaling, with a tab that you pull out the hidden journal tag to read the story. I can do what I like with the photos that way and still tell the story. The hidden journaling is not really that hidden. It is usually a pocket with the photo on the front, and a tab to pull out behind the photo, and I try to make it relatively obvious but also part of the design. If I have a major amount of story to tell, I put the pocket behind the page, again with something to pull out, but that way I can tell a very detailed story if I want. That does not happen all that often. As important as the story is, sometimes it seems there isn't that much story to tell by the time I scrap the pictures. I need to scrap the pictures sooner, so that I remember more of the details behind the photos better. Memory fades too quickly.
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Post by stefdesign on Aug 20, 2015 13:04:05 GMT
I'm a blogger, so I tend to add much of my background info to my blog entry, rather than in the layout itself. I journal just enough to give the basic info, then flesh it out in my blog. I hope blogs live forever! Either that, or I need to get my blog printed into a book. A couple of examples here and here. |
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) and my typewriter or laptop. I close my eyes, and type. 
