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

Sometimes when I create a layout it is better for me to leave the journalling for later when I can really think about what I want to say and take the time to get it right.

Keep paper/cute table in purse to write when the inspiration hits, or to get the words down when you hear your kids say something funny. Also, journal. Journaling helps you find your voice and style.

Think simple. You're not writing a novel or something for your old English teacher! Grammar and spelling don't count.
Mary S.

It's best to write your journaling from the heart. I just try to reminisce the moment when the photo was taken and that's where I draw my inspiration.

I try to write down all of the little things, especially my children's quirky sayings, right when they are said or else I forget them. I find those 'story starters' are more than enough for me to remember and then tell the story.

My tip is to use your own handwriting. I adore my Mother's handwriting and it is instantly recognizable. It makes me feel like a child when I see it! and I'm 52!!!

Speak from your heart! That's it!

I'm not that great when it come to journaling, but I do use my computer a lot (just a microsoft word file) to jot down random thoughts that later make its way to my pages. For my heritage album, i've fortunately recorded my parents with zillions of stories prior to their acceleration with alzheimers.

I like something that you suggest frequently and that is, Just Do It. I mean just start writing and see what comes. Anything is better than nothing.

I try to write things that I think will be interesting for people to read many years from now.

These are awesome giveaways. My best tip would be to really take some time and look at the pictures to be able to take yourself back to that moment and write from the heart.

I like making lists, bullet point with random thought right as things are happening or soon afterwards. That way I get my thoughts down and I don't need to worry about punctuation and gramma (and it makes them easy to read!)

Listen and always keep a notebook with you!

My best tip is to write the story as if you were talking about it.......if it's too private to share with everyone, hide it in a pull out behind a photo.

I try to incorporate my handwriting in my layouts even though I don't love it. I know that the kids will appreciate seeing that bit of me years after I am gone.

To capture memories from the school year, I have a simple Word file on my desktop. I add short comments to it throughout the year - events, teacher comments, my son's comments, projects, etc. At the end of the year, I include this list as the journaling on the "Summary of the School Year" spread I do. It really cuts down on the stress of trying to remember all those details from the last nine months. [I also take photos of project/costumes/evetnts throughout the year and keep them in an Event in iPhoto to go on the spread.]

As I have been going through my stash of printed photos I've been writing what comes to mind on the backs so I have a "starter" for journaling. ALA Stacy Julian's LOM system, I've now keyword tagged and organized all of my digital photos. During this tagging process, I used the caption feature on PSE to jot the same notes for my digital photos. I may or may not use this "What, where, when, why, who" type info, but it sure is handy for putting me back into the frame of mind and emotion I was in when the photo was snapped.

When my husband & I travel, I carry a small notebook with me. As we sit waiting for our next flight, the train, or before I go to sleep, I write down what happened during the day in as much detail as I remember; not only where we were, what we did, or what we saw, but also what we felt being in that moment. Then, when I eventually scrapbook photos from the trip, I have the story telling part mostly done.

It is great to jot down things as they happen - especially on vacation so that you can refer back to the journaling when scrapping the trip.

I keep a journaling calendar next to the computer. I use it to record non-calendar items, such as a quote from my dd or "day in the life" things. Life is so busy and hectic from day to day that I don't want to forget those basic things. I also blog weekly about topics of interest to me.

Being that my scrapbooking time is so limited, I have a 'journaling system' for my journaling (because seriously, who can remember all of the details when it is time to journal?). : ) Here's what I do:
1) write daily activities/adventures/events on my personal calendar
2) note in my calendar the 'download date' event photos are filed under (since I only download weekly it's helpful in finding my photos)
3) **Most important** I keep a running journal loaded with detailed stories, quotes & memories. . .This way when it comes time to actually 'journal' on my scrapbook pages. . .It will all be there. : )

My tip is a simple one but a must for me. I used to do ALL of my journaling on the computer. You know how it goes...if I didn't have time to type it up on the computer & print it out, the page would go in the sheet prot. till I had time to journal. So, many years later & many pages are still w/out journaling. That makes me sad. My solution to this problem was to journal right away with my own handwriting-GASP :-)! I make sure to write my thoughts down on scratch paper before writing on my actual layout. I can check for spelling errors & feel confident when using my own writing on on comleted layouts.
Have a happy Wednesday!

Ok, that totally just went into my "ideas to use" notebook! There are so many times I have more I want to say, but knowing that anyone who asks to look at our books might read it somewhat held me back from saying what I fully intended. Thanks for that!

...write it from the heart, write it down as soon as you can, and always write it out first on a scrap of paper or better yet keep a journaling/idea notebook like I do...thanks for the fantastic stuff Ali!

This is a hard one.
I don't really journal. But i do have a to-do list, somewhat like a journal. I write down thoughts, songs, items I need to buy and other various things. I keep it in my purse at all times. If I don't write it down, I will forget it!