Many scrappers seem to find journalling one of their least favourite aspects of the hobby. The reasons for this are varied. I thought I would look at a few of the reasons people dislike adding text to their pages.. and hopefully offer some solutions and ideas to try.

I never know what to say when I am journalling!

How about asking other people to help you? So when you scrap that day at the beach with the kids, let them describe it! A fun idea would be to get a little ‘snapshot summary’ from everyone at a group event, then add them to your page as quotes.

“The best party ever” Uncle David and “I love the chocolate fountain, yummy” Cousin Lisa

I don’t like my handwriting!

It is convenient to do all your journalling with a computer nowadays, but adding a bit of your own handwriting now and then can really add character to a page. Plus think about how thrilled you would be to see something written in your great-grandmother’s own hand.. or your great-great-grandmother! Adding your own additions to your scrapbooks could provide that wonderful personal touch for future generations to enjoy.

And if you REALLY think your handwriting is bad, you can do what I have done here.. print out the journalling using a ‘handwritten style’ computer font. Then I laid parchment paper on top and traced the words. I traced quite loosely to help give a proper handwritten look.

TTCheatingHandwriting

I am not very good with words!

You don’t need to be. Often journalling can be just stating the basic facts. Where is this? When was it? Who was there? Why was it happening? You don’t need to write an essay about it. Don’t worry about style, grammar or even spelling – this is about getting your memories and feelings down and so whatever you write is right! Future viewers of your scrapbooks will enjoy seeing your character coming through in what you write far more than whether you can write like Jane Austin or JK Rowling.

I just don’t know what to say!

Who are you writing this for? When I am scrapbooking I know that the person who will look at my pages the most is.. me! So I journal the things I want to remind my future-self. I try to include the details I would ask myself about later. Hmm, when was this again? Who is that woman with me in the photo? Why am I wearing that silly hat? What are we eating there? Is it raining or misty?

I don’t write enough!

How much are you supposed to write then? You are not doing homework, hehe. Just write as much as you feel like. Then stop. And don’t forget that there is nothing to stop you adding more later on. Sometimes all a layout needs is a date. And don’t forget that sometimes you can let related ephemera do your journalling for you. A ticket will have a date, location and what the event is, all written on it- so include the ticket in your layout. It can be nice to add a bit about how you felt about an occasion or situation, but sometimes the photos really do speak for themselves 🙂

I write too much!

Nah, not possible! This is YOUR scrapbook, you can do what you want, you know. If you think your journalling is going to simply take up too much space on a page already full of photos and embellishments you can add pockets to slip extra pages of journalling in to. You can also fix photos to your page with a simple sticky tape hinge, then include extra journalling underneath. And you can fold paper up before fixing it to your page to give you extra journalling space too.

But I don’t like journaling…Scrapbook snippet no 7

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