Photos help us save our memories, preserving them for later in life and even for future generations. The photo itself might not fade, but our memories of what occurred on that day often do, so journaling is a good way to remind ourselves of what was going on in the photo. It will also help when your grandchildren look through your albums, identifying people and learning about the past.

First Birthday Journaling

First Birthday Journaling

This example uses papers from Digi Scraps, Falling in Love and First Frost sets.

What Should I Say?

A basic description of the photo, a poem describing your feelings on that day, or five paragraphs telling the hilarious story behind the picture . . . these are all great ways to write something in your photo album.

Journaling doesn’t have to be complicated. Whatever your style of writing, use it and your personality will come out on the page. We’ll be looking at a few ways to incorporate journaling into your scrapbook pages today, but remember, even a hurriedly written note is better than nothing at all!

Journaling Design Basics

You want the words to stand out from the page, so don’t write on top of patterned paper where it will be difficult to make out. If needed, you can create a frame out of a plain paper just for the writing. You may want to practice writing what you want on a separate piece of paper so you know how big to make your frame.

Is your handwriting lousy? You don’t necessarily have to write everything by hand. If you are scrapbooking on paper, try printing out what you want to say and then adding it to the scrapbook. Of course, if you are doing digital scrapbooking, it will all be typed. That doesn’t mean you have to give up the handwritten look, though, there are certain fonts that copy the written look very well. For example, Kristen, Bradley Hand and Viner Hand are all excellent fonts for that classic look. You can find these and other fonts online, if they aren’t already on your computer.

Playing with Words

Creating a fun text addition to your album page is something that can really add to the design. Just writing everything down in a nice font is fine for many pages, but sometimes you want something a little extra.

Anagrams are a fun way to create texture and add some interest to a page. You can use alphabet tiles to spell out the child’s name going down the page and then add handwritten phrases beside them for fun.

Anagram Journaling

Using words to fill in a specific shape, such as a baby bottle or bear can also be a cute way to include journaling in your album in a manner that reflects the theme.

Scrapbook journaling is a great way to ensure that those precious memories of childhood exploits stay alive through the generations. Your kids will love reading what you had to say about that cute chocolate-covered face in years to come, so make sure you write down something to let them know why you took the photo and just what happened.

Similar Posts: