Category Archives: The Write Way

Journaling the Write way…

Photographic Memory

Post by Katie

 

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When we document our memories, we often look to photographs to remind us of the details we want to share. Usually, there is an obvious scene or story in a photograph like the one pictured here. This was my (Katie’s)  16th birthday and I was trying to stop my almost 4 year old brother from blowing out my candles. That is the memory I journaled about when I digi scrapped this page and I will always cherish that thought. Just because that photo has been scrapped and I told that story doesn’t mean that this picture can’t give me any more information. Most photos have more than 1 story to tell and can bring up many forgotten experiences. I like to call this “photographic memory” because the photo itself can jog your memory.

If I take another look at  this picture, I discover a few interesting memory joggers; my brother’s sweatshirt, my bow tie scarf, the cake, the brick bench,  the wood paneling, and the wallpaper.

  • The Mickey Mouse sweatshirt was from a vacation my family took to Disneyland the previous summer. It’s notable to remember that since I only went to Disneyland twice with my brother. It also reminds me that I had a matching Mickey sweatshirt that I later had to give away. I had a major leg surgery later that year and after that, the sweatshirt suddenly smelled like anesthesia to me, even though I had not taken it to the hospital with me. I couldn’t stand it after that experience and gave it away. I’m not sure if I have a picture of my own sweatshirt, so this was a great reminder of this memory for me.\
  • How about that jazzy bow-tie scarf? That was definitely an early eighties trend and I felt very fashionable in my gray sweater, pink oxford button down, and print scarf. Preppy handbook anyone?
  • The cake is a poppyseed Bundt cake with powdered sugar on top. It was always my very favorite cake that my Mom made. It’s a very simple recipe that uses a cake mix, so I’m sure she was pretty happy that I chose that for my special birthday cake. This recipe is similar to this one, but my Mom would coat the pan with shortening and cinnamon-sugar and then add the mix. So yummy! I haven’t thought about that cake in years, but looking at this picture makes me want to dig out my Bundt pan and make one!
  • The brick bench came with our house and we kept it around for at least a decade before my parents tackled a major remodeling and add-on project. I think it opened up for storage, but I don’t remember that we kept anything in there? It was kind of unfinished inside the bench. I do remember that my Mom always had cute cushions and pillows on that bench. I don’t remember ever sitting on it though. Interesting to remember that.
  • Our house was also filled with that dark wood paneling. My mom painted over it in some of the rooms, but I think she kept it the original color in this room for as long as it was on the walls? Not sure – makes me realize that it would be worth discussing the timeline of the house renovations.
  • About the wallpaper, every wall in our house had it. My mom was really into wallpaper and I still tease her about some of the wild patterns we had on our walls. The backdrops of my childhood memories definitely were well decorated!

Can you believe all of that came from the background details of this ONE photo? I know you will find that many pictures are holding many memories just waiting to be rediscovered. I encourage you to look through your photos with a new appreciation for what might not be obvious at first glance. Using your own photographic memory will help you tell the meaningful stories of your life.

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Posted in The Write Way Posted on October 4, 2011 by Katie | Tagged , , , , , |

Photograph your journaling

Post by Katie

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(sign from Hogle Zoo)

One of my (Katie’s) favorite resources for finding journaling comes from taking pictures of signs. When I go to the zoo, a museum, or any location with informational signs, I snap photos of the words written on these valuable journaling sources. Someone put a lot of effort into compiling and displaying the information on these signs and that means that I have some easy shortcuts to use when I create my own scrapbook layouts.

I knew when we visited the Totem Pole park in Alaska, that I would never be able to remember all the things we learned about. We loved reading all of the signs to understand more about the meaning and history of the various Totems. I snapped a picture of each Totem Pole and then photographed the accompanying sign right after. When I browse through my photos I have ready-made bits of journaling that I can include by using pieces of the photos, or I can rewrite the messages in many ways to document the memory I’m sharing.

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A recent trip to the zoo gave me the perfect photo-opp with the elephants. I knew I would want to scrap those photos so I took pictures of the plaques that shared details about the family of elephants residing at the zoo.

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Even if the journaling doesn’t show up very well in a photograph, I can enlarge it on my screen and read through it to jog my memory. I can also extract the shape of a sign (like the round one pictured below) and use it as a type of “journaling card” embellishment on a layout.

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My kids appreciate me taking the time to snap pictures of the things they learn about on our field trips. It’s a great way for them to review their new knowledge and it adds interest to the memory being shared.

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Signs can tell an important part of the story that you might otherwise forget to include. We’ve been going to the Shakespeare Festival for years, but somehow I’ve neglected to mention the ongoing campaign to raise funds for a new theater. Now that I have this photo, I will remember to journal those details.

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We had a fabulous time at a recent Weird Al concert (he’s so funny!) and the t-shirt we bought for my son had all the tour stops listed on the back. This is a fun and interesting tidbit to remember!

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If you get a really clear picture of journaling (like this jellyfish sign at the aquarium), you have a ready-made journaling card. I can use this picture just like a photo on a page, but it tells a very interesting story that I wouldn’t have known about without the sign.

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Journaling doesn’t have to be hard, and it doesn’t always have to be in your own words. Feel free to borrow from all the readily available pieces of text that are informative and well-designed. Just take a picture and you will have instant words to add interest and meaning to your layouts.

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Posted in The Write Way Posted on September 21, 2011 by Katie | Tagged , , , , |

Lightning Round Journaling

Post by Katie

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Layout by Aaron Morris (Sir Scrapalot). Papers and Elements: All Star by Kristin Cronin-Barrow. Template: Take Out Tuesday 5/25/10 by Lynnette Penacho. Fonts: The Typewriter by Heather Hess and Lizzy Fizzed Out by Darcy Baldwin. Shadows: One Little Bird and Jenn Barrette. Photo Action: My Four Hens

 

When I (Katie) saw this fabulous layout from Aaron, I had to ask him where he got the idea for the “Lightning Round” journaling? He told me that “the layout was actually for a challenge in the June Portfolio at Sweet Shoppe Designs. For the challenge, we were supposed to pick one of the parts of the fill in journal pages from this site. There are a TON there and they are all great!”

This reminded me of how awesome the internet is when it comes to journaling! There are so many prompts and ideas already out there to help us! It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of journaling ideas and information. I want to encourage you to just pick something to jumpstart your journaling and then simplify the idea by mimicking Aaron’s “Lightning Round” approach. All you need to do is list a few prompts and answer them. Don’t spend a lot of time on the task, you could even set a timer for yourself if that would make it easier.

Here are some great resources to get you started:

Here are some fabulous layouts with “Lightning Round” style journaling to inspire you: (all images are linked for credits)

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Isn’t it amazing to see all the ways this type of quick journaling can be used to tell a story? Let some lightning journaling strike you when you sit down to create your next layout!

 

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Posted in The Write Way Posted on September 3, 2011 by Katie | Tagged , , |

How to get help from others with scrapbook journaling

Post by Katie

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School Days by Kitty Designs, PeaAngeDawn font

 

One of my (Katie’s) favorite ways to trick get someone to help me with scrapbook journaling is to ask them about a specific photograph. You could do this in person just in casual conversation, or while you are looking at photos together, but it’s difficult to remember everything they say. You could pull out a tape recorder (many smart phones have voice recorders), but that adds pressure to the situation and pretty much tips them off to what you are doing. Instead, I use one of my favorite journaling tools – email. Yes, it’s just as simple as sending an email message! Let me share a few emails I sent yesterday.

 

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I attached this photo to an email and sent it with this message to my Mom.  (she had no idea I was doing this for the purpose of this post)

Do you know how old I am here? Did you make my dress? Anything else you can think of about this photo, or this general time period?

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She sent back a quick reply that gives me some helpful information, even if it isn’t overly detailed Sometimes all you need are a few specifics.

I think you were about 2-1/2 or 3.  I did make the dress.  I believe the photo was taken at a studio – probably Penney’s or Sears, and pretty sure it was in California.

 

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Can you believe this next picture I dug up to send my Mom? Talk about vintage Mickey! And also vintage Katie! Open-mouthed smile I decided to ask about this trip to Disneyland that I barely remember.

I vaguely remember this trip. I’m pretty sure it was when I was in 2nd grade. I have no idea what time of year it was, where we stayed, or how long we were there. I do remember that we flew there because that was very unusual for us. I remember spending a lot of time thinking about how I wanted to use the tickets for Disneyland because that was back in the days when some rides were “E tickets” and so forth, but that’s all kind of fuzzy for me. What do you remember about this trip? Can you help me fill in any of the blanks?

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Her reply:

I think it was probably 2nd grade.  I have to think about this one.  I think the trip may have been in conjunction with a business trip of Dad’s.

Of course I was hoping for all the details, but I’m actually glad she is going to take some time to think about this. Maybe she will even ask my Dad about this memory? It will also be fun for me to discuss with her and maybe we can piece together the mystery as a team. I would have never thought we took this trip as part of my Dad’s business travel because I just don’t remember that part of it. This took place about 34 years ago so it’s not surprising that we don’t remember much.

 

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I decided to send a picture to my husband. I wasn’t sure how quickly he would respond since he had a busy day. He also had no idea what I was up to. I attached this photo to an email and wrote this message:

This is from the trip you took to Japan for business with Jeff ____. Do you know what these signs are about? What part of Japan was this? Does this photo bring up any other thoughts or memories about your trip, or the time you have spent in Japan?

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I was very interested to read his reply since I had no clue what this picture was about, or why he even took it. He said:

This is likely in Shibuya Japan.  Close to Tokyo.  We were pulling our luggage through this very busy part of town and there was a festival or something going on.  It was crazy.  There we were, two Americans in the heart of Japan, pulling very large luggage through the middle of a festival-like atmosphere.  It was crazy.  I tried to get some photos on the move.

 

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I decided to send one more to my husband since he was in the answering mood. I try to only send 1 or 2 of these types of emails at a time so I don’t overwhelm the recipient. I looked through my files and found a picture of him on a fishing trip. I had no information about this photo and would have had very little material for journaling without his input.

Do you know where this picture was taken? You were with Brett at the time because we also have a picture of him in the same place. Any other thoughts or memories associated with this photo?

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This was a trip to fish the Logan river.  It was cold and snowy, but we had a great day (always a good day with Brett).  We caught a lot of white fish, but also got into some rainbow trout.  The original plan was to go to Brett’s Father-in-law’s secret spot, but Brett mentioned this to him at breakfast, and he absolutely exploded.  (I wasn’t there, but this is how Brett described it.)  Brett was forbidden from taking me to the spot, so we went to the Logan River instead.  It was a bit of a let down because Brett had told me that we would have many large fish (guaranteed).  We still had a great day, but I relearned a valuable lesson, never bank on the guarantee of a fisherman.

I’m not sure my husband realized what a journaling gem he gave me, but I’ll be sure to tell him now that this post is done! Not only did I get details about the fishing, I got a very interesting background story, and even FEELINGS about how much he enjoys fishing with his friend. I also love his little “life story” summary at the end. Won’t that make a great title for the page?

 

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I’d like to encourage you to give this a try. I think you will be amazed at some of the great stories you learn, and you will be more inspired to scrap the photos you have journaling for. I have a few tips to keep in mind:

  • Start off by sending only 1 photo to each friend or family member that you want to involve. See how they respond. Some might never reply (I have those in my life). Others might be thrilled that you asked! It might take a few emails back and forth to bring the memory back to life. Enjoy the process!
  • Create an email folder to file the conversations in. That way you will have a resource to go to when you are ready to scrap those photos.
  • Be patient. it might take a while for some people to answer. They might not be checking their email every day, or able to spend time writing back immediately. Don’t send a photo that you need information for that very same day, you might not get it.
  • Jog their memory by writing a few things that you remember. You might worry that you are influencing what they will write, but it really just gets the ball rolling.
  • Send full resolution size photos when possible (another argument for only sending 1 at a time). You will probably find that the recipients are happy to get a copy of these photographs and they will be more likely to respond because you are sending them something of value to them as well.

 

Have fun sending lots of emails!

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Posted in The Write Way Posted on August 3, 2011 by Katie | Tagged , , , , , , , |

At the very least, be sure you have a date!

Post by Katie

Our current technology allows us to easily determine when a photo was taken. Digital cameras export the date as part of the metadata so you can find the date for your pictures by simply hovering your mouse over the photo. It’s easy to determine when this photograph was shot.

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I (Katie) would be able to get the same information by looking at the EXIF data for this photo uploaded in my flickr account.

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Just go to the drop down menu under “Actions” and select “view EXIF info”

 

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As you can see, I took this photo at 5:45 p.m. (Mountain time) on April 28, 2011. Thanks to current technology, we can find out when a picture was taken – IF it’s a digital photograph. That information is also available to us IF we are looking at the photo on a computer or examining the EXIF data in a flickr photostream.

What about if the photo is printed? What if it’s not even a digital photo to begin with? What if the photo is used on a scrapbook layout? The only way to know what date a photo was taken on is if you include it. This may seem like a simple thing (or even a tedious chore), but by including the date with your photographs and layouts, you ensure that the information lives on. You may think you will remember, but you will forget! Even if you are lucky enough to retain a perfect memory, should someone have to rely on having you next to them to understand when the photo was taken? Too many times we have to act as detectives and piece together when a photo was taken by looking for clues in the background, or trying to guess how old someone is in the photograph.

I love this layout and I love this photo of my Dad and brother. I’m not sure when the pictures was taken. My Mom isn’t really sure either. We can both try to guess by looking at my Dad. We can both try to guess by looking at my brother. My Mom knows a time frame it would have to be after because the glass bricks in her bathroom were an addition to their house, after a remodeling project. It would take a lot of guesswork to figure out the date, but we could still get a ballpark figure if we tried. After thinking about this, I’m motivated to pin down a general date and add it to the page so no one else has to wonder when this sweet scene happened.

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Another layout I love, with some favorite pictures of my son. There’s no date information (no journaling either, but that’s a different post). How will anyone else know when these pictures will taken? Someday, I will even struggle to remember that this was Easter weekend of 2009. Just a simple little date on the layout would save everyone so much work later on!

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Another missed opportunity on journaling, but at least this page has a date. It’s small, and barely noticeable, but it’s there! At the very least, my kids will be able to figure out how old they were in these pictures.

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Are you beginning to see how important just a little date is? By including a date, you at least have a reference to figure out when the picture was taken. Even if you don’t include anything else (and you know I hope you will add some journaling) -  at the very least, remember to include a date!

 

Need some ideas and inspiration for dating your layouts? Here are some fabulous resources:

 

A date might just be the most important embellishment you put on the entire layout!

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Posted in The Write Way Posted on June 27, 2011 by Katie |

You have to listen if you want to write

Post by Katie

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My parents are visiting my house right now, so I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to spend several full days with them. It’s been fun to watch them interact with my children, and also nice to have the time to just sit around and chat. The other night I was asking my Mom something about her father and somehow it brought up that she interviewed him (and recorded it on tape) shortly before he died. I commented on how great that was and she said “Yes, but I really did it wrong.” I couldn’t imagine what would be “wrong” about that interview so I asked her. She replied that she spent too much time trying to ask him certain questions. She said “If I could do it over again, I would just push record and let him talk.” I’ve thought about that a lot over the past few days and have come to realize how brilliant that really is. Of course she didn’t do anything “wrong” by conducting a more formal interview with him, but the idea of just listening to someone talk is probably some of the best advice I could ever think of to find meaningful material for journaling. Listening to what people are saying when they are just talking, is a wonderful way to discover who they really are and what is important to them. You can find out things you would never think to ask, and you will gain a great appreciation for their experiences and their personal story.

After thinking about what my Mom said, I decided to try and be more aware of what my parents were just openly sharing with me during this visit. The other night, we were driving to get a hamburger together and my Dad and my son were having a funny conversation. My Dad said something like ‘Don’t play mental checkers with your Grandpa because I’ll win” and we all laughed. Then he also joked about how he might win in real checkers because he learned from his own father who was nearly unbeatable at the game. He told us that it wasn’t until late in his Dad’s life that he could actually win in a game of checkers against my Grandfather. I had no knowledge or memory of my Grandpa playing checkers, and I really didn’t know that my Dad is also good at the game. I only found this tidbit out through listening. I’m sure I would have never thought to ask it as an interview question. I’ve been entertaining the idea in my head for days now – trying to imagine my Dad and his own father playing checkers. I’ve wondered if my son could have beat him (he’s pretty good at the game as well), or who would win in a match between my Dad and my son? A simple overheard conversation led to a lot of reflection AND gave me some great journaling material for this layout:

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It’s All Fun & Games Triple Dip by Jenn Barrette, Julie Billingsley, & Libby Pritchett. Fonts are Fontologie Textura Traced and Calibri.

 

If you are looking for inspiration in the journaling department, remember to put on your listening ears. Just pay attention to the conversations that are naturally happening all around you. I bet you will find something interesting to write (and scrap) about!

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P.S. Corinne was the random winner selected from the comments on yesterday’s post.  She won $10 to the Ette’s store.

P.S.S  Mary(HappyNow) was the random winner selected from those that entered the Reader Challenge, JUST SCRAP!! She won $10 in product from the Ettes as well! :)

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Posted in The Write Way Posted on June 7, 2011 by Katie | Tagged , , , , |

Short Stories are Scrapbook Journaling

Post by Katie

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When I used to put my daughter to bed each night, she would ask me to “tell her a story” to help her unwind from the day. She liked it when I made up stories about pretend events and people, but she really LOVED it when I told her stories about her own life. She wanted to hear the stories of when she was a baby, or how I met Daddy, or what I remembered most about my own childhood.  It’s the same thing when we pull out the scrapbooks…she wants to know the stories. They don’t have to be long, it’s just important that the experiences are shared.  I’m quite certain that if you ask your own family members what they love most about your scrapbook layouts, they will tell you that it’s the stories that mean the most!

Even if you don’t feel like a writer (I promise that you CAN do it!), there are many ways to use your digital skills to tell your stories.

 

Pick a picture and describe it. Feel free to be creative! In this case, I was inspired to try a different mode of storytelling to describe what I saw as I walked behind my children.

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Carded frame by Katie Pertiet.

Journaling:

She reached for his hand like she had done so many times before, and gently guided him on the winding path before them. He talked of imaginary triumphs, video game battles, and weary feet. She listened patiently, and with interest. Their parents feel back a few extra feet and soaked in the beauty of the simple act of siblings holding hands.

 

Tell the story directly to the person who it is about. When I scrapped about the ultrasound I had taken when I was expecting my daughter, I told her the details by using a conversational tone and addressing her specifically.

Xo by Fee Jardine, Template by Janet Phillips. Calibri font

Journaling:

In June of 1996, we went for a checkup and ultrasound at Dr. Hansen’s office. We couldn’t wait to find out if you were a boy or a girl! Dr. Hansen used to do the ultrasounds himself, but now that he has gotten busier he has an ultrasound technician do the honors. The technician was not very friendly and she rushed the whole exam. She told us that people should not want to find out the sex of the baby before it was born! Daddy finally asked her “Well, is it a boy or a girl?” She answered “it sort of looks like a girl” and that is all we could get out of her. We weren’t sure what to think of that. When we showed the pictures to Dr. Hansen he thought it was maybe a boy. Even though I was relieved that you were healthy, I was disappointed that we didn’t find out what you were going to be. I really wanted to start planning and shopping!

I’ve never been good at being in limbo and the whole thing was driving me a bit crazy so Daddy suggested I get another ultrasound. We didn’t have much money so I was worried about spending $50 at Fetal Fotos, but Daddy said it would be worth it. He was so right! He also was very generous to suggest that Grandma Kathy go with me for this one as she had never seen an ultrasound before. I know this was a special experience for Grandma. Fetal Fotos was located on the top floor of Cottonwood Mall. They took a lot of time with us and made it a special day. The ultrasound was detailed and even recorded on a video tape with music playing in the background. The technician there could definitely tell you were a girl and she said that you were cute already! Both Grandma and the technician said that you had “a cute profile.” We even got to see you sucking your thumb! I have to say that it was totally worth every penny we spent. It was nice to hear that you were very healthy. We knew all along that if you were a girl, we would name you Riley Kate. After the ultrasound confirmed that you were indeed a girl, we all got to start shopping for pink and dreaming about the little lady that would soon be joining our family. What a wonderful blessing technology is. I feel so lucky that I got to take a peek at you even before you were born!

 

Let the subject of the photo tell the story in their own words. You can have someone write out the journaling for you as they tell their side of the story. Or you can give a voice to a young child, or even an animal or inanimate object and let them do the talking. When our family vacationed in Oregon, we found that we had a frequent visitor at our door. This little squirrel begging for food became one of the most memorable parts of our vacation as my daughter couldn’t wait for him to come around each day. I wanted to include this experience in our scrapbook but I had a hard time knowing what to say about it. When I stopped trying to tell the story, it turns out that Mr. Squirrel did a pretty good job of explaining the whole thing.

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Century gothic and CK easy goin font. Heidi Heidelberg template. Doris Castle Sunday Love kit

Journaling :

Aha! New tourists are here. Bet they will come to the sliding glass door if I wait here patiently. Time to turn on the ultimate “cute” pose, it gets them every time. No one can resist my sweet little face and innocent begging.
Score! These saps are pushovers! And I just love pistachios. I’m amazed by my own power, I always get my way!

 

When you think about scrapbook journaling as simply telling a story, it can feel a lot less overwhelming. Instead of worrying about writing the “perfect” journaling, just enjoy some story time instead!

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P.S.  Sandy_in_MD was the random winner chosen from Veronica Sprigg’s post yesterday!  Congratulations Sandy!  You won $10 in product from Veronica!

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Posted in The Write Way Posted on May 10, 2011 by Katie | Tagged , , , , , |

Journaling This Day in History

Post by Katie

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Credits: Jennifer Fox Memory Keeper

 

When my first child was born in 1993, I (Katie) ordered a printed page of the historical events on the day he was born. This also includes trends of the times, popular books and tv shows and current news stories.  I think I found the company through an ad in a parenting magazine and if I remember correctly, I paid $14.95 for this little treasure that includes interesting tidbits of history and pop culture. It was a great way to add some journaling that has been fun to read and review over the years. I’ve now scanned it and turned this into a digital layout.

 

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Layout by Katie. Papers by Katie the Scrapbook Lady. Background template by Scrapping with Liz.

 

When my next child was born in 1996, I didn’t remember to purchase such a keepsake. I’ve always felt bad that my daughter didn’t have one of these prints for her own scrapbook. Of course all of this was well before the time that Google and Wikipedia entered my life, but now that I have access to so much technology and information, I can’t make my own version. I love the internet!

I didn’t feel like I needed to include all the same information as the original print I purchased for my son, but I focused on giving an overall picture of what happened on her birthday in history. I also did some research to help me remember the popular movies, books, trends, and news stories of the year she was born.  I used some of my favorite online resources to gather the facts:

 

Here’s what I created:

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Layout by Katie. Flergs Sweetness Kit & Scatters. Background template by Scrapping with Liz.

 

I had so much fun researching the facts for this layout! Not only is this a fun idea for a baby’s scrapbook, but I love the idea of including these types of facts for any year. Wouldn’t these be great details to add to a year in review page? I think I found another new way to digiscrap!

 

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Posted in The Write Way Posted on April 28, 2011 by Katie | Tagged , , , , , |

Journaling is as simple as answering a question

Post by Katie

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Do you need a starting point for journaling? One of my favorite writing “secrets” is to simply answer a question. Really, it’s that simple! There are several different ways to use questions to help you document your memories.

 

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It would be easy for me to think I didn’t need a lot of journaling to go with this photo. It’s very obvious that we are in Disneyland (see my son’s shirt) and that he is getting an autograph from some characters. If I add my son’s name and date, I can answer the most basic questions of who, when, and where. I’m going to dig a little deeper though and answer the question “Why did you take this photo?”

I took this photo because a week before we left Disneyland, my daughter insisted that we each pick our all-time favorite Disney character. She wanted us to have that in mind as we went to Disneyland so we could look for character-related items and experiences. Alex surprisingly picked Burt from the movie Mary Poppins. He loves the British people and culture and also loves music and dancing so it really makes perfect sense. I thought it was neat that Alex picked something less mainstream, but I was also certain we wouldn’t find any Burt items in any gift shops, so I didn’t think much more about it. Then on our last day in Disneyland, we ran right into a photo opportunity with Mary Poppins and her buddy Burt. There were only a few people in line so we ran over to snap some pictures. I think Burt was flattered and somewhat amazed when we told him that he was Alex’s very favorite character and that we couldn’t believe how lucky we were to find him! He spent an extra few minutes with us to make Alex’s visit memorable. Great memory!

Only 4 people in the whole world knew that story and the significance behind it before I shared it here. Over time, the 4 people might have even forgotten the details, but now that I have written down the answer to a question about this picture, it is documented and saved!

Keep asking yourself questions about photographs until you have something to write down. Or show the picture to someone else and have them ask you questions. These are great journaling exercises! Here are some links to help you:

 

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photo by Janet

Think of this as reaching into a virtual jar of journaling prompts. Pull out a question and answer it. There’s your journaling! Now you can go and find (or take) a photograph to go with the journaling or even create a layout without a photo. Answering a question will get you journaling! Here are some fabulous resources that can act as your own jar of prompts:

 

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School children raising hands. View from behind.

If you’ve been around young children, you will be quite aware that they are constantly asking questions! They wonder things like “Where does Bigfoot live?” and “Why is that lady’s hair purple?” and other difficult to answer questions. Even if you can’t answer the question in a scientifically correct manner, you often get some great discussion as a result. Why not take the questions that your children ask you (or make up your own) and use them as journaling prompts? Try to answer them as best you can, but feel free to just enjoy the conversation that the question started.

Think of this as your chance to raise your hand and ask the questions that are on your mind. You can do research to answer them to provide interesting journaling for a page, or simply express your own views and philosophies on the matter at hand. You will be surprised at what new paths of inspiration you find to explore!

Here are some resources to help you find questions to ponder:

The simple act of asking and answering questions can make a big difference in your journaling. You will find yourself armed with ideas for layouts once you start answering more questions! Do you have any questions that help you with journaling? We’d love to know about them so feel free to share them in the comments!

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Posted in The Write Way Posted on March 26, 2011 by Katie | Tagged , , , , |

Using the calendar as a journaling tool

Post by Katie

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Want to know a secret resource for finding great journaling material? Look to your calendar! Whether it’s a paper calendar hanging on a wall, a magnetic calendar on your refrigerator, or an electronic calendar on your computer (see Steph’s post about Google Calendar), it’s a great place to find information to use on scrapbook layouts. I’ve used calendars as a journaling tool for more than a decade now so I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite tips and tricks for calendar-based journaling.

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BASIC CALENDAR

Take a look at the calendar at the end of each month and see what you had scheduled. Even if you didn’t make any journaling notes on the calendar, it can still act as a memory jogger to remind you of what you did that month and what should be scrapped. I highly recommend keeping a copy of your calendar to use for your scrapping inspiration. If it’s a paper calendar you could keep the physical copy, or scan and save it on your computer. If it’s a whiteboard type of calendar that gets erased or changed each month, take a photograph of it before changing it so you have a copy of the information. The beauty of computer calendars is that they are easily saved. Google calendar keeps the information on your calendar and does not delete it. Some programs such as Outlook have archive features that allow you to file older calendars for reference so you don’t slow down your computer, but are still able to access older material.  I use Microsoft Outlook 2010 so I went to Calendar – Folder – Calendar Properties and adjusted the archive settings for my calendar to keep 18 months of data. If that slows my computer down too much, I will change that. You could also just access the past calendars through the archived folders.

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CALENDAR WITH JOURNALING DETAILS

It’s really easy to jot down a few quick memories on a calendar you are already using. If your baby takes their first steps, make a note on the date the milestone happens. If you go out to dinner with a friend, write down the details of where you went and what you ate right on the calendar date. By the end of the month you will have a mini-journal full of great material for your pages! This is easy to do on a handwritten or electronic calendar, it’s just a matter of establishing the habit. I recently found a free online calendar that encourages you to do this type of journaling – it was my pick of the week on the latest Paperclipping Digi Show podcast (#30 Stories from Our Lives). The calendar service can be found for free at Cozi.com and the family journal features are really great for memory keepers. This approach could also be used with other calendar systems if you take the initiative to add this type of documentation on your own.

Calendar journaling notes can be added to scrapbook pages about individual events, or you could do calendar style scrapbook pages and include the journaling in that format. This is a fun way to scrap everyday memories!

Layout by Katie. Template by Ali Edwards. Paper by Gina Cabrera. Doodles by Kate Hadfield. Alpha by Dani Mogstad. Font is Century Gothic.

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LONG TERM CALENDAR-BASED PROJECTS

If you are doing a Photo-a-day project (365), or a 52 week challenge, you will find that the calendar can be a great way to keep track of your project and document the journaling details that go along with it. When I did Project 365 in 2008, I relied heavily on my calendar notes to help me keep track of the journaling that went along with the photos I had taken. Then I added those details as journaling on the P365 layouts.

Layout by Katie, supplies: Project 365 Quick.ish page by Something Blue Studios (TDF11). Fonts are Fontologie Textura Traced and calibri

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Calendars are great for scheduling and organization, but don’t forget to let your calendar also do journaling work for you. It will make scrapbooking so much more fun and meaningful!

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Posted in The Write Way Posted on January 8, 2011 by Katie |