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I have SUCH a hard time coming up with titles and journaling! I try to keep in mind that I need to journal in such a way that when I am dead and my daughter is showing the book to her grandchildren she will know exactly what each page is about and who is on it. However I feel at times I become repetitive....
And DATING pages UGH! I am not good at that either! My scrapbooking became very haphazard for the last several years and they pages got all mixed up and out of order and I really like them choronological. SO, since I am determined to get it all back into shape I pulled them out and began going through them and getting them back in order but I am shocked how many did not have dates so I was ordering them by the length of my daughter's hair :P But now that I got that done perhaps I can go through my computer files and figure out what i am missing and fill in the holes and get caught up!
I feel your pain. I try to date the photo by hairstyles. I have caught myself just staring stupidly at my proposed layout trying to come up with a title.
I'm a writer, so journaling and titles aren't hard for me. But I do understand that these are 2 areas that give many scrapbookers a hard time. I'd love to help out if you're stuck.
I bought a book called "Inspiration Station" by Betsy Flot. Sorta expensive for just a collection of titles (although I had a coupon), but it helps me out quite often!
Both of my sisters scrapbook and we have an inside joke about using the word "FUN" in your title. "Summer Fun!" "Fun at the Beach!" "Fun with Cousins!" Apparently we all got stuck in a fun rut at one time.
That's funny Beth! I got a little flash of inspiration for journaling - I don't know that it will always help but it did for the layout I am working on now. I got a Cricut Cake machine from Provocraft when it came out so me and my daughter had to go on a cake decorating learning spree with often disastrous results. I was collecting pics of various cakes and looking on my blog to get an idea of dates so I could then dig through my files to collect all the different pics I wanted. Well I realized my blog had some great journaling because I wrote it right when the pictures were taken! I am going to look things up more often now!
I bought a book called "Inspiration Station" by Betsy Flot. Sorta expensive for just a collection of titles (although I had a coupon), but it helps me out quite often!
Both of my sisters scrapbook and we have an inside joke about using the word "FUN" in your title. "Summer Fun!" "Fun at the Beach!" "Fun with Cousins!" Apparently we all got stuck in a fun rut at one time.
Tim Holtz has a video showcasing his new stamps and he did a count of how many times he said the word "fun." You're not alone. LoL.
Dea
I like to journal but sometimes I think what I write is boring, although it may be useful in the future. I'd rather get better and writing about our feelings at the time of the event and I seem to be prone to just list the facts....
Titles, I go through galleries and just look for fun ideas. I also bought a couple of the Cricut Cartridges with words just for making titles as sometimes I struggle to come up with good ones ....
You're not alone .... ;)
__________________ Lela -- Scrap Blog -- Come Scrap With Us ---- YTD 87 / 300 Pages 2023 -- 64 / 252 Cards 2023
You know, you make a good point though Lela, the journaling may be boring but if it is useful for someone going through the album in the future then it is serving it's purpose. The purpose is really the pictures right?
When I scrapbook, my page begins with the journaling or quote, so I don't usually have a hard time with that part. I pick photos to match what I want to say. But if you are struggling for titles, don't use them. Layouts don't have to have titles. Not every page needs journaling, either, so if all you write down are the who, what, when and wheres, future generations would be thrilled to have that information even! Sometimes a great quote sums the photos up, sometimes it is simply telling the story of what's going on. Maybe try journaling the emotions surrounding when the photos were taken. Song lyrics are another great journaling option. A scrapbooker who I have always admired for her journaling is Rebecca Sower. I have both her books. She is amazing and really transformed how I thought about scrapbooking.
I usually get my title from the pictures...or what led up to the pictures. If I cannot think of one, I try to look through my stash and see what inspires me.
Thanks for the advice in all the comments. I am new to scrapbooking, just started this year with my 20 year old boy's baby photos. I am lucky I used to keep a diary and I journal from what I find in the entries around the time the photos were taken. I also write often in present tense, just as if it happened today.
Unfortunately, I hate writing so my sentences start subject-verb-predicate. Very boring. However, I cut out sayings from magazines or smart alec calendars and sometimes nothing else is needed. Cut out what speaks to you and you may not use it right then but it will come in handy, I'm sure.
Believe it or not, the magazine "Outdoors" has some really weird quotes that when put with a picture, it will make you laugh. For example, the quote says, "Mike enjoyed his Mozambique childhood". I can put it next to my friend Mike's picture and it will make me laugh since he's from Ohio. Something like that.
Am I the only one?
Yup
Journaling
