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I'm new to scrapbooking so have some questions. My first exposure to scrapbooks was Creative Memories, but I wasn't crazy about the bland pages. I love the SU samples here & in the catalog! Besides the extras on the pages, one thing I"ve noticed is that on CM samples I've seen there is almost always hand journaling. W/ SU & other samples there is more computer generated stuff, and way less journaling. Are there times when some of you do lots of journaling, or is it minimal usually? Let the picture speak for itself, sort of?
Then, do you always mat pictures? I like that look, but some of my pictures look so "cookie cutterish" when I make mats. Maybe I'm making mats too big. I"m not sure if I can even describe this, but do you like mats or unmatted, or how do you know what to do????
i'll think of more questions, but those are the ones at the top of the list!
I think it all depends on what you like and what you are trying to accomplish with the page. Sometimes, I have a lot of journaling - who, what, when, where, .... - other times, I just put a title, or names. Sometimes, I put all of the information, but I hide it in a hidden feature on the page.
I love to mat pictures, but I don't mat them all. I like to add a lot of extra embellishments that help bring out the meaning or beauty in the picture.
I'm not sure I helped you much. This is just the way I do it.
Journaling: I like to journal in the scrapbook pages that I keep just for my family. Anything that I post or show in my demonstrations, I do very little journaling on. I guess I don't want to "spill my guts" in examples, and I really HATE my handwriting. If you are scrapping just for fun, I would do whatever is fun. If you are scrapping for future generations, then journaling will definitely add a lot.
I always mat my photos. It helps to pull the color from the photo into the colors of the page. And it makes the photos stand out so nice. I like to draw the eye to the photos, not to my embellishments. If I were you, I'd try things matted, unmatted, think mats, thin mats, double mats...all different ways until you find what you like.
There is no right or wrong--just make it something that appeals to you and it will be perfect!
Any journaling that I do is done on my computer using my SU fonts. My handwriting is not great and it is much easier by computer. I usually save the journaling until I have most of the pages done and that way I have an idea as to how much journaling I want.
I almost always use a mat, not much color showing just enough to add interest.
I'm also new to scrapbooking and I also started with CM, but am now really starting to experiment. As Chris Fuhs also said, I also think that it really comes down to what you want to do, not what is the "right" way to scrapbook. I'm not an expert by any means, but that seems to be part of the beauty of scrapbooking... it's all up to the individual vs. a set way of doing things. I'm still finding my style, but I find that I am a journaler and a matter. I like to mat the photos, especially when I have some kind of patterned paper in the layout, in order to bring out the pics. And I like to write (I think that my writing is ok enough). My kids love having me read out loud the journaling when we look through the books (they are 4 and almost 2). Plus I like that it helps ME remember too ! But I always stamp out the titles now that I have found SU :lol:
Try out all the different options - that's what I have/am still doing. I have some pages where everything is matted, and some with only 1 pic matted. But I have to admit that I have a least a little bit of journaling on all be pages. But that's just me HTH
My journaling is mixed between a little and a lot using my handwriting and the computer. I like to use the computer when I want to journal on vellum or want it to look like it's part of the background. I like to copy info from brochures which always turns out to be a lot of journaling.
I like mats especially when I want to highlight a photo. I'm kinda picky about balancing my pages so I try to keep the matting to all, none or an even amount of both (told ya... I'm picky).
I like having my matts at 1/8" on all sides. Sometimes I'll have one side much larger to add some journaling or a stamped border.
But, like everyone else has said... it's up to you and what you like.
It is nice to hand journal so that your children and so on will see your writing and I think it adds a more personal look to your books. I don't always hand write on every page in my books. I love to computer generate stories and stuff too. I think it is up to you but, make sure your write a little here and there to make it more personal.
I do not mat every photo. Sometimes I only mat 1 photo on the page. It depends on my layout and focus. Play around with it and do what you like best. I think if you are doing 6x6 or 8.5x11 you may only want to mat one photo or place only 1 photo on your page. It is easier to mat a couple photos without it looking too cluttered on a 12x12 page.
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