Scrapbooking Your Memories - Creative Journaling Ideas to Enhance Your Layout

Scrapbooking is quickly becoming one of the hottest trends in the crafting. Scrapbooking is a rewarding and fun way to express creativity as well as preserve memories that will last a lifetime. With a few supplies and a little imagination, you can relive the moments that matter every time you turn the page. Storytelling or journaling brings the pages to life. Most scrappers have writer's block from time to time. Try these techniques for a fresh new look in your layouts.

Interview Someone
Interviewing is a great tool for gathering information. Ask questions relevant to the pictures and elements on the page. Be sure to record dates, places, influential people. Was your child in a school play? Delight him with the star treatment! Ask why he likes acting. Find out if he plans to do any other plays in the future. Discuss his favorite movie. Layout the interview in a format that mimics magazine articles. Add a photo of him in costume and a program of the play, and you have a priceless memory to share with his children.

Chart a Time Line
Time lines provide a way to incorporate a lot of information in a visually appealing manner. Showing a time line emphasizes a period of time rather than one event. Look for ways to compare and contrast details to show the concept of time changing and time staying the same. Are you working on a heritage layout? Timelines are great for vintage pages. Create a visual map through time that spans several generations. Compare the education levels of the women in your family. Could your great-grandmother read? Did your grandmother attend high school? Did your mother go to college? Add a few photos and you have a living portrayal of how women's lives have improved over time. Your own granddaughters will appreciate the women's rights movement in a whole new light!

Get The Men Involved
Ask your husband for help. While you may not get your man to help with the cropping, you can get him involved in other ways. Pick something he is interested in and have him help you write it out. Is your daughter playing in the big game? Ask Dad to help you keep track of the stats and write out a stat sheet. Did she have a big play in the game? Highlight it with an article describing the play action using an announcer's voice. Discuss the victory celebration. Include a photo of the big win. Did your son build a treehouse? Ask Dad to help you write out the floor plan. Include building materials and funny incidents in the building process. Getting the men involved and choosing subjects that interest them will help them appreciate the scrapbooks as much as everyone else. Be forwarned- Dad's favorite pages will be the ones he helped create.

Implement The MySpace Profiles
Teens love MySpace! Create your own similation of the quizzes they adore and they will willingly do your journaling for you- and in their own handwriting, which adds a personal touch! Surf the web, and look at some of the MySpace quizzes. They typically revolve around opinions, which will be wonderful for your grandchildren to view. Make a list of "what's your favorite . . ." or "would you . . ." Have your teen fill it out, add a current photo and you have an instant page outlining the person they are becoming and the things they love.

Let The Little Ones Help
Is there anything so adorable as what comes out of toddler's mouths? As adults, we couldn't think of the stuff they say. Capture the imaginations of your young children. Choose a simple task, and pick one they will find fun. Bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Ask your little one how he thinks they should be made. Let the children give the directions, and record their answers. Do you need to stir 18 eggs in the batter? Do you put the cookies in the oven for 22 seconds? While your little one enjoys the cookies, write out his directions on a recipe card. If possible, let him sign his name and call it his cookie recipe. Take a picture of yourselves enjoying his yummy treats.

Create A Top Ten List
A top ten list is a good way to include lots of different details that might otherwise take up a large portion of your layout. This is an especially useful technique if you have supporting photographs you really want to use, as is often the case with family vacations. For example, did you take a trip to Disney World? Create a top ten list of Disney attractions. Use your favorite photographs to support your choices. Gather the family and vote on number one. Are you having differences of opinions? Make it a two page layout. Make each family member a small journaling box. Have everyone write the reasons they picked their favorite number one. Attach the boxes in a collage fashion on the adjoining page, and announce the winner in the middle. Having a circle of different perspectives around the favorite is a fun way to see each person's view.

Tug At Heartstrings
Some details are never ignored on a page. Place, time, date, event . . .Try downplaying the facts and focus on capturing the emotion. Use journaling to help the page recall the feelings of an event. Scrapbooking a wedding? Emphasize the vows made by the newlyweds. Record the words promised between the couple. Working on a baby shower layout? Ask each person to share advice on caring for a newborn. Record Mommy-to-be's reaction to different kinds of advice. Does she stare in horror at the solutions to a colicky baby? Is she nervous? Or excited? Use conversations to recall meaningful moments.

Pet Peeves-Exposed At Last
Four legged family members deserve a voice too. Try telling the story from your pet's perspective. Does your daughter play dress up with your yellow lab? What is your poor pup thinking as she drapes scarves around his back? Does he get annoyed when she puts the fluffy hat back on his head for the tenth time? A pup might think, "Alright, I am dressed for the tea party! Bring on the cookies already!" Your adult dog is probably thinking, "Time for the kiddies to go to bed"
You know your pet's personality. Indulge in a little puppy love, and give your pet a voice. Your children will treasure these photos in adulthood.

Think Outside The Box- The Journaling Box, That Is.
Look up a word in the dictionary. Write the definition of the word that envokes the emotion. List simple terms describing the activity with bullets. Use mini-stickers to replace words in your text, like a toddler's book. Use a heart in place of the word love, and a smiley face for the word happy. Find stickers that are closely associated with the word. Journaling is not be bound by any rules. Don't box yourself into a journaling corner. While handwritten, personal stories are the way most scrappers journal, a number of resources are available at your local craft store. Browsing the aisles often leads to inspiration. Use epoxy stickers as captions for photographs. Find rub-on transfers that share a mood. Scrapbooking is a fun way to preserve memories and the journaling on each page will bring the fun to life for years to come. Happy Scrapping!