Journaling Recipes

While a picture may be worth a thousand words, there are some things that a photo just can’t say. That’s why journaling is such an important part of scrapbooking! Yet most scrappers will agree: Journaling is HARD. “I’m not a writer!” most people say. Guess what? You don’t have to be.

Writing simply, clearly and honestly is the most important part of journaling—yet many of us feel our journaling must be creative as well. “I can’t think of what to say or how to say it!” said one scrapper. Never fear: Below we’ve listed three of our favorite fail-proof journaling recipes, perfect for providing a little creative boost.

LeNae recorded facts about her hometown in this layout, using coordinating patterned papers from Jacie’s Vintage Papers and embellishing with Earth Tones Ribbons. Click here for larger image.

Journaling Recipe #1: Facts

Recording facts is probably one of the easiest ways to journal. Here, LeNae looked up facts about her hometown on the internet, computer journaling them onto cardstock. Combined with the photos, this journaling sets a wonderful stage for a historical snapshot of the town. Even better, LeNae supplemented her factual journaling with a few sentences about why she loves this town and wants to raise her daughter there.

Paris used a color blocked background paper from Kyla’s Tone-on-Tone Color Block Papers for this layout, accenting her photos with circular clips from Antique & Pewter Mini Clips. Click here for larger image.

Journaling Recipe #2: Definitions

You’ve seen pre-printed definitions, right? They’re great—but why not create your own personalized version, as Paris did here? And definitions aren’t limited to people. Try making your own definitions for places, events or occasions.

Shauna used papers from Words, Letters & Textured Papers and Tape-Style ABC Stickers. Click here for larger image.

Journaling Recipe #3: Similarities & Differences

Shauna’s layout features two lists of words plus two definitions. The page is simple and streamlined, yet contains a lot of descriptive journaling. Shauna computer journaled her lists, then used paper-covered slide mounts to frame photos.

Want more journaling recipes? Then check out the idea book Scrapbook Recipes for Journaling. In it you'll find 51 different recipes, 159 album pages and tons of journaling tips and techniques.