Scrapping "Tip"

I have no idea how many people check my blog, or "read" it but I wanted to change things up a little. :) Instead of only doing previews of new kits, or freebies, I also wanted to add a few little scrapping tips that I have learned along the way. The great thing about digital scrapping is that we have all started in the same boat! Somewhere along the way we decided we wanted to put our papers away, and try our hand at the computer. We didn't know where to start, what program to use, or even what we were doing! Somewhow, we ended up with a few layouts, and a lot of knowledge on the way!

One of my favorite things is when a friend of mine asks me "How do I get started in digital scrapbooking!" Why is this so fun for me? Because I am a teacher! I taught school before my son was born and I LOVE teaching people new things! So I am going to try to teach YOU a few of the tricks I have learned in the past year and a half of digital scrapbooking.

The first lesson I want to teach you is to JOURNAL!!

We all are really good about TAKING the pictures, and about getting them scrapped, otherwise we wouldn't be here in digi scrap world! However I think many times we forget about the writing part of a layout.

Journaling is my very favorite part of a layout. I think of journaling as the "Cherry on top" of each of my layouts. Journaling tells the story. It explains why you took the picture. What was going on that day? Why was this moment important enough to pull out your camera, save the picture, buy a kit to go with it and then scrap it?

Let me give you an example. We'll call this the "bad" example. :)

This is one of the very first pages I ever did:



It's a fairly cute page, but what's the story? Why did I spend so much time on this page, and why did I think it was important enough to include in my son's first year scrapbook?

When I started scrapping, I didn't journal at all, I only scrapped the picture. But I realized that I myself was starting to forget why I was taking these pictures. The only reason I remember what this picture is about, is because I happend to blog about it also. :) This was his very first time eating peaches, and he loved them. You don't know this by looking at the layout though.

So here is a better example:


Now maybe you don't want to journal that much! That's ok! You don't have to! You can still put two or three words on a page that still tell a "Story":



When I am doing a layout, I obviously know the story behind the picture and the reasons why I am scrapping it, but I have to remind myself that each of my scrapbooks has a reader. That reader doesn't know the answers to those questions, and I want them to. The most important reader is my son. Right now he is two, and chances are he isn't going to remember alot about his life right now. I want him to KNOW who is was, what life was like, and why I took the pictures I did. :)

So don't forget the cherry on top of your layout! Remember, your child may not remember this day or picture. Make sure you tell them the story! Every little boy and girl loves story books. Wouldn't it be great if their scrapbooks were story books too?

Have a wonderful weekend, and Happy Scrapping!