Great Tips for Forgotten Scrapbook Journaling.

Planning your journaling text into your layout is the wisest way to go. However, there are many times where we just can not seem to find the right way to fit it in - or we do the page and forget about the journaling all together.

In this case...we are left to our SuperPowered Creative Vices to get it in somewhere.

So here are some great tips for adding journaling later:

1. Write / wrap your words around the edge of each photo, mat or main focal point. *Be sure to plan it out in pencil first - you don't want to run out of space or bunch anything up.
   
2. Print your journaling text onto vellum (works great on dark colored backgrounds) and lay it over something other than the main photo.
   
3. Or add Pockets or Envelopes (you can get transparent ones) and place the velum into it. This can go on the page or on the page protector.
   
4. Write or print onto transparency and insert that into a pocket on top of your page protector or as a complete overlay over a page element or the entire page (under the page protector).
5. Creating a ribbon style add on (where the hight is no higher than 1 - 1.5 centimeters - and the length spans the page) - made entirely of paper (with some sort of matting behind it) with your words spanning across. *Yes this leaves room for no more than 2 lines of text and can be quite limited but with most pages an extra ribbon works just fine - therefore your ribbon journaling will too. *You could even do this with a label maker.
6. Bind a Fold Over onto the page. (Ie: From the left or the right, overlap and adhere an appropriate width of paper to your page. Then journal and scrap that to match the original page. Now it is a fold over - but does not take away from your page. PLUS you can use the bottom for more journaling, more photo's or even a title that you may have forgotten.
7. Create a half circle (or oval) or any other appropriate shape - that comes to only 1/2 - 1 " high - and mount it over a less important space on your main photo. Then journal that. *HINT: If your photo is black and white or very bright - use a dark color with white pen - the effect is much better.

Now...if you are doing a digital layout...

1. Why not revise the background slightly and place your journaling onto it (as part of the background). Remembering that white on dark is best.
2. Why not place the words into one of your already existing page elements (ie: Do you have a large flower on the page? Could the words going into the petals? What about a photo frame or border - can you place your words in there?)
3. What about adding small blocks of journal text throughout the blank spaces on the page? Lay them out in rectangles, left to right and top to bottom of the page (making sure that each block can stand alone as text). If someone looks at the page long enough they will be able to piece that all together.

And have fun with it all.

The great thing about Scrapbooking is that no-one will ever know that you left something out or added something in. They will only ever see the final piece. And will be thrilled anyhow!

Happy Scrapping!

Some more Digital Scrapbook Layouts

What I especially like about these ones is that I asked both my son and my daughter to help me out by creating the images that inspired the pages.

For the "Basketball Diaries" page, my son drew the basketball that I have incorporated into the background paper and the main image center.

I scanned his drawing and turned it into a photoshop brush! That's it that's all.

Of course...I did go to town a bit on the "filters" side of things by texturizing the basketball with sandpaper pattern, and drop shadowing it. Oh and I used a brad I created for another set. And of course, I pasted my images "into" the open spaces of the main basketball.

Then, for the "You are My Sunshine" page - my daughter (5 years old) drew the sun that you see in the center. I turned that into a brush also.

I then created the doodle art flower background out of a flower embellishment I had made previously. AND, I created my own stitching brush (that you can see around the blue denim overlay across the top).

I am loving this. Its so rewarding and hightens our bonds greatly!



I highly recommend that you do this too if you enjoy working with Photo Editing Programs and creating your own digital scrapbooking elements.

Creating my own Digital Scrapbooking Elements.

Well, this month marks a very exciting shift for me in the Scrapbooking Arena.

I was getting ready to write my latest Scrapbooking Newsletter about "What is Digital Scrapbooking" when I got completely sidetracked.

I started thinking of some unique things I could SHARE in that email - and all of a sudden found myself playing around with Photo Shop.




Now, normally playing in PhotoShop is somewhat quick and easy for me. I have been using it for years for basic graphic arts - but this time, I started getting really creative with making my own background papers, titles and page elements.

Inspired by Manilla Folders - the Tabbed Matting behind the photo's came to life. Then it felt empty - so the pinkish brad came to life.





All of a sudden I created an entire library of new layouts - with my new background pages, my new title and many new page elements. Needless to say...some really cool stuff came of it.

And I had a LOT of fun.

I was once very dismayed by Digital Scrapbooking because I didn't have the freedom I was used to with the Digital Scrapbooking Software(s) I tried. Now...I am ALL OVER IT!



So...in short...I am on a mission to expand my horizons and I can't wait to share the new stuff I come up with!!!

*Please tell me what you think.

Regards, Cijaye.