Scrapbook Journaling: 5 Heartfelt Journaling Ideas You Can Use Right Now!

One of the special things about creating scrapbook pages rather than just putting a photo album together is including scrapbook journaling.

Incorporating journaling elements to your scrapbook page adds that extra layer of sentiment to your scrapbooking.

Over the past few years, scrapbook journaling ideas have truly expanded. Scrapbookers are spending just as much time on designing appealing journaling as they are spending on an entire layout. Want to learn more? The following Scrapbooking 101 tips on journaling on your album provide five scrapbook titles and journaling ideas.

Tip 1. Create a Scrapbook Journaling Top 10 or 5 List

For some layouts, scrapbook journaling or finding scrapbook quotes can be a challenge. There is so much you would like to say, but not a lot of room on your scrapbook page for the journaling. One way to address this is to create a list of the top five or ten things that are memorable as seen in the photos of the layout. Sometimes just by writing down a few keywords can spark a lot of happy memories.

A list is also a fun way to share emotions. Let's say you and your college-age daughter are putting together a layout of her first year living in the dormitory. Ask her to come up with five or ten short phrases to describe the experience, such as: studying all night, 2 AM coffee breaks, not an inch to spare (crowded room), late night talks and missing home. Just seeing a list of words along with photos is enough for anyone looking at the page to have a good idea of what your daughter's first year was like.

If you're planning on making a bridal shower scrapbook, you can ask your guests to have input by including advice cards in their invitation.

If you're putting together a vacation scrapbook page, you can actually make lists to be used throughout the album. Ask your family to help create the lists. Topics might include things such as: time at the airport, sharing hotel rooms, outdoor fun, or nature's beauty. We've got some more scrapbook journal ideas on scrapbook journaling here!

Tip 2. Use a special font for scrapbook journaling. Make it unique.

One of the most popular scrapbook journaling ideas is to use your computer for journaling. Decide what size journaling block you want to create and set your margins accordingly. As you type, change the font type, size, or color to emphasize certain words.

For a special heartfelt touch, type your journaling in black. Highlight or use a different color font to draw attention to certain words that when just those words are read, it will be a special phrase such as, "I love you more today than I could ever imagine."

You can also create special watermarks to use as a background for your journaling. Most microsoft office programs will let you save clip art as a photo and insert it as a watermark. If you're journaling about your child's birthday, then use confetti, a birthday cake or candles as the watermark.

Want more title ideas for your scrapbook pages? Click here and check out our book and start fancying up your titles!

Scrapbook Journaling : This Was Typed With A Typewriter!

Scrapbooking Journaling : This Journaling Was Typed Out With A Typewriter!

Tip 3. Begin with a quote. Be inspired!

Find a quote, Bible verse, a phrase from a song or some other special saying to start off your scrapbook journaling. You can even use a message sticker. As you journal, tie in your thoughts with the quote.

For example, recently while working on our generational family scrapbook album, I used the following quote as a starter for my journaling about my relationship with my dad. Included in the layout are three photos of my dad showing how proud he was of me.

"My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me." ~ Jim Valvano

Tip 4. Use dialogue rather than narrative. Recapture a conversation.

For this idea you need to have paper and pen handy. If a really cute or touching conversation takes place and you have photos that can document the conversation, write down to the best of your ability the conversation. Type or write one person's comments in one color and the other person's comments in a different color. As you add the journaling to your layout, adhere the first person's comments to the left and the other person's comments to the right of your journaling block.

Here's a conversation my friend recently added to a scrapbook of her great-niece:

"Mommy, here." (Photo of Bri handing her mom her stuffed bunny.)

"Hon, why are you giving me your bunny?"

"You said, 'Some bunny's in trouble and needs time out. So here's bunny.'"

(Photo of bunny sitting in the corner.) "Ummm thanks."

Tip 5. Encourage others to participate in the journaling. Sentimental at its best.

A scrapbook journaling idea that will surely inspire and tug the heart would include words from other people. A few ideas are:

♥ Baby shower – ask each person to give a parenting tip. Create simple die-cuts in the shape of baby bottles, rattles and teddy bears. Ask people to write in the center of the die-cut.

♥ Bridal shower – cut out white, pink and red 3 or 4 inch hearts. On each heart toward the top write "Love is...". As guests arrive, ask each person to finish the sentence.

♥ Retirement party – hand each guest a fun shaped journal block and ask them to write a memory, words of wisdom or any funny moment.

♥ Thinking of you – have a family member who's in the service and won't be home for awhile? Put together a scrapbook album filled with loving thoughts from family and friends.

The right type of scrapbook journaling ideas can really add a special touch to a layout. Although a picture may speak a thousand words, scrapbook journaling gives further meaning to the photos. With the above scrapbook journaling ideas, it's a way of sharing your heart through wirting with others.

Need help with how to lay out your pages? Check out our scrapbook sketches book.