| Scrapbooking is a fun pastime, but don't lose sight of | | | | photograph, but of course this depends on the page |
| the main goal any scrapbooker is trying to achieve: to | | | | layout. Many pre-made layouts will already include a |
| produce a quality product that can be shown to friends | | | | space for text. Use this element of the design to |
| and family and eventually passed on to future | | | | record the "story" behind the pictures. Pretend you are |
| generations to provide a record of your life. Therefore, | | | | looking at your photographs with a friend--what would |
| one of the most important steps to creating any page | | | | you say as he or she flipped through the pictures? All |
| is the journaling. Unfortunately, this is also one of the | | | | of this information is readily forgotten, so it is important |
| most forgotten steps. Journaling is important because it | | | | to jot down a few words on a piece of notebook |
| is a written record of what is happening in the pictures | | | | paper and save it with your photographs if you think |
| for people who weren't there or don't know you. | | | | that you won't get the chance to create your pages |
| I like to begin by creating a title for each page. This can | | | | right away. Always include a date if relevant, because |
| be something simple and straightforward, such as | | | | as time goes on, the years run together. |
| "Mom and Dad's 50th Anniversary" or it can be | | | | Occasionally you may forget your camera at an |
| creative, heartwarming, or funny. Think of your page | | | | important event, lose your pictures, or not be allowed |
| as a story and then name it. Use big bold letters for | | | | to use a camera in the space. Whatever the case |
| the title to draw attention to it, but make sure it does | | | | may be, if you don't have photographs of an important |
| not overwhelm the most important elements of the | | | | event in your life, you can still create a beautiful |
| page--the pictures. | | | | scrapbook page to document the day. These pages |
| Each picture on your page should have a few words | | | | will be mostly journaling. Use descriptive words to take |
| as a caption. Name the people and/or places | | | | the place of the photographs. |
| photographed; although it may seem obvious to you | | | | If you have a fear of hand-writing, don't let that stop |
| right now, you may not be able to remember names | | | | your from journaling. Letter stickers or cutouts provide |
| when you look at your album 20 years from now. | | | | fun options for titles. For smaller letters, you may be |
| Others who do not know all of your friends will also | | | | able to trade skills with someone who had trouble with |
| benefit from these labels. Captions should be small | | | | something that you can do, such as cropping. I tend to |
| elements on the page, and occasionally two similar | | | | believe that personal handwriting, even if it is not |
| pictures will not each need a caption. | | | | perfect, give the page character. A final option is to |
| Work a block of text into your page design. I like to | | | | use your computer to print out the journaling elements |
| keep this text around the same size as the smallest | | | | on your page. |