When I started scrapbooking in 2006 the goal for my projects was to have all my favorite photos in a nice album.  But scrapbooking is more than just photos, it is also about the journaling.  My first few projects have very little writing in them because I hated trying to come up with some cute saying or having to write anything longer than a title!  In fact, my wedding album is still waiting to have all those blanks filled in and it has been six years!

The importance of journaling to me has now changed… I have kids!  I want to remember more than just an image, I want to relive the day the picture was taken and laugh at the stories all over again.  That is what writing is all about and it is an essential component to any scrapbooking project.  For example, I took this picture of Casey last week in the backyard:

It looks like a little boy standing on a picnic table holding his helmet.  This photo wouldn’t stand out in an ordinary album and the story behind it is certainly not obvious.  Here is the scrapbook page telling the full story:

Digital elements from Sahlin Studio and Paislee Press.

Now when I see this photo I laugh and remember how he used his bubble container as a champagne bottle and pretended to spray champagne everywhere.  These are the moments and stories to remember, not just the picture!

Just like anything, journaling takes practice and I have learned not to dread it so much.  I always think back to those blank areas in my wedding album waiting for me to write something, but the moment has passed and those thoughts and feelings are not as strong anymore.  So I will leave those spots empty as a reminder to write while I am in the moment and while the details are still fresh in my memory.

Leah