Paperclipping: The Video Podcast | Design Your Story

Look! This is my first attempt at using some of that wonderful felt Nat sent me! So much fun.

Journaling:
The Story
During one of Blake’s baseball practices an older boy, about 7-years-old, challenged you to a race. You agreed and off you went.

Of course, we couldn’t expect your little legs to keep up with him and he hit the finish-line with the declaration, “I won!” long before you did.

True Confessions
Here I was, your protective mother, irritated that this 7-year-old boy was gloating about beating you, my 3-year-old.

But then you reached the finish-line, still at a full run and with a huge smile on your face. You began yelling, “I won! I won! I won! I won!..!” Confidence.

The Juicy Part
That boy tried his best to convince you (and the rest of us!) that he beat you. But he could not overcome your boisterous “I won!” celebrations. He was frustrated. And I have never stopped smiling about it.

My Commentary:
This is the layout I promised to show you; the one where I experimented with lots of hand-written journaling without using lined paper. I read about Wilna’s method, tried it and got not-so-great results, went back to look at Wilna’s method and figured out one reason for my problem. Then I investigated her layouts again and found another reason.

This is the final version after re-doing my journaling.

What I learned:
1) Do like Wilna said and use a finer tip pen (0.1-0.5) or the writing will compete with the photo and designs.
2) Stretch the writing out so that the right margin is just as straight and full as the left margin. In other words, fill the entire line with writing, even if it means breaking up words with hyphens. As you are writing, watch for the end of the line and space your words appropriately to make sure you write all the way to the end as much as possible.

Pretty soon I want to try another Wilna journaling technique. She doesn’t just make her journaling the texture of her layout. She also uses it as part of the design. Follow the link to see her most recent layout on her blog where her journaling create the lines of a circle around her photo. Just gorgeous.

Products:
Cardstock: Bazzill
Patterned paper: My Mind’s Eye
Letter stickers: Making Memories, Create paper, Creative Memories
Rub-on’s: 7 Gypsies, My Mind’s Eye, Danelle Johnson for Art Warehouse
Pen: American Crafts
Brads: Making Memories
Felt, Crochet Thread: own stash

I created this layout a few months ago. No, it isn’t the layout from yesterday that I said needs fixing. I got an idea for how I might be able to improve that so I’ll get back to you when it’s done. The subject matter relates, though. It has to do with handwriting directly on the layout. Lots of handwriting.

Last year’s Hall of Fame winner, Wilna, influenced this layout. One of the main features of Wilna’s personal style is the use of hand-written journaling as part of the layout design. Her work has always enthralled me. I love writing. I am a journaler. I always feel like there is something missing when I create a page without a story to tell. Wilna has a real gift for integrating her journaling into the design of the page. I want to develop my own technique of doing that in a way that fits my own style of scrapbooking.

The above page about Blake was a safe first-attempt at that. The lined paper made it easy. The subject matter was appropriate because it is all about my son’s gift for words. I hardly did any embellishing so the page is simple.

Learning to do it with a more elements and design on the page and without the aid of the lined paper is another matter. So it really intrigued me when Wilna shared her journaling philosophy and techniques on her blog recently.

“Many times the type becomes texture and more part of the design than the “journaling” as such….The easiest for me is to write a letter. I always write letters while I journal. When I worked on my HOF entries, I did the journaling before hand and then wrote it on my pages….I would draw pencil lines every time because sometimes the journaling is at an angle and I love it when everything is evenly spaced. Oh, I make spelling errors and grammar boo-boos but I don’t care. One day my girls are going to read it and I promise you they are not going to laugh at my errors, but rather cry at my sentiment!

I write with a Steadtler pigment permanent pen any one of them 0.1 – 0.5 (depending of how I want it to look).

The thing about journaling is this: When your mom dies and 10 years later you discover something that she wrote… you will cry when you see her handwriting.”

While my second attempt wasn’t stellar (I promise to share it with you soon) I am determined figure out how to integrate more handwritten journaling into my own style. Personal style is all about knowing yourself and translating that visually. Lots of journaling is totally me. And I want to do it by hand.