Journaling is one of the most important parts of scrapbooking.  It is what transforms your photo album into a storybook.  You won't be able to remember everything about a photo 25 years from now when you're sharing it with a child or grandchild, but if you take the time to journal, you definitely will.

Journaling Tips

How and What To Journal

1. Every page should include the basics--"who, what, when, and where."  You might also want to include "why" and "how."  You may choose to journal for every picture or use a journal block which can describe all the pictures on a page in a single sentence or paragraph.
2. Some pictures you will want to try "photojournaling."  This type of journaling is more like a story, written in paragraph form.  Use this type of journaling when the basics just aren't enough to capture what is going on in the pictures.
3. Occasionally, especially in children's albums, you may want to include a special letter written to a child (or someone else).  This also can be appropriate for tribute albums, anniversary albums, or wedding albums.  This is a great way to capture how you feel about a person or event at a particular time in your life.
4. "All about me" journaling is also a great type of journaling to include in an album at regular intervals (for instance, once a year in a child's album).  You can include favorite foods, toys and activities.  These are fun to compare from year to year to see how  a child has changed.  You might want to include a page like this in a baby album to describe what each of the parents were like at the time the child is born.
5. Don't forget about journaling the "obvious."  What might be "obvious" to you , might not be for those people who will be enjoying your albums.  For example, it might be a tradition that you always have Mexican food at your in-laws; on Christmas Eve, or always have Polish sausage, sauer kraut and dumplings for your Christmas dinner.  You know that, but wouldn't it be interesting to share with other people who might be reading your albums?
6. Not everything that happens is "picture perfect."  There are many memorable moments in our lives, and some of those moments aren't always good.  But most often, our albums only show pictures of the good times, or the "picture perfect" moments.  One of my most memorable Christmas' was when my mother's stove quit working on Christmas Eve and we had to try to make Christmas dinner for the entire family without a stove (our neighbors helped out a lot!)  None of our pictures captured it, but journaling about it can help to keep that "not-so-picture-perfect" event alive in our memories.

Click on one of the subjects below for some great journaling ideas:

Journaling in Baby Albums

Journaling in Wedding Albums

Journaling in Christmas Albums