Hello Lovelies! Today I am sharing this awesome and fun layout in my 2013 Project Life album! I have used the Sahlin Studio Flashback digital collection. You can view my process video here.
Our stories for this week included a sick day for two kids, a fun trip to the Lego outlet, and of course playing with the new Lego kits they got. Simple, but such special memories!
As always, I began my layout with the title card. For this card I stamped the date and used alphabet stickers for the week number.
I have had some questions about how I am remembering what to journal for this album, since it is five years ago. Full disclosure: I have short term memory loss so I actually don’t remember what happens from day to day. I absolutely accept this about myself, and so I have chosen to make my journaling manageable for me.
Tip One: Use your photos as your jumping off point.
Photos have an amazing power and always serve as the starting point for Project Life layouts! So use your photos to help you remember stories about that week. You would be amazed at how many stories one photo can bring to your mind. Practice this at home: Take a random photo and write down the first five memories that one photo makes you think of.
Tip Two: Write about your feelings.
Remember how writing can be about Facts and Feelings? This is a great place to talk about the feelings those photos evoke for you. You can write about your feelings today, or your feelings back when it happened. You can write about how your feelings have changed, if that is the case.
Let me share details about the right hand side of the page with you.
Tip Three: Write about what you know and remember from that time.
For example, 2013 for us was a particularly busy year because I know we were doing sports and all four kids in elementary school and life was hectic. But the kids had new Lego sets this week and it inspired me to pause a moment and take photos of them playing together. That became the focus of my journaling on this layout.
Tip Four: Use product to help tell your story.
Always remember that scrapbooking products are fantastic ways to help us journal. The wooden heart veneer card with puffy heart stickers tells us how much I love these children, these photos, and this time in our lives. Stickers and stamps with word art can help us convey feelings about our layout and our photos, and they do the work for us. Titles and word strips help tell the stories we want to tell and help us share what we are trying to say.
Tip Five: Always remember that the sum = more than the parts.
All of the written words, plus the beautiful products and the layout all together adds up to tell the entire story about the week. Sometimes we put this expectation on ourselves that if it isn’t a long story, then maybe it’s not good enough. But when you look at your layout overall, you can see how everything all together adds up to tell the beautiful stories we want to tell, and to convey the feelings we want to convey.
I hope all of these tips are helpful to you! Remember to keep journaling simple and from the heart. I promise every word, no matter how short or lengthy, is important and amazing! See you again soon!
~Theresa
