Journaling is an extremely important part of a scrapbook page. Without the journaling your scrapbook pages are more like a beatifully showcased photo. Journaling is one of the very reasons that scrapbooking was so appealing to me from the beginning. I would write all over the backs of my photos and then they would be stuck in a photo album and nobody could ever read the journaling!

For some scrapbook pages, journaling isn't really necessary. However, when there is a story behind a photo, journaling needs to be written. Otherwise, the memory will be lost as time passes. Why spend hours upon hours creating scrapbook pages if you are not going to tell the story of the photos?

Many people consider the journaling to be a tedious and painful part of the scrapbooking process. It doesn't have to be this way! Just write on a scrap sheet of paper what you would tell someone about the photos on that page. Then figure out how you want to get that written journaling onto your page.

There are so many ways of including your journaling on your layouts. You can write it in plain view on a page or tuck it away in a hidden place. You can write on your photos or around the edges of your pages. You can use little strips of paper or you can use a journaling box. The list of ways to include your journaling on your layouts goes on and on!

Here are some tips to help you get your words onto the layouts:
*Tell someone. Talk to someone about the memory, take notes!

*Answer Who, What, When, Where and Why.

*Write a letter as if you were talking to someone.

*Use your five senses. Think of the memory in the terms of touch, taste, smell, sight and sound.

*Meditate on your photos and write down any words that come to mind.

*Think of the memory as if it were a story and write it down.

Don't be afraid to use your own handwriting in your journaling! Most people hate their own handwriting. However, people in your family will cherish those scrawls on the layouts. Make sure to include your handwriting on lots of your layouts! Practice makes perfect. The more you write on your layouts,the better you penmanship will become!

Make sure your memories end up on those scrapbook pages! Journal your memories as you scrapbook the photos!