Where's Your Pen?

I was working on a layout yesterday afternoon. The layout, "Papa's Patch", was complete except for a 5"x4" rectangle I had left for journaling. So I cropped a 5"x4" piece of co-ordinating cardstock and began to write. There wasn't much room, so I stuck to the highlights of why my grandfather's raspberry patch was so important to me.

Four sentences. Yep. That's it.

Wrong! I spent my childhood in that raspberry patch, following my grandpa, my hero, around. I listened to him tell stories for hours and hours. The raspberry patch impacted my life in incredible ways.

And here I sat, confining my journaling, my feelings, my memories, to less than 20 square inches of handwritten text.

Why? Because it fit on the page. That's where I "left room" for journaling.

I cut two more pieces of that cardstock and I wrote. On both sides. And then I cut three more. And wrote again. I wrote until I was finished. I wrote until I told the whole story of that raspberry patch. And then I bound the pieces together into a little book that I will tuck into a pocket on that page.

That is what scrapbooking is about. Capturing the memories. Don't just "leave room" for your journaling. Your page is about your pictures and your stories. So tell them. Long or short, just tell them.

If you want to see incredible stories of journaling, check out DawnDawn's blog link on this site. She has an incredible gift for journaling, and she will inspire you to express yourself fearlessly.

And after that, pick up your pen. Journal. Relive your memories. Share your stories. Write as much as you can and want to. Because that's why we scrap.