Simple Studio: The write stuff...

So a bunch of my friends went to a "New Kids on the Block" reunion concert here in Utah a couple of weeks ago. The whole thing just made me laugh and now look how it has affected me with my title spin. :)

Today I want to share a few suggestions for simplifying your journaling. When I talk to my friends about scrapbooking the thing they say is the most intimidating is getting meaningful journaling down on their pages.

A few of my favorite journaling shortcuts are:

the notebook. Keep a notebook or small journal handy to jot funny comments or journaling ideas down in a hurry. I have been known to write my kids' sayings on a grocery receipt or a napkin and get it in their notebook later. When someone makes a memorable comment, try to write it down immediately. I love to record it just as it was said, so promptness is helpful.
quizzes. Beth mentioned this during her blog week and I couldn't agree more. If the idea of writing a lengthy piece of journaling stresses you out, get out a little quiz and ask the questions to whomever your page is about. Every time I've used quiz journaling, I've learned something new about the person I was interviewing.
cut & paste. Raise you hand if you have a blog! Cutting and pasting my blog entries has become my new favorite trick for getting easy journaling onto my scrapbook pages. If you wrote an entry in your blog all about that trip to the pumpkin patch, lucky you! All you need to do is copy the text from your blog entry, print it out, and create a scrapbook page about it.

Here's an example from my very own blog. I wrote this sentimental post the day my oldest son turned nine. To create my layout, I simply copied the journaling from my blog, pasted it into a text box in Word, printed it out, ordered prints of the corresponding photos, and created a simple scrapbook page. It was great to have those feelings expressed on my blog and even better to have them documented in Sam's album.