Sources for journalling prompts

Papa Bear

From scrapbook.com: tips

Another from scrapbook.com

From Bella Online (US)

From Scrap your stories also from Angie Pedersen

Journal the hurts, scrapbook the highs from Joanna Campbell Slan on Angie Pedersen's Blog of me

30 "All About Me" Scrapbook topics from Scrapjazz

I'd recommend Shimelle's blog – she’s the journalling queen! – but if you click on the link for Free Projects: Write it Down all you get is one post from January 31^st and no way to move on to the rest…. No doubt she will fix the link in due course!

Journalling about people: try a kenning

What's a kenning then?

Here's Wikipedia's definition which is rather heavy on the ancient Scandinavian roots.

Kennings come from Old English and Norse poetry, and they describe something without using its actual name, e.g. 'mouse catcher ' was a cat, a sword was a 'skull-splitter' and a river a 'swan road'.

So a kenning "names something without using its name". They can be like riddle poems - what am I describing?

Kids learn them in school these days: here are lots of kennings from youngsters, on the children's writing website Kids on the Net.


You probably remember a Coke advert which did something similar. The advantage is you can do it to name anything, and it can be different each time. When you don't want to just put the same old word or name on a LO - why not embellish with a kenning instead?

Using up paper scraps: #1

I was having a bit of a sort out, seeing what I had in my paper stash, and I realised that I had a lot of scraps. I LOVE patterned papers, but the scrapbooking style I prefer at the moment is the pared-down lots-of-white-space style. And that doesn't use up a lot of paper! Yet I find it difficult to throw anything away - let's face it, I might find a use for that pretty paper even if it is only 3 inches square. After all, I make cards as well. And a cardmaker can find a use for any paper pieces that are just bigger than my smallest punch... Especially if I make small paper dolls with a selection of tiny clothes...

I have scraps left over from kits and classes from up to three years ago, scraps from paper ranges that I loved, and ranges that I didn't. I even pick up scraps from other people at crops - how could they throw away nearly half a sheet of 12 x 12? So I've been looking in earnest at ways to use up paper scraps.

Here are some that I've found recently:

• Cut out letters for titles - either using a cutting machine, or by using repositionable glue to stick them to computer paper, run them through your printer to print an outline letter on the back and cut out.

• Make paper beads: Cut strips of paper and roll them tightly around a knitting needle or similar. Stick down the ends. Leave to dry, then carefully slide off the knitting needle. Make the beads more substantial by coating the beads with a layer of PVA glue or diamond accents or similar. Stick on a LO or thread them for jewellery!

• Create a 'quilt' page: cut 4 or 5 photos into 3" squares and make up to 9 squares with patterned paper cut into squares the same size.
• Create serendipity squares with scraps of paper and use the squares on a LO.

• Use the scraps to create a mat for your photograph, as in Karen's Conga class from the UKS birthday cybercrop (unfortunately not currently available, but here is my version)

• Use up scraps in Artist at Work, a UKS class from Maria

• Use strips of papers behind a photo as a stripy mat

• Radiate strips of papers like a sun from a central pic
• Create pockets
• Punch, especially squares and circles and create a pattern on cardstock as a background to the LO
• Cover chipboard shapes
• Cut flowers out of papers and use as embellishments

I'm working on a few more ideas and will upload them in a later post :)

Clines - get deeper into your journalling

When you're journalling, especially if you're using just one or two words, it’s important to find the word that accurately describes what you're trying to express. Common words such as "happy", "handsome", "cute", can be over-used: and once you've been scrapbooking longer than a year or so you start to be desperate for more! Here's a technique to explore a few different words to use.

For example: there are many words for degrees of heat in addition to the word ‘hot’. A cline is a graduated list of words to give shades of meaning, for example:

• Whitehot
• Red-hot
• Steaming
• Boiling
• Simmering
• Hot
• Warm
• Tepid
• Luke-warm
• Blood warm
• Body temperature
• Cool
• Chilly
• Cold
• Freezing
• Frozen.

Once you have your list of words, you can pick one that's perhaps more meaningful than the obvious!

Colour palettes

Do you ever need to know what colours to use to match a particular photo?

Here is a useful online tool. Now if only they would identify the Bazzill shade and paper range that's most appropriate - or perhaps that would take all the art - and fun - out of scrapbooking!

http://www.degraeve.com/color-palette/