Free daily journalling prompts

I have collected all my journalling prompts and am offering them starting today as a free ongoing journalling class or daily journalling prompts to use as you like.

We'll be having themes, and the first week's is MUSIC.

The prompts are suitable for scrapbooking, blogging or art journalling.

Come along and join me! And if you'd like to be on the design team (occasional contributions not every day!), let me know.

Daily Journalling Prompts Blog

The new blog will have short helpful prompts.

I'll continue to add longer journalling inspiration and
techniques (and scrapping organisation tips) to this blog at least twice a week.

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?

Write it on Wednesday - Seasonal Inspiration

Seasonal inspiration

Last weekend the weather was glorious, cold but bright, sunny and dry. I took advantage by wrapping up warm and heading off on a trip to see some famous snowdrops. It really made me think - so I guess the way to journal is simply to write about how I feel...

The children were off on weekend trips of their own and it was one of those increasingly frequent times when my husband and I were on our own and able to do "grown-up" things. Although it is odd to do things without the children, it is comforting to realise that we still have things to say to one another and can enjoy ourselves as a couple.

The snowdrops are more than a sign of growth in the spring of a new year, they are a sign of our own new style of life. One in which we must let the youngsters poke their heads up out of the family soil into the light of their own lives. As parents we must feed and nurture their roots while allowing the buds to open into lovely flowers. Then, as parents, we become free to stroll quietly a while, view and admire the beautiful blossoms.

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Write it on Wednesday - What’s in a name?

What’s in a name?

Juliet: in Romeo and Juliet:

Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is not hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.

A US couple in 2001 who tried to find a corporate sponsor for their baby son failed to find a bidder. Jason Black and Frances Schroeder used eBay and Yahoo! to auction the name of their third child. They were aiming for at least $500,000 so they could name their little boy Cisco, Microsoft, Intel, or whatever. But time ran out. Under New York State law, the deadline to put a first name on the boy's birth certificate came and went without a substantial offer. So instead, his parents decided to simply call him - Zane.

If you think about it, there are probably many stories about names. And not just people’s names, but names of houses, boats, pets…

What’s the story behind that name? What happened when someone got the name wrong? What name do you like best?

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Write it on Wednesday - Printed quotes

I don't often use printed quotations - I find they're rather expensive when I can find quotations really easily on the Web and print them onto whatever paper matches my layout - but there's no doubt that the latter method takes longer. In this case, I had a lovely picture of my children which I wanted to scrap for their grandmother's album, and I turned to the printed quotes that came in QVC pack a few months ago. I knew the pack had a strong theme of family and selected three different elements, a transparent quotation sticker, a title and a couple of stickers. The quote:

"Life's aspirations come in the guise of children"

...summed up my feelings so that I didn't have to write my own journalling. A good quote can do that.

Often a good quotation can be the start of a layout, or it may start you off on your own journalling (I'm sure I've said this before!). Or, like this, it can be just exactly what you need, on its own.
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Write it on Wednesday - How do I love thee?

How do I love thee?

Let me count the ways...
Christina Rossetti

Think of someone one you love: set down the reasons why you love them, the things about them that you love. Count the ways... here are some prompts to get you started.

I love the way you...
I love it when you...
My favourite part of your face is...
Your smile makes me ...
I love your ...
You're a great husband because ...
I'm so glad you ...

(Posted early because I'm busy this week)
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Write it on Wednesday - Why do you like this photo?

It's not often I scrap the same photo twice, but I did this one. Last thing on Christmas Day I decided to create an 8x8 album for my mother-in-law who was staying with us. I managed to finish it by the time she left on the 29th. OK, I printed out 6 copies of recent 12x12 layouts, but I also needed 14 new layouts.

I thought the subjects of the photo looked cute, so the first time I scrapped it I used a pun and called it "Ferret touching" - very touching - OK, OK, a bad pun!


This time I looked at the photo and thought again about why I liked it. Because my son has a right soppy look on his face! And I still thought they BOTH look cute!


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Write it on Wednesday - Superstitions

ow was she to know that a black cat would cross her path, just as she walked under a ladder? She tripped and the mirror she was carrying crashed to the ground. If only she hadn’t stood on the cracks in the pavement on Friday the 13th. As she nailed her upturned horse shoe to the wall, she hoped that - touch wood (the door jamb in this case) - this and her new brass elephants with trunks stretching upwards would help neutralise the seven years' bad luck she had coming...

Today why not write about a superstition that fascinates you?

For example: never leave shoes on a kitchen table.

She pulled out the grey hair, mumbling that she didn't believe in silly superstitions about five grey hairs growing in its place. So when three grew back the very next day it didn't worry her because the number was wrong...

Tell a tale about a superstition in the past that you remember or were told about.

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Write it on Wednesday: Journalling babies

No, that doesn't mean get the babies to do the journalling!

Even if you haven't had babies of your own, you will have had babies in your family, and with luck you'll even have some pictures of yourself when an infant. Babies are very photogenic and photos generally make satisfying pages that everyone enjoys looking at.

So: how to scrap babies?

The cute things they say and do

If you have a baby or young child now - I know it's difficult when you're so busy - but for heaven's sake write down those cute things they say or the funny things they do. You WILL forget them later! I wish I'd been a scrapbooker when my babies were young. Luckily I was keeping a journal, so putting the text together with the photos isn't too hard.

And she toddled for two miles along the beach before we found her...

And write down too those apocryphal stories that you have been told all your life about things you did. There's a story about me when I was about two - the family had got lost on a trip out to the contry and we stopped the car to get out and see where we were. Apparently I got fed up and said "I'll find the way" and set off along the road determinedly, all by myself. They were laughing too much to stop me at first, and then they helpfully got the camera out.

Baby books

If you have a friend or relative about to give birth, a baby book is a lovely gift - not one of those that records weight and height and so on, although that might be part of it, but a themed scrapbook readymade for the mother to slot in the pics and the journalling as she goes along. A big space for hidden journalling may be best, so mum can write as much or as little as she chooses, but doesn't run out of space.

Possible themes for baby books:

• My first year: 12 pages, a pic for each month and plenty of journalling space (a great theme to remind mum)

• Nursery rhyme theme

• Animals theme

• Alphabet theme

• Colours theme: every page a different colour

• Definitions theme: baby, love, cute, motherhood, family, growing up etc.

• Play theme: teddies, bricks, dolls etc.

You could even make a book for the baby itself, with spaces for pictures and names of all the relatives - especially welcome if family are far away and the little one won't see relatives often enough to recognise them otherwise.

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Definitions

Definitions were a popular trend in scrapbooking not so long ago. But don't discount them just because they aren't quite as "trendy" as they were!

Use definitions to expand and build on the words that you come up with for your titles or subtitles. A quick way to extend your journalling!

Pick up your dictionary for a classic definition in traditional style... write it or type it in a pretty font in your wordprocessor.

There also online dictionaries and thesauruses:

• Dictionary.com

• Merriam-Webster (American)
  

Here are some to use:

Adore (a·dore) 1. to worship or honour as a deity or as divine 2. to regard with loving admiration and devotion 3. to be extremely fond of

Admire ( ad·mire ) 1. to marvel at 2. be pleased by 3. respect

Abundance ( a·bun·dance ) 1. a more than plentiful quantity of something 2. large amount

Adventure (ad-ven-ture) 1. a daring, hazardous undertaking 2. an unusual, exciting, often suspenseful experience.

Accomplish (ac·com·plish ) 1. to succeed in doing or achieving something 2. reach point in time: to arrive at the end of a period of time

Beautiful ( byoot-e-ful) 1. pleasingly attractive physical appearance 2. lovely; fine to behold 3. delicate and favourable

Believe ( be·lieve ) 1. to accept that something is true or real 2. to have faith in 3. to put one’s trust in 4. to accept as fact

Bliss (blis) 1. great or perfect happiness 2. a state of spiritual joy

Bright (brit) 1. shining with light 2. brilliant in colour or sound; vivid 3. lively and cheerful 4. favourable; hopeful 5. radiant with happiness, smiling faces, moments 6. radiating or reflection light 7. of high saturation or brilliance 8. clever or intelligent

Celebrate (sel-e-brat) 1. perform as a ritual 2. to commemorate with festivity 3. to do honour 4. have a good time

Cherub (cher*eb) 1. a type of angel characterized as a chubby, rose-cheeked child with wings 2. a child with a sweet, innocent face

Chemistry (chem·is·try) 1. study of transformation of matter: a branch of science dealing with the structure, composition, properties, and reactive characteristics of substances, especially at the atomic and molecular levels.

Cherish (cher-ish) 1. to hold dear 2. to treasure, adore, value and love 3. to keep deeply in mind

If you can - add to the definition with a thoughtful extra that is more feeling than definition:

moth·er (mu-th-er) n. 1. A woman who loves, nourishes, protects and nurtures a child. 2. A creative source; an origin. 3. Respected for her wisdom and age. 4. Maternal love and tenderness. 5. A son’s first and best friend. ♥ moth·er-in-law n. 1. The mother of your spouse. 2. A second mother or friend. ♥ nan·a (nä’nä) n. 1. Endearing form of grandmother 2. The mother of your father or mother. 3. Sweet smile, warm hugs, bedtime stories, treats and kindness, heart of gold. 4. A person with time for their grandchildren. ♥

moth*er: \'me-thar\ n 1. compassionate supporter, giver of warm hugs 2. a woman generous of herself and her love 3. a dedicated listener 4. a woman who gives selfless tender affection without expectation 5. inspiring, dependable; all caring

fa*ther \'fath-ar\ n 1. protector and guardian 2. source of strength and support 3. guide through life; honest advisor 4. person always ready to help 5. person whose tolerance and pride are unlimited 6. ready taxi-driver

Journalling boxes

Journalling boxes are quite popular. But you don't always need a bought sticker or a stamp. Try printing one of these (created by mysticclare) on matching cardstock, paper or patterned paper. Then fill it in with your own handwriting :)

The boxes can be resized to suit your space, and you can also import them into a word processor or drawing program and fill them in on the computer, THEN print them out.

I hope you enjoy using them! Comment and link to your layout if you do use them, I'd love to see what you do with them.

To save these to your own computer (PC), rightclick on one and select "Save Image As".

Write it on Wednesday - 7 random facts

Nickibee tagged me last Wednesday - and no I'm not going to play by the obvious rules, because this is a scrapping blog - and not only that, it's a journalling blog.

So let's use this as a journalling challenge!

There was a great Cathy Zielske Big Picture class with a template for a LO about 5 random facts. So this is a bit of a scraplift of that template, which you can find examples of all over the Web, e.g.,

5 random facts
(UKScrappers Gallery)

This time I didn't even write facts about myself - I interviewed my son. He came up with a few phrases, which I then fleshed out with him. I "tag" you to have a go! Scraplift this, by all means :)


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Write it on Wednesday: The unexpected

"Our brightest blazes of gladness are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks." - Samuel Johnson

The unexpected - it happens all the time - whether it's an unexpected compliment from one's loved one or an amusing comment from a child. Or it could be an unexpetced juxtaposition of two objects that make for a funny result - and makes you want to get your camera out.

Of course, the unexpected can often be sad, tragic or depressing. And sometimes you don't really feel like writing about or scrapping those kinds of things. Yet they are often some of the most meaningful times of our lives.

So let's have one of each. Today, write about one unexpected good thing, and one unexpected bad thing. Just give yourself ten minutes and a blank piece of paper and start:

"I didn't expect..."

Worry about the photograph later - this exercise is about the journalling!

Here's mine

"I didn't expect to be working in a city 70 miles from home - I left my last job because I couldn't cope with the commute - it was 30 miles away. And now I have chosen this! Luckily it IS all my choice, and I only do it once a week and not every day. It is on my terms, and that makes all the difference. So sitting in a traffic jam on the motorway at 7.15 am is unexpected but I can cope - I hope!"

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Write it on Wednesday: Writing about Home

What does the word "home" mean to you?

Home might be a place we have not visited for a long time, or perhaps never at all. For some of us, it's just part of a personal history we create for ourselves, but for others there really is somewhere like that described by Robert Frost:

"Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in."

But even though its meaning is strongly rooted in a physical place which we can visit, in these days of frequent re-location the real power of Home is often defined more in our heads than by buildings, countries or landscapes. Of the several meanings given in the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, perhaps the most germane for the global village is a definition from as far back as 1548:

"A place, region or state to which one properly belongs, in which one’s
affections centre, or where one finds rest, refuge, or satisfaction."

So, Home can frequently be found more in memory than in geography or more in imagination than in reality, and a song, a flower, a word, or a mouthful of food can be all it takes to bring to life a whole theatre of recollection.

What photographs do you have that say "home" to you? Alternatively - start with the journalling.

When journalling to create a layout ask the questions:

• What does the word ‘home’ mean to you?
• Describe the home of your childhood.
• Describe the scent, taste or feel of home.
• Which object most evokes home for you?
• Where do you feel you ‘properly belong’ now?

Home mosaic

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Using similes as titles

The simile is a way to create a picture in the reader's mind. It can add an extra dimension to a piece of writing, a poem - or a scrapbook layout. It asks us to picture one thing as being similar to another; it does this by using the word 'like', 'as' or 'than'.

Let's look at some examples:

• Dance like an angel/princess
• Shine brightly like the star you are!
• You sparkle like a diamond
• Your words are like eyes burning deep in my soul
• 2 peas in a pod
• A face without freckles is like a sky without stars
• Life is like a Bubble Bath... a few splashes, but generally good, clean fun!
• Spring came that year like magic, and like music, and like song. -- Thomas Wolfe
• Our love is like a song that never ends

Some similies are cliché - something we have heard so often that it has lost its original power to surprise or amuse us, such as: Cool as a cucumber; like chalk and cheese; softer than silk. The same is true of many scrapbook titles. But if you haven't used them yet - they may be new to you!

• Sweet like chocolate
• Sleeping like a baby
• Blooming like a garden/weeds
• Swing like a monkey

Can you come up with some more creative similes to be titles for your layouts?
Jot down the name, the event, or a feeling that the photo immediately evokes, then "is like" and see where you go...

Jenny is like a butterfly, always flitting, never settling for long...

Hopping crazy as a cricket

As changeable as the British weather...

Your smile is like a thousand suns

Never be afraid to see...

I created this layout on the day that my mother-in-law was in hospital having a cataract operation.

She has led a quiet and sheltered life in a small town in the north of England, and is one of the nicest and sweetest people I've ever met. Whenever she comes out for a trip or a holiday with us, it seems that we do something that she has never done before, whether it's having a milkshake in McDonald's or seeing a peacock for the first time.

I loved this photograph in which she was looking out to sea from the lantern room at the top of the Souter Lighthouse. There are so many things I would like to show her. On the day I scrapped it my feelings were quite strong because we needed the operation to be a success. So all the feelings were summed up in one longer-than-usual title...

Never be afraid to see...

Write it on Wednesday - inspiring people

This is a BOM LO really - and if you don't know the jargon, that's a "Book of Me" layout!

I have for some time been a deep admirer of Aung San Su Kyi, the imprisoned opposition leader in Burma. Her courage in the face of dreadful repression is truly inspirational, and she risks death just by existing. Looking into her story there are personal tragedies and sacrifices that she has made for the sake of her country and her people. And her struggle, and that of the Burmese people, is far from over.

Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of a famous martyred general, was married to a British academic in 1972 and had two sons, Alexander, born in 1972 and Kim, born in 1977. She spent all too brief a time enjoying family life in England before, in 1988, she heard that her mother had suffered a stroke and did not have long to live. Knowing what was likely to happen, she returned to Burma where she joined the pro-democracy movement and was put under house arrest in 1989. She left her husband, Michael Aris, a Tibetan scholar and two children (then aged 11 and 16) behind in England. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991: her sons accepted the Prize on her behalf.

In 1999 her husband was dying of prostate cancer. He was refused permission to visit her in Burma and Suu Kyi dared not leave Burma for fear she would not be allowed back. They had met only 5 times since her return to Burma. They never saw each other again. Michael died in March 1999. She is now a grandmother, but rarely sees her family.

There are several possible LOs in this:

People who inspire me

If you were separated from your family what would you want them to know?

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Journalling the acrostic way...

Everyone has subjects that feature in layouts again and again. With me it's my children - it might be your pet or a particular place you have lots of photos of... When all you can think of is to put their name on the LO - think again!

Firstly, don't forget the where, when and who.

And here's an idea - use an acrostic of their name to describe them or the situation.

Adventurous
Intelligent
Demanding -
A typical teen!
Not a quiet moment...

If you have a difficult letter in there (if you have a Max or a Zak!), it can be easier to try a mesostic version - that means the letter can be anywhere in the line.

 A mAture
fun-Loving
   sEnsible
   eXceptional young lady

Write it on Wednesday: Starting with one little word...

Here's a way to create a whole LO based on a word.

When you start to write or journal about a subject, one way to start is to do a bit of research…

I’m still trying to bear in mind my word of the year TRANQUILLITY

First I looked in a dictionary:

1. an untroubled state; free from disturbances
2. a state of peace and quiet
3. a disposition free from stress or emotion

Then I looked in a thesaurus:

tranquil; calmness; composure, restful, serenity, repose

Then I did a Google search and noted some of the pages that seemed most relevant.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/tranquillity.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tranquility
http://www.cpre.org.uk/campaigns/landscape/tranquillity

The BBC page had a nice picture of bluebells – which reminded me of the picture I took at the crop in April outside the villa where there were beautiful bluebells… and that made me think of other tranquil places where I had taken pictures. And whenever I look at those pictures I feel more tranquil.

My final journalling reads:

An untroubled state
free from disturbances
A state of peace and quiet
Repose
A disposition free from stress or emotion
Serenity, calm, composure, equanimity
Ataraxia - peace of mind
A state I crave...

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