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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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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A face that says it all...

Sometimes a picture really can be worth a thousand words (and you didn't hear me say that!)

Coming back from a holiday in Cornwall I realised my son had rather tiresomely pulled faces in virtually all of the photos I took, in many cases spoiling a beautiful photo of his sister smiling attractively. So I took as my theme a quote (I wish I could remember where I found it because it's PERFECT!):

"Masquerading as a normal person day after day is exhausting"

Just look at those faces!

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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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

Persil's 33 things

Persil, the washing powder people, created their own blog-tag like list of things for kids to do before they are 10. They are things calculated to make sure their clothes will need washing! But that's not surprising. Still, it's a good list, and everyone of these would make a fabulous LO. Build them into your next 6 months (even if you're NOT a kid!) and don't forget the camera!

How many have you done?
How many have your kids done?
My tally is higher than my kids' - more freedom in my day...

33 things kids should do before they’re 10 – the official list:

1. Roll on your side down a grassy bank Y
2. Make a mud pie Y
3. Make your own modelling dough mixture Y
4. Collect frogspawn
5. Make perfume from flower petals Y
6. Grow cress on a windowsill Y
7. Make a papier mache mask Y
8. Build a sandcastle Y
9. Climb a tree Y
10. Make a den in the garden Y
11. Make a painting using your hands and feet
12. Organise your own teddy bears picnic Y
13. Have your face painted
14. Play with a friend in the sand Y
15. Make some bread Y
16. Make snow angels
17. Create a clay sculpture Y
18. Take part in a scavenger hunt Y
19. Camp out in the garden Y
20. Bake a cake Y
21. Feed a farm animal Y
22. Pick some strawberries Y
23. Play pooh sticks Y
24. Recognise five different bird species
25. Find some worms Y
26. Ride a bike through a muddy puddle Y
27. Make and fly a kite Y
28. Plant a tree Y
29. Build a nest out of grass and twigs Y
30. Find ten different leaves in the park Y
31. Grow vegetables Y
32. Make breakfast in bed for your parents Y
33. Make a mini assault course in your garden Y