Project Preserve the Memories: Journalling

Today we are continuing Kristens Project Preserve the Memories by getting into the storytelling and 'pretty' portion of the project: journalling & embellishing. Read on....

Step 8 – Journalling

In all honesty, journaling is the key to this whole project! The stories behind the photos are as precious as the photos themselves. If you are fortunate enough to have the stories/dates/locations/names recorded (or still have someone who can recall them for you) take the time to note them down. Voice record them. Anything!!

If you only have names, then some quick research might reveal a few extra details. A search of Birth, Death & Marriage records online gave me names, dates and locations for my Great- Great- Grandmother’s birth, marriage, children and death.  

Early photos have wonderful stories attached and I'm grateful my dad is still able to recall them for me, to preserve along with the photos.

Journalling onto cards as part of your layout is wonderful, but sometimes space or sensitive and private stories may require a little more creative approach. Some details of life are worth recording, but not necessarily displaying (so I've popped them in a LIFE pocket here). Pull-out journal cards can add a bit of fun too!

If you don’t have the information you need on hand, leave spaces (or pocket tags) where you think you may be able to add journalling later. The beauty of Project Life cards is that they look great left blank (as fillers) but could be journalled on later if a new story reveals itself. I have also intentionally left pockets empty on most pages (with a lovely filler card of course) in case any new photos materialise.

Handwriting... yes, handwriting. This is a source of discontent for many scrapbookers!

Although you may not like your own handwriting, I encourage you to use it!! Here’s an example... I asked my Dad to journal for this layout – the story of his dad being a butcher during the WW2 years. My dad’s handwriting is far from beautiful, but I love it. I love it because he wrote it. And I love the extra ‘touch’ it adds to the memory, the story and the layout.

I'm pretty sure that in years to come, those who read my scrapbooks (and yours) will feel the same... about OUR writing. So go ahead – put aside your own opinion of your handwriting and how it looks, and USE IT... because those people you scrapbook for will LOVE IT!!

Step 9 – Embellishing

The best thing about ProjectLife© Core Kits is that they are beautiful just as they are. And there are a variety of other brands now being released with hundreds of ranges to suit any purpose. Simply by using these, your ‘layouts’ will look complete. There’s no need to embellish further... unless you want to.

I am a scrapbooker at heart, and I love those pretty touches and depth that embellishments add, so I have included a sprinkling of them throughout this album. Nothing sharp and nothing too bulky though, and always paying attention to what photograph is on the other side and facing page (because they will press together when the album is closed).

Simple embellishments like paper or fabric flowers, buttons, die cuts and washi tape are perfect!

Our next post will be the conclusion of our series! Stay tuned!

Kristen xx

Project Preserve The Memories: The Fun Stuff

This week we return to our journey of Preserving The Memories! Kristen is back to help you with the next steps in your journey - now we are getting into the hands on scrapping!

So far we've put in A LOT of hours of preparation - removing photos from unsafe storage and albums, sorting, scanning and hunting down other keepsakes that belong with the photos. So now it’s time to get started on the FUN STUFF!

STEP 6 – Select your Tools Of The Trade!

The sense of relief I felt when I realised the difference that ProjectLife© was going to make to this project was enormous! I had put this off for so long, not sure of where to start and daunted by the enormity of ‘scrapbooking’ all of these photos... fitting dozens of teeny tiny photos onto a 12x12 page... papers... embellishments... Suddenly it was so straightforward, quick and easy!

After sorting your photos you will have a good idea of what sizes you are working with. And once you know what you’re working with you can choose pages that will suit well, and the corresponding size ring-binder album. The beauty of ring-binder albums (like the ones available from Dizzy Izzy) is that you can use any combination of pages in them and move them around as the need arises.

Because I had a lot of smaller vintage 2x3 photos I was thrilled to discover the We R Memory Keepers 8.5x11 pages purpose designed for this size! And the matching 8.5x11 full-size and divided pages complement perfectly for larger photos or ‘traditional’ layouts as well.

Quick Tip - Whatever size you go with, keep a variety of pocket pages handy, and draw up and print a ‘cheat sheet’ of the different configurations you have, for quick reference when you need to choose the right page for your photos. This will save you time as you work later on ;)

Then go ahead and choose a ProjectLife© Core Kit to use. These kits come with everything you will need to complete a whole album, with over 600 cards in a variety of coordinating designs. There is something to suit ALL styles and colour preferences, including a Heritage Kit, but I went with Cinnamon because I loved the colour palette and style of the cards. I also matched up some plain cardstock that I had in my stash, and set this aside for easy access when creating full page layouts. Packs of 12x12 paper to match the Project Life kits are also available for this purpose.

Step 7 – Start on the FUN STUFF!

Once you have the basic supplies you will need, start to work your photos into pages. The 3x4 Project Life cards are perfect for trimming down for smaller pockets and backing tiny photos so they fill the pocket and don’t slide around.

Because I'm working with the original photos (some people prefer to work with reprints from scans) I choose not to trim or crop any of these at all. But if working with reprints you have full freedom to print and crop to any size you need. (You can always print another copy if something goes horribly wrong). 

You can adhere your photos in many ways (double-sided tape, dots, washi tape) but I have opted for photo corners (again, because I’m working with the original photos) so they can be removed easily if needs be.

Coming up next... Journalling!