Groundhog Day Journaling

Ahhhh, journaling. Some scrapbookers love it, others (like myself) consider it a necessary evil. For the journaling-challenged, scrapbooking unusual events can be even more difficult. As I tackled this layout for Groundhog Day, I struggled because it's not a typical event like a birthday party or major holiday where there's lots of product and ideas to nudge you along. This article shares some tips for finding journaling inspiration for those unique journaling situations -- or anytime you're just in a journaling rut!

When faced with a journaling challenge, give one of these a try:

• For locations or attractions, check out the internet. You might find some descriptions that help you. For Groundhog Day, I went to www.Groundhog.org and found lots of information about the holiday and Punxsutawney Phil, the esteemed weather forecaster.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Check out poem websites. A Google search of "groundhog day poems" yielded lots of results. You might find something you like or be inspired to write your own poem!
  
  
• For the more personal side of journaling, look to the photos themselves. Does someone have a serious look on his or her face, or is the person being silly? Emotions can be a good springboard. Put yourself mentally back in that place and time, recalling the experience and what it meant to you and the others who were there.
  
  
• For pictures involving children, consider a Q&A session. Use who/what/where/when/why questions. You can use the questions and answers as your journaling, which will be very fun to look back on in the future. You could also ask the kids to do the journaling for you; including their hand-written accounts is a great way to not only preserve the memory of the event but of their stage of development at that point in time.
  
  
• Think outside the box - did someone post about the event on Facebook? Was there an email trail? You can print those off and use only the pieces you want.
• Keeping it simple is an option: list the main facts via a bullet point list. You can always use brads or small flowers as your bullet points in the layout.

If you dislike your own handwriting, use your computer and word processing software. You can easily edit and spell check before you print, use different colors, sizes and even fonts. Fonts are different typestyles you can use to make your journaling more fun. Fonts are plentiful on the internet and often free. You can find what you want by using an internet search engine and typing in your subject and then the word "font." For example, I used the search term, "groundhog font" (and there is one!).

Even if you don't like the look of journaling on your pages, remember that it's still important to have the story for future generations. Consider printing out the information on piece of paper and adhering it to the back of your layout. If nothing else, write the names and date on the back, as this will be helpful for future generations who are enjoying your scrapbooks.

If you get stuck, just add a journaling block and come back to it later. One easy way to make a lined journaling block is to punch out shapes from (acid-free) index cards.  The light lines make it easy to keep your lettering straight without showing up prominently on your layout.

Whatever you do, don't wait until you've forgotten the important details to start your journaling! Take a moment, preferably shortly after the occasion, to write down your thoughts. It will be much easier if you took notes about the times, dates and events. You might want to start a word processing file and keep your notes in there. That way if you want to print out what you wrote to use for journaling, it will be quick and easy to do.

Happy Journaling!

Supplies:

• Zutter Distrezz-it-All
• ColorBok Friendly Forest papers
• Cricut Mickey Font Cartridge
• Stickles
• Stampin' Up! punch (Index Card)