What happened to journaling?

I notice ALOT of layouts do not have journaling. Journaling is a cornerstone of scrapbooking and tells the story. I'm just wondering what everyone thinks about this?

I agree about the journaling for MY scrapbooks. It's rare that I can do a page without it.
However, there are some people who view their scrapbooking as an art form or just a hobby to make pretty things so they don't like the journaling.
I don't think one is better than the other, in fact some of the people whose work I love consistently don't have journaling on their pages.
I guess it all boils down to why you scrapbook. I do it so that when I get old, I'll still have my memories.
When I do pages for other people, I'm diligent about putting in a journaling block so that they can add their memories to the pictures. To me, that's what really 'makes' the scrapbook.

I think it is entirely dependent on my mood when I'm making the page. When I make pages for others I've given up on leaving journaling space because they don't journal. My mom doesn't like to journal so I try to put a date and place on the back of the page. Also I never scrap in any sort of chronological order so their albums are never in order. For my ancestry pages I do a lot of journaling on the back so no one has to redo the research I have done.

Journaling is a cornerstone of your scrapbooking, and sometimes of mine, but not everyone's. Different people have different reasons for their scrapbooking. I usually journal. Sometimes I'll put just the date and event, without sentences or any further details, and while I don't think of that as journaling, I think most people do. And sometimes I just don't do any journaling, like on my recipe pages. There's plenty of writing on them, in the recipe itself, but I only think of it as actual journaling if I've written about the source of the recipe, or memories of making or eating it, or why we sought it out or why we like it so much.

I haven't noticed a decline in people journaling. I think there have always been those who do and those who don't. I almost always journal, and 99% of the time in my own handwriting. Every once in a while I have a layout that needs no journaling besides title/date, but that's rare.

i guess i'm one of those who doesn't journal all that much. i do date my pages on the back though.
If i'm doing a huge project i'll journal till it hurts because there's so much information but otherwise ...and it's strange because i love to write.

Journaling is a waste of my time.

It clutters my pages with my horrible handwriting, OR I have to find room for it that doesn't mess up my design and then write and print it. Blech.

Heehee!

But really though, I hate it.

Other people do it well and I love reading the stories. But for me, it's a no.

For me it really depends on the lo or project. If I journal I do it on the back of my lo. I don't like my handwriting and like Manda k said it clutters my pages. I always date my pages with month and year. If I know the day I add that. I don't think every picture needs journaling. I am working on Easter right now. The pictures clearly show that the kids are hunting Easter eggs. What more is there to tell.
If I am working on a project with a special story behind it then I might add that. If I was working on an ancestry album or trip album I would probably include more journaling.

hi, I do a lot of hidden journaling. That way I can write more and it's more private. Most of the time I'll do a layout, snap a pic and share it here and then do the hidden journaling. See the ribbon at the top of this layout? That is attached to a piece of cardstock that slides out and has 'the whole story' of that day on it.

Tea My Darling? By Sunnydi

• andrea m Said:

...a lot. My adult kids love the stories I shared thru journaling about them/the event... funny things they did or said, stories about relatives that were with us, then. Those are the things I forget thru the many years but being it's journaled; History in writing.

• Sunnydi Said:

I agree for some people. But not everyone has those things. Like I said if it is an important memory or story I share it. Just not on everything.

Journaling isn't for everyone or every LO, in my opinion. I do very little journaling, in most cases I do none. But I don't have kids, my scrapbooks are either about our dogs or places we've gone. I have enough info either in the title or elsewhere to know the date or occasion, on a few LOs there is a little journaling if it was someplace or sometime really special. Mostly my scrapbooks are more about the art of the page rather than telling a story.

I don't visibly journal very often. A lot of the time, it's just some pictures and there really isn't a story to them that's really important. I either went someplace for the purpose of taking pictures or I spontaneously made a family member (or pet) let me take a pic of them because that's the only way I'll get it and I don't have many. There was no moment to record or special event and I won't forget my feelings for them, so I don't write anything. Other times, I just don't have room or I will do hidden journaling.

The main reason I started scrapping was to have a (hopefully) more attractive way of saving my pictures. Since I started, my interest in photography has grown and I have pictures that are just for the sake of photography that I want included in my books.

I do appreciate the journaling that others do and sometimes wish I had a story to tell too. It just doesn't always work out that way.

I hate, hate, hate journaling. Most of the time I don't even like putting a title on pages. I agree with Andrea M's comment about "The pictures clearly show that the kids are hunting Easter eggs. What more is there to tell." I recently did a LO of picking apples at my grandparent's farm... I felt like a doofus putting a title on it, because all I could come up with was "apple picking"... duh, the pictures already explain it!

Some people are wonderful storytellers... I am not one of them!

For me, it is solely dependant on the type of page I am doing. It seems that the more artsy it is, the less likely I am to have journaling. But even that isn't always true. It just depends on whether I feel like there is something to say. Frequently, I don't even have a title on my page. I do, however, try to sneak somewhere on the page what age my little boy was when I took the picture. I'm trying to keep a journal now to help a bit with my SB journaling. But, I can take or leave it. To me, the scrapbook is mostly about the photographs, not the journaling. But that could be because my other hobby is photography!

• *jesse* Said:

You made me lol... "duh"...

I too find using titles not always necessary; especially if there is a little journaling or descriptive pics of what is happening.

The important thing is we scrap; and love doing it.

I have a hard time with journaling. Usually names and dates make it onto my pages but that's about it. I like a good descriptive title though. And sometimes I'll make a note on the back of the page for future reference. I just don't enjoy journaling and don't like my handwriting either.

I think about it this way. I'm not going to be around forever. I would want future generations, Lizzie's and Jory's children, to know what we were all about. To do that I journal in my scrapbooks. I don't go into detail, and if it's personal or sensitive I'll hide it and put a pull tag on it. I will also hide the journalling if I am doing pages 8x8 or smaller because there simply isn't room. I always make room for the dates, names, ages, and if possible, places on the front of the page somewhere.

If I were scrapbooking to leave a legacy for future generations, I would probably feel differently about journaling. But I have no children, have had no children and am not going to have children. In all likelihood, I will outlive my furbaby, but he can't turn the pages on his own anyway, lol!

Hey Donna...you sure have been asking some great questions lately. I am a journaler. I write the comlplete story. There are pages now that I started heritage where I do not know much or any story so when I journal those pagess..it is small.

The first 5 years I scrapped (before I started posting layouts here) I did a lot of journaling on my layouts or on the backs of my layouts. I was more into storytelling then. Now I just like to decorate my pages..sometimes I'll journal when I have a story to tell...and like I mentioned some of my journaling is on the back ..or hidden.

I appreciate everyone's input.

I agree that if my goal was to have them passed down for future generations and I am scrapping for that reason, journaling would be good. But, I am too near-sighted for that.

If I have something to say, then I journal. IT usually depends on what I am scrapping. Layouts of vacations and trips takes some explanation whereas dinner for 2 at a local restaurant (yes, I scrap that!) doesn't need alot said. Ballgames, gardening, church activities - not too much to say. Holidays usually require some explaining and lots of pages made. If I don't have a big story then I have a date and names. I use my printer for much of my info(journal), especially if it needs to fit a certain size.

I always try to include the who, the when and the where. My pages might not remain with all the others in the album that tell the rest of the story. The why, what and how only gets added if necessary to the page. If there is a story attached then I include that too. If there are just facts or things that are only interesting to me, they get hidden behind a photo or a mat.

I agree, I've always noticed that some pages don't have a title or journalling. That's OK for the artist if the page is part of an album where the other information is explained elsewhere. But I feel frustrated if I wonder what the story is behind the photos and there is no explanation. To me that's like those passive-aggressive Facebook statuses that leave you wondering what's going on. My problem entirely, because nobody owes an explanation, but I feel why put it out there if you're not going to explain?

Hmmmmm, maybe that's why I never even think to put any of my LOs in my gallery, I figure nobody else would know the subjects or occasion, so why would they want to look at them. Lol!

We would love to see your work. We appreciate your artistic efforts.

I love journaling. I typically journal at least a paragraph on every layout. I usually journal around 4 paragraphs.

I too love journalling, in fact I usually run out of room for all that I want to say LOL! the way I look at it is, sure, the pictures of me rappelling into the cenote in Mexico might be self-explanatory enough to only need a date and location, but without the extra journalling, who's going to know that I was absolutely terrified to do it because of my fear of falling from high places, or the rush I felt when I got to the bottom and looked back up at the top and realized I had just kicked my fear's a**? To me, there is always morevto a picture than just what you see.
Just my two cents...

I love to journal. For me personally, I feel like the pictures only tell half the story--they don't always share the funny moment behind the silly picture. When I went to a museum once, I loved the paintings and while the pictures I took were fun and I was able to "prove" I had seen some very famous paintings, I wanted to explain the impression these masterpieces left me with. I needed to journal the memories and thoughts I had while wandering those galleries. I do a mixture of type and handwritten journaling.

That being said, I also do pages that have very little or no journaling--usually because I have nothing to say, or it's more of an artistic page. But those pages don't happen often.

• bonprof Said:

In your opinion...........

When we start scrapping we're frequently told/taught that titles and journaling are so important, a cornerstone etc etc but I hated doing it, I felt it spoiled the look of my page and I found it tremendously liberating to let go of that and realise that actually my pages were my creative outlet and I didn't 'have to' do anything I didn't want to do.

I hated contrived titles too, it spoiled the enjoyment for me, trying to come up with something witty or succinct to 'finish' my page so I don't any more. Problem solved.

So in essence I'm not scrapping for the same reason as you are. I'm not particularly telling a story, I'm making 'art' with my photos, for me

I really don't care for journaling just as a rule or have-to-have. But I do MEGA journaling for some of my Ancestry work. I certainly don't feel guilty about not doing on a page that I want to be beautiful.

If I do put just a word or two to express something, fine but I agree, I'm not forcing it or not doing the obvious just because it's taught as a scrapbooking rule.....there are no rules that I go by! That's why Artistic Freedom is an expression!

I barely journal on my scrapbook pages BUT put a lot of details of the photo on my blog. Sometimes there is more to the story than I care to write on the page. It messes with my "style". I appreciate LO's with and without journaling.

Now that I'm thinking about it, like Crimsonmama just said, I journaled WAY more in the heritage scrapbook I created for my parents. I had historical photos with identifications, and stories bout my grandparents, etc. Guess it depends upon the purpose. My scrapbook is really for me. If something particularly funny happened, I may journal.

I felt the same way.Until I realized the scrapbooks were something personal my family has of me after I am gone.I try to write to the person my page is about.I also use my handwriting too.Although it has gone down quite a bit I think it connects you to your family and makes it more personal.

Yeah, when I do journal, I use my handwriting too. But just because Im too lazy to deal with the computer! LOL.

Interesting topic and responses. I really sounds like it depends on the reasons or purpose for the album or why you scrap.

I do it for my kidsM. y family has a history of leaving notes by the pictures in albums of what the kids said or a cute story. I love that walk back in time and its something I want my kids to have as well.

That being said I have another album of my photography and I don't feel the need to journal. If I was doing this more as an art I wouldn't feel the need to journal.

Getting back to what Donna originally posted, I would add I would like to see manufacturer design teams use those cute little journaling tags for journaling ideas in traditional layouts (not project life types). I do get stuck on creative ways to show journaling. While I am on the topic I would love for them to show how to incorporate more layers into multi picture layouts.

I have learned so much from everyone's thoughts and responses. For me every page is a heritage page of sorts. My scrapbooking is a legacy. I am fortunate to have nice writing, and a gift for story telling. I appreciate that this goes for me, but may not apply to everyone.