DT Special Assignment Day!

Thursday means another DT Special Assignment.  Today's is brought to you by Jenn.

We've had some WONDERFUL tutorials from our DT this term, but I wanted to switch things up a little. So, for your reading pleasure I've written an article about my take on the importance of journalling!

Beyond the Words and Pictures

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A journal is typically defined as a daily record of occurences, experiences and observations which may, or may not be specific group, society or profession. Journalling could therefore be defined as the action of recording the occurence, experience or observation.

In the scrapbooking world, most people journal their work for those exact reasons. They want to commemorate and/or capture the specifics of the events, experiences and observations of the memories they are preserving. Usually journalling on a scrapbook page will identify dates, people in the pictures and what the event was in the picture; these details are important and wonderful for preservation of these details. For some pages, just these basic details are all that are needed or all that a scrapbooker wants to include.

However, creativity more often than not, flows from the artist's canvas of paper, ribbon and embellishments, into the words and/or way the words are presented in the journalling. Some people create poems to serve as their journal, others write a story or narrative of the details they want to capture and some just use creative words to vividly describe the memory they have captured.

Not only is the style of writing part of the creativity, but the presentation of the journalling can be just as adventurous and creative. You may choose a journalling block, pre-printed or self stamped, and write all the details by hand. Exploring different font in hand writing can also add character to the journalling. Some people, particularily those with a very "neat and tidy" style, prefer to print it on a computer and add it to the page in a more formal way. Making the journalling more whimsical and less structured can add fun and vibrancy to story as well as the piece of art itself.

Although the words in journalling capture the details of what you want to remember, which is very important, your journalling is also be beyond the words you have written. The words which you use to describe the event, occurence and experience, coupled with the creativity of the journalling presentation show who you are and what's important to you. Both are essentials to good journalling and good scrapbooking in general.

Scrapbooking is most definitely a great way to preserve your memories, but it also a very effective way to express yourself as a person. As a scrapbooker you want to achieve both the preservation and the expression. If these weren't important, you wouldn't be putting all the time and effort that you do into the pages you create. For these reasons, always remember that the journalling is just as important as the pictures and paper you choose for your masterpiece.

So take that few moments to include some journalling no matter how short or long you choose to make it. Have fun with it, be creative and remember to make the words your canvas too!