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Writing love letters is wonderful and uplifting, but not reflective
of all aspects of real life. Feel free to also
record the not-so-comfortable situations you
experience as a way to impart knowledge and
leave the ones you love with a lasting bit of
advice. In order to teach her children an
important life lesson, Laura chose to go on the
record about an experience that was painful to
her. By the end of the letter, she is no longer
talking about toes, but is teaching about the
value of self-esteem. The journaling is very
relatable, real, and quite touching.
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Design Notes:
I love to use my son’s school paper for journaling.
It's the perfect size for the printer and adds a touch
of whimsy to my page. I don't worry about if it lines
up or not either. I love the look of sewing on my pages,
but as I don't have a sewing machine I do what I can to
get the same look. I simply love the stiching piercers
by CutterBee. It takes moments to make the holes, and
it's as easy as connecting the dots with a pen. I also
use the holes for perfectly lined hand-stitching too
when I have more time to spend.
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Perfect Toes by Laura Craigie. Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics, Alphabet
Stickers: Doodlebug, Vinyl Alphabet:
American Crafts, Stickers: Jenni Bowlin
Studio, Making Memories, Rub-ons: Imaginisce,
Piercing Tool: CutterBee, Pen: Zig, Other:
vintage hotel receipt, loose leaf paper.
Journaling: I
want to tell you about something in my life
that I want you to avoid... When I
was in elementary school a friend told me
that my toes looked like "Alien pods". I
being young, naive, and silly believed
her. I held on to that comment and thought
it the truth for years. I let it limit
my life and was ashamed to wear sandals or
let people see my toes. The truth is my
toes do not look any different than your
average toe. I spent so long worrying
about what other people thought and not
nearly enough time thinking about the
good things. People will always find some
way to tear you down, and I want you
to never take that to heart. Please
remember that you are fearfully and
wonderfully made by God, who designed every
last bit of you right down to your
toes. You are perfection in his eyes, and
mine. Don't ever let anyone take
that away from you. Life is too short to
worry like that. I love you with all
my heart, xoxo, Mommy.
Along those same lines, not every letter
needs to convey happiness. Who hasn’t
written an angry letter to a spouse, company
or inconsiderate neighbor? By the end, the
author certainly feels better, having
released some of those negative feelings.
It took me a long time to create this layout
and journaling because I knew it would make
me face some painful emotions. By using the
formal greeting, “To Whom It May Concern”, I
set the tone immediately. Any reader can
tell how I am feeling. The experience was
cathartic and allowed me to put something in
writing that should have been there in the
first place.
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Design
notes:
I am an open-book-kinda-gal, so sharing this
layout is not a problem for me. If you are
hesitant about that, you can always keep a
separate, private album for your eyes only.
I purposefully kept the colors of this
layout subdued and masculine. I used black
and white photos of myself as a way to
convey my feelings. When journaling lengthy
subjects, I frequently use ledger paper or
lined paper on my layouts. It makes it easy
to keep the design clean.
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He Leaves Me by Stacey Michaud. Supplies: Paper: Kaiser Crafts, Luxe,
BasicGrey, Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper,
Alphabet,
Rub-ons: BasicGrey, Flowers: Prima, Chipboard,
Pearls: K & Company, Buttons,
Lace: Making Memories.
Journaling: To Whom It May Concern: His obituary reads,
“Bill is survived by two daughters and a
son.” Much to my dismay, I abruptly
realized that I was left off the list. It
should read as three daughters. It is as if
I don’t exist. I suppose I should be used
to this because I lived my life the
forgotten one. When I was finally
contacted, I learned that he had been in the
hospital for a while. If I had known, I
could have made a choice. We had made
peace, and I tried to understand. But,
obviously, that wasn’t thought of during
this. I wasn’t thought of. So I am here to
say that I do exist. I matter. I am
valuable. I won’t be forgotten!
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Sometimes, we need to put things on paper as concrete reminders to
ourselves. It opens up an inner dialogue and
holds us accountable for where we are in life.
If you are feeling saddened by something, seek
courage to put it into words. It may help you
to deal with it. Jenn’s letter to herself
allowed her to throw her fears and sadness into
the universe. She bravely stood in her own
truth. When Jenn looks back at this layout in a
year, she will remember where she came from. |
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Editor’s Notes: Jenn left lots of space open knowing that her
journaling would be lengthy. Jenn used
techniques like hand-cutting and stitching
to add special touches to this layout. I
appreciate the fact that she is using this
layout as a means to self-reflect.
Scrapbooking can provide a little creative
therapy.
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Lost & Found by Jennifer McGowan. Supplies: Paper: Jenni Bowlin Studio,
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper, Alphabet:
American Crafts, Ticket: Making Memories,
Die-cut: Jenni Bowlin Studio, Flower: Maya
Road, Leaf: Chatterbox, Other: embroidery
floss.
Journaling: As you turn 40 and look and look back on the
past, I know you feel a little lost. Pieces
of you have fallen away, drifted, and some
have completely disappeared. You feel sad
and unfocused, uncentered. But you also
have moments of pure joy-times when you are
whole and centered. You need to see the
beautiful woman you are-both inside and
out. You need to dig deep and be found
again-find those things that make you who
you are. You are 40 and fabulous-now
believe it!
Go on the
record with your next layout! Substitute
journaling with a letter to someone or
yourself. And watch carefully! You will
quickly hear your own voice and will see
that your words are permanent, telling and
long lasting!
Interested in sharing your journaling ideas
or layouts where the focus is on the
writing? Want to be a guest designer for
future Open Road columns? Contact
stacey@scrapstreet.com today!
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© ScrapStreet, 2009
All Rights Reserved
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