Creating a System to get scrapbook albums completed – Step 4: TELL

Posted by admin on November 1, 2010

Creating a System to get scrapbook albums completed – Step 4: Tell

The process is: TRIM, TOSS, TAPE, TELL.

Step 4: Tell

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Please don’t let that be your excuse for not telling your story!

The final step in this process is TELL. A lot of people get hung up here. Here are the excuses I hear:

“I hate my handwriting.” Get over it. How often do you get a handwritten note in today’s society? We email and text, we chat on facebook, we send online greeting cards. Anything handwritten (no matter how bad you think your writing is) will be meaningful to your family.

“I don’t know what to say.” Relax – it doesn’t have to be an award winning novel.
Try these easy journaling methods:
     • Bullet points
     • Who, what, when, where, why
     • Short captions under pictures
     • One intro paragraph/journaling box for a two page spread

“I don’t remember why I took that picture.” I confess, I’ve found that I have a lot more to tell when I’m working on current albums and not near as much when I’m working with older pictures. When I don’t remember the story behind the picture I usually end up with just short captions under the picture even if it just states the obvious, or maybe even just names and dates or titles.

Speaking of titles, I do like to use ABC stickers for title/page headings. I often add those during the TAPE step so that once I get to TELL all I need is my album and pens. (And a cup of coffee and a quiet house in a perfect world.)

Once you reach this step it really is easy to pull out your album and pens and sit down to journal, no mess, just tell your stories!