To me, meaningful scrapbook pages are those that:
1) combine everyday life and event photos with journaling and images that combine to create a message that goes beyond the obvious; and
2) tell truths that matter.
I've written about this HERE
So how, specifically, do you accomplish these goals? Here's one way, and I'll be sharing others in future posts.
USE CONCRETE & SIGNIFICANT DETAILS
Meaning doesn’t have to be a grand epiphany. In “Puzzling” I scrapbooked an activity that’s a regular part of my life: doing number and logic puzzles. I began my journaling by listing the physical items --books, pencils, erasers-- and then moved on to my behavior and preferences. The result is a page that shows I’m a little obsessive and unmoderated about this -- without ever using the word “obsessive.”
Concrete details are those of images that can be sensed (seen, heard, touched, smelled, even tasted). Including details gives your image specificity. “Creature” is a vague word. “Animal” is more specific but still leaves a lot to the imagination. “ But tell us about your “long-haired Persian cat with a wide face” and you’re getting specific.
Significant details are those that matter to the story--they should matter to the story and do more than fill space. A significant detail can suggest an abstraction or feeling like beauty or stress or joy without using that abstract word. When you write the detail rather than the abstraction you’ve got a more compelling piece.
How I used concrete & significant details in scrapbooking a simple thing in my life in “Puzzling:”
-
with photos.
I took photos of the items that are a part of my “puzzling” activity: the books, the pencils, those all-important cap erasers that I buy in bulk, and some individual puzzles. -
with design.
The focal point here is the enlarged photo of my puzzle books, pencils, and erasers on my bedside stand. Photos and strips and blocks of paper are blocked in a way that mimics the grid layout of many of my puzzles. - with journaling.
The journaling begins with the details of the items I use and where I keep them. It moves on to describe how and when I do puzzles. The accumulation of concrete and significant detail conveys that I’m a little extreme about this activity without saying “obsessive” or “extreme.” With this much evidence, you can draw your own conclusions.
JOURNALING on “Puzzling:” I keep my bedside drawer full of pencils and cap erasers. I keep the puzzle books on shelves in my office, in messy piles in my office, under my bed, in the basket next to my chair, in my messenger bag--and there are many I can’t always find but that do turn up eventually. I do puzzles on and waiting for public transportation. I do puzzles when I’m waiting for my kids and can’t do other work. I go through intense puzzling phases where I do them upon waking and before going to sleep.
Sometimes I do easy puzzles and time myself. Sometimes I do hard puzzles that take hours. When I’m learning a new puzzle and get stuck, I go to a fresh one and another fresh one and then eventually (when I’ve learned a bit) I come back and do the ones I couldn’t do. I come up with coding systems. If I mess up a puzzle badly, I might erase and start over or I might write “ugh” or a frowny face and turn to a fresh page. I like to have good quality erasers and books that erase cleanly. The minute I finish a puzzle, I have the urge to start a new one, and a lot of time can go by.
I do the puzzles because I enjoy solving them. I enjoy the slow progress from the easy section of the book to the medium section and sometimes even to the hard. I do the puzzles because they keep my mind and hands busy and I’m not wasting time. I do the puzzles to avoid talking on airplanes. I do the puzzles to avoid other work. I do the puzzles to solve them. January 2009.
I love this LO and how the journaling completes the story behind the photo and gives a peek into who you are. Very cool!
Posted by: MichelleG | March 25, 2009 at 03:09 PM
nice blog, you had some very good tips
Posted by: Hena Tayeb | March 25, 2009 at 05:04 PM