Expressing Conversations on Paper w/Jeanette Lee

Like many of you, I love documenting about life's memorable events. Be it jotting down my thoughts on a notebook, writing a diary entry or doing mini albums and Project Life, words do speak louder to me, simply because I'm able to remember more vividly on what happened and why it happened.

My nieces are at this stage where they are learning to speak a lot more - one of them even loves to read and write. Sometimes, I can't keep up as there is so much I want to remember about the conversations that we have. So, how do I transcend all of these beyond the traditional pen-paper method?

Today, I'll share with you some tips on how we can record the conversations that we want to preserve while ensuring our layouts remain visually pleasing.

Tip 1: Think outside the box - use shapes!

Just like how a heart shape can be used to represent love on our layouts, I used arrows to direct directionality of the conversation I had with my niece. Arrows are a great shape to consider as they cover length - using just a few of them across a layout allows for more coverage and space.

My older niece has her likes and dislikes. I love asking her about her current favorite hobby, food, clothes, etc. I simply aligned snippets of the questions and answers next to the arrows to symbolize our back and forth conversation. To make it more interesting, I also added open and closed inverted commas next to the arrows.

To decorate the arrows further, I used the 12 x 12 washi tape sheet from the Party Day collection. I chose to leave the backing of the washi strips intact so that the bold vibrant colours would stand out more. For quick adhesion, I used a nearby tape I had on hand to stick the washi strips to the back of the layout.

Tip 2: Strike a balance - allow for space to do both

To strike a balance between visuals and documentation, I broke the layout into three sections: clustering of elements, photos and journaling. This type of set-up ensures that I not going overboard in doing too much. There is a designated space for each section. This "blocking" technique allows me to go crazy and be creative in clustering scrapbook elements while still having the liberty to pen down my thoughts.

To tie the sections together, I adhered two strips of patterned paper between the top and bottom, and overlapped the three sections. It creates cohesion throughout. Also, the speech bubble patterned paper, "house" card and "b" elements help to reinforce the idea that this layout is about a conversation had with my younger niece.

To share a little bit more about this funny conversation, my younger niece is at the stage of favoring girls' toys over boys'. It talks about how we tried to persuade her to treat Charlie, her toy, the same way that she treats her other toys. However, she refused.

Tip 3: Inspire me, Project Life. Break conformity and just do it!

I love Project Life. I really do. It makes practical sense to many who see it as a fuss-free solution in recording your everyday moments in an album. But as much as I love it, I'm still a layout-kind-of-girl. I can't seem to find the time to commit to the PL process. Not to fear - the PL concept can easily be drawn as a source of inspiration for the foundation and concept behind the layouts you create.

For example, I collected a memorabilia of letters written by my niece, to me. I made a vellum pocket big enough to contain the letters for adding to the layout.

*A tip in finding creative ways to embellish your page would be to focus on the little details - like adding small pearls to Crate's pretty flower chipboard or wrapping a button in thread. These details can help make a layout more visually pleasing to the eye.

I, too, did a fun spin on the 3 x 4 pockets commonly associated with the PL page protector. I cut down a transparency sheet to the exact same size and using a brad, I attached my photo and a journaling card, together. I placed a simple green photo corner to maintain the alignment of the transparency. Beneath it and the photo, is my journaling. True to the traditions of Project Life, I added the week and date on the layout to remember when the letters were given to me.

That's it! I hope you find these tips useful! If you haven't tried them before, go ahead and put them to the test! Let me know what ultimately works for you - also, share with us how you record memorable conversations. We would love to hear about it!