Guest DT Cindy deRosier: Using Your Handwriting

My grandmother was a scrapper (long before such a word existed!). She died in 2004, just six weeks before my wedding. I miss her very much and am sad that my son Trevor never got to know her. However, through her scrapbooks, Trevor can learn about the lives of his great-grandparents. Her scrapbooks are a true treasure - not only for the amazing pictures, but because she journaled in her own handwriting.

Your handwriting, love it or hate it, is unique to you. There is no better way to include yourself on your scrapbook page than using your own handwriting. I'd like to share a few tips to make it easier to include your own handwriting on your layouts.

Use a light box
If you have difficulty writing in a straight line, you could obviously draw or stamp lines directly onto your page and follow those. But there's another very easy way to get lines on the page that won't show and don't need to be erased. Simply put a lined index card (or any other lined paper) under your project, turn on the light box, and the lines will easily show through.

This picture shows how well the lines show through when the light box is turned on.

And here is the completed layout.

Products used: pp- Moxxie, cs-Basic Grey, pen-Stampin' Up

Journal on paper strips
I've heard a lot of people say they don't like journaling by hand because they're afraid of messing up their layout. The great things about using paper strips is that since you're not journaling directly on your layout, you can't mess it up. If you happen to make a mistake on a paper strip, you only have to rewrite that one strip.

By the way, this 2-pager has 33 pictures on it. That's a new personal record!

Products used: pp-BoBunny, cs- Bazzill, leaf-Prima, pen-Zig, paint-Folk Art, ink- Color Box, grungeboard- Tim Holtz

Journal individual words
If you like the idea of paper strips, but want something even easier that you absolutely cannot mess up, try journaling individual words.

Products used: cs-Bazzill, pp and ribbon- unknown (very old kit from Costco), pen-Zig, ink- Color Box, grungeboard- Tim Holtz

I hope you're inspired to try a few of these ideas. Happy scrapping!

To see more of Cindy's work, please visit her gallery!