Ah, welcome November! Such a unique month, sandwiched between two big ones – October with its Halloween and December with all its holidays. Well, not to be outdone, November has managed to pack some substance as well – namely, Thanksgiving. It’s a time for us to reflect on all the things in our lives that we are thankful for. A thankful heart is a happy heart, they say. So in the spirit of this time of year, let us scrapbookers take the time to reflect as well. Let us put journaling front and center. Let’s be bold and say what’s deep in our hearts. All of the layouts featured here do just that, and they do it with style.

Below we have three beautiful layouts where the artist has used journaling to express their inner world, whether it be about themselves or others in their lives. You can use journaling as Lady Grace did, to express your thoughts about those important to you. Sometimes those things are hard to say, but scrapbooking offers us the perfect opportunity to really let others know just how much they mean to us. In the second layout, Nic makes journaling a crucial part of her layout. She had a precious picture of her ancestors without much story behind it. Rather than simply scrap the photo and let it be, she chose to let it be the jumping point from which to chronicle her own thoughts about her ancestors. And in the third layout, Rene used journaling almost as writing therapy, to really get out on paper where she was in her life at that point.

Mini Me & You by Lady Grace Belarmino

Supplies: Paper, Die Cuts: The Girls Paperie, Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper, Alphabet Stickers: American Crafts, October Afternoon, Flowers: Prima Marketing, Pearls: Kaisercraft, Other: handmade cloth flowers, butterfly from Yourscrapbookstash. Tools: Border Punches: EK Success.

Editor’s Notes: Lady Grace added a lot of texture and dimension to her work by including handmade cloth flowers and ruffles. This strategy helps draw attention to the photo and the journaling y beautifully framing both.

Journaling: A lot of people say that we look alike in many ways. You have my smile, my eyes, my teeth, and my oval shape face. When they see us together, they say that you are definitely my daughter. This photo proves it! I just love seeing a reflection of myself in you. I just hope you'll also be able to inherit my good attitude towards life but I wish that you'll be greater than me. May you accomplish your dreams, enhance your talents, be more religious, be wiser and to always look back where you came from. I love you my sweet daughter. You are my greatest accomplishment, my dream come true. Make me proud my darling. I will always be here for you, one step behind, to guide and support you. You are my mini me. You will be great and you will become somebody you'll be proud of. I LOVE YOU.

I Wish I Had Asked More by Nic Booth

Supplies: Paper: Basic Grey, Sassafras Lass, SEI, Collage Press, Cardstock: American Crafts, Alphabet Stickers: American Crafts, Cherry Arte, Flowers: Prima Marketing, Journaling Spots, Lace: K and Company, Pens: Micron, Other: buttons, pins. Tools: Stamps: 7Ggypsies.

Design Notes: I wanted to create a page with a heritage feel, but which also had splashes of color, and which had room for a substantial amount of journaling alongside an area to record my ancestors names. I mixed and matched papers from a variety of manufacturers and hand cut accents from my papers to embellish my page.

Journaling: I am lucky to possess a variety of photographs of my ancestors and on this particular photograph, I can put a name to all the faces. What I can't do though, is tell the stories behind their faces, add substance about them as a family - their individual experiences, relationships, hopes, ambitions and trials. I find this so frustrating - why didn't I ask these questions when I had the chance? My younger self just didn’t realize the importance of asking for their stories and now that I do, I can't turn the clock back. This is why I scrapbook, in the hope that one day, if my son wants them, he can access my stories.

Regret by Rene Tibbets

Digital Supplies: Dark Moods Value Collection by Lauren Bavin (Digital Scrapbook Place), Software: Adobe Photoshop CS4, Fonts: Handwriting-Dakota and Rock It.

Design Notes: Since the topic of the layout is very serious, I wanted the layout to look dramatic, so I converted the photo to black and white. I then layered it on top of the background paper and set it to Hard Light blend mode. I added a layer mask and masked out the background of the photo to make room for the journaling and elements.

Journaling: For the last 10 or so years, I have been in a very good place in my life. Getting past and letting go of the pain of my past was a long road to travel. I have a great life with amazing people in it. I am settled; I am satisfied; and I am happy. But do I have regrets? Of course I do. I regret hurting people in my quest to find myself. I regret the damage I did to those who tried to help me through the storm. I regret some chances that I took, and some that I didn’t take. Although these regrets are part of my story, and, I know, part of the process to get me to where I am today, I also realize they will always be with me.