Make Your Scrapbooking Pages Personal: Use Your Own Handwriting

Scrapbooking has joined the digital age.  We can now make complete scrapbooking pages on our computers. Even those of us who prefer traditional scrapbooking tend to use the computer for our journaling to print clean, neat captions and narratives on our layouts.

Handwriting on pages may not be as pretty as a computer font. Still, it is so much more personal and meaningful to our families.

We all hesitate to use our own handwriting on our scrapbooking pages for different reasons.  A few reasons are common. You might think your handwriting isn't neat enough for others to read.  Consider how your family views your handwriting.  You can get beyond your concerns if you realize how much your families will value that you preserved something as personal and unique as your handwriting.  Remember how important those handwritten family recipes or letters are to you now.

Are you worried that you will make a permanent mistake with your journaling? Handwriting errors aren't difficult to correct.  Try using a paper journaling block first.  You can use a second one if you mess up the first.  If you've already attached it to the page, just glue another one over it.  Use other page elements to cover your errors.  Stickers are a simple way to cover a handwriting mistake.


The right pen makes a big difference when it comes to handwriting success. Look carefully at the paper you are using, and choose the best pen for that type of surface. Many pens will smear or run on certain types of papers. Choose a pen with the appropriate width as well. Trying to write in a small space with a wide tip will be a definite handwriting challenge.

Practice, practice, practice.  Write out the journaling first on a scrap piece of paper.  Read it over slowly out loud.  This will help you spot errors in spelling and grammar.  For longer narrative writing, you may want to have someone else proofread it for you before you place it on your page.  Be sure to test the pen on a small piece of the paper you want to use. Writing a draft will let you know how much room you need to write on as well.

Do you write on a slant or uphill?  Many of us find it difficult to write straight on a blank paper. Try using lined journaling blocks.  These are available in your local scrapbooking stores or you can make them yourself with lined stamps or with a ruler and pen.  Try using the natural lines on your patterned papers.  Write with the stripes on your paper as your guide. Frames can be accented by printing along the edges.  You can even writes along the boundaries of your page borders.


There are few things as personal as our handwriting.  Handwriting is unique.  Like our signature, it is a statement of who we are.  When you use your handwriting on your page layouts it adds character to your scrapbooks.  It will tell your family and anyone who looks at your albums about your mood and your personality.  Your family is sure to treasure your scrapbooks even more.  Let your handwriting add depth and emotion to your pages, not a computer font.

Christine Perry is an avid scrapbooker and has more than 10 years of scrapbooking experience. Her favorite scrapbooking subjects are her reluctant teenagers. She invites you to her website, http://www.intoscrapbooking.com for more beginner scrapbooking and information on Mother's Day cards for scrapbooking.