One of the main, if not the main reasons that scrapbooking is such a popular artform is that it provides to us an artfull way of telling our stories with our pictures, our art and our words.

Sometimes telling our story is easy.  Sometimes we can’t think of the words to say to tell our stories.  And sometimes, all we need is a small prompt so that we can begin to tell more of our stories.  Sometimes, when prompted, we remember stories that we had forgotten to tell or didn’t realize that we wanted to tell.

This is especially helpful with the growing trend of remembering to include ourselves in our albums more.

Here are some prompts for journaling.  I recommend getting a small notebook to begin to jot down your thoughts on them.  You never know what might turn into a page or not.  And you can make a fun project by altering a notebook

1. Tell the story of an important turning point in your life when you had to make some kind of choice.  Now think about what might have happened if you had made the other choice.
2. When in your life were you most happy, sad, proud, frightened, content, or serene?
3. Close your eyes and tell everything you hear, smell, taste, and feel–feel with your touch and feel with your feelings
4. What is it like growing up today?
5. Pick an issue that confuses you or that you would like to know more about.  Then freewrite to explore what you DO know about it.
6. What is the worst injustice you notice around you?  How would you take steps to end it?
7. Tell all the groups that you are a member of or part of, from your family to a group of friends to a religious or ethnic group.  How does being a member of these groups affect you?
8. Write out your goals–for the world, for your lifetime, for next year, or for today.  What one step could you take to start you towards achieving that goal?
9. Tell about someone who helped you or made a difference in your life.
10. Get it out of your system.  Write about something that upset or angered you.
11. Tell a dream that you remember . . . or make one up.
12. Describe an object that is very important to you.
13. What would you consider the most splendid thing you ever accomplished?  Remember the small things as well as the more obvious ones.
14. What are the little things in life that make you happy?  What little things can ruin your day?
15. How do different kinds of music affect you?  Are there songs that transport you to a different time or place?  What song means the most to you?

These are just few fun and some serious prompts.  If you don’t want to write down your thoughts the old fashioned way with pen and paper, they make great blogging prompts as well.

Here are a few layouts that I have created that fit in with some of the prompts listed above:

The first is a layout about a new object that is important to me.  My little stuffed animal owl from Starbucks.  He was important to me this year because he was the first Fall thing that I bought or brought out to celebrate my favorite season.

This layout used the title and lyrics to a song that really helped me through a difficult time in my life.

This one is about one of the most importamt people in my life, and the one who I look up to the most, my mother.

And this one came about while thinking about what it was that *I* needed in a friend… specifically to my hubby (who is  the best friend I could have!):

Some of these are light in journaling because what I wanted to say I could say in a few words.  Others are lengthy with hidden journaling because I had a lot to say.  It doesn’t matter as long as you are saying SOMETHING.

I hope these can jumpstart you in telling more of yoru stories