I always wanted to keep a diary as a kid, as a teenager and even in college. I have some beautiful journals, all with the first ten pages ripped out, my efforts deemed measly as soon as I finished writing them or irrelevant when I looked back months later.
Though I’ve done a decent job keeping albums of our family photographs, I’ve not been much of a scrapbooker. I swore I’d fill in all the blanks in #2′s baby book, so he would never disappointedly compare his baby book to his big brother’s (as this little sister may just have done). And I did too, but it was stolen out of my car during a birthday party at the Carousel Park the weekend after his first-year check-up. His baby book was in my fancy-ish Kate Spade purse-like diaper bag in the front seat of my car. It’s totally true – do you think he’ll ever believe it?
Here’s a scrapbooking tip I just ran across that I love, because I can do it in minutes – and do it just once, every month, every year, or whenever I want. No pages to rip out. No sibling rivalry.
What a very easy way to chronicle the ordinary days or the special milestones.
You don’t even need photoshop or any fancy software these days to do this.
You can do this in minutes. Yes, YOU!!! For free. Here’s how:
(1) Find a photo of your child (grandchild/friend/spouse/pet/yourself), with some open space/background.
(2) Visit www.picmonkey.com (lots of sites you can do this on — I just really like this one) and click on “Edit a photo.” Then pick a photo to upload. You don’t need to register or pay a dime. Just upload a pic.
(3) Lots of editing tools along the left side. To cut to the chase, click on the “P” to add text. Pick a font and drag the text where you like it. Don’t think about it too much. Just type in a few quick thoughts.
(4) Make sure you save your photo + text to your computer. Picmonkey won’t save it for you.
And just like that, you’re sort of keeping a diary.
Kind of scrapbook-y, right?
If you create a photo-journal, please share it on the LTM FB page.
The ones I just made of my kiddos are up there now!
There is a chance that part of my childrens’ lives might be documented thanks to you
It might not be too late for me.
This is perfect for me! Thanks for sharing this awesome idea! Love your blog.
Alyssa of Boston Bee
I love this idea! I’m one of those scrapbookers that buys loads of materials, but never gets around to using them. This approach is simple and attractive. Thanks for sharing!