Technique: Hidden Journaling

Credits Cardstock: Canson & Making Memories; patterned papers: Festival kit by Shabby Princess; digital letter & number stamps: Michelle Coleman; black ink: Stampin’ Up; fonts: Eight Fifteen & 1942 report; Misc: ribbon.

There are lots of reasons people use “hidden journaling” on their scrapbook pages.  Whether you want a clean and simple look or you already have too many items on the page leaving no room for text, or perhaps you just don’t like your handwriting.  Maybe you just want to conceal the journaling because it is very personal. Whatever your reason, it can be really fun to discover ways to hide “secret” journaling on your page. You’ll find the technique used here as well as several others below.

Tips & Tricks:

• The photos I used are very peaceful, so I used “white space” (areas with no pattens or embellishments) on the page to give your eye a place to rest.
• In order to get all of my measurements just right, I planned the page out on the computer using a 12×12 grid. Then I trimmed my papers accordingly.
• Because I had everything planned out on the computer, I was able to place my title and date perfectly before printing them directly onto the cardstock.
• I wanted the digital stamps (bear and 2006) to blend well with the page, so I based their color on the patterned papers. I used my eyedropper tool in photoshop to select a brown color from the digital paper, then I adjusted the brightness and saturation to make it a little darker before digitally “stamping” the text.  

Technique: Hidden Journaling

My hidden text is printed on a tag and tucked behind the main photo. I knew I wanted my tag to be about 3 inches by 5 inches, so when I typed out my text, I made sure it fit neatly into a text box that was 2.75 by 4 inches. Once I had printed the text onto the cardstock, I cropped it, clipped the corners, and punched a hole on the top. Then I inked the edges and tied on a ribbon.

To make sure my tag stays in place, I made a little pocket for it behind the photo out of adhesive tape. Once my papers were all attached to the page, I placed the tag under the photo to decide where it would go. Then, holding them in place, I flipped both pieces over and very lightly traced an outline of the tag on the back of the photo. Lastly, I just ran adhesive tape along the outline, so that when I adhered the photo, a pocket was formed that keeps the tag from sliding around. If you have an extra thick tag, you can use foam tape to make sure your tag will fit. Experiment with this idea and have fun with it!

More Hidden Journaling Ideas:

Here’s a great article from scrapjazz.com that has ideas for using tags, flaps, envelopes and mini-books for hidden journaling.

This is a neat step-by-step guide for making a journaling pull-out found at Creating Keepsakes.

I also found these journaling flap how-to’s from DIY Scrapbooking.

If you have any great ideas of your own please leave a comment and share them with us!

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