Description: Looking for a new way to decorate your scrapbook pages? Try doodling!

There seems to be an endless supply of trends emerging in the world of scrapbooking: Bling, chipboard embellishments, altered items, distressing, and the list goes on. But one of the newest and hottest trends right now is doodling! Yes, you heard right…doodling. You know, those crazy little scribbles you drew when you were bored in history class. Now those little doodles are the hot new technique to include on your scrapbook layouts.

Doodling is probably one of the easiest techniques to use. It’s definitely the cheapest! Simply take one of your permanent, acid free markers and start doodling. Sounds pretty simply, right? Well, I have to admit that I was a little nervous when I first gave this technique a try. Somehow, scribbling all over your history notebook was much less intimidating than your precious photos! But once you start, you’ll be surprised how quickly the doodling will come back to you, kind of like riding a bike. LOL!

There are many ways to doodle on your photos and layouts, but here are just a few ideas:

1. In your own handwriting, write your journaling directly on the photo. This works best with a photo that has some empty space around the main subject that has not been cropped out. Don’t limit yourself to just writing in straight lines either…Get a little crazy and write around the outside edges of your photo for a different look! Carefully consider the color of marker you use with the background color of your photo to make sure it will show up and be readable.

2. Doodle a creative border around the edge of your photo and/or on the mats around your photo. If there are distracting background elements in your photo, try drawing a border around your main subject to make it stand out!

3. Use the shapes that are already in your patterned papers and add to them in some creative way. For example, circles are great for adding sunrays, smiley faces, or turning them into flowers.

4. Add freehanded swirls, stitching, word captions, or anything else you feel like doodling that relates to the theme of your layout.

Now don’t worry about making your doodles look perfect. Doodling is supposed to look imperfect…you are scribbling, after all!

For those of you who just can’t bring yourself to doodle on your photos, many scrapbook companies are coming out with “doodle like” rub on transfers, stickers, and even patterned papers that have the same look as hand doodling. And if you print your own digital photos, try creating your journaling in a font that looks like handwriting and place it directly on the photo before printing it out.

With those lazy, crazy days of summer arriving, the doodle theme seems like an appropriate one to keep in mind when scrapbooking your summer memories. Doodles would be perfect for layouts of days by the pool, summer camp, Forth of July, and picnics.

So be brave and give doodling a try on your next layout. But be careful, once you start doodling you just might get addicted to it! LOL!

Happy Scrapping! More Details about Scrapbooking Trends Doodling here. Gina M. Woods is an artist, graphic designer, wife, mother of three children, and "Scrapaholic". Please visit her web site at http://www.scraps-n-more.net for a great selection of top-brand scrapbook supplies, plus premade scrapbook page layouts, paper piecings, albums and more! Join her email list (sign up box on her homepage) to receive FREE newsletters, new product notifications, FREE monthly Cyber-Class Kits, and more! Questions and/or comments related to this article or web sites are welcome at ginawoods@alltel.net.

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