Hello there Everyone! Tater (taterslp) here with my very first Words for Wednesday blog entry.  I don’t have great words of inspiration to share with you today but there is something that I would like to talk about.  If you’ve been keeping up with the ScrapMatters blog you’ll notice that there has been a lot of talk lately about JOURNALING on our pages.  I love to go back through my layouts and read the journaling…especially the ones that talk about how I was feeling at that particular moment. I also love taking a stroll through different galleries to read the journaling on other peoples layouts. (Yeah, I’m nosey like that.) Well today I’d like to talk about HOW TO DRAW ATTENTION to your journaling.  You take the time to write such heartfelt words on a layout and it’s important that those words stand out!  It helps the reader to not only pay attention to what you have written but it also helps them to relate and really feel what your trying to say.  So, how do you draw attention to your journaling you might ask??? Well take a look at my HEARTBREAKER layout below.  This is actually a scraplift of a LO that I came across and when I read the journaling I could totally relate to what this mother was saying.  To make the journaling stand out I highlighted some of the words.  So this way, when my son’s future girlfriends read this…they understand what I’m trying to say LOUD and CLEAR.

Highlighting your words is not the only way to draw attention to your journaling.  Try circling, underlining or even try using arrows!  In this same LO I used arrows to draw attention to my son’s photo. 

Not sure how to get this HIGHTLIGHTING effect on your pages??  Well it’s very simple. I’ll tell you how to do it using PSE in just a few easy steps. 

Once your page is completed with journaling…select a color for your highlights on the color palette….

1.  Click on CREATE A NEW LAYER

2.  Select your RECTANGULAR MARQUEE TOOL

3.  Draw a RECTANGLE around the word you want highlighted.

4.  Hold down ALT + BACKSPACE (at the same time)

5.  Lower the opacity for that layer until the colored rectangle looks transparent or like a highlighter.

That’s all there is to it! Pretty Simple!  Now…I’m a girl who likes OPTIONS so I’m going to give you some OPTIONS as well!  Say your having trouble following my tutorial (cause let’s face it…I’m no genius when it comes to writing tutorials) or you just don’t want to make your own. Well, no worries because some of the fabulous kits here at ScrapMatters contain the perfect elements for you to highlight your journaling or draw attention to your photos. 

Check out WAY TO BE(E) kit by Andilynn Designs.  She has the cutest little glitter arrows that are just perfect!

And the IN STITCHES: DUO PACK by Britt-ish Designs would be great for underlining words with the straight stitches and you can also use the heart stitches to highlight words or photos.  So many great options for highlighting with this kit!

And AFTERNOON SUNSHINE kit from Sunshine Digi Scraps by Monica also has some arrows that you can use!

And if you would like to see even more options take a stroll through the ScrapMatters store there are so many other kits that have fabulous elements to highlight words or photos on your layouts! 

Well, there you have it ladies….get out your highlighters and make that journaling STAND OUT!