How to create a family journal

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In this video Susan showed us how she uses Microsoft Word to organize photos and memories of her growing children into an attractive digital scrapbook. It’s a creative solution that really beats an old shoebox full of snapshots. Here are just a few ideas to help you get started.

Set up a journal structure before you begin

As Susan mentioned in the video, it’s easier to stay on top of things if you create a folder structure before you begin. Follow these steps to create a structure similar to Susan’s, with a folder for your photos, a folder for each year, and a document for each month of the year.

Step 1: On the Start menu, click Computer and, in the left nav pane, under Libraries, click Documents.

Step 2: In the title bar at the top of the window, click New folder, and name the folder something you’ll remember, like “Wolfe family journal.”

Step 3: Double-click this folder to open it.

Step 4: In the title bar at the top of the window, click New folder again, and name this folder “Photos” or something similar. To start setting up your structure by date, click New folder one more time, and name this folder for the current year, such as “2010.”

Step 5: After you’ve finished your first Word document, for the first month of your journal, name it for the month and year and save it to the folder you’ve created for the current year.

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Capture the moment

You might want to take another of Susan’s tips to be prepared for those memorable moments: Carry a digital camera in your pocket and you’ll be able to capture those unexpected events. Then when it’s convenient, you can upload the photos from your camera to the folder you created on your computer. Check your camera’s instruction manual for more information about how to connect your camera to your computer and upload the photo files.

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Organize your notes in Word

Follow these steps to start creating a memory book by using Microsoft Word.

Step 1. Begin by opening Microsoft Word, which presents you with a new document. Type notes about your family’s activities, thoughts or observations, funny quotes from your kids, or whatever you want to save and remember.

Step 2. You have several options to help you organize the page. You could, for example, divide the page into multiple columns. To do that, click the Page Layout tab on the Ribbon, click Columns, and then select the column format you want to apply to the page or entire document.

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Add personality to your text

You can further organize your thoughts—and break up large blocks of text—by using headings. First, type the heading you want (for example, First Day of Kindergarten!), and then click and select that text with your cursor. On the Home tab in the Styles group, move the mouse pointer on Heading 1, Heading 2, or other style to preview the typographical treatments available. Click your selection to apply it to your heading. If none of the preset headings appeals to you, click Change Styles for more choices or to create your own style.
To really spice up your text and headings, with Microsoft Word 2010, you can apply new formatting effects such as shadow, bevel, glow, and reflection to your document text as easily as applying bold or underline. To use Text Effects, select the text that you want to apply an effect to, and then click the Text Effects icon A on the Home tab. Rest your pointer over each option to preview the effect. Click the specific effect you want to apply to your text.

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Insert and edit your photos

Step 1. Powerful picture-editing tools in Word 2010 make it easy to combine photos with your text and enable you to apply dazzling picture effects without additional photo-editing software.

To add a photo to your document, select the Insert tab, and then click Picture. Browse to the folder that contains the photo you want. Click the picture you want, and then click Insert. The photo appears in your document.

Step 2. Click inside the inserted photo to select it. When you select the photo, the Picture Tools tab appears on the Ribbon, providing a range of sophisticated but easy-to-use tools. You can crop, correct color, add border effects, and much more.

Step 3. While the photo is selected, you can click any corner of the photo and drag to enlarge or reduce the size of the photo while retaining its original proportions.

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Design your page

Step 1. To place the photo where you want it on the page, select the photo by clicking within its borders. On the Picture Tools tab, click Position. Rest your cursor over the With Text Wrapping options to preview your repositioned photo. Click the option you like. You can fine-tune the position of the photo by clicking on it and dragging it around the page. Nearby text automatically wraps around the photo.

Step 2. To apply a border effect to the photo, click to select it, and then rest your mouse pointer over any of the Picture Styles icons to preview the effect. Click to apply the effect you like. You can apply a variety of additional treatments—such as shadows, reflections, soft edges, and more—by selecting the photo, and then clicking Picture Effects.

Step 3. To add a caption to a photo, right-click inside the photo, and then click Insert Caption. To choose whether you want the caption to appear above or below the photo, select from the Position dropdown list in the Caption dialog box, and then click OK. Depending on your choice, a text box appears above or below the photo. Click the text box to position your cursor within it, and then type. You can click and drag the border of the caption text box to fine-tune its final dimensions and position.

Step 4. When you’ve finished with your document, click the File tab, and then click Save As. Browse to the folder where you’d like to save the file, and then give your document a name by typing the name in the File name text field.