Senior Center to host memory journal workshop next week

Do you have junk you just can’t part with because there are too many memories attached to it? Join Karen Spragg at the North Big Horn Senior Citizens Center on June 17 at 1 p.m. to learn how you can turn old photos, newspaper clippings, scrap paper and other items into precious memory journals.

The workshop is free to members of the senior center. Some materials to enhance the journal will be supplied by the center. Spragg said the workshop will include creating a decorative journal cover out of an old book cover using decorative tape, old wallpaper, used cardboard or whatever suits the project.

“It’s pretty open ended,” explained Spragg. “Just make your journal out of whatever you want for whatever purpose you want.”

Spragg said journals can be made to commemorate a special vacation, special occasion, 10 years of Christmas celebrations or any other special memory. The journal can be a keepsake for the person who created it or a memory book to pass on to the grandkids. The theme and purpose is entirely up to the maker.

“It’s typically called ‘junk journaling,’ but I don’t like that name, so I renamed it memory journaling for the class,” Spragg said.

Junk journals can vary from person to person, but in general they are made with a mix of found and recycled materials. Spragg takes it a step further focusing on preserving important life events and memories. For her own personal journal, Spragg used items like buttons from her mother’s dress to conjure up memories of her past.

Spragg said she is keeping the class open ended.

“We’ll just go until we get tired and meet again if we need to,” she said.

Spragg is no stranger to teaching art workshops, having taught a popular card making class for many years, but this is her first time teaching the journaling workshop. Spragg is a relative newcomer to the art of memory journaling, having learned about it only recently from a relative.

“The journals are fun to make and even more fun to give away,” she said.