When my October issue of Creating Keepsakes arrive yesterday and I recovered from the-year-is-going-to-fast shock, I cracked it open and saw an article by Ali Edwards listing several very helpful websites for scrapbookers. Boy is this woman after my heart.

First she directed me to a great site for organizing my digital photos. Yeah! I needed that. Then she shared another site about working with color. Both of which are great and you should grab your CK and read about them. (I won’t steal all her thunder…)

The site she shared next made my heart sing.

A site all about typography. Not a place to download fonts, but a place to learn about them - in great detail. Oh my.

If you are a regular reader of ScrappinCabinet you know I don’t use computer fonts when creating my layouts. So why all the fuss? Well, in the early days of my career I was a desktop publisher. I created newsletters, brochures, postcards and other marketing materials for small businesses. This was in the “good old days” of computers (and awesome 80s music =:). My first system cost me $2500 and had a 40 meg - not gig, meg - hard drive.

My first font collection was a set of disks - the old 5 1/4″ ones, remember those?

I also bought several design books to learn how to create professional looking materials. And I got a big fat book all about type. It wasn’t enough for me to just experiment to see what looked good. I wanted to know the ins and outs of each typeface. I still have that book and from time to time crack it open to warm my heart with knowledge of the fonts. When my business partner and I merged and hired employees I was diligent about everyone using the same font for all our company materials and become known at the office as “The Font Police.”

Anyway, if you are a typface aficionado too you will also really enjoy Thinking With Type, the site Ali recommends in her article.

Enjoy, courtesy of The Font Police - and Ali Edwards =:)

I love fonts! Typography is one of the arts I find most fascinating. Yet, I do not use computer fonts while scrapbooking. Why?

Partially because I think I would get hooked on it. There is something so appealing about being able to write, re-write and edit my journaling as I go. Also because, as I mentioned, I love fonts.

My love affair with fonts started in 1989 when I decided to go into desktop publishing. This was before everyone had a computer and I made a living by designing newsletters, brochures, handouts, etc. for my clients. A significant purchase for my business was a box of fonts. About 50 5 1/4″ disks with a manual and a single sheet piece of paper that showed which fonts I owned. I still have that box of disks.

Yet I resist fonts and journaling using my computer when scrapbooking for two main reasons.

1.
I don’t want to need to be near my computer in order to scrapbook. I like having my supplies right with me wherever I am - my scrapbook room, my mom’s house or a weekend crop hotel.

2.
My grandmother’s handwriting. Whenever I get a chance to see my grandma’s handwriting it reminds me of her so strongly. I can picture her writing out the card I just came across even though she passed away in 1994. Same with my living grandma. A card from her is precious. I guess I am hoping that by taking the time to write out my journaling in my own handwriting that I am adding just a bit more of me into the pages.

So I use my beloved fonts in my Christmas letter, at work on special projects or even in card making. Just not in my scrapbook journaling.

Do you use computer fonts in your scrapbooking?