What is a Cross Out Poem?

At it’s most basic, a cross out poem is a piece of text in which you cross out large portions leaving specific words and phrases. When creating one, it does help to have a central theme/motif or story in mind. The goal is to have all of those remaining words and phrases telling a story or flowing in such a way that you understand they all belong together.

How Does  a Cross Out Poem Provide Supportive Storytelling?

Cross Out Poems are poetry which is very visual in nature. As you view the poem, you are aware that key words and phrases have been selected out of the many available. It’s not just that they were selected from available words but also the subtle knowledge that in a busy world, a world filled with words and conversation, we took a moment to focus and reflect. This lends weight to the chosen words.The viewer is invited in to reflect alongside the creator and to feel or see in the same way that the creator did.

As a memory keeper, I sometimes find it difficult to hone in on the story I want to tell. There may be more than one story for that particular photo or I don’t think enough about a story, providing the simplest journaling with only a who, a basic what and a when. Using a cross out poem was a form of creative exercise for me. I took an everyday photo of my cat sitting at my feet, then searched through a magazine looking for words to tell a story for it. What emerged was a scrapbook page about her personality. I told a deeper story and the cross out poem became a unique embellishment to support and reinforce that story. It’s an exercise that you can do as well.

How to Use Magazines to Create Crossout Poems for Scrapbook Layouts

1. Choose the page you want to use within the magazine.Start by thinking about the story you want to tell. My scrapbook page was about my cat’s personality so I knew I wanted words that I felt described her. Look for magazine pages with titles or bold headlines that contain words you might wish to use. In many ways, this is where magazines work better than books for cross out poems. You will have a bigger selection of fonts, typography, text color and text size to choose from than you would have with many books.
2. Decide how much of the text you want to include on your layout. You need an idea of how much space the text will occupy on your page in relation to the photos, title and other embellishments you want to use. Consider also whether or not you will be using the text as the only set of journaling or if you will be adding more. Scan the text for words and phrases that support your story or page theme, then clip the appropriate sized section from the magazine.
3. Cross Out the sections of the text you don’t need. Use a black permanent marker or some acrylic paint to cross out the words and phrases you don’t want from the text.
4. Reinforce the back of the magazine clipping prior to adhering it to your scrapbook layout. Magazines are generally a bit flimsy in nature. Consider backing them with a piece of cardstock or a thin sheet of chipboard to give them a little more heft. It will make it easier for you to layer other embellishments over and under the clipping.
5. (Optional) Spray the clipping with archival mist. If you are concerned with the clipping being acid free, use an archival mist. Just be sure to let it dry before you put the clipping on your page.

The Ingredients for a Good Cat by Christy Strickler | Supplies Patterned Paper: AMy Tangerine; Stickers, Die Cuts: Fancy Pants; Letters: Fancy Pants,Dear Lizzy; Wood Veneer, Chipboard: Pinkfresh Studios; Other: Tape, Magazine, permanent marker; Originally appeared in an article for Get It Scrapped 

Additional Ways to Use Your Stash and Magazines for Supportive Storytelling

1. When creating a kit or selecting supplies to use on your scrapbook layout, think of the magazine clippings the same way you would as a piece of patterned paper or an embellishment. The cross out poem has a design to it. Essentially,it has a lot of stripes, given that you crossed out much of the text. As you select supplies to go on your page, treat it like a striped piece of paper and choose elements to complement it. I usually try to follow design rules and choose a strip, geometric, and an organic design for my page. I broke the rules a little on this page by having a large strip print and the small stripe from my cross out poem. The geometric print is the polka dot paper. I placed my clipping on top of a the polka dot print. It would have felt too busy if I had placed it above the large striped paper.I placed solid block of cardstock across from magazine clipping so that it delineated the cross put poem from the other patterns and kept the page from feeling too busy. The floral embellishments softened the page and added an organic element to the page.
2. Layers other words and embellishments on top of the cross out poem to add visual interest. I cut a few words and phrases which I felt supported my page’s story from other parts of the magazine. I also used words stickers and word die cuts from my scrapbook supplies.You could also find more word phrase stamps to use as well. I fit these within the crossed out lines to add pops of color and visual interest.
3. Consider alternative ways to use the cross out poems to support a theme, motif or activity. For example, I could make a scrapbook page about baking holiday cookies with an ad or magazine clipping about baking. I could cross out words and phrases leaving only those that highlight ingredients or descriptions of the cookies.
4. Use Cross Out Poems as a form of repetition.  If you see an article with a word used over and over again, cross out everything except for that one word. In the example above, I used the idea of a scrapbook layout about baking holiday cookies. This time, instead of searching for words that describe the cookies, look for the use of the word cookie. Cross out everything except that word, leaving a whole block of crossed out text with only the word cookie showing. The crossed out text becomes a unique way to highlight the focal point of the scrapbook layouts story.

If you create a scrapbook layout with a cross out poem, I would love to see it. Share a link to your page in the comments below.

Journaling: Tell the Story, an MSE Pinterest Board