Kelly Wardlow: [00:00:00] I set up my whole year ahead of time. Like, hey I got my work done. I have this chunk of time," I set up all the whole year. And I make cards that have the dates on them, like week one and then the date underneath it. I make those every year, and so I'll use that and I'll put it up for the whole year. So that I only need smaller chunks at a time to fill in and be done.

Jennifer Wilson: Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way, the show that explores the breadth of ways to be a memory keeper today. I'm your host, Jennifer Wilson, owner of Simple Scrapper and author of The New Rules of Scrapbooking. This is episode 349. In this episode, I'm chatting with Kelly Wardlow about her journey from engineering to digital scrapbook design and the personal story behind her brand, Connection Keeping.

Our conversation covers how she creates family yearbooks, designs kits she actually uses, and why scrapbooks can be a powerful tool [00:01:00] for family connection

Hey, Kelly. Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way.

Kelly Wardlow: Hi, Jennifer. How are you?

Jennifer Wilson: I am well and excited to chat with you today. Can you start by sharing a little bit about yourself?

Kelly Wardlow: Sure. Um, Kelly, I, I live outside of Philadelphia, and I have four kids from 12 to 21. My husband and I have been married for almost 25 years. We got married right out of college. And then... I, I don't mean to say that 'cause I'm afraid it makes me sound old, but I figured. Um, and so right now, one's in college, one's going to college, one is just about to start high school, and one is going into sixth grade.

So we kinda have the gamut of everything. And yeah, I mean, I guess I used to be an engineer, and after being an engineer for two years, I went back and got my degree in teaching, and I taught, uh, seventh and eighth grade math for a couple of years. And then I've been [00:02:00] stay-at-home mom until I started designing and a couple other jobs here and there.

Jennifer Wilson: Very cool. Do you think that like kind of your background as an engineer, a math teacher, that more analytical brain influences how you approach scrapbooking and designing?

Kelly Wardlow: 1,000%. And I think, and I always, I would love to make a correlation between how many science and math-minded people pocket scrapbook compared to, like, traditional.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Kelly Wardlow: I feel like there's just so much about how to fit everything and how to still make it look pretty, but, like, you really have, like, a formula kind of aspect to it.

So.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm. Yes, yesterday I had an interview with someone who does, uh, Project Life, uh, as a collage on, you know, a solid, uh, piece of cardstock, and she was talking all about the math aspects. And I'm like, I think we could do a whole episode just on the math of pocket pages and scrapbooking, and how do we figure things out to make sure it's all gonna work.

Kelly Wardlow: I feel like that's it. We just try to, like, optimize it 'cause, [00:03:00] you know, then there's rule of threes, and we wanna keep in all of the beautiful stuff. But yes, mathematically working out is just... I love when I can find a formula or, like, I make an action or something in Photoshop that I can then repeat it. It's, like, a little joy for me.

Jennifer Wilson: Very cool. Very cool. So Kelly, do you have a favorite recent layout or project, and why is it special to you?

Kelly Wardlow: Sure. My favorite thing is I created it for myself, so I think that's why it might be my favorite and that it's working. I made a whole bunch of catch-up templates. So before I started designing, I'm pretty much a recent designer. I didn't start until maybe 2022. Like 2020 and 2021, I would dabble and just try to make things here and there, mostly for my own scrapbooks. But in 2022, I became a designer, and I didn't realize how much time it took away from my scrapbooking time. 'Cause we make a yearbook every year. And so all of a sudden now I had less time. [00:04:00] So these catch-up templates are kinda like plug it all in, and you can change the colors, and you can just add...

It's almost like a regular template. You can add different elements and things like that, but a lot of it's already on there, so I don't have to keep looking and finding things. So I... It has, like, revolutionized my, like, family scrapbooking. And so when I created them, I was like, "Oh, other people might like it." So I've... I think it's definitely my favorite. It's like my baby almost in that now I'm using it every day, and I think in my mind I picture other people, and I'm hoping that they're using it all the time too and getting the same kind of joy from it that I got.

Jennifer Wilson: Very cool. Yeah, we'll definitely link that in the show notes. They're, they're really fun.

Kelly Wardlow: They kind of stink though in that I don't know enough about other programs as much as I do about Photoshop Elements and Photoshop, and so then recreating the ability and the functionality.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm.

Kelly Wardlow: Of things outside of those programs is something I would like to do. Because in this day and age, it [00:05:00] is expensive to have a full, Adobe license or, you know.

And so I'm hoping to try to figure out ways to recreate that in programs that other people can use.

Jennifer Wilson: How are you finding that they come into Affinity?

Kelly Wardlow: That is a great question. And I've-- And

Yes. So like, I like Affin- and I, I have it on my iPad and, um, again, it's more just like looking into it. I.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: And it, this kind of rolls into, I used to do a lot in Adobe, um, just even Adobe Acrobat to create things.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: So that people could use it and have, like, anyone could do it without a program. And.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm.

Kelly Wardlow: It, it's frustrating when you have all of the functionality, functionality like of Photoshop and you can do anything, and then trying to go to something that struggles. Where like, I think Affinity Designer and-- they have that kind of functionality. So when we're not in the summer anymore, that's on my list of things to do.

My goals.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Kelly Wardlow: Work in [00:06:00] that, um, fully understand Illustrator 'cause it's so awesome, but I'm like only, like, not even proficient yet. And those are the two goals I have for this 2026/2027 school year.

Jennifer Wilson: You know, Illustrator is like the absolute hardest one to learn, and I, I feel like I can barely use it. But recently I was trying to work on a logo for an- another project and I'm like, "Okay, I need to know how to do this one thing." So I ask Claude, "How do I do this one thing?" And Claude tells me, and I'm like, "Oh my gosh, I didn't realize it was that easy," and now I can do that one thing in Illustrator. So it's like having a little, you know, a tutor on, on the side.

Kelly Wardlow: I do it all the time. I use, and it's funny, everyone has their favorite, and I should use Claude 'cause I heard that they-- Claude is really good with automation. Like, you can kind of teach it to do a whole bunch of steps. I honestly use ChatGPT often, but.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: Use it to help me with my actions.

Like, when I'm making a Photoshop action, sometimes I'll get caught or something, or it's not working [00:07:00] consistently across the board, and it'll help me.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: And I,

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: I feel bad. I, don't know how I feel completely about AI, and.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh.

Kelly Wardlow: I'm here in this, like, complex, like, "Oh my gosh, you're amazing, but also you can't take all our resources." And so I go back and forth.

Jennifer Wilson: Correct. It is. It is a challenge.

Kelly Wardlow: It's nice to hear other people are in the same boat.

Jennifer Wilson: So I mean, as, as similar as, as a business owner, as business owners together here, I like to think of it as if I'm using this to improve my business, I can then use that to contribute more to the world. Um, in the ways that I want to make the world better. So that's, that's my personal justification for the negative sides.

Kelly Wardlow: Yes. And I, I always go back to the... Have you ever heard of the thing where, you know, someone will do all this wonderful things to help the environment, but maybe they have a private jet and it kind of completely.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: Outweighs that? So just taking it off of [00:08:00] Google or something so I feel like I can save some resources there, and then if I don't feel so bad when I use it is more helpful.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, Illustrator, the toughest one for everyone, I think. So.

Kelly Wardlow: You know what I've been doing? I've been doing, like, small bite learning. Like.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: If you went through my Instagram feed, it has a lot of, like, neuroscience and, like, parenting things, but then all the rest are, like, little tips on Illustrator. And I, like, save them and I try to, like, like little bite size.

You know, like how do you eat an elephant, one bite.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: At a time kind of thing.

Jennifer Wilson: For sure. Yeah, no, that's interesting 'cause I like, the more that I think about it, I was like, yeah, that, that's one skill that I would like to really develop. I just haven't ha- I guess haven't had the time yet to be like, "Okay, we're gonna do this."

Kelly Wardlow: Especially with pattern making, I feel like I've maxed out all of the tricks on Photoshop. Like, I can do it.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: Like, I'd use different patterns and I can move it over. I even bought this awesome thing from Etsy. It was, like, four bucks and it gives you all the different, [00:09:00] kind of sketches of patterns, and then you can put your pattern in and then move it over quickly, and it makes it so much easier.

But I feel like Illustrator, just the, the way you can change colors and all of the things, I feel like it's the gold standard. I need to stop trying to force Photoshop to be the gold standard of it.

Jennifer Wilson: Makes sense. Makes sense. So I mean, uh, yeah, going back to one of our icebreaker questions here, is there something new that you're excited to do, use, or try, um, in addition to learning Illustrator inside of your scrapbooking or in your everyday life?

Kelly Wardlow: Right. So definitely Illustrator in that, but as, like I try to set like goals for myself, but one thing outside of designing that I've been doing is somatic exercises. Have you ever heard of that?

Jennifer Wilson: Okay. Yeah. Uh-huh

Kelly Wardlow: It's funny because my husband and I, he's an also an engineer. We met in college and, you know, both engineers, so we have very similar mindset.

So I wouldn't classify us under like what some people would say is [00:10:00] like crunchy granola action. But we had, um, through our children, went to this place to help them with, especially they had a lot of digestive issues, and literally what we had been to all of the specialists and doctus- doctors didn't fix it, and we went just to this holistic, an MD still. And she had him do an elimination diet, and we added stuff back in, and it literally fixed so many of his problems.

So realized that science is backed up to these things, and sometimes it gets a, it seems people have a certain connotation for it, and honestly, I feel like it's just the science hasn't always backed up a lot of it, and I've been.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: Reading more and learning, and we've been benefiting from it. So, uh, learning more about somatic specifically. 'Cause we had done a lot about, food and health, things that way, but now looking into that to help us with our nervous system regulation and all of those [00:11:00] things.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, one of my friends says that like if there's something that you wanna try, um, i- if it's, if there's no possibility of it hurting, that it could only help, like what's, what's the, what's the loss there? So, uh, you might as well see if it's going to, to make a difference

Kelly Wardlow: I think that's awesome. I feel like, was it Pascal or-- I think it was Pascal, that he has, like, in-- if you take a philosophy class, he has a thing like that. Like, if it, if it wasn't-- if there's nothing negative, why wouldn't you try it and chance that it could help? I think that's awesome.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, yeah, 100%. So your brand is called Connection Keeping, um, and you're currently at The Sweet Shop, I think as you've mentioned earlier. But you really started this with a mission in mind. Can you share the origin story behind your brand?

Kelly Wardlow: Sure. Um, around 2021, I-- we have four kids. And we're a, a whole house of we call it neurospiciness, but like neurodivergence. And [00:12:00] a-- have a fair amount of trauma. Um, two of our children came to our family through adoption, and my husband and I became... We taught other parents trauma-based parenting techniques.

So we were trained, and it's not like we're official therapists or things like that, but we were trained in this, it's called TBRI, it's Trust-Based Relational Intervention. And we were kind of, you know, we had to do like 12 weeks and go for like a three-day retreat to kind of learn how to embody that in everything we do, and then we would hold classes for groups of parents.

And in that, in that program, the TBRI, one of the things, and it's like the one that's not even about very much, is like make scrapbooks for your kids. Literally.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: It was like, you know, like how to be curious, like figure out what the behavior is trying to tell you. All these like very neuroscience-related behavioral issues, and then it [00:13:00] literally just had a line that was like, "Make scrapbooks." Why is it like that? And so we started to research that, and so I tried to make these Adobe, like on, like on Adobe PDF you can insert images and text, like once you create them in Adobe Acrobat, like the full version, not the reader version. And so I would make a whole bunch.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Kelly Wardlow: Of those and give them to our parents so that they could make scrapbooks.

You can't see me, but I'm holding up quotes. Like pretty much just like an eight and a half by 11 page that had space for their, um, pictures and for their words. And then as I went on and on, I would make them prettier with like frames, and they could still put the picture in, if that makes sense. And so it was this whole idea of the scrapbook causes the child to have connection to their selves.

Like with trauma and different nervous system issues, like being able to remember good things, being able to see themselves as part as, of a unit, as a family, to see, um, how they've been taken care of, how they were [00:14:00] successful, how they h-how they created things. Anything that can help them with their form of identity was helpful, uh, to all children, really.

And so, I mean, and as memory keepers, I'm sure you've felt this, like we can go by and all of a sudden see our teenage kid looking through their scrapbook. You know, like it's a sense of comfort. It's a sense.

Of warmth. And so Connection Keeping was set up, and at the time the website I had had things about it, was set up to set up a relationship with parents and kids that was connecting. And that the parent as the memory keeper, but working alongside the child to talk about their memories and continue like the process of just remembering all of the great times together.

Jennifer Wilson: So I mean, you were a scrapbooker before this, so it sounds like it kind of really deepened your own relationship with scrapbooking and having this kind of, uh, greater importance behind it.

Kelly Wardlow: I think originally when I started, 'cause I originally used to paper scrap [00:15:00] the way in like 2000 and... My daughter was born in 2005, but a couple years before, my in-laws had a 50th anniversary, uh, 25th anniversary and their 50th birthday parties, and I made them like a huge.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: Physical scrapbook. And I think it was just pretty much like, "Oh, here's an event.

Let's scrap it. Here's an event. Let's scrap.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: It." And I think it changed into not only is it for remembering, but like connecting and us to have like an activity together, something that brings us closer together as we talk about all those things that were, that we shared.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, no, I mean, it's-- I think there's, over the past, I don't even know how to quantify it at this point 'cause I have no sense of time anymore. Over the past many years, there's been this kind of, increasing, value on these smaller stories that we're documenting, you know, particularly with, you know, things that we might call Project Life.

Um, you know, you mentioned that you do family yearbooks, and I think that's just [00:16:00] made everyone realize how, how valuable our hobby is t- to, you know, to ourselves and then of course our families as well.

Kelly Wardlow: And I think the reason for it, especially with Project Life, is that, you know, you'll always have the birthday parties, the graduations, all of that will... A lot of people, you know, scrapbook that. But for a long time, our youngest son, and because there's like a nine-year gap between my oldest, they kind of, everyone treats him like their baby.

Like, he's very much, like, has so many, the poor kid has so many people telling him what to do. Um, but he used to say prisaschool instead of preschool, and he used to say it all the time, and it delighted my older daughter. And so, you know, it's in our scrapbook with a QR code of him saying, 'cause we were like, "All right, where are we going?"

And so we have that, and now, you know, we didn't know when all of a sudden he just started saying preschool and it just disappeared. We had no more.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: Prisaschool. And so.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.[00:17:00]

Kelly Wardlow: As an adult, like, I was sad, but I just remember my daughter being, like, heartbroken, like, "Wait, this isn't gonna always stay?" And I'm like, "No, we grow." And I really like the fact that Project Life honors all of those little things which are just a much, you know, just as important to who we are as the milestones.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes. That reminds me that my, my kiddo used to say, "Mommy," and then all of a sudden it turned to Mom, and now of course it's the, the ex- all caps exclamation point text Mom. Like, why did you not respond to my text, you know, immediately? Um, but when did mommy go away? I still call Daddy Daddy, like, you know, we have to wait for Daddy to get home, even though my kid is 15.

Kelly Wardlow: And it's funny because all of a sudden, like it'll happen once, they'll say it by accident and you're like, "Man, I wish I could have kept that in a box."

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, no doubt.

Kelly Wardlow: Well, I saw in one of your things that you were going to a lot of, um, tournaments for volleyball.[00:18:00]

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Kelly Wardlow: My whole life, my daughter that's going now to college is gonna play lacrosse in college, and we have spent the past four, no, like five years of going to lacrosse tournaments, like throughout the whole summer and in the fall. And I thought of you when you said that, and I was just like, we have had so many fun things happen on those times because we had one-on-one time. And so I love that in our scrapbooks we can remember all that, where there was so much other going on besides just the lacrosse, and.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, 100%.

Kelly Wardlow: I just really appreciate that.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, we love to, like, find, like, new parks and, like, botanic garden type places when we're going to tournaments. 'Cause there's always, like, some downtime. And then they also do some team travel, so sometimes my husband and I are, you know, able to actually go and do some things just on our own, which doesn't happen very often 'cause all we do is travel to volleyball tournaments.

Kelly Wardlow: That's awesome. We have never had that, and I feel like that should be across the board in all sports to help.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, it should be required for sure.

Kelly Wardlow: [00:19:00] Yes, to revive parents after, you know, traipsing through place and place and place.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm curious, before we get to like... Actually, we'll, we'll talk more about your personal scrapbooking, but I need to, I need to, I wanna come back to the sports question 'cause this is something that I'm very curious about. Um, but looking through your shop, your design style is very eclectic. Do you have, like when you're designing, do you have these mental bins in which you're categorizing, "Okay, this one's gonna go in, in this style," versus, "This one's gonna be, you know, more like this"?

Kelly Wardlow: I think a lot of it comes back to the fact that I've only been scrapbooking, do scrapbook designing for... So if you really say 2022, you know, it's only been four years. So there's that whole before that, like using stuff from different people, I think just finding my own style. I think the thing that's.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm.

Kelly Wardlow: Consistent across all of my designs is I try to make it look somewhat realistic.

Like when you post a page that you made with Project Life and, you know, like, like a [00:20:00] kit or something that you got from Ali Edwards, and it, there's depth and, you know, real items, I just love it. I, like that is the look that I adore, but I also have no patience for you know? So I love.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: Digital that looks realistic.

That is my joy. And so it's always the balance of that. And so when I do things that are sports-oriented, you can see they're much more utilitarian and maybe a little bit more messy. And then honestly, I love having different styles. Like I love, I, like I go by a whim. Like having novelty for me helps my brain like really soar.

So, you know, every year I make this month-long, like I'll, every year I put out a different month kit. But then each year I try to have a specific theme in mind. So this year it's all bold and kind of more doodly. Like, and more, you know, not as much texture, [00:21:00] or if there is, it's very realistic and kind of more on the lower level so you could print it out. Where the year before I did all solid colors each time, and that was more messy art journal-y. And then the year before that.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay.

Kelly Wardlow: It was like calmer colors. And so I think if I can be excited about something, it helps me be more prolific in my designing. So I don't necessarily keep to it all looking the same as much as I keep to it all being something that I'm interested in.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, no, and that, that's, that's gonna keep you excited about being a designer, and I know it's, you know, it's not always an, an easy thing to do. It's, it's a lot of work that, that y'all put into to, um, that particular job. Um, are there particular things that you enjoy creating more than others?

Kelly Wardlow: That is a great question. I think my monthly kits are my favorite. Because I use every single one of them. So a lot of [00:22:00] times, uh, I f- everything kind of fits into the categories of what you would think of as a life b- a yearbook or a Project Life kit. Or something that's very much based on a subject, so like a sport or a thing like that.

It's, it's just now that I'm getting into more art journaling stuff, and it usually happens, like at Sweet Shop, they do collabs, and it's really encouraged.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: So that designers work together, so you get some, like an... They always call it your baby, so you get a new one. And so as I've been doing that, it's been helpful to see how I can then change and do something.

Like I just did one, um, with Amanda Yi that was called Pretty Full. And it was just all like pretty things and just like cute and bright colors, and you know, it didn't necessarily have a purpose for any like one subject or like a monthly thing or anything like that. It was just for when you have like beautiful pictures from gardens and things like that.

And so I actually really enjoyed that [00:23:00] because it, it was different than what I would normally do because it was out of my normal I do this and I do this.

Jennifer Wilson: Well then I, and it's also like kind of a huge, um, like skill builder to be doing things outside of your comfort zone, to be trying different approaches so that in the future when you wanna do something specific, you have that greater toolbox of, of how to do those things.

Kelly Wardlow: And honestly, Jennifer, I think you just like answered my q- the question because I think my favorite thing to design of all things is something new. So anytime I can find.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh.

Kelly Wardlow: Something that's like, "Oh, I've never done that before," or like in that one, and it's funny that you said that because the Pretty Full one, I made like a viewfinder, which like I've been seeing pop up everywhere, but it was so much fun, and I was like, "Oh, you could do it this way, and it could be horizontal," or...

You know, I just had a... I like being sparked and having new ideas, so, um, anything new is fun. And I do love word art. Anything that's word art related because at, in my scrapbooks, I use them all the [00:24:00] time, so real like not just word bits, but like word art. Things that... I don't know if this happens to you, but like in your, you know, yearbook, your Project Life, sometimes there's pictures that it's hard to embellish. Because it's just kind of a moment. And so I love when there's a word art that would fit with it, and that you can put and then embellish around the word art as a way to draw attention to the photo when there's not like a specific way to embellish it, if that makes sense.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I mean, I would say I use Word Art on every single page, and oftentimes I'm like, "Oh, did I go a little too far here?" But, you know, I just, I look, I'm either looking through a sticker sheet or looking through my drawer, drawer of die cuts, and I'm like, "Okay, what, what fits the feelings that I'm having, and let's see how many we can get on there," because it, it adds more to the story be- even beyond the journaling.

So I definitely use a ton of that.

Kelly Wardlow: I think it, I think as scrapbookers, I had a, a, a two or three-year period where I just wanted to buy so much, like, [00:25:00] house decor that had words on it, and my husband was like, "Nope, no more words. Nope. We're not picking anything that has a saying or something on it." And I was like, "Wow, I tried to word art my house." So.

Jennifer Wilson: You know, it's... Okay, so I've, I've noticed this, and it's so interesting 'cause I remember the time, like, I don't know, this was like 2017-ish when like, when typography and word, word d- decor was becoming more and more popular, but starting like on, you know, on Instagram and Pinterest. But then I would go to the stores, and I couldn't find it.

Like, I was like, "Where's all this really cool stuff that I'm seeing online?" And nowadays I go into the store, and I'm like, I'm almost like rejecting it because I'm like, "Why is everything now the same? In all this like beautiful typography, where's something that's like more interesting and unique?"

Kelly Wardlow: I think you hit that on the, head in that now it's kind of ubiquitous. Like, it's so much all over that it's harder to be enjoyed. But it, but sometimes, like we have one in our house that's [00:26:00] in our kitchen, and.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: I read it every morning, and it's very, like calming.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: And settling and stuff.

So I don't... I feel like it's a balance of which way. And just like everything else in this world, it kind of, the pendulum swings, you know? Like, there's none, and then it's everywhere, and then, like, finding the magic medium in the middle.

Jennifer Wilson: For sure. So how do you keep your ideas and plans organized? You mentioned you kind of have a yearly theme around your core collections. Um, how are you keeping track of everything?

Kelly Wardlow: So I love all of the Google, resources. So I use Google Sheets mostly, not Docs as much, but I have, like right now, even while we're talking, I have my Google Sheets that I open every day. It has like the list of things I've done, like by date, and then it has, um, I keep all the, ideas that I wanna do in the future on a separate tab.

Like, I literally have like 15 tabs. Like, they don't fit at the bottom of my very big screen. And so [00:27:00] I keep it all organized in Sheets. And then organized within that, and that helps me to be productive. So I'm a big fan of... I know, and I think my whole life is like a contradiction. Like, I love novelty. I love anything new and changing, but I also work well if there's a framework that I can then be creative in. So having.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: So like on my... Like, I have all through 2027 the dates of releases. And it's, I have to admit, Sweet Shop, 'cause I was a part of a couple of other stores which were fabulous, but Sweet Shop always releases on Friday, so I know what to expect, and it's just that once a week, so then it's easy for.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Kelly Wardlow: Me to plan accordingly.

So I put all the dates down, and then I put in my monthly releases, and then I kinda go from there. And then as far as all of my resources, like all of the kits I had from before I was a dine- designer and all of the commercial use stuff. Literally everything is separated by, um, topic and then [00:28:00] within topic, like subtopics. So that I can find.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay.

Kelly Wardlow: Things. So I'm, I'm a great mess of being like a mad scientist crazy and also having a very strong structure of my data.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes. I mean, we have this giant spreadsheet, we call it the master plan every year for, like, all of our themes, um, throughout Simple Scrapper. And, you know, we're always... I always wanna change at least one thing every year to keep it interesting, not just for our team, but for our members. So that they can have a different experience, you know, approach things differently.

So I, I get it in terms of try- in terms of trying to find the balance between having things very well organized and also having that novelty so that, you know, life stays interesting.

Kelly Wardlow: It'd be great with a community because then you can even see where interests are increasing and j- just like the word in the, in the decor, you know, like, "Oh, this is really big right now," or, "This isn't. And you can kind of then spark with new ideas because you have people [00:29:00] bouncing ideas off each other, which is really incredible

Jennifer Wilson: Oh yeah, 100%. Yeah. We're currently planning for, um, we do this thing every year called the Planning Party in November, and so I ask the members, "What topics do you wanna go into more depth on?" And like, not just like, you know, how to think ahead for next year, how to think about what worked well. That's, that's the core of it, but the nuances of, you know, how do you really get motivated, not just like setting a timer, but how do you really get motivated when you've been in a slump and gone through challenging times?

You know, how do you balance, um, the, the joy of certain like approaches to scrapbooking that might be some consider fussy, but you really love it, and the time it takes to do that. And the fact that you wanna continue to get things done, but some things do take a lot of time. So we're really diving into some of those kind of sticky situations.

Kelly Wardlow: And I think it's such a value add, that you've created in that sometimes those are the things we don't have time to do. [00:30:00] Like, we end up staying in a system.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm.

Kelly Wardlow: We've always done because often.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Kelly Wardlow: As parents, and if you have time to scrapbook, a lot of times you're the primary parent.

It doesn't mean always, but like a lot of times you are. So, so many things are so dependent on the cycle of your kids, what they need, the cycle of jobs, like everything like that, that if a system isn't broke, sometimes you don't think about, "Oh, how can I make this more efficient?" Or, "How can I make this more exciting?"

Or any of those things. So to, to be a part of a group that is always thinking about that, trying to bring us back in, keep us on task.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: Like that's fabulous.

Jennifer Wilson: Awesome. Thank you. So you mentioned earlier that you are often designing things for yourself. So how does your personal interest and approach to doing family yearbooks, you know, Project Life style, come out in your products?

Kelly Wardlow: That's a great question because I remember the first store I went to, I, I had been creating stuff for myself and they were like, "Why do you have so many papers?" Like, "This is not necessary." And I was like, "It's [00:31:00] totally necessary," because as a project scrapbooker, just take my monthly things and I just bring in the papers like willy-nilly.

Like, I don't even think... Like to put, you know, when you're, you're setting it up and you have your picture spots and then you have your open spots that'll have paper. That you'll embellish.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: Or put another picture on or you might put journal cards or words, you know, around it. I try to make all of my papers coordinate. And have 'em...

A, a lot of times I may make only like 20 papers, but then I'll give the customer three or four of each, like a, like each style in a different color. Or maybe one with more texture or one, um, mostly I do different colors, but like a little, the pattern big compared to small, things like that. Because then I just bring them in and to make my scrapbooking quicker I don't even think about it.

I just kinda throw 'em in. So my papers in general are always... Like there's always at least like I wanna say 60 to 90 [00:32:00] papers in my kits. Because I just use them 'cause it's a whole month and because we have so many kids. I always have four layouts for each month, uh, for each week. You know, so in a whole month it's a lot and I just need a lot of different options. So that's one thing. And then lots of word art. And I like, uh, brackets, corners, uh, stapled papers, things and scatters. I love scatters because I like to layer on my Project Life pro- you know, pocket scrapbooking layouts. And so those are the items that I always love, but other people love flowers and things. So I try to make sure it's robust in that you can do a whole month and not have repeats.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice. I love it. Yeah, I've been, uh, after kind of a 15-year hiatus in digital, I've been working on a digital kind of Project Life thing this year. And I have never before done exactly what you described. I really start with just the fun design part first, and then I'm [00:33:00] just adding photos and journaling on top of that.

Whereas in, in paper or anything like that, I would start with the photos and the plan and how it's all gonna come together, and then I'm adding the layers of creativity after. And it's, it's a totally different kind of brain process, and I'm, I'm really having fun with it.

Kelly Wardlow: And you know, I never thought of it that way, 'cause I think I... That's how I scrap is how I used to do it with paper. So that's interesting.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: And now you've got me curious. I'm like, "Well, maybe I should try doing it the other way and see." Yeah, I, I feel like I'm very lucky in that at Sweet Shop Designs, like, we'll have a week of releases, so we'll get to see what everyone's releasing, and you can use that.

So I might have a template come out, but I might use, you know, like the Nifty Pixels kit or something. And so I can.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: Like, because then I'm using their other stuff for when I'm scrapbooking. So that it could be a product from both of us, I get to scrapbook in different ways. Because, because I design for myself scrapbooking, get sometimes caught in a rut like we were talking about.

Jennifer Wilson: [00:34:00] Yeah. Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: Its nice to change it up.

And so now I'm gonna think about, like, maybe finding something that I absolutely love, putting that on a page, and going with it. But I'm gonna be honest, Jennifer, like a lot of times I go for speed. yes.

Jennifer Wilson: Sure, sure.

Kelly Wardlow: I definitely think I'm like 70% like, "This has to get done, and I want it to look..." And then like 30% I want it to look nice, but I'm not looking...

Like, I don't feel like... I feel like since we have, like my pages are, my books, our books are like 200 to something pages, right? So I figure it's more quantity.

Jennifer Wilson: How are you approaching your book this year, and has it, like, evolved over time?

Kelly Wardlow: So yes, and all of my books look different. And before I became a designer, I was trying to find out which way I liked. So I actually started out, our... We went from... So I just finished 2025, and I totally thank my catch-up templates it, because I really just busted out, like, the whole second half of the year pretty quickly [00:35:00] because of them. And so that was fabulous. But I have, you know, 10 yearbooks, and in the beginning I started out with the Project Life app, and then I had already had Photoshop Elements, like, at home that I used for website design, um, like to make items for it. And I then started to add stitching, and I would take my Project Life, you know, the layout I would make and bring it into Photoshop and then do from there and move on.

And then I started to do different kinds of layouts, ones that looked like pocket protectors, ones that didn't. And so I've kind of gone through. It- they're pretty much all set now where it's, know, a pretty common, um, Project Life page. I, I actually make one that's a little bit different. You know how, like, your digital pictures aren't four by six? The actual, like.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Well and these days it, they're not even consistent because it depends on what setting you have on your phone that day, right?

Kelly Wardlow: it 1,000%. And oh my gosh, like, because I will forget and maybe someone else can, like, [00:36:00] learn from this. You can take-- I have a new iPhone because we have so many kids, like, they, they let us update. um, you can take raw pictures in your iPhone. Does everyone just know this?

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: And I didn't know that?

Well, I didn't know. So I can take it into Camera Raw and, like, edit them, and I've just been enjoying that little feature for the last couple of months, but I digress all the time. I appreciate your, uh, going on the rollercoaster of my conversations.

Jennifer Wilson: No, it's all good. It's exciting.

Kelly Wardlow: But, um, that-- So my favorite template is one where they have that, I don't know if it's 5 to 3 or whatever the ratio is. I made one that fits it so that whatever framed in my camera's photo screen is what that picture would show up completely, if that, if that makes sense?

Jennifer Wilson: Nice. Yeah, yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: And it gives me more spots, and so now they all look like that. They always have stitching, and I know not everyone's for it, but, like, for me, it just makes it feel, [00:37:00] like, more realistic looking, so I always do stitching.

And then as far as the, the themes or the style, I try to change that every year. I try to make it so.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: That one year to the next year looks cohesive but different. Like, cohesive in and of itself, but different from the previous years.

Jennifer Wilson: And is that, does that correspond to how you're approaching your overall kind of collection theme for the year?

Kelly Wardlow: Yes. I think.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay.

Kelly Wardlow: And I don't know which one inspires which one, so I- it's kind of just a both. I know that I like a cohesive theme, so this year was bold. Last year was called black and white, but it was, like, black and white and one color. Which was actually kind of fun to do because then I had to get 12 colors that all worked well.

It was like making a big palette and then breaking off into smaller.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: Palettes as we went. And the year before that was one of the f- first ones I created for myself, and it was all more calm colors. I think what I try to do is make that cohesive. Because I'm a huge [00:38:00] fan of put in the pictures that even don't look good. So, you know, like, the picture that's... for some reason, it's a little foggy in an area.

Jennifer Wilson: Yep.

Kelly Wardlow: They're moving and it's blurry. We put all of those in. And so sometimes having a very cohesive background, it's okay if your picture isn't super gorgeous, if that makes sense. Like, my favorite pictures.

Jennifer Wilson: It does, yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: Do you know Krista Lund?

She is a photographer, and she's an avid scrapbooker, and she pocket scrapbooks. But because she's a photographer, her pictures are always, like, gorgeous.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: They all match. Like, she'll do, like, a... Like, she won't have, like, the full week, you know. She'll have all from, like, one moment, and it's in a pocket scrapbook.

And even if there was literally just, like, outlines of the picture, it still would look good. Because her photos are so beautiful. But I am not... Like, I know that that's not my skill. Like, I do not do well with that, so I try to make the, the theme of whatever month it [00:39:00] is pretty strong so you can see that, and so you don't take away from the pictures.

But it's okay if there's a picture that's not so great, or if you have a QR code here, or this is just writing. It can kind of... Very, uh, eclectic, like you said, kind mix.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, and I think that really helps. I think it helps to recognize kind of what overall s- like style and impact you're looking for. Um, because, you know, obviously there's even, even with just digital Project Life, there's a million different, um, kind of aesthetic approaches that you could take. And if you look at, you know, what other people are doing, it's not even just do you like those products, but do you like the, that style of photography, and does that look like the way you take photos?

'Cause that will impact the overall kind of look and feel of how it's gonna come together. Um, and yeah, I think it's important to kind of, i- if you're not feeling satisfied, to kind of evaluate both aspects.

Kelly Wardlow: And I think you have to just be honest with yourself. Like, I think it's always.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: The question of like, I want it to look like this, but am I gonna do it if I have to [00:40:00] take the time to do this and curate this or have to d- you know, I probably wouldn't. So if I have to make it, we're in that sweet spot like where the Venn diagram like overlaps of I get this done and I really like the aesthetic.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I mean, like, I would love to have more photos from my actual camera, but I'm someone who doesn't like to take stuff with me. I'm like a, I bring my phone when my husband is driving 'cause I literally don't wanna carry anything else. And so, like, to bring an actual, to, to bring a camera that has to then go in an even bigger bag than my normal purse, I just don't wanna do it anymore.

Kelly Wardlow: No, I'm the same. When I do take my DSLR, I literally use it as my purse. I just put, like, the stuff in the side, like, if I had to.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: But.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Kelly Wardlow: Mine is so old now because.

Jennifer Wilson: It is. Yeah, mine too.

Kelly Wardlow: I got new lens, but my actual base is so old that in, like, the next couple years, it's probably not gonna be great anymore.

Like, it's already had to get fixed a couple times. It's, [00:41:00] well, I think I was... So it's over, like, 17 years old, the one I have. And so, which makes me feel really old. And so I feel like it's just kind of going away. Like, now that I can do raw in my camera, it's such a small amount that, yeah. Sometimes with the camera pictures, I almost feel like the AI assist is too much. You know.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes, it is. Oh my gosh.

Kelly Wardlow: It? Yeah. And so I feel like if I can get that to, to get rid of that, I would totally get rid of my full camera completely. But sometimes for portraits, I don't need it to look so crisp and clear, which is gorgeous, but not always the look you're looking for.

So I'm holding on still a little bit.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. My, I was trying to calculate in my head, I got my camera, the DSLR, in like 2009 or 2010, so it's as about as old as yours too. And I did like, I, it fell off a bed once. I'm gonna blame my daughter, but I'm sure it was my fault. Um, and it was never the same since. And even [00:42:00] at that point, it was too old to be re- repaired.

And so like I can use it, but I just can't use it for anything that requires squares, like taking pictures of scrapbook pages.

Kelly Wardlow: Oh.

Jennifer Wilson: Like, you know, a bookshelf or like things where lines are important. Like people, it's, you really can't tell a difference. But anything that's actually requires alignment, not so much.

Kelly Wardlow: I, I have to tell you this because it blew my mind, and I'm curious 'cause I feel like we're-- I, I think you're younger, but we're, like, very similar in the, you know, in our timeframe. My daughter in college, so she's 21, they have her friend, and they make her take all the pictures 'cause they just adore it.

She has an actual digital camera that gives like, that almost, you know when, like, the digital cameras were, like, too black, and it was, like, too, like, there would be, like, almost orangey hues, and then it has the little, like, date and time at the bottom?

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: So the pictures aren't actually... Like, the pictures are worse quality than their phone pictures.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, [00:43:00] sure.

Kelly Wardlow: They love It. And it's just that, like, weird how eventually, again, the pendulum's gonna swing the other way. They just love how that's, like, a totally different look than what they've always had with their phones, and so they are all about it. oh-

Jennifer Wilson: Like we were with it when Instagram came out and we were doing all the filters and frames, and now all the photos from my daughter's first year are like yellow tinged.

Kelly Wardlow: And square.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, and square because I took them directly in Instagram.

Kelly Wardlow: Yeah, same. N- it's completely the same. And so yes, we, we feel like I think there's something about, like, some things will always be true. Like the DSLR where it takes such, like, a rich picture and you can see all the depth and you get all the light, will always be in style, but then other things will go up and down.

So maybe you and I will end up getting a new camera one of these days.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I hope so.

Kelly Wardlow: The first time you let your daughter take a picture with it? I was like, "Okay, put this around your neck. Don't drop it. Hold it like this." Like, [00:44:00] I was so worried.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh.

Kelly Wardlow: When I finally let my kid use it after not letting them use it for such a long time.

Jennifer Wilson: 100%, yes. Um, yeah, I'm pretty sure I let her use the broken one versus... I do have a mirrorless, but I don't, I don't love it, uh, so it doesn't really ever get used.

I bought it for video only, so.

Kelly Wardlow: And does it work well for video?

Jennifer Wilson: Um, it works well for video that's not live. It's, it's one of... It's of the era where it had a 30-minute timer, like a 30-minute shutoff, and so it shuts off at 30 minutes, so you really can't use it for live streaming. I think I have some sort of workaround, but I just, I just gave up on all that. So.

Kelly Wardlow: No, I hear you.

Jennifer Wilson: Anyway, that's an aside.

Kelly Wardlow: But it's one of those things that's a shame where like, you know the technology could do more, but it would take so much effort to figure that out. So it's like cost-benefit analysis. Like, is this worth it? Should I really be doing this? No, I'm just gonna change and use what this other thing that I know will work.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, for sure. Yeah, and to make [00:45:00] it, uh, to be less perfectionist about it. Like, I can still, um, show my scrapbooking when I want to. Um, with other things it does not have to be perfect. I am my... I'm not a YouTuber. Sometimes I make YouTube videos, and sometimes I make videos for the members, but I, that's not, like, my overall kind of, uh, platform, so.

Kelly Wardlow: You know, I think because I only do digital and when I did real we didn't take picture... Like, it wasn't as much of a thing to take pictures of your layouts. I didn't realize all that would encompass. Like, you spent all this time making such beautiful colors, but like, depending on the lighting and the color of the room or the time of day, like, wow, it could change, like, your whole feeling of your page. So kudos to you for handling that.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I like take pictures in my guest room, like around 3:00 PM. It has to be like a slightly overcast day.

Kelly Wardlow: Oh my gosh, overcast days are my favorite. Like, 'cause I make my own CU items, so like.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm

Kelly Wardlow: Or things I cut out of paper and bring them [00:46:00] out. I like save them all in a box and I wait till the overcast day to go outside to take the picture.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice. Nice, yes.

Kelly Wardlow: That's the tip of the day.

Jennifer Wilson: For sure, for sure. How do you keep your photos and stories organized and ready to work on your annual book?

Kelly Wardlow: Oh, and definitely like something that I could not live without is we use Google Photos and I have my daughter... Like my daughter in college, she'll send me, like once a week she'll pick hers and then she'll like send them to the Google Photo section that we have, like the album that we have. So I can always have a section of these are from Kenzie, like what she's doing at college kind of pictures in.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: Our yearbook. And, um, I love Google Photos because if you're not s- like I can open it up, you know, it goes by date, so I know what happened every day, which, you know, in pocket scrapbooking is super important. So like everything's already organized. I don't have to look through... Like they literally in Google... Have you ever used [00:47:00] Google Photos?

Jennifer Wilson: I have, but I don't use it as my, my primary system.

Kelly Wardlow: They, they separate it by day, so like I know what day. So I can... It helps me, and I don't know if you're a pocket scrapbooker, I look through the week to see how many photos I'm gonna use. 'Cause I might have like, my b- my way to get over my bad pictures is to take like 10 pictures of everything. So I'll have so many pictures.

Jennifer Wilson: Sure.

Kelly Wardlow: And I'll go through and be like, "All right, I'll take one of those, one of those."

And depending on h- what number of pictures I have, I know how many pages or what I'm going to do. So I really love Google Photos for that because... And my husband's and my, my older daughter, their, all their pictures go in there, so I have acces.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: To everything, and I can then plan accordingly for when I'm gonna do that week. So I really like that.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I like how they do that automatically. At the Lightroom, I use Lightroom Classic. The regular Lightroom apps, including the one on my phone, will break things down. But in order to see week by week in [00:48:00] Classic, you have to create like smart albums to do that.

Which is fine, but it does, it, it's quite a bit of work to create 52 smart albums for every year, um, if that's how you wanna see your photos.

Kelly Wardlow: And do you do it in Lightroom, I know so that you can, like, batch edit everything, but then you ever take things into Photoshop, or do you do Lightroom and you print them out and then because you're you know, physically scrapbooking?

Jennifer Wilson: I will take them into Photoshop if I want to do something like swap heads.

Kelly Wardlow: Right? Always.

Jennifer Wilson: Uh, but it's, it... Or something that's, like, really weird, like a really weird correction that I'm not... But, but Lightroom is even so powerful today that I, it's very rare that I need to take something out of it. Um, when I'm, I'm doing digital right now in Affinity. For a, a couple of different reasons, so I'm usually just actually, I'm exporting it on my phone and then sending it to my computer. Just because I, I want it to be really easy and not necessarily have to, [00:49:00] like...

I'm trying not to be perfectionist about it. I'm trying not to be like, "Okay, I need to narrow down all my photos and then pick the ones." I'm doing it the opposite. I'm like, I'm picking the photos that I care about by the stories that I care about. And forgetting about all the rest. Like, yeah, I sometimes go in and delete things, but instead of trying to narrow it down, I'm just trying to, like, pick the cream that's at the top, so.

Kelly Wardlow: I really like that 'cause I feel like story-based scrapbooking then is so, um, motivating. You know, 'cause like you have a whole story to.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: Tell, so you have like a vision and a power where I literally go where the story is our life. So I kind of look at the.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: Time period and then pick those that way. And so I don't think I could do it without.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah

Kelly Wardlow: Google Photos, but I never even thought about the fact it's because I do the whole thing in Photoshop. Like I'm scrapbooking the whole page in Photoshop, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah

Kelly Wardlow: It doesn't matter how I bring the picture in, I'm gonna edit it in Photoshop, not beforehand, so. And I, I have access to Lightroom, and I've never used it because I think I've always used like [00:50:00] batch processing on Photoshop. So.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: I wonder now, like with the flow. That would be such a great, I would watch that video. Like if you videotaped your flow, I think I could totally watch like a whole series on everybody's like workflow. And how they do It because I feel like I would learn so many, "Oh, this is better. This is better."

Jennifer Wilson: I actually do have a video on that. So I will include that in the show notes for the episode, and I will send it to you after. I, uh, it's... The video is old now, but I, I don't think there's anything about it that's actually outdated in terms of how, how I do things.

Kelly Wardlow: That is awesome. I'm gonna watch it.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, yeah. And I think that it was, in terms of why I was attracted so much to Lightroom back in the day when I started, was because of the slider-based editing.

Like, yes, I could edit things in, in Photoshop, but I, I just never... It, it always felt very clunky and troublesome to me. [00:51:00] Um, and, you know, even doing like, doing like a Camera Raw edit in Photoshop, that's really was like, that's, that would be something that might be, you might be attracted to if you're taking raw photos with your iPhone and being able to bring up the Camera Raw dialogue that then has the sliders that pretty much are exactly like a Lightroom, so.

But, you know, if you have a system and it works for you, that's what really matters. That's what I always tell everyone. It doesn't matter how you're getting to the end result. If you know what you're doing and how to do it, and do it again and again, then just do that, because that's much easier than trying to learn a whole different process.

Kelly Wardlow: Totally, unless the process is so helpful. I think it was three years ago I learned, do you ever make something in a Crockpot and you have to use forks to like undo it? You can just use your hand mixer.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: And it does it in like three seconds. Literally when that happened, I, when I, when a friend of mine told me about it like three years ago, I told my husband, I'm like, "We're having pulled pork every day because this literally revolutionized my whole life."

So if there's any-- I'm always looking for the hack. Like if there is something that [00:52:00] you do that I'm like, "Oh my gosh, that's genius," then I can add it into my, like my workflow, I, it would make my day or life or week.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. You know, it's always simple things like that. Like, I recently started using, like, gloves more with, like, mixing. Like, I make a two-ingredient dough with, like, flour and, and yogurt, or even just, like, cutting up chicken and marinating it. It's like, oh my gosh, like, this is revolutionary to use gloves because then you're not trying to, like, just get it off your hands, and then the chicken's always slimy, and it... I love to cook, but I, for some reason I never thought that that would be a helpful part of, of my cooking.

Kelly Wardlow: Oh, that's... I agree with that completely. We put, like, aluminum foil under... We, like, have breakfast for dinner and because there's a lot of us, like, I just bake the bacon on trays.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: Do it all at once. And so, like, I remember originally, like, not, like, lining the tray and being like, "This is ridiculous." And so I, I think any hack like that is perfect.

Also, I am so excited.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: To try that, [00:53:00] um, Greek yogurt flour dough. It- I've had.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: Like, weeks now, and I'm like, "Ah."

Jennifer Wilson: It works really well for bagels, like pizza crust. Um, I've seen some people make kind of like more like a pita bread out of it. Um, yeah, it works much better than I ever expected. It also works really well with cottage cheese instead of, uh, the yogurt.

Kelly Wardlow: Yesterday I made cottage cheese blondies. They were actually.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh.

Kelly Wardlow: Delicious. And it, have you ever gotten a recipe and it said almond flour, which we almost always have 'cause we have allergies in our house, and we didn't.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: I've used oat flour and I was like, "Oh, it's not gonna work." And it was so good.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, good.

Kelly Wardlow: That was my highlight of the day yesterday.

So.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice, nice

Kelly Wardlow: We're big fans of like adding protein. Even though we have one kiddo who can't have dairy, which makes me so sad. But.

Jennifer Wilson: For sure. So how, when, you know, with a busy life, busy family, how are you actually getting your project done? How does that happen for you?

Kelly Wardlow: Like, with intention. Like, [00:54:00] I can't It is not... so first of all, I feel very blessed in that my kids love the yearbooks. They, all.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: Them, even I have one who's, like, a little grumpy. But even he loves when, especially he particularly likes the QR codes. Like, he'll like going with his phone and watching all the QR codes. And so they all love it. And so sometimes it's just about, like, "Hey, Mom is gonna be upstairs, and I need to catch up on my..." Like, I- it's easier for me to tell them, "I need to catch up on our scrapbook," than if I say, "I have to get some work done." They understand, like, "Okay, this is important." So.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: Have to set apart...

There was a great magical time in my life when all four of my kids first went to school, and 'cause my youngest was supposed to go to kindergarten right when COVID hit. So.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh gosh.

Kelly Wardlow: Like, that, like, oh my gosh, after, at, at that point, see, so five... [00:55:00] Like, I had been home, and we had even homeschooled for a while, for like 15 or 16 years with kids.

Like, you know, I mean, longer than we were kids, but, like, you know, like, someone home. Like, at some point, someone was in school and somebody was home, and that's how we were living. And so it was finally gonna be the year of, like, I can get everything done that I need to get done, and then COVID hit, and we had to do home...

Like, we had to do school at home with all four of my kids in one space. And so I was like, "No!" But then that year after felt magical because I wasn't working yet. You know, I, I, like, did part-time volunteering at a place, but, like, I wasn't working yet, so I had all this time. Like, I got, like, every Monday I would scrap the week before.

I had, like, everything tied in the bow. The house was the cleanest it's ever been. But then that only lasted for a year. Before then, I started working and doing other stuff. But, um.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: I have to intentionally set it so that, like, I am at least... I think now the, I set up my whole year ahead of [00:56:00] time. Like, hey I got my work done. I have this chunk of time," I set up all the whole year. And I make cards that have the dates on them, like week one and then the date underneath it. I make those every year, and so I'll use that and I'll put it up for the whole year. So that I only need smaller chunks at a time to fill in and be done. Or, I don't know if you ever do this, like, then I'll just put in the pictures and the journaling, and then I'll come back, like, six months later and then I'll embellish it.

Like, I kind of just try to.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: Keep up whatever works, and sadly it's not even consistent. I'm changing it all the time. Like, sometimes I can get this much done, sometimes I can do this. Sometimes I'll have a week that was, like, amazing, like you said, with a story, and I'll, like, do that week. So I'll, like, be missing two months.

I have this one week done and then another two months after. So hodgepodge. I'm sure that helps no one.

Jennifer Wilson: And no. Well, no, and I, I think it helps normalize that, um, [00:57:00] scrapbooking happens in the time that we make for it, and that it's, it's a, it's gonna look different for everyone and in everyone's different season of life. It's always gonna be evolving. And the thing is, if something's not working for you, you have to take a look and see, "Well, okay, what can I shift to try it a different way and to give yourself permission?"

Maybe it's, maybe it's timing. Maybe it's, you know, the format you're working in. Uh, maybe you need something more portable, or maybe you're need something less portable. It's, you know, there's always gonna be different circumstances, and you have, you know, as we say, permission to do it the way that works best for you

Kelly Wardlow: I totally agree with that. And I-- that's why I feel like the Project Life app can be so wonderful, even if you're using it in part.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: Because, like, I don't know about you, but I have spent a lot of time in car lines or waiting.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: For kids. Like, like over an hour a day for most of my life, you know, spending somewhere just waiting, and so having it on your phone is really nice.

I just don't enjoy it as [00:58:00] much anymore, so I've moved on. So I've lost that time, but that was like my one efficiency hack, was that I was able to do it when I could back in the days when I used the app.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. But even like managing photos. Um, I'm-- I was really excited yesterday. I saw that the Collect app is coming back. Like it hasn't been updated in seven years, but now they're working on it, and I-- that was... I, I think it was fin- it was a kind of discontinued or forgotten about the time that I had started wanting to use it.

But in terms of like one photo, you could write a caption and export that as a literal Project Life card was kind of one of the most genius, you know, simplicity strategies, and I'm really excited to see what they do with it. Um, even if I don't actually use the export, I'm excited about being able to kind of curate.

These are the photos that I wanna use. These are the words I wanna put, and then I can then transfer that to whatever I'm gonna put it in later.

Kelly Wardlow: So I have it in my one, maybe two scrapbooks. Like I have a l- and what I used to do is just regular Project [00:59:00] Life, you know, um, per week, right? But then I.

Jennifer Wilson: Uh-huh.

Kelly Wardlow: Would save at the end was almost like month in review, and it was the one favorite part of every day.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice. Very cool.

Kelly Wardlow: So then I think actually it probably made more work, but I loved it and I loved the way it was, the way it, they set it up, that it was almost like a Polaroid.

Like everything about it.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: You said that. I had no idea it was coming back.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, so I'm excited. I think that's gonna be, or at least I hope is going to be a, another fun tool that's gonna help a lot of scrapbookers.

Kelly Wardlow: And I feel like they could... Now they can add so many things to it. You know, you can really... I feel like it shouldn't be too hard for them to make it more functional too. Like, not just

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. As long as it has, like, those basic features, 'cause I have tried so many other things just to get that simple, I want a photo and a caption on a white background with nothing else. Please just give me this, and nothing else will do it. Um, other than something like Canva or Photoshop, which that, I don't wanna do that.

I wanna, like, I don't wanna make it myself. I [01:00:00] can, but I don't want to.

Kelly Wardlow: You like have to deal with it. Right, I totally agree.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: It's so great for like, you know, a Day In The Life and a Week In The Life because you can just.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Kelly Wardlow: And take that picture, you know, like and have it all set. And, you know, just put in the title.

Jennifer Wilson: That would be amazing. Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: And you don't have to do much. It's just kind of all done for you. So I love that.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Kelly Wardlow: I am so glad. And I just remember there was two fonts that were available on it, and I just always used the one, and I forget now, 'cause like you said, it was so long ago. But.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Kelly Wardlow: To hear this. I will also jump on that bagwa- bandwagon.

Jennifer Wilson: Very cool. Kelly, this has been such a delightful conversation. Thank you.

Kelly Wardlow: Thank you. I, I just also loved being introduced to your whole community, and so I really loved learning about you and all that you do. You're really making a difference in the scrapbooking community, and I really... I, I was just excited to get to know you.

Jennifer Wilson: Thank you. Thank you. Can you share where our listeners can find you online? Anything else you might have new or coming up this year?

Kelly Wardlow: Sure. Um, you-- [01:01:00] I have, uh, a website at connectionkeeping.com. But it's, it's taking a back burner. But you can always find me at Sweet Shop Designs under Connection Keeping.

Jennifer Wilson: Sounds good. We'll include those links in the show notes to the episode.

Kelly Wardlow: Thank you so much, Jennifer

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Thank you for spending time with me, and to all of our listeners, please remember that you have permission to scrapbook your way.

Leanne Millo: [00:00:00] As funny as it sounds, I know I've said yes to more plans in my real life than I might have originally. Because I knew they'd make great photos or I knew they'd become stories with my friends that I would love to have documented, and I think it just really helps you look at those little details in your life and appreciate things and have gratitude for things and just take the time to notice.

Jennifer Wilson: Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way, the show that explores the breadth of ways to be a memory keeper today. I'm your host, Jennifer Wilson, owner of Simple Scrapper and author of The New Rules of Scrapbooking. This is episode 348. In this episode, I'm chatting with Leanne Millo about her journey through multiple Project Life formats and what she's learned along the way.

Leanne shares how she landed on a Creative Memories 12x12 approach that lets her capture every week of the year in one album

Hey, Leanne, welcome to [00:01:00] Scrapbook Your Way.

Leanne Millo: Hi, and thanks for having me.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm looking forward to getting to know you better and having our conversation today. Can you start by sharing a little bit about yourself?

Leanne Millo: You bet. So my name is Leanne. I'm based near Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. I'm in my early 30s. I live with my husband and our mini goldendoodle, Daisy. She's four. I'd say we're a pretty active family. We love being outside, traveling, cooking, gardening, all the things that you'll see recurring through my photos in my weekly scrapbook spreads.

Jennifer Wilson: Wonderful. Wonderful. Now we're gonna get more into how you approach scrapbooking and how that, how you got into it, uh, today. But I have a few icebreaker questions I always like to ask. Do you have a favorite recent layout or project?

Leanne Millo: For sure. So I think my favorite honestly tends to be just whatever I'm currently working on. I kinda get, like, obsessed with each project, and then ready to put it to the side. But currently, I'd say my favorite still happens to be my Project Life album. I'm [00:02:00] doing 12 by 12 every week right now, and I've kind of been doing a different format.

Getting to explore that over the last few months has really brought back my creative spark and kind of excitement for scrapbooking again after a little slump recently. In my Project Life, I recently did a travel spread for a work trip I just did to Washington, DC, and I really like being able to mix those, like, specialty highlight pages, as I call them, into my Project Life really seamlessly right now.

So I'm typically going for a more traditional style on those, and having fun mixing them in to kind of be a little bit different than my regular weekly layout, which is more of a grid. So just getting to play around with that has, has been a recent favorite.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, there's something really powerful about switching up formats, even if the kind of underlying intention and approach is very similar. Something about sizes and shapes makes our brain, you know, put together the puzzle a little bit differently.

Leanne Millo: So true. I know, yeah, you can be doing the same project, but changing up the format can make a, a really big impact. I feel like I've [00:03:00] tried so many, so many different ones.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, I can't wait to hear about that. Um, is there something new you're excited to do, use, or try? And this could be in scrapbooking or in everyday life.

Leanne Millo: Yeah. Uh, I'll give you a scrapbooking one. It's kind of funny, but I recently upgraded my paper trimmer, and using it for the first time this week feels like it's changed my life. As dramatic as that sounds, but I think all the paper people here might feel us on this. I've tried, like, three or four of the main trimmer brands, and I'm always struggling whether it's misalignment or the cut's just getting dull.

My recent one was a rotary style one, which I was hoping would make a difference, but it took multiple blade passes just to cut through photo paper, and I hated it. So I recently switched to the Creative Memories 12-inch trimmer, and it feels like it's like the Cadillac of paper trimmers. I didn't realize there could be that big of a quality increase on a paper trimmer, but it's crazy, and you can swap out different blades, so you can even do, like, scalloped edges and stuff with a paper trimmer.

So [00:04:00] I'm just super excited to use that in some of my upcoming products. Or, sorry, not products, but projects.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, no, I totally hear you. I have used so many different trimmers over the years, and, uh, the Creative Memories trimmer is my current favorite as well. It's been very very reliable.

Leanne Millo: Nice. Yeah, I know. I'm,

I'm behind the times with that.

Jennifer Wilson: No, and I mean, I was like, "Oh, I don't know." And, um, I had never ordered from Creative Memories before, and that's gonna be, I'm sure, part of our conversation as well. And then, um, but some friends recommended it, and so I ordered a couple things, and I got the trimmer, and it was so amazing, and I'm like, "Oh, I need to order refills." And after I'd already ordered the refill blades, I discovered you can also order them on Amazon, so.

Leanne Millo: Oh, I haven't checked there.

Jennifer Wilson: In case you need that trimmer blade really, really fast, so.

Leanne Millo: Yeah. That's awesome. I know, it's like butter. Like, gliding that blade across, it's like, wow, that is, that is nice.

Jennifer Wilson: I've been, I've been very happy with it for sure.

Leanne Millo: Awesome.

Jennifer Wilson: All right. So tell us how you got [00:05:00] started scrapbooking.

Leanne Millo: For sure. So my actual introduction for scrapbooking was through my mom, probably back in the 2000s. She was super into scrapbooking when I was growing up, and her best friend was actually a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. So they would do crop nights at their house with all of their girlfriends, and I would get to tag along, and they would sometimes let me try to make my own cards, or I had, like, a mini kid scrapbook.

But it wasn't really anything I did with consistency as a kid.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm

Leanne Millo: Kind of skipping forward, I guess, to where I would actually say it became my hobby was, I think, in 2021. I had just graduated university, and I was kind of being re-exposed to the world of memory keeping through creative journaling. And I was kind of doing that in a vertical weekly Happy Planner style.

I had followed creators like Mary Ellen from Planning with Bumble, and I was kind of using the vertical weekly space to record all of the facts from my week, and I was [00:06:00] using the Happy Planner sticker books to decorate the spreads. And I had kind of been doing that for about two years before I started to wonder if there was a way to include photos in my process. Because I had so many good memories written down, but I'm also super visual, like I'm sure most of us are, and I just kind of wanted to add that photo in.

I've always been, like, the kind of person that has, like, 10,000 photos on my phone, so naturally I feel like scrapbooking started to make sense. And there was so much great online content in 2021 that was pulling me in. So I kind of went back and forth between the journaling and dabbling in the scrapbooking.

But then after a couple years, around 2024, is when I found the Ali Edwards Instagram account, and I started to learn a lot more about the projects that she does with her community and her just general mentality on storytelling, and that's kind of where I segued into things like Project Life, Week in the Life, and dabbling in scrapbooking more seriously.

Jennifer Wilson: Awesome. I love hearing, uh, everyone's story is little bit different, but there's certainly always [00:07:00] commonalities. You know, we often find it through someone else. Um, I'm curious if you still do any kind of things in a planner. Whether it's, I mean, outside of functional planning, but like, you know, decorative or memory keeping type planning. Is that still part of your creative process?

Leanne Millo: I feel like I still go on and off. Like, this year I bought a Hemlock and Oak weekly planner, and I've been really liking that. But I, I don't know. I was trying to do a more, like, graphic and creative style of just, like, journaling in that planner, kind of like Jenn Boom Creates inspired. Um, she's so great with all of her different calligraphy and pens and stickers.

But that became a bit too much work for me to keep up with, I think. So now I've kind of just gone back to doing a more basic use my fountain pen, write down what happened each week, and then I've got that at least as a log. So if I get behind in my scrapbooking, I still have those kind of real time notes from each week.

Jennifer Wilson: That's really helpful. Yeah, I love kind of, um, [00:08:00] observing that, okay, I really like this. I can appreciate that others can, can manage this, but it may not be fitting to my life right now. So what can I do to make it, you know, more practical for me, and then also support the other things I'm doing? So, so. Yeah, awesome transition.

Leanne Millo: I always wanna dabble in every hobby. It's like I gotta try it, but I can't keep up with them all.

Jennifer Wilson: I get it. I get it, especially this time of year with like, there's so many wonderful planner videos with folks that keep up with like seven different things, and I'm like, I would love.

Leanne Millo: I know.

Jennifer Wilson: To be this person, but I'm not this person.

Leanne Millo: The planner stack, right?

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, yeah.

Leanne Millo: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Tell me how kind of your, your interest in scrapbooking evolved into kind of doing Project Life with pocket pages. How did you get started with that?

Leanne Millo: Yeah. So I decided to start Project Life for the first time in August of 2024. I had been seeing it online from, again, so many amazing creators, and honestly, it took me a couple [00:09:00] months to kind of work up the courage to actually start. I was, like, debating, oh, do I need to wait till January and start a new album, or, you know, how do I kinda get into this?

At the beginning, I was definitely a little bit too precious with my stuff. Like, I was not wanting to waste stickers or reprint photos if I messed up, and I hadn't really found, like, a s- a style for myself yet.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Leanne Millo: But eventually I kind of just decided, okay, I need to start this. I started in August and I said, let's just go for it and, you know, see if we even like this hobby.

So my strategy for kind of getting started was, one, just referencing layouts or sketches from other people online to try to build, like, the muscle behind it. And start to understand what looked good in layouts and just ease into scrapbooking. Um, another thing that I did was kind of the reason why I ended up in pocket pages was I was trying to find scrapbooking products that I could actually find in person locally near me.

So I started, out in 12 by 12 because it was really the only [00:10:00] size scrapbook I could find at an in-person craft store. It was super accessible. I bought a binder album, and then I just ordered some page protectors from scrapbook.com. I ordered one set configuration to just keep it easy. And honestly, I had so much fun just slotting photos into the pockets each week, and it was really easy for me to keep up with in real time.

I think not having the pressure of needing to create a traditional layout and figure out what looks good and instead just kind of have the crutch of the pocket page configuration to set the lay up- layout up for you is really how I got hooked and how I kinda got started into that project.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, yeah. No, I, I love it and I lo- I know that's why so many people love Project Life as well, 'cause it does kind of reduce the pressure a little bit while still, like, feeding this need that we have to, to capture our, our lives. And as you said, you were already doing quite a bit of this with your journaling, but now you're getting to add those photos as well.

Leanne Millo: For sure. Yeah, the format just makes it so easy. Like, you can [00:11:00] decorate, you can journal, and you can have your photos all in one. It's, it's just so easy with the page protectors.

Jennifer Wilson: So why would you say it's important to you to capture these everyday stories versus just, you know, birthdays, holidays, milestones?

Leanne Millo: Yeah. I, I know I'm a sucker for the big stories, but the everyday stories is where I spend so much of my time documenting. And I think my main goal for capturing these, honestly, it's, it's for myself. Like, at this point in my life, I don't have kids. I don't know if people will wanna look back at this stuff, but I know that I already do enjoy really looking back at my albums, even from the last couple years.

And there's just so many little details in our lives that maybe at first seem kinda mundane or, you know, you just assume that things will always be the same or that they're so small that they don't have that much meaning. But I think things are the same until they aren't, and maybe some of those small details will actually become important later in your life.

Like, suddenly you don't drive that car anymore [00:12:00] or you don't wear those clothes anymore. And I always think of a classic photo shot that a lot of people started doing during Week in the Life. It's the one where people are either, like, loading a washing machine or loading a dishwasher, and it's something that looks so every day.

But I saw some people in the comments point out that, you know, maybe their dishwasher used to have wine glasses in it and now it's filled with toddler cups. And you just don't consciously realize, like, those little shifts in your life because they're so small. But then looking back and seeing it photographed or seeing you journaling about it is so powerful.

And I think it just kinda helps you be a witness to your own life and kind of appreciate maybe the things that later you'll think are the good old days and, I don't know. As funny as it sounds, I know I've said yes to more plans in my real life than I might have originally. Because I knew they'd make great photos or I knew they'd become stories with my friends that I would love to have documented, and I think it just really helps you look at those little details in your life and appreciate things and [00:13:00] have gratitude for things and just take the time to notice.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, no, that's so beautifully said, and it like, it sounds like it's helped you like even further engage with your life, and that's, you know, there's, that's 110% win-win for everything. That's amazing.

Leanne Millo: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I feel like it really is kind of just the way I experience life now. Like, I'm looking for those little stories, looking for those little photos, and yeah, just trying to add some context maybe to the things that are happening each week.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, your, your example of sharing how those like those mundane photos can change. Like, I think back to, I think it was like a 2014 Week In The Life, and there's a photo of me, like, putting laundry in the dryer or something like that. And of course, I have these like... I had a three-year-old at the time, so I have all these like tiny pink clothes. And now this three-year-old is turning 15 and who wears like all black. Um, so yeah, things definitely can change.

Leanne Millo: Totally. Aw, yeah, it's probably crazy to look back, especially after that many years of [00:14:00] documenting too.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. So you mentioned that you, um, you found Ali Edwards and you've kind of dabbled in some of her projects. Uh, what, what, what projects are part of kind of your suite every year, or maybe that you're thinking about trying for the first time?

Leanne Millo: Yeah. So Project Life I would say is kind of my staple. It's my quick weekly progress. It's the one I don't really let slip whether I take on other projects or not. Um, but I've tried Week in the Life. I've done that twice. I've done December Daily twice now, and I really love doing travel albums. Travel albums were kind of the first standalone album I tried outside of Project Life.

I was doing a travel album for our honeymoon in 2024, and that was really great. I loved being able to just mix in all the different ephemera that we were collecting and just, like, not let all those tickets die in a box in my closet. That was so satisfying to me. I'm not sure if I'll continue to do Week in the Life, honestly, because I capture so much of my daily life pretty consistently already through Project Life. [00:15:00] But I'll definitely be keeping up...

Jennifer Wilson: That's a good point. Yeah.

Leanne Millo: It's... I don't know. When I look back at Week in the Life, I don't know if it's... There's something about it that feels like it's so much effort, and it's kind of the similar stories that I already capture. So.

Jennifer Wilson: I think, and this is like, I guess this is just an opinion that might apply to some people and not apply to others, but if you are doing Project Life, you might not need to do Week in the Life. But if you're not doing anything that's like Project Life, that's like a really kind of everyday documentation, you might find that Week in the Life is enough to kind of capture what life is like right now without feeling like you have to add another project.

So.

Leanne Millo: 100%.

Jennifer Wilson: Some certainly love love doing both, but I think they are kind of good options on the buffet of which you can choose from.

Leanne Millo: I think so too. Yeah. I think that's why I've kind of drifted away from Week in the Life. But you know, the, when you see the collections and they're just so good, it, it draws you in every year. But this year I resisted. Um, I might try to see if there's ways I can use some of those products just in my [00:16:00] regular storytelling instead, so I can still kinda play with those items, but probably don't need the full album.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, no, and I've, I've tried to do that as well with December Daily, and like do I need to do a full album? Because it is a whole endeavor, but the products are so pretty and cute, and the sneak peeks for this year are already getting me, and I'm like, "No, I can't do it." But.

Leanne Millo: Same. Same. I know. I was debating.

Jennifer Wilson: The puffy shaker stickers?

Leanne Millo: I did. I know, they're so good. Yeah, I know, I love the color palette for this year. I was on the edge for December Daily this year, and I think I'm doing it. I saw the sneak peeks and I'm like, "Yep, okay. Sign me up.

Jennifer Wilson: I was gonna do just like digital or maybe just a layout, and now I'm, I need the folks to talk me down because I'm getting very excited.

Leanne Millo: I know. I don't know what it is about the Christmas stuff that just seems like it has extra pull.

Jennifer Wilson: It does. I mean, it brings out kind of that sense of childhood joy and like the anticipation that we had. And, um, as adults we [00:17:00] don't get quite as much of that, so we have to get it in other ways.

Leanne Millo: So true. Yeah. Uh, it is a good project too. I like looking back at those albums.

Jennifer Wilson: Now you mentioned that you were doing some, you'd done some kind of more traditional layouts within your Project Life album. Do you do any layouts kind of outside of Project Life?

Leanne Millo: Not in 12 by 12 at this point.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay.

Leanne Millo: I don't know. I know there are people that do kind of like the separate story albums is what I've heard them called. I just try to put all of my stories into one. I just want one big album for the year, and then if I'm not doing that, it's like for a specific cause, so like a travel album.

But I'll still usually put a little highlight of a trip into my Project Life or my main album for the year. But yeah, I try to keep it all in one place and hopefully reduce the amount of albums I have one day.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes, yes. They, they do add up over time, for sure.

Leanne Millo: Mm-hmm.

Jennifer Wilson: I was having a conversation, um, with someone yesterday about [00:18:00] how there's, there's been kind of some conversations in the community about converting from ring binders to Creative Memories albums just for the point of saving space. Now, this won't work if you have, like, super, super chunky pages, but if your pages are relatively minimal, and particularly if your pages are digital, you know, you can get a lot more pages in a, a narrower format than you can in the ring albums, so.

Leanne Millo: It's actually drastic. Like, I recently did a comparison video on the Creative Memories album versus the ring binder, and even if the spine doesn't look that much different, even just, like, the horizontal kind of, like, wingspan of the 12 x 12 binders is so big to just allow for that binder mechanism. Like, when you're holding one in person, it's like, wow, that is... It is huge. So.

Jennifer Wilson: For sure. So tell me about how the, the Project Life albums that you've completed already, what were the ... You mentioned the first one was 12 by [00:19:00] 12, and then I know, I think you, you went to 10 by 8. What were your experiences in working in those ring albums?

Leanne Millo: Yeah. So I really love the 10 by 8. I honestly had such a good time working in 10 by 8. I think one of the biggest reasons I love that size is because I'm just a sucker for the big full-page photo enlargements that you can do in that size with a regular printer. So that, like, horizontal 8.5 by 11 sheet. Um, I also really like that in those ring binders, and especially in the 10 by 8, you can include so many page sizes and different page protectors into your projects.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm

Leanne Millo: I used a ton of 6 by 8 page protectors in there. I definitely dabbled in all the craftiness, and I've sewn things together to make custom p- page pockets, and I've used my fuse tool to make different things. And I just feel like the 10 by 8 has so much room for creativity and a mix of page protectors and outside the page layouts and, and big photos, which I'm a sucker for, [00:20:00] so.

Jennifer Wilson: Would you choose that again for another type of project?

Leanne Millo: Yeah. I think where I've kind of settled with 10 by 8 is that when I do it for Project Life, it felt like it was maybe a little bit too time-consuming for that project, because I really wanted to keep up with being current. But then I'm spending so much time you know, making these.

Jennifer Wilson: Customizing.

Leanne Millo: Layouts and, yeah.

And it's, it's hard to keep up with that in Project Life. But I really love it for travel, and I really love it for December Daily. So I, I could see myself staying in 10 by 8 for both of those, or maybe separate projects. I have, um... I wasn't a scrapbooker the year that we got married, and I kind of wanna go back and do a 10 by 8 that's like the whole wedding era. Like engagement, all the showers, and I had a lot of friends get married in that same year, and it would be so fun to do something like that.

I could see that in 10 by 8.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. That sounds like such a fun project.

Leanne Millo: Yeah. I love [00:21:00] like even using those little page attachers too to add in like.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm

Leanne Millo: Cards or brochures or different things, and that works really good in 10 by 8. That's a little bit different now that I'm working in 12 by 12. Um, but yeah, in 10 by 8 I really like doing, doing those kind of things.

Jennifer Wilson: So I noticed that you also created your own 10 by 8 album. So I'm curious, like, has it held up? Have you actually used it for a project, and would you, would you make one again?

Leanne Millo: Yeah. So that was such a fun project. I got super into researching bookbinding for a certain period of time, and I had found some videos that helped me plan out how to make my own 10 by 8 binder, and honestly, it's held up really great. I'm, like, super excited about that. I used it to do a Disney travel compilation album.

The album has, like, a section for each trip. And yeah, it's kind of like a highlight reel, so I wasn't a scrapbooker at the time I went on a lot of these trips either, so it's kind of nice to do a little highlight and, you know, your stories don't expire, so I'm working, I'm working on [00:22:00] some of those things from the past.

Especially where I live, like, I think Ali Edwards might be the only one that sells 10 by 8, and just being in Canada, shipping, conversion, ordering albums can be really expensive. So I thought, you know what? Let's try, and then if I want to make more 10 by 8 albums, I can. And, and yeah, I would honestly really recommend it if you're looking for a kind of a unique album size or something that you can't get near you, making your own with book- that kind of like book board and covering it with scrapbook paper, and it was, it was pretty easy and yeah, it's held up really well.

Jennifer Wilson: Very cool. Yeah, no, it's, uh, I was so impressed by like, just the process that you used because I've tried to even just do some of those more interactive pages in December Daily and I'm like, "Okay, I'm measuring and I'm trying and I'm folding and I'm trying to d- you know, do a dummy in advance." And I'm like, "Okay, something I'm not getting here about the dimensions and leaving the right amount of spaces."

And so yeah, I, I thought that was really impressive.

Leanne Millo: Thank you. Yeah, it's definitely a little bit of trial and error. There were some maybe mistakes, but you know what? It's paper, so you c- you can always rip it [00:23:00] off and glue it down again.

Jennifer Wilson: Very true. Very true. So you recently started working in a new format for your Project Life, as you mentioned earlier. Can you tell us more about it and how that came about?

Leanne Millo: Yeah. So right now, the new format that I'm working in, um, as I kind of mentioned, is the 12 by 12 Creative Memories album. And I can give a little bit of a backstory of how I kind of got to that since I was so heavy into pocket pages before. Um, like I was saying, I think the 12 by 12 binder that I started in wasn't necessarily the size for me, but it was available, and it was so large.

I, I learned a lot in that album, but I think especially doing double-page layouts for every week, it just felt like it was kind of too much. So from there, I shifted to nine by 12, and I honestly loved that size. Um, especially the page protector layout I used had a mix of three by fours and four by sixes.

It felt like it was the perfect amount of space to mix photos but also have enough room to use the cards and [00:24:00] the products, and I love it. Like, I would recommend anyone that just wants to do regular Project Life pocket pages to go nine by 12 in a heartbeat. The only little thing that bothered me about it was I just don't wanna have multiple albums for every year, and I can't seem to get through it in less than two albums for the year with the amount of page protectors that you need.

It's not, like, totally logical on why I don't wanna have two albums. It just feels like a, a pet peeve almost. Like, I just feel like it's satisfying to have one album for each year on the shelf. So.

Jennifer Wilson: I get it.

Leanne Millo: Yeah. It's... The dream is trying to, I guess, figure out everyone's perfect scrapbooking scenario. So for me, I'm looking for something that's the right size and that's one album.

So from there, I was trying to evaluate what I wanted to do. I did nine by 12 for a full year. Uh, that was 2025, and then I changed for the start of 2026 into the 10 by 8 that we were talking about. That was totally inspired by Ali Edwards because she's been doing [00:25:00] her annual project in that size, and I just loved the creative freedom of that, that kind of format that we were talking about.

When I did go 10 by 8, I switched from doing weekly spreads to having a divider set up for each month and just telling however many stories I felt was appropriate to kind of capture that month. So it felt like it shifted a little bit more to be highlight stories and then maybe have, like, one spread that just had a bunch of those little random everyday photos.

So I kind of found that I had lost some of that when I went to 10 by 8 because everything was just like, okay, I went... I did this weekend trip, and that's a, a spread for that, and then I would do this event, and that was a spread. And some of that day-to-day stuff, I felt like, I don't know, I wasn't telling it to the same level of detail maybe with 10 by 8. But yeah, it was also just a, a time investment, and I really wanted to stay current with, with my album.

So that all led me to the shift of trying now in the second half of 2026, the Creative Memories. [00:26:00] So I just started that style in June, and honestly, I was kind of resisting going back to 12 by 12 because of the binder album earlier. Just being so large and, I don't know, it feels like it's like the OG traditional one and not as modern maybe as some of the other formats.

So I don't know. I had some kind of mental block there, but eventually I got over that. I ordered the Creative Memories album, and I really like it because you get the benefit of the binder, which for me is being able to reorder pages, um, with the Creative Memories album because they have a strap-bound system.

So you can still insert as many pages as you want. You can still reorder them. You just open up the straps and rearrange your pages. Um, and because you can buy the pages separately, you can add in as many pages or page packs as you want. Up to, I think, two inches is what I've seen online, which is like three packs.

And I kind of did the math, and for my goal to have one album per year, if I use two of those packs and I do a single page spread for each week of the year, [00:27:00] then I'll actually have enough page inserts or whatever to do one page per week and still have like 15 r- pages for like highlight pages, as I call them.

So if I wanna do a full page to cover a special birthday or do a trip page or just emphasize a fun event, I still have room to do that on top of my weekly pages. So that's been really fun for me to kind of mix and match.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, no, this is so awesome. I, yeah, I love kind of the troubleshooting you did to, to get there, and particularly to acknowledge that really like that weekly structure and that it helps you capture the, the little and the big and everything in between. Um, and then also finding a way to get it into all one album.

Leanne Millo: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Is very satisfying, as you said.

Leanne Millo: When you're switching between albums, I'm like, "Do other people think about this this much?" Like, the size, the format, how many albums? And I don't know, but I spent a lot of time, I guess, trying to refine that. Um, in the Creative Memories albums too, the pages [00:28:00] are a white thick cardstock base instead of like a clear page protector.

So that's kind of a different point of this style. Um, I've been really liking that because I usually keep the bright white background as the base to kind of make a clean photo grid on top of it each week. So I like having that white background show through. Every week I kind of make a custom grid layout based on how many photos I have, and what's really cool about that is that you're not stuck to having the same grid layout on the other side of the page like you would with a pocket page.

So.

Jennifer Wilson: Correct.

Leanne Millo: Each week I have a fully custom grid, which is something really cool about this style.

Jennifer Wilson: Now what, like I've noticed that you've done kind of different like, you know, subgrids, like really smaller photos as well. How do you plan all that out?

Leanne Millo: Yeah, so my planning process is a bit different with this. So I kinda have to plan things out in advance. I kinda need to, like, do the math, and I usually start with figuring out how many photos I have and what kind of stories I'm telling. Um, [00:29:00] I like to use Canva to pre-plan my layout. Because I like how easy it is to just drag and drop photos in and resize and kind of make, like, a mock-up of what I'm thinking first.

So the math side of it, I mean, 12 by 12 is easy for that. At least it's a square. So you know your page is 12 by 12. If I were to put down two four by sixes, let's say side by side, then that would be touching edge to edge of that page, and it would be the full 12-inch width. So you can kind of figure out, like, you could fit six four by sixes technically on the 12-inch page, right?

Um, what I like to do is take a quarter inch off of each photo so that it makes the room for that white background paper to show through and make the white grid that you see. So if I'm printing a four by six photo, for example, I would actually print it at, like, 3.75 by 5.75 to make that border around everything.

And then I kinda just work on making those different templates, do the math, and try to figure out, you know, how many photos can I fit if they're all these different sizes. And [00:30:00] yeah, I don't know, it's kinda just pre-planning is really the key, I'd say.

Jennifer Wilson: How are you going from Canva then to your printer? Are you printing the photos from Canva or are you going into something else first? How do you get them from your concept to photos?

Leanne Millo: Little photos, yeah. So I don't print through Canva. I basic- on Canva I'm using what's called, like, the whiteboard layout. Um, so it's kinda just like a big free art board. I s- I solely use it for planning, and then I will print from... Well, all my printing I do from home, so I have, like, a little four by six photo printer, and then I have a full-size, like, letter size regular printer as well.

Um, for my specific workflow, I bring everything into Lightroom, edit it, and then I put it into Photoshop and do kind of, like, art boards that I print off from there. So I'll print my photos just directly onto four by six photo paper for the most part, unless I'm doing an enlargement. I'll print it off on a letter sized piece of, [00:31:00] like, photo paper, the glossy Canon one.

Yeah. I don't know. It's kind of a... Basically what I'm doing, I guess, is digitally planning it in Canva, printing everything physically and separately, and then I reassemble that grid layout on the page. So I'm not printing it off all as one. I'm printing each photo or card separately, and then actually building it out by gluing it all down onto the page.

Jennifer Wilson: Are you adding any kind of additional embellishments, um, on top of that? Or is it very much kind of like a truly hybrid layout of you're printing out what starts as digital things and, and, and then adhering them back together in a collage?

Leanne Millo: Yeah. I feel like I kind of do a mix of everything. Like, if I, if I pre-plan anything digitally, I try to print everything separately, I guess, as, like, their own elements. So, like, I'll print my photos on photo paper. I'll print, like, die cuts or journaling cards or embellishments on, I think it's the Epson Premium Matte paper.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Leanne Millo: And... Or I'll, like, cut it out with my Cricut or whatever, [00:32:00] and I'll basically, like, manufacture everything for myself at home. And then I would take those all as if I had ordered a physical kit or if I had physical products, and then I would do, like, kind of a traditional scrapbook process, I feel like, to bring it all to life.

So, I don't know. I really like the three-dimensionality of having what feels like physical products to work with. Um, but I also do a lot of products that I'm, like, actually buying at the scrapbook store, too, or on scrapbook.com. I love, like, puffy stickers and other things, too, that aren't digitals that I'm producing at home. So, it's kind of a mix just of, like, where I'm kind of working from and with what products.

Jennifer Wilson: Sure, sure, sure.

You've mentioned quite a bit of the pros, uh, comparing this to the pocket pages. Are there any kind of drawbacks that you found? Things you're like, "Oh, I do kind of miss this one little aspect."

Leanne Millo: Um, I think, well, one is that when you're making up your own grids from scratch, you just have to think about it a little bit more. So as much [00:33:00] as that was a pro, it could also be a con, I guess. Um, like you said, how do you know if you wanna do two-by-twos or three-by-fours or, you know, even enlarge something as a six-by-eight, and then how do you fit all the other photos around that?

I think that's something that you kinda need to, like, build up your skill set around. So, you know, if you're just looking for something that's super easy, and you don't wanna think as much about how to make a balanced layout from scratch, maybe you could say that this, I guess, style could take a little bit more effort to get used to. Because you don't have the pocket pages.

That being said, sometimes I totally just recreate a pocket page grid. Like, I can look at a 12-by-12 page protector and just emulate that onto my white page. So, you know, you could make it as easy or as complicated as you want. I don't know. I'm also thinking about just, like, having the white pages. With the Creative Memories albums, I've been sliding those, like, protective kinda page protector sheets on when you're done.

Like, Creative Memories is a little different 'cause you're not sliding the page into the protector. [00:34:00] You're doing the page first and then sliding the protector over the side. I don't know if you've seen that.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, yeah. They do offer the top-loading page protectors now too, though.

Leanne Millo: Yes, that's right. Actually, I've been debating, like, trying to... I don't know. I need to explore more, I think, with the different inserts that they have.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm

Leanne Millo: 'Cause I also saw that they had, like, letter-sized inserts, and there's scrap journal-sized inserts and stuff too. But I just think in general maybe you have a little bit less selection.

Like, there's not as many page protector configurations. There's not as many things you can mix and match in. One of the things I'm trying to figure out right now is, like, if I do have a brochure or something, what's the best way for me to add that in now? It feels just, like, unnatural almost to not have this protective sleeve on for some reason, even though in my old albums I did outside of the page protector all the time.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Leanne Millo: But yeah, I don't know. With the strap system, trying to figure out, like, what is the equivalent of, like, a plastic page attacher for this album so I could just, like, slot in a ticket or slot in a brochure. That's something I'm trying to [00:35:00] figure out with this one still.

Jennifer Wilson: I wonder if you could use like the Fuse tool along with their, you know, more full page pocket type pages in order to like cut it down to the appropriate size, but still have the appropriate left side binding.

Leanne Millo: Yeah. I was thinking about that too, 'cause like if I did get their kind of page protectors that are smaller, you could cut them down or fuse them or.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Leanne Millo: Have something that looks a little bit more like an insert and not as much like a full page.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah. And I don't know, like then because you don't have the same kind of, uh, flexibility because of the rings if those type of inserts are, make it more awkward too.

Leanne Millo: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Because it is all closer together.

Leanne Millo: Definitely wanna order some and play around. I'm gonna have to put an update on that at some point. But yeah, that, that's the one thing I found that I'm kinda like, "Oh, I need to think of something for that," or, you know, buy some of their other products maybe and see [00:36:00] how I can make that work.

Jennifer Wilson: No, it sounds like this is, you mentioned earlier, you asked earlier, like, do people really think about this? And I 100%, no, you are not alone in the thinking about this.

Leanne Millo: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: If we're not thinking about it before we buy it, we're thinking about it once we bought it, and what we're gonna buy next, and how what works best for us, and what type of, you know, overall process feels easy, even if it does take steps. Sometimes that, those steps can feel easy and feel good. Versus things that maybe are technically faster, but they don't, they're not as fun or not as interesting or they're just, you know, not as satisfying in the end. So we have to decide what works.

Leanne Millo: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Best.

Leanne Millo: Yeah. I know, I, and I think you're always trying to optimize, right? Like, in my dream world, my shelf for some reason would have, like, a consistent type of documenting, like all of the same albums. But something with my experience scrapbooking so far, I guess, is that I haven't been able to achieve that yet, and even if at the beginning I thought, like, "Oh, I really wish I could just stick to a style," I think it's actually [00:37:00] been really exciting also to try all those different things and go through all of those different projects and albums and kind of learn, like, what you did like about each one. And I think maybe there's, there's a scrapbook style for each maybe phase of life that you're in, right?

Like, it doesn't always have to be the same. I, I think just do what works for you, and maybe I'm in 12 by 12 for now, and maybe I won't be forever, and I think that's okay, too.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, no, it's so fun. You know, there's things that came about in the past 10 years that we n- didn't know were coming, and I'm sure that's gonna happen in the next 10 years. There's gonna be new innovations, things that look exciting and interesting, and we're gonna try it, and it's gonna work for some of us, and some of us are gonna be like, "No, I really like this other thing that I was already doing, and I'm gonna go back to that."

And that's, don't know, that's part of what makes it fun and interesting.

Leanne Millo: Yeah, I agree. I know, I love seeing how creative everyone is in the community too. Like, it's cool to say like, "Okay, this is the popular style right now," but it's also fun to just watch people kind of break out of that. Like, I don't see a ton of people doing Project Life [00:38:00] in the 12 by 12 on the white pages kind of in the way I have recently.

But it's funny to just talk to people and be like, "Oh my gosh, I didn't think of it like that. I'm gonna try this." Or then they start to send me inspiration on what else I could do to, you know, maybe solve this other problem or something. And I think it's so cool to just see everyone working together, and love talking about all these different things, and trying different things, and being inspired by everyone else.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, yes, 100%. Now, I guess the last thing I wanna ask is do you have any advice for someone who maybe is curious about Project Life? So now that you've tried it different ways, you've found maybe a system that, that works better for you, what advice would you have to someone who, who wants to get started?

Leanne Millo: Ooh, that's a good question. I think don't be afraid to try different things. That's like something that I learned even, like I was kind of saying back at the beginning, you have all that kind of fear of just getting started. But, um, I think there's like a quote that's kind of like... it's something that's basically like you don't have to be great to start, [00:39:00] but you have to start to be great.

Like, you just have to get started. That's my biggest advice. You can refine your format. You can change your album. You can, you know, change even the frequency. Like, I know some people do weekly like me. Other people I think do monthly. Maybe you just wanna tell a couple stories. Um, I also wouldn't get so hung up on the format, and I would really focus on capturing like, you know, the actual stories behind why we do this.

Like, what are the little moments that you don't wanna forget? What are the photos that you wanna be able to look back on physically one day, you know, when you're sitting on your couch and flipping through these albums? Whether you're doing it in a planner, whether you're doing it in a journal, you're doing it in a scrapbook or a sketchbook even I've seen people do.

Like, there's so many different ways that you can just achieve the goal of Project Life, which I think is ultimately just, you know, giving importance and capturing everyday moments. And I don't know, there's just so many flexible ways to do it that I feel like just doing it in some kind of way that works for you is better [00:40:00] than not doing it at all. So I.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes!

Leanne Millo: Guess that's my advice.

Jennifer Wilson: I totally agree. Thank you so much for spending time with me and telling us all about your process. Can you share where our audience can find you online? Anything you might have new or coming up later this year?

Leanne Millo: Sure. Yeah, so the main place to find me is on Instagram. My account on there is sunday__plans. There's two underscores between Sunday and plans. Um, coming up I'll definitely be sharing more Project Life. Um, I try to share a lot of design tips too, so things like maybe design fundamentals or how to actually make things look good.

Those are some kind of content pillars I wanna focus on coming up. I've got travel albums in progress, and I'm definitely gonna be posting about December Daily. So if you wanna join us in the Christmas holiday scrapbooking, I'll be sharing a lot of that. Um, yeah, can't wait to just keep scrapbooking and sharing online.

Jennifer Wilson: Awesome. Yeah, again, thanks for spending time with me and chatting with us.

Leanne Millo: Thank you. It's been so much [00:41:00] fun, and I've really, um, appreciated the chance to come on and chat, so thanks for having me.

Jennifer Wilson: And to all of our listeners, please remember that you have permission to scrapbook your way.

Heather Cerulo: [00:00:00] scrapbooking to me is just the most amazing stress reliever. I mean, when I sit down and scrapbook, all my worries kind of go away. And it's my opportunity to be creative, and to just play with things and have fun. So in a very stressful world, I feel like the scrapbooking hobby is a great way to de-stress and just relax, and that's what it is for me.

Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way, the show that explores the breadth of ways to be a memory keeper today. I'm your host, Jennifer Wilson, owner of Simple Scrapper, and author of The New Rules of Scrapbooking. This is episode 347. In this episode, I'm interviewing Heather Cerulo for the My Way series. My Way is all about celebrating the unique ways memory keepers get things done.

We're excited to have Heather as the September featured artist at Simple Scrapper

Jennifer Wilson: Hey, Heather. Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way.

Heather Cerulo: Hi, Jennifer. How are you doing [00:01:00] today?

Jennifer Wilson: I am doing well, thank you. How are you?

Heather Cerulo: I'm good. Good. Doing good.

Jennifer Wilson: Excellent. I'm excited to chat with you today and learn more about you for this My Way episode. You're one of our upcoming featured artists. Well, I guess when this goes live, you will be our featured artist for September, so I'm excited about that. Um, Heather, can you start by sharing a little bit about yourself?

Heather Cerulo: Sure. Um, I live in northern New Jersey in the United States. I've always lived here. Um, I'm a teacher. I teach fourth grade, and actually I'm go- gearing up to enter my 20th year teaching, which blows my mind. I have a husband, Christopher, and then I have a two-year-old daughter, Abigail.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, wonderful, wonderful. Um, when does school start for you?

Heather Cerulo: We start teachers August 31st. I believe that's the Monday, and then the students will start that Wednesday.

Jennifer Wilson: Awesome. Awesome. Yeah, you get a little bit more time, but then I guess you probably go later than we do. So our first day is tomorrow.

Heather Cerulo: Oh my goodness. Well, we got out June [00:02:00] 24th, which was very late this year, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, wow. Yes. Yes.

Heather Cerulo: That balances it all out, right?

Jennifer Wilson: For sure, for sure. So Heather, I always like to ask our guests a few icebreaker questions. Do you have a favorite recent layout or project?

Heather Cerulo: Uh, yeah. I was actually pretty proud to have finished up a, um, beach trip that we took in August of 2025. I worked, um, really hard in July to try to get that finished. And I think it ended up being something like maybe 15 or 16 layouts, and I did get that completed, so I was really proud of that.

Jennifer Wilson: Now, um, how does that come together for you in terms of, like, do you print it as a photo book?

Heather Cerulo: No, I did all, all layouts. So on that trip we sort of went, like, to different beach towns, so I made each beach town a two-page spread. So and then anything that was left I just kind of grouped stuff together, um, onto single pages. So I had... I planned it all out, had it all printed, and th- then just kind of [00:03:00] worked through it all with the same two collections, which I think really helped a lot.

Jennifer Wilson: Excellent. And I do apologize. I've, uh, my last interview was with a digital scrapbooker, and so I was on the wrong train of thought.

Heather Cerulo: No worries. No, I'm all paper. No, no digital around here, unfortunately.

Jennifer Wilson: Um, so is there something new that you're ex- excited to do, use, or try, either in scrapbooking or in your everyday life?

Heather Cerulo: Yeah, so in scrapbooking-wise, it's something of new for me, but I'm also kind of returning to it. Um, so I've seen a lot of scrapbookers have been doing the month in review idea, and I remember doing that a long time ago, um, and just being like so proud of it and loving it. And then I did one year and never did it again. I, I don't really know why. So I've been, um, sort of focusing on that a little bit more. I, I finished 2024, and I'm working on 2025. And then, um, start... I did a couple 2026, but then I was thinking to myself, like, you know, you gotta go finish the ones you already [00:04:00] started before you jump into this year. So that's been kind of fun for me, trying to keep up, um, with the month from previous years. So been fun.

Jennifer Wilson: How are you approaching that design-wise? Is it, is it a two-page spread or?

Heather Cerulo: Yes.

Yeah, so 2024 was the year that I had my daughter. So in that year I did, like the left page was all little, maybe like one and a half inch photos, and then the right page was like her monthly photo for when she turned one month, two month, et cetera. But then when that finished, I had to sort of figure out that format. Um, so it's now kind of turned into a two-page spread using the same sketch each month so it, it flows nicely.

Jennifer Wilson: Lovely, lovely. Yeah, that sounds like a fun project, and I, I, yeah, it's been quite a while since I did something like that too, so

Heather Cerulo: Yeah, and I don't know why I, I... It has to be, like, maybe 15 years ago I did it for the first time, and I remember loving it, and I don't remember why I didn't continue.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, there's, you know, so many other formats, so many other [00:05:00] things that we can be delighted by that it's easy to get distracted by something else

Heather Cerulo: Yeah, so many projects, so little time, unfortunately.

Jennifer Wilson: No doubt, yes. So there's one question that I like to ask in this. What would you say to a non-scrapbooker about why you love this hobby? Kind of like your elevator pitch for scrapbooking.

Heather Cerulo: Got it. Um, so scrapbooking to me is just the most amazing stress reliever. I mean, when I sit down and scrapbook, all my worries kind of go away. And it's my opportunity to be creative, and to just play with things and have fun. So in a very stressful world, I feel like the scrapbooking hobby is a great way to de-stress and just relax, and that's what it is for me.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes, yes. I think, if we can really like, you know kind of sit with that, it can become such a, a wonderful gratitude practice and as you said, a stress reliever as well. I think sometimes though, like I'm a person who's g- like always anxious, and so sometimes I really have to get myself to the place [00:06:00] where I can relax enough to get into it too.

Heather Cerulo: Oh, sure. I totally understand that. But I f- I feel like for me, the scrapbooking part of it does help me get that, where like I feel that in.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Heather Cerulo: Other aspects of my life, but then like even this morning, I'm, you know, gearing up trying to get ready to, to set up my classroom for school, and there's like been some hurdles getting into the, into the sc- into the school to do that. Um, and I sat down at my scrapbook desk before we started chatting, and I feel so much more relaxed right now just being in this environment.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, good.

Heather Cerulo: Yeah, like around my things, and I was planning some layouts before we started chatting. So it's definitely a stress reliever for me.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes. Sometimes just, just touching your things, like whether it's your photos or your supplies, helps you reconnect with it even if you aren't ready to actually do something with it yet.

Heather Cerulo: Exactly. And that's something I'll try to do if I only have, you know, like half an hour before I have to go make dinner. I'll come up here and maybe pull out a sketch, pull out some photos. Okay, that's ready to go. Pull out a [00:07:00] collection. Now it sits on my desk until I can come back and have more time to work on that.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

Heather Cerulo: Which is nice.

Jennifer Wilson: How long have you been scrapbooking and how'd you get started?

Heather Cerulo: So I don't remember exactly how I got started, but I remember scrapbooking all the way back to l- the late '90s, like when I was in high school. I remember taking my mom's photos and, and putting them with tape down on copy paper and begging her to take me to Staples to get them color copied so that I could then cut them out and scrapbook with them. And then I had a friend, um, in high school that was really into it also, and then I feel like the two of us just, it like took off from there and, and it never kind of ended. So, you know, almost going up on 30 years of scrapbooking. And just, I come from a creative family. My grandmother and my mom are quilters.

My grandmother's a knitter. My mom is a crocheter. They both scrapbook also. So I feel like it's just that, you know, those creative hands-on things have been something [00:08:00] that have always sort of been in my life since I was a little kid.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes, yes, that's wonderful. So how has... I mean, I'm, like, I'm assuming you're not still doing color copies of your photos.

Heather Cerulo: No, no.

Jennifer Wilson: At the Kinkos in order to do your scrapbooking. So how has it evolved over time?

Heather Cerulo: So I remember going off to college and, and sort of like entering the card making world a little bit, and then by the time like the early two, 2010s hit, um, my brother had a daughter, so my niece, and like I feel like my scrapbooking was revived, scrapbooking all the cute little baby girl pictures. Um, and then, you know, then just scrapbooking my travels and places I went up until, um, getting married and having my daughter. And having my daughter has completely changed my perspective on scrapbooking. Um, and, and just documenting and, and putting more photos on layouts and things like that. Um, I feel like I'm in a very different place now than I was like five years ago, [00:09:00] scrapbooking-wise.

Jennifer Wilson: Do you feel like, 'cause this is what happened to me, do you feel like that your scrapbooking, uh, is more chronological than it ever was before?

Heather Cerulo: Absolutely.

Jennifer Wilson: Or has it always been chronological? Okay.

Heather Cerulo: No, it used to be more... Like, I just scrapbooked what I was, what I felt like scrapbooking. It didn't matter if.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Heather Cerulo: You're right, it didn't matter if it happened on that February of that year or March of five years ago. If I wanted to scrapbook it, that's when I scrapbooked. You know, it was whatever the mood struck. But now I feel, I just feel like I, I want to keep up with the photos, for her more chronologically. What I try to do is, like, we're in August of 2026 right now. So the layouts I'm trying to work on are either August of 2024 or August of 2025. That's sort of what I've been trying to do this year, and then, like, fill in the albums as I go so that, not that they're gonna be complete, 'cause I don't think we'll ever be caught up with, with scrapbooking all the photos that we take.

But.

Jennifer Wilson: [00:10:00] Yeah, of course.

Heather Cerulo: At least, like, those memories and those things from when she's a baby are scrapbooked, and it's fresh in my brain so I can write about them and I remember what was happening. Because you, oh my gosh, you forget so fast the day to day things.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes. Mine's about to turn 15, so I can totally understand that.

Heather Cerulo: You can relate, I'm sure. It's hard to imagine what he was like at one or two years old, right? Yeah, my, my daughter's brought a different perspective to my scrapbooking, for sure.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes. I think that's very natural and normal, but it definitely happened to me and really changed, um, the types of, even the types of projects I was interested in working on too.

Heather Cerulo: Yes, absolutely.

Jennifer Wilson: So what sizes and formats are you typically creating in today? Are you exclusively 12 by 12, or do, do you do other sizes?

Heather Cerulo: I pretty much just do 12 by 12. Um, I, I really like 12 by 12 layouts. Sometimes I'll put in like a little six by 12, like little pocket, three by four pocket page or, you know how they have the different configurations, if I have [00:11:00] extra photos or I wanna say more and I don't have room. So like in her month in review for 2025, I do have those in between, like the two spreads just with some extra things. So I don't have to do a whole nother 12 by 12 layout with those things.

Jennifer Wilson: Sure. Yeah. Now you kind of already mentioned the, how you're documenting past years, um, and looking back. I think that's, I think going, like, to past months of the current month is really helpful because you can see trends between them, and maybe realize, oh, we haven't done that thing th- yet this month, and we could, we should go do that.

But, are there any other, like, projects or activities that you're focused on this year in your scrapbooking?

Heather Cerulo: Not really. I'm trying, I'm trying to keep up, like, time-wise with the month in review. So I was behind with 2025, so last month I did July and August, and so then I figured once September, October hits this year, I'll do September, October. 'Cause I, I'm very much a seasonal person, like, in all aspects of my life. Like, I love decorating [00:12:00] seasonally, I love drinking the seasonal drinks. Uh.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Heather Cerulo: Just works seasonally. So, like, right now the idea of, like, going to scrapbook, um, I don't know, a Thanksgiving layout, like, I don't know if I could have the motivation for that. Like, right now I'm in summer mode, gearing up to, you know, like, apple picking and those sorts of things. So that's what has kind of worked for me.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, that's so interesting. And I, and we all obviously are gonna have that transition at different times, and I'm, I'm already feeling, like, the pull of fall, and I'm like, "Okay, let's, let's start pulling these things out. It's not too soon, even though it's, you know, gonna be, like, 89 degrees today. It's okay."

Heather Cerulo: I still love looking at pumpkins and fall leaves and, you know, burning the pumpkin-scented candles. That's okay in August.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes, yes. So how would you describe your style in three words, if you can, um, to someone who, you know, isn't looking at your Instagram right now?

Heather Cerulo: Sure. Um, I would say I use lots of color or patterns in my layouts. [00:13:00] I think more recently, I kinda talked about this before, my layouts are more photo heavy. I try to include a

lot more photos now. Um, and, and linear. Like, I really enjoy these sketches for scrapbooking. Um, I really love Alison Davis, um, with Scrapbook Generation, her sketches, and they're, they are very line- linear and laid out. Um, you know, s- either vertical, horizontal lines, and, and I do like those kind of things.

Jennifer Wilson: Are there any particular kind of products or tools or techniques that we can find, like, as a trend across many of your layouts?

Heather Cerulo: Sure. So I've always used stitching in some way on my layout. For years I always did sewing machine, and I would say in the, within the last year and a half or so I've, I've transitioned to hand stitching. Which slows down the process of scrapbooking so much, but it's worth it to me. I, I love the look of the hand stitching.

So you'll definitely, uh, um, I, I would say 99% of my layouts nowadays see hand stitching. And also I, I like die cutting a lot. [00:14:00] Um, I like die cutting shapes, um, like doing repeated shapes or, you know, shapes that go with whatever the season or the theme of the layout is. Um, and I've been really trying to do more journaling because most of my scrapbooking life I was not very good at journaling. But like we mentioned before, like I want my daughter to know the stories behind the photos and.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Heather Cerulo: And what we were doing and the feelings we had, so I'm trying to do that more.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm curious about the shift , to hand stitching even though it is, like, more time-consuming. Is it because you were looking for, like, a cleaner look? What was, you know, the, the reasoning behind that?

Heather Cerulo: I, I don't even remember why I switched over be- it's funny, like I'll look back in my albums and I'll, I'll actually say to myself, "Oh, this was when I was still mase- machine stitchings." Like I tr- I try to like find when did I switch over to the hand stitching? Um, I think that I just, I started doing it and I really liked it. Because it's something, um, I can sit, you know, like I could sit down and I could watch a TV show or a movie and sit there, [00:15:00] or after we eat dinner and we're just relaxing, my husband and I, I could just sit there and hand stitch.

So it's like something that takes up my time because sometimes, you know, when you're watching something, it's so often just, you know, pick up the phone. We're, we're so distracted all the time now. So then my hands are busy with the hand stitching, so it feels better.

Jennifer Wilson: That's good rather than asking your fam- somebody's like, "Oh my God, did you see that?" And I'm like, "Uh, no, sorry. Can you rewind it?"

Heather Cerulo: Exactly. I was scrolling Instagram or Facebook. I wasn't watching.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. I don't know what you're talking about. I was totally paying attention.

Heather Cerulo: All the time, always having to rewind it, right? So I feel like it's a, better use of time.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I can see that for sure. Um, are there any, like, trends in the hobby, like maybe new products coming out or things that you see other people doing that you're curious about or that you've picked up?

Heather Cerulo: So I always really have loved, and I don't know that this is really new, but I love scrapbooking within a collection. That's just, that's just.

Jennifer Wilson: Hmm.

Heather Cerulo: A [00:16:00] way to go for me. Like, to me, it's so much work to go through the whole, my whole stash and to figure out what goes together, and I know people love doing that. But scrapbooking in a collection where everything matches and everything's put together, that's really, you know, what I love to do. Um, and really, I see a lot of people do, you know, on all the YouTube videos and, and things that I watch. So I'd say that's a trend, a longtime trend that I love.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, yeah. No, I love it too. Now, is there something we fi- you figured out in our hobby that's absolutely not for you?

Heather Cerulo: So I have figured out mini albums are not really for me. Like, they're adorable and they're cute. I just, I can never finish them. Then I just hate that they sit and collect dust. And it's like, you go to look at them and they're like, it's covered in dust, and I'm like, "I need to look at this more often," or, "I need to clean this or something."

I don't know. It just, I struggle with the mini albums. Um, and I struggle a little with the mixed media. I know a [00:17:00] lot of people say that, too.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah

Heather Cerulo: The extent of mixed media, um, that I'll do, and I haven't, I haven't really done it in a long time, will be like stenciling and the, the Tim Holtz Distress Inks and then, like, flicking a little ink. Like, I like that look. But beyond that, I c- I, I can't deal with the warping of the paper and just.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, it can be frustrating. I

Heather Cerulo: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: Get it.

Heather Cerulo: Not for me.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, no, it makes me think about my shelf downstairs with the giant basket of mini albums that are probably collecting dust. 'Cause I know I don't dust, I don't dust that myself, so.

Heather Cerulo: No, exactly.

Jennifer Wilson: Should be in boxes really, but I put them out there in hopes that somebody would look at them and, you know, I'm not sure anybody does. So they probably should be stored more, uh, in a more protective way.

Heather Cerulo: Right. Exactly, yes. And even I had made a little, um, I took a class from SCT Magazine last year. And made a little, um, Halloween album, and I just went to pick it up and move it and, and half the stuff fell off of it.

Jennifer Wilson: [00:18:00] Oh, no. Yeah.

There's always letter stickers especially.

Heather Cerulo: Yeah. Or like the little icons and I thought, "I don't remember where this goes.

We're just gonna figure it out and stick it somewhere on here."

Jennifer Wilson: Aw. Yeah, no, it is very true. That is the truth of mini albums for sure.

Heather Cerulo: Yes. So I, I've tried. It just, I, it just doesn't always work. I have a Christmas one I brought on vacation with me last week thinking I would work on it in between nap time and things. I didn't, I didn't even unpack any of it. I didn't even touch it.

Jennifer Wilson: I understand. Sometimes you just need that rest for yourself when you have some quiet.

Heather Cerulo: Exactly, yes.

Jennifer Wilson: So where and when can we typically find you scrapbooking? Do you have kind of a rhythm or do you fit it in, you know, when you can?

Heather Cerulo: Yeah, so, um, I am lucky that I have the months of July and August off because I am a teacher. So I did get a lot of scrapbooking done in July. This year I've been keeping track of how many layouts, and in July I finished 40 layouts, which blows my mind.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, amazing.

Heather Cerulo: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Heather Cerulo: That was the most by far [00:19:00] of any of the months of the year. Um, but every nap time I was, uh, you know, in my scrap space scrapbooking, so that was amazing. This month is not going to be as prolific for sure. Um, but I, typically during the school year, I try to get to my desk, um, at least a little bit every night. So you know, after my daughter goes to bed and everything is ready to go for, for, um, the evening and the next school day, I'll try to come up here and do a little something. Um, and I, I have a, a scrapbook area on our third floor in our house. Our attic is finished, so up here I have a little scrapbooking area and my husband has like his little area too. So it's nice at night, we kinda get to hang out together and we can see each other from our desks, so that, that works nice.

Jennifer Wilson: That's great. Yeah, yeah. Um, I'm curious if how, like, your visits to the attic, is that different, um, from when before you had your daughter, or was that part of your routine, um, then too?

Heather Cerulo: [00:20:00] Yeah, so actually my scrap space since I had my daughter has moved three times. It was originally up here in the attic, but in a different room. And then I- we moved it downstairs thinking I would be spending more time by her in her bedroom, and that did not work out. So we moved it back up here, but in a different location. Um, and I, I definitely had a lot more time to scrapbook before her, and I think that I didn't appreciate that as much as I should have. Because uh, she does not let me scrapbook when she's awake. She just wants to sit here and see what I'm doing, and that does not lead to, to m- much work getting done. Um, so definitely has been a shift since having her.

Jennifer Wilson: I had some fun with my maybe like, um, older rolls of washi tape that didn't have as much stickiness, that she would love to just like unroll those and, and get tangled up in it. And that, you know, it gave me some time to walk away. I mean, to, to look at the computer next to her. Um.

Heather Cerulo: That's a great idea. That, that, she would love that. She got a balloon at a diner [00:21:00] earlier this week. It's sitting behind me. The balloon has entertained her for hours. Who knew?

Jennifer Wilson: That's awesome. Yes. Yes.

Heather Cerulo: Washi, the washi tape is a great idea.

Jennifer Wilson: Are there any organization strategies that have worked particularly well for you? Particularly as you've been moving around your space, I'm sure you've had to, like, make some decisions about how things are stored.

Heather Cerulo: Yes, definitely. So I actually, I did like a little refresh last month. Um, just I bought a couple more, uh, from Target. They're cube cabinets. IKEA has the same ones, but they just opened a brand new Target like five minutes down the road from me, so I've been there a little too often this summer. But.

Jennifer Wilson: It's dangerous, yeah.

Heather Cerulo: Yeah, it's so dangerous. and I pass it on the way home from work, so very dangerous. Uh, but I picked up a couple more cubes. Um, and that's mostly what I have is cube storage where, um, sort of like all around me, which, which is awesome. Um, but I also kinda wanna talk about photo storage. Um, 'cause I... Or, and photo organization. Um, I [00:22:00] learned a lot from watching Scrap with Penny on YouTube.

I don't know if you're familiar with Penny.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm not, no, but we'll definitely link her channel in the show notes.

Heather Cerulo: Yes. So she, she, um, her, her process videos are awesome, but she also talks just a lot about like storage of photos. Um, I have a Mac, and so it's in photos in there. Um, and just sort of like changed the way that I keep track of what I have scrapbooked. So in photos, I make albums for every month, and then I, I go through all of the photos, and I just put them in the albums.

And then when I'm ready, since I, I, you know, like right now, like I said, I'm scrapbooking August 2025. So I go into that album, I see what photos are left. Once they've been scrapbooked and printed, I take them out of the album, and then I know once that album's empty, everything has been scrapbooked from that month.

So it's helped so much to know what is and isn't scrapbooked, and what I do wanna scrapbook, and what I don't wanna scrapbook. 'Cause it's not all just all your, you know, 50,000 photos together. It's [00:23:00] just seperated out by the month and just the few that I know I want to do. So that's been really big for me.

Jennifer Wilson: I love that. And I love like sometimes we really need that visual reference, um, to be able to, to see what our plans are and to see how things, uh, fit together. Maybe we have some redundancy.

Heather Cerulo: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: Like you might not see that if it's just a written list.

Heather Cerulo: Exactly, yeah. And then I'll, I'll like pull the album out that has those and, and I'll see, um, like what kind of space do I have? So like, uh, earlier today I was doing that and I said, okay, so there's a space for one single photo he- single layout here before we move on to next event. So I kind of planned out, all right, we're gonna do th- these photos and they're gonna go here in the album. So combining, hold- you know, having the album out and looking through it and the organization in photos has really helped to, to plan it out and it all kind of gels together.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, fantastic. Yeah, I might have to pick up that strategy myself.

Heather Cerulo: Yeah. It, it's, and it's easy. You, and you can do it on your phone.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Heather Cerulo: 'Cause you can [00:24:00] make the albums on your phone. So when you're in the car and, or you have downtime, you know, it's, it's, it help, has helped a lot.

Jennifer Wilson: Sure. So where would you like your scrapbooking to be in 10 years? So when you have, you know, a 12-year-old, she'll be in middle school at that time.

Heather Cerulo: Crazy.

Jennifer Wilson: Getting involved in more things.

Heather Cerulo: Yeah. So I def- I wanna see, uh, people definitely looking through my albums. That's something I feel like does not happen a lot now. Um, my daughter def- she's taken an interest, uh, even just at two years old, to look through the albums, which is nice. But something I want to see in 10 years is definitely people enjoying my albums. Um, and I wanna see my albums full. Not necessarily caught up, because that's, I think, next to impossible, but definitely full of layouts and still enjoying this hobby.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes, that sounds, that sounds wonderful. I think that's what we all, that's what we all want, for sure. And definitely that, that sense of having others appreciate it. Um, while i- it's important to do it for that personal fulfillment, for that relaxation that you mentioned at the [00:25:00] beginning, um, you know, it does help when someone is interested in, in looking through it.

Heather Cerulo: Absolutely. Yeah. Because, I mean, there's been times people have looked through them and you can tell they're not really interested, and sometimes that hurts a little bit, you know? But I, I really wanna see people look through and enjoy them.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, for sure.

Heather Cerulo: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: So what has being a scrapbooker taught you?

Heather Cerulo: So I think being a scrapbooker has taught me how important photos are. Because way that I think is like so many of my memories are tied to photos. Like, I'll remember something and I'll say, "Wait a minute. Let me pull the photo up for that." Um, or I remember just remem- just thinking like, "Oh, I know exactly what I wore to that," because I could picture the photo in my mind.

So it's just helped me, like, relive things in my life, and I know the photos are there, and just like a visual memory, but also, like, a trigger to say, "Oh, yeah, I remember all of those wonderful memories."

Jennifer Wilson: For sure. I have kind of one additional follow-up question. You use a lot [00:26:00] of cut files. Do you have any, like, tips for, for using cut files, for storing them? How do you make it something that's, that someone who wants to start using them more doesn't just keep putting off?

Heather Cerulo: Sure. Um, yeah, so a lot of what I'll do, so I, I design for Pear Tree cut files, and so if I'm trying to... So every month with Pear Tree, we create three layouts. One is with, um, she has, like, a monthly prescription, Pearscription, she calls it. Um, so we have to make one with that, one with a new file, and one with an old file.

So what I do and what somebody new can do also is I go right to the website, and I'll just, you know, search, and I'll type in something I'm looking for, and it, it will tell me exactly, um, when you... For her website, when you click on it, it tells you, you know, like, where it came from, what month and what year.

So that helps me to then go find it in my files. But, um, if you're looking for something specific, like, uh, like I was scrapbooking a lot of things for the zoo, so, you know, I went and I typed zoo, and I could find lots of things. So that was really helpful the way that, um, [00:27:00] Marie, who owns Pear Tree, the way she has it organized. Um, and then I d- you can, if you use Silhouette, you can import all your cut files, and you can keep them in there so that you can easily see them. But, um, as part of the design team, um, I do get the cut files every month, and there are so many. So I tried importing them, and it just, it takes way too long. So I just keep them stored in a folder on my computer. Um, and then they're by month. So I usually, I go look at the website, and she, she lists for every cut file what month and year, and then I go find that folder on my computer.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Heather Cerulo: Which, which helps a lot. Um, and then what I've been doing a lot lately is I'll, I'll decide what photos are gonna go with the cut file, and then I'll do most of the scrapbooking and get, like, the layout down with the photos, and then I'll go to the cut file to see what size I wanna make it. 'Cause I used to cut it first, um, and then go scrapbook, but then half the times, you know, oh, this photo's not gonna make the cut because the [00:28:00] cut file's too big, and I didn't wanna go reprint it, so, or recut it. So now, now I've been waiting till the end, um, and then sizing it, measuring the layout, and then sizing it, um, and then cutting it out.

I usually will take the cut file and then turn it, turn the paper that I want to back it with upside down, and then turn the cut file upside down and trace it and cut it by hand. I always, always did it that way, but lately I've been, um... And I've learned a lot through s- that Scrap With Penny again. Um, I've been trying to have the Silhouette cut it for me, which has been really helpful. Um, so I've kind of transitioned to that.

Jennifer Wilson: If you had to recommend one or the other for someone, which would, which approach would you recommend?

Heather Cerulo: Probably the, I would say probably the hand cutting. It's fool proof.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Heather Cerulo: Like, because my, my cutting machine is on, is like across the room from me, so when I'm doing that I'm like up and down, up and down, up and down, 'cause...

Jennifer Wilson: Yep. Yep.[00:29:00]

Heather Cerulo: One, one layout I was making, I, I forgot to make... 'cause when you are, you have to trace it, and then you have to do an offset so that the piece you're, you're backing it with is a little larger, and then I forgot to do that.

I think I set, sent it through the machine like 10 times. And I was like, "What am I doing?" Just get your pencil and your scissors and cut it out. When it works, it's great.

Jennifer Wilson: Sometimes tech can frustrate us, that's for sure. Yes.

Heather Cerulo: Yes. Sometimes it works perfectly, and other times you're, I'm just like, "Oh my gosh, forget it. I'm just gonna go back to the old-fashioned way."

Jennifer Wilson: Yep, yep. It's, there's always ways that work, that's for sure.

Heather Cerulo: Yes, the old school ways.

Jennifer Wilson: So thank you for hanging out and sharing a little bit into your scrapbooking.

Heather Cerulo: I had a blast. Thank you.

Jennifer Wilson: And to all of our listeners, please remember that you have permission to scrapbook your way.

Lauren Hinds: [00:00:00] one of my biggest recommendations is get everything out of your head. Of all the things you wanna do, you have to have one place to put all of that. And as soon as you can get it into one place, then you can step back say, " What is thing I'd like to finish?

Jennifer Wilson: Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way, the show that explores the breadth of ways to be a memory keeper today. I'm your host, Jennifer Wilson, owner of Simple Scrapper and author of The New Rules of Scrapbooking. This is episode 346. In this episode, I'm chatting with Lauren Hinds about her systems for organizing photos, planning albums, and making consistent progress on scrapbook projects.

Lauren shares how she's built a whole philosophy around progress over perfection, and the practical tools that help her finish what she starts

Hey Lauren, welcome to Scrapbook [00:01:00] Your Way.

Lauren Hinds: Thanks, Jennifer. I am so glad to be here and in your community. This is amazing. Thank you for the invitiation.

Jennifer Wilson: Likewise. Yes. I'm excited to chat and learn more about how you think about things. I think we have a lot in common. Um, but can you start by sharing a little bit about yourself?

Lauren Hinds: I'd love to. So, uh, my name is Lauren Hinds. A lot of people know me through my business online presence as Craft Some Joy. And I am the proud mom of four adult children, um, still out there finding their way. So proud of them. And I've been married to my hubby, John, for almost 33 years. I had to count it up. How many years has it been now? Uh, 33 years.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Lauren Hinds: And we live in Southern California. In fact, I'm a Southern California native. Um, and we live in Monrovia, which is in the [00:02:00] beautiful foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, so we get a lot of wildlife. Some folks know a lot about our local bears here. So.

Jennifer Wilson: Very cool.

Lauren Hinds: Been fun, yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, what a lovely area for sure. So Lauren, I always like to ask our guests about some of their favorites. Do you have a favorite recent layout or project?

Lauren Hinds: So I, I really had to think about this, and I, you know, I create pretty much several times a week I'm working on some kind of a project. But if I had ... It, it said layout or project, and so I'm gonna go for the project.

Jennifer Wilson: Sure, sure.

Lauren Hinds: I am really excited about, uh, a project that I'm creating called Album Maker Academy. My latest focus is on a travel, a global travel edition for the Album Maker Academy. And why I'm so excited about it is [00:03:00] because for the first time I feel like taking kind of all those questions we have as scrapbookers, forward one more step. So I've been focused on, you know, how do we organize the big picture, all the things we wanna do. But now this is specifically each album project, take it step by step from start to finish. And to me, that just brings me so much joy. Because that's where my heart is, is, you know, getting people from start to finish. So, um, that is really my latest and most favorite to be working on.

Jennifer Wilson: Now is that already available?

Lauren Hinds: It is in the works.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay. Okay.

Lauren Hinds: Yet. It's coming soon. But I, I ha- I'm getting all the pieces in line, so it's all in my head and notes on [00:04:00] paper and hopefully launching a little later this summer. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Sounds great. Yeah, yeah. Awesome.

Lauren Hinds: Thank you.

Jennifer Wilson: Now, is there something new that you're excited to do, use, or try? This could be in scrapbooking or even in your everyday life.

Lauren Hinds: Okay, so I, uh, can I give you two answers?

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, we love answers.

Lauren Hinds: All right. So I actually just learned how to make sourdough bread.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice.

Lauren Hinds: Uh, it, that, that has been a fun journey, and I, I think bread-making is definitely a creative process. Because there's a lot of variables, a lot that you have to learn, and I am still a baby beginner, but my, my family has been enjoying the process.

Jennifer Wilson: I bet, yeah.

Lauren Hinds: Uh, so.

Jennifer Wilson: I am a two-time sourdough failure myself, so.

Lauren Hinds: Oh, gosh. It's not easy. It's not easy.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Lauren Hinds: In, in the crafty world, I, uh, Creative Memories just actually [00:05:00] came out with something called the Layout Studio. I don't know if you've heard of that, but.

Jennifer Wilson: Not.

Lauren Hinds: Magnetic Uh, two-page, you know, it opens up to two pages.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh!

Lauren Hinds: Grid.

Jennifer Wilson: I did see that. Yes.

Lauren Hinds: And you can stand it up, and it has all these little mag- magnets. And I have been using that more and more. And I'm finding I like it because I don't have very much space where I actually create. Especially on a live stream or something like that. And so I can stand it up, bring my cutter out, you know, do my cutting, then lay it back down. And so it's just, it, it's a process to learn it, but I'm enjoying it.

Jennifer Wilson: Wasn't there a pro- a product like that kind of, you know, 10, 15 years ago? 'Cause I remember Noelle on the Paperclipping Roundtable talking about something very similar, not from Creative Memories, from a totally different brand.

Lauren Hinds: Yes, there is another brand and, ah, the name is escaping me, but, [00:06:00] uh, a similar.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Lauren Hinds: Uh... So it is very similar. Of course, I think Creative Memories, you know, they always go over the top on their product design, so Um.

Jennifer Wilson: That's, that's why they work. I use, I use a Creative Memories trimmer and it's the only one so far that hasn't failed me yet, so.

Lauren Hinds: Mm-hmm.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm really enjoying it.

Lauren Hinds: Yeah, yeah. Something fun.

Jennifer Wilson: Very cool. Yeah, no, I can see that, especially, you know, when you're trying to... You start getting piles of stuff and, and you wanna just tuck it out of the way, but still see, referencing what you're working on. I can see that being really helpful.

Lauren Hinds: Yeah. Something new. Out of my comfort zone, for sure.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. So can you tell us a little bit about how you got started in scrapbooking, and then how that evolved into a business for you?

Lauren Hinds: Oh, sure. So, uh, you know, it, it's interesting because when you were saying, you know not only how, how I started scrapbooking, but also this kind of goes [00:07:00] hand-in-hand with Creative Memories. Like Creative Memories was the entrance piece for some people. I think we all kind of have this soft spot in our hearts for the very first class we went to, right. Or, you know, the first introduction, the first time we saw someone take pictures and put a sticker with it. Oh my gosh, that's so cool, and then paper. And so I like to tell the story. I, I started in the early '90s. My mom, I came, uh, over to her house one day, and she had all these colored Post-its, and she was trying to do something, like actual Post-it pads, you know.

Uh, she was trying to do something fun with her photos. And then she said, "You know, I got invited, uh, I, I found out about this lady, and I got invited to go see. You wanna come with me?" And I said, "Oh, sure. I'll go." Well, again, it was that moment of first seeing, oh [00:08:00] my gosh, we can be creative. We can have fun with our photos and put stickers and paper and use these fun scissors, you know, 'cause back then it was all scissors.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Lauren Hinds: All these shapes and, you know, edges. And, uh, so that, that was my first introduc- that was my first class. I'm still great friends with the person who I had my first class with. So she, and, and in fact, she became my upline, um, a little while later after I had my first daughter, I remember her chasing me around saying, "You really, you really need to try this as a business." And so I did when my kids were younger. But I think a lot of us know that's a tough time, you know, especially with four at home. Uh, and, and so I did do workshops, you know, ran my business, but I found it was, it was difficult. Because of, um, you know, just having, the family life, you know. [00:09:00] And it doesn't get, even when they get older and go into high school and middle school, it was even busier from, you know, sports and scouts and all those things. So in, uh, 2019 when things did kind of start settling down with the kids, I thought, "You know, I'm gonna try this YouTube thing." And in late 2019, I decided to post my first video. It was October. I thought, "Well, that wasn't so bad." I was a little nervous, and it wasn't front-facing at all. Like, I did not show my face on the camera, and I thought, "Okay, hands only.

This is good. I can do this." so I started creating more videos in 2019. And I thought, "Wow," you know, I remember, and I remember exactly where I was when I got the very first comment on my video. Like, I was like, "Oh my gosh, somebody left a comment for [00:10:00] me. How exciting." And then 2020 happened.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I was thinking what, what interesting timing there.

Lauren Hinds: Interesting timing, right? I thought, "Well, I'm just gonna make more videos then." You know, we're all kind of stuck at home, and I really like this scrapbooking thing, and I'll share what, you know, how I scrapbook and how I approach products. Because I felt like there weren't a whole lot of people talking about simple pages. You know.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Lauren Hinds: It was a lot of very complex pages.

And I, I was like, "You know what? I don't scrapbook that way." I scrapbook very simply. So, uh, little did I know that would lead me to my business. And, and my YouTube channel grew. And I found, wow, people ordered with me. You know, they found out I was a Creative Memories advisor, and they started signing up to be on my team.

And so it just kind of snowballed after that. [00:11:00] And then later, kind of as I saw that progress, I started realizing that I had something a little bit more to give than just saying I was a Creative Memories advisor. And that's really where my heart is. And it's with organizing. I have a passion for organizing and helping people organize. So that just fell into the scrapbooking space. I feel like that's a lot of what people know me, uh, know for, about me, is if you feel organized, if you... You know, people have said, "Oh, I got my whole craft room organized after I met Lauren online," you know, or something like that.

Jennifer Wilson: Very cool. Yeah.

Lauren Hinds: Yeah, and, and that makes me feel so good to be able to help people in their space and with their projects.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, let's, let's dive into that organization topic a little bit more. Is there a particular storage solution that you would be completely lost without?

Lauren Hinds: I have to, I have to give [00:12:00] myself a plug really, uh, uh, um, if that's okay. But the one thing I really feel changed the way I scrapbook is a product, um, that I created, it was back in 2019, uh, called Photo Folders. And what I realized is I spent a lot of time, you know, with boxes of photos or, or, you know, the little pouches.

This is when we used to print photos. Okay, Jennifer, first of all, remember we still to print photos?

Jennifer Wilson: Yes, yes, yes.

Lauren Hinds: Back in the day, um, when we, you know, take our roll of film and get them developed. And so I still had a lot of photos, and I realized that I would re-look at everything. I couldn't remember this stack, what was exactly in this stack. It could have been October of, know, 2003, but I didn't know what was in that stack. [00:13:00] And so I just made this folder, and now I have them professionally printed, uh, because I can't live without them. And now each subject, I, I look at my pictures as categories, you know, I think as an album maker. Categories for topics that I'd want to scrapbook. So now all my boxes, all my photos, all my boxes have folders of photos, so I can just look down the line. It's kind of like, like if you opened up a file drawer, right? And.

Jennifer Wilson: Sure. Yeah.

Lauren Hinds: File do I want?" We did the... I did the same thing for my photos. So I can see, you know, this is the Hinds family in 2005, uh, October Halloween pictures. You know, something like that. And I, I think if I had to not have that, I mean, you could use Post-its and tags and things like [00:14:00] that, but I love being able to just grab that little folder.

Jennifer Wilson: How would you handle, like, the random photo you took of Grandma's living room, but it didn't really go with anything else?

Lauren Hinds: Right, and that's a great question. So those are all what I categorize as miscellaneous photos. So they would still be, say, in a, in a month or in a year. Uh, but I just call them miscellaneous. And what's really fun is sometimes I'll take that folder and I'll make a page just with all those miscellaneous photos. 'Cause there might be like a one-off in there, something fun to talk about or that has a story.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, certainly if it's worth saving, you know, it might have a story that goes with it. Um, but it doesn't necessarily have, uh, an event or a larger circumstance that connects it, so.

Lauren Hinds: Or doesn't need a whole page, or it doesn't need to be two pages even, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, yeah. Now, are there any of your organization [00:15:00] strategies that you feel are, like, really more out of the box than, than typical?

Lauren Hinds: So here's a fun one that I just realized about myself lately, and it's actually working. I've been using this organization tip, um, I think for about a month now, and I really like it. And what I realized is that I... going smaller, going smaller actually helped me organize better. And so, okay, so what do I mean by that? I found these A5 size little ring binders. So if you know A5, it's approximately, what, like, a seven by nine. So it's not a full, you know, the big binders we're used to or even, know, I was even going bigger, like, big 12 by 12 storage binders or [00:16:00] by 12 storage pockets. You know, I- everything was big. And what I realized is when I got to a point where I was like, "Oh, I need a sticker," or, "I need a die cut," or, "I need a little piece of ephemera," I wasn't pulling these giant binders off my shelf because it would just overtake my whole space that I was creating in.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Lauren Hinds: So I decided to start moving things into these little binders that I could just hold in my hand. So can you picture it? Is it, is it kinda coming to life?

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, totally. Yeah. No, I've had little binders like that just from even the office supply store just for like, I think one of my original planners was even in one of those binders. Um, yeah. No, that sounds really fun.

Lauren Hinds: And I've, I've really been enjoying it. So I have categories like, uh, know, my seasons, of course, spring, summer, fall, winter. I have travel and adventure, love and relationships, [00:17:00] family, friends, and pets, everyday life. And so if I'm working on a layout and I go, "Oh yeah, um, I'm working on a birthday layout, let me grab birthdays and celebrations," and it's in my hand.

I can hold it over my layout. It doesn't take up a lot of space. I flip through these cute... And, and let me tell you, the A5 planner world has the cutest, like, little four pockets, and half pockets, and full pockets, and even have sticker sheets, like releasable sticker sheets.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Lauren Hinds: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Love those.

Lauren Hinds: I do too. All in one place of, oh, I've got, you know, die cuts over here and, stickers in another binder.

Like, I'm really trying to categorize. So that I have a visual I can just flip. And see everything that could enhance my page all in one place, if that makes sense.

Jennifer Wilson: [00:18:00] So this strategy in particular allows you to merge die cuts, chipboard pieces, and stickers all by theme rather than having those separated in your space. That's, that's currently how they are in my space, is very separate.

Lauren Hinds: Yes. Yes. And I found I wasn't using it.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah. I'm curious why you didn't choose, like a lot of people use like the four by six photo boxes, the really small ones, um, for this similar type of thing.

Why was the binder really calling to you more than a box?

Lauren Hinds: So the binder, because of all those different sizes.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay.

Lauren Hinds: It has like the little, um, uh, they're like little page protectors. Imagine, you know, page protectors on a little small scale. So there's one with literally eight pockets. Four little pockets on the front, four little pockets on the back. So say I have a laser title I...

and it says happy birthday or surprise, or I've done a die cut that I didn't [00:19:00] use. It can just slide right into that little pocket instead of getting lost in some box. Like, to me.

Jennifer Wilson: Sure.

Lauren Hinds: Having, you know... Oh, and here's another thing, Jennifer, that I've discovered about myself. I'm a vertical girl. I talk about this when I talk about organization. Are you a vertical or a horizontal? And I find I'm more of a vertical organizer. So if I'm looking for something, I tend to go, like I- my binders are vertical, right? So I can grab that vertical piece, pull it out, flip through it, put it back in the vertical space. Rather than horizontal, like say drawers or, bins, things like that, even the boxes.

I find for me personally, that's harder.

Jennifer Wilson: I can, I can see that, yeah.

Lauren Hinds: Find out what kind of a person, what kind of an organizer are you?

Jennifer Wilson: I think if you look in your space [00:20:00] at the things that actually get put back and the things that maybe get piled up, which is often the horizontal things, you have to take a bunch of stuff, say, out of the deep basket in order to see what's underneath it, and then you're like, "Oh, now I gotta put all this back in," or you're, you're trying to, to rifle through things, so.

Does that mean you also have, like, filing cabinets? And do you do any vertical storage that way?

Lauren Hinds: I, I have the cubbies from Michaels, like the Simply Tidy cubes. And so there is vertical in project folders also.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay. Okay.

Lauren Hinds: So I label those on the side so I can easily scan my cubbies.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Lauren Hinds: See what's in there too.

Jennifer Wilson: Awesome.

Lauren Hinds: So really my drawers are really just you know, for like tools and things like that.

Jennifer Wilson: So it sounds like we are often thinking about these things. Um, and I know we share a similar philosophy on the benefits of planning, like taking that intentional pause. Like, let's not just dive in so that we don't feel overwhelmed, [00:21:00] because we've all been in that place where we, we buy all the things and then we lay it out in front of us and they're, you're like, "Now what?"

So what advice do you have on choosing priorities, whether it's within this week, this month, or even this day? How do you recommend someone start prioritizing things when we wanna really do all the things all at once?

Lauren Hinds: It's so true. We do. And I did. And one of my biggest aha moments was, And, and also a question I get asked a lot is, "Where do I start? I wanna do all.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Lauren Hinds: These things. Where do I start?" And some people say, you know, start with the most recent project, or start with a project that has a beginning and an end.

And, you know, there's a, a million different answers to that question. And then I realized you don't have to pick one.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Lauren Hinds: You can start on several. As long as you're organized and you've taken the time, [00:22:00] just like you said, step back and see your bigger picture. And for me, that was, I when I was in the muck of it and I realized I kept repeating, like rifling through my photos or where was I?

I can't remember if I scrapbooked, you know, which album I scrapbooked last. Because I, I'm not anywhere close to being done. I have lots and lots of projects. And life happens, right? So there might be something that takes you away from creating for several days or several weeks or several months. And I needed a place to put everything, and so that I'm gonna kinda dive into a little bit.

My, my pop planner is where I started putting everything. And it's evolved over several years, uh, into a system. But that's kind of one of my biggest recommendations is get everything out of your [00:23:00] head. Of all the things you wanna do, you have to have one place to put all of that. And as soon as you can get it into one place, then you can step back say, " What is thing I'd like to finish? What has a deadline?" Maybe you have, you know, an elderly person in your life that you really wanna celebrate their life before they're gone, right? Um, or you have a graduation coming up or a retirement coming up, right? So sometimes there's timely deadlines. Um, or something that you're most excited to work on. And here's another thing that I realized also is, uh, I used to put off working on my photos right now as they're happening. And, about two years ago, a little more than two years ago, I started what I call my monthly meetup, where I also have a, a dedicated, uh, time every month at the end of the [00:24:00] month to work on that month's photos. So that's even a thing that I would recommend is, um, make a date with yourself. Because if you don't take the time in the moment, those stories are so fleeting that you're gonna forget the, the conversations you had, the wonderful walk you had with your dog or, you know, just a new friendship or meeting someone or a funny conversation that you had with your kids or, you know, all those things. You... To me, scrapbooking is also capturing those moments, those those fleeting moments. And so I do encourage people to work on current projects. But then also, if you have a plan, that bigger perspective, you can then jump from that. Like have that as one date a month that you can do [00:25:00] that. Work on current, then what other project, uh, is something that you'd like to work on?

And as long as you have strategy and a plan, you can jump around from project to project, and that's what I absolutely love to do. I'm working on 2010, 2019, my current family 2026 albums right now. Those are my three projects that I'm working on, and I'm getting ready to start my vacation album with Album Maker Academy.

That's one reason I wanted to do that. So that's gonna be four projects. But I can keep track because of some of the tools I have. I know exactly.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Lauren Hinds: What pages I finished. I know exactly what pages I wanna do next, or I should do next, right? And if I wanna jump from whichever album to whichever album, I can. That was a long answer, sorry. [00:26:00] Mm.

Jennifer Wilson: No, it's all good. I wanna underscore the part about setting the date with yourself to work on current photos. Because I think if I had to give like a number one tip, it might be that, that the more you touch your photos, the more kind of internal motivation you're gonna keep generating to work on other projects.

I think it's when we get away from that, because it, 'cause it can easily get away from us, um, that we then we start to feel disconnected. Because we feel that, that kind of backlog sense when it comes to our photos. So even just, you know, once a week, once a month, jump in there, do what you can. That's gonna kinda keep the ball rolling with staying connected to scrapbooking.

Lauren Hinds: Absolutely. Absolutely. And could I also add one more thing here too?

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Lauren Hinds: Jennifer?

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Lauren Hinds: I also, one of the things this last year has taught me, I've started just kind of going online and doing what I call 10-minute POPs. And POP is P-O-P, progress on projects. That's all it is. Not [00:27:00] perfection on projects. It's progress on projects. And even if you have 10 minutes, sort some photos, write a story down, organize some paper. You know, you got some new products in, take a minute, put them in a folder, label the folder, or, you know, wherever you keep your happy place, your happy things. Ten minutes, set a timer. I encourage you, set a timer on your phone and just do 10 minutes. Because six times of that, you've got an hour, and it just can snowball and snowball. So progress doesn't have, have to happen in a 3 day long retreat or in, you know, 10 hours in your scrap room. It can work in very small increments.

Jennifer Wilson: Now this pop concept has become quite a theme across everything you do. Um, it sounds like you have both products [00:28:00] and experiences that you've built around it. Can you talk a little bit more about that?

Lauren Hinds: Yes, I love... So a- and I c- and I have so much fun talking about POP because it's, it really is, it's about progress. And I have, um, like I mentioned earlier, my POP planner, which was a long time coming, and it started sharing that, uh, on YouTube. And I, you know, just kind of this system of how I was writing things down, putting it all in one place, and understanding my bigger goals.

You know, if I had to get out of my head and write down every single album I ever wanted to create, I wanted one place to put that. And I realized over time what I had first created was really too complicated, and it did tie into [00:29:00] Library of Memories. Because I thought, "Library of Memories, I love this concept." And, so I had put Library of Memories in my pop planner. And as I evolved over time and really got serious about my album making and finishing projects, I knew for myself that, um, Library of Memories wasn't quite the right fit. Because I enjoy chronological and I enjoy theme. I en- I love seeing how my, uh, family evolves over the years. And, uh, I also love bigger projects like say my kids' school books or baby books or travel albums. Those are my big ones. Or home renovation projects. And so I Or the pets we love, right? I love that. So there's still, ties into the Library of Memories, [00:30:00] uh, concept, but I use that more in my theme category, if I have enough photos that deserve their own theme. Then I have my family chronological albums. But what I realized is, the biggest thing is albums, I don't have to scrapbook every photo. And I think of us, especially if we learned in Creative Memories or came from Creative Memories or, you know, the original thought on scrapping, "I have to scrapbook every photo. And that was a big aha for me to say, "Oh, no, I don't need to scrapbook every photo.

I just need to scrapbook the best photos, the ones that really tell my story." Uh, so it's more of a highlight reel. I like to call it a highlight reel. Some things like a travel album, yes, maybe I'll do more. So the pop- that pop system, the bigger picture for me kind of [00:31:00] now is categorized into chronological and theme. So I have a place to put all those things. And then my photo folders, I've organized all my photos so I can easily grab a folder. And say, "Okay, these photos go this layout." I'm just gonna grab them out of my box. Or if I like to make page kits, you know, a lot of us like to, you know, grab our supplies, put them in a folder. Well, my photo folders go in my page kit with the supplies that I wanna use to build that page also. And so over time, my, my planner got more streamlined into just chronological theme. It got more streamlined into what are really the forms that I come to over and over and over. And I have this philosophy of organize, simplify, and finish. So [00:32:00] the organize is you've gotta organize your photos. You have to know, especially this translates into digital. So now we're looking at our camera rolls, right?

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Lauren Hinds: Scroll, scroll, scroll. Even that, what photos am I gonna print? And I print them, and I put them in a photo folder. So now again, I have my, my strategy. But first you have to look at your photos and decide. Then my second tool, I call it an album map. The album map help- helps me see my whole album at a glance.

And it's just little pencil notes. I always use a pencil 'cause I like to erase and move things around. Pencil notes on a map that is, you know, represents an album that I want to create. What feels so good is when I finish a page, I'll put a big X through that page. You know, ooh, that one's done, right?

So if I have [00:33:00] 30 or 40 boxes, I know exactly how many pages I finished. And then from there, you know, you do the actual creative part. So pictures, album map, and then create. And to me, I tend to be more on a simple side. I love what I call quick cuts or just blocks of color on your page and, you know, just those fun little finishing touches. So I have products developed around that too. But that's kind of my, my big system. And then, I'll just add one more thing. I ha- I, I couldn't do every month, I, I do a four-hour live stream Pop Crop. And again, it's going back to our conversation, setting a date with yourself. So that's where I work on whatever new products that come out or something fun [00:34:00] or a new design concept or a new tool or a new punch or something like that, that's Pop Crop.

And so I have that with my Pop Stars, and we have, uh, Pop Sketches and all the, all things Pop in there. So that, there we go. I'm done.

Jennifer Wilson: I lo- I love it. I love it. But I have, I have follow-up questions for sure. So, um, a lot of our listeners will be familiar with the Library of Memories system. This is a kind of a four category and subcategory system, uh, created by Stacy Julian. We've talked about it a lot on the show over the years. Um, so y- you did keep those albums for a few years, is that correct?

Lauren Hinds: I did. I did. And I still have pieces of that that I'm working on. So I still have the Pets We Love.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay.

Lauren Hinds: A place called home, which is my family renovations. Um, and I do have one called Portraits of Us, which [00:35:00] are, like family portraits over the years. And the people we love, which are kind of celebrating, um, certain meaningful people. But I also realized, which and, and so I love the perspective Stacy gave on your whole photo library. Like, that was priceless for me. Like, taking a step back and going, "What are these amazing, you know, things that we can talk about through our albums?" And that will always remain kind of in what I do. But I also realized for me personally, and I had conversations, I encourage you to have conversations with the people that you are scrapbooking for and your family, you know, if you have that. I had a conversation with my husband and I said, "What do you think if I just stopped doing chronological albums?" He didn't like it. [00:36:00] Because he is one that will go and pull an album off of our shelf and say, "Oh yeah, when did we, you know, redo the patio?" Or you know, When did this event happen?" And he loves and pulling an album off and flipping through those pages for a certain year. So I realized for our family, that was definitely something I wanted to continue. I just had to simplify it. I had.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, sure. I.

Lauren Hinds: To say not every photo.

Jennifer Wilson: So it's so interesting that, um, would you say you scrapbook kind of everyday moments as well as bigger moments?

Lauren Hinds: Absolutely in my current, um, in my current, like my 2026, I absolutely love scrapping everyday moments. And here's the thing, Jennifer, you know, scrapbooking changes as our family evolves.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm. Very true.[00:37:00]

Lauren Hinds: Yeah, my kids are grown. I hardly ever get pictures of them unless, you know, we all go out to dinner or something. So the everyday moments are special for me. Are- they're special. So if my son happens to go on a walk with my husband and my dog, I'm gonna snap a little picture and write a little story about that. That's an everyday moment for me, and I do love, love that. But I incorporate that into my more current albums. For my older albums, when I go back, like say 2010, that's when ... Remember when I was saying, like, I have a folder of, like, miscellaneous pictures.

Have a full page or a full two pages? I'll try to go back, and, and this is why I really suggest, uh, writing things down. Oh, and that's another, another little thing I have are, uh, tell the story cards. So if you remember things, you can just write that down [00:38:00] and stick it in the photo folder. And because I've know for myself, going back to 2010, when I pull out the miscellaneous photos, sometimes I'll have to go and say, "Do you remember, you know, what was going on here?" The, the memories, the stories don't come as fresh. Hey, we're all getting older, right?

Jennifer Wilson: Certainly.

Lauren Hinds: Um, so I try- I still like the idea of everyday moments. It just doesn't have the richness of the story, unfortunately, because time has passed, unless I wrote something down.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm curious when, let's just say you have a new photo, a new story that you're wanting to tell, um, does it automatically go in the a- annual album unless you have a theme album that, that it would f- fit better in? Like, how do you make these decisions about where it goes? I think that's kind of one of the big challenges overall of if you have different album systems that are side by side, how do you then make a [00:39:00] choice?

Lauren Hinds: Right. So here's the question I ask. Uh, does this, photo help tell the story of our year? Or is it large enough to become its own project? And so does it help us tell the story of our year? What's interesting is a lot of photos do, even the small everyday moments.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Lauren Hinds: And, and also, also remember there are photos we don't need to do anything with. They can just either... You know, I, I have an ABC method. Do you mind if I share that? So.

Jennifer Wilson: Sure, go ahead

Lauren Hinds: My ABC method for photos is A. A is album worthy. Remember A, album worthy. B is They're a photo that you don't necessarily want to scrapbook. They're not album-worthy, but you don't wanna get rid of it or delete it. Get rid of it meaning trash it [00:40:00] out of your box or delete it off your phone. So think of that as box it, B, box it. Bin- you know, like put it in a, put it in a storage. C are the blurries, duplicates, the, you know, 10 photos of the same thing. You really, you know, you could cut that down. Save two, not 10. Um, and that is, uh, C is get rid of it, or you might wanna call it can it. C, can.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Lauren Hinds: Put it in the trash. So if you look at, um, you know, A, album-worthy, going back to your, your question of how do you decide where it goes, I even back that up and say, first of all, is this photo even album-worthy? And if it is album-worthy, then you make the decision. Does it go into my family? Does it st- tell the story of the year? [00:41:00] Or is it part of a bigger story, like say a retirement or a travel, you know, a theme. The hard one for me, here's, here's a good example. The hard one for me is pets. Because we, we love pets in our house. And so, you know, do you put all these cute pet photos in your, your yearly book? Or do you pull them out and put them in a, in an album for them, right? 'Cause, you know, hey, pets deserve.

Jennifer Wilson: I might say both on that one.

Lauren Hinds: Uh, uh, yeah, and that's exactly what I was gonna say, Jennifer, is it, it can be both. So again, maybe for the family album, it's a, it's the highlight reel. Just remember that. It's the highlight reel. But you have 10 photos of, you know, we just got a new kitten.

Jennifer Wilson: Hmm. Awesome.

Lauren Hinds: I can't stop taking photos of this new kitten.

Jennifer Wilson: I bet, yeah.

Lauren Hinds: And especially, you know, we have a, I have a dog, and, and the introduction. So it's, you know, it's a process. And I can't stop [00:42:00] taking ph- photos. Well, I'm not necessarily gonna make two two-page layouts in my family book of these two playing together. I would put that in my pets album, though. Does that make sense?

Jennifer Wilson: It does. It does, yeah.

Lauren Hinds: Yeah. So, so it can be, it can be both, but again, I always try to treat my family album as the highlight reel, if that makes sense.

Jennifer Wilson: You know, it, it, it does. Everything you say has made sense so far, so.

Lauren Hinds: Okay.

Jennifer Wilson: You've done, you do, you have a...

Lauren Hinds: I've been out at, at it for a long time.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, you have some good systems for sure. Um, one thing I would add to your ABC system, though, is maybe like an A+ or something because, or an F. Because I prioritize, um, photos that I would frame. Uh, separately from photos that I would scrapbook.

And sometimes they're both, but often they're actually not. It's just, like, the most beautiful photos that have no story behind them, but these are the ones that I [00:43:00] really wanna celebrate on the wall. Um, and so because, you know, I have to find them somehow, um, those get my five stars, and scrapbook ones get three stars. So.

Lauren Hinds: Oh, I like that. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Anyway.

Lauren Hinds: F for frame it.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Lauren Hinds: Album it, bin it, can it, or frame it. There you go.

Jennifer Wilson: I like that. Yeah.

Um, going back to Creative Memories a little bit, I, I did not gr- I grew up knowing about it, but that's not how I started in scrapbooking. I actually started as a digital scrapbooker and then transitioned to paper when my daughter was born 15 years ago. Um, like literally on the dot, like I was transitioning over the course of my pregnancy from digital to paper.

It's, yeah. Even my, my, her like little baby album, it's half digital and the, all the stuff that I documented after she was born turned to paper within the same album. Um, that's an aside.

Lauren Hinds: That's so fun. Well, there was a huge digital pu- push too.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh yeah, yeah, for sure.

So but I'm [00:44:00] curious for those who, who maybe did get their introduction with Creative Memories but have stepped away from the brand for whatever reason or, you know, of- oftentimes there's even stepping away from scrapbooking. What would you say is new and different in 2026 versus say 2006?

Lauren Hinds: Oh my gosh, yeah. What a transition we've been in. And, and here's the thing, you know, I absolutely love the creative process, and I always want to celebrate, people's decisions on what brings them joy creatively. And, uh, and, and so a, a lot of people were like the, the lingo was, "I had a CM Nazi for an advisor," right?

Like, you, you couldn't, you couldn't use any, you know, anything but.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Lauren Hinds: CM, and I'm so not that person. And I think that's been a huge shift for the, the brand and the company as a whole is, find what [00:45:00] makes you happy, in the way of album making. And, and they've changed a lot of their products kind of to go along with that. They've made simple, what they call Simple Page Kits. So that's how they help brand-new beginners. Because, you know, I think what's kind of sad is that, um, the youngers, I call them a younger generation, they're not as excited. My, my daughters, I have, you know, a, a 25 and a 29-year-old, they're not excited about scrapbooking. They're trying to make the entry point easy, so they've created Simple Page Kits and Fast to Fab pages. And even album kits now. That's one of their latest launches this year are kind of pre-designed base pages for you, and then you get to add your.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Lauren Hinds: Photos and layer some, paper and stickers and different things on top. But they've done kind [00:46:00] of the work of figuring out the base layouts for you. So they've realized not everybody scrapbooks the same, and I think that's been a huge shift. You know, and you don't have to do it their way.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah.

Lauren Hinds: anybody's way. You do it your own way.

Jennifer Wilson: Certainly. Yes.

Lauren Hinds: Um, but I, I, I also have to say, you know, their albums to me are just the best.

And, and I'm- know this about myself too. I'm kind of a matchy-matchy girl. So I love that their albums today are still the same albums they had 25, 30 years ago. And they are s- they held, hold up beautifully. I still have some of my very first albums, and they look so pretty on a shelf. They have a, a customizable spine product that they, um, just re-released.

So [00:47:00] all my albums have, you know, custom spines, and I can just glance. It's ... I, I think it's that vertical thing again.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm. Yeah

Lauren Hinds: Love looking vertically, you know. And I even, I even choose the same font, you know, 'cause I want my fonts to look the same. My- all my family albums are black and, you know, different colors for other things. My kids are red.

Jennifer Wilson: I get it.

Lauren Hinds: You know. I'm, I just like that.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. I was doing some photo books over the years, like just some annual books, and then one year the software I used, they changed all the fonts, and I'm like, "No, this is unacceptable." I, you know, I want these to line up on the shelf and look the same, and they just don't. Yeah.

Lauren Hinds: You get it. You get it. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: I do.

Lauren Hinds: That's me right there.

Jennifer Wilson: So I'm, I'm really curio- I n- I mean, I, I know the albums have long been like this is one of the reasons that people love them, and they've, like, it's kind of the, the backbone literally, of the system. Um, and I've noticed [00:48:00] a lot of younger scrapbookers, so like, you know, as you said, you have adult children in, you know, who are finding their way in the world. And I think they learned from their moms and grandmas, um, that this is maybe a, a good way to start scrapbooking. And so I'm seeing kind of a, this resurgence of, of the albums beyond maybe the core community, and I think it's really fascinating.

Um, but I'm curious, could someone who maybe has their layouts, their 12 by 12 layouts in binder albums, could they use the top loading single pocket pages to convert their albums and then, like, save a lot of space? Or are the dimensions not quite right to do that?

Lauren Hinds: They are perfect because that's a lot of what we, we do now. We s- we scrap on 12 by 12 pages.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Lauren Hinds: And then slide them into the, the pocket. So the pockets do, um, it, uh, take a 12, uh, a true 12 by 12 page. The one [00:49:00] thing I would be a little cautious about is, how much ephemera, how heavy are.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm. How bulky.

Lauren Hinds: Right?

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Lauren Hinds: Yeah, I mean, some of us really like to go for that, and, um, they ... Creative Memories recommends, you know, about, it's always an about two inches wide. So for some of us, that means 40 pages, but for others, that might mean 10 or 15, especially sliding them into the top-loading pockets.

Jennifer Wilson: Sure.

Lauren Hinds: If they're bulkier.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay.

Lauren Hinds: It would be it's a great way to convert, and I, I can't tell you how many people have said, "Yeah, I'm done with, with ring binding because they don't last," you know, or, or something like that. And it gives you that consistency, too. Their albums are gonna be around forever, I hope.

Jennifer Wilson: I've, I've been very disappointed. I invested in a one whole brand of albums, and I have now since replaced them with another brand. Because [00:50:00] they didn't last, even just minor opening and closing. It's, I... You know, my family looks at stuff once in a while. I take it out to film something once in a while.

It's not like they were getting heavy use, but the spines all cracked and started peeling, and it's... Yeah, it was very, uh, surprising and disappointing, so.

Lauren Hinds: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, no, thank you for sharing that. Is there anything else we haven't covered that you would love our audience to know about how you think about scrapbooking and, yeah, what advice you would have for them?

Lauren Hinds: Let's see. I would definitely recommend making a date with yourself, and I think we both just.

Jennifer Wilson: Hmm.

Lauren Hinds: Were like, "Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Gotta talk about that." Make a date with yourself. And, and I feel like even for myself as the creator, as the organizer of, you know, the groups that I host, my, my pop membership and my monthly meetup membership, it puts me in, [00:51:00] personally, in the right space, too.

'Cause some- there are times where I'm like, it's the end of the month, And ugh, do I really, you know, wanna go through my camera roll for July? And, you know. By the end of that workshop, I am pumped and jazzed, and I wanna make more pages.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm

Lauren Hinds: If I didn't have that on my calendar, if I didn't have that commitment, I would not be making the progress that I'm making.

Jennifer Wilson: 100%

Lauren Hinds: I, I mean, I, I really... I feel so strongly about that. And of course, just like your community, Jennifer, it's a community. It's w- so wonderful to see. You know, we meet on Zoom. It's so wonderful to see people's faces. We do page shares. They get to... You know, I do giveaways, and, uh, I encourage people to post their pages in my Facebook group. And it's just such a wonderful [00:52:00] thing to be part of a community. Wherever you find that community, jump in and make a date with yourself, because you will be so happy you did.

Jennifer Wilson: I totally agree. Thank you so much, Lauren.

Lauren Hinds: Are so welcome.

Jennifer Wilson: Can you remind, our guests where they can find you online? And is there anything else new or coming up that you wanted to tease?

Lauren Hinds: Oh gosh. Um, well yes, so I am all things craft.some.joy. And, I wanna kind of, I, I also kinda just wanna put this out there is I love the idea that you can be creative, but you can also give yourself the flexibility to get projects done and to move forward in a simple way.

Jennifer Wilson: Hmm.

Lauren Hinds: So you don't end up just with stacks and stacks of pretty layouts, that you actually...

There is... I, I don't know if you would agree, there is something truly magical when you put the finishing [00:53:00] touches on an album and you put that on your shelf.

Jennifer Wilson: Certainly, yeah.

Lauren Hinds: It's a magical feeling, and that's really what I would say. Give yourself that allowance to, that, that progress over perfection, done is better than perfect. Just keep making the progress. So that those pages have a home and you can share that, uh, with the people that are meaningful in your life. So the, the teases for, Album Maker Academy, I can't wait to get that out there because it really is embodied everything I've talked about here. Taking the bigger projects that we put all that down and, you know, for me, it's my pop planner, but now we take one tab in that and we're going start to finish, and we're gonna get that album done in a really simple easy way.

Jennifer Wilson: I love it.

Lauren Hinds: [00:54:00] Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, it sounds terrific. Yeah, no, thank you. I appreciate you spending time with me today.

Lauren Hinds: I love it. I'm, I'm happy to be here, and so happy you reached out, Jennifer. Thank you so much.

Jennifer Wilson: And to all of our listeners, please remember that you have permission to scrapbook your way.

Amanda Rowinski: [00:00:00] all these women are coming together with these supportive and positive vibes, and they're sharing their life through these albums they created with their hands." And like, it was magical to me, and it still is, like, every day. So since discovering that, you know, like all of us. It's just become such a part of my life. Like, it's just woven into the fabric of my life. Living life and then coming back to a room to make art about it.

Jennifer Wilson: Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way, the show that explores the breadth of ways to be a memory keeper today. I'm your host, Jennifer Wilson, owner of Simple Scrapper, and author of The New Rules of Scrapbooking. This is episode 345. In this episode, I'm chatting with Amanda Rowinski about what it looks like to find your way back to memory keeping after a long pause.

Amanda shares how motherhood, junk journaling, and a refreshed craft room are all shaping her creative comeback.

Hey, Amanda. Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way.

Amanda Rowinski: Hey, Jennifer. Thank you so much for inviting me. I love this topic, and I've been binging the [00:01:00] podcast, so it's been giving me life, so I'm very excited to be a part of it.

Jennifer Wilson: Wonderful. I'm excited to just kind of see you getting back in your groove with scrapbooking, and we're gonna talk a lot about that today. Can you start by sharing a little bit about yourself?

Amanda Rowinski: Uh, sure. So I'm Amanda Rowinski. It's my married name. In the past decade plus, if you've seen me online, you've probably heard me be Amanda Ro- Zampelli. That's my maiden name, or I even had, like, a brief time where I was Amanda Rose Zampelli. 'cause it was important for me to, like, be like Jennifer Love Hewitt and have my middle name in there.

Um, but.

Jennifer Wilson: Especially if you have a cool middle name, so.

Amanda Rowinski: Yeah. Thanks. Uh, so right. So I've kind of erased all that, and I didn't wanna come back as Amanda Rowinski. so we'll talk a little bit about that later, but that's my name. Um, yeah, and I was born and raised in Queens, New York, uh, currently living on Long Island, New York. Which, if you're from New York, you know is a bit of the burbs.

So we moved out here. Um, yeah, and I've- the phrase that I've been using to [00:02:00] describe myself now is a modern-day memory keeping millennial mom. Like, all.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice.

Amanda Rowinski: Is just to kinda sum me up. Because at this point in time, I'm a stay-at-home mom. My son is three. My daughter is one and a half, so a lot going on minute to minute in my world.

Um, but you know, I've, I've dipped in and out of the scrapbooking industry. So I've, you know, designed two paper lines for We R Memory Keepers. I was there for the launch of the Happy Planner with Me and My Big Ideas. Um, yeah, so I, I mean, we'll go more into it, but I've taught classes on Big Picture. So my, a lot of my paying work the past two decades has been as an elementary special education teacher in a classroom. But I've dipped in and out of that to kind of pursue this creative passion I have to, like, be a part of the industry.

But at this point in time, like, my last paying jobs the past few years where I've kinda [00:03:00] had this pause from, you know, contributing creatively online, was as an elementary school teacher. So, so I'm a teacher and a creative, and I love this industry so much. But currently, you know, I'm doing my crafting thing in my office as much as I can and momming two littles. So that basically sums up what I'm doing.

Jennifer Wilson: Now, will you go back to a school in the fall, or is that not currently on your agenda?

Amanda Rowinski: There's no set foreseeable future of when I'll go back. I mean, we don't really have childcare. We're not interested in, in paying a daycare, so it's basically lying on me.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Amanda Rowinski: My daughter is old enough to go to school, like I'm definitely entertaining it. It's always there, which I appreciate. But I'm trying to see what I can make happen in the interim, you know, like what I can do from home and maybe tap back into my creative world.

So it's kind of where I'm at today.

Jennifer Wilson: I get it. yeah. I get it. I totally do. I mean, especially with the cost of childcare being [00:04:00] so incredibly, uh, you know, challenging these days.

Amanda Rowinski: Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness, yeah. Yeah. And I wanna be home for the kids, like I wanna be their first point of contact. I've heard that phrase and I loved it. I was like, "That's true, that's... I... If they need something, I want to be the one to, to attend to it." And thankfully my husband can support us right now while I do that.

So yeah. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: That's such an interesting phrase just because my kid is in the, you know, teen years with a cellphone, and so I definitely am that first point of contact with the cellphone. Like, "Mom, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." And then, "Mom! Why have you not responded yet? It's been three seconds."

Amanda Rowinski: It's such a, as we all know, motherhood is such a beautiful contradiction because you want to be that point of contact, but then you're like, "Leave me alone," like, at the same time. But.

Jennifer Wilson: Like I do other things. Other than respond to your messages.

Amanda Rowinski: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: So.

Amanda Rowinski: But what an honor to be the one, right? The chosen one to go to. Yeah. Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: So do you have a favorite recent layout or project, something [00:05:00] that you've made recently that really kind of lights you up?

Amanda Rowinski: Yes. So I have started this year, I've been working in a Currently workbook. So I don't- if, if you go to my Instagram, you'll see a bunch of spreads that I've shared. Um, it's... She calls it a self-reflection workbook. So this is a created workbook by Tracy Benjamin, who on Instagram is Shutterbean. She's had her blog Shutterbean for, like, two decades. Um, and it's still up and running, and she has the Handwriting Club on Substack.

So she created, and it's in her Etsy shop, I don't know if you can get the 2026 one anymore, but I know toward the end of the year she releases it. She's done, like, six years of it so far. And it has been, like, this... It's been my favorite project this year. I mean, it's, it's part... Like, it taps into all the things I love, but being concise enough where I can dip into it when I have the time.

Like, it doesn't require big, long stretches of making. You know, I... So I've been kind of using it as, um, a [00:06:00] commonplace book, so any kind of inspiration I, I pull. What I'm noticing in my, in my seasonal life now is, like, a lot of my mental talk, I'm learning how to kind of, like, deal with a lot of my mental talk.

Like, if I'm trying to, to build something and do something business-wise, like, a lot of it is like, "But you've been gone for s- too long, and, and is it relevant, and are you relevant, and are..." You know, all that kind of talk. So I'm using the book a lot as, like, a way to pump myself up, all these inspirational quotes, and, like, when I do make a step toward the right direction in my head, I'll jot it down.

So it's been a bit of, like, look at all the steps you're making type book. And then she has a, a page for, like, all the good things that happened this month, and what I've been using it for is just, like, monthly dumping all the photos that I have from the month. So I'm talking like 70, 75 photos a month. That I'm just, like, putting in a flip-up on in, in one page of the book.

She has, like, a Currently section. So it's really hitting all my sweet spots of what I used [00:07:00] to do in, like, a planner or in, in an album in one book that, like, I can maintain, I guess. So.

Jennifer Wilson: That's so cool. We will definitely link.

Amanda Rowinski: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: That up.

Amanda Rowinski: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: Both examples of yours as well as, um, from her shop. That sounds really, really awesome.

Amanda Rowinski: Yeah, and then she hosts, like if you pay for her subscription, um, monthly subscription on Substack, she hosts like twice monthly practice pages where she says, "Bring your book." And like she talks about how to fill in like your summer bucket list, and we share ideas. Like, so she's really making a nice experience around it too.

So highly recommend.

Jennifer Wilson: It's like, it's just so focused around doing one thing rather than all the options out there in the world, because.

Amanda Rowinski: Oh, yes.

Jennifer Wilson: We then have to make decisions amongst those options.

Amanda Rowinski: Oh, yes. Yes. Yes. I do love that about it too. Definitely.

Jennifer Wilson: Now, is there something in your, either in your hobby or in your everyday life, something new that you're excited to do, use, or try?

Amanda Rowinski: Uh, yes. So I'm having a bit of a creative comeback as I said, you know, from the dead. It feels like ... My One [00:08:00] Little Word this year is miracle. Um, but it might as well have been resurrection. Because a lot of, like, this year has been just, like, taking things out of the attic and, you know, like, this, like, renewed sense of showing up again or wanting to show up again.

So I'm really excited to embody being Amanda the memory keeper online. Which is kind of what I've changed all my handles to. Um, yeah. So I'm, I'm just treating my presence online as more of a business. Like, what problems can I solve in this paper crafting community I love so much, and what can I offer that's new and exciting?

So my head's been kind of there. It's been there since like January. And what was funny is, uh, you know, I'm working with a brand designer in July. So by the time this comes out my new website might be up, and I wanna grow my YouTube. It's just at the start of this year, um, it's the year of the fire horse, right?

The, the ... And I ... That was ... I didn't know this at the time, but [00:09:00] my, my daughter's birthday's on Christmas, so she turned one at the end of last year. And literally the turn of the calendar from 2025 to 2026, my thoughts, that was the exact metaphor for my like brain and my motivation. It was like a fire horse.

Like they were firing like crazy. Like, "Do this, do this, do this," or, "You could do this. You could do this." Like ... And I was like, I didn't even know it was the year of the fire horse, but when I heard that I was like, "That is so funny because my thoughts have been charging through my brain like a horse on fire" Like.

So, so yes, I don't know what that is, but I've heard that from a lot of moms that like once they know they're done having kids and, like, they got through that first tough year, it's like they jumped back in their body. And kind of like, "Oh, what am I, uh, what am I gonna do now that I'm myself again?" Like.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Amanda Rowinski: So yeah, so that was my experience, and I'm just excited to see what all that means. I don't even have a real definition to it yet. It's just I'm trying little things here and there and trying to come up with ideas here and there. Because once February hit, all that fire kind of like [00:10:00] sizzled out. And I was like, "All right, now let's organize all these thoughts on paper, and what do I wanna do moving forward?"

So, so yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Be a little more practical about it. I understand.

Amanda Rowinski: Oh, for sure.

Jennifer Wilson: Back to that time and what, when my kid turned one, like, what, what shifted for me, and I definitely, that felt like, okay, like, they're walking.

Amanda Rowinski: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: O- we're gonna be okay. Um, you know, I no longer have to just, like, throw some taquitos in the oven to survive. Because I'm not eating anything, and, um, the things felt a little bit more calm at that point. Um.

Amanda Rowinski: 100% Yeah. That's what I mean. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: So you've been, as we've mentioned, you've been sharing your creative, online for more than 15 years. Can you tell us a little bit more about your history and, and how that evolved maybe up until the time that you did have kids?

Amanda Rowinski: Yes. So I love talking about this, and I have a Substack post in my head called My Creative Career Thus Far... Does It [00:11:00] Even Matter? Right? Like, I, I think back to it, like, I think back to all the things that I've done creatively, but I've had such a long pause since, you know, going back to teaching and having kids, that does any of that even matter now today, right?

I'm sure, like, it does in experience-wise, but, like, everything's so new and I'm so different now. Anyway, so, so this is a, this is something I love talking about 'cause I love to explore that. But, um, history-wise, I feel like when I was in college, it was the start of, like, 2000s. I'm not as young as a lot of people think I am, but, um, yeah, like sharing pictures on Facebook albums was, to me, like the earliest form of online memory keeping.

Like, I remember this intense desire to do it and title each item, like, uh, title each album, like, April, April, you know, 28... 2008. Like, and I would, I would stylize the title picture and, like... So I always liked sharing online, and I didn't even know what that was. I'm like, "Who am I sharing for?" Like, you know? I didn't get it, but I knew I liked to [00:12:00] do it.

Um, and then in 2010, I started a blog, um, 'cause I found out that blogging was a thing, and I was like, "Oh, maybe this is why I like doing it, because I can write."

And then it was, like, more like writing my stories, and I blogged every day. Like, I was 25 years old with nothing really to do except, like, go to school, and I would, I would blog every day. But again, it didn't have to be this perfectly polished Pinterest-worthy blog. Like, it just had to be something you did and a little bit of words and, and I just love that time, that golden age of, like, online creation.

But, um, yeah, so I started a blog. I shared, like- planner pages where I would, like, buy a planner at Staples. And again, like, didn't understand it at the time, but, like, I had this urge to cut things that inspired me out of magazines and stick it in this planner around my plans, and I would just post this teeny-tiny picture on my blog.

And I remember just going like, "This is fun," but didn't get it. Like, why am I... I would always, every time I posted I'd be like, "Yes, why did I do that?" Like, [00:13:00] I never understood it. And then, um, and all this time, like, I was trying to become a classroom teacher. Like, I didn't have anything. I, I went to school for film and creative writing actually, which now looking back, like, I get it.

That was stuff I was interested in, and, like, making YouTube videos now makes sense why I would, like, fe- Like, it's so funny, like, things in your past definitely inform, like, what you like. I don't know. But I didn't know what to do with it at the time. Like, what do I do with this major? So my... I had two aunts that were in the education system.

My mom was a school secretary. Like, I had a lot of access into the education system, so I'm like, "Yeah, I would be a great teacher. Like, let me do that for money." So I was trying to become a teacher, trying to become a teacher. In 2011, I believe, I got my first classroom. I worked so hard. I was, like, subbing for two years, like, trying my hard.

And then once I got in the classroom, I was like, "Oh, is this really what I wanna do? I don't know." At the same time, in 2012, I tapped into Project Life and Becky Higgins, and I pretty much think Ali Edwards. That was [00:14:00] my first One Little Word, uh, year, so I probably was looking into what she was doing. And just like many of the people on your podcast say, like, something totally clicked, and my world cracked open, and I knew I had found my people.

I'm like, "Oh, all this stuff online. This is who I was supposed to find." Like, it really did feel like everything was building up to this moment of like, "Oh my God, these women do this for a living, and oh my God, there's people that like to do it too." The, I never knew anyone that did these weird little things, you know, in their, in their room.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Amanda Rowinski: Yeah, I feel like there's a lot of, all of us, a lot of us memory keepers have had that moment. Did you have that moment?

Jennifer Wilson: I, I did, and it's, it's so interesting to think about particularly that, those early days. I remember, like, the 2008, 2010 era, I was like, "I have to get online. Like, the, the world.

Amanda Rowinski: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: Is not offline anymore. I have to do this.

Amanda Rowinski: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: 'Cause I had, I had done some stuff in the late '90s with, like, I had a website back then.

This is when I was in high school, and, like, [00:15:00] I was on AOL

creating, you know, zines and web zines with other girls my age, and a lot that were actually younger than me. And I felt like it was like, "I have to come back to this." I had stepped away for, you know, a good number of years, college and, you know, early career, and I'm like, "Oh my gosh, this world is, like, escaping me, and I have to jump in now to figure out what the heck is going on.

What is a blog, and, and what do we do with it, and why does it matter?"

Amanda Rowinski: 100%. And I feel like, like we really lived life never having it and then discovered it. Like, a lot of the kids growing up now have always seen it, always had it. I wonder, like, how would- how that moment differs for them, right? Like, it wasn't this brand-new thing. It's just like, oh, a brand-new person that they follow.

Like, I don't know, it- it- it's... The golden age is what I call it, thinking back then, to when the internet was really rising. Anyway, so I found these women, and I was like, "Oh my God, all these women are coming together with these supportive and positive vibes, and they're sharing [00:16:00] their life through these albums they created with their hands." And like, it was magical to me, and it still is, like, every day. So since discovering that, you know, like all of us. It's just become such a part of my life. Like, it's just woven into the fabric of my life. Living life and then coming back to a room to make art about it. Like, that just is what we do, right?

So something else, I had this deep desire when I found Becky Higgins and Ali Edwards to, like, do more than just memory keep as a hobby. Like, I've been thinking a lot about that now. Like.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Amanda Rowinski: I danced Bachata and Salsa, and I loved it. Like, I did that for a few years, and I would go five times a week to the studio and, like...

But there is zero part of my life that wants that to be a job. Like, you know what I mean? I was like, "Oh, that really is a hobby," because I just wanna show up and dance and, like, have a good time. But there was always something about this where I'm like, "Oh, maybe this is what I could do for a living." And even to this day, I don't know what that means.

I'm trying to still figure out what that means. But I always had that, like, [00:17:00] pursuit part of it. It wasn't just, like, a fun, crafty thing. So yeah, so that, that was always very interesting to me that I was like, "I wanna create products to help others document their life. I wanna help other crafty, paper-loving ladies find this hobby."

Like.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Amanda Rowinski: It was always a part of me. So, all right. So then, then now I'm teaching, and I re- had that realization. So in 2013, I stumbled upon Erin Condren and her life planner on Pinterest. So that, too, was another moment of like, "Oh my God, the gateway is open because here's a creative planner and a planner I've never seen."

And then I, I remember, like, ordering it and going to sleep, and until it was delivered, like, dreaming about this planner. Is that, was that weird? Like, do, do you have paper crafting dreams?

Jennifer Wilson: Um, yes?

Amanda Rowinski: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Even wanna admit to what I dream about.

Amanda Rowinski: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: I mean.

Amanda Rowinski: My goodness.

Jennifer Wilson: I was, I mean during the age of, like, I think 2014, when everyone was doing Project Life, and I'm like, "I can't figure this out for [00:18:00] me." I would go to sleep every night trying to figure out how can I make pocket pages work for me.

Amanda Rowinski: Oh my God, I love it.

Jennifer Wilson: It took like, almost a year to kind of figure something out. Um, but yeah, I do definitely have those dreams.

Amanda Rowinski: Yeah, like as I'm falling asleep, I'm like, "Oh, I could put this on this, and this page could look like this." I'm like, I'm so grateful for it because I, I wonder what other crazy things I'd be thinking about going to bed with this world now. But like, I allow the, the, the love of paper and all that stuff to like light me up, you know?

I- it's been a... Yeah, it's great. So I remember going to sleep, and that was the first product I like really was dreaming about having in my hand. So loved it. So with that planner was the really my first time I wasn't just like collaging from magazines in it. I was printing photos, tiny, fitting them in the boxes.

I- it was, I didn't know it then, but like the first memory planning I had ever done or ever really seen. I had never saw people put pictures in a planner, and I was like, "Oh, this is kind of cool, and this is kind of [00:19:00] fun." And so I was posting that online, like, "Look what I'm doing with this planner." And then, um, oh, at the same time in 2013, I was...

I had left teaching. I decided like, "I'm gonna pursue this now that I wanna be... I, I'm gonna make scrapbooking paper." Like, I wanted to just be like Amy Tangerine and, and.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Amanda Rowinski: uh, you know, all them. I was like, "I'm gonna make a scrapbook line." So I left teaching and found in New York City, it was called Shillington School of Graphic Design, and I believe they're still there now, but it's more virtual.

Like I was driving the car to the bus stop every day, getting on the bus, getting like an hour in... taking the bus an hour to go in the city, and like being dropped off at Bryant Park, walking the three blocks to the school, and like Monday through Friday sitting down for three months straight and just like- Like, I must've been smiling the whole time.

Like, I was like it was just a graphic des- I was like, I was like, "This is where I'm supposed to be." Again, like, just following that intuition and like, let's see what comes of this. [00:20:00] So that was from September 2013 to December 2013, and I came out of that program with, like, a little portfolio of stuff I had made.

And so yeah, so then I was like, "Okay, here I go." Come January 2014, I started pitching myself out to different... I, I contacted American Crafts, I contacted, like, all these different companies, and We R Memory Keepers actually got back to me, and I spoke to them, and they signed me on. So they, they signed me on to do, um, like, a line with them.

And I was like, "It could not have happened that quickly." Like, I couldn't believe that, like, all I did was just risk it, and take the leap, and get a little background, and reach out, like, cold email, and it happened. And I was like, "Okay, this is my dream come true." And yeah, so what ended up happening is I made two lines for them, and then American Crafts bought, um, We R Memory Keepers or something, and then I was kinda let go.

So I was like, "All right." I was like, "Well, at least I have these two things under my belt." And I was... I said, "Back to the drawing board" and I was [00:21:00] emailing, emailing, emailing. And I had emailed Stephanie Fleming from Me and My Big Ideas, and when I, she responded to me, she goes, "OMG, I recognized your name right away because I..."

She was looking on Pinterest and saw my Erin Condren spreads, and she's like, "I was looking into you because you did this thing in this planner." And so she hired me, but not to design, to be their social media coordinator. So, like- That was amazing too. I was like, "Wow, one company to the other company." And on my first day on the job she flew me out to California and she's like, "So we're making a planner."

And like that was literally the... Like, the rest is history. So she had seen my Erin Condren, and I guess she was in the works of making The Happy Planner, and she's like, "Well, I can sign this girl on 'cause she's worked with a planner creatively," and that's kinda what I guess happened. So that was it. So, so I was with that job two years.

I mean, I think a little less than two years, but I was a social media coordinator, so I f- I started their Instagram. We went from zero to 200,000 followers in, in my reign. You [00:22:00] know, I... That first blast of them. And, uh, yeah, I mean, the product was a home run, so that helped. But I'd like to think, like, my passion for, like, sharing with other people and like, "Look what we did.

You're fun too." Like, it was... I just think back to that girl that was in that room, like.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm

Amanda Rowinski: With not knowing this existed to like, "Oh my gosh, this exists." So, so that was a great job, and I'm sad that it ended for me, but it had to. Um, yeah. And then, and then so that w- I was there till, till 2017, and then from 2017 to 2018 I was trying to make a lot of things happen for myself.

I was, I was like, "Okay, I saw how a product was launched. I could launch a product." And in my head I had this... I've always had this idea for, like, a behavior s- like a touch, a Velcro touchy, like, very graphic behavior system in a classroom, 'cause from my teaching years. And I was like, "Oh, I could develop that," and that never really went anywhere.

Like, I've always been trying to find a way to make product or get in the industry. But for that whole year I was trying to figure out, I was actually [00:23:00] waitressing. So, you know, here I am with a master's degree in education and like had this great creative job, and I'm just trying to make money while being creative.

It was a very, like... And I broke up with my boyfriend at the time, so it was a lot of, like, rough edges at that time. But I was doing the podcast with Kristin Tweedale. She reached out to me right after I left Happy Planner and was like, "Hey, if you need anything..." And I was like, "Well, I've always wanted to start a podcast."

And like that's how we kinda just had Crafty Ass Female be born. And yeah, we interviewed Ali, Ali Edwards twice, Lisa Congdon, Austin Kleon. Like, I remember just, like, being so, like, touch and go with everything that I c- like, now I look back and go, "What a great time that was." Like, I couldn't even really enjoy it in the moment. It was just produce an episode, produce an episode, find a person.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Amanda Rowinski: So like it really was magic. Like, what you are doing is magic. Like, now when I think of podcasting I'm like, "I wish I never left it." I definitely had to leave it then, but I still... I'm like, could you imagine if I just kept going with it [00:24:00] and...

You know, it didn't make sense for my life then, but it was very fun, and so thankful that I had her in that year. Um, yeah. So then.

Jennifer Wilson: Thinking back to like Paperclipping Roundtable and how they were doing episodes, like they were doing it like we're gonna book it, we're gonna record it that week, edit it that week, and get it out that week. And I'm like I, I cannot operate that way.

Amanda Rowinski: Oh no.

Jennifer Wilson: Record in batches and we schedule things out. Because I can't be on that hamster wheel, uh, in this season of my life. It just would not work.

Amanda Rowinski: No. No. No. Now I understand that people that are doing that hamster wheel, they can't have much else going on.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Yeah.

Amanda Rowinski: Whether they show it or not, they are... They have an open schedule, you know? I don't know. But yes, I completely get it. I don't know how you're doing it solo. I mean, I'm so glad I had her. It was definitely something I needed to do with someone. Oh, good.

Jennifer Wilson: I have a lot of help. I am definitely not doing it solo. So I a lot of help both on the, the tech side, I have a podcast editor, and then I have folks on the community side, [00:25:00] um, some coordinators. Yeah, no, definitely not sol- totally alone.

Amanda Rowinski: That's so awesome. All right, yeah. So I did the Crafty Ass Female, and then, um, yeah, and then I went back to teaching. My aunt was like, "You know, I know a principal who's hiring for the new year." And I was like, "I cannot waitress anymore. Like, this is not working for me." And so I went on the interview. I cried on the way to the interview, and I knew that I did a good job on the interview, so I cried on the way home.

I really didn't wanna go back to teaching. But it was the best thing that could've happened to me because I, I, I was able to be grounded. And then I said, "You know what? You pursued the industry enough. Like, take a little break and find your footing and get a steady paycheck, and see what comes of that." So I really, like...

It was a humbling experience, and I was just like, yeah. And I was with that school for five years. In that five years, I, I got the right therapy, you know, which is important in someone's life. I met my husband and we dated for two years. We got married in 2022. By 2023 I had my son, and then 2024 I had my daughter.

[00:26:00] So all, you know, in all that time I was teaching and I really thought I was gonna go back to teaching. I still might, you know? Who knows? But, um, yeah. It was kind of like... And I met my best friend in that school, so, like, I needed to be there. It was definitely a pr- I really thought like, oh, I could totally do this now and, and craft on the side.

Like, that's what my life will be. And I'm so happy with that, and it might still end up that way, but that's what it was. And then my daughter turned one in December and I was like, "Well, I'm not going back this year, and I probably won't be going back next year, so what do I wanna try to do with this time?"

So that's where you leave me here. Yeah. Yeah

Jennifer Wilson: You've described this current season as uncharted territory. When, like when did you start figuring out that motherhood was shifting not just your overall identity, but your creative identity and how you wanted to express yourself?

Amanda Rowinski: Yeah, so up until the start of this year, I hadn't really thought about creatively coming back. So I was just like, "Take care of your kids for now, and then you'll go back [00:27:00] to teaching when the time is right." Um, but now that I, like, am entertaining the fact that, like, maybe I do wanna come back and try to make money, you know, in this industry that I love so much, um, yeah, it's, it's uncharted territory.

It's like I don't... I, I'm so different than I was when I was doing this 10 years ago. Social media is so different than it was 10 years ago. And like, oh my God, this mom gig won't let up. Like, I ju- you know, like, I can't put it on pause and spend time doing, you know, creative stuff. So, so yeah. I'm someone new in this maker space, and, like, I'm trying to figure out what does that mean, and how do I navigate that?

And yeah, it's just... it really is, like, I've never been at this place before. Because I've had the ki- you know, my oldest is three, so I've... I'm not new, new, new to being a mom. But it's the first time I'm a mom trying to build something for myself, and I'm just like, it's impossible. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Do you feel like you're giving yourself [00:28:00] permission to be a beginner, or do you feel pressure because you have done some of this before? Like I can't be a beginner because I'm not but I am at the same time.

Amanda Rowinski: Oh my God, that's exa- you just summed up exactly how I feel. Like, I'm trying to find how to position myself. 'Cause I, I feel like if enough time has gone by where a lot of the new makers might not know what I've done in the past, but I also have, like, a l- a really good thread of people that have always, like, messaged me, "Oh, I remember you from these days or those days".

Like, a lot of my audience still are those people who comment on the, me on the pod, "Oh, I loved you and Kristen", you know? So I don't really know. I'm kind of straddling both worlds where, like, I am a beginner and I have to position myself as so, but, oh, look at all the stuff I've done. I am, I am planning on doing, like, a let me reintroduce myself, trip down memory lane kind of post. So.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Amanda Rowinski: I think any time I do a small little bit in the right direction of, [00:29:00] like, marketing myself or showing what I do, it, it does kind of make it clearer for me how to, how to navigate that. But, but the actual making part is uncharted territory. Like, there's hardly any time to make anything.

Jennifer Wilson: So what are you seeing, like yourself, you know, you already mentioned, you know, your currently notebook. Like, what are the things that you're interested in now versus, know, 10 years ago?

Amanda Rowinski: Yeah, so, um, I feel like when I tapped into Becky Higgins and Ali Edwards, that was my gateway, right? It was my gateway of like what memory keeping is and what it could be. Um, and I feel like a lot of my self-imposed limitations have been because I tell myself like, "Memory keeping has to look like that."

Like, even now, like I feel like, "Well, that's memory keeping, and this other stuff is something else." Um, even when I was memory planning in the Happy Planner with all this free product from them and, and 1 million thousand stickers from them, I still was like fighting with myself [00:30:00] where like, "Well, is this memory keeping?

I don't know. Is it something new?" I'm just in like, I view it so differently now where like to me, modern-day memory keeping just encompasses so many different things. And like I stand to defend that like a scribble on a blank white paper with a date stamp underneath is memory keeping, right? Like, if you date it and it's like this is the mark you made, you slip it in a pocket page, pop it in your binder, and like who's to say it isn't memory keeping?

That's like my new stance on it. So yeah, I don't know if that answered the question, but like I, I've, I've been junk journaling, and I just have been putting that under the umbrella of, of memory keeping and keeping like a creative journal, um, in my Hobonichi. And I still have my memory book, but it's my memory album with the bi- with the binder rings, and it's still contributed to very s- briefly, but it's there.

And I'm like, I'm kind of thinking up a way I can combine all these things into one book.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Amanda Rowinski: But yeah, there's, there's been a movement toward like bad art is still art, but I think the [00:31:00] shift in my mind is bad art is still memory keeping. Like, I've just been just like umbrellaing it under that. Uh, and that's worth creating.

Like, I love a good clean, polished finis- finished memory book, which is what I used to do in the past, and like hardly any of my handwriting. Because I don't like my handwriting, so every, all the journaling was typed up. But like.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Amanda Rowinski: In the end, the meat and potatoes is like the moment of your life you documented and what that documenting did for your soul.

Like, that's kind of where I'm at now. So like I am right at this Currently workbook in the Handwriting Club. Like, I love that she calls herself that because I am just writing. You know? It's, it's, it's what I've needed. So, so yeah. That's been the shift, I think.

Jennifer Wilson: I'd love to talk about how kind of your creative space and, like, feeling comfortable in it again has kind of factored all, into all of this. 'Cause I know a lot of our listeners understand, like, walking past your craft room or if it's a multi- multipurpose room and just kind of not going in because you feel like, "I'm not ready for that.

It's, it's not ready [00:32:00] for me. It's not organized enough." What was that like for you?

Amanda Rowinski: Oh my God, it's very hard and triggering. Like, in my, in my house, it's a split level, so I purposely made my craft room the room that's, like, at the tip of the triangle. So like, from anywhere in the house really, I could see my craft room. Like, the original plan behind that was, like, if my kids are playing in the playroom, I could sit down and, like, have a straight shot view of them.

But it's also, when I'm in the playroom, I have a straight shot view of my craft room. So like, I see it kind of beckoning me. And it's so funny because in, in my 2023 December Daily, my story 13 was this just, like, picture of, I have, like, a velvet pink chair that I purposely put, like, in, in the doorway shot of the room 'cause it's cute.

But like, I just see this chair from my bedroom in the dark. I'm, like, rocking my kid at 12:00 midnight, and I just see the pink chair and I'm like, "One day," like, [00:33:00] "I'll be. Come back."

Jennifer Wilson: One day I'll sit there again.

Amanda Rowinski: Sarah Jessica Parker said that New York City was like a fifth character in Sex and the City, and I really do feel like my craft room in this house, like, it's a character.

But it's, like, one of those, like, happy, like, "Don't worry, I'm here." Like, sh- she's a reassuring lady, my craft room. Um, and, and that's how I feel you should think about it. Like, it'll, it will beckon you home, I guess.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes

Amanda Rowinski: So yeah, that's how I thought about her.

Jennifer Wilson: And you recent- well, yeah, it's just so interesting to think about, like, I did so much with my kid on one arm and sitting at the computer. I remember even I was in a recliner, I was pumping on one side, I had a kid with a bottle on the other side, and then I had my laptop in front of me. I'm like, what, what were you thinking?

Amanda Rowinski: It's like you're a fly on my wall, Jennifer. That's, that's my reality lately. Yeah, yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Um, w- but you recently did a refresh of your office space. Like, what, what did you [00:34:00] change to make it more fit, like, what you're interested now and, and who you feel like as a person and a creative?

Amanda Rowinski: Oh yeah. I, I plan to do a video tour and post it to my YouTube as like a comeback video. But I wrote a Substack post called In the Waiting. Because I'm embodying that phrase. It's just, I'm like, I'm just in the waiting to do all this stuff that needs big, uninterrupted, quiet time. Um, but now that we have time and I can talk about it , um, I've, I think it's part of my creative comeback, right?

Like to make this space more mine and to make the office like the headquarters of the business, right? That's really, like, it was a lot of intentional placement and stuff I put in here to kinda do that. So f- the first thing was like, like three years ago when we moved in this house and I had my son on my arm, like pumping, like you said.

Like, I was on a folding table. Things were all around. It was so chaotic, but I still sat and I still journaled.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, yeah. [00:35:00] Folding table in front of the, in front of the recliner. Yes.

Amanda Rowinski: Oh, yes. Yeah. So like, when I think about how far I've come, like it really makes me proud. Like, it just does take like slow little steps. And one of the first things, I had a rug in here, and my rolling chair just like kept m- kept, uh, like nicking it every time I'd roll somewhere.

I would have to t- I'd took the rug with me, and I'd have to readjust it with like a grunt. So the first thing I did was like shift the rug, you know, like a little thing like that in your craft room. Like, just make everything comfortable and easy. So I shifted the rug. My husband installed some shelves, and like just that vertical like focal point.

I'm like, "Oh my God, the room feels so much bigger." And I have like pic- like my late grandmother's pictures there, and I always feel like they're kind of my little cheerleaders like egging me on. I, um, propped up my two paper lines from We R Memory Keepers, so like they're on display. I'd always kind of like, "Oh, I made these," and like tuck them away.

I'm like, "I'm not gonna use them. I'm not..." But I'm like, there's something [00:36:00] to just like seeing them proudly propped up. It's like, you did that a long time ago. You c- and that was so hard. Like I didn't mention that, but like they were the h- that was the hardest two assignments I ever had in my life. I'm like , "Oh my God."

So I said, "But you did it. They're imperfect, but they were made." And it just like serves as a little beacon for me, like then you can do other hard things, right?

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Amanda Rowinski: So, it, it's stuff like that. Like I made the craft room speak to me in a way. Like I said, that chara- the craft room is the main character in my life, main character energy.

Like it talks to me. I made things talk to me . And, uh, yeah. And then, you know, practical stuff is like I took a lot of, I resurrected a lot of my old teacher storage. Like I have like a mailbox system that now houses a lot of my stuff. Um, little compartments. Uh, and yeah. So like little drawers and compartments that I was like, "Why am I saving this for a classroom that I don't know that I'll ever be back in?" I'm like, "Let's pull it out. Let's make this the room."

Jennifer Wilson: The, the Target [00:37:00] dollar spot will still be there with new organizational things.

Amanda Rowinski: Yes. Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: So.

Amanda Rowinski: Okay, good. Right, that's what I mean. So, uh, yeah. And then I got these really great... I can't wait to share them on YouTube and... 'cause they, they fit perfectly under the IKEA desk. It's like this under desk 12 by 12 little pull-out drawers, and I've labeled all of them on my Dymo They're, they're amazing. And.

Jennifer Wilson: Can, you share a link with that to us so that we can put that in the show notes.

Amanda Rowinski: For sure. They come with wheels. Yes, they come with wheels, and even with the wheels, they, they, um, they fit under the desk. And then I don't have them with wheels 'cause they're stationary. And they came, it, they come with, they came with two in the pack. So, like, they were, I think they were $60, and I was like, "That's kind of expensive for, like, a shelf, like a, a storage."

But there was two, so I ordered two, so I got four. It was, like, all very exciting. I was like, I was like, "Oh, okay, so they were $30 each. That's reasonable." And like, now I have four and so I love them. I will definitely link them. And, um, I got a new [00:38:00] standing desk from Facebook Marketplace. He was asking 50, and I got him down to 30, so I'm proud of that little bargain.

Um, but I love it too. I, I, it's just, yeah, yeah. Thrift and I've... This room, I thought I was gonna do my two kids' rooms before this room, but I was like, "Screw that." I'm gonna do my office. Um, so yeah. And, and the shades. The shades was a big obstacle. I was like, "How am I... I need window coverings because the sun is beaming."

And I, I'll link to you too. I, I got these custom shades off Amazon. And they are like butter. That's how I describe them. They're pull-down shades.

Jennifer Wilson: We only have shades in one room of my house. It's the office.

Amanda Rowinski: Oh, yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Front of the house, and.

Amanda Rowinski: Yep.

Jennifer Wilson: Certain times of the year, like the sun is just like bursting in my eyes, and it makes it either too hot or too cold in here, so.

Amanda Rowinski: That's so funny. Yeah, that's, I'm in the front of the house too. My desk sits in front of the two double windows, so I'm like, "Ooh, mama needs a shade."

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Amanda Rowinski: But I, I could send the link too, because they're great. I highly, highly recommend them.

Jennifer Wilson: So you were talking earlier about how [00:39:00] when you were dancing, like that was the one thing, like you didn't, you never wanted to make that a job. And.

Amanda Rowinski: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: How do you think that like having been in industry and, and wanting to be in part of the industry again, how does that complicate the relationship you have with crafting as a personal practice versus doing it for, as part of your job? I mean.

Amanda Rowinski: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: I understand this because I have monetized my hobby and sometimes it makes it hard to want to do my hobby as a hobby.

Amanda Rowinski: Oh my gosh, that's so... It's such a good question, and it's, it's something I go back and forth with all the time. But how I... Like, again, like, once I found this world, just something inside me said, like, "I wanna be a part of it."

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Amanda Rowinski: In that way. So, like, even when I was teaching for five years and not at all making content to, to creatively try anything, I still felt the value and was called to post it and share it.

I don't... Again, like, I don't know why, 'cause in that time I wasn't... I, I thought I would teach for the next 25 years. I said [00:40:00] I could do this while, you know, crafting on the side. But then what was that... Like, then why did I feel the need to share it? You know? I, I didn't understand that part of it. But how I personally craft versus what I made for the industry was always very close, so I think that helps.

Like, I, I think I did a design team back in the day. I don't remember whose it was for. Um, and I got like... I, I got a few months of assignments done and was like, "Oh, I cannot... I have a really hard time crafting just to show how the product should be used." Like, I really do make a personal connection to my crafting.

So like, so when I do that, it's a lot easier. So even when I'm doing things, um, you know, for the industry, it's still very personal. Like, I was on Ali's creative team for December Daily, uh, in 2021, and I contributed to her product play workshop. And I remember thinking like, "I can't just use this product to show people what the product do.

Like, it has to be attached to a [00:41:00] thing I'm going to actually do in my life, in my December Daily." So once I changed that and realized that that's important to me, then it really... there really... It doesn't feel like two distinct things, you know? Um, but I do think a lot now that I'm trying to get back into the industry again, like, "Is there a market?"

Like, that phrase in my head happens a lot. Like, I'm doing this creative thing. Is there a market for it? I'm doing this. Is there a market? Like, you know. So that, that gets in the way a little bit. Because I am trying to create something that people will desire to learn from or have or, you know. So yeah. So, so yeah.

H- Can I package my personal practice in a way that shows off how it could help others tap into their creativity and turn it into their personal practice? So yeah, it kind of blurs the line there. But for the most part, it is all very personal. But I also memory keep in a lot of ways now. So like, I do have, like, I...

J- my junk journal I, journal I've been [00:42:00] sharing, my Currently book I've been sharing. Um, but I, my Hobonichi, not really. So if you have, like, a lot of different avenues to memory keep, you can keep one a little more personal, I guess. That helps, too. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Amanda Rowinski: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: You don't have to share everything that you do.

Amanda Rowinski: Right. Yeah. That helps.

Jennifer Wilson: Now is there anything, um, maybe the way you created in the past, like did you ever, were you ever making layouts or did you do mostly Project Life small albums?

Amanda Rowinski: Um, I ha- i- in the early stages, I did make a few 12 by 12s. I look back at them now and go, "Whew, that was not your format." Like.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay, yeah.

Amanda Rowinski: They're, they're still... I still love them for what they are, but I really struggled with that big page. Um, December Daily is, like, non-negotiable for me. I do that every year, and I do that in, in, like, Ali style with the pocket pages and the some out of the pocket pages and very, very, uh, different mediums.

And I love that year she did texture paste. That was, like, my favorite post of hers. And I whip out the sewing [00:43:00] machine for December Daily. So Dec- I always say, like, if no other memory keeping gets done all year, December Daily is enough for me. Because then I'll use some pages to look back, like, if something happened that I didn't like.

So December Daily is, like, non-negotiable. I'm doing it. I'm sharing it. And then m- like, my 2025 is still not done. It's open on my desk over there. But, like, I know it will... I usually finish it around the time she launches for the new, uh, season. And then that gets me motivated and, uh, and then I sh- I finish it and post the flip through to YouTube and other people get motivated to see it because they're thinking about theirs.

So that's usually the timeline of that guy. But.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I mean, it is such a fun project, and I think, uh, as you said, there's so much possibility to combine both what is happening related to the season as well as reflecting back on the whole year. To, to make it, you know, kind of a wrap-up for your year. And if

that's all you do, that's still so amazing.

Amanda Rowinski: Yeah. It feels, it [00:44:00] always felt like enough, which I was so grateful for. I'm like, yeah, this, this shows the kids how old they are, and this tells where my head's at, and yeah, it'll do.

Jennifer Wilson: So you mentioned, I think maybe this was in an Instagram caption or maybe on your Substack, I'm not sure, but your, your interest in junk journaling felt primal. Why do you think that had been calling to you so much and so strongly?

Amanda Rowinski: Oh my gosh, Jennifer, primal is the word. Like, you nailed it. Like, primal. It, it was... I, I, Instagram showed me junk journaling on my feed toward the end of last year. I don't know what I said or what I did to make the algorithm think I needed it, but it was right. Um, and I think the ASMR spoke to me as, like, a mom of two, very overstimulated, like, "Ah!"

Like, that energy of over- that of overstimulation where you're, like, grinding your teeth and need to, like, scream. I think came out in the junk journal. Like, I was watching these women, like... So I think that's what sparked it [00:45:00] initially, like, the crunchiness, the ripping. Like, I used to do it a little bit in cooking.

Like, when I'd chop, if I was mad at something, like, I used to- the chopping motion for me really got that out. But I can't find time to cook anymore with the kids, so I guess that was missing from it. So yeah, so I bought this, like... I saw this girl on junk- so then I went down the junk journaling rabbit hole, and the more ASMR it was, the more I was, like, drooling.

And then I saw this girl with, like, this giant glue stick in her hand, and so I was like, "Oh my God, I gotta buy that." So, like, it wasn't enough for me to just have a junk journal. It had to feel like, like I was a caveman. So primal, perfect. Like, perfect word. I, I, I have this giant glue stick in my hand, and I'm like, you know, just like a caveman with my club.

Like, and then rummaging through garbage and, and making my own little stash like a feral raccoon. Like, very s- funny imagery, but that's really what was calling to me at the time. And I also think, [00:46:00] like, being a stay-at-home mom and I stopped a lot of my subscriptions, right? Like, I'm not having income, so I need to really, like, pare down on what I can use for supplies.

I mean, I have decades' worth of scrapbooking supplies, but I wasn't- I'm not doing these memory books that need the beautiful sticker, right? So I was like, "All right, let me just..." It just really reframed how I thought even about junk. Like, so much things as you're a mom going through your day, like, "Oh, don't throw out that Gerber baby food, you know, pull-off lid.

Keep it for your junk journal." It just felt like I was being creative when I really had no time to be creative. Be- like, even my husband, like, he goes to the laundromat, and he gets these little, like, purple, yellow tags that come on his, his clothes right around the hanger, and.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Amanda Rowinski: Pu- he would pull them off and leave them all over my bedroom, right?

And every time I'd see one, it'd be another source of over- overstimulation. Like, "Why don't you just throw these out?" But then I started junk journaling, and I was like, [00:47:00] "Ooh, look what I found." Like, even the way that it... Yeah, even the way that it, like, transformed how I looked at clutter in my house was something I needed.

Like, a lot of youngins treat junk journaling like a scrapbook. Like, they do their stickers and papers and photos and, um, they... I've seen a lot, like, use a piece of junk as a jumping-off point for, like, a paper craft. Like, I saw one, one girl, she's in her 20s, so cute, like, living life, and she, she took her favorite, like, chip bag, and then she folded yellow paper to look like the chip.

Like, I'm like, "I get it. There's a piece of junk in there. I love what you do. I get the season of life you're in." Lots of travel ephemera, right? People go on these big, lofty vacations, and they're like, "Oh, I went to Mexico." And I'm like, "Good for you." I, I think stay- I'm like, stay-at-home moms, I almost wanna, like, start a group that just says, Stay-at-home moms who junk journal. Because I think it is such a important, easy way, cheap way for you to be [00:48:00] creative, like, express yourself creatively.

Like, I'm doing it on my kitchen counter while watching the kids. Like, I'll peel a fruit stick or off a fruit and, like, run up to my office and, and open that page in my journal and stick it down. Like, is it memory keeping the way that I know it? No. But I think it's informing an art practice that could definitely be channeled in that way, and it kind of is memory keeping, right?

Like, "Oh, look at the sticker I had back then." And I've, I've... Like, I have an idea for one to, like, I'm done pump- breast pumping, so I.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Amanda Rowinski: Kept the breast pump wire, and I have just an idea for a spread to, like, journal behind it, like, what it means to me to not have to pump anymore, and then put that guy on top.

Like, like, that's memory keeping. It's messy, and it's, it's cuckoo to some people, but it totally is memory keeping, and in this season of life, it's what I can, what I can sh- do and what I can share and what I think other people need, too. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: I, I love the, the point you made about kind of the clutter around the house 'cause [00:49:00] similar to yours, my husband will take a tag off of something he purchased and leave it on the dresser, and it will be there forever until the end of time unless I move it and throw it away.

Amanda Rowinski: Oh my gosh, what is that? What is that? I don't know either. But like, like as a mom, you- I really can see a lot of baby stuff being great to like junk journal with. Like, even their little newborn diaper, like it fits in the journal 'cause it's so little. Like, so I really, I, I think that's kinda where... I know I wanna make like a free six, um, lesson kinda like freebie coming soon of like just how to fill the junk journal.

Just really easy ideas of like if you've never crafted before or even if you have a junk journal, like here's how you can make like 20 different pages in one shot kinda thing. Um, so I think I'm gonna create that and offer that at some point. Because I- it's just been, yeah, it's just been an important part of where I'm at now.

Jennifer Wilson: Well and I think that this like the idea you had about like stay-at-home moms [00:50:00] who do junk journaling, that sounds like there's a very specific and different, it's a different season of life than, you know, the 20-something going to Mexico on a fun vacation. Um, and that deeper need, like, "I have to do something with my hands that's not wiping," uh, you know, "a rear end."

So.

Amanda Rowinski: Yep. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: So kind of stepping back, like what would it look and feel like to you to say like, "I found my way back to this"?

Amanda Rowinski: Yeah. a good question.

Yeah, I, I don't, I... That's, it's such a good question. I'm, I'm definitely here showing up every day, looking around going, "What can I creatively do?" Um, would I... Am I back or... I'm definitely not back to the kind of memory keeping I was doing 10 years ago. Um, and another thing that shifted for me too is, like, when I started memory keeping, it was really to tell my story, right?

This is kinda obvious, but, like, with my kids now, I really [00:51:00] feel responsible to help them be able to take a peek into their childhood. So that's also been something I'm trying to figure out. Because I do still love that personal m- like, 'cause I think, like, memory keeping for me has always been rooted in, like, my two grandmothers and my mother. Because I...

We've had so many instances with them where, like, we've sat around a table and looked at a photo album and just talked and laughed and shared stories because of the photo album. So that's definitely where all this has come from, I think. But I, I really want to have that for my kids, so I feel this responsibility to, like, make sure they know who I was.

Like, I also morbidly picture my funeral with, like, all my craft books around me. Like, it's just, it's just, this is to- That's, uh, the value is there. Like, I never feel like I should be memory keeping or, like, I'm a bad memory keeper 'cause I'm not making a book or [00:52:00] anything. It's more like I value so much that, that there will be something that I can grab and show my kids or grandkids or that they can remember me by.

So it's more of like, oh man, I really need to keep this up because this is so valuable in my opinion. Um, but yeah, I, finding my way back, I think we're always there or I think I'm there, it just looks very different. And I'm, I don't really know where to land yet, so I'm trying a bunch of different things.

But it's, it's all adding up to, like, stuff my kids can grab, you know?

Jennifer Wilson: Well and even as your kids grow and they're involved in different things, and the photos you take are different, and there's different things coming home, you know, it's, that will shift for you too, uh, in terms of how you wanna document it and, and how you feel like, you need to both creatively and for the, the actual memory portion of it.

Amanda Rowinski: Yes. And I, I think like because I'm trying to build something, but what is that something? Like, there's, there's definitely a [00:53:00] pressure to niche down and say like, "This is my thing." But right now it's kind of all over the place and I'm trying to find like, you know, what is the, what is the thing I can say is my thing in the memory keeping place? But.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Amanda Rowinski: Yeah. But it's all, it's all informing it, you know what I mean? Like, nothing is wasted if you're having a good time and doing something you feel there's value in.

Jennifer Wilson: So do you feel like during, at any point, were you actually ever creatively paused, or were there things you were keeping up with even when you weren't sharing online about them at all?

Amanda Rowinski: Um, that's a good question. Like, creatively paused, definitely when I was... The past few years since Crafty Ass Female, when I went back to teaching, there definitely was a pause in, like, sharing so much. Like, the Happy Planner job, I was posting, like, two, three times a day for them, even on [00:54:00] weekends. Like, it was a big demand to create content.

So I was paused in that way, where, like, there was no pressure to create content. But I always, I always was creating. I still was, like, making books and, and, like, even this past year I made, like, a little mini May memory book. Like, one picture a day in May kind of thing. Like, it's always on my mind to have something.

You know, I, I, I don't know how people go through life without this hobby because, like, even now as a mom, like, the kids'll sleep, my husband might be working late, and I'm alone for a second. Like, I'm never bored. Like, I don't understand boredom. I'm always coming to the room and, like , "Oh, I can make something in this time, or write something down, or print a photo."

Like, I don't understand boredom. So even when there's even a pause, you know? Like, it doesn't ever feel like a pause. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: I get it. I get it. I don't, I don't, I don't understand boredom definitely in, from the terms of I easily feel overwhelmed by I [00:55:00] have too many things I want and need to do, and how can I possibly do all of them, because I can't.

Amanda Rowinski: Yes. Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: I- I'm curious what advice you might give to someone who kind of is in their own uncharted territory. Like, they feel like, "I'm not the same person that I was before, and I, I, I still love this hobby and I've been touching it, but I don't feel like I've figured my thing out yet. And, and I really wanna find that again." And maybe it's just joining the journey with you because you're, you're very much in that place.

Amanda Rowinski: Yeah, that's a good question. S- just like what advice do I have for, for someone else? I just, I just... definitely something new for me this year in reframing, like, my creativity and stuff is I've always kind of been a loner in this practice where, like...

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Amanda Rowinski: I mean, y- whenever I did join a group or try to create, 'cause when I was doing The Happy Planner too, I would do a lot of, like, planner meetups at local Michaels, or [00:56:00] I'd be at a trade show and, like, talk someone through a product.

But it was always hard for me to tap into that, like, process of how I create, 'cause it's always such a quiet... I have to listen inside. So that's always been kinda how it is for me. Like, "What do you wanna make, Amanda? What's inspiring you? Oh, well..." So, like, when I'm around other people, like I never understood crops, because it would distract me from doing the crafting.

So, so now I kind of... I understand the importance of connection, and I'm kinda craving it now. Uh, so that's been a little bit of a shift, and I think, I think that will help a lot of people. I guess in the beginning, my connection was just from finding these things and watching , YouTube videos that people create.

But now I really do feel like it's a peeking next to you and seeing what someone else is making. You know, I think that helps. Or like, yeah, just like sh- [00:57:00] s- I guess there's so much sharing online that you can really see other people's techniques and stuff, and I think that helps. Like, you tap into your thing and, yeah, like I took an art journal class this year, and I did a junk journaling class this year.

Like it's... That would be something I'd be like, "Eh, I don't need to. I know how to do that." But I really love now, like, opening up my world to other people's crafting, and I think that, yeah, it's... There's something to community and other people that like to do this and being in their presence. I never... It always distracted me more than helped me make, but now I, I see the value in that too.

Jennifer Wilson: I also see, like, from the professional standpoint of being a student and putting that hat on helps you.

Amanda Rowinski: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: Um, learn things in a new way, learn techniques that you never learned yourself, and it just really kind of expands your horizons in ways that, like, I didn't know it was possible until I really started doing it again, like, during the pandemic era and [00:58:00] since.

Amanda Rowinski: Yeah. Yeah. And, and I think 10 years ago and when I first thought of being in the industry, I really felt like, "Oh, I have to prove that I'm an authority on making," right? But like now I really... That all that was so naive, and it's so erased from my brain. Like, I definitely picture it more as like we're linking arms with each other.

You know what I mean? And like s- it... I think, I think in this world we need that more too. Like, just like we are like together in this. You know? Like we'll all learn from each other. No one is more versed than someone else. It just everyone is bringing so much to the table, and it's all so awesome. Like everyone is so creative.

Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Amanda, thank you so much for spending time with me. Can you share where our listeners can follow you online and anything else you might have newer coming up in the second half of 2026?

Amanda Rowinski: Sure. Um, thank you so much for having me. I'm, I'm so appreciative of this invite. Um, yeah, I'm [00:59:00] now AmandaTheMemoryKeeper on Instagram, on YouTube, on Substack, and by the time this comes out, I feel like my website might already be up, but amandathememorykeeper.com, and that'll have a bunch of goodies where to find me.

I'm not sure exactly what I want to offer in the next, in the next part of the year, um, the rest of this year. But I'm working on stuff, a bunch of stuff, and yeah. And hopefully I'll be able to share, and people will like it, and all good things.

Jennifer Wilson: Wonderful. Yeah, we will include all the links to your places as well as everything you mentioned in the show notes for this episode. This was fun. I appreciate it

Amanda Rowinski: So fun. Thank you so much.

Jennifer Wilson: And to all of our listeners, please remember that you have permission to scrapbook your way.

Hannah Lopez: [00:00:00] Realizing that I had fallen out of love with scrapbooking and then was able to fall back in love with scrapbooking. And really I have that heart to share with others how I do things. So that they can be more confident in what they're doing. So I wanted to take some of the aspects that we had from what The Crafty Maven was before. But really just make it new and fresh. And a lot of that was turning it more into a mixedmedia based company.

Jennifer Wilson: Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way, the show that explores the breadth of ways to be a memory keeper today. I'm your host, Jennifer Wilson, owner of Simple Scrapper, and author of The New Rules of Scrapbooking. This is episode 344.

In this episode, I'm chatting with Hannah Lopez about her journey from new scrapbooker to content creator, and the story behind the Crafty Maven Getaway.

We talk about building a mixed media kit business, what it looks like to step away and come back, and how the next generation of crafters might reshape our [00:01:00] hobby

Hey Hannah, welcome to Scrapbook Your Way.

Hannah Lopez: Hello Thank you for having me on today.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. I'm looking forward to our conversation and getting to know you a little better. Can you start by sharing a little bit about yourself?

Hannah Lopez: I am living in the Pacific Northwest so I live in like Tacoma Seattle area. And I've ha been here for about 10 years now. I'm just coming up on 10 years or 11 years. 11 years. It's crazy.

Jennifer Wilson: What do you like about it compared to other places that you've lived?

Hannah Lopez: Um I love that it's mild weather most of the time. So it's like super consistent. It's not a lot of snow. Uh I mean obviously we get a lot of rain. But it's not all year so that makes it nice. Um so I And I just love how I can be so close to a city yet it feel like country. Because of all the trees. So it's so beautiful [00:02:00] around here.

Jennifer Wilson: It is just, it's so vibrantly green, it's amazing.

Hannah Lopez: It is.

Jennifer Wilson: I've, I've loved visiting out there.

So.

Hannah Lopez: And when you live here you kinda get used to it and you don't realize how green it is until you go away. I visited Idaho last summer and it was so crazy. Because I just didn't realize how green it was. Even in the summer when it turns brown here.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. So I always like to ask our guests a few icebreaker questions. Do you have a favorite recent layout or project?

Hannah Lopez: Uh I would say that recently um during National Scrapbooking Day weekend, I did a whole lot of just like me scrapping. Instead of scrapping for projects or whatever. And so I really enjoyed a couple of the layouts that I did. But one was a watercolor background and it just reminded me how much I love to use that medium as opposed to some of the other mixed media stuff that I do. And have been doing this past year to try to get a little [00:03:00] bit more comfortable with other mediums. And so like I just I fell in love with all the layers and all the all the goodies that I got to tuck in. And so it was just really fun to turn my brain off and just scrap how I wanna scrap. Without thinking of anybody else.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, yeah. Now when you create a watercolor background for a layout, do you use and cut down like watercolor paper to 12 by 12, or do you use regular cardstock?

Hannah Lopez: I generally use just regular card stock. Depending on how much I'm watercolor I'm gonna add. I'll decide if I wanna use like a thicker a smooth. Or if I wanna use more of a textured. Cause if I'm gonna use a textured that's thinner, I like the American Crafts has a really nice textured thin card stock. And I love that but sometimes it just absorbs too much of the watercolor. So I do try to keep that in mind. But generally I'm not too worried about that kind of stuff. Because as it sits uh [00:04:00] wi in a pile it it flattens out enough that I don't feel like it's not a big deal to me.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. That, that's a plug for not putting away your layouts right away.

Hannah Lopez: Yes. Oh yes.

Jennifer Wilson: So all your mixed media backgrounds can flatten out.

Hannah Lopez: Right Yes And and I'm just encouraging everyone to do that. Just leave it out It's okay.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, I'm sure no one does that. No one has like three Iris containers like I do that are full of layouts.

Hannah Lopez: Oh no. No. Not what not whatsoever I didn't just share stuff on social media about how many layouts I gotta put away.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. So I also like to ask our guests, is there something new that you're excited to do, use, or try either in scrapbooking or in your everyday life?

Hannah Lopez: Uh so recently I made a whole lot of purchases for myself. Because I'm purchasing for my business all the time. I often.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Hannah Lopez: Forget or just don't want to purchase for myself. And I got uh [00:05:00] some new Pinkfresh Studio stuff. Um from their other lines not the one with um.

Jennifer Wilson: Paige Evans.

Hannah Lopez: Paige Evans.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, the, that other new line, I have it sitting here in A Cherry On Top box because I was like, "I have to pre-order this." It was so pretty.

Hannah Lopez: Yeah. I know right. I was just loving I'm loving greens lately. So uh so I'm really excited to get to dig into that. Cause I just haven't had a chance yet. But also I'm just like looking forward to the summer. It feels like this winter has been long even though I think we've had nicer weather. But I'm just ready for bonfires and late nights and just more scrapping time I guess.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice. Yeah, sounds fun. So today we're gonna be talking kind of a little bit at the intersection of both you as a scrapbooker and you as a content creator and a business professional in this industry. Um, can you tell us a little bit about your history, um, uh, being part of the online scrapbooking community?

Hannah Lopez: [00:06:00] Yeah. So I started s I feel like I kinda have to go back to when I started scrapbooking. Because I feel like that's a big part of how everything evolved. And I started scrapbooking in about February or March of 2014. My oldest child I have three, uh she was around four at the time four or five. And she was diagnosed with leukemia. And so we were gonna do a big MakeAWish trip. And I wanted to be able to document it. So she had something to remember. Because she was so little and her brothers and s sister were also really little. So why not do that with pictures. And so I started delving into online stuff. And my ex at the time watched a ton of YouTube. So I was like Oh I'll look on YouTube, you know. And that's h kinda how I got started I consumed a lot more YouTubebased scrapbooking. [00:07:00] And um and met or learned about quite a bit of the people at the time. Which there weren't really a ton of people on YouTube who were sharing a lot of content. Like Merci Tiera was one Oh Snap Gonzo, and Maggie Milo were some of the bigger ones, besides like Two Peas and stuff. And so I started finding them a little bit later. And then I got connected on Facebook with s some people. And so from there I just got the bug and the itch to like maybe try to record myself. Now I'm a new scrapbooker at this time. So I don't really know what I'm doing. So I don't know why I thought it would be such a good idea. But it turned into something so amazing for me. And such a big outlet. So that I could not have to focus on the bad days. But we could celebrate the good moments that we had in our family. Cause there's [00:08:00] still a lot even if you're going through any kind of illness. Um those times are can be really hard. And so it was just a really great place for me to like restore my soul at the end of the day of having to deal with you know chemo days and all that kinda. And and just days where you you're stuck inside with three little kids can be crazy. But anyway so in August of 2014 so less than what six months I was already starting YouTube. And I had no idea what the heck I was doing. And so from there uh I just started playing and growing as a scrapbooker. And as a content creator. Of course I didn't realize that's what I was doing at the time.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Hannah Lopez: It was so new. There was a lot of unknowns of what it would really look like. And I just remember being really [00:09:00] excited. And I was in my early 30s. So I was in that that great generation of where we all just were really excited about all this new technology that we're able to use. And and we d we weren't so old that it felt like oh we're like grandmas and stuff. And so so there's just like a great, a lot of us in that community of around the same age that we were just hungry to do something new. With a and especially in the scrapbooking. Um and I had gotten connected in like Two Peas a little bit. And I was listening to the Paper Clipping Roundtable. And just consuming as much of this knowledge. Because I was wanting to learn so much about how to do this hobby that I love. And why not go all in. You know when when you h get that that itch and that scrappy bug you know bite you it's just takes off from there. I [00:10:00] feel like. And so I was so excited and I just jumped in didn't know what I was doing. And made things work how I needed to. And then from there I just grew and learned. And this community is so amazing because we share things with each other so easily. And which is really great cause we can help each other grow too. So it was just super cool to see like that that beginning parts. And then from there, the Crafty Maven less than a year later from me starting my own YouTube channel I started The Crafty Maven Getaway so.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay, so tell us what is the Crafty Maven Getaway and, you know, how did that come from, you know, "I'm just gonna make some videos about my hobby," to something bigger?

Hannah Lopez: Uh okay. So w when I started The Crafty Maven, Two Peas had just shut down. Gosh I don't sometime around that time. And I could [00:11:00] see the rift. Even though I wasn't as connected in the online community of scrapbookers who were on message boards and websites. Like I had no idea how much online like blogging and stuff like I like I knew nothing about that. Um and even like blogging in general to me was like really foreign. My family.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Hannah Lopez: Growing up we didn't have a lot of technology. We I grew up in the country. So like growing up and learning as technology was going. It's just I hadn't caught up to everything. And so I didn't even know about this big world until I started. And so seeing everybody else be so devastated about Two Peas and seeing the stuff that they were doing that was kind of new and fresh. Um especially with the Garden Girls and doing a lot of their videos online and they were [00:12:00] good videos. Um so.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Hannah Lopez: Unlike a lot of us on YouTube who were kind of in the middle. It was like the Wild West. So if you had a camera.

Jennifer Wilson: Do you think it was less intimidating to start back then though? Like, versus somebody now who wants to get online. I mean, everything, even the things that aren't polished look more polished. Just because the technology is so much better. So maybe there was like a, the naivety of it, uh, helped us jump in, I guess.

Hannah Lopez: I think so, I think so. I I think the possibilities of what it could become we could see that. And so it did make it really easy. And especially at the time everybody was so encouraging to like Hey just try it You never know what will come out of it. And even the I know we're still like that in so many ways. Because there are so many online uh video content creators. Whether it's on Instagram or [00:13:00] YouTube. So even now it's more intimidating cause you have to have a better look. And the sound. But yeah so back then we just I don't even think we understood what we were building really at the time.

Jennifer Wilson: Certainly, yeah. No, it's, it's certainly been an evolution over, over that time. Um, and then alongside that, you know, products changing. You know, it sounds like around that same time was when Project Life was really becoming, like, such a big thing in our hobby. And really introduced this whole new format. And, and made us ask a lot of questions about w- why we scrapbook and how are we gonna do it?

Hannah Lopez: Yeah. Oh yeah I did so much Project Life back then. And I it it really changed like for a little while how I did scrapbooking and mixed media. And it's interesting cause I look back of like now now that how I do Project Life is so much different. In a in a weird [00:14:00] way, cause I do scra I used to do a lot of mixed media on Project Life stuff. Just because that's what I was doing and I was playing with. And I was like Why not mix the two. And then as I seen other people do like more streamline um like the Ali Edwards style. Eh I just morphed into that. Because it was different than what I was doing on my scrapbook pages. So I think I wanted to have that balance of it not all being the same same. So. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: That how you still kind of, do you still do Project Life today and is it still in a more, like, simplified format?

Hannah Lopez: Uh I I've tried to do Project Life. I thought this year I would do it and I have like two pages done. Uh I definitely do it more like traditionally. Like um I don't generally do any mixed media anymore on Project Life. It's definitely not simple though. So I definitely beef it up. Uh [00:15:00] which is why I'm not very good at getting it done.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm, yeah, you're not alone in that, so.

Hannah Lopez: But there's always next year. There's always next year, Jennifer.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Hannah Lopez: Or so I tell myself.

Jennifer Wilson: So it seems like you took a break for a little while with the Crafty Maven Getaway and rec- relatively recently kind of brought it back with, with new gusto. Can you tell us about that?

Hannah Lopez: Yeah. So um uh because I started in 2015 or I say I started it it was a whole group of online uh YouTube scrapbookers. We worked together. But I was the one running the show. And we did that from 2015 to about 2020, I think. We just all were really burnt out. Cause we were doing a video almost every day. At that poin, like especially at the beginning. And for many years we did a video a day. That was a lot of what our draw was is that we had different types of [00:16:00] videos and themes. Based off of an inspiration piece. And so that's what like connected everything all together and made it cohesive. Even though we had so many different styles which is what I loved about The Crafty Maven. So but in about 2020 I was going through a divorce. Um which I wasn't super like open about. Because it was a weird time. And I just needed to take a break. And I think a lot of us were just doing so much. And then with COVID hitting it just changed a lot of some of our priorities and everything. And so I just felt like it was a time to like take a break. And so so we stopped doing videos on the channel. And I just left left it. I didn't know what I wanted to do with it. But I didn't wanna hand it off to somebody else and it become something that I didn't want it to become.

Jennifer Wilson: Sure.

Hannah Lopez: I still wanted to hold onto a [00:17:00] little bit of that control. Cause I did think about if I wanted to offer it to somebody else who had put a lot of work into it too. But and I I've seen that in our industry. Where people will have like a company or a theme that they're doing and then they hand it off to somebody else. And it just becomes something else. And that's great for that that person who gets it and acquires it and wants to do more with it or something different. So like it's not wrong it's just that's what I didn't want to happen. So.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, I would say in this day and age, the, the Allbirds acquisition going from shoes to AI is just kind of blows that whole concept up. In terms of wanting to protect what you've built. Now, I know we're not at that scale, but still it's just like things can get so crazy nowadays.

Hannah Lopez: Yeah. So um yeah so I took a break. And I actually took like a f a big break for [00:18:00] myself just uh not sharing anything. Uh I just really needed to do a lot of personal work and g and go through the hard times and navigate that with my family. And it's really hard when you're a content creator and you're going through that kind of stuff. Cause what what do you s we share so much of our life so what do you share. Like uh and you can be open and honest but how open and honest do you wanna be while you're going through it. So so I for me it made the most sense to take a break. And it really just like going through that t took a toll on me mental healthwise. But then also

Jennifer Wilson: Hmm.

Hannah Lopez: So I needed to have boundaries.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm sure the pandemic didn't help with that either.

Hannah Lopez: No it did not. It did not. It made things like way more complicated. But that's okay you know you learn and you go through stuff like that. And and the great thing about scrapbooking is that you can go back later and reflect on things and see how you've changed and grown. And you can see that progress. So I I knew it [00:19:00] was gonna always be there I just wasn't gonna utilize it right now. And so then I came back to scrapbooking at the beginning of l last year I s restarted my channel. My personal channel. And then not long into that cause I had been scrapbooking like on my own without filming for a few months.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Hannah Lopez: Like th four or five maybe. And then I I decided at like January that I wanted to redo The Crafty Maven. I was like I think it's time to pick this back up. I don't know if it's my age or just me realizing that I had fallen out of love with scrapbooking and then was able to fall back in love with scrapbooking. And really I have that heart to share with others how I do things. So that they can be more confident in what they're doing. So I wanted to take some of the aspects that we had from what The Crafty Maven was before. But really just make it new and [00:20:00] fresh. And a lot of that was turning it more into a mixedmedia based company.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay.

Hannah Lopez: Cause that's something that I love. And I knew I always wanted to do something like that. I had talked with a couple of my close friends of like did I wanna do a store. Did I wanna do some kind of business. But at the time when I was scrapbooking I was doing a lot of designing for other companies. Uh like as a scrapbook content creator/designer. So um and I was really happy doing that and I loved it. Cause I felt like that was building like my brand and who I was as a scrapbooker. And I'm glad I did it cause I learned so much. And I love working with other companies and And other people in the industry. So it kind of gave me what I needed to learn. So that now I was like confident. You know what I can actually do this. People will wanna buy my stuff. Cause they know who I am. [00:21:00] Uh and so I decided to keep the inspiration piece. So each month I make a different inspiration piece. Which is essentially a mood board for colors, textures, um just like a theme that I want to carry throughout the month. So that everything's cohesive. And then from there I build the kits. And so each month I have a a k um mixed media kit. And then the videos are kind of based off of the old themes. So every day of the week we had a different theme. Like sketch it out, um what else did we do Mix it up Mondays, I think We did free flow Wednesdays. So we had different days for different types of themes. Uh so that we could Because before with The Crafty Maven it was a whole conglomerate essentially of a whole bunch of YouTubers who were online doing scrapbooking stuff. And because it was [00:22:00] inspirationbased and communitybased. It the even though there was a design team and I helped run that and a lot of other ladies helped with that too. So that we could keep it functional and running. So um but now it was just me. So I knew I wanted to do something with some of the elements to keep it the same but fresh and different too. So adding the kits was definitely a big thing. And um so it led to that Now this year I added a design team. I added members to kind of help. At first I wasn't sure how I wanted to do that. Because I learned a lot about starting a business. It's so different being a desi you know someone gives you a kit or gives you supplies to use and you make something as opposed to you deciding how do you want other people to do that. And how Like when do you start that process. So uh this year I decided I needed [00:23:00] a team. Because I realized I can't do everything myself. Go figure.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Hannah Lopez: Um but yeah so so now that's kind of like what it morphed into to keep it the same. Cause I really love the community aspect of The Crafty Maven. And that was one thing that we did really well, before. Is that we were on online. Now granted I had a little bit more time. Cause I don't I don't know how that works. When you have little kids you feel like you don't have time and then as they get older you realize oh I actually did have more time. But uh.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, that's, the, the mental perception is hard sometimes.

Hannah Lopez: Um but I just spent a lot of time online. Because I love the community. And so that was a big part of us all connecting and helping each other grow. And so I really wanted that aspect of The Crafty Maven to continue too. So now now having a team I'm able to have other people [00:24:00] help me. So that we can all be a community together. And even though I know that there's a t ton of other groups for different scrapbooking companies and stuff. I just feel like we're not a fil even though I own kit I'm doing kits. I don't feel like I'm I want to like focus on that like in the community group. It's not just about like what I have. It's about let's use everything that we have. Let's encourage each other. So more of like an inspiration like station. A place where you can get help you can grow you can grow your your friendships within the community. So that you have a safe place to like share what you're doing and you're learning. Cause we're all growing. Like we never stop growing our skills as a scrapbooker, and s a mixed media scrapbooker. And so I want there I wanted there to be a place that people could do that. And know like Oh I'm not the only one who has a hard time doing this [00:25:00] technique. Or I'm not the only one who can't decide what stash to start with. You know Like we all have these issues and problems. But sometimes we feel intimidated. Because well Paige Evans does it so well. Or you know Ali Edward does this so well. I could never get there. And I wanna remind people you can get there. Uh it's just how do you get there. Right. And so if we can walk alongside of each other and help each other grow in that then we can all be better.

Jennifer Wilson: So in a way, with these kits, you're kind of, uh, deciding the color palette that the folks might choose with their other supplies. And being able to bring it all together with this additional medium that they love to use as part of their pages.

Hannah Lopez: Yes. Yep.

Jennifer Wilson: Can you tell us more about what's in the kits, um, and how your customers are using them?

Hannah Lopez: Yep. So I offer right now, we just s or I. Just started um adding a mini kit. Because I wanted to have a smaller option. But [00:26:00] essentially people get about five to six mixed media items. So it's based off of those mixed media items. And then I add like some textures to it and maybe like some embellishments or something a little bit extra to it. That's scrapbooky but not scrapbooky. If that makes sense. So it can work for someone who just wants to do mixed media like art journal like junk journaly type stuff. Or if you do layouts you could also use that kind of stuff. So I keep that in mind when I'm building my kits. Um and so it's products from different companies. Eventually I wanna have as many companies as I can within mixed media. So it's companies that maybe other people haven't heard of or it's bigger companies. That like Oh that seems like really expensive. I don't wanna spend that money to just buy that one item. But because it's in a kit people can try it. So sometimes the items I try to keep them a [00:27:00] smaller size. Cause I'm thinking about I don't want y I want you to try this and learn and see how do I like this product. So it's good for people who are new to s to mixed media and are trying out and seeing what they wanna invest in. So they don't have to invest in like a t a big amount of products or things that they're just not sure they're gonna like. But then also seasoned mixed medias c media people can use it too. Because it just puts everything all together. Of like Oh I didn't think I could use this product with this product. And then so me and the design team share videos on w how we use those products. Right. And so we have like the main kit. I have a premium which we have some extra like a free cut file a sketch. You get extra videos. That not everybody can watch. Uh just showing how I use the products from that kit. So I'll focus like o on one or two [00:28:00] products that I'm using for the month. And then with the mini kit is just three items and a stencil. So. So it's a smaller amount. It's the items that are already in the the big kit. But less of them. So it let's say money is a problem or you just don't want six items. That's kind of a lot sometimes if you're new. Right. So I wanted to have some different options. So that people didn't feel like they're just getting like the main kit. Like that might be a lot for them especially if they just want mixed media. Like uh one of A couple of my design team members they are more just the mix the media part. And they just want want it simple. And so that works really well for them. Cause I can tailor They can get a kit that works better for their style too. Cause that's one of the things that I love about having a design team is that everybody has different styles. So people who scrap like them can see that and go Oh yeah that's how I [00:29:00] could use it. Cause sometimes that's where the issue is is. You see this item and you're not quite sure how this is gonna fit for your style. And I feel like with mixed media that can be really intimidating. Because there's some ladies who just do it so well. Like when I look at a Wilna Furstenberg art journal page, I'm like There's there's no way I can do that. And make it look that good. Because I'm not her. But the products that she's using you could still use. Uh but sometimes we get stuck on what the main person used it for if it's not a style that we do. So I wanted to have that diversity within uh how I did the team this time. And the because that's how I did it before too. I really tried hard to make sure that when I was picking people before, that it was a lots of different styles. Because I knew that there was a lot of different scrapbookers in [00:30:00] our community. And I wanted to to have something for everybody. So that is the kits.

Jennifer Wilson: I love that. I think that it ends up showing the, the diversity of how you can use mixed media 'Cause someone might have an idea in their head of, you know, that this is how it looks.

Hannah Lopez: Mmhmm.

Jennifer Wilson: When it could be quite a range, for sure.

Hannah Lopez: Yep. Oh yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: So how many team members do you have today and how does that compare to, you know, your original team?

Hannah Lopez: So the original team we had I had a lot. Um I almost didn't say no to people be like before. Because it was everybody. It they weren't getting like free product or anything. So it was really easy to just say Oh yeah we could have a team of like 10 10 or 15 people. Like and at the beginning we had a lot of people. Um over the years like people would go and do other things and stuff. But it made it easy when we were posting every day you needed a lot more people. So now I just [00:31:00] have six people total but five main ladies. So uh one of the ladies that is on my team is my bestie who does the m my podcast or the podcast that we do for The Crafty Maven.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Hannah Lopez: And she just does mostly behind the scenes stuff and she'll create when she has time. But she doesn't have as much time to put into like being an actual design team member. And that's fine. And she's been along with me for the ride. Like she was helping me think through things at the very beginning of The Crafty Maven. So it only feels natural to have her be a part of what we're doing now. Um it's just not as much as I think she would like but that's okay. Um and the five other members four of them are YouTube based. And then uh I have Cassie who does Instagram and she helps with the group a lot.

Jennifer Wilson: Wonderful. Yeah. I know we've had a number of your team members on the show as well, [00:32:00] and we'll, we'll link up their episodes.

Hannah Lopez: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: In the show notes. So how do you coordinate all the assignments? How far are you working ahead and planning the kits? Uh, what are the logistics behind this these days?

Hannah Lopez: Um so it all changes. Every month I feel like it's a little bit different. But I try to have an idea of kits a few months ahead. I think the hardest part is buying. And this is one thing that as like someone who just gets products for free or I say for free it's not really free cause you're doing a ton of work. But when you are a part of a design team for like a kit club or s or a company. Um It depends if that company's making their products themselves or are they having to buy them from other companies. And anyway the it was just something I wasn't as aware of. Um of like how much certain products like seasonal products or like new lines you can't just get them way ahead like you [00:33:00] used to be able to. I feel like that's one thing that's changed a lot in our industry. Um I remember during Creativation which was not Creativation back then. Uh but I remember them going in like January and buy uh like deciding what they were gonna use for months off. Right. Where now you you have somewhat of an an idea of when stuff will come out but yous have to wait until it's ready to buy and everybody's like piranhas going towards this this these new products. So that's the nice thing with mixed media is for the most part I don't have to get stuff brand new. Like the new releases of mixed media I generally kind of wait a little bit to get, if I can. So that I'm not fighting for it. Cause even when Ranger releases stuff they only release so much to certain a like certain companies right. So um because I [00:34:00] am a smaller business I have to think about what I can buy. Like my buying power isn't as strong as like a big company right. So.

Jennifer Wilson: Certainly.

Hannah Lopez: So that definitely changes like how how far ahead I can do make kits. Because I also wanna add some relevance too right. I want some new stuff. So I kind of just have to be thoughtful and be willing to like move stuff around too a little bit. Um but so I buy stuff about a couple months ahead. And I will like add things as I go to build this kit. And then like for the design team a lot of it is like these are the things that I would like to see. Like uh um I was talking a lot about themes before so we've kept some of the themes.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Hannah Lopez: So that um it the design team can decide like Oh this is where it fits right. So it's up to their [00:35:00] interpretation. And I like it that way so that they have full control over what they create. Cause I know especially with mixed media being able to decide how you wanna use a product is far better than having someone to tell you like. Oh I want you to do it this way.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh yeah, for sure.

Hannah Lopez: I'm gonna get better results from my team a uh which makes both of us better. So so uh really they just sign up um For their the weeks that they wanna post. They know how many posts they have to do. And so so it just kinda moves sl more smoothly that way. Kind of like having that middle ground of like this is what I expect. Well and like this year because this is the first time having like an actual team like a team that is getting product. So I'm still working the kinks out and I appreciate that my members are understanding of that. And I've been really up [00:36:00] front with them and other people I'm new to this. Like so I'm learning things that I didn't know. Like uh I know I s was saying earlier being a designer for a company and getting products is so different than being the one to give the products out. And I didn't realize it was gonna be so different. I don't know why. I just didn't. Maybe uh maybe I just don't think enough about that kind of stuff. And I just do it and then figure it out as we go. Which is h has worked for me. Um but anyway. So thankfully I've had a team that like really understands that. And I just try to be as honest and open as I can with people. Of like This is where I'm at This is what what I'm gonna give you and I just do what I say I'm gonna do right. So that was one thing that Dina Wakley, I had a conversation last year with her at Creativation. And that was her [00:37:00] biggest tip of advice is just when you have deadlines just make sure you do it. You know do it on your deadlines and you'll be good. You know cause you you sell your stuff. And so I really've tried to keep that in my mind. Is like don't say you can do more than what you can do right. So a lot of it is learning like what what can I actually do. And that was a lot of why I decided to do a team is I realized I was wanting to do more than I actually could. And I needed help sharing the projects right. Cause people don't aren't gonna know what they're buying if they don't s they only see it from one person and it's just my point of view. And where I love that because I am a big part of The Crafty Maven being the owner. But I don't just want it to be my like me. Cause I know not everybody scraps like me. So.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. No, that makes sense. But I also, I also understand like [00:38:00] how it, important it is to have some separation between your own creativity and what the business is creating. Because if it's totally reliant on you, you, you, it's, it's impossible.

Hannah Lopez: Yep. Yep. Well and like I learned a lot taking that break for about four or five years. Of like how to how I wanted to do boundaries this time, uh in my in my creating. Because I would spend every day in my room. Which is great when you have the time to do that. Uh but I don't have the time now. It's like my kids are teenagers I do a lot more stuff as a family. Um like even just with the activities that they're doing and that we do as a family. It just looks different. So I wanted to make sure that I could stick to that and do something like create like I said create boundaries. So that I have those separations.

Jennifer Wilson: I think that's something we learn [00:39:00] with age as well.

Hannah Lopez: Probably.

Jennifer Wilson: How, how to protect our own peace.

Hannah Lopez: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: It, it's kind of a hard, hard-earned process, I think.

Hannah Lopez: Well and also in this industry it's always about wanting to stay on top. Whether it just means creating continuously so people don't forget you. Or you know you you want your standards to be higher. Cause you want it to feel more professional. Like you know it can look different. Especially in different seasons. But because we're always doing that we're always grinding. And it's hard to say no. Because of whatever those repercussions might be.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, certainly, yeah. So you mentioned you also have a podcast. What is the format of the show, and are there any conversations that have really kind of stood out to you?

Hannah Lopez: Uh yes me and my crafty bestie Crafty Maggie, uh we do a podcast. And it [00:40:00] started from stuff we used to do on uh Facebook. We used to do lives in our group. And we called it Scrappy Chats. Where we would just get on together and just talk about whatever we wanted to talk about with that revolved in or around scrapbooking. And uh we decided last year I think in the springtime or maybe like February or something. We decided that we wanted to pick that up but do it in a podcast form. So it is super informal. It's just a l a l sometimes we come up with it like a few the idea or topic a few hours ahead. Sometimes we plan it out. So it's kinda a mishmash of whatever. And we just talk about the topic that we're gonna talk about. And we give a lot of our own experiences. So we're just like real and down to earth. And I wanted it to feel like you are sitting at a table with your [00:41:00] scrappy bestie and you're just talking about stuff. You know, whatever's on your heart. And so I feel like it's moved more towards the inspirational part of scrapbooking. Which I think sometimes we all need. We all need to hear that those things and the struggles of what we all are going through. Cause we all go through them. It might look a little different It might be in a different season. But you can relate to that. And I wanted to also offer something more for free for the community. And I know that there's a couple of other like podcasts like yours and but like even like Scrap Gals you have to pay for. And I wanted something just for free. Because sometimes like the the draw to pa to get people to pay for things even though I understand it takes a lot of time to to do podcasts. It takes a lotta time to upload things. But um it just [00:42:00] just to have that sometimes people appreciate They'll they'll appreciate it in our community. I really feel like it. So what I can offer for free you know to just help each other out be inspired in another way is awesome.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, yeah, it is for sure. Now, is the show available both as video and audio?

Hannah Lopez: So right, okay. We have some podcast episodes that are on like iTunes or iPodcast. And uh on Spotify. But In Spotify I was able to do video so you can watch the videos there. Um but IPO uh the Apple Podcast what however platform it i whatever it's called.

Jennifer Wilson: I think it's just

Apple Podcasts, yeah.

Hannah Lopez: Um that one is just audio. There's not all the episodes. Because I am one person and I realize that I was spending a lot more time doing computer stuff. And so for right now [00:43:00] it's most of the episodes are just on YouTube. Um so you can you just put um put the episode on. If you put us in your pocket you like do not have to watch. Uh if you w if you don't want to. Um eventually I would like to have all our all of our episodes streaming. But it does get a little complicated. Like when you're doing it a whole bunch of different places. So I just have to figure out a system to be able to do it that way. Um so yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: All right. We'll definitely include a link to that in the show notes.

Hannah Lopez: Yep.

Jennifer Wilson: As well as, of course, everything else that you've mentioned. Now, I noticed that one recent episode was about, you know, chatting about changes in the industry, you know, recent and some not so recent. Um, as someone who's really involved on the product side, what are you seeing that's shifting?

Um, you know, beyond what we've already discussed in terms of just releases are much, much, uh, shorter timeframes than they ever have.

Hannah Lopez: I know right. [00:44:00] Uh I think that's definitely one of the biggest shifts And I definitely think that we're seeing a shift going from big brand companies to a lot of small brand companies right.

Jennifer Wilson: Hmm.

Hannah Lopez: Which is a really nice shift in a lot of ways. Because you have access to a lot of different styles that you might have not had access to before right. Um so I d I think like as far as mixed media I feel like it's been pretty the same. Like there's not as many companies that do that. And I feel like it tends to be bigger companies. Probably because to produce those products and get them out is just a lot more complicated. So you just need more money. But like team.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah

Hannah Lopez: Companies like Shimmerz Paints like they're a smaller business and they're they're crushing it. I mean you know, and even like The Crafter's Workshop which was a lot smaller of a company but is really we're really seeing that boom. So I [00:45:00] think we're seeing the boom of these smaller companies kind of becoming a bigger companies. As more and more people are using these products and seeing how to use them. Because we use so much more mixed media than we ever have before. Like you almost have to add some kind of mixed media something to your page if you're on design teams. Depending on what kind of teams you're on. So people are looking for that I think. And I don't know if it's just cause we're pushing it from the content creator side. Or if it's because people actually want it. Like it it's always like what's the chicken what's the egg and what came first.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, I think there's, there's often, there's, I- I've kind of two sides to this. One is that when I interview people for the show, um, I ask like, "Is there something you discovered that's just not for you?" And the answers are always either mixed media or Project Life. And, uh, I'm always surprised at how many say mixed media, but I think [00:46:00] that there is a desire to just use some of it. And like, you know, can we emulate that with a stamp or just a little tiny sprinkle, something that maybe is just a little bit less mess and doesn't require, you know, all the same tools. But we can still get kind of that effect with it. Or, you know, stencils tend to be on the easier side.

Hannah Lopez: I think sometimes and I say this cause n me and Megan are talking about mixed media right now on the podcast. And I think people downplay items like stamping a and ink.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm

Hannah Lopez: And even pens and markers on your layout or or projects. I think they want to put them in a different category. But it really is mixed media. You're adding a different kind of media to your page. And so I think it's kind of how you define it. And how we've defined it before isn't a true representation of what it really is. And so I think that's one thing that I've been working on even in my in the [00:47:00] community is having people realize that mixed media isn't doesn't have to be complicated. It can just be a stamp. You know you can stamp on your background and get a really cool effect and that's still mixed media. It it's cleaner and uh for certain people's styles like I can see why that works for them. And I can see why they don't think it's mixed media but it still is. And so just kind of helping people understand that it doesn't have to be like big and grandioso. For it to fit into that mixed media bucket, if you will.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, and I think just, I mean, uh, I'm assuming a lot of us, we came to scrapbooking because we liked to make things and, and play with our crafty side um, our whole lives. Like, we've always been f- you know, wanting to, to make things like this. And so some of those things are just kind of, I don't know, bringing that back, that childhood sense of play

too, I [00:48:00] think. And I think that, that invites a lot of curiosity about, ooh, I wa- you know. Especially now with the having a kit, like, sent to you, you don't have to make the decisions of.

Hannah Lopez: Mmhmm

Jennifer Wilson: Are 130 shades of the, of this particular paint, you know, which one do I buy 'cause I can't buy all of them.

Hannah Lopez: Yeah. Right. Despite what what our uh our scrappy brains want and hearts.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Well, I mean, I still have all the Distress Oxide, so but.

Hannah Lopez: Well you have to have all the colors. You have to. It's just when do you get them.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Um, one of the things we've really seen a lot of this year is this, like, discussion of analog life. So people are creating analog bags. People are trying to get off their phones, and I, I think this is attracting a lot of, like, younger crafters, maybe some that were already doing, like, maybe some journaling or planners. But th- they're really getting into actual memory keeping and, and true paper crafting as well. Um, what are you seeing from, from your world?

Hannah Lopez: [00:49:00] Okay so I really ha I've really chewed and ruminated on this. Because when you first asked the question I I I was like Huh how what do I really think about this. Because so having teenagers, I see uh the young the young generation the one that's coming up and I think is gonna change a lot of what how we do things. And so I was trying to think about what it looks like now. My my middle daughter she's super artsy and crafty. She does not do scrapbooking. Um and like she's not as tactile. So I think there's a big part of that that I wonder. What like is the draw for the analog to touch something. Like w what is the reasoning behind it right

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Hannah Lopez: Because [00:50:00] we do see a lot of that. And we but I think it looks different. So uh in thinking about this my thoughts were is that this younger generation really wants to blend digital with analog. I don't they don't want them to be separate. So it does not I do not think it's gonna look how we do things. And that is hard and scary as someone who loves to do it the way I do it. And but I think just like that when we started doing more of like YouTube online content creation we seen this big shift in our industry. Um and I think we're seeing something similar to that now. But it's still hasn't fully come into fruition. Because this young younger generation I think is trying to figure out how they want to blend that digital world with something [00:51:00] tactile. Uh I think we see it a lot with like junk journaling and the fact that they don't wanna buy new stuff. So they wanna use stuff that they already have. Right. They're they're the buying isn't the thing. So like even how companies now are releasing all these things. I think we're gonna see less and less releases. Because as our generation or the generation older than us, like uh a lot of the older ladies that have been in the industry for a long time. They're starting to not produce as much. And th that's just the way life goes right. The older generation passes the baton to the younger generation. And our generation is.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Hannah Lopez: Kind of like that gap and we still have a lot of the old ways that we do things. But I think we're gonna see this big change. So I think what people are buying is gonna ch how it changes because they wanna use or repurpose things that they already have so they're not just feeding this consumerism. So I think we're gonna see less of that. Which is [00:52:00] freeing in my in my opinion. Because we don't have to feel like we have to buy just because a company put something out. So um it'll be interesting to see how that plays out.

Jennifer Wilson: That that does make it hard for the, the, the industry as we know it to continue to exist. If the younger generations aren't wanting to buy things. Because they do see the, the consumerist aspects, the, you know, um, climate change and long-term impacts of, of our stuff and.

Hannah Lopez: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Using our natural resources. So it's, they are much more aware, um, than, than we ever were at that age.

Hannah Lopez: Yeah. Well and I think their goal some of it is to just play with paper or play with something tactile. And I don't even think they're gonna keep it as long right. Cause like my daughter she c all she does is create digitally. And you know she'll print off a few things. But like she even even then printing it off is like kind of because she can store on her phone. So it'll be [00:53:00] interesting to see like if we turn more towards digital scrapbooking again. I think we might see that.

Jennifer Wilson: Well and there's gonna be a certain degree of hybrid too, of people printing things at home to be able to use.

Hannah Lopez: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Um, in a tactile way.

Hannah Lopez: If companies jump on that train quicker rather than later. I think that that is gonna benefit I know that's one of the things that I keep ruminating in my mind. Is like how much do I wanna start doing digital stuff. Which i that like I don't mind creating but that's not my talent. Like is to create something uh digitally. My brain just doesn't think that way as much. And so but I know that that's like the direction that we really should be going. It's a lot more costeffective. And people can print what they want and they so they don't have to have a lot of extra stash. You know I think the younger generation is thinking about like how much space do I have. They're not buying homes like like our generation did. And so [00:54:00] they have less space. So to be able to keep like just y have what they need. Uh I think is something that we need to be thoughtful for. Um but I I mean that means more designs. More a more a creative way of using your products right. Because.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Hannah Lopez: You have a better variety of things too. Like you're not just stuck with like two companies. Well now it's not two. But you know Like you're not stuck with just having to use American Crafts or Doodlebug. Or you know You can kind of mix things together.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, make it, to make it work for you and, and, and fit your style for sure. There's l- a lot more of that p- like personalization aspect that I think everybody's wanting. And, technology today is only accelerating that and kind of creating that expectation that I can have it however I want it.

Hannah Lopez: Well and and it's good because we see less like companies against each other. Like I see us as a community like blending things and merging [00:55:00] things. There's not as many cliques if you will. Within the company brands that you're putting together. Because it used to be oh y if you were this style you only use these companies right. And.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, you know what? Here's an interesting aspect to that, and I'm wondering if you've noticed this. I've seen at least three this week, three new creators who are on the younger side, like, you know, early to mid-20s, and they're all using Creative Memories. Albums in part because they take up less space. And that seems like... my brain is like trying to wrap all around that, and I'm assuming they're exposed like through their parents.

Hannah Lopez: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Probably our age. And um, they are... Yeah, but they're, they're looking at things in a kind of a, a different way. Whereas we have the, a whole storyline associated with using Creative Memories albums.

And I know our list- like some of our listeners have always used them and will continue.

Hannah Lopez: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Maybe some never have.

Hannah Lopez: Yeah. Well I think the companies like that especially like Creative Memories they have such a long line of history right. So [00:56:00] like you said it's parents showing. But also when you can get everything in a kit that coordinates like it's golden. It takes the guesswork out of especially when you're newer. Like I don't know what to put together right. And so I I am surprised that we're seeing less and less like kit clubs if you will. Um I and I know the reasoning why. Um it's just harder to get a ton of different companies products all together. Especially if you're a smaller company. Uh the buying power is just not there. So so I think that's where.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, there's, I mean, most of them are creating their own things now because of that. It's the ones that actually do source a lot of products, um, are, are definitely on the smaller side. And yeah, it's... I can only imagine how challenging that is. I, I created a couple kits like a decade ago, and I'm like, "Oh gosh, this is not for me." And it was, you know, much easier then.

Hannah Lopez: Yeah Well and I decided cause I had thought about do I wanna have a scrapbooking kit too. And [00:57:00] just it.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Hannah Lopez: It's a lot of pressure that I'm not sure I'm willing to take. Um it so instead I make my own stash kits. You know I create a s recipe and I look for different products. There was a time where me and Crafty Maggie and a whole bunch of other people were doing a series called um For the Love of Homemade Kits. And that's what we did. We would put together a kit. We might use like one new item that would inspire so that we could help each other learn how to build kits ourselves. Because I think there's a lot of us in the in the community that want to do that. But I wonder if the newer. Because the newer kids they want everything all together too. So it makes it easier. And I think that's where companies like Creative Memories shines right. Because they already do that. They put everything it's simple. And I honestly I think kids do want s or the younger generation does want simple. Because there are so much other stuff to like contend with. [00:58:00] And um they and it could just also be the p the time in their life. I think about when I was in my early 20s or mid to early you know that time. I was just getting married. Just having kids. But people are doing that a lot later. So like what are they documenting now too right. So when they're younger and you don't have all those things. You're not building a family you're building your career so you you're a lot limited in time. Uh what you're c what memories you're sharing. So y I think a lot of it is for them they just wanna create something. Right. It's so it's not necessarily a.

Jennifer Wilson: Think there is a desire to like understanding like I need to get these photos off my phone. Um, I'm hearing some of that conversation. I mean, I think we've f- we've felt that for a long time.

Hannah Lopez: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm hearing even more of that, that I, I want these somehow in my

life. Um.

Hannah Lopez: Well you know it's like when it sits on your phone the the chance f of it disappearing forever [00:59:00] is there. And I think that the younger generation uh is feeling that too. Like they're seeing their stuff. Like we've a as a m you know someone in their early 40s I've had that happen quite a few times now. So I know for sure like if there's photos I wanna scrap I gotta print them. You know if I think that this is gonna disappear. Because I've had hardware you know my external hard drives just like not work. And then I lo lost all of those pictures. Uh so And I think the g younger generation is just seeing that now. A a and they're seeing family members with photos right. And so it gets you asking those questions. Like Oh how do I do that. I mean we take for granted that we could just go to Walmart or Walgreens and drop off your film roll. And then what a week later maybe you could come back and get your photos. It was super simple. Where now it's not. You have [01:00:00] to have access to a printer. Which not not everybody has. Like and then what printer do you use. So I could see like they're they're trying to figure out like how do I do this with the technology that I have. It's.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, it's, it's definitely different for sure, and, and always continuing to change. You know, I do wonder if we'll be able to pick up prints locally, uh, in even a couple years. Will it all be mail order? Um, just because, you know, the expectation of, of delivery is, is so high.

Hannah Lopez: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: I can do it this way. It'll just arrive on my doorstep in two days.

Hannah Lopez: Yep. Yeah. Well my daughter she's going to camp this summer and she's talking about like Hey Mom I want a camera so I can print off my photos.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Hannah Lopez: You know like they are thinking about that stuff. But it's like How do I do this Mom. Because you're like I can't take your big camera to camp. And you know she doesn't wanna carry her phone around at camp. Because y you know they're at camp. She doesn't wanna ruin her phone. So she wants something [01:01:00] like a point and shoot. And I'm like Okay Well we gotta figure out how to do that. So.

Jennifer Wilson: We ended up, we have, uh, we ended up getting a waterproof one. Um, that was really designed for underwater, but more like it, it can withstand whatever the kid is going to end up dropping in.

Hannah Lopez: Yeah. I mean a 16yearold at camp in Mirror Lake is fun times.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, yeah. And also because it was like... 'Cause we also, I had had an Instax camera, you know, back when they came out. But that film is so expensive and it just, you know, it only takes 10 at a time.

Hannah Lopez: What she was telling me. Cause I asked that. I was like, well don't you have an Instax. Cause I bought her one. Cause I thought hey this is really cool. But I think for us it's more the nostalgia. For them it's like whatever. She's like Mom it's bulky and it's expensive. She's like And I can only take 10 pho 10 photos. So that wasn't good enough for her.

Jennifer Wilson: And we're not used to that. We're used to being able to take

10 of one thing and then pick the one we like.[01:02:00]

Hannah Lopez: Yep. I mean gosh when we had right like before the point and shoots when everything was all the film. Like you you didn't even know what your picture was gonna look like.

Jennifer Wilson: Right, true.

Hannah Lopez: I mean how many photos did your mom take off the heads. Cause that happened a lot in my family.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Hannah Lopez: And not on purpose.

Jennifer Wilson: Just like feeling like, "Oh my gosh," you know, like, "I can't wait to get this roll of film developed. I know there's just some of these great photos from this trip." And you get them back and I'm like, "That doesn't seem... That's not how I remembered it."

Hannah Lopez: Yeah. Right. Uh.

Jennifer Wilson: So for lis- our listeners who maybe are just discovering The Crafty Maven today, um, where would you want them to start?

Hannah Lopez: Okay. I was thinking about this because there are so many different places that you can find uh what where we are what we do. But I would say our Facebook community is probably one of the the first places I would send people. Um we share a lot of conversation [01:03:00] starters a lot of we have a lot of challenges and um it's just conversations in there. So uh go if you go there that's a great place. Also our YouTube channel is a really good place if you just want video content. For the most part our design team does like we do a collab so their video will be on their channel or on our channel. Um but the podcast is on there and the stuff that me and Megan we share stuff on there too as well. So Um and then Instagram. Our our Instagram also is a really great place to kind of follow us. Cause I I share a lot of products on there, the design team stuff. I try to do a mix of different things. So it's not you don't feel like you're just getting sold stuff. Cause uh the kits are just a small part of what we do. Um and I'd rather it be more about the community. So um those are three great places to start. Obviously people can go and visit our website. [01:04:00] St well I would suggest the store. We have a website. But we're kind of working on revamping it. Because we created it in 2015. So it looks like it was from 2015. And I am fully aware of that. But when you only have so much time. Uh but we're gonna be working on uh releasing some classes coming at towards like summertime so July August. We'll have I think two classes that we're gonna offer. So um and we have a couple of cr we have a crop coming up this summer online. So that's one thing that we're gonna be doing That's in our Facebook group. So that's why I suggest that people go to the Facebook group cause that's where we do a lot of stuff. And uh we had so much fun doing uh a crop for National Scrapbooking Day weekend. Cause we used to do host crops all the time. Or multiple times throughout the year, uh in The Crafty Maven. So I'm super excited that we're able to start doing that again. And we've been giving out prizes. But also just a place for people to come and create [01:05:00] for the weekend. Cause I know we're not all able to go to a place physically. Um so people from all over the world can come and join in and have fun.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, that's one of the best parts of scrapbooking today is just the intersection of what tehnology.

Hannah Lopez: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Can do to bring us together and, and being able to create and share our stories.

Hannah Lopez: I know I would've never thought if someone told me when I was 25 even probably even 30 that I would have so many people that I looked up to and knew from other places from around the world. Like I would be like What are you talking about.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah.

Hannah Lopez: So it's so cool you know.

Jennifer Wilson: Now, do you have a personal Instagram where you'd want our listeners to follow you?

Hannah Lopez: I do have a personal Instagram. And I have a personal YouTube channel. So if you visit me on either one uh so it's just Hannah Lopez. I think on Instagram it's dandelion2002. Cause that used to be my username. [01:06:00] So things you don't think about when you start right That you gotta.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Hannah Lopez: About oh well what is peop what are people gonna call me.

Jennifer Wilson: No doubt. Yeah, yeah. We'll definitely include all those links.

Hannah Lopez: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: Thank you for spending time with me.

Hannah Lopez: Well thank you for having me I very much appreciated being able to come on and talk about The Crafty Maven. But talk to you and and all your viewers.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, this was so fun. I, look forward to maybe doing it again someday.

Hannah Lopez: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: And to all of our listeners, please remember that you have permission to scrapbook your way.

Angela Speir: [00:00:00] I've resigned myself to the fact that I will never, ever be caught up. I'll never scrap every memory that I want to scrap. So I pick and choose what I want, something that speaks to me, and I play and have fun.

Jennifer Wilson: Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way, the show that explores the breadth of ways to be a memory keeper today. I'm your host, Jennifer Wilson, owner of Simple Scrapper and author of The New Rules of Scrapbooking. This is episode 343. In this episode, I'm interviewing Angela Speir for the My Way series.

My Way is all about celebrating the unique ways memory keepers get things done. We're excited to have Angela as the July featured artist at Simple Scrapper

Hey, Angela. Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way.

Angela Speir: Hey, how are you?

Jennifer Wilson: Excited today. I am good. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better. Can you start by a little [00:01:00] bit about yourself?

Angela Speir: Uh, yes, I am a scrapbooker from South Mississippi. Um, I live on the beautiful Gulf Coast. Uh right by the Gulf of Mexico, and it's gorgeous. Wouldn't live anywhere else. Um, I am a mother and a grandmother. Um, I have three adult daughters, and I have seven lovely grandchildren ranging from the age of 11 to 21.

Jennifer Wilson: Wow.

Angela Speir: I've ... I know. I've recently retired, and so, and I am in the middle of a, um, scrap room renovation or scrap room move, whichever one you wanna call it. And I am stuck straight in the messy middle right now, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, I, I can't wait to hear more about that as we get into our conversation.

Angela Speir: Ooh. So.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, and I bet with those grandkids, I bet there's like, you [00:02:00] know, obviously you've been through all the milestones with your daughters, but now there's lots of milestones for them as well, and.

Angela Speir: I know. I have, um, I have one that will be a senior this year, the oldest granddaughter. And, um, I just sit back and wonder how that happened. Because, um, she's still supposed to be that cute little chubby baby that we had on the sandbar just yesterday.

Jennifer Wilson: Yep, yep. I get it, I get it. Mine is, mine is just about to turn 15 and I'm, I have a lot of feelings as well.

Angela Speir: Oh, yes. Well, you know, the thing is once she graduates, for the next five years I have one graduating every year. And then I skip a year, and then the baby graduates, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: Are doorsteps. So it's nice. Yes. Yes. It, it does. And you know, I, I miss scrapbooking the baby stuff a lot. Um, but every once in a while [00:03:00] I'll go back and grab one of those photos. But I do enjoy scrapbooking the, the teenage life.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: Such as it is. Um, you know, my oldest is, um, you know, he's 21. He just recently turned 21. And, you know, he lives on ... He's out on his own. And has a big boy job. And all that kind of stuff. So ... And he lives really close, and he.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice.

Angela Speir: Yeah, he comes and helps out and does stuff around the house for me sometimes, so it is nice.

Uh, my oldest moved to Colorado a couple of years ago with two of her kids, and, um, they're actually here for part of the summer, and I've enjoyed ... You know, I'm enjoying that.

Jennifer Wilson: I bet you can't take that time for granted, so.

Angela Speir: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: So you're one of our featured artists this year. Do you have a favorite recent layout or project, and why do you love it?

Angela Speir: Uh, I do. Um, it's [00:04:00] not a layout, it's a project. Um, even though the oldest grandson graduated in 2023, I recently finished his senior album. Um, I had no intentions of making one, and a friend of mine made one for her grandchildren, and I was like, "Yeah, that might be fun." Not thinking that he goes to, or he went to a private school, was very involved in everything, and they took lots of photos.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: What started as a senior album turned into a two-album project.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice.

Angela Speir: Um, I recently finished it, and that was an accomplishment, and I love everything about it.

Jennifer Wilson: Now are any of your daughters also scrapbookers or are you the chief scrapbooker of the family?

Angela Speir: Uh, I have [00:05:00] none that are scrapbookers. My oldest daughter does junk journal and, um, she actually makes charms and stickers and those kinds of things and sells them.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: Yeah, she recently got into that. She does a lot of, um, like the Little Golden Books and turns them into baby books and, yeah, those kind of things.

Very different from what I do, but you know, she's very creative and very talented, always has been. She's just now started to embrace her inner crafty person, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Angela Speir: The other two could care less.

Jennifer Wilson: They could care less. Yeah.

Angela Speir: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Um, is there something in either your scrapbooking or your everyday life, something that you're excited to do, use, or try?

Angela Speir: I don't really... I don't know. I, um, I'm enjoying right now, the challenge of putting together my s- scrap room. [00:06:00] Um, and so that's really where my focus has been for probably the last couple of months. Um, I'm moving from a bedroom to a formal living room, or what should be a formal living room.

I've got some of my furniture here, and I have a huge order coming from IKEA, will be here Saturday. So because I live nowhere near an IKEA.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah.

Angela Speir: You know, my nearest IKEA is, you know, eight hours away, seven hours away.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, and I thought mine was far at like two and a half hours away, so.

Angela Speir: No. No. Um, you know, the closest used to be Atlanta, but we actually have one in Huntsville now, but Huntsville is still, it's a good at least seven hours away from me.

So.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah

Angela Speir: That what happens when you live at the end of the world, which is what I feel like sometimes.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh yeah, but it's so beautiful there, so.

Angela Speir: It is. Uh, you know, we, um, actually took a trip up the river [00:07:00] the other day to go have dinner as a family, and I was thinking the whole time, I don't, I couldn't live anywhere else. You know.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: So but, um, that right now is my focus. Uh, like I said, I'm in the messy middle. I have stuff scattered from one end to the other.

Um, my cabi- my upper cabinets have been installed. Um, I have some cube storage that's installed, but right now I'm waiting on my desk. So.

Jennifer Wilson: What do you anticipate would be the, like, kind of the biggest difference in how you're, like, using your space and using your different flat surfaces? Uh, 'cause it sounds like you're gonna have a lot more space overall.

Angela Speir: Yes. Um, I actually have a wall that's 187 inches long. That whole entire wall will be a desk. And, uh, I know, I'm so excited. Um, I hope [00:08:00] to... The plan, let, let me go ahead and preface that with the plan is to have a sewing station, a craft station, a die-cut station, and a messy station, um, for, you know, mixed media.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: um, that kind of thing.

Anything that's messy, watercolors, mixed media, anything I wanna do, have a, a dedicated space for that. And that is the plan right now. Yeah, my daughter has about convinced me to move my sewing machine to the other side of the room and use everything, every flat surface for scrapbooking. And yeah, that is a possibility, but you know, right now that's my four zones.

So we shall see if it turns out like it's planned.

Jennifer Wilson: Well and even just like thinking about that and knowing that you're more likely to do these various other things if they have a dedicated space. 'Cause oftentimes we need to move something and rearrange and [00:09:00] prepare, and that can be a barrier to, to doing the wet stuff or to actually sewing on a layout or doing any other sewing for that matter.

Angela Speir: Yes. Uh, even die cutting. You know, I love to, um, you know, create... I don't, I'm not a card maker, I'm strictly a scrapbooker. But I do love, you know, making, as my friend affectionately calls them, dickers, which are, you know, DIY thickers. And florals, that kind of stuff. I love die cutting all of that. But, you know, having to clean off an, uh, first of all, clean off a space. Because I'm, I spread. I'm a spreader.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: And you clean off a space, get my die cutting machine, get the dies, get this, get that, you know, fix it. Then put it all back up because I don't have a place to leave it out. And, you know, so that is gonna be nice. And my sewing machine is the [00:10:00] same way. Right now it sits on top of my cubes, so if I wanna sew on something, I have to get it down, find a flat surface to put it on.

So that, that was the main focus with, um, planning a new room, was to have zones. And be able to find my things when I want them. Because that's another, you know, um, having a small room, when I would get new supplies, I wouldn't have room with the other supplies, so I'd just stick them somewhere, and then it would be like, "I know I bought it, but I can't find it, so now what do I do?"

So that is one of the big focuses right now in the messy middle, is, like with like. And then hopefully by the time my furniture gets here and gets set up, we'll be ready to bin stuff and move [00:11:00] on, and I can get back to creating.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, it sounds great. So what would you say, we're kind of getting into our, this is a My Way episode where we really dig into kind of what makes you tick as a scrapbooker. What would you say to a non-scrapbooker about why you love this hobby?

Angela Speir: Um, I love this hobby because I love photography. I started, started as a scrapbooker, moved into photography, and found a way to mesh both of them together.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: Um, I also love being able to relive those moments again and again. Because when I pull out... You know, when I watch my grandchildren pull out scrapbooks and sit on the couch and look through them and laugh and giggle and talk about what that is or what they remember about that moment or, you know, if they find a picture of their mom or whatever. And they laugh and [00:12:00] giggle about her hair or her clothes, you know, it just makes my heart so full to be able to watch that.

And also, I love the creative process. Um, I am one who subscribes to the theory sometimes that more is more. Um, I love florals. I love the, um... You know, there's no quick layouts for me essentially. There could be, but the fun in it for me is being able to sit there and play.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Angela Speir: It wasn't always like that. You know, if you look back on my scrapbooks from my kids, I did not start scrapbooking until I had grandchildren, so, you know. But if you look back on my early stuff, you know, I was more of a linear scrapper, minimal embellishments, um, larger photos, you know. And because [00:13:00] I didn't have time for all the other stuff, you know.

It was make a memory, get it documented, and move on to the next one. Um, I've resigned myself to the fact that I will never, ever be caught up. I'll never scrap every memory that I want to scrap. So I pick and choose what I want, something that speaks to me, and I play and have fun.

Jennifer Wilson: I love your philosophy and, you know, also the recognition that things do evolve over time, and to kind of pay attention to what's, you know, tickling your fancy, 'cause that could lead you to a whole new place that's even more joyful.

Angela Speir: You know, I used to not be like that, but I guess with time comes wisdom. You know, I'm a grandmother now. I'm retired now. I have a lot more time than parents or grandparents that work full time or, you know, those kind of things. I also learned to make the memory and take the photo, [00:14:00] and one day it may speak to you and you'll have that time.

I just scrapbooked a photo of my 16-year-old granddaughter when she's probably about two. She's out by the pool. She's got a cute little hat on and her little smocked bathing suit. And, you know, I look at her now as a teenager who drives, and I still see that cute little girl with that crinkly nose and um, yeah, and so I get to relive that moment every day. And she f- she found it, and she was like, "Oh, y'all come look, it's me." And that just makes me feel so good.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes, yes. It's really highlighting kind of that deeper inner joy that we get. So you mentioned that you started scrapbooking, you were already, you already had grandkids. So what really led you to the hobby? What kind of exposed you to it?

Angela Speir: I had a friend at work that her mother was having a Creative Memories, uh, scrapbooking [00:15:00] party. Like many others, that's how I found my way. I went to the little party. I bought a corner rounder, a pair of scissors, and a pen. And I came home, and at that point I was lucky enough to have a scrapbooking store locally, two of them actually.

And, so you know, I would go there and we would have crops, and I would go in and pick out, you know... I wasn't a collection scrapper because back, you know, in 2004, you know, 2005, well, actually 2004. There really weren't, you know, quote, collections like they are now that have tons of embellishments and, you know, that kind of thing.

And, um, so that's what led me making a baby album for my first grandson. Started with his ultrasound picture, first thing I ever scrapbooked. And then, [00:16:00] um, Hurricane Katrina hit, and we- I lost everything. I lost all of the scrapbook stuff that I had. And, um, so I took about, mm, probably a year and a half off. Because life had other focuses at that point.

Jennifer Wilson: Certainly.

Angela Speir: Then I found that corner rounder that I had bought, and it still worked. It went under saltwater during Katrina but, you know, hey, that sucker, I still use it to this day. And, um, so I slowly got back into it. That point I only had one grandchild. You know, everything he did was perfect, wonderful.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: You know, created all kinds of...

You know, he's five years older than the next grandchild, so, um, then they started coming once a year, sometimes two a year. And [00:17:00] so that's when things got crazy and things got busy.

Jennifer Wilson: How did that experience with the hurricane and the recovery from it impact kind of how you looked at photos and scrapbook supplies, not to mention other just, like, personal treasures and things like that?

Angela Speir: I learned very quickly that things are things.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: Um, it can all be replaced except for your photos, which we lost most of. Um, the ones I have are very, very water damaged. You know, Brantley's first year and a half really doesn't exist in photos. Um, you know, we were too busy existing. My daughter lost her house, we lost our house, and my mother-in-law lost her house.

So, you know, we were just too busy trying to rebuild and exist and... Yeah, but you learn. When you look out and everything you own is in a pile at the side of the [00:18:00] road, and you look across the street and everything your neighbors own are in a pile in the middle of the street, and you're sleeping on somebody's porch in August. And it's hot as heck, but you're glad to have a place to sleep, your priorities change really quick.

And you learn that those are just things, you know, it can all be replaced. And so it made me treasure those memories and treasure those priceless things that can't be replaced made me treasure those all the more.

Jennifer Wilson: Certainly, certainly.

Angela Speir: And, you know, I think that's one reason I love preserving memories is because so much of those memories, well, not the memories, but so much of the proof of those memories are gone.

You know, my kids' entire, entire childhood essentially was gone, you know, other [00:19:00] than what friends had, pictures they had, pictures that didn't get lost and, you know, that kind of thing. So.

Jennifer Wilson: Have you found yourself kind of going back and telling some of those stories even without photos? Or has that felt maybe even too hard?

Angela Speir: Not really. It was hard. Um, you know, I had a child, you know, um, my grandson was born in May of 2005. Katrina hit in August of 2005. So those days were hard, and they s- they're still hard. And, you know, I don't... I would like eventually to go back and scrapbook some of the memories. You know, the fact that we lived with no walls and concrete floors, and the sole furniture that we had were two lawn chairs and a 15 or 16-inch black and white TV.

And we slept on a mattress on the floor, and we had plastic drawers to hold our remaining clothes. [00:20:00] You know, um, I would love to, to scrapbook that one day because those are things that I want future generations to know. But it's, it's hard, you know? And.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm sure. I'm sure.

Angela Speir: It's just hard. And, um, so yeah, but we survived. And it's 21 years ago, and I'll never forget it because like I said, Brantley was three months old.

And, you know, so my daughter lived in a FEMA trailer with a three-month-old.

Jennifer Wilson: Forwarding to today and, you know.

Angela Speir: Mm-hmm.

Jennifer Wilson: You're creating a new space for yourself and celebrating your retirement, what sizes or formats are you typically creating in, and has that evolved over time?

Angela Speir: 12 by 12 is my tried and true. Uh, I love it. Um, I always will. For myself, that is what I create. The albums for my [00:21:00] grandchildren are eight and a half and e- by 11 or nine by 12. And, you know, I'm starting Anna Claire's, uh, senior album, and h- hers is a nine by 12. Brantley's was eight and a half by 11.

I'm not as fond of those. I don't like the rectangular format a lot, but it is much easier to create. Because a lot of times it's one photo that I have. You know, I'm not opposed to a one photo 12 by 12, don't get me wrong. But, you know, uh, you know, I'm usually taking pictures off of Facebook or Snapchat or Instagram, you know, that kind of thing. And those tend to print better when they're smaller.

And so that eight and a half and, by 11 or nine by 12 format just seems to work better. Um, like I said, it's not my favorite. I prefer a square format. [00:22:00] Um, I do, attempt... I've only completed it one time, but I attempt every year to make a December album in six by eight. And it's kinda like the eight and a half by 11 or nine by 12. It's not really my favorite format. I don't like the rectangle. I'm a square girl all the way.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, I think that's an important thing to understand about yourself and to knowing, like, what really works and what works with your brain and the way it sees shapes. And yeah, I think that's an important knowledge to have. And then to recognize, oh yeah, sometimes I can't do it because there's a, there's a really practical reason for it.

Angela Speir: And yeah, the, the longer I... Because I created Brantley's album not in chunks, but I created, I sat down one day and I, I pretty much worked on that until I finished it. And so the longer I scrap the eight and a half by 11, the easier it got. But I still didn't love it. I love the layouts and I love the project, but is it the favorite, my favorite thing I've ever done?

No. I, [00:23:00] you know, I just, it was more like I have to think about it. I have to think about what I'm doing. I have to think about proportions and, you know, how, how they work in that format, where with the 12 by 12, it's intuitive. You know, I, I can cut a piece of paper, stick it down, be like, "Yeah, that works," you know?

It wasn't like that with the, with the other ones, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Now, are there any particular projects or activities that you're focused on this year?

Angela Speir: My scrap room. That's, um... Until I get that done, I do belong to a message board where I, um, am in a challenge. It's a 40 layout challenge. We create four layouts a month for 10 months. And, my focus right now is to make sure that I get my four layouts a month done. And get my scrap room set up like I want it.

Um, it started out to be a short [00:24:00] project. I am now, April, May, June, almost three months in and it's still a disaster. But, um, I'm hoping to be able to have it completed and set up like I want it, and live with it for a while and make any tweaks, you know, by the fall. I, you know, I'm giving myself until, you know, Thanksgiving, Christmas, to get it done. Because, you know, I know that it will evolve and I know that, um, I'm trying my best to catalog and sort and label and do all that as I'm going.

Because I've never done that before. I'm not an organized person. I'm a seat of the pants person.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: And, um, so this has been eye-opening for me, [00:25:00] shall we say. I do like the way it's working, but it is, y- you know, it, it's a big undertaking. And, so, um, you know, I have great son-in-laws, I have great kids, I have great grandkids.

My granddaughter was putting together a Kallax unit at, um, you know, 11:30 last night so. Those kids can build some IKEA furniture, let me tell you.

Jennifer Wilson: They can. Yes. Yes. Well it sounds like you to like develop some additional patience, um, that this, this is a thing that takes time, uh, because of the scale and, just to allow yourself to kind of enjoy that messy middle too.

Angela Speir: Yeah, it's, um, yeah, I'm, I'm trying to let myself enjoy the process. Because it's something I've dreamed of for years. I've never been able to make it a reality, and so now I am. And I'm planning to make the [00:26:00] best of it. But yeah, that's my big project for the year. That's what I'm gonna focus on. And, um, that and making memories that I can scrapbook when I finally am back in my room.

Jennifer Wilson: Sounds good. It makes sense. So let's talk about your style a little bit. If you had to describe it in three words, what would you say?

Angela Speir: No more than three photos, one page, and embellishment heavy.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay, okay. Um, what kind of like, do you, are there certain like color palettes or patterns you lean towards, or are you kind of everything goes, I love it all?

Angela Speir: Uh, I'm a traditionally, and probably 95% of the time, I'm a white cardstock girl.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: I love pattern, but not as a background. I love to mat my layouts. I do that probably on 90% of the layouts I create. It has a white background with a, [00:27:00] some type of border on it. Um, and I love florals. Um, I think that came from scrapbooking so many daughters, and I have three granddaughters, and they're all right about the same age, so that makes it easy.

I love the texture, and I love the laser cuts from 49 & Market, even though some of their newer collections have not been, for me. But I still love their style and love what they, you know... Um, and I bought.

Jennifer Wilson: Of like gardeny one that came out that I was like, "Oh, maybe th- I think they're getting back into a groove," and I, I really liked the style.

Angela Speir: I know.

Jennifer Wilson: Of it.

Angela Speir: Well, you know, I bought Rust and Rubs and Rust and Rubs 2, which is one of their older collections, probably at least twice. 'cause I used a lot of the backgrounds and a lot of the stuff in Brantley's album. Um, and [00:28:00] then, you know, I love that. Um, and Simple Stories is my heart. It always will be.

They're my favorite manufacturer ever. I love the variety. I love, I love their embellishments. You know, they're not so wordy. I'm not a wordy person on my layouts. I am in real life, but, um, in- not, I don't ... I love Echo Park. I love their, um, their papers and their ... But their embellishments are extremely wordy, and yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: True.

Angela Speir: Only, you know, I can only put so many words on a layout.

So a lot of times if I do use Echo Park, I use cut files for a big statement where I don't need as many embellishments. Or I am in my, um, acrylic stash or my wood veneer stash or I'm in my dies [00:29:00] cutting out things. Um, yeah, I just don't find their embellishments, um, user-friendly to me and my style. But, um, I do love their papers though, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Well and I think, yeah, you start to really understand which, uh, what lines are gonna deliver you what satis- what levels of satisfaction and informs your, your purchasing in the future. And can kinda combine things to, to make your best, uh, suite of products, for sure.

Angela Speir: Yeah, I am a, I'm a have it all k- kinda girl.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: Which is why I like Simple Stories because I can get a little bit of everything. And, um, but I've also learned that there are some collections that, you know, I can buy three or four sheets of paper and a sticker sheet, and I'm perfectly happy with it.

Jennifer Wilson: You mentioned cut files. Are there other, like, tools and techniques that you use a lot in your pa- [00:30:00] on your pages? Like, if we looked through your pages, what, what would we notice?

Angela Speir: Um, I use lots of texture. Um, I love pop dots. I love dimension. I think part of that comes from the fact that I know that I'll never scrapbook everything, so I don't worry about how I'm gonna store stuff. You know, I know I see a lot of people that are like, "I already have 50 albums, you know, and, and my kid's only five, and what am I gonna do?"

Well, I don't have that concern anymore. I scrapbook for me. And I love pop dots, and I love dimension, and I love, yeah, mixed media to an extent. I used to use a lot more mixed media and then, um, I went to having no scrap room, and I was scrapbooking on my kitchen counter, and that was not conducive to mixed media. So I kinda had to leave [00:31:00] that.

Jennifer Wilson: Close to a sink, I mean.

Angela Speir: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Maybe too close.

Angela Speir: I don't think my marble... uh, I mean, my granite countertops would like it very much. And, um, yeah, but I do love that look. I love watercolors. It's my favorite media or medium. And, I like stitching. I love stitching on my layouts when I have time. Just I like a little bit of everything.

You know, I'm, I'm not... I don't... If you had to say I have a style, I would say single photo or double photo, and a lot of that comes because I do have to... You know, I steal things from Facebook or Instagram or, you know, my children are not photographers. My grandkids aren't either. So if I say, "Take me some pictures," you know, I get two.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: You use what you have. And, my least favorite thing to scrapbook are events. I do not like to scrapbook, [00:32:00] birthdays. I don't like to scrapbook Christmas. I prefer scrapbooking those one-off everyday memories because to me that's, that's who they are.

Jennifer Wilson: I like, I often will find myself like some of the best photos are from, uh, just, just r- random happenstance. Sometimes they are from those events.

Angela Speir: Oh yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Holidays or whatever, but I love to use those for the stories about the personality and what's going on in their lives right now or our lives right now. The, the details of the event sometimes are, are not as important to me as well.

So I, I, I share that with you.

Angela Speir: Yeah, I mean that, you know, that one cute picture that, you know, the kids took when they were goofing off on the sandbar or, you know, they're being goofy and, you know, the little cheesy grins. 'Cause I have a grandson that never smiles. You know, he has that, um, face that you just look at him and go, "Really, dude?"

You know? And, um, [00:33:00] and he's nine, so of course he doesn't want to co- I mean, he's 11, excuse me. Oh, he would die if he knew I said nine. Um, yeah, so he doesn't, like, really want to cooperate with anybody whenever you ask him to do something. So if I ever get a little cheesy grin from him or something that he's not in a baseball uniform, then I treasure those photos.

Because, you know, baseball is life to him. Baseball and football. If it doesn't have a ball in it, he doesn't want to have anything to do with it.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Angela, is there anything in your hobby that you've decided is not for you? 'Cause it sounds like you do love a lot of things, but is there anything you're like, "Yeah, that's, I'm never gonna do that," or, "I tried that once and I'm good"?

Angela Speir: Complete mixed media backgrounds. Uh, yeah, I don't ... You know, mixed media to me is like a little, a little smooshing in the back or a little ink work, um, in my, you know, like stenciling my stamps. Or, you know, [00:34:00] that kind of thing, um, splatters. You know, as far as full-on mixed media, mixed media, that is, that's not for me. I don't.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: I never like what I make, and I know they say practice makes perfect, but if it doesn't matter to me, why, why bother? I mean, I can use my time better, well s- you know, I can spend it better. Really I guess that's ... Yeah, I, I don't like cutting my photos into like ... You know, I know some people have started, due to the junk journaling, you know, that has come into it, um, people cutting out silhouettes and putting them up.

That'll never be me. I don't, I don't fussy cut that well, and I don't like it that much, so the answer to that is no. And, and that's, I guess really those are, that's my main thing is mixed media. I love it. I love it when other people do [00:35:00] it. I think it's so cool, and it's so pretty, but I know me, and it's not for me.

It's not for me to make. You know, somebody wants to make it for me and give it to me, hey, I'm all about it. But.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: You know. But I do, and that's another thing about being a, an older grandmother who scraps and who's accepted the fact that I'll never be caught up is I can play. I can play and, and have fun, and really doesn't I don't feel the pressure that other, that some people feel. That allows me to have more freedom in what I wanna do.

Jennifer Wilson: Certainly. Um, when your space, uh, draws to a conclusion of, you know, "This is, this is good enough for right now, let's start living in it.

Angela Speir: Right,

Jennifer Wilson: What time of day do we think that you're gonna be scrapbooking? Are, is it all day long every day? Mornings, evenings? Like, what's your natural creative time?

Angela Speir: I, except on [00:36:00] Tuesdays. Tuesdays I, I have a Zoom that I scrapbook with friends from all over. Um, and that usually starts from 11 o'clock, well, for me, 11:00 o'clock in the morning, and then we usually scrapbook till about 5:00 or 6:00 at night. Other days, I'm not a morning person. I do not like mornings. Um, I think they should be outlawed.

Uh, my day normally starts around 11:30 or 12, so usually after lunch. Um, you know, and I will scrapbook into the night. I'm a go to bed at 3:00 o'clock in the morning kind of person.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay.

Angela Speir: Um, you know, I am, especially now that I'm retired and I don't have to get up and I don't have to go to a job every morning, um, I very rarely set my clock.

Um, you know, I get up when I get up, and I go to bed when I go to bed. But yes, I definitely am a afternoon night scrapbooker.

Jennifer Wilson: How did you [00:37:00] manage, like, beat that night owl tendency when you were working and wanting to get scrapbooking done?

Angela Speir: Oof. I, um, I scrap- yeah, I'm like, "Ugh." And I, and I did it for 30 years, so I mean, you know.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: That after a while it just becomes habit. But I c- yeah, it didn't take long to break those habits. Um, but I scrapbooked a lot on the weekends. Um, at that point, um, before COVID, um, I had a couple of friends and we ran a scrapbook crop once a month.

And then we also scrapbooked a lot of weekends together too. You know, we would go to other crops for, you know, and that was usually when I scrapbooked. I scrapbooked on weekends. I didn't, um, even though I was a night owl, and, you know, by the time I came home, [00:38:00] figured out what we were gonna eat for dinner, that kind of thing, I was like, "Mm, I ain't got the energy to scrap."

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: You know my husband was also, um He, um, had dementia for 13 years. So a lot of my time was taking care of him. And so that, you know, also was why I scrapbooked a lot on weekends. Because, you know, I wasn't so tired, and I could, you know, do things like that, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: But yeah, I, um, I was definitely not a prolific scrapbooker when I worked. Yeah, I scrap- yeah, I the, like, yeah, it, that went against all my natural tendencies. I should have been a night worker.

Jennifer Wilson: And my mom is the exact same way. She would love to stay up all night and, and sleep as late as possible, so.

Angela Speir: You know.

Jennifer Wilson: Uh, whereas I'm a, like I [00:39:00] wanna be in bed before 10, 10:00 PM, so.

Angela Speir: Ugh, not me. Ugh. I mean, I look... La- last night my daughter was staying here and w- like 2:00 she was like, I was like, "I guess I'm going to bed." And she's like, "Okay." So she has my night owl ten- my night owl tendencies also. So the girls went to bed like at 11:00 last night, and we were like, "Y'all are already going to bed?"

And they were like, "We're tired." I think they've, they've pulled too many all-nighters, and they're giggling. You know, they don't see each other often, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, yeah. That's cool to have them together though.

Angela Speir: Yeah, well it's hard because for the, you know, up until two years ago they lived like right down the street from one another. So they've, all of the cousins have all grown up together. Until Amy and them moved to Colorado two years ago. This is the first time my kids have ever moved away from home. And, um, as adults we've done a lot better than the [00:40:00] kids. The kids have had, yeah, they, they miss each other.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I bet.

Angela Speir: Lots of FaceTime. You know, thank gosh for FaceTime and that kind of stuff 'cause they definitely keep in touch.

Jennifer Wilson: So we've already talked on this a little bit, but in terms of organization and how, like what are you really carrying from your previous space to your new space? What things have worked really well for you that you're just gonna keep on working with?

Angela Speir: Nothing. Actually that's not true. There's a couple of things. Um, number one is paper storage. Um, I've used cubes for a long time. I like my cubes. I also have always, um, organized by collection or by, not by collection, by manufacturer. I still do that. That's the way my brain thinks.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: So that works for [00:41:00] me. That I'm ... The only difference is I've always stored collections and embellishments together. I'm actually storing paper by it- you know, paper collection by itself, and then I have bought these envelopes that are like an A5 size, and they have, um, Velcro, and the embellishments go in it. And they're labeled.

And the way my cubes are set up, in the, the top cubes I have paper. I have two bins per cube with all the paper. And then in the cube directly below it I have one large cube, and all the embellishments for that paper are in that cube.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay.

Angela Speir: Um, that is something new because collections with embellishments just take up so much room.

And, you know, it's wasted space. [00:42:00] So I've kind of, I've kept it, but I've modified it. Um, the other thing from my other s- craft space that I really like is I have a holder from IKEA. I don't even know if they sell them anymore, but it's the one where you can put your 12 by 12 paper and then your stickers, and yeah, that.

I, um, I have that on my desk, and I keep either, things I'm trying to use up, like if I have a ... you know, like if I'm working on like Brantley's album and I have like some- gears, wood veneer gears or whatever, and I have just a few left over. I would keep those in there to remind myself to use them. But I normally keep whatever collection or whatever I'm working with, the embellishments.

And then in the front, I usually have my edge distressor. I have, my, I use the Nuvo glaze, not the Glossy Accents, but that kind of thing. [00:43:00] I have, my dauber or a blending brush. That kind of, those little things. My tweezers. I'm a tweezer girl. Um, I love my tweezers. Can't scrapbook without them.

Yeah, those kind of things in the front. And then when I finish what I'm doing, I take all that out and then put something else in there. I do keep white cardstock in there at all times because I- I'm always looking for white cardstock.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm

Angela Speir: And those are really two of the main things that I'm bringing with me. Because my system didn't work. I didn't have a system. Like I said, I am not an organized person. I never have been. This is me trying to embrace my inner ADHD brain that, you know, trying to put things where I can actually find it. We'll see how it works. I'm using all clear bins, open storage where I can see it, because I'm also an out of sight, out of mind [00:44:00] person.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, interesting. Yeah I'm the one like, I don't know if you're familiar with the, the Clutterbug system. I.

Angela Speir: Oh, yes.

Jennifer Wilson: Need closed storage. I do not wanna see it, otherwise it is so overwhelming to me. I can't. Yeah.

Angela Speir: Uh, uh, I got to see it, which is my cubes. I do have closed storage, um, for some things. And I am liking that so far because it's things like my mixed media stuff that I don't really need to see. I know I have, and I know where it's at. Um, paper, I've got to see it. I, I have to. If I don't, I forget what I have.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah, I get it.

Angela Speir: So but yes, Cass has definitely changed the way I think about things, and, she actually was the one who gave me the big push to, finally take the leap and tell myself, "I can do this." So we shall see if she's right.

Jennifer Wilson: I think you can. You will, you will. [00:45:00] So with that in mind where would you like your scrapbooking to be, uh, another decade from now?

Angela Speir: Number one, I hope to still be scrapbooking because I will be old by then.

I would like for it to be to the point where my grandkids and my kids can look at my albums and remember all the good times and remember the emotions that were evoked, and to know that I love them. And they are the best parts of me and the best thing that's ever happened to me. And I want my layouts to be able to show that. And, you know, I hope to still be scrapbooking, um, the fun stuff, not birthdays.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: Not Christmas. My grandkids laugh all the time 'cause, I mean, like, some of them don't even have [00:46:00] first birthday layouts. They're like, "Nee Nee," and I'm like, "Uh, yeah, I'm gonna get to it, um, I promise." So y'all know I don't like doing that kind of stuff, and then they, they laugh and they're like, "We know." So, But that's what I... I hope that I'm still, uh, I'm still scrapbooking the memories that I want to scrapbook. The ones that make me feel happy and the ones that speak to my heart.

Jennifer Wilson: Ah, I love your, I love your approach and I love the way you think about scrapbooking. Um, my final question for today, what have you learned as being a scrapbooker? What have you learned about yourself, about life?

Angela Speir: I've learned that, life is fleeting. Uh, don't blink because they do grow up way too fast. You know, um, when my kids were little, I don't remember a lot of it, if that makes sense. You know, I was in the mix. You know, I was the one doing the raising. I was the one doing the, you know, baseball, all ... I mean, softball [00:47:00] and cheerleading and, you know, prom and, you know, those kind of things.

I was always the one that was the catalyst for everything. And, I was a stay-at-home mom for years, and so that was kind of... You know, I don't ... I mean, I remember things, but then I'll look back and go, you know, there's years that I'm just like, I d- I, I'm like just blank when I think about it. I'm like, you know, like how did they grow up?

You know, how can my daughter be in her 40s? You know, that's crazy. With my grandkids, you know, I had, I had time to appreciate it. I'm a very lucky person.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: Like I said, until two years ago I saw my grandkids on a regular basis, all seven of them. They lived very close, within 15 minutes of my house.

And, I've learned that, you know, t- time is fleeting. You know, when, when they're little, don't blink [00:48:00] because the next thing you know, they're driving and g- and, and they're graduating high school and, you know, and so you wanna soak up all those memories. Um, I've learned to take the picture, even when they say, "Nene, put the camera away."

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: My son-in-law, you know, he hates ... he'll be like, "Oh my God, she's in her photography mode again." And I'll be like, "Sorry, dude. You know, this is the way it is around here." And he's like, "I know." Um, my oldest grandson, the 21-year-old, you know, he's pretty good at corralling the grandkids even now because he's learned.

He tells them, "Just smile and then she'll stop." You know? So I've learned if I take the picture, then there's always one day to scrapbook it. And I've learned that I love to create. I love to be free to do me.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: And s- [00:49:00] it's, it is a, it's a passion of mine. I love making pretty things. And I love that they have meaning. And- They make me happy and that's who I scrapbook for.

I mean, I love that my grandkids love to look at them. I like that my kids like to look at them. But in the end, it's for me. It's to make me happy. You know.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Angela Speir: I am the memory keeper. I'm the only scrapbooker, you know, in my family. And yeah, but the thing is that in the end, I'm the one who has to be happy.

Jennifer Wilson: No doubt. I totally agree. Yeah. can you share where our listeners can find you online? Anything you have new or, or coming up in the second half this year? I guess, I guess it's your, all about your workspace for sure.

Angela Speir: Yeah, it's all about my workspace. Um, you can follow me on Instagram. Uh,

I am my_scrappy_adventure or [00:50:00] adventures. Is it adventure or adventures?

Jennifer Wilson: We will include the correct link in the show notes for the episode.

Angela Speir: Okay. Um, that is where I, s- share my scrapbooking. I also, it's also on my Facebook page, but most people, it's my personal page, and most people don't follow that.

Um, I don't have a scrappy's, uh, Facebook page. That's, it's all I can do to have one, and that's to stalk my family essentially. And, so that's it. I- no design teams, no, you know, no YouTube. I'm not tech-savvy enough yet. I would love to make YouTube videos at some time in the future, but, yeah, it's gonna be in the future.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, you're very scrapbook savvy 'cause your pages are quite lovely, so I appreciate you spending time with me.

Angela Speir: Thank you. It was great.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, thanks for the chat. And to all of our remember that you have permission to scrapbook your way. [00:51:00]

Shanel Pettijohn: [00:00:00] I do enjoy shapes. I have a lot of dies in different shapes. And when I sit down, I, I like to think of a scrapbook layout as building a visual story. So then I just let the story and the photographs guide my decision. Sometimes I let the paper and product guide my decision before the photographs. It could go either way.

Jennifer Wilson: Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way, the show that explores the breadth of ways to be a memory keeper today. I'm your host, Jennifer Wilson, owner of Simple Scrapper and author of The New Rules of Scrapbooking. This is episode 342. In this episode, I'm chatting with Shanel Pettijohn about her colorful, shape-driven approach to 12 by 12 scrapbooking and how her creative practice has evolved from raising three boys to embracing life as a grandmother

Hey, Shanel welcome to Scrapbook Your Way.

Shanel Pettijohn: Hi, how are you?

Jennifer Wilson: I am good. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better in our conversation [00:01:00] today. Can you start by sharing a little bit about yourself?

Shanel Pettijohn: Sure, I'd love to. Thanks for having me, by the way. I'm Shanel of course. I'm originally from Tennessee, but I live in Oklahoma now. I've actually been here for many years now. Um, I am an elementary school teacher. I've been teaching for 12 years. Actually, now I am a reading interventionist, so I get to work with students one-on-one who have some barriers to learning, such as dyslexia.

I really enjoy my job when I'm not scrapbooking, of course. And I have three amazing sons who are now young men, all grown up. Super proud of them as well.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm curious how your scrapbooking changed as your sons went on to their own lives.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes, absolutely. You know, when you're, when you're raising children, and I had three boys, so it was a very loud, busy household, and I did set it aside for a few years. Because there just, I just couldn't work it in, [00:02:00] sadly. But now that I'm an empty nester, I have all the time to scrapbook, and I'm truly enjoying that hobby again, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, wonderful. I love hearing that. So Shanel do you have a favorite recent layout or project?

Shanel Pettijohn: I do actually. I made one last week. I created a layout that I'm completely smitten by. It has a layered sunburst that radiates across the page and has all the beautiful shades of blue with pops of color. If you've seen any of my scrapbook layouts, you know that I like a lot of color in my layouts.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Shanel Pettijohn: Um, this layout p- in particular, it just feels like a beautiful beach day, and I think that's why I love it so much.

The beach is one of my favorite places, and the colors of blue are so calming. So that has to be one of my favorites recently.

Jennifer Wilson: Awesome. Yeah, we'll definitely link, uh, share a link to that in the show notes.

Shanel Pettijohn: Okay, great. I'd love that.

Jennifer Wilson: Now, is there something new that you're excited to do, use, or try, either in scrapbooking or in your everyday life?

Shanel Pettijohn: Well, that's a great [00:03:00] question. I did, um, recently embark on a new journey, and it, it has to do with scrapbooking, but more on a very intimate personal level. I usually create 12 by 12 pages, and I love each of, each one of them. They're like a little piece of art all in themselves. But I started, um, in January a Project Life type scrapbook.

So it has pocket pages, and it's smaller, and I find that my journaling, weekly journaling of our stories is more personal and intimate, and I can share a photo or two to go along with that. So every week I sit down and review our week and what we did, where we went, what happened, and I get to write, um...

It's like I'm writing in a journal, I guess. I'm a big journaler. I've always journaled. I have stacks of journals laying around. So I li- I love to write. So this, this new scrapbook album is very personal to me.

Jennifer Wilson: And what size is it?

Shanel Pettijohn: It's nine by 12.

Jennifer Wilson: [00:04:00] Okay. Have you done Project Life in other sizes before?

Shanel Pettijohn: I have not.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay, so this is your first time. Fun.

Shanel Pettijohn: This, it is. It's my first time. So I do journal on my 12 by 12 layouts, but I journal on the back, and it's usually a very short blurb. So I enjoy the Project Life because I'm able to write more and tell our story.

Jennifer Wilson: How did you start journaling on the back of your pages?

Shanel Pettijohn: Well, again, I really enjoy the creative, artsy.

Jennifer Wilson: Uh-huh.

Shanel Pettijohn: Part of the 12 by 12 layout. So sometimes I will journal on the front, but most of the time I include the story on the back. Because, um, a couple of reasons. One, the stories are usually very personal to me, and when I share my layouts online, I, I don't wanna put that story out there with the details of my family. And number two, I just, I don't have room to write on the front. So that happens sometimes.

Jennifer Wilson: That makes sense. It seems like it solves multiple problems.

Shanel Pettijohn: [00:05:00] Yes, it does.

Jennifer Wilson: So tell us how you got into scrapbooking.

Shanel Pettijohn: Well, my first son was very young when I started, and I was invited over to a Creative Memories Crop. I think that's how a lot of us got started actually. But my neighbor invited me over to introduce me to scrapbooking, and I was just instantly hooked. So it really appealed to me, preserving our story, and I al- I've always taken a lot of photographs, so th- those are important to me. And what better way to marry those two than a scrapbook, right?

Jennifer Wilson: And so has your... It sounds like you've done predominantly 12 by 12 the whole time?

Shanel Pettijohn: I do. That's my, that's my preferred size. I do enjoy making mini albums as well. You know, little tag albums or.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Shanel Pettijohn: Four by four, six by six albums. But the 12 by 12 format seems to be the mo- my most popular.

Jennifer Wilson: And do you create single pages or double pages?

Shanel Pettijohn: I do mostly single pages.

Jennifer Wilson: Has it always been that way?

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes. [00:06:00] I, I'm not sure why. It's just my prefer- my preferred style, I guess. I, I find that a double page layout's a little intimidating maybe, so.

Jennifer Wilson: No, I could see that.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: So what is your biggest kind of why or motivation behind the hobby? You mentioned you started when your youngest son was, was quite little. A- and I'm always curious particularly at how that why even, you know, shifts over time 'cause, you know, now you're in a different season of life.

Shanel Pettijohn: I think the biggest why for all of us is just preserving our story, but it also allows me to nurture my creativity. Um, life moves so quickly, and scrapbooking allows us to capture those everyday moments and, and save them so that we can remember them later. And, and the creative outlet brings me so much joy.

It helps me recharge. It's good for my soul. It's almost like a therapy, you know. I need my scrapbook time as a, as a release from everyday stressors. So it serves a lot of purposes, I guess there's a lot of whys there.[00:07:00]

Jennifer Wilson: No doubt. I know.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, think we're all kind of bouncing around all the time, and it's whatever why is bringing us to the table, you know, that day that week.

Shanel Pettijohn: Very true.

Jennifer Wilson: It all makes a difference.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes. And now I have grandchildren, so I get to scrapbook them. And as a-- I've been a boy mom, you know, three boys, and I have all granddaughters now, four of them. So.

Jennifer Wilson: That's exciting.

Shanel Pettijohn: It's been a shift in my scrapbooking as well, so it's exciting.

Jennifer Wilson: Did you f- did you find that you had to kind of, uh, adjust your stash? Like, maybe you had a lot of, a lot of the maybe more traditional boy colors in your stash, and you found yourself suddenly buying more pinks?

Shanel Pettijohn: Absolutely, yes. I mean, I'm not afraid to use a lot of flowers on a boy layout either, so. But yes, absolutely. I needed more pink in my stash.

Jennifer Wilson: So I notice in looking through your pages that you use a lot of different shapes. And I'm not just talking about like, you know, the rectangles that we use for pattern paper a lot, but, you know, the, the [00:08:00] composition is very shape oriented. How do you sit down and plan out, uh, the composition of a new page?

Shanel Pettijohn: I do enjoy shapes. I have a lot of dies in different shapes. And when I sit down, I, I like to think of a scrapbook layout as building a visual story. So then I just let the story and the photographs guide my decision. Sometimes I let the paper and product guide my decision before the photographs. It could go either way.

So colors really speak to me, and if I, if I see a pattern that I like and, you know, that I want to use, then I start from there.

Jennifer Wilson: Are you typically starting with a photo or story?

Shanel Pettijohn: I, I do it both ways. Sometimes I start with a product and sometimes I start with a photograph.

Jennifer Wilson: Are there any shapes that you particularly have fun working with? Like, which, which dies get the most use?

Shanel Pettijohn: I think the circles. I think that's evident in my layouts probably. The circles tend to be my favorite. They create so much movement on a page, and they just help guide your [00:09:00] eye around the design. Plus, they're also just fun and playful. You can do so many designs with circles, half circles, full circles, scalloped circles.

I stitch on them. So that has to be my favorite. Hexagons, probably my second favorite choice.

Jennifer Wilson: I remember back in the day I was always looking for a hexagon punch and I n- 'cause I didn't have a manual die cut machine at that time and I don't know that, I don't think I ever found one.

Shanel Pettijohn: I don't think I've ever seen one of those either. That's interesting. Never really thought about it, but yes.

Jennifer Wilson: So you mentioned that you do a lot of sewing. Are you, do you ever sew, like, around a circle, or are we sewing just across the circle? Because, you know, I, I feel like I have a reasonable amount of sewing experience, but I can't sew in a circle for the life of me.

Shanel Pettijohn: Circles are difficult, but I hand stitch. So I, I do have a sewing machine. I'm not real good on it, but I like to hand stitch on my layouts with embroidery thread. So, you know, before I stitch, I make the the holes with the paper piercer, so it's pretty easy to follow the circle that [00:10:00] way. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: That makes perfect sense. Duh. Okay.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes, no problem.

Jennifer Wilson: I never think about that, that people, some people are hand-stitching. I always just assume that, that it's a sewing machine.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: So tell us more about how you, how you do that. Do you ever find, like, it's hard to get, you know, you have too many layers and I can't, I can't pierce this anymore, or, um, how do you protect your surface beneath it?

Shanel Pettijohn: Yeah, you have to be careful when you're stitching. You don't wanna have too many layers on there, but sometimes I will do several layouts and save my stitching for later because it's just very relaxing to me. So I grab my stitching materials, my layout, I turn on a good movie, and I, I can stitch and watch a movie and just relax.

So that just fills my time, I guess.

Jennifer Wilson: Do you, like pencil in the holes first? Like do you measure out and, and, and draw dots or are you doing it kind of freehand?

Shanel Pettijohn: No, I typically like to draw with a pencil first. I use a ruler to trace my lines, or [00:11:00] in the case of a circle, I would use a smaller circle die on top of my circle on the page so that I can create an outline. So I draw it with a pencil and then I use my paper piercer to punch the holes. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice. I'm learning a lot of, a lot of tricks here. So I, I need to rethink that.

Shanel Pettijohn: Good. Yes

Jennifer Wilson: Somewhere in the closet there is a whole box of embroidery floss, so.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes, dig it out. Let's get started.

Jennifer Wilson: So you scrapbook a lot for design teams. Who are you currently working with, and what are your responsibilities for those teams?

Shanel Pettijohn: Uh, I currently design for Pear Tree Cut Files. I've been with them for almost a year, and then I design for Hip Kit Club. I've been with them for several months now. And there are a lot of responsibilities with a design team. But I think the goal is just, not just about creating projects to showcase product, but to create some educational content and build community for those brands.

So [00:12:00] I think those are important responsibilities as well. When I joined the Hip Kit Club design team, I was asked to create process videos on YouTube, and this terrified me. Because I had never done that before. And I am shy and introverted, so being on camera was a terrifying idea. But I have a few episodes now, a few process videos that I've completed, and my confidence is better.

My confidence is much higher than it was. Uh, there's always room to improve, but I'm getting better and, and more relaxed in the process now. So that's been a learning curve and a, and a good experience.

Jennifer Wilson: Do you do primarily kind of sped up voiceovers, or do you do real time?

Shanel Pettijohn: No, I don't do real time. It's voiceovers. Yes. So I had a lot of-- I'm not very tech-savvy, so I've had to learn a lot and it's, it's been good. I'm feeling good about it, so...

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, I'm so glad. Yeah, I think every year it's gotten.

Shanel Pettijohn: [00:13:00] Thanks.

Jennifer Wilson: A little easier. I, I mean, even with just the equipment we have now to make things easier.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes

Jennifer Wilson: Some of the rigs that we had a decade, 15 years ago even, to be able to, to f- film or take photos over our tables were a little, little crazy. And now there's so many different things that are just meant for that.

Shanel Pettijohn: Oh, I'm sure. Yes. I'm sure it, it has changed tremendously in the last few years. It makes it a lot easier for us.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yeah, I, and I'm glad. It just means that more people, it's easier to share and to, as you said, continue to foster this community around our hobby, which is, is one of the best parts for sure.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes, and I had no idea how many people watched process videos on YouTube. A- and now that I've started producing them, I also enjoy to watch other people, and I can-- you can learn so much, um, a new technique or a new trick. Um, they're really fun, amazing to watch, so there are some very talented YouTubers out [00:14:00] there.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, and a, a couple years ago I started taking some classes, and I'm like, "You know, I just want to, to, to be told step by step what to do. Because it's not gonna be necessarily what I would do on my own."

Shanel Pettijohn: Right.

Jennifer Wilson: Learned so many, so many tricks that I would've never, never thought to do or never even noticed on someone else's page, but then they tell you to do it and I'm like, "Oh, that, that does make a difference."

Like.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: Taking embellishments and, kind of crinkling them and folding them a little bit, like especially die cuts, to, to make them look less just like a flat piece of paper.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes, absolutely. We can learn so much from each other.

Jennifer Wilson: So when you are starting with a product or maybe you have a design concept, whether it's your, you know, your cut file or you're using a sketch, how do you go about selecting the photos and, and figuring out what this page is gonna be about?

Shanel Pettijohn: For the design teams, are we talking about those assignments or just any assignment?

Jennifer Wilson: Either. No, I mean, if anytime you're starting with a product or a design concept, and you're not starting with, you know, "This is a story I wanna tell.

Shanel Pettijohn: [00:15:00] Right. This seems to be the big debate in scrapbooking and, and it always has been, like, which comes first, the photos or the product? So.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Shanel Pettijohn: But, you know, the preference is up to the individual. I, I think both ways are just whichever way you prefer. Both ways are good ways to start. So, um, I've al- I think I mentioned earlier, I've always been inspired by colors and patterns, so for me, the product often comes first. And then I decide which photographs are gonna go with this layout.

Um, I do have thousands of photographs of my children as they were growing up, so a lot of selection there. But I, I like to do the design with the paper, the product, and then, and then choose my pictures. Uh, a neat little technique that I use often is if the photographs have colors that clash with your layout that you've just created, then you can always use a black and white photo.

I, I use a lot of black and white photos, [00:16:00] especially with bright colors or, or moody, subtle colors. They look phenomenal on a scrapbook page, so.

Jennifer Wilson: I just noticed this new collection that came out this week. It's actually a black and white collection for camping, and I'm like, "Wow, that means.

Shanel Pettijohn: Oh.

Jennifer Wilson: Any photo, any color photos are gonna go with this. I had never seen anything like that before.

Shanel Pettijohn: I love that.

Jennifer Wilson: what have you learned about your own process from designing on a deadline for your design teamwork?

Shanel Pettijohn: I think that was, uh, a struggle at first. I think it would be for anyone, because when you're... You know, it's a challenge when you have a product and a deadline, and maybe that day you're not feeling very creative. We all have those blocks. So I tend to pull out a sketch when that happens. Because I may not follow the sketch exactly, but it gives me a jumping off point, and it kind of helps me, uh, make the visual story in my head so that I can put it on the paper.

I try to stay ahead , on my calendar on [00:17:00] my design team assignments. So that I'm not waiting till the last minute to, to create something that's due tomorrow.

Jennifer Wilson: As someone who has their own team, uh, we're very appreciative of people who do that.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes. I mean, I'm not saying there hasn't been a time when I cut it to the wire, but yes. Yeah, I think planning is very important. You just have to plan ahead, and I actually keep a calendar with all my assignments on it. So that I know what's coming up next, and I try to stay organized.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, no, and r- and yeah, my, my team is amazing. Some of them have been with me since the very beginning, so for 13, 14, 15 years now. It's kinda crazy. So.

Shanel Pettijohn: Oh, wow. That's amazing.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I have, I have.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Very, some very loyal, creators that,

create for us, so.

Shanel Pettijohn: Good.

Jennifer Wilson: So you mentioned Hip Kit Club before.

Um, for someone who's never worked with a kit that's like theirs, what is the benefit? [00:18:00] It's, it's different than working with a collection, but it is designed to go together.

Shanel Pettijohn: It, it is. And that was, I've been a subscriber to Hip Kit Club for several years now. Um, so the draw to me was that, um, much like Pear Tree Cut Files, the, the Hip Kit Club products are all designed and manufactured by them. So they're unique and exclusive in that you can't go to any online retailer or any local scrapbook store and purchase their product.

Um, it strictly comes in the kit. And they're, they're very, it's a high-end curation of paper, card stock, embellishments, and options to add on each month. You can add on an exclusive monthly die that they introduce during the month or stamps. They have a color kit that matches each monthly kit. So you have a lot of options there.

And honestly, the box, the kit is just a huge [00:19:00] collection of supplies for the money. So I always... That, that was my draw to the kits to begin with.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, and, uh, I mean, they are, they are massive. And I remember I'd, I'd already made, like, a bunch of layouts with, with two different kits, and then I kind of combined them together 'cause they, they were coordinated enough, and I'm like, "I.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: Still have enough to make 15, 20 more pages here."

Shanel Pettijohn: Absolutely, yes. I love that as well. Uh, the Hip Kit Club, you can mix any kit from any month and they seem to go together. So even though the design and the colors are different from month to month, somehow they all coordinate together and I enjoy that part, too. I'm like you, I like mixing kits sometimes, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes. Yes. So I just noticed they launched a digital store. Can you tell us more about that if you're able to?

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes, they, they've always had an online storefront, but they did renovate it recently to include more [00:20:00] digital and hybrid products, I guess. Um, they're, they've introduced a lot more cut files than they normally have carried in the past, and I understand from Kimberly, the owner, that they're going to release a hybrid collection later this month.

So it will be a printable collection that will, that will include staples for any, any kit, uh, such as tags, ephemera in, you know, in solid and coordinating colors. So that you can just have those on hand when you need them, which is a wonderful idea. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

I've had a lot of guests on that have talked about the challenges of shipping and tariffs and, and all these different issues, and it is becoming increasingly expensive, especially for our scrapbooking friends who live around the world to, to get access to physical supplies. So the complement of having digital items that they can print at home, um, is helping keep some folks connected to the hobby.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes, absolutely. And Kimberly and Robert, [00:21:00] the owners of Hip Kit Club, they did just recently announce that they're going to, for the first time ever, pause their monthly kits for two months. Because they're moving their business and their home from one state to another. So that's a huge transition.

So for the next two months, we won't have the monthly physical kit. So I think that's why they have put a lot of energy and time into building their online store to offer those products during the time that their physical s- kits aren't shipping out, which is a... it's a great perk. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, for sure. For who'd love to be on a design team someday, what would you tell them to focus on?

Shanel Pettijohn: That's a good question as well. I think you just have to put yourself out there. I was a little nervous about doing that at first. And I hadn't really thought about sharing my pages online until a friend encouraged me to do so. Um, and let your style shine. I, I'm like you and anybody [00:22:00] else, I like to...

I like all the new trends, and I like to-- all the new techniques that are always being introduced. But I, I like to treat the new trends like an inspiration buffet rather than a checklist.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yeah, it's very easy to get overwhelmed by all the layouts online and the new trends, but, you know, you have to filter it through your own lens.

Embrace your own inner voice and creativity. Um, we all have different styles, and that's what makes scrapbooking wonderful and unique. They're all different, so just like people. And you have to do what makes you happy. When I create a layout, and it makes me happy, then I know that I'm, you know, I'm satisfied with that layout.

I, I do like to put them online and share them with others, but, you know, don't get discouraged by the, the likes or the comments and just embrace your style. That, that would be my main advice, I guess.

Jennifer Wilson: I love that. Yeah. No, that's great.

Shanel Pettijohn: Thanks. [00:23:00] Thanks.

Jennifer Wilson: So how does your process differ when you are designing a new layout around a cut file versus, uh, a kit or other product or, or even a story?

Shanel Pettijohn: Oh, absolutely. Designing with a cut file is a little different than just designing a scrapbook page. I mean, the process itself bridges the whole digital design that we talked about earlier, with the physical paper crafting. Because you have to use an electronic cutting machine to cut your cut file out of paper before you get started.

So, um, there, and there's so many creative possibilities too. You can back your cut file with a solid or a pattern paper. You can distress it with ink oxide. You can color them by blending ink on them with a blending brush or hand stitch details. You can put them on your layout, you know, as a flat embellishment, or you can use foam adhesive, which is really fun with a cut file.

It creates the shadows on the page, and.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Shanel Pettijohn: It's one of my favorite ways anyway.

Jennifer Wilson: Well and [00:24:00] there's a, there's a technique I learned from card makers, um, and I haven't personally done it with, uh, electronically cut pieces, but I have with manually. Of layering multiples to, to create that dimension so it's not just the, the thickness of a piece of card stock.

Shanel Pettijohn: Oh, absolutely. That's a great technique. Yes. It kind of ma- it kind of gives it a look of a chipboard accent rather than just a card stock. Thick, yes.

Jennifer Wilson: So you, you did mention that you don't feel as, as tech savvy as others, but you are learning. Are there any particular tips or tricks about using your electronic die-cutting machine that have simplified the process for you?

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes. Uh, when I first began cut files, I would trace the cut file, you know, just flip it over and trace it backwards on the paper, and there's a lot of fussy cutting there. I'm gonna be honest, I, I, uh, do not enjoy fussy cutting anything, so it's just, it's not my thing. So, um, I did learn from another, as we talked about earlier, experienced process video [00:25:00] YouTuber, um, a way on the Cricut to contour the cut file so that it cuts the inside pieces for you.

And it doesn't... Yeah, it doesn't always work, but most of the time it does, and that makes the cutting much easier on a cut file.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Well and I think that, um, I would imagine that those who wanna use digital supplies like digital papers could, you know, back their cut files that way and then print and cut those, and that would make it even easier, so.

Shanel Pettijohn: Absolutely, yes. I love that idea. There are so many cool techniques out there.

Jennifer Wilson: I know, yeah, and it's, it's sometimes you mention, like, don't treat them as a checklist, but sometimes, like, I wanna, particularly around, like, maybe December Daily. Like I wanna try these different techniques, and so I make a list, but I always try to just match things up. Like, okay, I wanna try this technique with this story or this product.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: With this story, um, to try to feel like I'm accomplishing multiple goals at once, I guess.[00:26:00]

Shanel Pettijohn: Absolutely. I love that. Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: So Shanel what are you excited about creating next?

Shanel Pettijohn: Oh, I don't know. I just love creating all the time, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Shanel Pettijohn: I'm more excited about, you know, what, what product is gonna come out next that I can play with. Even though I have a huge stash over here of things I need to use it before I do that. But I just look forward to my crafty time every day because I, you know, I, it just brings me so much joy.

Um, Kimberly and Robert, the owners of Hip Kit Club, I don't know if you know about their online community, but they created an online community on the school platform. It's called Craft and Connect. So that, for me, has been something I look forward to every week. They have an online crop on, you know, twice a week.

So, you know, if you remember the local scrapbook stores, you could go in to a crop, an all-night crop even, and, you know, you would talk with friends and create with [00:27:00] them and share ideas and, and that's what this community brings to me. So I do look forward to that every week. Um, I have made some tremendous friends on there from all over the world, and we meet, we scrapbook together.

You know, we're on camera. We can see each other, and we can talk to each other. I know it's not the same as being in person, but it's that sense of community that I think is so important. Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: They, I think they've done a really wonderful job with that community, and I love that it's, um... Our, our community is also off Facebook using a different platform. And I, and I love, uh, inviting people to, uh, have a sense of focus and concentration when they are engaging with their fellow scrapbookers rather than what perhaps Facebook does in terms of making us jump around to all the places.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes, I completely agree. I love the fact that you've created a community as well. That's, that's so important because we share this common hobby with each other and, and you can make some really [00:28:00] close friendships in those communities.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I, we just, scrapbookers are the best. Um, just the, you know, kindest, most, most thoughtful people, and I'm, and I'm so grateful to be part of this community.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes, absolutely. I am very-- I admire you and, and the, uh, the women that, that run the two company, that own the two companies that I design for. I just think that, you know, taking your creative passion and making it your, your livelihood and putting so much passion in, in, into your business is very admirable.

So.

Jennifer Wilson: Thank you. Yeah, no, it's, it's very cool to see for sure.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yeah

Jennifer Wilson: So can you share where our listeners can find you online and anything else you might have newer coming up later this year?

Shanel Pettijohn: Okay. I have an Instagram account that I use predominantly, and it is @shadell_craftwithme. That is my name, my username on Instagram, so. Also share products on the Hip Kit Club, [00:29:00] um, Facebook group and the Pear Tree Cut Files Inspiration Facebook group as well.

Jennifer Wilson: Thank you for spending time with me, and to all of our listeners, please remember that you have permission to scrapbook your way.

Leilani Schirmer: [00:00:00] I see a lot online about whimsy. But it is true. Like people need more whimsy in their life. Like it doesn't have to be so serious. Or as you get older I think people lose that sense of self. And you can still have fun and be colorful and have like a a bit of a childlike wonder even though you're an adult.

Jennifer Wilson: Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way, the show that explores the breadth of ways to be a memory keeper today. I'm your host, Jennifer Wilson, owner of Simple Scrapper, and author of The New Rules of Scrapbooking. This is episode 341. In this episode, I'm chatting with Leilani Schirmer about nostalgia, why we love looking back, and how she weaves childhood pop culture, physical media, and playful collections into her scrapbooking and everyday life

Welcome back to Scrapbook Your Way, Leilani.

Leilani Schirmer: Hi.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm excited to chat with you again. We have a really fun topic today. Can you remind our listeners a little bit about yourself?

Leilani Schirmer: Sure Hi I'm Leilani I [00:01:00] live in Mississippi with my husband and our two dogs and our cats and all the neighborhood critters that I always end up taking care of. Uh we also we also live on the same property as my parents I'm really close to them so we're neighbors. So that's really nice. Um and as far as my scrapbooking goes uh I've really scrapbooked as long as I can remember. I have scrapbooks back from middle school. And whenever I was really young I always was the one in the family that loved to uh organize the photos put them in the albums, all that kind of stuff. But I've been consistently scrapbooking and like doing Project Life things like that since 2018. And I started to share my stuff online in 2020.

Jennifer Wilson: Great. Yes, yes. So do you have a favorite recent layout or project?

Leilani Schirmer: Okay So I would say my alltime favorite project has to be Project Life. I'm I still do Project Life. I'm a I am a a tried and true Project Lifer. And I just love [00:02:00] everyday life memories. And so I I have a lot of fun still doing that. And I'm old school I do the week blah blah blah. And I do a 12 by 12 album. Which I know a lot of people try to get away from. They are huge but I love them. Um but another thing I am excited to do that's more recent is my summer junk journal. So.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Leilani Schirmer: I've done that like uh I think this is my fourth year. Um and I I love that one because it's a little bit different. I'll get a thrifted children's book and deconstruct it and take it apart but still use the front and back covers and all the pages inside and then add scrapbook paper. And I use the Cinch tool and then kind of create a summer junk journal So that's a fun one.

Jennifer Wilson: How do you decide what ends up going in the junk journal versus your Project Life? In terms of like maybe bought a fun summer bathing suit and you have the tag from that. Where does that go?

Leilani Schirmer: Yeah Okay so that would definitely go in the junk journal. That is [00:03:00] hard because I don't love to double scrap, you know. So it kind of depends. The summer junk journal would probably have even smaller micro stories of summer. Like I was mentioning to my friend the other day that I somewhat accidentally bought an $18 bag of cherries from Whole Foods. And so I was like I have to eat these cherries. So I think that that will go in the summer junk journal. And I probably wouldn't have mentioned that in Project Life, you know. But cherries are like a summer fruit. So I'm like maybe if I make things with it I would include that. Like you said the new bathing suit. But it will also house larger stories. Like me and my husband just visited his family in California. So I'm sure that's gonna go in there somewhere. And and it'll be a little bit of double scrapping. But in a totally different way than Project Life which are larger photos pockets. The the um junk journal is obviously gonna be smaller, and more like um I I don't know It doesn't have such a layout you know It's kind of like [00:04:00] anything goes in that one.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, it's really like kind of the opposite of Project Life.

Leilani Schirmer: It is yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm curious before, before we go on, with your Project Life, what... Are you using a particular collection o- of cards these days?

Leilani Schirmer: So I usually use Elle's Studio um or Elle's Studio I never know. But I am on their design team. And I love Elle's Studio products. I think they're so fun for Project Life specifically. Because I love a theme. And I kind of love to like lightly theme my album for each like as the passing of the seasons go and things like that. So I think that they're like perfect for that and they have like a lot of small alphas things that are easy to use in Project Life. And this year and kind of last year I've been on a quest to not buy scrapbook supplies or a very small amount. Because I like most of us have a ton of stuff. So I've really been trying to use what I [00:05:00] have So that's kind of been my goto has been the Ellie Studio.

Jennifer Wilson: Fantastic. Yeah, they have really, consistently designed products. I love how no matter when you grab an item from, it's all gonna kind of go together.

Leilani Schirmer: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: And be cohesive, so.

Leilani Schirmer: That's so true. I have past Project Lifes where the l the different layouts will be totally different and that doesn't bother me at all. But I have to say it's really satisfying to look through like a full Project Life album, and they're all different and themed. But it all kind of just flows together nicely and I do really like that.

Jennifer Wilson: So do you end up needing two albums to do a whole year?

Leilani Schirmer: I do. I do.

Jennifer Wilson: It's okay.

Leilani Schirmer: I uh you know I I see so much online about that. And I you know I don't have kids. And so I'm like you know what If I have to fill up every space in my house with these albums I'm gonna do it. I don't care I love my albums I love my 12x12 albums. And I'm gonna keep doing them. You know that's just the way it is. But I do wish I could fit it all into one. But it just doesn't happen. And I [00:06:00] do add in, the majority is definitely pockets. But in the past I have included like layouts of different sizes some 12x12 or smaller. But I don't really do those anymore. Um but I do sometimes do inserts in like additional pages. So it gets big.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I get it. I get it. I think sometimes we undervalue, uh, the experience and, like, the deeper why behind what this gives us in our everyday life, connecting us to our gratitude and a- and.

Leilani Schirmer: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: Making us feel creative. And yeah, the, the, the story, the memory, the legacy part, that is important. But I don't think that's, that's solely or even dominantly what keeps people coming back to the table every day, every week.

Leilani Schirmer: Oh I completely agree. I mean for me I I do love looking back on them. Just just me. Um no one else really looks at my albums. But I do go back and look. But um.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Leilani Schirmer: With with not having kids, um I don't really have like Oh this is [00:07:00] a this is my legacy. This is I'm gonna pass these on one day or something like that. Like it is solely for me It's the practice of just creating and the joy that that brings me.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes, I love that. So I also like to ask our guests, um, this other question. Is there something new you're excited to do, use, or try? Um, either inside your scrapbooking or in your everyday life?

Leilani Schirmer: Okay I was excited about this one. Because um, so this year I have been, I don't know if you've seen this a lot but on my feed at least it was everywhere the analog bag. And people are trying to go more analog. Which I think goes along with the nostalgia story of today. But um so this year I was really wanting to focus on staying off my phone. And trying to stop doom scrolling. I mean we all do it but I wanted to try to help myself. So I did create an analog bag a few or like a hobby bag, um a few months back. So I just grabbed a bag that I had and I filled it up with [00:08:00] just easy things that I could play around with whenever I'm usually by myself. Um my husband kind of has later hours and stuff. So sometimes I have a lot of free time. And um yeah so I have my sticker book, my coloring books, word searches just fun things like that. But that's really helped a lot and I've enjoyed that. But another thing kind of going along with that same idea, is uh I've been sharing the past three months on Instagram, my monthly makes post. And so that consists of other crafts that I've been working on that aren't scrapbooking related. But still just crafty. So for instance I've tried out like air dry clay or making bag charms. I've made felt uh bday ribbons for my friend's little girl. And lately I've been creating my own nails. Like paint you know painting my own nails and and doing different nail art. So just trying out different crafty, whimsical, fun projects. Has been like a big thing for me this year.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I've really [00:09:00] gotten into nails myself. I never thought I would be this person, and now I'm like, "I am totally this person."

Leilani Schirmer: Oh I love that. I love that. It's so fun and making them yourself oh there's a whole new world. Like it's just so crazy how each and each craft has its own thing. You know. So there's so many different types of things I wanna try out with the nails.

Jennifer Wilson: Its own community. And like, you know, I really enjoy watching.

Leilani Schirmer: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: A lot of YouTube videos. And so, like of course there's niche creators in that realm too. Those that do lacquer versus gel, and it's, yeah, it's, it's so fascinating.

Leilani Schirmer: Oh my goodness I haven't even gotten that far. So that's I'm sure I have a whole world to dive into.

Jennifer Wilson: So actually had a couple people say, "You need to have Leilani back on to talk about nostalgia. Because you've done some projects related to this. It's something that you are just like, that excites you and gets you interested." So I thought we could set the stage for this conversation by sharing our graduation years, which making people do math instead of knowing exactly how old we are. Um, just to like give [00:10:00] them context for what we consider nostalgia and what is, um, you know, what feels old to us, I guess.

Leilani Schirmer: Exactly. Well mine is 2005.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay. Mine is 1998.

Leilani Schirmer: Okay, great years.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, yeah. So, and also like a little n- enough, you know, separation there that we have maybe different things that we've been interested in, so.

Leilani Schirmer: Definitely.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Like I saw a, uh, a preview today for the new Elle show on Prime Video. Which is from the Legally Blonde world. And I'm like, "Oh my gosh, that movie came out 25 years ago. And now like a teen Heartthrob who I liked from back in that day is now the dad in this show."

Leilani Schirmer: Exactly. Exactly. I don't mind you know if you don't wanna do the math um this year is my 40th year. Which is.

Jennifer Wilson: Uh.

Leilani Schirmer: Big one. Yeah it's a big deal. And.

Jennifer Wilson: It is. It is.

Leilani Schirmer: It's and so yeah it's crazy to think about all the you know these different [00:11:00] things like that like. Like you said you know someone who you relate to you're same age now they're the parent on the show. Or there's so many things right now that are um going through like the anniversary of you know like s bringing it back for the 30th for the 25th. All of that kind of stuff. So it is exciting for us that are into nostalgia. But it does kind of um you know it's a rude awakening sometimes.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, for sure. And I think comparing it to what we thought was old when we were young.

Leilani Schirmer: Oh my gosh.

Jennifer Wilson: Even trippier part to think about 30 years before the '90s was the '60s. How is that possible?

Leilani Schirmer: Yeah and back then I don't know it felt real It felt so long ago. Like the 60s seemed ancient. But the 90s seem like yesterday. So it's really weird.

Jennifer Wilson: So there's been a surge of Instagram accounts and probably, I, I guess there are YouTube channels too. I've certainly seen, like, you know, this is, you know, one evening on MTV from 1991. And it's [00:12:00] just, like, three hours interrupted that somebody converted from their VHS. And it's, it's just, it's mind-boggling, and it's so fascinating.

What do you think... Why do you think we love this so much?

Leilani Schirmer: You know I was trying to think about this one. And I think h as you get older you just naturally love looking back on the past. And thinking of maybe a simpler time. And uh definitely I feel as you get older you start to like notice your generation compared to the newer generation. And you think yours is obviously dominant. Like in my mind I think well the 90s is the best, clearly. And then you look at the young kids now and you're like What are they thinking. And I know people thought that about my time being a millennial. And you know all of that. But I think it's just it's nice to look back on um things from the past. I think especially now maybe everyone feels this way. See this is the part that gets you. But I feel like the [00:13:00] jump from the 90s to now with technology and with the way the world works is so different. And I truly do feel like it was a simpler time. Than with things like being able to rent movies burn CDs like appointment viewing. Like we had to wait and be patient and be like have that anticipation for things. And sometimes I think that's really missed these days.

Jennifer Wilson: I actually really appreciate it when like new series come out on Apple TV and they actually made us, make us wait a week. 'cause it does create appointment viewing again. We're like, "Oh, it's, it's out today." You know, maybe we're watching it on our own, you know, clock schedule, but still we're excited that the new episode is out and we're gonna watch it right away.

Leilani Schirmer: That is true Like sometimes I will be like Ugh I wanna binge this. You know I'm like annoyed and whatever. But it is really nice Or like if you are watching that with someone else and then you can like talk about the new episode. Cause that was things that we used to do back like in high school and stuff. And you would talk about the new episode of some [00:14:00] show. You know, and that's It is a little more fun I think.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, it helps, I think, individual episodes kind of stand alone more. Like, there's, there, you can talk about it.

Leilani Schirmer: True.

Jennifer Wilson: If you just binge the whole thing, you're really just, you know, covering the broad strokes of what happened, did you like it.

Not, you know, did you remember what happened in, you know, episode three? That was just crazy. Um.

Leilani Schirmer: Exactly.

Jennifer Wilson: I actually like watching shows these days, like even if I'm binging it, I watch it in tandem with a friend. So we kinda keep up with which episode we're on and try not to do any spoilers. But then we can talk about it episode by episode.

Leilani Schirmer: You know it's funny me and my mom kind of do that a lot. And also uh with one of my best friends. We we just started this but we were watching uh the newer season of Traitors. And we did that and it was so f it really did make it so much more fun. And I paid attention more. Like I wasn't on my phone and stuff because I knew I would want to like go recap with her afterwards. You know. So I found that yeah I was more in the [00:15:00] moment.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I have to, uh, kind of pull myself back on my Googling with shows that have already completely ended and I'm starting from the beginning. Because there'll always be that one fact in the headline that, you know, it- by that time it was common knowledge that so-and-so died or whatever. I'm like, "No, I don't wanna know."

Leilani Schirmer: Oh true. You know and i in that same idea a lot of times when I'm watching shows or movies or whatever. You know how you are. You start googling the cast. And and and a lot of them they they will have kind of traumatic stories or they will have passed. And I'm like Okay maybe I just shouldn't look at this right now. Whenever I'm trying to enjoy the movie cause a lot of times it's it's a movie from like 30 40 years ago.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, there's some things that don't age well for sure.

Leilani Schirmer: Exact. Exactly. Like I sh I just shouldn't know that.

Jennifer Wilson: So what are some of your favorite sources for nostalgia inspiration these days?

Leilani Schirmer: Okay I have two big ones and some smaller ones. Um because [00:16:00] this is basically my entire feed. This is all I consume. I'm like in the rabbit hole of nostalgia. So I have a lot. But two of my very favorite things are and and if anyone follows me in any way you're gonna be like Okay you've talked about this so much but I can't help it. My favorite podcast is the Cool Kids Club podcast. So it's a brother and sister, Amy and Justin. And they just It it's just really conversational. They're funny and silly and I just personally like them. But they talk about obviously nostalgia from the 80s mostly 90s maybe some early 2000s. So they go over just the the gamut of all the things from toys to shows to you know anything in the world that you could think of. Treats and um they'll do different holiday episodes and it's so fun. And I've actually been on their podcast uh a few times. And I talked about MaryKate and Ashley. Huge for me. And Lizzie McGuire. Also I was maybe a little too old for that but I loved Lizzie McGuire as well. [00:17:00] So uh they're really fun to check out. So that's my number one. And another thing.

Jennifer Wilson: We'll link the episodes that you've been on in the show notes for sure.

Leilani Schirmer: Oh okay. I would love to do that. They're super fun I mean I think if anyone's interested in nostalgia it'll be right up your alley.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Leilani Schirmer: And another big thing for me that kinda goes with scrapbooking or craftiness is the BFF Sticker Club. So I'm wondering if you've heard of.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, they've been on the show before. So.

Leilani Schirmer: They've been on the show. Okay. So I love Annie and Laura. And um I've been involved with the with the BFF Sticker Club since the very very beginning. I've gotta say I'm an original member. Um but And I went to camp a couple years They do a a sticker camp an adult sticker camp. Which is phenomenal, and so fun. So um I've made a lot of fun sticky friends through them. But they are a super great source of just nostalgia. Because as far as crafting goes that's what I've been trying to do with the monthly makes and like trying new crafts. Because [00:18:00] I think as we get older I don't know if this is everyone but I feel like for me I've always been a crafty person. Like I always say like I'm an indoor kid. I never went outside I didn't like to be outside in the heat. Like I like to do arts and crafts inside. So I've done that forever. And um I think as you get older everything has to have a purpose. So I feel like with the BFF Sticker Club they've brought back that nostalgic feeling of just creating something fun and silly just for the just just for doing it. You know just because it makes you feel happy. And so I love that about them. And of course collecting stickers I mean there's nothing more nostalgic than just collect just buying stickers. And it's fun to buy old stickers that you remember or find new uh brands and everything. So I love the BFF Sticker Club a lot.

Jennifer Wilson: Somewhere in a box somewhere is my original sticker book. I just don't know if it's here or if it's at my parents' house in Texas, but I know it still exists.

Leilani Schirmer: I love that. I don't have much from my childhood. I do [00:19:00] have a few kind of random sticker book pages. Um that I do have in my craft room. But I unfortunately don't have a lot of things like that. But those are prized possessions. So special.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, yeah.

Leilani Schirmer: I would say beside those I do have a couple more. I have um a Instagram account called I'm Stuck in 1999. And that one I know you had mentioned the magazines and loving um old magazines. And they share things like that magazine pages or just old ads and toys and just things that you might have forgotten. Like as you're you know and you'll you'll have a memory unlocked which is one of my favorite things. So I do follow several accounts like that on Instagram. But that's one of my favorites. So those are my top three.

Jennifer Wilson: Is called, uh, Teen Magazine Museum. And I remember my very first issue of Seventeen Magazine. It was the December 1990 issue. Winona Ryder was on the cover. I got it at the airport when we were traveling for Christmas, and that felt like, "Oh gosh, I am a grown-up now. I feel so cool. That [00:20:00] I have.

Leilani Schirmer: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Seventeen Magazine.

Leilani Schirmer: I love that.

Jennifer Wilson: Only 10 years old."

Leilani Schirmer: I love that. And I love that um the the accounts like they have some sort of almost like archival thing where we can go back and actually remember that. That's happened to me a lot. Where I'll be like Oh my God I remember this exact ad. Or I remember this exact magazine that had this. And.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Leilani Schirmer: Thing. That's been big I've kind of also fallen down the rabbit hole of American Girl dolls. And um I'm not ashamed to say that I bought myself an American Girl doll. And she's sitting proudly on my shelf. And I have I'll get into that. But anyways um she's adorable and I don't know if you've followed but but this year is their 40th anniversary of American Girl. So it's the. This is uh it was in 1986 my same year. So whenever it was created so it's pretty exciting. And you know they're known for the historical dolls although they have many others. Um but they came out with the [00:21:00] latest historical dolls they came out with maybe I don't know three years ago or so. Are uh Isabelle and Nicki Hoffman and they are historical dolls from 1999. So um it's they're adorable. They have all kinds of like relics like um Tamagotchis and blowup chairs and they're so cute. But it's hilarious because they are historical from 1999. But I did purchase one of them. And then I went and found I ha I had a American Girl of Today. Which was like the modern doll at the time in 1996. So I I went and found that outfit off of eBay. So Isabelle is now wearing proudly the exact outfit that my doll had in 1996. And I love it. So I do have a few other things I I didn't write any of them down but um from Instagram. I'll follow a lot of like American Girl nostalgia accounts as well which is always really fun.

Jennifer Wilson: I, I don't directly follow them, but I'm seeing a lot of like very [00:22:00] sassy things related to the American Girls dolls these days. Um, connecting to like, you know, maybe more politically correct versions of their historical past or what they would say today in this world, and yeah, some of.

Leilani Schirmer: Exactly. Exactly yes I've seen those.

Jennifer Wilson: So do you find yourself having more interest or feelings about your more childhood years or more of your teen years, or is it kind of a combination of those?

Leilani Schirmer: I think mine is mostly a combination. Whenever I look back at like my own childhood teen years I don't always have honestly a lot of idyllic memories from those times. A lot of that was was a little hard for me. And I think possibly that is why I hold onto nostalgia so much. So I don't typically reflect on my own past and my own memories. But what I just have latched onto is the pop [00:23:00] culture, the toys, the music. All that kind of stuff. So I think in general it would be more from like the 90s. Where I was four to 14. That was like just That's like the perfect time of of all that stuff in my opinion. Like right like we didn't have computers for the majority of that. And then you randomly get a computer and it's exciting and it's like the Wild West internet. Nobody knew what they were doing and all that. But also my teen years um I was what you would call a mall goth. I loved Hot Topic and I loved like Blink182 and indie music and stuff. So I do like cringe a little but look back on those times fondly as well. And I love early tech. So I love thinking about the the first phones the you know Nokia phones the Razrs the iPods and all of that I think is really fun. But for the most part I think I I more reflect on the 90s stuff for sure.

Jennifer Wilson: Interesting. Yeah, I think to me it's, it's a weird [00:24:00] combination of the stuff is more from my childhood. Like toys, the stickers, the clothes. Like, I remember these little, like, white fringe boots.

And then the teen years are more about how the music reminds me of what was happening in my life, like where I was, who I was with, um.

Leilani Schirmer: Totally.

Jennifer Wilson: What was going on then.

Leilani Schirmer: The music is way more important. Mmhmm.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Especially for, for mem- like, for really taking you back. And, and even, like, my parents' music, that also really gets me too. Because that's what they were listening to.

Leilani Schirmer: Mmhmm. Exactly.

Jennifer Wilson: So you already mentioned the, your, uh, American Girl doll. Is there anything from the olden days that you've brought back to your everyday life, either as an original or a reproduction?

Leilani Schirmer: Oh yes. Oh yes. And my obsession right now is physical media in general. And also uh pr I think in February I purchased a kitchen [00:25:00] TV. So I have the cutest little white fat back TV. It's a nineinch screen so it's a little guy. And it sits in our kitchen and this has been the biggest source of happiness I've never been so obsessed with an inanimate object in my life. But I This this TV is like my child. I love this thing. It is so cute. And me and my husband we love to go DVD. So right now we just have a DVD player. I would expand to a VHS but they're like more expensive and VHS's are so much bigger. But we have a little DVD player. And um we've gone, like our We always love to thrift. But our big thing right now has been DVD hunting. So we have had so much fun looking for nostalgic DVDs from like our childhoods. And things like that It has been so fun. And every day uh our big thing is we have lunch together, before he goes to work. So we always put on some sort of like old movie or show. And we'll have it on. Sometimes we just like have it [00:26:00] on for the vibes. And sometimes we listen to it. But it has been so much fun to collect physical media. And we also have a little um CD tape player in our living room. And we have been building up a collection of like cassette tapes and CDs as well. Which has also been just a really good time. So I love it.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm curious if you're having challenges finding appropriate storage solutions for these items, or are tho- are those still existent?

Leilani Schirmer: Okay so this was li this was a big thing for me because I was like okay aesthetically we cannot have DVDs everywhere. And so I did a little spring cleaning. And in my kitchen we have this big huge builtin like pantry thing. And I you know I just had stuff in it that I needed to get rid of. I got rid of everything inside of these huge cabinets. And so they're blocked off so you can't see what's inside of them so you don't have like the ugliness of the DVDs. And I have so much storage for [00:27:00] DVDs. So I just lucked out in particular. That I was able to find storage solutions. But that can definitely be an issue. You know cause I I know years ago we loved to d I'm I'm assuming everyone was like this but like in our TV rooms like I know whenever I was like in high school we would just show off the DVDs. We would just have them out on a shelf and stuff. I feel like everybody just had the DVDs out and now it's like not something that you would really wanna show off. So yeah good question.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, 'cause I, I, I still have some binders of music, I think, and then we do have a lot of DVDs in packages, but they're all in the basement. 'cause I mean, we, our only DVD player right now is the Xbox, but it usually has a game in it, so.

Leilani Schirmer: Exactly And see like we have to have a a ton packed away somewhere but I don't know where any of those things are and so we've just been you know rebuying things um which has.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Leilani Schirmer: Been super fun. But yeah it is tough, whenever That's the thing about physical media It is just so much easier to [00:28:00] stream. But the joy that it brings you to open the box and put something in and be intentional. And also the DVD like menu screens. That's a lost art that we've forgotten about. Because those are so much fun. They're so much fun. And I'd totally forgotten.

Jennifer Wilson: Have you used any of like the, the art from old DVDs, VHS tapes in, in your scrapbooking or junk journaling? Or is it too like precious to do anything with?

Leilani Schirmer: I haven't actually used any of it specifically. Um a while back like a first project that I was this was years ago that I was documenting from my childhood. Though I did uh go on eBay and I I had a beloved um computer game and it was called Rocket It was about a girl named Rocket. No one knows of it really. But I found the little booklets that I could buy off of um eBay. So they were like dirt cheap. And I did use those in a couple projects. [00:29:00] But for the most part I just take it to Google and I'll just print off the movie covers or CD covers which I have documented tons of times.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, yeah. Oh gosh, my favorite video game from like when I was very little was called Peanut Butter Panic. We had a weird, i'm gonna put computer in quotes, it was a keyboard that attached to some

sort of cassette player that all attached to your TV. To play these games that were on cassette tapes.

Leilani Schirmer: Oh my God.

Jennifer Wilson: It was something about making peanut butter sandwiches, and then you had to eat peanut butter sandwiches, and like you were, it was a race to do it fast enough or something. I don't know. But.

Leilani Schirmer: I love that.

Jennifer Wilson: I was addicted to it.

Leilani Schirmer: I love that. Mine were like, um So I was I had a few computer games. I I've never been a video game kid. I never had like video game consoles or anything growing up. Um

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Leilani Schirmer: Love my computer games And whenever I was in the eighth grade so I don't know what year that is but like roughly 99 2000 something like that. We got [00:30:00] a computer like a big you know regular home computer and it was a Gateway 2000. And my parents were never I'm an only child and my parents were never interested in anything internet. Like they couldn't care less. So this was like my computer. They never sat at it. They never used it one time in my entire life. So it was amazing. And you got like games with it. You could get you know back then of course they had to gender everything so you could get the boy pack or the girl pack. So I got the girl pack of games. And it came with some iconic games It had an American Girl game. It had Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh.

Leilani Schirmer: Then Clueless. And you got to like uh check out Cher's closet and stuff. Which was really cool. And a Babysitters Club game. Which I am uh like a Babysitters Club crazy fan. So those were like really big for me. So a lot of really iconic uh computer games there so.

Jennifer Wilson: Did you see there's some speculation that Reese Witherspoon is gonna do something with Sweet Valley High?

Leilani Schirmer: [00:31:00] No but I love that.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Like I was, I was way into that. Even I think almost, I wanna say almost before Babysitters Club. Like I think it's just 'cause what my friends were reading at the time, so.

Leilani Schirmer: I was I was a huge Babysitters Club That was like right at like peak time for me. But Sweet Valley I did get into. And I do have some old Sweet Valley High books still. And then I know whenever I was in like maybe high school they came out, I don't I don't know if they were like the same stories. But they were definitely modern covers. And that's what I really remember. Like they were they had like real people on them and it was like super like 2000s modern look of Sweet Valley High. But I always loved that So yeah that would be super fun.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, no, the ones I checked out from the library were always like the vintage ones that I think most of them came out, I wanna say late '70s, early '80s. I don't know for sure.

Leilani Schirmer: have a few of those.

Jennifer Wilson: So in terms of like things that you're accumulating, things that you've been, you've kept around for a long [00:32:00] time, how do you decide what to keep and what to let go of when we, we love the stuff and it, it gives us so many warm fuzzies and, and good memories?

Leilani Schirmer: That is hard. Um I one thing I don't have uh anything really from my own personal like childhood toys and things. I didn't like inherit a lot of things. So really I I love to thrift I've always loved to thrift. And that's a huge thing that me and my husband do together. And so I just love to look at it whenever I'm there find things point it out you know. We'll tell different stories while we're thrifting Oh I remember we had that exact thing or whatever. And we don't necessarily always buy it. But I do um purchase plenty of things and really it stays in my craft room. I have a few nostalgia shelves that are absolutely filled to the brim. And they have small things on them like chapter books and um like Oh I ha I do have my [00:33:00] Pog collection uh my actual collection so there's a lot of Pogs up there. And like there's some um Nickelodeon orange VHS tapes. You know things like that. So really it it's what I have space for. So if I find something that's like just top tier I'm keeping it like the American Girl doll. Or I did find a seethrough phone like with the cord one of those classic phones. The seethrough.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Leilani Schirmer: So that that has a perfect spot in my craft room. But it is pretty full. I have a teeny tiny little craft room so I really can only fit what I can have in here. But I'm I'm a maximalist at heart. So if I had extra space in my house I would devote. I I do follow I should have mentioned those cause I do follow a couple of accounts that have recreated childhood rooms and stuff. And I would totally have one of those. And I would just fill it up with everything I could find. So I don't think I'm the perfect person to ask what to let go of.

Jennifer Wilson: Sure.

Leilani Schirmer: I do my [00:34:00] best.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh my gosh, so many different thoughts. Like, A, that, that clear phone is still actually plugged in at my parents' house upstairs in what we call, like, the game room. I don't know if you have game rooms in Mississippi. It's like an upstairs living room.

Leilani Schirmer: Yes a lot of people do. We don't Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: I saw it, I saw it the last time that, that I was there.

Leilani Schirmer: That's amazing.

Jennifer Wilson: Did you, did you watch Stranger Things?

Leilani Schirmer: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: And so, uh, towards the end when they had the little girl's bedroom from like 1986, and I'm just like, "Oh my gosh, I had that and I had that," and like.

Leilani Schirmer: Ah

Jennifer Wilson: I was the exact age. I know that's when you were born, but.

Leilani Schirmer: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: I was 6 years old when she was two or seven or whatever. And it was just such a trip for me.

My daughter was like, "Uh, Mom, you're, you're flipping this is, what it is.

Leilani Schirmer: It's like you don't understand. I love that. Yeah. That's so fun.

Jennifer Wilson: So I mentioned earlier that I have a, a bit of a connection to things of my parents' generation. Because they listened to so much music, [00:35:00] especially in the car. Um, they played records a lot at home. Do you also find yourself kind of looking back further to those other, to other, other generations that, that give you those, those thoughts and feelings too?

Leilani Schirmer: Definitely. Not as much as my own you know personal. But when you mentioned the records um and music and things I think that's like a huge thing that probably a lot of us take from our parents. And um one thing we have a record player here at home. We do wanna upgrade. But we have a record player. And we have our own uh record collection but we have inherited my dad's record collection. So that's uh a new tradition I've actually just been talking about that I want to start is where like every weekend when we're home together to pick out one of the older records and listen to it from start to finish. And if we have like um multiple ones on the same band to listen to em and get acquainted with those. Or Yeah so I thought that that would be really fun. And [00:36:00] also since um last year uh me and my husband Will we both created a movie list of older movies that we'd like classic movies that we'd never seen but we'd always wanted to watch. And we've been kind of uh taking turns picking a movie and and watching those. And that's been super fun. And a lot of those have been from like generation before us. You know movies like Rocky and um I don't know a lo a lot of those kind of classic movies. That we never saw. So that's been really fun. And I also made a list. We we haven't seen a lot of movies so we were trying to branch out. So I made um a list recently of movies from 1986 since this is my big year. To try to watch and so like Ferris Bueller's on there and uh Howard the Duck. I don't know if you've saw that but that is an interesting one that we watched recently. Um I don't know if it. Yeah, I don't know that it was good but it was really a wild ride. That was a crazy movie. So that's been kind of fun to connect to the [00:37:00] older stuff.

Jennifer Wilson: I remember, like, when that came out on, I mean, I think it was on HBO, and at some point we had HBO, and I recorded it. And so I had, like, not even VHS, I had a beta tape of Howard the Duck. And I know I tried to watch it several times, but I was too young. I didn't get any of the jokes. It didn't make any sense.

Leilani Schirmer: It's really adult. It's way I mean you wouldn't think so because of the way it looks. But it's really crazy. I mean if if you haven't seen that or if you just need to remember that movie it is worth watching cause it's so ridiculous.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Um, so let's talk more about scrapbooking. So what are some of the ways that you have included this interest and passion for nostalgia in your memory keeping projects?

Leilani Schirmer: Okay so I think just in general even with projects that I do all the time like uh Project Life of course. I also work in a Hobonichi I do like a undated [00:38:00] Hobonichi and just do layouts when or um journaling spreads whenever I feel like it. But I think like my general style is very colorful and playful and quirky and stuff. So I think that kind of just lends to a nostalgic feel. I've had a lot of people just tell me that with my regular scrapbooking. Like Oh this reminds me of something I would do you know whenever I was in high school or something. So I think maybe I just have a that's just my style perhaps.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Leilani Schirmer: I have done a few specific projects in the past. Um it was really early on into me sharing projects I like on Instagram and things. So it was probably in 2021. But I did create a book out of a Heidi Swapp Storyline Chapters like the smaller version of those. Uh that was called Childhood Documented. And I created prompts and I can't remember all of them now. But like a lot of them were typical prompts like music and uh you know your style icon and [00:39:00] collections that you had and things like that. And I would just Google images and then tell a quick little blurb about uh w whatever that thing was. Whatever it meant to me or whatever. And so that was really fun and it caught on a little bit within my own small area of the internet. And a lot of people started to do do their version of that. And it was really fun to see other like maybe people from the 80s. Or people from you know that were from totally different timeframes the 70s and stuff. Do their own versions of that. And that was a super fun project. And then um in maybe early 2024 I did a twopart project out of a Ali Edwards I think I definitely got them from Ali. But I think like the 3 by 8 little uh binder style album. So kind of a small one. And I did one about like my childhood so the 90s. And then one about the early aughts like my high school days and that one had a lot more like reflection [00:40:00] and tons of journaling also with pictures and some pictures from my childhood. Although I don't have that many. Uh like I have a lot of baby pictures but like no other pictures. So my pa you know I'm the only child My parents weren't into it My mom wasn't a mom that scrapbooked or anything. So it's like I'm lucky I got anything. But yeah so I documented those. I did that over on I did have a Patreon at the time. But I do have flipthroughs of all of those on my YouTube. Um but yeah so I've done several uh just specific childhood documenting. Mostly again focused on pop culture and things.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I definitely wanna do one of like the, the toys of my childhood. I've been thinking about that lately.

Leilani Schirmer: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: 'Cause I think I'm maybe most likely to forget that. Like, I want to just make sure I get the images. Um, there's actually been some toys that my parents, like, bought for me again on eBay so I would have it.

Leilani Schirmer: Uhhuh That is so fun

Jennifer Wilson: It's... I mean, some of it's kinda silly. 'Cause it's like literally a toddler toy engine, but my dad always [00:41:00] worked on cars, and I thought, like, w- it was the most fun thing in the entire world to be able to, to put together this toy engine. So I have this Fisher-Price toy engine.

Leilani Schirmer: I love it.

Jennifer Wilson: Part of my collection.

Leilani Schirmer: It's crazy. Yes how much that like you know it brings you back and it's really so special. I don't know I love that.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Leilani Schirmer: Like I was really like I mentioned before really into Pogs. And having my personal collection I have a little Pog case and all my Pogs in there. I mean and my Slammers and stuff like that's really something. Because I remember those individual ones. And I would like play those like I was you know really really doing something. Like we were like playing poker and stuff back in the day with our Pogs whenever I was like in third grade. And also I do have my own personal Polly Pocket. So that's kind of fun too. But those are like the only things that I have. But I love looking on eBay and finding old things like that on eBay. That that's dangerous. Because you can really you know start to accumulate things that way.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I'm looking-- I'm here in my office and I'm [00:42:00] looking at my shelves and I'm like, A, there's plenty of room. And I need to pull some stuff out from the basement or bring it home from, from my parents' house. And B, some of my decorations here are very boring and don't need to be here. So they could be replaced by something more interesting.

Leilani Schirmer: Oh yeah replace them. Replace them. They gotta go. Mine really my room is kinda wacky. But yeah I have I have a lot of nostalgia stuff. As I'm looking around I ha definitely have Beanie Babies. I have um I loved Power Rangers and I loved specifically the Yellow Ranger either Trini or Aisha. So I have um some Barbies of that. I have some VHS tapes in here like I have the Babysitters Club. And um I just have a lot of random you know just anything that makes me happy I stick it in here.

Jennifer Wilson: I love that. I love that so much. I love that permission that you've given yourself and just to really, um, celebrate this aspect of your personality and, and have fun with it. We, we probably all need a little bit more of that these days.

Leilani Schirmer: That's what I think. Anything like I see a lot online about [00:43:00] whimsy. But it is true. Like people need more whimsy in their life. Like it doesn't have to be so serious. Or as you get older I think people lose that sense of self. And you can still have fun and be colorful and have like a a bit of a childlike wonder even though you're an adult.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes, yes, 100%. I, I think sometimes as maybe as, as women who are the predominant gender in scrapbooking, we, uh, perhaps escape that more than the men who I think they s- often grow up less.

Leilani Schirmer: That's true I don't disagree.

Jennifer Wilson: Only saying that because my husband has said that out loud. He's like, "I'm still just like a 10-year-old boy inside."

Leilani Schirmer: Yeah you think about guys a lot I mean not that there aren't gamer girls and things but you know I feel like there's a huge pass for that with guys and gaming, and things like that. And then it's like you know we get to have stuff too. For sure.

Jennifer Wilson: I love it. So can you share where our listeners can find you online? Anything else you might have new or coming up this [00:44:00] year?

Leilani Schirmer: Sure. Definitely my Instagram account which is leilani_scraps and I share a lot on there I do all kinds of posts and and I'm I'm very active on Instagram. And then also I have a YouTube. Same name just Leilani Scraps. And I do share definitely two videos a week. I do a huge range of things. Always Project Life but I constantly have other projects going on. I do like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Journal. I do um I'm doing a Martina Calvi Junk Journal series right now. I just had a vlog go up. Um so I do a vlog a month and it just has a different topic. This month's is the Summer Junk Journal which I'll be sharing. I do my Hobonichi. I just do like a large range of fun projects over there. So those are my two main things. I did have a Patreon for a while. And although that's not open anymore I do have my Patreon archive open. And I link that in all of my YouTube videos. So I have [00:45:00] probably hundreds of videos over there as well lots of process videos. And it's just 5 a month. Uh to get access to all of my past uh archive just in case.

Jennifer Wilson: Excellent. Excellent. Yeah, no, very cool. Now you have to tell me, what is Sisterhood of the Traveling Journal?

Leilani Schirmer: Oh Oh my gosh. Okay. It is so fun. So there's a huge community. Uh I didn't name this There's a huge community that does this online. But me and a group of mostly my sticker friends from that I originally met through the BFF Sticker Club. But you could do this with any obviously any group of friends. And everyone in that group I think there's six of us. We all created our own junk journal. So in any type of size style whatever you wanted to do. And you make a few pages introducing yourself and maybe make a few uh interactive pages that everyone could fill out about themselves. Like you could make a nostalgia page and you could say uh add a photo of yourself as a kid [00:46:00] or uh add you know do a sticker bomb here whatever. So you make your pages and then you're gonna send it to the next person in line out of those six girls. So then it travels around all around the US and we all just add to the existing pages and create our own pages. So then we'll eventually get our our journal back. And it will have like all kinds of spreads from all of the girls in it.

Jennifer Wilson: That is so fun. I love this concept.

Leilani Schirmer: It's really fun. And I have shared those over on my uh YouTube so you can see It's it's kinda neat because normally it's just my stuff over there obviously. But you get to see other people's styles. You know And then you get to add your own style to it. So that's It's like the first time I've ever done like a collaborative project like that so it's pretty neat.

Jennifer Wilson: So cool. Yes. Thank you so much for bringing such delight to our conversation today. Um, I'm definitely having lots of, lots of feelings and look forward to scrapbooking some of these topics myself.

Leilani Schirmer: Thank you so much. That means so much to me. I appreciate it.

Jennifer Wilson: [00:47:00] And to all of our listeners, please remember that you have permission to scrapbook your way.

Rebeca Ruiz: [00:00:00] having this space organized feeling good when someone enters here and don't see a lot of things that are not in the correct placement. So I'm so happy about that. And I know that I can sit at any moment that I want and create just for me or for design team or for a gift, whatever I want to do. Now I feel very good that I can do it.

Jennifer Wilson: Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way, the show that explores the breadth of ways to be a memory keeper today. I'm your host, Jennifer Wilson, owner of Simple Scrapper, and author of The New Rules of Scrapbooking. This is episode 340. In this episode, I'm chatting with Rebecca Ruiz about her craft room renovation, the massive decluttering project that came with it, and how reorganizing her supplies by collection has changed the way she creates

Rebecca, welcome back to Scrapbook Your Way

Rebeca Ruiz: Thank you. How are you, Jennifer?

Jennifer Wilson: I am great today. It's getting a [00:01:00] little bit warm here. I imagine it is for you as well, and, uh, I'm looking forward to our chat.

Rebeca Ruiz: Here is very, um, humid and very hot. It feels around 80, um, sorry, around 100 degrees.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh my gosh.

Rebeca Ruiz: Very hot. We are in the air conditioner all day.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I bet. So, um, for those who haven't listened to your previous episode, which we'll of course link in the show notes to this episode, can you share a little bit about yourself?

Rebeca Ruiz: Well, my name is Rebeca Ruiz. I am from Puerto Rico, a small island in the Caribbean. I was born and raised here. I have 48 years. I- my birthday was, I think last week or two weeks ago in, at the end of May. I have two daughters. One is 21, the other is nine years. And I'm with my husband. We've been married for around, oh, in July we, we will be celebrating [00:02:00] 23 years of marriage. So.

Jennifer Wilson: Congratulations and happy birthday, so

Rebeca Ruiz: Thank you. We are always at our home. We enjoying be- being here and we, when we travel, we want, we travel together. We like to spend a lot of time together, so we are family people.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm. Now, of course, I always like to ask our guests about things that are exciting them. Do you have a favorite, um, recent layout or project?

Rebeca Ruiz: Well, uh, I love all my projects. I, I really enjoy doing a scrapbook. This is like a passion for me. And when I share a layout, it's because I like it. Um, if I don't like it, I never share it. So I don't have any favorite. Maybe I can say that I'm very happy because recently I've been doing more layouts about myself, using photos of myself, trying to, to take selfies, and trying to [00:03:00] scrapbook about me. So this can be something that is getting me happy and something that, uh, I can say is a favorite.

Jennifer Wilson: Awesome. Yeah, no, I mean, that certainly counts for sure. It's hard to, it's hard to pick a favorite when it's all so delightful, right?

Rebeca Ruiz: Yeah, I enjoy playing with the papers and the products and creating. And I adding small details and telling the story sometimes about the family. Sometimes about one of my daughter or the other, my husband. They are all special. They, they are, they are for, for a story and because I want to document those, those moments and this is something that makes them special and favorite.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes. Yes. Now, is there something either inside of your scrapbooking life or in your everyday life that you're excited to do, use, or try?

Rebeca Ruiz: Well, right now I'm trying to do more in the paper craft, um, world. I'm trying to do more art [00:04:00] journal. Because I have a lot of stuff that I want to use for art journal because I bought it for that. And in my personal life right now, as I mentioned in the previous, um, question, I'm trying to focus more in myself to do more things for myself. Like taking time to enjoy a book or doing things that I like. But also, I have some new projects, family projects, that I want to do this summer, and I'm very excited about it. One of them is that I want to create a vegetable garden with my daughters. We are going into this new project, so we are going to prepare the, the, the, how you say, the soil, and prepare everything. Sorry, my first language is Spanish, so sometimes I am thinking in Spanish and translating to speak with you.

Jennifer Wilson: No problem.

Rebeca Ruiz: Some, some delay. [00:05:00] Well, um, and we are working on that to select the vegetable we want to try and preparing that to, to do it together. Since they are out of school, we can spend more time at home and doing those kind of stuff.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes, yes, that sounds fun. What do you think you're gonna be planting?

Rebeca Ruiz: For sure tomatoes and peppers and things that I can use to cook. Those kind of, of stuff that I'm always using. Here we have, um, cilantrillo. This is, I don't know, um, it's, it's something you can see always in the Mexican food, the green leaves, tiny leaves.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. I love cilantro. Yeah.

Rebeca Ruiz: At home, so it's very easy to, to have this type of, type of stuff. And we use it a lot, so it's going to be one of those that is important to be there in our garden. And tomatoes, because we consume a lot of tomatoes and [00:06:00] lettuce and peppers. So.

Jennifer Wilson: Sound, sounds great.

Rebeca Ruiz: Yeah. And do beans too.

Jennifer Wilson: Like, like green beans?

Rebeca Ruiz: All different kinds of beans we have because, um, in the Caribbean we tend to eat a lot of rice and beans.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Rebeca Ruiz: We, eat white beans, red beans, pink beans.

Also, the, the green beans and things for the salad, but we consume a lot of beans here.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice. Nice So you were last a guest on the show in 2024, so it's been about two years. What has changed in your life or in your scrapbooking in that time?

Rebeca Ruiz: Well, lot of things happened in two years. Um, right now, um, I ha- I'm having a new scrapbook area, a new crafting area.

Jennifer Wilson: Uh-huh

Rebeca Ruiz: I remodeled. I have some renovations here. So this is something new. And as I mentioned, I'm [00:07:00] trying to give myself more time, to enjoy the things that I have. If I purchase something, like a book, I want to read it.

I want to take care of my friends. I want to spend more time with family. So I'm doing all that stuff that I enjoy. And this is something that I'm trying to be more aware of. I'm trying to, care. I think maybe it's because as we get older, we think more of those special people and the family and things that really matter because that's the only thing we, we only have that no money can buy. So those are special moments.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, certainly.

Rebeca Ruiz: And what's important.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes, and I, I think being a memory keeper, uh, helps us even keep closer to that idea than, than those maybe who don't have the, the luck of being in this hobby with us.

Rebeca Ruiz: Yeah, for sure. This hobby is special.

Jennifer Wilson: So you already mentioned that you are [00:08:00] scrapbooking a little bit more about yourself. Do you think that the photos and stories that you include in your scrapbooks have shifted as your children have gotten older?

Rebeca Ruiz: Well, I, uh, I think, mm, not a lot of, of it has changed. Only the thing that I'm trying to be more in the pictures. So I d- I finally bought a f- um, photo stick, um, selfie stick, sorry.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Rebeca Ruiz: Selfie Stick uh, be part of the photos, because I'm usually the person who is taking the photo. So, I always say, "I'm going to buy a selfie stick so I can be part of the photo," and I forget it, and I forget it. And now I have one. I place it in the car so I can have it accessible every time we go out. So let's see if, if I improve that and use it more and be more on the photos instead of being just selfies.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes. I love that. I end up doing it with just the, the reach of my arm, [00:09:00] and I, so I have a big head in the front of the photo, and then there's everybody else behind me. So I might need a selfie stick.

Rebeca Ruiz: For family photos, I, I use my daughter because short like me. I'm only five feet tall and one inch, five feet and one inch, so I'm short. She is like me, only five feet. But she can extend her, her arm a little bit more and photograph better. I think.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Rebeca Ruiz: She can see clearly. I use my, my glasses to see, so I'm always taking selfies looking for the opposite side. It's, it's not, it's not my best, um, talent to take selfies. She's good at it. So, uh, I, I told her, "Now you got a selfie stick, you can take better photos of us together and not being your face in the front, not having your face in the front.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Rebeca Ruiz: She's happy for that.

Jennifer Wilson: I love that. So you mentioned that you did some renovations for your craft room. Now previously you said you were gonna kind of build it outside of your house. Is that what you ended [00:10:00] up doing or something within, within the space that you already had?

Rebeca Ruiz: I, I had the id- the idea of making a room outside my home. That was something that I was, um, thinking a lot because constructing a room at this moment that the materials, construction materials are very expensive because of the things that are happening. And I was thinking about that and I was not sure if it is going to be a good decision or not. Because, not only because of the money I'm going to spend, but also because the room is going to be outside of my home, so I need to go out. And, uh, sometimes I wake up very early and it is very dark and I need to go out and I'm not sure about that. So I prefer to be inside the home. I don't want to spend a lot of money constructing a room and having a [00:11:00] bigger space, maybe to, to, to have more stuff that I need to organize, have more stuff that I won't be using, having more stuff that is going to need to be cleaned.

So after thinking a lot, I decided, no, I'm not going to make that room. Because it is going to take a lot of effort and a lot of things that maybe is going to make me craft less instead of craft more.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. That makes a lot of sense.

Rebeca Ruiz: Yeah, I decided no. I need to use what I have, use it, um, in a better way. That I can feel good, that I can use what I have at any time of the day. It doesn't matter if it's rainy, if it's not rainy, if it's dark or have light, I can be there and feel safe in that space. I decided to stay where I was. Just to make a renovation and change the things [00:12:00] that were not working for me, and this is what I did. If you want more detail, for example, in the previous interview in 2024, I told you that I had had the embellishments divided.

Some are in a place, other in other, just to, to fill the spaces that I had. This time, I took everything out of the r- of the family room. This is where I craft. I took everything, all my things out. The, the, um, living room and the dining room were full of stuff. And they were in that way for, like, two weeks, and with my OCD, that was crazy.

Jennifer Wilson: I bet, yeah.

Rebeca Ruiz: I barely sleep because I want my, my dining room and my, and the home, um, in an open space that people can move and, and use the space. So it was something that was hard for me to have all that stuff, but it was needed. [00:13:00] I empty everything. I measure the walls I, I decided what things I should buy to use the space well so I can arrange more stuff in a better way. So after having th- having everything out, I organized the embellishments by collection. I decided which one I like, which one were damaged with, with the time, or things that I don't like anymore. So I, filter what I want to keep. And then I start buying the stu- the stuff, the furniture and everything. And start packing and arranging and putting them back in the space. The things I don't want, they were damaged, I throw them away, I recycle them. If they were in a good condition and I know of a friend that can use them, I gave it to that friend. And other stuff, [00:14:00] I just sell it, and I still have a few things that when I prepare a class, in-person class, I, I bring the stuff and people buy there if they want.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, yeah. That's smart.

Rebeca Ruiz: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: In terms of the fur- new furniture that you got, did you replace i- were you replacing items or adding items to your space?

Rebeca Ruiz: I replaced and I added. For example, um, I, I have here a brown cubicles. They are the same size as the IKEA KALLAX, but I don't... I bought them a few years ago in Costco. They came with, um, canvas basket, and there I used to store the embellishment. Those basket, I took re- to, um, rid of them because they, were a little bit old. That, that was the second time I replaced them. So I decided to go for something darker because the [00:15:00] humidity here in the, in the cream color of the canvas turns like with brown dots. Um, so I decided to look for something darker and this is how I get the new... They are like canvas, but they are boxes with lids.

So now they are closed, they don't get dust a lot. and I replaced that. I used to have some white, desk and I changed that completely. I remove it. It was damaged because during the Hurricane Maria, it got wet. Before staying in this home, um, this is the one, two, three... This is the four home that we live.

This is the one that we expect, expect to live until we die.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Rebeca Ruiz: So I think we are not going to change anymore. Unless God says other thing, okay? But if it's for us, we are going to stay here until we die. [00:16:00] And I decided to use the space better. Because I have two walls of the family room where I store my things.

So in this wall, I basically covered the wall almost until the ceiling. So here now I have the KALLAX cubicles. But also I have some of the BESTA they have that I can close the door and of using the KALLAX, I decided for the BESTA because of the space available. If.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Rebeca Ruiz: I use the, if I use KALLAX, there will be some inches of a space that won't be used. So I changed for the BESTA to use it in a better way. And then I decided to store in the family a f- few of the pattern papers that I have. Because in 2024, all my papers were stored [00:17:00] in, in a closet that I had in the master room. But now I have some of the paper because of the design teams, I'm constantly getting more pattern papers. So the, the paper stash grows quickly. But I decided to take near me the pattern papers that I want to use first. Those collections that I love a lot, that I can have on hand, and also the things that I need to work for design teams. So now those kind of stuff are near me, and in the closet, I reduce the amount of paper and I have things that I can later.

For example, right now I'm not going to use Christmas, so Christmas is there. Um, amusement parks are there. Um, cardstock, colored cardstock are there. If I have a collection that I want to use and I need cardstock in color, not black or white, I go with the collection [00:18:00] there. And choose what I want and take it to the, to the room.

It's easier for me now to, to find the things since now they are very organized by collection or by product.

Jennifer Wilson: That's fantastic. And I will also mention that we'll include links to any products you mention, like the Ikea furniture, as well as a link to your YouTube video where you give a tour of your space.

Rebeca Ruiz: Yes, I recently prepare a tour because it's hard to imagine the things, but it's better when you can see it in working. Now I can have, for example, for the paper, I use a, a product from IKEA, that is the Tonstad. I'm not sure if I'm saying it correctly, if Tonstad. And I went to IKEA, like, two or three times. And I, I need to tell you this joke because IKEA is not near from me. In Puerto Rico we only have, um, two IKEA [00:19:00] stores, only one of it have the products that you can buy and pick up at the moment. The other is just a showroom.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Rebeca Ruiz: The IKEA that have the products on, on inventory that you can get like, two hours away from me. But when doing this renovation, I went there, like, three times with a ruler, checking the spaces inside of the cabinet just to be sure that the inside space can hold the pattern papers or the embellishments. So I know the, the Kallax can do that, but I was looking for something to, to fill the space in between the k- the, the Kallax. So this is where I was measuring and deciding for the Besta and the Tonstad. Because sometimes when you see online the product, it says that the, the space is 13 inches of depth. But when you see it in person and you measure, the measurement inside [00:20:00] is 11 and a half because it takes some space with the door or the back. So I was making sure that the 12 by 12 paper can be stored there. And this is a lot of travels there. My little daughter, if you say IKEA, she is in a trauma.

She says, "No, please, I don't want to go third time to IKEA. I don't want to go there." She, she... I think she hates the store. She don't want any, anything out about IKEA at this moment.

Jennifer Wilson: The, the nearest IKEAs for me are each, uh, at least two to... two hours, up to three hours away. Um, so I'm... I definitely understand that of.

Rebeca Ruiz: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Needing to travel. Sometimes I've had things shipped. And of course it's very, very expensive to do that, and then you also risk that it might not arrive in one piece, which that has happened too.

Rebeca Ruiz: And, the measurement part that for me is very important.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Well, especially for [00:21:00] scrapbookers, 12 by 12 is a very specific and unique size.

Rebeca Ruiz: Yeah. I'm, I'm an industrial engineer, so for me, using the space properly and doing a, a good use of the, uh, of the space is something that is in, in my nature. I need to measure. I need to be sure that it can fit. So this is something that is part of me. And my husband just let, let me be. Because he knows how I am, and he says, "Okay, take your time. You just tell me when you're ready."

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Rebeca Ruiz: And he assembled them with my older daughter. And it was a family project during the month of December. Because it's a lot of furniture and things to, to change, all the Kallax and the Tungsta. And something else that I added for the printer and to arrange the old photos.

I have a lot of old photos printed. And I decided to have them here and store them in [00:22:00] some clear plastics, um, that I bought at Amazon. There I arranged the photos by year and some by event. Because if it was a vacation, well, I, I put all the vacation photos together by the year. And also have them by people.

I have a box if the, if, if, if the photo is about one of my daughters, I have a box for her. In case one day she move away and she wants to get the, her pictures with her, she can take that and, and it's only photos of her. So I had a lot of, I spent a lot of time arranging photos, arranging embellishments. Spent a lot of time arranging.

The furniture was easy to assemble. In a one, two, three days it was ready. But getting everything organized to fill that space, that was took me a lot of time. But I'm pleased and happy that I did it the way that I did it [00:23:00] because now it's easier for me to, find the things.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, certainly. Yes, it sounds like it. Uh, is worth that investment of, of time and energy if it helps you be a more productive and creative scrapbooker.

Rebeca Ruiz: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: So you mentioned the photo boxes that you... Are these the ones that, like, maybe hold 100 photos? Are they larger than that?

Rebeca Ruiz: They can hold, um, around 100 photo or a little bit more. Um, used to have those photo boxes that looks like shoe boxes.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Rebeca Ruiz: But they deteriorate, and with the weight sometimes they broke. So I was looking for something in plastic to get the, to, to maintain the photo away from the humidity. Because they are closed. And I found these boxes that have a lid and a closure, and inside they are divided in a small four by six, a little bit bigger, uh, boxes that you [00:24:00] can store the four by six photos. They are four by six or sh- or smaller photos.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice.

Rebeca Ruiz: If you have 5 by 10, uh, five by seven or eight by 10, you need another things to store that. But for s- four by six, that is what I had more, um, you can store that there. And I will send you later the link in case people want to check them.

Jennifer Wilson: Perfect.

Rebeca Ruiz: They are very good and comes with the, the dividers, the plastic dividers. So it's very easy to, to store and label.

Jennifer Wilson: So you mentioned before how you had your embellishments in all those canvas baskets. Where, how did you end up organizing those in the end?

Rebeca Ruiz: Previously, I had a Ziploc bag, resealable bag. That I had, for example, with the six by 12 stickers. Then in other, I have the chipboards. Then in other I have the brads or, or things like that separated by product. When I was looking for a [00:25:00] collection, I need to go to the stickers, to the chipboard, to everything to see if if I had something for that collection. So it took a lot of time. I took everything out, and I start sorting by collection. Now, in this new basket that I bought that have lids, I organize by collection. And to hold the things together, was looking for something that I can open and have the embellishments individually. I cannot use a tie wrap and the metal rings like the ones we use for the albums the ones that open. I think that are going to take a lot of space because they are not flexible. So I ended using, a thick thread. think it, they are from Dollar Tree or something like that, very inexpensive thread and thick. I think it can... It's [00:26:00] like a twine or something that can be used for crochet. But doesn't have a lot of loose, fibers. So I, I hold all the embellishment together with these threads. If they damage, I can replace them easily with another thread. But when I'm looking for, for example, example right now, if I want to do a summer layout, I go to my summer box and check the embellishment.

"Oh, look, I want to work with this embellishment." I took everything out. It's from the same collection. And I can look for the papers later or the opposite. If I have the paper that I want to look and they are summer, I go to the summer box and check for the collection products because they are together. So very easy now to, to reach for them.

Jennifer Wilson: So just to kind of summarize here, you took everything that was organized by type of product and reorganized it back into collections, likely how they arrived [00:27:00] at your house.

Rebeca Ruiz: Yes. Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: Did, did you find there were some things that, like, maybe you just had... It didn't really have enough to be even be called a collection anymore?

It was like a one-off piece? What did you do with those kind of extras?

Rebeca Ruiz: The things that I have a few that I w- won't be using, as I mentioned, I If they are in, not in good shape, I throw them away or gave it to another person. Because I usually works with the collection. It's so easy because a few years ago when I started in this hobby, I think in 2004 or 2005, I can't remember. The companies makes paper but the embellishment we can find were only a few, maybe a sticker and that's all. But now they make a lot of products and beside of getting some of them because of the design team. when I like a [00:28:00] collection, I like to buy, um, different products to have, um, different materials to work with. That's something that I enjoy, um, using chipboard, using sticker, using different materials just to add dimension to my, my project.

So now it's easier and instead of holding things that I know I won't be u- be using, I decided to take r- get rid of them and hold what I know I can use. And it ended being mostly collections. Some other items, for example, the know if you can remember Sassafras Lass. I have a s- I still have a few embellishment from Sassafras and they were basically chipboards.. That's the only thing I have. s- I'm still holding them because I have the paper and they.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Rebeca Ruiz: Are alone there in a bag, in a resealable bag. But in the category that they need to be, if they are baby or if they are summer, are there, [00:29:00] organized there. So I can go to the box and find what I was looking.

Jennifer Wilson: Do you have anything that's organized by color, or is that not a way that you think about your supplies?

Rebeca Ruiz: By color, I have the cardstock. It's much easier to have that by, by color. But the embellishment and the papers, I prefer to have them in a bag with the, all the th- the papers from the collection, but by theme. If it I have some theme categories, and if they don't fit in these categories, then I store them by manufacturer. The main categories I have are Christmas, Winter, Summer and beach, they are together. Love and wedding, they are together. If they are masculine, I don't have a lot of masculine products, so the masculine products, I have everything together. If they are, um, amusement parks, I have them together. And babies or kids, something [00:30:00] that is very baby or very kid-related or, or youth, I have those together. Everything else that is very generic, that I can use for any theme, I store by manufacturer.

Jennifer Wilson: That all makes, it all makes sense. And I think it also reminds us that sometimes we need to give ourselves permission to rethink previous decisions, because just because that decision was good for that time doesn't mean that it's still working for you today.

Rebeca Ruiz: Yeah. Sometimes we have things in one way, and then it is no longer way, um, working. I notice it is no longer way, um, working for me because I was storing in a crazy way. If I got something, I just want to store it wherever I can put it. Um, it ... I was in a moment that I don't care if it was a theme or manufacturer, if there is an empty space, I was placing it there just.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Rebeca Ruiz: So I didn't see it near me. And I said, "No, I'm not like that. I don't know where it's [00:31:00] going to be later. Because I know I will forget. So I need it... I, I think it's time to do this." And I can tell you, this renovation that I did in December, I was not thinking about it, but I'm that kind of person. I was here, and, um, was ... I was not happy with having some totes under the table with papers and embellishment. And looking my desk in a way that I, I was not feeling, um, when you get inspiration, I was not feeling inspired. I was not happy. And I told my husband, "I'm not going to make a room outside." I explain him why. I've, I've been thinking about this in the f- the last few days. I'm not going to make any room outside. I want to make a renovation here. I want to change things. So my Christmas gift this year, I want to be that you help me paint these walls, change [00:32:00] everything that I'm going to buy, and you assembly this.

And he was, "Are you sure you're going to do this in December?" And I said, "Yes. I'm going to do it now. I'm not going to wait anymore.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Rebeca Ruiz: Because later it's going to be worse. I need to do it now." I spent the, the Christmas, season here doing that. It was a lot. My family was happy because since I was at home, they spend a lot of time, um, playing, um.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I bet.

Rebeca Ruiz: Doing stuff here.

They were very happy to be here. Uh, but I was frustrated. I was so tired of being, um, and organizing and organizing and not sleeping well until I have the, places ready.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Sometimes when you're in that messy middle stage, it's, it's overwhelming, and you just kinda wanna get to the other end of it, but it feels never-ending

Rebeca Ruiz: Yes, and for some people, having the things in, in places [00:33:00] like the dining room where it's not very stressful. Because they know they are going to arrange it little by little, which is the best way to do it. I shouldn't be stressed just to make it quickly. But my OCD don't allow me to do that.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Rebeca Ruiz: I was trying to concentrate on other things, but I just wanted to have my home visually, clean and organized for me. Because if, if it is not, I, I am not happy. I am not creative, and I am not me.

Jennifer Wilson: It seems like you'd actually ended up downsizing quite a bit of your pattern paper. How did you end up making those decisions?

Rebeca Ruiz: It was very hard because pattern papers are my favorite products all the time. From since I begin scrapbooking, pattern papers is my favorite product. You can do so much with pattern paper. You can cut, um, with dies. You can, do so many things with that, that having pattern paper sometimes is enough to create something beautiful. [00:34:00] So downsizing that was very hard but needed. Because as I told you before, because of the design team, I get a lot of pattern papers. And the stash is, is growing so fast, faster than I can use them. So I need to do something. And this is when I took... After having my, the family ready, all the embellishment and all the stamps and all this stuff. I go to the master room, open the closet, and start taking away all the pattern papers. Um, if you visit my Instagram, you are going to see a, a quick video, a reel, where I show you the stacks of pattern papers. I think it was in January that I made that. It was crazy. Crazy. So I, I sort them by team and by manufacturer, as, as I mentioned before, the way that I like to have the things. [00:35:00] And then I start checking one by one the packs. Some papers I have two or three packs of the same collection. That was easy. I only need one, so took away the other. That was the easiest part. The papers that the patterns I don't like anymore, that was easy for me. But other papers, for example, Cocoa Vanilla, I love their papers. I love their products, and they are from Australia. So for me in Puerto Rico, it's not easy to get them.

I need to buy them directly from them on Australia or but them online in the US and pay the shipping and all that stuff, for product. And one of their collections when I was checking, I have five and six papers of the same, and they have 12 papers in the collection. [00:36:00] And so imagine having five and six paper of the same.

Jennifer Wilson: That sounds like great for an album project though.

Rebeca Ruiz: Yeah, but that was difficult for me. I.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Rebeca Ruiz: Get... Yes, I didn't get rid of the Cocoa Vanilla papers. I- that's something I have to say. I get rid of other things to make space for them. Because I cannot find them here, and they were expensive, so.

Jennifer Wilson: That makes sense.

Rebeca Ruiz: Anybody's going to pay me for that. Or, or I don't know if, if my daughters ask for that, and I don't know if I'm going to give that to them, but I'll, see. Those are special for me. But most of the paper, that's what I did. If I have many of them, I reduce the amount. If they- I don't like the design anymore, I took them out. And by that, I can tell you quickly, for exam- I think, [00:37:00] like 24 inches of paper, I got rid of that for sale. I got rid of.

Jennifer Wilson: Wow.

Rebeca Ruiz: A few more inches as gift to my best friend. I think I gave her, like, eight or nine inches of paper. And others that were damaged, I, I just recycled it.

Jennifer Wilson: That's a lot of paper. So how, how much, how many inches did you keep?

Rebeca Ruiz: Oh, I can, I, I can tell you that right now, because near me at this moment I have two, four, six, seven, like 14 plastics. Those plastic, um, vertical containers, and I think they can hold from 80 to 100 piece of paper.

Jennifer Wilson: Uh-Huh.

Rebeca Ruiz: Here in the family I have 14 of those. And in my room I have more, much more [00:38:00] of those containers, and if I include the cardstock, it's going to be a lot more. Oh, no.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Rebeca Ruiz: I still need to get rid of some of them as I start getting more papers, I will need to continue getting rid. So right now on my side, I have a container that have last chance paper.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay, that makes sense. Yeah

Rebeca Ruiz: Yeah. Uh, I, I have a few in mind that if I don't use them, I need to start getting them away. Because this space is not going to grow. This is what I have, and it is going to stay in this way for a few years, or maybe until I die. And, the space is not going to grow, so I need to get rid as I start getting more stuff. To help me not get a lot of stuff, I'm trying not to buy new things. I'm only getting what I from the design teams, and I'm trying not to buy pattern papers.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I was actually thinking about that today. There's a lot of holiday collections that [00:39:00] came out today for pre-order, and I was like, "What if I just bought some embellishments that were different and that I like?" I'd never th- I'd literally probably never thought of that before, of not just buying all the things that I liked.

Rebeca Ruiz: Yeah. For me, it, um, um, when I say I'm not buying pattern papers, it also mean not buying embellishment. I'm not buying.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay.

Rebeca Ruiz: Trying to not buying anything.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Rebeca Ruiz: Because I like to have the embellishment with the pattern papers. And I know if I like a particular embellishment and I buy it to use with other product, I know how I am and I am going to buy the papers.

Sooner or later, I'm going to buy it. So to be sure that I don't buy any more papers, I'm trying not to shop. It's hard. It's hard because I think my favorite part in this hobby is shopping. I shop quicker than I craft, and I think most of us are in the same boat. We shop faster than we can [00:40:00] craft.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I think there's a lot of folks that think, you know, I've heard like there's, we have two different hobbies, but really there's three. There's the shopping for supplies, the organizing of the supplies, and then of course the using of the supplies. Those are three very different activities.

Rebeca Ruiz: Yes. A, a few years ago, I had a store in, a, a physical store in Puerto Rico. It was also an online store. My clients became my friend and they, we talk about that because brings joy to us just to shop, to see the new products and imagine what project we can do, what we are going.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Rebeca Ruiz: To create. But we buy maybe at the same time two collection, then the, in two weeks we go again and buy something extra, and shop faster than we create.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, I think you've made a really important observation, that b- not only just your creative preferences, but because of your design teamwork, you are often creating a lot with a single collection, and you love that, and it works well for you. And so that is, I think, an [00:41:00] important, you know, filter that you can use for new purchases. That it's, it's kind of gonna be all or nothing. Because I need to have all the coordinating things, and I'm getting enough, so that is enough.

Rebeca Ruiz: Yeah. But I also have stuff, um, when I travel, the, a few years ago in, in our travels, I went to JoAnn, to Michaels, to Hobby Lobby. And I got pa- um, the notebooks of paper, the paper pads. And they usually don't have embellishment. So I have those papers. They are beautiful. For those, um, pads, th- they usually came with two or three sheets of the same design. I broke the pads and I stay only with one sheet. If the sheet was very special with foil or something that I like, maybe I have two in my stash right now. The others, I've put them away for the, for the reduction of [00:42:00] the storage. And when I'm working with that, I need to check embellishment from other collections. So those that I don't have a embellishment for them, I go to the boxes and see what I can find by theme. Which is the easiest way for me, or a manufacturer if I remember that the colors of this manufacturer are similar to the colors I have in this pad, I can go there and find embellishment. But I still have papers with no embellishment, that I want to use. Hopefully, now that I have my space in a better shape that I can find things easily, can work with more stuff for myself, not just design team. I want to create for myself with products that I have from a few years ago or that I just bought because it's beautiful. I want to work things that are not only design team.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, no, it all, it all makes a lot of sense. And I'm, I, [00:43:00] I'm so thankful for you to share so much detail about this process. I think a lot of our listeners are gonna really enjoy this and, and be thinking critically about their own things as well. I'm curious if there were any other like, uh, like tools or stamps. Like did you declutter anything else or decide maybe even whole categories of things you were ready to let go of?

Rebeca Ruiz: I declutter everything. I declutter everything. And in my personal life, not the paper craft world, I'm always decluttering in the kitchen, in my drawers. I, I think I enjoy decluttering. hardest is decluttering the paper craft. But I declutter everything. I declutter my paints. If with damaged paint, if they I don't like the colors, I declutter the paints. I declutter the ink pads. I h- I don't know if you n- remember a company named Paper Salon.

Jennifer Wilson: [00:44:00] Mm-hmm. Yep.

Rebeca Ruiz: I had ink pads from Paper Salon that's very old.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Rebeca Ruiz: Are not going to believe that, but they work perfectly. The ink was working perfectly. But I know I don't use dye ink pads, so I took them away. I took away all my Liquid Pearls, all my Stickles. Because it's been years since I used them, so I got rid of them. Um, I got rid of a lot of ribbons. Because they were not in the best shape. Ribbon tends to, to damage with the time. So if they were not in good shape, I got rid of them. Something that I have a lot, and maybe this is some- the next thing that I'm going to declutter when I need space, are the washi tapes.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm. Yes

Rebeca Ruiz: I receive a lot of washi tapes from design teams. But I don't use them. [00:45:00] It's not a product that I use a lot. And you know that the rolls, you use a few inches, but they come with feet, feet of, of washi tape. You're not going sometimes to use all of that in a project. So a product that stay for a long time, but when they, they are old and you try to use them, they are not working. The glue is no longer working. They damage, especially here in Puerto Rico with.

Jennifer Wilson: With the humidity, yeah.

Rebeca Ruiz: Yeah. They are a product that don't last long. I maintain them in the plastic container that they come. But, um, I know I won't be using them, so I'll be giving away to, to my friends or, or to schools and things that m- can use them, or kids. I know my, my daughters and her classmates would love a few rolls of, of washi.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Rebeca Ruiz: I don't know why kids [00:46:00] love tape so much. So I think that's the next thing that I'm going to get rid of, because know I won't be using all of that. So I need to retain what I can use and get rid of all those other products.

But as I mentioned, I declutter everything. Everything, rhinestones, pearls, ribbons, papers, stamps. I had a lot of stamps that never used before, and I know I won't be using them, so I gave them to my friend. Because she loves stamps, and her daughter too, so I gave that to her. And as that, I, I declutter everything.

Jennifer Wilson: How, how do you feel now compared to how you felt before you started the project?

Rebeca Ruiz: At the moment, I was very stressed, as I mentioned before. But now that everything is finished, um, I feel so good. Because I have things that I know, besides the washi, I [00:47:00] know I'm going to use. I have a plan in my mind for when I need more space, what to take away, and how to make new space. And I have a pr- few projects in mind that I want to create to start using what I have. And now I feel happy when I come to the family. Because since I am in the family room, when my daughters' friends come home. They are always in the family room. Because here they can play video games, they can watch movies, and they ended here. So having this space organized feeling good when someone enters here and don't see a lot of things that are not in the correct placement. So I'm so happy about that. And I know that I can sit at any moment that I want and create just for me or for design team or for a gift, whatever I want to do. Now I feel very good that I can do it.

Jennifer Wilson: [00:48:00] Oh, that's so wonderful. Yeah, no, it's such a, such a relief it sounds like, and I can't wait to, to see how it continues to shift your creating and your, your motivation.

Rebeca Ruiz: Yeah, I'm try- I'm, I'm thinking about going back to my YouTube channel to create more content. Because I don't make money with those videos, is the true. I don't have a lot of followers, um, a lot of view. But s- many people I know here, they enjoy it, so I enjoy sharing what I know with them. And maybe one day the community grows and I got mo- more followers and things. But in the meantime, I just enjoy sharing my knowledge with other people and creating and inspiring. If they are inspired, we will have more people in this hobby, so manufacturers can continue to create, and it is not going to die.

Jennifer Wilson: Certainly, yes.

Well and one of those ways that you're sharing is you are still teaching classes, I believe you were two years ago as [00:49:00] well, um, surrounding specific collections that you do sell to folks. Has your process around all of that changed at all since we last chatted?

Rebeca Ruiz: I, I don't think so. I've been teaching for many years. Um, things that I have changed is the way that I make the instructions. Every time I try to make them better. Because

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Rebeca Ruiz: I don't want people to buy a class and just leave it there. Because they don't know how to finish it alone. It is impossible for people to complete a class in two hours.

My classes, if I do them, online, I stay in the video until I finish everything. But when it is an in-person class, usually it's from 9:00 AM to 5:00, taking a break for lunch or, or some snacks. So sometimes it's difficult to finish everything. Something [00:50:00] that I to be sure is that I provide them visual material to make sure they can finish the class.

So it takes me a lot of time. I create videos explaining the things. I create videos showing them how to cut the papers one by one. I create videos for a special, um, technique if needed. And also I provide them photos and instruction. My instructions sometimes have 80 pages of photos and details. And tables and things just to help p- people complete that project.

And I am so happy when people tell me, "I finished the project because the instru- the written instructions were enough to complete that." So when I constantly receive that, I'm very happy about that. I know that I'm... all the effort and all the work I put on that is good and, and people can finish. So people continue [00:51:00] buying my classes, and then they tell other people.

Right now, I have a lot of clients from different parts of the world. And it's because they share with friends about the instructions, about the classes, and they are so happy that they invite others to, to do that. So I'm very happy with that.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, no, it sounds like your, your kind of natural attention to detail comes into play really well with this particular avenue,

Rebeca Ruiz: A lot of details there. A lot of details.

Jennifer Wilson: Your most recent class was w- with one of the Say Cheese collections from Simple Stories. So these are Disney themed. Um, that class has 14 layouts. How do you approach planning 14 pages from a single collection?

Rebeca Ruiz: Disney is one of my favorite themes when s- um, scrapbooking. We enjoy visiting the parks. So I have plenty of photos and everything that is Disney, I love it. I, at the beginning of the class, usually when I'm going to teach a class, I'll [00:52:00] prepare a class, I focus on 12 layouts. If after making the 12 layout I still have papers and embellishment, I create more so people don't have a lot of left over. Because those leftovers are going to stay there. I have

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm. Yes.

Rebeca Ruiz: People that... I have one, one friend that I... We, we start our friendship with, with the store that I had a few years ago. She went there and start buying and start visiting me for classes. We make a friendship. And after a few years, I noticed she always bought me classes. But she never bought products. And it is because she's been in this hobby for a lot of year, and she says, "I don't have the time to sit and think and create. What I enjoy is [00:53:00] documenting my photos, so when I have the time, I bo- I buy a class from any, any place in the world." She buy from everybody.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Rebeca Ruiz: She sits ju- just to create layout from classes or albums from, from classes. And put her photos there. But she didn't like to create. So all those products that left after she create are there, or she throw them, she gave away.

I don't know what she did. But she tell me she didn't likes to create. She wants to follow instructions and create something. So when I create my classes, I try to use the packe- the, the package of products that buy so you don't have left over. And for my process, I, when, when putting the kit together, I first think about the bases for my layout, what cardstock or special pattern papers I need for the bases. From that, I usually include the [00:54:00] collection kit, which are 12 papers, and three or four additional papers. And then I added the embellishment. I an s- I make some sketch to how to use, especially the double layouts. I usually three double layouts. That's six pages of the class, the, the half of the class. When creating double pages is the hardest pa- part because I l- I like, in my style, I like to have continuity from one page to another. So I need to use the same paper in one side and the other in a way. Something that coordinates well. I first create those double-sided page, and then I start creating the others and dividing the papers, using them. And if I have at the end more, like in this Mickey class, I created two more layouts for them as inspiration to use the leftovers.

Jennifer Wilson: Fantastic. Yeah, no, [00:55:00] I think, that kind of scratches an itch, as, as they say, in terms of using up every piece of it. And, um, feeling like you got a lot done in the process and, and had fun and also being able to follow instructions also is, uh, so a stress relief? If you will. Um, in terms of not having to make every single decision yourself.

Rebeca Ruiz: Yeah. um, we are living in times that people have a lot of stress.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Rebeca Ruiz: A lot of responsibilities. And so taking the time to create a class, a layout from a class is something that relax them. That helps them feel better. They can document their photos. I try to use in my layouts, photo sizes that are not too hard to get. People can, can use their photos in easily from the phone or from a camera, and just document the everyday life.

This is the, my favorite thing. I think I... In my albums, [00:56:00] you can see photos from vacations, but they are not usually the, the perfect photos, p- posing with a lot of things or something. No, they are photos that we as family took with our phones, or if I bring the camera, we took. And they are everyday photos.

Doing things at home. If my girls are cooking, if they are playing a video game, or if they are... A board game, I took photos of them. And this is what I like to enjoy, because at the end of the time, this is what we remember.

Jennifer Wilson: 100%. Yes.

Rebeca Ruiz: We remember something funny that happened on a vacation. Or something we eat that we really enjoy, or in the contrary, something that was so bad that we laugh a lot and, and we didn't want to eat, and w- we want to remember that so we don't go there anymore. Those kind of stuff is the things that I, I try to document in my pages. And, and I think that's something that people enjoy when they see, because they see, [00:57:00] um, layout with everyday photos.

Jennifer Wilson: They see you, they see your family, they see real life. For sure, yes. Rebecca, this has been so amazing. Thank you so much for sharing your time with us. Can you share again where our listeners can find you online? Anything else you might have new or coming up later this year?

Rebeca Ruiz: Well, right now I don't have any class plan, but I still have, um, a few kits of classes and digital instructions too. People can find me on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram as Simply Rebecca Ruiz. Um, you g- you have the links to all my social media, but they are Simply Rebeca Ruiz, the easiest way me. they can contact me for questions or anything that they want me to, to share.

Jennifer Wilson: And to all of our listeners, please remember that you have permission to scrapbook your way. [00:58:00]