SYW151 – My Way with Jana Eubank

Jana Eubank 0:00

No, no, no, no, no just have fun doing you, embrace what you love to do. And of course explore and that's part of the fun is exploring these other things. But don't feel bad or guilty that it doesn't look the same. Embrace what yours looks like and that you have your own unique spin and your own unique stamp.

Jennifer Wilson 0:19

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 151. In this episode, I'm interviewing Jana Eubank for the My Way series. My Way is all about celebrating the unique ways Memory Keepers get things done. We're excited to have Jana as the January featured artist at Simple Scrapper.

Jennifer Wilson 0:51

Hey, Jana, welcome to Scrapbook Your Way.

Jana Eubank 0:54

Hi, Jennifer, thank you so much for having me.

Jennifer Wilson 0:57

I am excited about our conversation today. I've admired you for so long and I'm so eager to get to know more about you. Can you introduce yourself to our audience?

Jana Eubank 1:05

Sure, I'd love to. My name is Jana Eubank. I've been scrapbooking for gosh, over 20 years, I've been involved in the industry in a variety of ways from design teams, managing kit club design teams. I've worked for Cricket. I worked with Lisa Bernsen, traveling to HSN for several years. And now I work for Simple Stories as their head of marketing and education. So I love my job. It's a lot of fun. It's been fun to see the behind the scenes in both the product development to have opportunities to create my own products. And I just love everything about this industry.

Jennifer Wilson 1:44

Yeah, we are so fortunate that we get to do something that's just so fun and playful and meaningful as well.

Jana Eubank 1:50

Yes, for sure. I've always felt that way. I felt like it's well worth our time.

Jennifer Wilson 1:57

100% So we always love to ask our guests what is one or two things that are exciting you right now in scrapbooking.

Jana Eubank 2:05

You know, right now I, something that's been really fun for me lately, within the last couple of years is metal dies. I love working with metal dies. I've always loved tools. I've always been kind of a tool junkie. And you know, collect all the pattern scissors from way back when and the punches and everything. But I kind of stayed away from metal dies for a while just because I loved electronic die cutting. And I sort of felt like no, I don't need both. But I've I've loved playing with the metal dies lately. And I also have really loved creating mini books. Like the six by eight Snap binder size, like by Simple Stories. I, before I worked for them, I mostly did 12 by 12 scrapbooking and I didn't go into the mini book area very much. But since working for them, I've played with those more and I love them. There's so much fun, so much variety, so many different things you can do. So that's that's been fun for me.

Jennifer Wilson 2:59

Oh 100% I've, I've think I've long loved that smaller canvas just because it doesn't feel as intimidating. It's easier to fill up. Yeah, it always just felt really cozy for me. But this the metal die thing I think maybe is a trend. And we can call you a trendsetter. But I've just bought my first manual die cut machine. Because for so long, I was like I don't need all the tools. I can be minimalist. And now I'm like, I want all the fun, fun goodies to make things look different. So...

Jana Eubank 3:28

I love it, a fellow metal die lover.

Jennifer Wilson 3:32

Yes. So the flip side of what tends to be a little bit more of product and fun is the storytelling side. And so we love to talk about also our memory keeping Bucket List. And so these tend to be stories that can be a little bit more serious. But in overall they're just important. They feel like this is something I really still need to document. So do you have one story on your Bucket List?

Jana Eubank 3:56

Yes, I, gosh, it's hard to narrow it down to one story, right? I think for me as I've, as I've grown older and you know, kind of zoomed out and seeing the whole process of my life journey. I my, my stories that I want to tell are actually where I come from. So I look at my parents and I go Gosh, I don't know your story, as well as mine. But of course they are connected, their stories, my story. So one story I really want to work on are my parents coming of age stories. And my dad is actually battling stage four cancer. So I feel like our time is limited. And so, you know, his father passed away when he was 14, met my mom. My mom kind of had a coming of age story where you know, a battle with her parents, so to speak, and she left the nest and got married and so that formed who they are, but ultimately formed who I am as well. And so I feel an urgency to, you know, kind of talk to them more in a real way about those stories in their lives and how that made them who they are, and thus made our family and me, who I am. So that's one that I really want to work on within the next few years.

Jennifer Wilson 5:07

Oh 100%. So, so often, definitely sending love to your dad as he goes through his journey.

Jana Eubank 5:13

Thank you. That's very nice of you. Thank you.

Jennifer Wilson 5:17

So one of our other topics for this year, particularly in this series of podcast episodes, is I really wanted to kick off 2022 talking about more. Because oftentimes, we're often cutting things out, whether we're like cutting out carbs, or we're cutting out, you know, we want less stress. But what do we really want more of often, there's like an underlying, I want more fun, I want more of rest. And so I'm curious what you want more of in the new year, as it relates to kind of your whole memory keeping experience.

Jana Eubank 5:49

I think all of us would say we want more time, to find more time. And so I love your mantra, you know, that's listed, listed on your page, that you help people find their scrapbooking approach, so that they can have fun and get stuff done. And, and I think that's where our focus needs to be is finding what works for us. So we can find more time and find that rhythm and feel more productive. And also, for me, I just love the connection with the community. I, as I've worked for Simple Stories, I haven't been doing a lot of my own blogging just because, you know, there's kind of trying to find that work of personal balance with your crafting. Because and so I missed that I miss the community and over education in simple stories, that's one of my favorite parts is being able to connect with people online, through our live streams or our classes. And so I'm really excited for that in 2022, to to just connect with the community more. And I just find a better balance with doing my own projects and connecting with people on my blog and my YouTube channel and things like that, while also doing things for Simple Stories. So that's what I'm looking forward to.

Jennifer Wilson 7:01

Oh, I love that I think we're often always looking for balance as well. But I think you also really underscored how sometimes that time issue. It disappears when you find that connection. When you find the fun and the joy. We're not thinking about time and we're not trying to squeeze it in. We're just doing it because we're so excited and engaged with it.

Jana Eubank 7:25

Right? Yes, for sure. I think the biggest thing for me is just been curating my style. And knowing like what products stand out to me the most. And so I can, you know, focus those supplies and focus my, the way I like to tell stories. And so I do feel like I can get more done with the time that I have. Because of that curation of style. And, and the way I, I prefer to do things or the way that feels good to me.

Jennifer Wilson 7:54

Yes, yes. And that's exactly why this is Scrapbook Your Way. And this happens to be one of our My Way episodes, because you are our January featured artist. We're excited to have you.

Jana Eubank 8:04

Awesome.

Jennifer Wilson 8:05

And so a selection of your pages that you've selected as favorites, will become sketches and templates for our members. But this episode is all about kind of peeking behind the curtain and hearing more about your style and really your just all of the ways that you make scrapbooking work for you. But the first thing I want to do is because we are in our Habits, creative Journey, right now we divide the year into six creative journeys. And the first two months of the year are all about habits, those foundational skills that really make the rest of the year work for us. And so I'm curious what has been successful for you, in developing good habits around your scrapbooking.

Jana Eubank 8:47

I think one of the main things, like I mentioned is curating my style, but also just finding a system of organizing kind of input, output, I think. You know, right, we're constantly taking photos, we're constantly having experiences in our lives, of course, that we want to document or remember or percolate over. And so finding a system that that works, and for me, that is a blend of journaling and scrapbooking. So I, journaling to me is a huge, I don't know meditation exercise, it's very calming to me. And so that's where my brain dump goes, you know, things that are happening in my life, things that are standing out to me are things that I want to remember that my kids or my family or that I am doing, but then marrying that together with photos. And so a system that I have for organizing my photos is by organizing them into groups within my computer, but I also keep a notebook. So I love products, products or what just drive my creative energy and so I love to scrap it chronologically or I'm sorry I organize my memories chronologically, but I don't scrap chronologically. So to keep me organized, I keep a notebook where it's a chronological notebook, right year, month. But I just kind of keep a bullet list of things that happened, that I want to go back to and record. And then I will put page protectors into albums with little notes slipped into the paper, as kind of a placeholder for those pages when I get to them. So we have a lot of like, you know, sheet protector albums sitting on our shelves, but I know there's a spot for it. And then when I find the time, or the, the product that I feel matches those stories, or those photos, I can pull those in, you know, kind of jump around from memory to memory, and then I have a spot for them. I know exactly where they go, I can cross it off the list. And I feel like I'm making progress. But I don't feel, you know, it's just a great system to marry together that journaling that I'm doing in books, and then the photos. And I go back and pull those, you know, memories and photos together on the page or not, you know, maybe I just do some journaling, leave it in the journal, but I, that system works for me. And so that helps me to keep going.

Jennifer Wilson 11:12

Oh, I love that. I think some of our listeners, if they're looking for a strategy to really get their brain around, you know, the day to day, there's always new photos, always new ideas, always new products that are inspiring things you want to create. But then how how does that fit into the overarching library of all of our, all of our pages. And so I think there's a lot of really great wisdom there. So I appreciate you, revealing picking, pulling back the curtain on your approach.

Jana Eubank 11:39

Thank you. I hope that made sense. I'm not used to like illustrating things verbally. So I'm like, Did that make sense?

Jennifer Wilson 11:45

It did, it did. Yeah. No, I love it.

Jana Eubank 11:48

Great. Thank you.

Jennifer Wilson 11:49

All right, so now going back, can you tell us a little bit about how you got started scrapbooking and how your hobby has evolved in that time?

Jana Eubank 11:59

Oh, wow. So I started well, first of all, growing up, my mom was very good at keeping photo books. And I always loved poring through those books and just seeing our photos. And, you know, and she was, she started scrapbooking, she went to a Creative Memories party, when I was in junior high. And she came home, you know, with with these cute pages cut into circles and stars, of course, with the story, the minute I saw that, I just thought, oh my gosh, I need to do that. That is good. That just lights me up. And so I knew, since I always loved those photo books, I knew that when I got married, or I left the home and you know, my mom was the main memory keeper growing up, I knew that when I left the home that it would be up to me. And so I knew from the moment I got married or whatever that I would start and just really dive in and make a focused effort to have a system to keep track of those because I had such a good example. Now, you know, years later, you know, starting a family and things like that you don't have a lot of time. So I you know I, I was pretty good at it. But it wasn't until my husband got a job as a weatherman. He works at our local news station. And his hours are a bit funky, you know, he leaves at 3pm. And he doesn't get home till 11 or midnight. So here I am with young kids. And I needed something to do. And so that's when I really dove into scrapbooking because you know, you put them to bed at seven, eight or nine and eight at night. And then you've got these quiet hours. And I just didn't want to like zone out on the TV every night. So I just knew, Oh, this is the perfect time for me to document our family memories, I know that it will be meaningful to them. It's meaningful to me. It's a great creative outlet. And so that's when I really dove into it. Now, I did sort of take a pause in the middle, I like to call it during the brown phase of scrapbooking there was I don't know if you remember, you know, all the distressing and everything was just brown. And I don't know, as a color level, lover, color lover, excuse me. That really kind of I just thought no, I don't want everything to be brown. So I kind of fell away from it for a few years. But then I realized what, why I wasn't doing it. That's because I loved color, I needed to have color in my life and pattern. And so once I recognized that I was able to get back into it. And then I just you know, I love the industry side with the design teams and everything, of course because of the products. And I just, it just was a fun way for me to be creative pour, get that creative hands on, you know, experience out, but doing something meaningful. Now, the challenge has been as my kids have gotten older, I have three young adult kids and then one left at home who's in high school is you know, they're taking their own photos now. So they're, I'm not with them all the time. In fact, they're hardly ever here, right?

Jennifer Wilson 14:52

Yeah.

Jana Eubank 14:53

And so the shift of memory keeping has been okay. You know, what does that look like for me going forward. And I try to encourage them, in fact, to do their own memory keeping, and they do it in their own ways, you know, through journaling and printing out photos and sticking those in their journals. And I hope someday maybe they'll find satisfaction in journaling. But I'm a big believer of just doing whatever works for you, you know, like you are, it sounds like.

Jennifer Wilson 15:18

Yeah.

Jana Eubank 15:18

In whatever phase of life you're in. So, you know, we're transitioning to that, okay, so, now I feel like I have time, quote, unquote, to sort of catch up. And then also just, I'm focused on, you know, my thoughts and my experiences and the way my, our lives are changing, and also seeing them, you know, launch into their own lives. And so it's just a different perspective is, I think before, it's sort of the milestones, you know, the birthdays, the holidays, the vacations, which is still is, but also that, that, that deeper story of seeing your children grow, and then start their own lives and figure out who they are, at that point in their life. So that's been a lot of fun.

Jennifer Wilson 15:21

Oh, for sure. And I love how you underscored that we go through these different seasons of life, that really influence maybe how we even want to approach it, sometimes it feels like we can barely catch up because, or stay caught up because there's so much happening. And then in other seasons of life, as you're entering into now, you do feel a little bit more spaciousness, time for reflection, time to go back and fill in some of those gaps. And that's, that's just that's how life works. And you know, our scrapbooking will often mirror that.

Jana Eubank 16:39

It's funny, because I feel like I have more time in the season in my life, but it's also a time where, you know, after raising a family, you you go back, like, for example, me I'm back in the workforce. So you know, I'm exploring myself that way in my in my skills that way. And so maybe I, I also don't feel like I have a lot of time to and and there's the realization where you look back or you zoom out and you say, oh, yeah, my life is, you know, what midlife crisis, or something. There's where you go, it's kind of half over, like, I better get going on some of these things that I want to do, or I want to document or I want to make sure happen, or that are left for my family. So it's it's kind of the back and forth. I think.

Jennifer Wilson 17:21

Somebody asked me yesterday, like what's on your long term Bucket List? And I'm like, Well, I don't really know. Like, I have a couple like travel things I know. But I haven't really thought about like, what are the big important things that I want to still do in my life? And I think it's as we get to this, this middle age, or like, we start to really have hard conversations with ourselves and sometimes fun conversations about what, what needs to shift to go after these things. As as this as life evolves.

Jana Eubank 17:51

It's true. In fact, that's, that's one of the reasons I did go for my job at Simple Stories, because I just thought I've always wanted to work in the industry. And you know, I've loved being at home with my family. But I thought, I'm going to go for it. Because I, if not now when? Right?

Jennifer Wilson 18:07

Yes, yes.

Jana Eubank 18:09

Yeah, it's been really fun.

Jennifer Wilson 18:11

So we're going to talk a little bit more about product here. And you already mentioned that you're very product driven. It's what inspires you and is the real juicy fun part for you. Can you talk a little bit more about the sizes and formats you typically created and, and why you chose choose those?

Jana Eubank 18:26

Sure, I love working in a 12 by 12 size, I started off as a 8.5 by 11, scrapbooker. That was kind of the standard then. And then it evolved into the 12 by 12, which I loved because I like a more space for photos, more space for journaling, more space for playing, right. So I really love the 12 by 12 size. And so I did both pocket pages and layouts with that. But as I mentioned earlier, I think that when I went to work for Simple Stories, I hadn't really dabbled in the six by eight size. I had done like one or two projects. And of course, part of my job is to feature our products. So I of course, I started playing with them more, and I have just fallen, I genuinely fallen in love with the size, I think. It's so much fun. You know, what I love about it is you get to, you know, you have the versatility of a D ring binder where you can move things around, but you also and you have the pocket pages right? But you also have the fun of like adding interactive things like flaps or you know, little pockets and things like that, or like pages that you punch and have flip outs and so like the you know a gatefold style page and that's been really fun. I don't, I know you could probably do that in a 12 by 12 size but for some reason it seems so cumbersome or so unprotected, I guess.

Jennifer Wilson 19:46

For sure.

Jana Eubank 19:47

Yeah. You know where things would get ruined or I don't know I don't know if it just feels more loose like trying to do those types of things. So I've really loved that size, the six by eight. I think it's really fun size you know to set on the shelf, or to take with you somewhere. I think it's just a really fun way to document you know, maybe a set amount of time, whether it's a holiday or a vacation or, you know, make it into a journal of a certain portion of your life. I don't know, I just think the versatility of those albums are a lot of fun. And I don't mean to sound like a commercial for them, but I genuinely love them.

Jennifer Wilson 20:23

No, it's great. And I'm actually curious the the new Flipbooks. They're you know, basically a mini strap hinge album. You know, I'm curious how you think about that and approach it differently than a ring bound album. We're talking, you know, six by eight on both of them. How would you approach that differently?

Jana Eubank 20:40

Yes. So the FlipBooks are interesting. Like, as you mentioned, they kind of have that strap hinge with that clasp in there. It's like a giant brad that holds the page pockets in there. So you still have the versatility of moving things around. But what I love with those is the price point. You know, so I think these gift albums, or, you know, maybe you want to make a little recipe book for somebody or a coach, you know, maybe or teacher. I know, one year, we had a mother and one of my classes, my children's classes, they put together a memory book, where they had, you know, a photo of the kid, and then like a recipe from that child. And then they said, what they loved about the teacher. And I like, those little albums are perfect for gift giving. And I also love, you know, I also love that they're so slim. That is something that you could travel with, I don't know, I kind of described them as like travelers notebooks that have versatility because they have that flat profile. But you can move things around, you're not, you know, stuck to the stapled in pages where you go, Oh, I don't know how many page, you know, pages I should take to document this or leave space for if you need to skip, you know. So I do love that about those. So I hope I answered your question.

Jennifer Wilson 21:54

It does it. I'm glad that you mentioned the price point because even pre pandemic, the price of albums was continuing to go up and it starts to be like, Oh, that's that's kind of expensive, particularly when we talk about the 12 by 12 albums, right. And then now because of the supply chain issues, and so many different complicating factors, they're just continuing to get more expensive. So sometimes you might want to make a more budget conscious decision, particularly in those gifts situations, or if you don't want it to take up as much space. So I just, yeah, I appreciate you mentioning that too. It's nice to have another option.

Jana Eubank 22:27

Yes, you know, sometimes we need variety. And sometimes we get in a rut. And you know, as much as I love 12 by 12 Scrapbooking, sometimes I just, you do, you kind of fall in the same designs, or I don't know, you just sometimes just need to switch it up. And so it's fun to try a little sub project where you go, you know what, I'm just gonna let my brain think in a different way and explore this other option. And, you know, I love that they come with the page pockets so that you can, it almost like decides your format for you. So you don't have to you know, you just that it gives you enough variety to go okay, this is different. And so I'm having fun exploring this. So...

Jennifer Wilson 23:09

I love that. So we can sure take it for granted that you're obsessed with Simple Stories products. I'm curious who other, whose other products that you're really loving, whether it's just you love what they're doing right now or that maybe there's even specific lines that you're really attracted to?

Jana Eubank 23:25

You know, I gosh, I don't sounds cliche. I just I love all of like, I really love pattern paper is my is kind of my kryptonite. So I and die cuts I think so really, I just like to have a variety of styles. I like to curate, you know, items from multiple brands really, I, because I've been around for so long. I do have a genuine love for all brands. And I've been on so many design teams that I have a personal connection with all these different brands. So it's never like you know, I. Of course I love Simple Stories, yes, there. That's actually why I went to work with them because they were a product that I loved the most. I guess it felt most like me, I talked about curating my style. But of course, I also love variety. And I like to build in a different look or a different feel on different from project to project. And so, you know, getting projects or products from a variety of brands will help you do that.

Jennifer Wilson 24:31

Well and I think right now we're definitely in a, it's all about color phase. It's the opposite of the brown phase. It's even like it's even neon and rainbow and we're like going all out you see a lot more purple now than you used to. And so I think there's definitely a nice variety for everyone.

Jana Eubank 24:51

Definitely. And I've also been one of those scrapbookers like, if I almost love a challenge, I guess so to speak with different you know, lines. I know, I know, some people might see a baby line, for example, let's use that, that where they go, Oh, that's just for a baby. But if I love the colors, you know, I will look at those patterns and go, you know all the B sides and go Well, I love that. It's almost a challenge for me to pull those different pieces out of the baby line. Obviously, my kids are all young adults now, I would never really use a baby line right now. But you know, if I love those patterns, or those colors, or even the icons, you know, I'll pull them in. I don't, I don't, I'm not afraid to add an animal on a page that's not about animal, I guess. I just think it's cute. So I'm going for it.

Jennifer Wilson 25:40

Yes, I love that. And I think sometimes we do need an encouragement to think beyond the themes. And at the same time, there's been such a, an embracing over the past decade of everyday life scrapbooking. It's also been more exciting to me to think, yeah, sometimes it's fun to just choose all the theme things and really go whole hog and jump right in. I think we've seen that a lot with the kind of excitement around October daily this year, there's a lot more like Halloween excitement. And yeah, let's just let's do themey stuff if we want to do themey stuff.

Jana Eubank 26:15

Right. And also, I just think the challenge of, you know, using using our supplies, you know, using what you have. So yes, you know, if I, if I don't have something specific for the Grand Canyon, you know, I don't have a sticker that says the Grand Canyon. I can make my own or I can, you know, pull out this colors, like you mentioned, or just create that feel with what other ever items I may have, or you know, florals or whatever it may be. So I love that too.

Jennifer Wilson 26:48

Oh, yeah, it just, it justifies all those alphabet stamps and dies that you bought so?

Jana Eubank 26:53

Yes.

Jennifer Wilson 26:54

Because you can make your own titles. That's why we bought them, right.

Jana Eubank 26:56

Yes. And I think that's the mother of creativity is sometimes limiting what we have. Well, yeah, where we go, okay, this is what I got. So, you know, instead of always buying why don't I use my creativity? Or use my tools or, and come up with an idea? I don't know.

Jennifer Wilson 27:14

For sure. So I'm curious, is there something that you've identified that you think that you use, or you do on most of your pages, whether it's a 12 by 12, or a six by eight? Like what's kind of your signature technique or product, you're always reaching for something like that?

Jana Eubank 27:33

Okay. Well, I love pattern paper, I, I have to have pattern on projects, I just have to have it. So I will always do that. Something I do with my photos that anytime I do a process video or something like that people people kind of go Wait, what are you doing, I like to sand the edge of my photos. I just like to add a little white edge along. You know, I don't know if you remember back in the day, we would drag white paint across the edges of photos. So kind of gives that look where you're inking your edges of your photos. But you're actually just standing away a little bit of the, the ink and so I love that it kind of gives it a timeworn feel. So that's something I do on all my pages. I also have to have, like, I have to do a dimensional title. I don't know why, like my title has to jump out at me like physically. So I will do that. I still ink my edges with my papers. I know that's kind of considered like an old school thing, but I just love it. And then as far as products go, I love die cuts, I love, I love fussy cutting. I know that fussy cutting drives some people crazy but to me it's just very relaxing. It's almost I kind of compare it to like, you know, some people like to crochet or knit and to me I love to fussy cut. I think it's so fun. And then I always have to add in some sprinkles of something like whether it's enamel dots, or you know, clear gems. Those are kind of the things but definitely layers, dimensional title, and working in those little dimensional pieces just to make it feel like you want to touch it.

Jennifer Wilson 29:12

Oh for sure. Now I'm curious when you're inking the edges of your papers what color ink are you using, what do you love for that?

Jana Eubank 29:20

Are you like, do you think you're just Jennifer?

Jennifer Wilson 29:23

I don't.

Jana Eubank 29:23

Okay. I'm like, I'm like...

Jennifer Wilson 29:27

I'm just wondering if you use brown?

Jana Eubank 29:29

No, I do not because I do not like the brown phase, remember?

Jennifer Wilson 29:34

Yeah yeah, yeah, no.

Jana Eubank 29:37

No, I'll use brown if it kind of coordinates with the colors but I normally reach for a dark grey. And so I how I kind of explain my mental thinking about it, is you know when you color with Copics, you kind of do the darker edges with the darker colors. So to me that dark gray kind of gives it that shadow effect and just makes it feel a little more dimensional like you would if your coloring something flat. So, yes, dark gray is what I mostly reach for. And you can barely even see it on my project. So hope, you're maybe, it doesn't, isn't even worth the time that I put into it. But...

Jennifer Wilson 30:13

No, I've noticed it on your projects before. And it made me think maybe I should actually try that because I think I've only done it once. And it was like 12 years ago.

Jana Eubank 30:23

I know, right? I'm I am that old school lady.

Jennifer Wilson 30:27

But I think it was because everybody was doing brown back then. And I didn't want to to brown. So...

Jana Eubank 30:32

Right. Well back then they, you know, you had to have every color. And then you like you like matched it with whatever you were doing, whether it was blue, or orange or whatever, but never red, right? We don't want to look like we have paper cuts all over those pages.

Jennifer Wilson 30:51

I will have to try it with the gray though, because I do think that it can just add that dimension. And sometimes when you're layering papers, it just looks a little flat, even though it isn't flat. And even when you're trying to like you pop it up, it's still a little bit too, like that just looks like cut paper. But I think there's a degree of finishing that the inked edges do add. So there's something to be said for it.

Jana Eubank 31:13

Yeah, give it a try. Especially think right now, you know, the trend is kind of for the white or lighter backgrounds. And and so sometimes if you're using a pattern paper or something with a light or white background, they do can, they do blend together, like you mentioned. And so try it, see if you guys like it. I don't know, I do.

Jennifer Wilson 31:35

So I'm curious, like, one of the big things that comes up for a lot of our community. And you mentioned even the beginning is just finding the time and the energy for scrapbooking. So you mentioned you typically are still scrapbooking in the evenings. And obviously you're doing this for work, too. But what does your kind of energy cycle look like when it comes to feeling motivated to create?

Jana Eubank 31:56

Yes, so my I, my energy is mostly in the morning. So sometimes I will wake up early before work and work on something. Or I will do it in the you know, early evening hours. While you know my husband still works on TV. So he's he's not home. So those were times that I will dive into that. But, but like you said, the the challenge for me has been making time personally, because I'm in this phase of, you know, especially because I'm involved in education and product development, I come home and I'm like, oh, I want people to have this product or this video that I want to make. And so I want to do that instead. And so it really is, but then, you know, months go by and I'm like, Well, I haven't made anything for myself for a while. So it, the challenge for me is just I need to set aside that time and know that my creative spirit needs to recharge by making something for myself and dabbling and playing.

Jennifer Wilson 32:57

Hmm. Yeah. And sometimes I think that looks like journaling, as you mentioned, or it looks like other things, particularly for those of us who do scrapbook as part of our jobs. So sometimes we need to find that creative fulfillment with some other dabbling and other crafting.

Jana Eubank 33:14

Right, I bet you run into the same, you know, balance sometimes?

Jennifer Wilson 33:19

Well, I think it's also like, and I've heard a lot, so many of our guests, and so many people I've talked to say this it gets, you'd be surprised at how little we actually scrapbook sometimes being in the industry. So much of it is like content development and writing and making videos and doing all the other things about the scrapbooking.

Jana Eubank 33:37

It's true. It is yes, yeah.

Jennifer Wilson 33:41

So I'm curious, like how you have stayed motivated so much over the years? And do you have any strategies that help you maybe when you're kind of feeling a little like off? How do you get back into it?

Jana Eubank 33:52

Well, I have a tendency to consume more than I produce sometimes. I like I, I will shop for supplies. And for some reason, like mentally I'm not, I'm not recommending this. Mentally, it makes me feeling like I'm getting something done. So I've had to tell myself, No, you need to produce more than you consume. You know, don't just hop on the computer and buy something where you, I don't know, it tricks your brain making you think you're scrapbooking. Yeah. And so it's like or you we can we can like zone out on YouTube watching things forever, right? So I've had to tell myself, no, no, no, you need to keep yourself in check and produce more than you consume. So that's kind of one little mantra, I tell myself. Back in the day of design teams where I was on several design teams, you know, I had to keep the product flowing. Because it's coming in all the time to feature. So I kind of would tell myself, you need to create at least two layouts or two or three layouts with each collection before passing it on to a friend or, or whatever. So that kind of kept me in a rhythm. And then one other thing I do is when I'm feeling, you know, I, you mentioned, when you don't feel motivated or you don't feel like you're in the creative zone is I will start with a sketch or I will scraplift someone. And that's not something I would necessarily post online as my own work. But it, it helps me get back in the flow by. And it's also really fun to explore other styles that way, you know, to just as you go through the process of making, or copying something else that somebody has done, you learn new things, you learn techniques, or how they place things. And, you know, obviously, you don't always have the same supplies that they do. So there's the essence of creativity of, you know, using what you have, and making it work with whatever they did. And so that helps me get back in the flow. And usually, after I've made one or two with a sketch, or, you know, scraplift, I'm like, Alright, I'm in the zone, I, I'm going to play now I'm going to go off in my own on my own direction. So...

Jennifer Wilson 35:59

Sometimes we, if we are trying to create original things, it's really helpful to take that pause and just let someone else tell you what to do for a moment, and just follow along, and that can help you kind of re-find your own internal motivation and your own kind of creative zing. So...

Jana Eubank 36:17

Yeah, and I think it helps you go, I like this, or I don't like this. You know, you know, I mentioned I've been around for so long. And there was kind of the the like the doodlee phase. Do you remember the doodlee phase where everybody like, drew around everything and the little scallop doodles. And you know, and I explored that and, and it was fun. Like, I had a blast doing it. But I realized like, that's not really me. And I like the brown phase, right? Everything that was kraft colored, but it was like, everything was kraft colored. I'm like, No, I need I need like, I need a rainbow. I need some fun on there. I need some hearts and cuteness.

Jennifer Wilson 36:57

So are there any other things that you've decided are just not for you? You gave it a try? And you're like, No, I'm not gonna do that.

Jana Eubank 37:05

I think more, more recently, for me, it's been mixed media. I don't hate it. I think it's super fun to do. But for me, it kind of gives me a kind of, gives me hives a little bit because I'm like, I don't know how it's gonna turn out. Like, will this work? I don't know. And so, like, I love I love doing mixed media, but I keep it very simple, you know, stamping a date. Can we call that mixed media?

Jennifer Wilson 37:31

I don't think so, to be honest.

Jana Eubank 37:34

I'm joking. I will, like, you know, do a little sprinkling, or I will do a stencil, you know, with a swipe of something that dries once. But I like I see these amazing artists who, who like spend hours on the background, and I love it. And I'm like, like I just, I just don't have that skill. I'm like, Oh, mine will be just a puddle of brown. So that is one that I admire from afar. And keep simple when I when I execute it myself.

Jennifer Wilson 38:05

Well and I think sometimes there's that point where you just have to say like, I can love this for someone else, and appreciate it and to just know that it's not for me and have that be okay.

Jana Eubank 38:18

Oh, yes.

Jennifer Wilson 38:19

Because there's always going to be you know, that's, that's part of art and creativity isn't everyone does things differently. And to just say like, I love that for them, but I just I can't do that myself and I don't I don't like how it looks, it doesn't feel natural for me. And that's okay, because we're all, we're all unique in our own ways.

Jana Eubank 38:36

Yes. And I think you know, talking about that feeling when you're, you know, you're viewing other people's work. I think sometimes there's, there's too much guilt in this in this hobby, you know, we'll see something that somebody else did. And we go well, my mine doesn't look like that. Like I want it to look like that. But mine doesn't look like that. And so we we feel bad that ours doesn't look like that. And I'm like, that's silly. You know, we should just have fun or, or oh, I'm not as an amazing of a mixed media artist is that person and how do you know Oh, I can't post this because mine doesn't look like theirs. And it's like, no, no, no, just have fun doing you, you know, just embrace what you love to do. And of course, you know, explore and that's part of the fun is exploring these other things, but don't feel bad or guilty that you know, it doesn't look the same, embrace what yours looks like and that you have your own unique spin and your own unique stamp. And that's perfect. And you know, same goes for buying supplies, the whole guilt thing with buying supplies, and clearing out supplies. You know, I know a lot of people talked about narrowing, and even I have talked about narrowing down your supplies. But at the same time I have stuff that I've had for a long time. And I refuse to feel guilty about it and like I still like it, sorry. I'm gonna still work with it or even just enjoy owning it. So anyway. Too much guilt.

Jennifer Wilson 40:04

Well you know what. Yeah, and I think I think we can't and there's certainly a balance there. But as someone who's had a lot of product come through her, her home over time.

Jana Eubank 40:15

Oh, me too.

Jennifer Wilson 40:15

How do you keep it organized? Do you have any, like, favorite solutions that have really worked for you?

Jana Eubank 40:22

Oh, my goodness, you just said how do I keep it organized? It is a good thing my husband is not in this room. He will say organized, she's not organized. Do you see how those stacks over there? No, you know how we bleed out into other rooms? And we're like, oh, there's a little empty cupboard, I'll stick some stuff. No, I do. I love collecting supplies. But I do love them have them organized. So in fact, my husband will also joke like your scrapbook is your scrapbook room is the most organized place in the house. And that's because I love organizing them, right. So things that I love, or techniques or approaches to the organizing I love are using vertical supply, vertical storage solutions. So that you can flip through things, you know, having your stamps, or your dyes on a vertical thing in a bin so you can flip through them and see them easily. That goes for pattern paper collections, you know, so one of my favorite ways to store things is with those 12 by 12 Iris cases. Like the snap closed cases.

Jennifer Wilson 41:28

Yes.

Jana Eubank 41:29

You can, yeah, you can keep everything in there and kind of stack them up on a shelf and pull them in and out from the you know, but without toppling everything or having to dig. And then I also love like the 12 by 12 paper holders. And I will dump a whole collection in one of those and keep those in there. So yeah, I'm a fan of the vertical storage solutions.

Jennifer Wilson 41:51

Well and you pointed out something to me that I had been using vertical storage for my paper for a long time. And then the holder that I had wouldn't fit in my new Kallax IKEA system. So I had to put it on the floor and I put my paper horizontal and then I don't use nearly as much pattern paper because it's laying flat. And it's so cumbersome to look through because it's this big, heavy stack. And so I think sometimes you can identify ways that like, Oh, I really need to keep that vertical. I need to move that back and find a way because, you know, laying flat doesn't work for me. And so I think we all have something like that where we can learn from ourselves and identify the things that just like that aren't working. And then the ones that are working really well, right.

Jana Eubank 42:38

I think subconsciously if we have a stack of boxes, and we know something's in that lower box, like I don't know, we get lazy. We're like, oh, I can I know I'm not gonna go get that out. I don't want to unstack everything and then stack it back up, so...

Jennifer Wilson 42:54

Yes. That is 100%. Me.

Jana Eubank 43:00

It's so true. Oh, man.

Jennifer Wilson 43:04

So let's like wrapping up here, we have two questions that are a little bit more big picture. So where would you like your scrapbooking to be in 10 years?

Jana Eubank 43:14

Wow, that is let's see. Wow, let's I you know, I feel like I since I'm in this stage of my life, or my kids are kind of heading out and beginning their own lives. I do feel like I want to, like I mentioned before, quote unquote, get caught up a little bit on the are their childhood memories, just because I know how much they love to look through them. And so there are photos that haven't been printed. And you know, that I know, they would love to see. So I feel like I want to utilize that time to get those items done so that they can enjoy them but also as they start their own families, you know, my oldest is going to be 33 in 10 years and so she may want to come and show her daughter you know pictures of her when she was that young or whatever it is. So yeah, yeah, I kind of feel like that and then really just just overall just keep having fun and just keep being creative because that is what lights me up. I I never want to have stress that it's not done. You know, and and I'm okay, if things aren't done. I really am. You know, I don't I don't really feel like my kids are going to keep everything that I've done. I really don't I think maybe they'll scan it and then toss it, I and I'm okay with that. Honestly, I don't feel bad or I don't feel like it's wasted time because the the sitting down to reminisce or ponder the lessons I've learned in life. Or you know, as I look at these photos, are these these situations that have happened or these thoughts that I've had and lessons that I've learned. That, that in and of itself is the process of thinking through that things, is important to me. And so I feel like I have gained what I've needed to out of the creativity process or the scrapbooking process. It's not necessarily for them, it's more for me.

Jennifer Wilson 45:14

I love that distinction. And I think we all have various whys over the years and sometimes thoso shift. And sometimes there are a lot of different reasons behind it, but kind of understanding what are you in it for now? And kind of where do you think you're heading can inform a lot of decisions, and also give you some kind of peace and comfort with decisions about things, you're going to let go as well. So what do you think? What would you say being a scrapbooker has taught you?

Jana Eubank 45:43

I think, I think it's taught me more than anything, that time is fleeting, that we just need to be in the moment and, you know, take the picture and write down the memory, because I for one have a terrible memory. And if I don't, if I don't write it down or take a photo, it, it genuinely didn't happen, like I don't remember. And so I just I want to be in that moment, and and never regret taking too many photos, right? We never will regret taking too many photos, but we'll always regret not taking enough. And so I feel like it's taught me to just enjoyed sitting with a friend and having that conversation, you know, enjoyed seeing your child in the phase of life that they're in and snapping that photo, because a year from now, they will look different, they will have not only in growth, but in wisdom, their face will be different. And because they'll be having different experiences. I think it's helped me to realize that all of us in this world are just doing the best we can, you know, it's helped me to see my parents as human, right? Yes, you're growing up, you're like, so judgey of everything they done. And then then once you go through that phase of your own, and you're documenting how you feel about your kids, and you're like, No, they just were, they just loved me, they just were trying their best and, or whatever, you know what I'm trying to say.

Jennifer Wilson 47:15

Oh, 100% Yes, that's when you can see, when you're in that middle place of being both a daughter and a mother. It's such this, like, realization and deeper understanding of, of what we go through in these, you know, each generation.

Jana Eubank 47:32

Yeah, so it has, it's taught me gratitude, it's taught me the importance of relationships, and being in those moments and, and that, you know, our life is a journey. And we're here to learn stuff. And we are learning stuff. And sometimes we go through hard things. But, you know, you've heard the quote, we've made it through 100% of our bad days. And it's, you know, we can get through this and seeing that on a page or seeing that in a journal helps me know that I'm making progress. You know, I'm learning things and I'm, I'm moving forward, but so is the next person. So don't be so harsh on them. Because they may be at a different point in their life than you are and maybe you've learned something that they haven't yet or vice versa, maybe they've learned something you haven't had an experience of. So it's it's just taught me that greater, deeper feel of gratitude and and life, you know, I don't know.

Jennifer Wilson 48:27

Yeah.

Jana Eubank 48:28

Is that too deep?

Jennifer Wilson 48:29

No, it's It's beautiful, and a wonderful way to kind of usher in the new year. I so appreciate spending time with you, Jana.

Jana Eubank 48:38

Thank you. I loved being here. Thank you for listening to all my you know, goofy perspectives. And it's been fun for me.

Jennifer Wilson 48:48

You're delightful. Can you share where we can find you online? Anything? Maybe you have new or coming up in 2022?

Jana Eubank 48:54

Yes. So you can find me at janaeubank.com. And then also, you can find me at Simple Stories on their social media. So once a week I go live on their Facebook page and YouTube. We've kind of took a break at the end of the year just because of the holidays. But yes, we are on there once a week. So come and say hi and hang out with me. And we also, you can find me. We are having a retreat later in this year. And I will be teaching classes there. So if you are looking for a fun event to go to in September, we are having the Simple Stories, Get Creative retreat. And I hope you'll consider coming and I'd love to hang out with you there and be creative and scrapbooking and just having a good time.

Jennifer Wilson 49:36

Sounds awesome. I will include a link to all of those places including the retreat in the show notes for this episode.

Jana Eubank 49:41

Oh, wonderful. Thank you.

Jennifer Wilson 49:43

Yes, this was so amazing Jana, thank you. And to all of our listeners, please remember that you have permission to Scrapbook Your Way. Are you ready to start implementing the great ideas you hear on the podcast? The Simple Scrapper membership offers a welcoming space to connect with fellow memory keepers and find that creative accountability you've been craving visit simplescrapper.com/membership to learn more and join our community, it's the best it's ever been.