SYW225 – My Way with Caryn Kidwell

[00:01:46] 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 225.In this episode I'm interviewing Caryn Kidwell for the My Way series. My Way is all about celebrating the unique ways memory keepers get things done. We're excited to have Caryn as the July featured artist at Simple Scrapper.

[00:02:16] Jennifer Wilson: Hey Caryn, welcome to Scrapbook Your Way.

[00:02:18] Caryn Kidwell: Hello. Thank you. I'm excited to be here.

[00:02:21] Jennifer Wilson: Yes, I am looking forward to our conversation and poking around behind the scenes in your creative hobby. But can you start by sharing just a little bit about yourself?

[00:02:33] Caryn Kidwell: Sure. So I am Caryn Kidwell. it's Caryn with a C and a Y. So no one spells it that way. Um, so I always have to, uh, share that. I am a mom to two amazing kids, and I say kids, uh, they are 19,23. Um, and I'm married to my best friend of 24 years. So I, um, am so grateful to have come across scrapbooking. Um, it has been something that I have been doing for over 30 years, so.

[00:03:12] Jennifer Wilson: Oh, how fun. So what's exciting you right now? Uh, inside your hobby as well as outside of your hobby?

[00:03:20] Caryn Kidwell: So outside of my hobby, I, um, turned 50 last year, at the end of last year, and my husband this year. So we decided that we're celebrating being 50 every month.

[00:03:33] Jennifer Wilson: Oh, I love it.

[00:03:34] Caryn Kidwell: We're purposely doing something because usually people think 50. Oh my gosh, you're getting old. It's exciting for me. So I've planned different things and for this month we went to Puerto Rico.

[00:03:45] Caryn Kidwell: We've never been. Um, so we're going different places and trying different things, um, Being 50. So that's what we're doing every month this year. Um, inside of crafting, something I'm excited about right now are all the new collections.

[00:04:05] Caryn Kidwell: Uh, there are so many. I see things from Simple Stories, from Paige Evans, from VIcki Boutin and Maggie Holmes. That I want to buy all this stuff and I've been buying all this stuff. So, new collections excite me even though I have tons of craft supplies. Um, I always like to see what the artists are, are creating so I can, purchase and, and incorporate it into my crafting.

[00:04:31] Jennifer Wilson: Oh, for sure, for sure. New stuff is always so fun. I've been eyeing the new Pink Fresh collections. There's just so many pretty things right now.

[00:04:40] Caryn Kidwell: I know.

[00:04:41] Jennifer Wilson: So I'm curious for your celebration of turning 50, do you have a kind of aim for how you wanna scrapbook that?

[00:04:50] Caryn Kidwell: So I decided to do two ways to document it. I'm doing a year of 50. Where I have a scrapbook album, where I have been, creating layouts based on things I've been doing turning 50 that I have never done before. And then I'm doing for each of the events that my husband and I have are, are planning each month. So I have two albums. I've been, I probably have over 15 layouts for my own personal because I want my kids to know how I felt and things I did when I turned 50. So I'm really focusing on making sure I'm documenting for that. So two big D ring binder albums that I'm creating for this year.

[00:05:38] Jennifer Wilson: Oh, that's terrific. I, I love your attitude about turning 50, and I think that that's such a, an important message to share with your kids that this is something to, to celebrate and to go all out on, not something to dread.

[00:05:53] Caryn Kidwell: Right.

[00:05:55] Jennifer Wilson: You know, I think as we get older, there's definitely, I, I try not to swear on the podcast, but you know, you kind of, uh, start giving fewer Fs as they say.

[00:06:05] Caryn Kidwell: Right.

[00:06:06] Jennifer Wilson: And, uh, I definitely appreciate that as the, the, as the years go by.

[00:06:12] Caryn Kidwell: People say I'm different now that I've turned 50.

[00:06:15] Jennifer Wilson: Really?

[00:06:16] Caryn Kidwell: I think it's things that I longer want to tolerate. There are people that if, if their energy is not conducive to how I'm trying to move in this year of 50, um, then it's, it's, it's something that I've been consciously making an effort that if it doesn't make me happy, I don't wanna do it. If it's a party that I really don't wanna go to, I'm, I'm actually gonna say no. And I've never done that. Fifty, it like, it's, it was a switch.

[00:06:50] Jennifer Wilson: Love that. Good for you.

[00:06:52] Jennifer Wilson: So we also like to ask our guests about their memory keeping bucket lists. And so is there a story that you've not yet told that it feels really important that you eventually capture?

[00:07:03] Caryn Kidwell: Yes. So there's um, there seems to be, um, As I've been thinking about different things on my bucket list and stories that I wanna share. I've never shared the story of, um, my mom, um, who, once she got divorced from my dad, was able to work two jobs and take care of us. But we never knew that A, we only had one parent there. And we never knew that she was working two jobs. She made it seamless as if nothing changed. She was able to attend every event, um, that we went to for, um, any of our, um, school activities. She did field trips. So, I wanna document that so that my kids know what my mom did for us that we didn't know she was doing, but set, she set the, the template on how to live. Um, and I, I do believe sharing that story will tie back into why I'm so passionate about turning 50. With her passing away two years ago at 71. It, it really jumpstarted like you're, that's 20 years from now.

[00:08:27] Caryn Kidwell: And, and what would I have done? So I haven't documented all the things that she did, but I want to, I want to be able to do that. I'm not sure what way I'm going to, but I want to tell the story of all that she did. How we we would not have known that we, that she was struggling, whether it's financial or anything.

[00:08:52] Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

[00:08:52] Caryn Kidwell: Because it was, it was all a blur to us. We went to if, if I remember the new Jordache jeans were coming out and we had them. And so, I, I think it's, it, it would be good for my kids and maybe other people to hear what she did and how she grew in her job. Um, with us not knowing what she went through for it.

[00:09:16] Jennifer Wilson: You know, I feel like that's something that could totally go in your, you're turning 50 albums. Because it, it's obviously so much context for kind of what has lit a fire under you and, um, given you more motivation to be celebrating every single day.

[00:09:35] Caryn Kidwell: Right.

[00:09:36] Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. But yeah, what a powerful story. Thank you for sharing.

[00:09:40] Caryn Kidwell: Mm-hmm.

[00:09:41] Jennifer Wilson: So this is a My Way episode cuz you're one of our featured artists at Simple Scrapper this year. And right now inside of our community, we are talking all about photos, taking photos, managing photos, organizing photos, editing photos, all the things. Um, but I'd like to just kind of jump in with a teaser about what makes you tick.

[00:10:02] Jennifer Wilson: So what has been successful for you in managing photos, um, that you'll eventually scrapbook?

[00:10:10] Caryn Kidwell: So I am the person that takes a gazillion pictures. And I take photos every single day.

[00:10:16] Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

[00:10:17] Caryn Kidwell: And, and people are like, what are you doing with them? It's, it's, it's, it works for me, so maybe it might work for other people. Um, between my cell phone and my personal camera, I separate my photos into a couple buckets. The first are photos I'm taking that I'm gonna document in a memory planner. So I have a bin that I divide each month on what I might wanna document in my story. I have another section, which is a, uh, photo box. For Items that I wanna scrapbook. They're, uh, depending on it might be a new collection that I see, like you say, Pink Fresh, and I'll be like, oh, the photos for that. Let me make sure I have those. And then I have another three piles. The next one is for all the photos that I'm not gonna scrapbook that I put into a D-ring binder. I take a post-it and I write on the back of it, uh, just information about it in case I might wanna come back and, and may use them, that's how I keep track of them. And so in my craft room, there are, right now, two bins for memory planning because I haven't done March or April. And, uh, then the pictures that I've just taken and I print pictures at home. I, uh, use other apps so that I can be able to continue to print them, get them and decide what I'm doing with them. Memory keeping, scrapbooking, or filing them away. So I don't have them like all over the place.

[00:11:57] Jennifer Wilson: That's terrific. And I think it's so interesting. I mean, you're basically keeping photo albums in the traditional sense, of the photos that you're not choosing to scrapbook right away.

[00:12:09] Caryn Kidwell: Right.

[00:12:10] Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. And then, so when you decide you wanna scrapbook something later, are you going into those or are you reprinting the photos?

[00:12:17] Caryn Kidwell: I should be going into the folder on binder and taking them out. But I'm a victim of habit. I have the printer, I'll just print it out.

[00:12:27] Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

[00:12:28] Caryn Kidwell: If it's, cause it's just convenient. Sometimes I go back. I think the other day I, it was something where I was doing a challenge and I needed something with a pet and I was like, ah, not gonna print this out. I know I have like a gazillion pictures of him doing x, y, z. So I was able to go, but no, I, I have multiple prints of the same picture.

[00:12:53] Jennifer Wilson: [00:12:53] Caryn Kidwell: In true scrapbooker style.

[00:12:56] Jennifer Wilson: Yes, for sure. I think a lot of us can identify with that. Um, whether you forgot or didn't wanna bother or just like, you know, it had a nice home where it was, so let's just grab another one to do the next thing with it.

[00:13:10] Caryn Kidwell: Right.

[00:13:12] Jennifer Wilson: So let's go back a little bit. You mentioned that you've been scrapbooking for 30 years, so can you tell us how you got started?

[00:13:19] Caryn Kidwell: Yes. So. I've always, um, written uh, in notebooks, old composition books as a kid. And I would take pictures and I would cut out outfits and places I wanted to go from the Sears catalog, that used to come to the house. And I would take those and, and get a glue stick and make my own, what I now would call a scrapbook. Of clothes I wanted to buy, or a trip I wanted to go to, or a new pair of shoes that I wanted. So I was really documenting back then, just didn't know it. I didn't even know what scrapbooking was until, um, when I was working at one of one of my first jobs, and a lady came in with an album. And when she showed it, I was like, what is that? And she's like, oh, this is scrapbooking. And I said, what's that? And she's like, oh. She was showing me the pretty papers and the, and it was a, I think, Creative Memories album.

[00:14:24] Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

[00:14:26] Caryn Kidwell: So she showed me that and then I said, well, where do you get the paper? And all that stuff. And she said, let me take you to this place. And that is when I went to Recollections, um, craft store for the first time. And I walked in and said, oh my goodness. Like it was an abundance of craft supplies. And I just started buying stuff probably for a whole month. Just buying all kinds of stuff. then I went to my first church craft event.

[00:14:57] Caryn Kidwell: And the ladies were showing me, this is how you scrapbook, this is how you cut it out. You use these corner rounders, these dividers. And I said, I don't know if I, want me to measure? I was like, I don't know. So I did it for a while and those were the, the albums that had the hinges.

[00:15:16] Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

[00:15:17] Caryn Kidwell: Yeah. And so I was like, well, what if I don't wanna craft in order? Like, what do you do? This is not working for me. Um, so I, my felt changed from that, but that was my first introduction to, oh, this is what it is. It started with, I saw it, it looked nice, and I said, oh, this might be a nice way just to document things. And then it went into the whole let me shop.

[00:15:44] Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

[00:15:44] Caryn Kidwell: For the items and, and, and I kind of lost like the reason drop book cuz I was just shopping. Um, and so I had to get back.

[00:15:53] Jennifer Wilson: Now I'm curious, do you still have anything from like those very earliest days?

[00:15:59] Caryn Kidwell: I do.

[00:16:00] Jennifer Wilson: Do you still use it?

[00:16:03] Caryn Kidwell: No, um, I have, I have one album that is in the hinged album. After that, I made the decision that I only use D Ring binders. Because I, I can't craft in order.

[00:16:18] Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I totally understand.

[00:16:19] Caryn Kidwell: I like to craft what I want I want.

[00:16:21] Jennifer Wilson: What about some of those like old tools? I remember I first kind of dabbled in scrapbooking in like 2005. And my first purchase was a Coluzzle set. And I'm sure I've mentioned that on the podcast before. I'm curious if you have things from that era, like tools and stuff.

[00:16:37] Caryn Kidwell: I, I do have the circle rounder. Uh, what is it? The, the blue, uh, where you can cut circles. I've never used it. Um, I, I still have the corner rounder from CM. Um, I have one, uh, what is it? I have one paper cutter from them. But everything else I think I've given away thus far.

[00:17:00] Jennifer Wilson: Sure, sure.

[00:17:01] Caryn Kidwell: Yeah.

[00:17:02] Jennifer Wilson: So how has your hobby changed in that, in that time, since the very beginning? Kind of what's, have you had any major phases? Um, I'm sure what you create today looks a little bit different than what you're creating back then.

[00:17:18] Caryn Kidwell: Right. Back then. I did, um, double layouts.

[00:17:23] Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

[00:17:23] Caryn Kidwell: Uh, with lots of pictures. Um, and what I noticed is, looking back, there was no story.

[00:17:34] Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

[00:17:35] Caryn Kidwell: I didn't, I I was trying to figure out now, well, I think I know what happened then. I would say what has changed since the beginning is, I journal on my layouts. I want to leave the story. I post it. I don't care if people don't wanna read about it, because that's therapeutic for me. So I do journal on all my layouts. I don't do double page layouts. Crafting evolved from just a hobby to therapy.

[00:18:07] Jennifer Wilson: Hmm.

[00:18:08] Caryn Kidwell: It's a sense of where I can create, where I don't have to think, where it's something I enjoy and I grab paper with pretty paper, embellishments and that's therapeutic for me. So, um, I like to participate in like different, um, events that happen like on Instagram if someone's having like a sketch challenge or different things.

[00:18:37] Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

[00:18:38] Caryn Kidwell: But in more personal of, I enjoy taking a piece of paper that has flowers on it and cutting 'em out, as a stress relief from a hectic day at work. So my, it's transitioned from just a hobby to something that I really need, look forward to. And then I like when it turns out pretty.

[00:19:02] Jennifer Wilson: Yes, yes, of course. I think there's no gray area when it comes to fussy cutting. Either you absolutely love it or it's like the bane of your existence and you try to get someone else to do it for you.

[00:19:15] Caryn Kidwell: People ask me all the time, do you not have like Cricut machines, Silhouettes, uh, ScanNCut? I have all of those.

[00:19:22] Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

[00:19:23] Caryn Kidwell: But to pick up my little Tim Holtz little scissors and start cutting through, it's relaxing to do that for me. Either you like it or you don't, but I'd rather do it.

[00:19:36] Jennifer Wilson: So what sizes or formats are you typically creating in today?

[00:19:40] Caryn Kidwell: 12 by 12. Um, I need a larger canvas um, to work. So it's rare that I do eight and a half by 11. And when I'm forced someone wants me to make a baby album, I'll do six by six. But 12 by 12 is my go-to, um, single sheet. No double layouts is my go-to.

[00:20:05] Jennifer Wilson: How many photos do you typically think you include on a page?

[00:20:11] Caryn Kidwell: I've gotten better. It, it was one. And.

[00:20:16] Jennifer Wilson: Hey, no shame there. I've made so many one, one photo layouts and I love them. So.

[00:20:22] Caryn Kidwell: I actually, because, what is that company? Persnickety per it's.

[00:20:29] Jennifer Wilson: Pernicity Prints?

[00:20:30] Caryn Kidwell: Yeah, they have four by four or three by three that I've been getting amazing. So I've been adding. Someone will see a layout and they're like, oh my gosh, you had three photos on it. I said, cause they're already small and I can put them on there. Um, I've been doing two or three lately.

[00:20:48] Jennifer Wilson: Okay, cool.

[00:20:48] Caryn Kidwell: It's rare that I've been doing one. That I say, I'm trying to move it up. Um, I also have, um, I do more of the smaller photos. I guess those are two by three in my memory planner. Um, so I'll print those out for that. But no, just. I'm trying to move from just one picture, but sometimes you, you only need one picture to tell the story.

[00:21:12] Jennifer Wilson: Oh, for sure. For sure. So what kind of memory planner do you use?

[00:21:17] Caryn Kidwell: I use the Heidi Swapp, uh, Stop the Blur, album that I got, I think at Joann's. And I liked it because it wasn't already dated. So if I don't wanna do something for Monday and Tuesday, I can combine it wherein that was that week.

[00:21:36] Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes.

[00:21:37] Caryn Kidwell: Uh, uh, I, I enjoy the, I joined her, her group that she has. I like how it's different.

[00:21:46] Caryn Kidwell: It doesn't, it allows you to create how you really want to and what you wanna put in there. It just gives you ways that you can break it out.

[00:21:55] Jennifer Wilson: Yes, I definitely ignore all the days of the week on there and just say, this is the week.

[00:22:00] Caryn Kidwell: Yeah. Right.

[00:22:03] Jennifer Wilson: So whose products are you completely obsessed with right now? I think you've already mentioned some of those, but if you had to make a choice.

[00:22:11] Caryn Kidwell: I would say it has changed. So maybe, pre, maybe pre 20, maybe 2020. It was all things Maggie Homes. Like, I have bought all of the Maggie Homes everywhere that I could find it. I used to to Tuesday Morning, it seems like three or four times a week trying to get it. Now I have it and I'm trying to use it. But right now, I seem to have a overabundance of everything simple Stories. Like everything, I think, I don't know even how I had that much. Um, but I really, um, like it. But Vicki Boutin new collections and Pink Fresh, I am really, really, really liking everything. Like everything, every collection. So, I think it's evolved. I still love Maggie Homes. I think I just bought something from Joann's yesterday called Worthy or some new collection that she has, and I said, oh, I can add it. It, it goes along with my what I already have.

[00:23:19] Jennifer Wilson: Yes, I'm sure.

[00:23:20] Caryn Kidwell: I, I don't, uh uh, there is one. Um, collection that I really need to use, that I really like, but it's a different, it takes me out of my comfort zone, zone. Which is Tim Holtz.

[00:23:35] Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

[00:23:36] Caryn Kidwell: Collection. I have some, I want to use it. I just need to figure out how to use it since I'm so floral, pastel colors, but it's on my thing to do.

[00:23:50] Jennifer Wilson: Well, it sounds like you do have some variety because I, I can imagine a crafty product triangle. Of, like a pyramid of, one corner is Pink Fresh of a little bit more, uh, clean and minimalist, and one corner is Maggie Holmes and all the florals. And then the other corner is Vicki Boutin like brighter colors, more mixed media, more uh, abstract. Um, so you already have a lot of variety there.

[00:24:18] Caryn Kidwell: Yeah, no, I, I, you know, sometimes I'm just, I'll put it all on there. I mean, I separate my craft stuff by brand. But some days I'm just like, oh, let me just mix it up together and see what I come up with.

[00:24:30] Jennifer Wilson: For sure.

[00:24:31] Caryn Kidwell: It's all what I'm feeling. Yeah.

[00:24:32] Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm. So is there something that you use or do on most of your pages? Like a signature thing?

[00:24:42] Caryn Kidwell: Uh, I would say I staple on almost every layout, and I don't know why. But I like staples and not just silver staples. I have them in all colors.

[00:24:56] Jennifer Wilson: Oh, fun.

[00:24:56] Caryn Kidwell: I just like them. And I don't know why. I have this, I have this stapler that is, I think I've had it for maybe 10 years. Fiskars made it, uh, Teresa Collins stapler. It's gold. Just love it. And so it's always on my craft desk and I'm always stapling. I have no idea why.

[00:25:18] Jennifer Wilson: Is it one of those like kind of long arm staplers where you could staple anywhere?

[00:25:22] Caryn Kidwell: Anywhere.

[00:25:23] Jennifer Wilson: Oh, fun.

[00:25:25] Caryn Kidwell: And it's gold. So I was like, I had to have it. So I, I don't know why I do it, but then I look at a page and I'm like, oh, there's like, I have six staples on it. No, no idea. And some people don't even notice that it's there. I'm like, oh, I stapled it in the middle of the flower. You didn't notice that. It's just something I like, so I just add it.

[00:25:45] Jennifer Wilson: Yes, I love staples too, but I'm just using the Tiny Attacher, so I'm limited to like those two and a half inches around the edges.

[00:25:51] Caryn Kidwell: Oh no, you gotta, I don't even know if Fiskars makes it anymore, but, but it's, uh, I love it.

[00:25:57] Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I bet, I bet. I will have to look to see if we can find any links to that. Um, for the show notes. So kinda shifting gears a little bit, when do you typically find the time to scrapbook?

[00:26:10] Caryn Kidwell: I actually make time to scrapbook. I wanna say I craft something each day.

[00:26:18] Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

[00:26:18] Caryn Kidwell: Which might sound crazy, but normally in the evenings after dinner when people are just catching up on one of their favorite TV shows, I craft. So I can put on Law and Order SVU and have it on.

[00:26:34] Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

[00:26:35] Caryn Kidwell: And I'll be like, oh, let me fussy cut these flowers out. I try to take at least 30 minutes to an hour, if not every day, every other day, because it allows me to forget about work.

[00:26:50] Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

[00:26:50] Caryn Kidwell: The kids are doing their thing. And I, it, it relaxes me, to craft. And it has to be a show that I don't have to look at it a lot. I can't have like where things, where it's maybe, lots of action or different things. Cuz I can't focus on both. Pick purposely shows or things to put on that I can still craft, look down and do what I'm doing and, and watch tv.

[00:27:15] Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Cuz I've noticed there's some, particularly now, the more kind of offbeat comedies. Like there half of it is not even in words. It's just some weird look that somebody's making. If you're not paying attention, you're not gonna get the joke.

[00:27:30] Caryn Kidwell: Right, right. So people, uh, have asked me, it's like, well, how did you watch that series? I'm like, oh, that series, I weren't, I wasn't crafting because it had too many, um, they, the person was doing sign language, they were doing other stuff. You can't pick those kind of shows cuz you're gonna miss most of it. So, i, I, I, I purposely look in, look at previews and go, oh, okay, I can craft during this. But yeah, it's not every day, every other day.

[00:27:56] Jennifer Wilson: I recently, or I guess not recently now at the beginning of the Pandemic every rewatched all of Downton Abby and realized that was not a show that I should have crafted through because I had missed so much. Because I'd scrapbook through the whole, uh, original run of it.

[00:28:12] Caryn Kidwell: Yeah, I did the same thing with Bridgerton.

[00:28:15] Caryn Kidwell: And so people were saying, Hey, did you see this? And I'm going, that happened in there? And like, what were, were you crafting? I've missed so many parts and I'm now catching up on TikTok where people are do saying this is what occurred. And I'm like, how did I even miss all of that? So.

[00:28:33] Jennifer Wilson: Sounds like you missed a lot of naked butts.

[00:28:36] Caryn Kidwell: Yeah, probably from what I'm hearing.

[00:28:40] Jennifer Wilson: So do you have any strategies that you use to stay motivated? Um, you know, we all go through times of higher and lower energy. Sometimes we have just stuff going on in our lives. How do you make sure that you can always kind of jump back in?

[00:28:57] Caryn Kidwell: I. I scheduled, well, recent, well, during the pandemic, we, uh, would host Zoom crafts friends. Every Friday. We would get together on Friday with a group of friends and we would craft, we'd pretend like we craft, we would just catch up. But we all had a calendar to make sure that we do it. Now everybody is doing so many different things that monthly, I make sure if it's not me trying to host something at my house for people to come over, I'm going out to scrapbooking crops. Um, and I, I make it so that at least if I'm not crafting every other day, like I should be at home as a release. At least I can get 12 hours somewhere with a group of like-minded crafters.

[00:29:48] Jennifer Wilson: Yes. That's so, um, restorative and fun. And yeah, it's amazing how much you can get done when you're not at home.

[00:29:56] Caryn Kidwell: Right. So, yeah, last, uh, last week I went to one. I stayed for 10 hours. I got 12 layouts done. I felt like I was on a marathon it was wonderful. And I chatted and it was just so nice to have that interaction. But I have that booked in my calendar every other month.

[00:30:15] Jennifer Wilson: It makes a difference.

[00:30:17] Caryn Kidwell: It does. It does.

[00:30:19] Jennifer Wilson: So we've talked a lot about the things that you love and do often. Is there something in scrapbooking that you've tried, whether it's a supply technique or a size that you've decided is absolutely a hundred percent not for you?

[00:30:33] Caryn Kidwell: Yes, there's two things. One, do not like to use ink, paint. I don't like to get my hands dirty, so I u so that's why I love Vicki Boutin. Because it will look like I'm painting and I'm not. It looks like I'm distressing and I'm not. I have ink pads. Um, I see people do all this mixed media. I, I would have to put gloves on to do it. So I don't, and my best friend, she's all into it. I see her hands. That's not relaxing for me. So I can't do that.

[00:31:11] Jennifer Wilson: That's fair.

[00:31:12] Caryn Kidwell: Um, and then the other thing that I don't like to do, and I only do when I'm part of a design team and they want me to teach something, I do not like to measure at all. At all, ever. I use my, uh, paper cutter just to cut paper. I don't use it to measure. When I do, when I take classes, I look at how people make something and then I create it myself. But I don't measure like they did. It comes out a little different. Um, so the only time I do measure, I, I do not like to do is when I'm teaching something or someone wants to know, how did you make that? And I'm like, ah, let me go back and get the ruler out and see. And they're like, how did you make that? And I said, I made it. it's, it's harder when I have to either make kits for people or, or, make, uh, a multiple of little mini tags or albums, cuz then I have to say, okay, I'm making this now let me measure it.

[00:32:14] Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. I'm measuring after the fact.

[00:32:16] Caryn Kidwell: Measuring the fact that's me.

[00:32:19] Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yeah. Um, I think I'm often looking like if I'm just like scrap lifting, I'm looking at proportions, like this paper takes up approximately two thirds of the page or you know, one third width or whatever, and just kind of eyeballing something. It's rare that I'm looking at numbers unless I'm following instructions.

[00:32:37] Caryn Kidwell: Right. And like I said, some crafters are like, okay, Caryn, is that five and a quarter? And I was like, I don't even know where the quarter mark. So.

[00:32:43] Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:32:44] Caryn Kidwell: Then I had to get a ruler that said, okay, that, uh, what is, I think it's my score tool. I go and look at it and I'm like, okay, that's where the one fourth, that's the two thirds. I don't see, that's not fun to me. That's why I take classes. And then, people see my stuff at the end, they're like, so how did you get I can't measure that stuff that you're doing.That's, that's, not fun that's stressful.

[00:33:12] Jennifer Wilson: That, you know, that's a hundred percent in alignment with your philosophy about growing older too, that you know, there's certain things that we will make time for and there's certain things we don't have time for , so we're not gonna do those.

[00:33:25] Caryn Kidwell: I don't have time for that. No measuring in crafting.

[00:33:28] Jennifer Wilson: Yes, yes, yes. So, okay, stepping back, big picture. Where would you like your scrapbooking to be in 10 years?

[00:33:38] Caryn Kidwell: In 10 years, I'd like to see, me continue to document my life through the 10 years. I'd love, um, in the future to see something I created, to be published. Probably means I probably have to submit. So that's on my list. Yeah, that's on. You can't, someone was like, you can't be published if you don't submit it. So probably gotta do that. Um, I hope that people would, in 10 years from now would see that we all craft different.

[00:34:17] Jennifer Wilson: Hmm.

[00:34:18] Caryn Kidwell: But it's the same. It's the same. Um, it's the same thought process on cre if you're creating to demo it. I wanna live, create the memory to document so that others can see what I did. And maybe something that I've done will inspire them to do it.

[00:34:43] Jennifer Wilson: Oh, I love that. I think it's, yeah, it's so much about celebrating.

[00:34:49] Caryn Kidwell: Mm-hmm.

[00:34:49] Jennifer Wilson: Living a good, fulfilling life.

[00:34:52] Caryn Kidwell: Right.

[00:34:54] Jennifer Wilson: That's, that's, yeah. That's a really lovely thought. What has being a scrapbooker taught you?

[00:34:59] Caryn Kidwell: Being a scrapbooker has taught me that we are a group of the kindest, most generous people that you know. Um, I would say that 98% of crafters that I know, or don't know, or people that are on Instagram/Facebook are willing to help you, to guide you, to share with you on how to do things. I think there's a special person that can create from seeing something or can take a product to make it beautiful and then you look at the picture and see the story. It's like a storyteller all wrapped up into prettiness. If that makes sense.

[00:35:56] Jennifer Wilson: It does. Caryn, can you share where we can find you online and anything that you might have coming up this year besides submitting a layout for publication.

[00:36:08] Caryn Kidwell: Um, so right now am ending my two years, um, being on the design team for Click International, um, craft kit. They are actually closing their doors and, uh, this summer. I will be for someplace to do a guest design or, be on a design team. Um, you can find me on Instagram at the TheCraftyCaryn. Um, and by major requests, I'm actually going to actually start a YouTube.

[00:36:46] Jennifer Wilson: Oh, terrific.

[00:36:47] Caryn Kidwell: Which I hadn't done before, but people are like, oh, we like your voice. Why can't you talk? And I said, but then you're gonna ask me to measure. But we'll, we'll, we'll see how that goes. But, um, those are, uh, some of the things that, um, I'm planning for this year and just continuing to document my life.

[00:37:06] Jennifer Wilson: I think your channel should be called Scrapbooking Without Rules or Rulers.

[00:37:11] Caryn Kidwell: I like that.

[00:37:12] Jennifer Wilson: Caryn, this has been so delightful. I am so glad we got to spend time together

[00:37:21] Caryn Kidwell: Likewise, likewise.

[00:37:23] Jennifer Wilson: And to all of our listeners, please remember that you have permission to Scrapbook Your Way.