SYW131 – What Project Should You Start Next?

Jennifer Wilson 0:00

I've been thinking about Okay, what type of project would I want to create to document that because that's something that I know I'd want to look back on and I can see Emily wanting to look back on.

Jennifer Wilson 0:11

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 131.

Jennifer Wilson 0:30

In this episode, I'm joined by Kim Edsen to reflect on the past month and explore what's new for September. This is our monthly peek behind the scenes at Simple Scrapper. Hey, Kim, how are you doing?

Kim Edsen 0:43

I'm doing well. You know, it's we're kind of nearing the end of our summer and I feel like things are ramping up again. I'm starting to get schedules for marching band and volleyball. And they're still like, I don't even know what team she's gonna be on for volleyball. So like, I'm just trying to roll with it, sometimes more successfully than others. But you know, we'll get there, day by day.

Jennifer Wilson 1:06

Yeah, we have all the things too. Emily signed up for, like volleyball lesson, you know, like a practice and play type thing this fall, because she's not there's no teams at at her grade level yet. And it starts, you know, in a few weeks in early September, and then she's also got a horse show coming up, which we're hoping is not scheduled the same day. And like, wow, this is this is busy again.

Kim Edsen 1:32

Yes. And we were kind of accustomed to that for a while. So you know, like I said, day by day we will get there. I also have kind of realized, I think I go through these cycles, where all of a sudden, I feel like I've just have to like solve the world's problems, right? Like, it's like, between like the yard and the animals and the kids and like just all the things and at some point, I need to let some of that go. So do a little self care. I think I will bring this up I think later in the episode, but just you know, the idea of, yeah, we talked about like the daily like crafty time. And I was doing a lot of that. So I feel like I was making like progress. And I was productive, but maybe wasn't getting so much of that like therapeutic creative side of things. So this last weekend, we had some openings. And I mean, Saturday, I did not intend to, but I was in my pajamas all day. Because by the time we get to four o'clock, I'm like, well I might as well just shower and put on clean pajamas. Because I'm not going anywhere. So...

Jennifer Wilson 2:33

I agree. Yeah.

Kim Edsen 2:34

I think every now and then is nice to just have those moments, have those days. And so it was just what I needed.

Jennifer Wilson 2:46

Well, I think it's really important to make that distinction between therapeutic time, which may or may not be productive, and just continuing to, to keep the motions going. And I think both of those play an important role in our lives, whether we're talking about scrapbooking or other things, but you have to really tune in to what you need in the moment. Otherwise, I think that's when we feel like we're on the hamster wheel.

Kim Edsen 3:12

Yes. Yeah. And then it's like burn it all down. Like, I'm done.

Jennifer Wilson 3:17

Yeah.

Kim Edsen 3:18

And I think the thing with like, you mentioned you needing both is yeah, cause it was like little daily moments kind of kept me. It's like, I don't know, there's some sort of phrase for I'm sure, but like, it keeps you interested in the hobby and like you're moving forward. So it feeds kind of that part of it. But yes, depending on like your reason why you scrapbook or what you get out of it. That Yeah, sometimes you need both sides, for sure.

Jennifer Wilson 3:42

For sure. For sure. Yeah. So I would say like also, personally, I've been in this weird, weird space for like, let's say 18 months since the beginning of the pandemic, but in particular, the past few weeks, I've had trouble kind of really integrating after my not very eventful vacation. I don't know it's kind of weird. But somehow I felt this urge. And this tends to happen when I travel that when I get home I'm like, I want to make my home feel more like it does when we travel because you know, the places you travel tend to be tidy and neat and you realize how little stuff you need and then they get home and I'm like oh I must do all the home things. So I've definitely felt like I'm now I'm entering into this phase of finally wanting to take more real action on our house. That was my original plan for 2020. My word was going to be Home and then it took on a whole 'nother meaning of course. It so much that, in fact that I think feel like I I rejected it. I'm like, oh, this is not my word anymore. I am at home by circumstance. Not by, you know choice. And so I felt very disconnected from it. But I'm actually at this point. Thinking about Okay, maybe for 2022, Home is going to be my word again, depending on, you know how much momentum I continue to feel with the projects that I want to do.

Kim Edsen 5:08

Okay, so I saw a little bit on Instagram, you're talking about some painting maybe and things like, so. How does your, Steve, I'm always this first, like, how does your husband feel about this? Because my husband and I do not always feel the same. I don't really want to say ambition, but like motivation when it comes to certain house projects. Like, I tend to be more like, let's do it, all in, super excited. And you know, he's very much the voice of reason sometimes. But, you know, again, like everything you need balance, right? Like, if it was up to him, like, yeah, we would totally be those people and like, 50 years in our house would be like, a time capsule? Probably. I don't know. Um, so yeah, so is Steve on board with all these home type projects?

Jennifer Wilson 5:52

He is, but he is also the voice of reason. Because if it was up to me, and, and money was no object, I'd be like, let's do this. You know, I have momentum. Now I want to jump in. But he's like, okay, here's, here's our priorities. This is the financial situation. And so, like, we're just trying to start, like, let's talk about these lists together, because we've maintained a list in Trello for years. And slowly, we've ticked little projects off here and there. But we've lived here since November 2014. And we've never painted a wall. And now the walls really are very evidently, there's so much evidence that we've not painted them, mostly of just Emily is growing up, there's like, there's a blue handprint in the middle of my hallway upstairs. And we have this terrible flat paint that is not washable. So I could probably get the blue handprint off, but then there'd be like, you just see drywall. Because the paint is not washable. So...

Kim Edsen 6:56

Well and then I think too, it also depends on like, what you intend to do like yourself or like with Steve's assistance or Steve to do or like hire out. Like we were looking at doing a project on our exterior the house and we went to like two different they weren't like lumber yards, but whatever, like supply places to talk to people and like got two different answers. So like, I don't even know like what to do there. Cause I so like, yeah, when I hit like walls like that, I get it. But no, I, I am very much a homebody person, like, all in so like, right, you know, like, I'm all over my HGTV shows, and not that I necessarily want to implement all those things. But I think I feel like a real sense of like coziness and security in like, my space. And so I I like my space to kind of reflect that feeling. So exciting.

Jennifer Wilson 7:50

It is exciting. I'm definitely in that like the optimistic early honeymoon stages of oh, we can DIY all the things. And but with also the sense of, you know, having some adult experience at this point that I know that we need to just take it project by project. And think about okay, what is the first thing and let's make decisions and then but still knowing that each decision has like a cascade. And I think sometimes that's where I get stuck. That oh, if I make this decision, then that affects these other twelve decisions it does, you know, in theory go together.

Kim Edsen 8:26

Yeah, well, we bought a rug for like a living room area and there's like a patio door that the runner used to match the rug but we didn't get. I was to the point with this rug, like I just need a new rug. So now I need a new runner. And so it's just like you said that cascade effect for sure. And like yeah, it's fine. Like it's not like I need to like run out and do it right now. But it does, it's those it's like closing the circle on these projects just like we talked about closing the circle on creative projects too.

Jennifer Wilson 8:56

The one thing that's really helping me is I've been like kind of cleaning up my Pinterest boards and I had them like two different accounts and I went back and looked at the really old ones and I'm like most of this doesn't really resonate with me at this stage in my life. But the ones that I've done in the recent past I feel good that I keep going back to kind of the same color palette. You know I will like revisit this every like six months to a year and every time I come back I'm still kind of into the same kind of things. The same looks, the same colors, and that helps me feel more assured in okay there are, yes there are many shades of this like muted vintage teal color but I just need to pick one and just go with it. Yeah, because I keep going back to that color. It'll be okay if you make a decision.

Kim Edsen 9:44

Well leading this into like exciting me scrapbook wise. I ordered my 2020 album this morning.

Jennifer Wilson 9:51

I love the following the progress on this, so this is very exciting.

Kim Edsen 9:55

But I almost got, I was like you're teal paint where it's like, okay, like what company and then you get the company and then the with which paper do you choose? And at some point, I've tried a few different ones on different projects like this is my first big like annual printed photo book layout situation. And at some point, I won't know until I actually just do it. So...

Jennifer Wilson 10:16

For sure.

Kim Edsen 10:17

Pick one.

Jennifer Wilson 10:17

Yep.

Kim Edsen 10:17

Order it, move forward, you know, assess. If you like it, repeat if I don't, make a different decision next time. Because Yeah, that was the other thing. I realized, when we're on vacation, I overthink everything. And it is exhausting. So at some point, get out of that cycle. So it is what it is. So I'm excited that it's on its way.

Jennifer Wilson 10:41

I just had a lovely conversation with Helen. And at this point, this would be last week's episode when this comes out. And she was just talking about how with her projects, she just has to dive right in and get started. Like, let's take some some photos, let's take some photos, let's gather the supplies and start touching them and doing something. And that's what allows you to make the plan it's not, it's so hard to just plan for, with nothing. You have to know what you're working with, know the materials. And that I think that happens in so many areas of our lives, whether it's scrapbooking, or, you know, your home life, once I pick this one color, then that will inform the other colors I choose, we have to have something to audition from, just like we do when we're picking pattern papers.

Kim Edsen 11:31

Yes, James Clear has a quote that I think is from Atomic Habits, that is something along those lines as far as like, just start and at some point, then you can decide like what the next thing to do is. But if you never start, like and that's I think another Gretchen Rubin thing, it all comes around, but right, like nothing is more exhausting than like the task, but you never start because you just analyze it over and over again. So, so...

Jennifer Wilson 11:55

Yes, yes.

Kim Edsen 11:57

Be glad to see that arrive. And, you know, then, like I said, I'll assess and decide to go from there. And I think I talked recently about the school album update. That has, I just need to like, go in and like do final edits on some journaling. And then those are done. And I'm not going to order anything yet. I think I'm going to just kind of see how like the high school years shake down. But I am leaning more towards the idea of printing, it is more of like a soft book that can be punched and then put it in a bigger album with the memorabilia. So I think at one point, I was thinking I'd have an idea, and it's several books. But I'm liking the idea of like this, like more like this soft bound book that's inside the bigger album. So we will see where that goes. But again, that was the thing that I feel like was just hanging over my head for a month. It was like, oh, I've got to do that. I've got to do that. And then over the weekend, like I said, I had like a big kind of scrappy day. I started and by golly, it wasn't as hard as I made it out to be like, very simple. Pick some photos. Yeah. So all around very doing well. scrappywise. So how about yourself?

Jennifer Wilson 13:07

I think I'm kind of seeking re excitement. I you know, as I mentioned, I've just been kind of in like a weird place. And I know, part of it is just that, you know, we're running towards the start of a school year. And for us, this is the first time Emily has set foot in the building since March 2020. It's also her birthday month. And it's also the month where there is a conference, the State Fair, and the farm progress show that Steve goes to every single August. Sometimes I participate in these things as well, but I'm not this year. And so both work and personal wise, August is always just like cray cray out the window. It's just, it's always a lot. And so I think I was feeling that anticipatory anxiety about what I knew was going to experience and now that I'm in the thick of it, I'm just trying to keep going with it. But feeling spaciousness for scrapbooking isn't, isn't happening right this moment. So I'm just trying to kind of just accept that, you know, I even had it in my Trello like, hold space for all of the August stuff. So I knew I wasn't going to be starting anything new this month. And I need to just kind of sit with that and know that, you know, come September once we get into the groove again that it'll, it'll really come back.

Kim Edsen 14:27

Yeah, it's cycles for sure. So I hear you and then just think of all the memories you can make now, right?

Jennifer Wilson 14:34

Oh, yeah. No, and I'm like, I'm still like, I'm still playing with my planner and stickers and like, I'm puttering a little around the office, My office is actually quite disarray. I don't think I've actually put anything away since before we left in early July. So it's really time to maybe do that tidy and I'm hoping that will be kind of the bridge between, you know, the current messy state of flux, and, you know, a new tidier productive season. All right, so what's on your Bucket List, Ki?

Kim Edsen 15:06

So, I am envisioning this kind of as a letter to my daughter. So one of my daughters, she's very introverted, but she's also very shy. She's very quiet. Especially around like new people or kind of new situations she's uncertain about. And so, I mean, this is not a new thing for anyone. It's not a surprise. But just recently in like, recent, in the last few weeks, there were a couple situations where we're out doing something and like she was at like she had just like a doctor's appointment, like a checkup. And like somebody at the office is like, why is she so quiet? And then she was doing driver's ed with an instructor. And he's like, Why is she so quiet? I'm like, she's shy. Like, just like nobody, like, do you not understand this concept? And I realized our culture, very much. Have you ever read the book Quiet? I think Susan Cain.

Jennifer Wilson 16:00

I have not read it. But I'm familiar with it.

Kim Edsen 16:03

The idea of like introverts and like, our world is really kind of not set up, for but like, kind of rewards extrovertedness. And just like, right, bubbly personalities, and I get that, I really do. And, like I said, it is what it is, it's like, but then these recent things happen. And she is just like, like, seriously, again, like, when will this end. And I think, from my perspective, like you I understand, like the cultural societal aspects of it at some point, like, this is what our world is, and at some point, not that she has to conform, but to understand that and just to realize, like, that is how it is. But the other side of me, it's kind of the flip side of like, I feel like in some ways, she keeps getting this message of like, you should be different, right? Like from, and sometimes well meaning adults, right? Like the one lady's like, it's, like I said, at the doctor's office, like, a lot of people don't like it at the doctor's office, it's not like, it's like a comedy club here, people. Like, this is not surprising to me. So sometimes I find it, well, the frustrating, but also like, I just feel a lot of like empathy for her, it's like, and I know that this has to be something that she's gonna have to work through, and she's gonna have to deal with it, because I can't do it for her. But I think more or less as a letter to her to say, like, you have so many good qualities, like, at some point, don't let other people get you down, and how other people treat you is a lot more reflective of like, their lives, experiences, you know, their perceptions, their beliefs than it is ever about you. So she will not probably read it. And if she does, she will roll her eyes. But I think, again, back to like that therapeutic side of things. I think, like, this is just like a message I want out there. And then someday, like, if she does read it, or wants to read it, you know, it's there for her. But yeah, it's, you know, I feel like parenting is just, it's getting harder. And I think it will just continue to be harder. I was out with friends last night, and, you know, talking about driving, and some of them have older kids that are going off to college and dating and just like, I'm not ready for this man. But like anything, it's one day at a time. But so I think that's, that's what I want to do is just like a message to her, like, you know, at some point, don't let those people get you down, man. And I don't know what even that she was that frustrated about it. It's just that she made the comment. And I don't think I've really heard her make that observation before. So maybe that's another sign of like, she's maturing, and she's like, realizing that's like, you know, like little kids, it's all about them, like they have like no realization about other people. And like as she's getting older, she's seeing that impact. I don't want it to like to send her a negative message, I guess.

Jennifer Wilson 18:43

Well I think there's so much value in articulating your thoughts for yourself. Because not only is there just the, you know, I believe that what you put out there is what you will just you will live throughout your other words and your actions towards her. But it'll help you process that so that you're better dealing with it and when you are having conversations with her about it you've already done some of the work to figure out what messages you want to tell her. So I think that's you know, when you're feeling compelled to tell a story like that then do it. It doesn't, you know something like that doesn't even have to have a photo or its best use ever have that beautiful photo you have of your kid just being your kid. So yeah, I think that's a really awesome idea, especially as, as someone who has been told that she's quiet. Um, and for me, it was sometimes very, it felt surprising, because what's going on in my mind is never quiet. So it's hard to to always understand that. I'm being perceived as quiet.

Kim Edsen 19:47

Yes. And I think the other funny thing is, over the years, like she would have, I'm just thinking specifically about like teachers. Where she would be really, really quiet in class and then we'd go to like a parent teacher conference or as the year went on she just open up and be like super bubbly and like cracking jokes. And I specifically remember like her third grade teacher like looking at her and then looking at us and just like, bursting into like the biggest grin ever, because she's like, Oh my gosh, like, right? Like, she was always. And then there's she like, always gave her space to kind of be like who she was right. And I think she just got so much joy and delight from just like who she was without having to like, put her in this box of like, oh, you're a teenage girl, so you like makeup and hair and nails and fashion? And like, no, like, she doesn't. So even from that aspect beyond like the shyness, right? Just like who she is. Maybe it doesn't always fit in people's boxes. But yeah, so very good point. I think, like I said, not even like, beyond the message of wanting her to like, read it. But like you said, just to kind of pull together like my thoughts and feelings? And then how I can convey that. So...

Jennifer Wilson 20:54

Oh, yeah, no, that's that's huge. Yeah, for sure. Mine feels less significant in comparison. And maybe this isn't really a Bucket List Project, maybe it's just a story that I'm thinking about telling. But, um, you know, if we're really going to go into this, you know, multi year transformation of our house, because some of our longer term goals do involve remodeling, we know we want to finish the basement. And we do have visions of redoing our bathrooms and kitchen. I've been thinking about, okay, what type of project would I want to create to document that? Because that's something that I know, I'd want to look back on. And I can see Emily wanting to look back on, you know, how her childhood home evolved over time. So is this a photo book, is it a mini album, I have no idea. I'm just kind of sitting in the indecision and planning to take pictures along the way. But it's just something that feels like I want to have someday.

Kim Edsen 21:55

I'm going to go six by eight album.

Jennifer Wilson 21:57

Because I think there's going to be memorabilia for this, like, the paint chips sitting next to me right now. And who knows what other types of little like swatches or receipts or whatever, I think something could sort of physical album does feel more right than say a photo book or traveler's notebook seems too small. And I don't I don't think I want to necessarily do like big layouts. I just think I wanted to just do more like documentation. And, like feelings and memories, like both in the present and reflective as we go through this experience. So...

Kim Edsen 22:37

And I think the reason I would say definitely like the six by eight type one, just like you said, like all the memorabilia. But also because I sounds like it's going to be an ongoing thing. I mean, at some point, even beyond like this current, whatever five year plan you have, like, it's still unless you move, it's gonna just continue on. And then I feel like a photo book, if you were in would you decide like, okay, this is it. Like, or maybe you just do like phase one. But...

Jennifer Wilson 23:03

Yeah, I think you're right, that doesn't really make sense.

Kim Edsen 23:06

Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson 23:08

It'd be nice to have something I can just add to overtime. Maybe, maybe it's 8.5 by 11, then, you know, because some of my more like, memorabilia, heavy albums like that are in 8.5 by 11, because it's letter size. And so a lot of things end up fitting in that. So I guess maybe I'm thinking between six by eight and 8.5 by 11. We'll see. I'm keeping my options open right now. This is just kind of like a baby idea. I think I'll maybe try to formalize it for next year and make it more of a thing. So we'll see.

Kim Edsen 23:45

Oh, especially if it goes along with your word.

Jennifer Wilson 23:49

Well, yeah, no, and that's that's I would say that's also making maybe what makes me not want to use that as my word because I don't want to overdo it. Because they would be very like two separate projects. But I also don't want to feel like I just have so, I don't know, that I'm I'm going a little bit too narrow in my focus and not trying to strengthen for lack of a better word. As Strong as my word this year. I've also thought maybe I need to do another year on Strong just because it has been such a powerful word for me this year. So I don't know this second half of the year is always the contemplation phase for me. So thinking of contemplation, let's let's think on photos a little bit. So when this episode goes live, we will have just completed our photos journey and we are jumping into projects. But what what thoughts or observations do you have about our members experience over the past month and in the whole two month journey?

Kim Edsen 24:56

So I have two kind of thoughts came to mind. One is empowerment, because it has been really fun to see people feel like they were able to take on what in some cases was felt like, like a daunting task, right? Or even as simple well, simple to some people like, right, we had a member talking about like, she finally she bought an external hard drive and she was getting it set up. And she was asking, like for recommendations and like the community and you know, maybe just some people like, that's a small little step. But I can see like, that's a huge step of like, making sure that your photos are protected and backed up. But like you didn't have anything before or in like the Your Way Workshop, people talking about getting photos off of their devices into some sort of like safe backup. So I just feel like empowered in that way to maybe do things that before they thought were confusing or complicated, or they didn't feel capable of doing maybe. But then also, I feel like we had a lot of people saying, like, I'm already in a good place, because you know, I took this class, or I've been working on this. And so now I'm ready to like move on to the next step. So I feel like it's really gratifying to see that all this progress that people were making are, it's really like putting people in a good spot. And so then they're just ready to like kind of take on the next level. So those are like the two big insights that I feel like I noticed kind of across the board was just like, people progressing and then just feeling empowered to maybe take those first steps. So they're kind of on the other end of the spectrum.

Jennifer Wilson 26:35

Yes, I've definitely noticed a lot of that. Empowerment is a great word. And then also that sense of like validation that you're on the right track. And I think that's, that's one of the whole goals of Photo Crush, just distill all this wisdom of how you manage your photos in a way that's completely non prescriptive of how you actually manage your photos. Because we're all going to have different devices and software preferences and computers and you know, be at different places. But here's, here's the framework, I recommend following to ask questions of yourself, think through it and determine, okay, what parts of this do I have? And what parts of this do I still need? And I definitely saw a lot of validation of oh, gosh, this makes me feel so good. Because I've already done this, and I didn't, you know, I didn't realize that I had, I didn't realize I was this far along. Because, you know, we keep revisiting these things. And that's what I love about our community so much is that we're not just always introducing the new thing and sending you a new direction. We're just slowly building your capacity and skills and that that strong foundation over time.

Kim Edsen 27:46

Well, yeah, and then I saw people were talking about how you, they had kind of like, this gave them kind of the momentum to go find like, right, they'd like missing CDs, or camera cards or external hard drives or something with like, like years of missing photos, or like missing trip or whatever. And now it's just kind of they can, makes their photo library more complete, right? Because otherwise, I feel like that was the things that are always kind of in the back of your head like nagging you like, gosh, somewhere, where is that? Maybe I should look for that. And then you just never follow through. And like, this is your right? It's that time, it's like you always talked about setting aside that time to do those things and to make progress on those tasks. And how satisfying is that, right.

Jennifer Wilson 28:33

And when, like you said with your other project earlier, it's in the end, it often doesn't take as much time as you think it's going to, to do this thing. It doesn't mean it doesn't take, take any time. But it's, you know, once you dive in and you're immersed in it, it doesn't feel as daunting. I mean, and so on that same note, I think the I mean, obviously the software is is part of our conversation. Some individuals are perfectly content, organizing their digital images with folders on their computer, whether you're using an apple or a PC. And some prefer to have that layer of software on top to be able to better browse and sometimes do other things with your photos. And I've just seen, I've seen both some of the empowerment to to dive in and try new things. They feel uncomfortable, but at the same time I feel like the technology is evolving, has evolved so much that it's so much easier than it ever has been to try something new or even transition from one system to another system. I just feel like things have are even simpler as as technologies evolve. And the biggest thing that we've been talking about is the difference between Lightroom which is now the cloud version of Lightroom versus Lightroom Classic, which is the original version that references the files on your computer like a card catalog. And it's just been interesting to continue talking through these decisions and seeing how the conversation has matured. It really comes down to where do you want to store your primary copy of your photos? Is it in the cloud? And increasingly, so I'm seeing that for so many. Or do you want to store it locally on your computer or hard drive external hard drive? Yes, there's some feature differences that can also make that decision. But things have just matured so much that cloud versus local is becoming more of the conversation point. And I feel like we've all kind of grown up with this enough that we feel more secure and making those decisions.

Kim Edsen 30:42

Well, and I know that this was part of the some of the conversations too. Like, the considerations of why you would choose one or the other, like, how do you plan to use your photos? Like what is your end goal? Like? Those are all things that help can help you make an informed decision about what was best for your like you and your family, personally, right.

Jennifer Wilson 31:04

Yeah, 100%? And you know, where do you want to have access to your full library? You know, it feels like, Oh, yeah, of course, I want to have access to everywhere in the cloud. But do you really need it? Do you really need that? I would say, do you really need that, is the underlying question that I've asked throughout all of Photo Crush. Because yes, there's lots of awesome options out there for your software for like tagging your photos, for storing your memorabilia, or your physical things. But if you ask the question, do I really need that? If I'm really honest with myself, do I really need that, that can, that's always there's always a really productive answer in that question.

Kim Edsen 31:46

Yeah, peeling back the layers of that onion, right?

Jennifer Wilson 31:50

Yeah, for sure. Cause it can feel, you know, we get that sense of FOMO. Or I'm, I'm not doing it right, because I'm not doing all the things. And the best answer is the one that is like, just enough for you like, what is that good enough so that you can find your photos to scrapbook? And, you know, that's been the big message for all of this is that we're approaching photos from this perspective of, we want to have photos so that we can scrapbook? And how do we get to photos that we find attractive, and that we enjoy and that capture our memories, and that are easy enough to find so that we can print them or use them before if we're doing digital? So? Yeah, it's been a it's been a great journey, and I can't wait to revisit it again next year. Yes. So I already mentioned that last week's episode, it was with with Helen, and she is giving our keynote presentation for Refresh which starts this week. Kim, what are you looking forward to in this next session?

Kim Edsen 32:55

So I am really wanting to embrace that title of Refresh. And just use whatever, use it as an opportunity to I guess, to Refresh myself like creatively and whatever, at that point in time. Like, you know, given into the future, like, what I will need so apparently, this last weekend, it was you know, prepping the album to print and it was the school album. So whatever point I'm at, you know, come that weekend, like I'm, I'm here for it, man. Gonna hand off like the house chores and the meals and just have a day for myself at least. So that's what I am looking forward to.

Jennifer Wilson 33:34

Yeah, I know. And given kind of where I've been, with my hobby the past few weeks, I'm definitely looking forward to that. And, and kind of using that as the lens for planning the activities and, and thinking about this as one of those, you know, kind of new New Year transitions. As we go into the fall season. What do we want to start fresh? And what do we want to really, how can we regroup into ourselves to make sure that these last few months of the year everything we want them to be?

Kim Edsen 34:08

Yeah, finish strong.

Jennifer Wilson 34:11

Yes. And so on that note of finishing, I'm especially excited about what's actually coming up in October, which is a another session of the Finishing Project. And this one is always so fun, because we have members who will finish projects they started this year, and members who have finished projects they started a decade ago. And it's just so fun to see the sense of satisfaction from finally finding a path forward and getting the project finished.

Kim Edsen 34:42

Yeah, that's a huge weight off the shoulders. I think, like I said earlier, like sometimes it's those things that are just like nagging at you right like the back of your mind. And, and so often if you can just give a little bit of like dedicated focus and attention and time like you can wrap that up. Pretty easily depending on what it is. But I think it goes back to that whole thing of a lot of times in our minds, we make things more complicated than they really are.

Jennifer Wilson 35:11

Well if you really sit down and focus and I think that's one of the things that's come up in our, we've been doing these Monday quiet co-working sessions. So it's two hours of 52 minutes of intense focus with eight minutes of chit chat in between as a transition. And you can get so much done when you actually focus with the time. And so I think that I may as well bring an element of that to the Finishing Projects as well. Because I think these sprints are so helpful to remind you that sometimes all it takes is a little dedicated focus to get back into the groove or make the significant progress that felt so intimidating for so long.

Kim Edsen 35:55

Well, that's why I like we have the occasionally what we call silent crops. So it's not really a chitchat, it's, oftentimes you'd spend, like the first five minutes or so everyone, there's a little chitchat, but a lot of times it was like, okay, so what is your intent, and the next, like, 15 minutes that you want to work on? And, you know, I've been there before and like, sometimes, like, you're not getting in the groove, you're like, well, I want to say that I've made progress on this at the end. They usually like the last few minutes. They're like, oh, how did you do? Like, what progress did you make? You kind of revisit it. So it's similar in that concept to your, your Monday co-workings. Because yeah, you don't want to be like, oh, yeah, I got distracted on Instagram and then I went to Pinterest. And like, no, I got what I said, I was working on I made progress. You want to have that. For sure.

Jennifer Wilson 36:45

Yeah, there's a powerful sense of accountability in it.

Kim Edsen 36:48

There is.

Jennifer Wilson 36:50

So at this point, you may not know 100%. But what do you think you might want to focus on finishing in October?

Kim Edsen 36:57

So chances are I may, we just went on like a week long trip to the Salt Lake City, Utah area. So I don't know what I will make some sort of photo book out of that. So as far as like, how involved that gets, and maybe putting the finishing touches on that. Also, that one thing that's kind of been on the back burner for me, is, we've talked about this idea of like, looking for holes in albums and whatnot. That kind of along those lines of like Shimelle's Story albums. And so I had started that, I don't know, several years ago. Where I would always have just like ongoing kind of annual albums well, not always, I've like, restructured my album organization a couple times. But anyway, so as it is, now, I would have these kind of annual albums that I have certain theme albums. And the annual albums are just kind of ongoing. But then I would kind of reach a point where like, I feel like I've told like most of the stories that I want to tell from this year. Let me go through, review if there's other stories or photos I want. And then I can actually kind of assemble it into some sort of story or like, where are there holes? Like, okay, I want to tell this story. And I have a back of this, because especially then, I was mixing a lot of page sizes. So I'd have some like random back of like a 12 by 12, or pocket. And we're like, well, what can I put in this spot? I mean, yes, I could just put like pretty paper there embellishments or whatever. But I have a story that I can put there. This helps me kind of flesh out that full story. And then I can kind of mentally like tie a ribbon on that. And not saying that I could never like go back. But for the most part like that year is done. So I've kind of been working gradually through different years. And 2019 is a year in which I was really starting to kind of experiment more with full on digital. And so I gave myself a lot of leniency and like time and I was working on specific I did like two trip photo books in like varying levels of involvement. And then I did like a December Daily, or my December album that year was a digital photo book. So I was just kind of that took time for me to kind of acclimate to that new creative process. And so from that year, I have some digital pages, and I have some hybrid pages. And so I don't really know where I am with that year, which isn't like a huge deal. But now that I have my 2020 book ordered, I think I would like to go back to trying to see like, where am I at at some point. Maybe I just stick some of those hybrid layouts in with like 2018 and call it good and do a photo book or maybe this is the time where I have an album maybe I'm just I'll print the digital layouts that I do have. I still have some paper supplies. Maybe I dabble back with the hybrid, I don't know. So chances are it's either going to be vacation travel book, or probably better chances is that I'm going to be digging into this 2019 kind of black hole to see what is all floating around in there because I'm not for certain?

Jennifer Wilson 40:08

Well, I think you've just highlighted how much thoughtfulness that scrapbookers put into, okay, what constitutes an album and what constitutes when an album is finished. And it's not, it's not always, like, simple or clear or easy to check the box type of thing. And so you have to like dive in. And it can feel a little intimidating to really go and investigate that whole year and see what you've done and look at your photos and see what gaps there might be and, and also even look at outside of your photos. Because sometimes we don't take photos of the things we most want to capture of that year. And in how do you figure out maybe what be missing from from social media or other things? So it sounds like sounds like a fun challenge.

Kim Edsen 40:54

Yeah, I find a lot of satisfaction and kind of like wrapping up those years. It's just and not like I said, I couldn't go ever go back. But I think once I've kind of mentally finish those off any story, usually, then that I would have like from that time period is usually told from like the lens of today. So it's like then and now or like evolution type story. So like, yeah, maybe I'll use a photo still from 2019. But I'll pair it with a photo from 2021 or two tell that story. So I don't have a problem. Like, right, I've ordered this 2020 photo book. So that's the kicker, right? It's not like I can go add another layout into this printed photo book. So I just have to come to peace with that. And I can still include those stories, that'll just be in a different spot. So. But yeah, yeah, yeah. Totally the whole idea of like the album thing. Like, I that's what I always really enjoyed about Shimelle's approach, as far as like the Story album, like this album is to tell the story of, you know, this time period, or this event or whatever, always has really appealed to me.

Jennifer Wilson 42:03

100%, and I'm kind of in a weird place with my albums right now. And I've had a lot of like, in front of me is like, just having so many of these amazing conversations on the podcast, also taking Photo Freedom this year, I'm just like, do I want to like completely rethink it? And then I just forced myself to like, stop even thinking about it and like, put it aside, because I don't feel like I'm in a place to start something big. But it certainly is an outstanding question. As I, I feel like I kind of struggled to finish some of these albums that I have years on them. And I'm like, okay, is that really the direction that I'm heading or not? So that could be a whole podcast episode in itself? So I won't go further into that, but I definitely can, I definitely feel you with the desires to just fill in gaps and, and put some, some closure on parts of my library.

Kim Edsen 43:01

And I think that's why I always liked travel albums. Or, right, so much, because there's a beginning and an end. And it's very, there's finite pictures, and it's not so ongoing. But yeah. So other than my ongoing saga, so what are you going to work on finishing October?

Jennifer Wilson 43:23

So what I was thinking about this, originally, I thought I would be finishing my compilation December Daily, which is 2014 to 2016 or is it 2015 to 2017? I just know that that period is a black hole for me in terms of my scrapbooking. But I'm thinking at this point that I'll be done by October, so maybe it's other December Daily. I'm in this, I'm in this weird place too with December Daily. And I think the conversation will be coming up on another episode this month that I had already said to myself, I am not doing a new project this year. I'm going to put the memories in my photo book treated just like I did Week in the Life. I'm going to have this awesome photo book that I will be ready to print in January. And then she started talking about this 10 by 8 album and I am attracted to all the shiny new things. And I'm like, okay, I don't know. So I'm hedging on my decision. Even though the like the practical level headed part of me said no, you don't want to do this. So I'm in a weird place with a December Daily but I think because of that, that's really going to be my biggest push of finishing throughout this fall is just getting all of those done. So I'm either gonna have I'll be adding a new album to that family or I will have a clean break with kind of being done with a separate album for my December stories.

Kim Edsen 44:48

Yeah, I mean, there's two sides to it, right? Like every time you say no to something you're saying yes to something else. Right?

Jennifer Wilson 44:56

True.

Kim Edsen 44:56

So or maybe you just need to avoid Ali's feed for like the next three months.

Jennifer Wilson 45:05

Six months?

Kim Edsen 45:06

Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson 45:08

No, it's hard. And I do I love the project. I love how it has helped me feel very connected to the holiday season. But I also know that so much of what we do at Simple Scrapper is about the new year and setting yourself up with great habits and morning routines and planning your projects for the year. So that November to January period is really kind of the busiest time for the business. And I think sometimes December Daily gets lost in that by by necessity. It just doesn't, it doesn't end up being the highest priority, because so much of my energy is focused on the New Year content. And that and I enjoy that stuff, loads. Which is why I built my business around it. But I think that that makes me feel like I need to maybe do something different. Another episode coming up this in this series is on October daily projects. And now that I'm kind of more of a, I don't know, I'm more of a Halloween person. I'm more of a holiday person than I ever have been before. That kind of appeals to me. So we'll see. We'll see what's gonna happen.

Kim Edsen 46:22

So that was going to be my question. Yeah, like, if you like that kind of opportunity to kind of look at your day to day with like a new eyes and gratitude. All those things. Yeah. So October daily, I've heard a lot of people do that. There's like May Every Day, so you could do like a May album? I think somebody, I do not remember who was now, was going to do and maybe this is your guests, I don't know, they were going to basically do like, a month, like each year, they would do a different month. Right? So it'd be like December, right? Every day. Yes. And I was like, So over the course of 12 years.

Jennifer Wilson 46:57

I don't remember who that was. But...

Kim Edsen 46:58

Yeah, I was like, my jaw like totally dropped. I was like, that sounds actually amazing. Here's the thing, though, you wouldn't necessarily have the draw of all the supplies, because you know, May Everyday is not the juggernaut that December Daily is. So is that better, or worse, or just different?

Jennifer Wilson 47:19

I think not having the fun supplies and the community aspect. And the community inspiration for the you know, sometimes over the top things that we can do with our supplies, like that's the part that really jazzes me up about it. And helps me even get more excited about maybe some of the harder parts of the holiday season that aren't as fun, like the wrapping, you know, loads of presents at midnight. The parts that are not as like glamorous and photo worthy. The creative part really kind of balances that off for me. So yeah, I don't know. Maybe I'm gonna become a July, December Daily person. So maybe I will capture the memories and do a plan like intentionally planned my year around doing my project in July.

Kim Edsen 48:09

Yeah, that's the smart way to look at it. See, looking outside the box. Good for you.

Jennifer Wilson 48:17

Well, I think that's gonna be a big theme of this Projects Journey is how can you approach projects with a new lens to make them more fun to make them more finishable. And how can we support one another to continue making even better decisions about our projects, so this will be a really fun kind of lead into our final journey of the year which is Planning. So we'll have Projects is kind of wetting the appetite of thinking about how you do things and then for November and December we will be full on into Planning and how we plan our projects and then how we keep ourselves on track with our our whole lives, so it's gonna be good.

Kim Edsen 49:02

Well, you know, I'm here for it, man. So, bring it on.

Jennifer Wilson 49:06

All right, Kim, thanks so much. I love talking to you. And to all of our listeners, please remember that you have permission to Scrapbook Your Way. If you like the podcast, you'll love being a member. When you join, you'll get access to weekly Zoom crops, bimonthly retreats, and a huge content library. You can head over to simplescrapper.com/membership to learn more and join our creative community.