SYW227 – Crafting with Humor and Substance

[00:01:17] 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 227. In this episode I'm chatting with Jennifer Labush about the products she creates for paper, hybrid, and digital scrapbookers. We focus on how she brings both humor and substance to designs that reflect her personality.

[00:01:48] Jennifer Wilson: Hey Jennifer. Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way.

[00:01:51] Jennifer Labush: Hi. Thank you for having me on your podcast, Jennifer. I'm excited to be here.

[00:01:55] Jennifer Wilson: Yes, I am looking forward to getting to know you better. I have heard about you and your business from so many others, including members of my own creative team, and yeah, I just am excited to dig in today. But can you start by sharing a little bit about yourself?

[00:02:13] Jennifer Labush: Sure. Uh, thank you. That's very flattering to hear those things. Um, well, my name is Jennifer Labush and I'm the woman behind Syncopation Design. I live in New York with my husband Matt, and our two cats, Bon Bon and Cocoa they are siblings and we kept their names from the shelter because my husband is a big fan of artisan chocolate.

[00:02:37] Jennifer Wilson: Nice.

[00:02:38] Jennifer Labush: They were a litter of five and they all had confectionary names like Cadbury, marshmallow. Um I always forget, oh Godiva I always leave him out. So there's three boys and two girls. So we have a boy and a girl.

[00:02:55] Jennifer Labush: Uh I'm a lifelong graphic designer and my husband, as he self-proclaimed, a tired software developer and he's a musician as well.

[00:03:07] Jennifer Wilson: My husband is often, uh, complaining about being tired as well as he approaches retirement, so.

[00:03:14] Jennifer Labush: A well earned rest.

[00:03:18] Jennifer Wilson: Yes, yes. But yeah, we have two cats, Ron and Hermione, who are also siblings, male and female. One is all black and the other one is an orange tabby. Um, and their names were also, that's how we found them. It was Ron, hermione, Hagrid, and Harry. And so we, we chose two of 'em and um, yeah, it's super cute.

[00:03:38] Jennifer Labush: That's really cute.

[00:03:41] Jennifer Wilson: All righty. So Jennifer, what's exciting you right now in your world, and I'd love if you shared both a scrapbooky thing as well as a non scrapbooky thing.

[00:03:51] Jennifer Labush: Sure. Um oh my husband and I are gearing up for our belated honeymoon. We were married in October but we wanted to visit Prague in in September. We've been watching YouTube videos, shopping for backpacks and comfortable walking shoes. All while attempting to be minimalist packers. Cuz we just wanna do carry-ons and that's it. Um I'm excited to see the old architecture there as well as maybe check out some scrapbook stores overseas.

[00:04:23] Jennifer Wilson: That sounds so fun.

[00:04:25] Jennifer Labush: Thank you Yeah we're really looking forward to it. We've been uh spending a lot of time doing some research and learning about what to see and the best times to go look at things.

[00:04:37] Jennifer Wilson: And how'd you choose that location?

[00:04:40] Jennifer Labush: Um well neither of us have been there. We've both been to Europe but this is a place that we haven't been to and um it'll be nice to explore something brand new together.

[00:04:52] Jennifer Wilson: You know, this is like a random fact, uh, that is not relevant to the conversation at all. But I feel like the first time I ever knew that Prague was a city, was in the first Mission Impossible movie. Oh yeah, there's this like, place in the world. I mean, that's so random, but, uh, I just, the only reason I thought of that is because, you know, the new movie's coming out soon and we went to a movie theater last night and saw the, the poster on the wall. So anyway, an aside there.

[00:05:21] Jennifer Labush: That is funny I don't think I've even seen that movie. Maybe I need to watch it before we go.

[00:05:27] Jennifer Wilson: It's a lot of like motor, I think that one's like motorcycles and explosions and, uh, not quite as daredevil as this, the subsequent ones, but, um, yeah. So what's the scrapbooking thing that's exciting you right now?

[00:05:42] Jennifer Labush: Well the next um next thing coming up is uh next Friday June 30th, I'll be joining Sabrina at Mrs Scrap and Plan, for scrapbooking with friends. She invited me to join this new adventure that she's done to bring the community together on Fridays. And I'm excited because I haven't scrapbooked in a long time. So it gives me a chance to kind of it kind of forces me to do something for myself rather than just the shop. Um she and I will be sharing projects featuring my new cat themed stamps. So keep a lookout for our posts. We're excited, we both, we she has cats as well so.

[00:06:23] Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, yeah, we'll definitely include, um, a link to the recording of that because it will have taken place when this episode goes live, so that's so fun.

[00:06:36] Jennifer Labush: Thank you.

[00:06:37] Jennifer Wilson: Now I always like to ask our guests as well about their memory keeping bucket list. So this is a list of stories that feel important to capture, but for some reason or another you haven't done it yet. And so is there one that really stands out to you?

[00:06:52] Jennifer Labush: Oh gosh this is a big one. Because I feel a lot of guilt because I've been putting so much time into the shop that I don't keep up with my own stuff. And a big story that I want to tell and you know I don't know if I'll really show it to everyone. But I know I need to get it down on paper. I wanna tell the story of how Matt and myself met. Um we are both adoptees and that brought us together. So um the story's rather long and I'm not really sure how to treat it as a scrapbook page because I I tend to run long with my journaling. So I've been thinking about it.

[00:07:35] Jennifer Wilson: Maybe there's like, it's like a combination of like multiple pages or, you know, uh, Stacy, Julian has her like extended story thing where, you know you have different inserts and you know, with your layouts to make sure that you're telling the complete story. So maybe it's something that's more than just one page.

[00:07:56] Jennifer Labush: Yeah. I'll have to look her up and see how she treats it. The other thing too is like, do you use current photos, photos throughout your relationship. Like obviously we don't have a photo of when we met. I I guess most people don't. Um so we'll see.

[00:08:14] Jennifer Wilson: I actually, I have a photo of the third day after I had met my husband. We were at a conference and so somebody, like at the conference was taking photos during an event and there's, it's like the back of us standing next to each other, so.

[00:08:28] Jennifer Labush: Oh That's so funny. I love that.

[00:08:31] Jennifer Wilson: It's like the most, it's, it's only like 600 by 400 pixels. And so when I used it in a layout, I printed it very, very small. But still, it's, you know, it's cool to have, but I think it's, you know, you pick the ones that are representative of your relationship or just your early days. Um, you know, and maybe one from the early days and one from now to, to span that story to say, you know, we're looking back from this present day to reflect on how we met.

[00:09:04] Jennifer Labush: Yeah I like that.

[00:09:06] Jennifer Wilson: I can't wait to see what you do with it.

[00:09:08] Jennifer Labush: Oh thank you. I'm so far behind my my other projects are um we've taken a few vacations. Like we went to Salem twice and we went to New Orleans. And um Matt is a scrapbooker's dream. He is always taking tons of photos and uh can be a blessing and a curse. Because I feel very overwhelmed with the amount of photos to choose from. Um but it's always good to have. You know it's better to have more than less I think for a variety. And um you know all the moments you capture. So I'll get to those albums eventually. And they might end up being like a, I I tend to work digitally. So they might end up being just a simple grid, minimalistic layout. Which is fine.

[00:09:51] Jennifer Wilson: Oh, for sure.

[00:09:54] Jennifer Labush: As long as you have it. You know any style of scrapbooking is is perfect just to get your memories down.

[00:10:02] Jennifer Wilson: Well, and I think the more photos you have, the more likely you need to simplify in another way to, um, make the project manageable. Um, because otherwise you're gonna end up with hundreds of layouts. You could, or you could end up with hundreds of actual full layouts for a travel event. And unless you're planning to put those, like, you know, print them digitally and put 'em in a photo book, uh, that's a lot of, you know, physical space that that takes up in terms of paper scrapbooking. So it's, uh, yeah, there's always kind of a consideration there of how do you balance it all.

[00:10:36] Jennifer Labush: Absolutely. The the last major project I did was prior to meeting my husband I had gone on a road trip and album I believe it's about 132 pages. Um I had it printed with Blurb and it you know while it's great that it takes up such a slim amount of space on the bookshelf it's it was a lot of time. I mean I really enjoyed working on it I was kind of sad when it was done. But I tend to really immerse myself into it.

[00:11:07] Jennifer Wilson: Well, and that's another component too, is like how much excitement and enthusiasm do you have for the project? Like, do you want it done or do you wanna re-experience it through the journey of, of creating? And so we all are kind of somewhere on that spectrum when it comes to a project.

[00:11:24] Jennifer Labush: That's true. And I I feel that way with the journaling. Especially like it you know I try to keep journaling as I go. On um Heather Creates, she turned me on to, I believe it's called Day One, the journal app. So I try to take notes and that way I have something to look back on when I do have the time. Um but revisiting through the journaling is really nice to jog your memories.

[00:11:51] Jennifer Wilson: Oh, a hundred percent. A hundred percent. So first off, your bio says you are an introvert and cat mom. We've already kind of identified that we both share the same first name and we are both a cat mothers as well. Um, I'm curious how like being an introvert affects how you show up as like, you know, a creative business owner, um, in, in the world.

[00:12:16] Jennifer Labush: Gosh it's it's a challenge, I have to say. Because I feel like a lot of introverts come across they can come across as like standoffish. Maybe like um uh what's the word, like um stuck up or something. Because we're quiet. Um and it's hard with social media because you know you're really putting yourself out there. And especially with scrapbooking people love stories and you know it's hard to kind of open up and share with strangers. But it it's it's been rewarding. I feel like I've really met a lot of like-minded people and you know as an introvert I kind of feel a little lonely, so to speak. Like Um not a lot of you know not a big crowd of friends, just a small group of people. Like being embraced by other people has been like wow that that's amazing.

[00:13:22] Jennifer Wilson: I think when you find your people who you feel similar to, um, that really helps. Like I think back to different times in my life. Um, Whether, whether those people are also introverts or not. Like if you feel that shared connection by something like in high school for me it was math club and you know, now it's scrapbooking. Um, that definitely kind of makes a difference.

[00:13:49] Jennifer Labush: That's so funny I was a mathlete in high school. We have that in common too, then.

[00:13:54] Jennifer Wilson: Awesome. Yes, that was, that was a lot of my time in high school, was doing extra math problems to practice.

[00:14:02] Jennifer Labush: I I think um In tune with what you said, I feel like when you get to know more people out there it it kind of encourages you to speak more and share more, which is really nice. Um you feel like a safe space. I feel so much more comfortable sharing on Instagram with the scrapbook people than I do just like with a mixed crowd on Facebook. Even though the my profile is private on Facebook, I just feel more in tune in the scrapbook world.

[00:14:40] Jennifer Wilson: Oh, a hundred percent. Yeah. Um, I, because I think even on Facebook, your, your friends like quote unquote Facebook friends with people you've known over the years, but you wouldn't necessarily feel that same comfort level of sharing openly with them about the things that you scrapbook. You know, it's, it's different.

[00:15:03] Jennifer Labush: Exactly and and I also feel like a lot of those people oh I don't really know many people that are into scrapbooking in my personal life. I have a few friends, I have a cousin but they don't don't really seem to get it. You know so, I don't know, they don't really embrace it the way we do. So it's nice to to feel seen you know.

[00:15:27] Jennifer Wilson: A hundred percent. A hundred percent, yes. So I noticed you're focusing on your Etsy store these days. So can you like, share a little bit about your adventures in selling online and what you've learned from the transitions you've gone through in terms of how, how you're selling, the things that you create.

[00:15:45] Jennifer Labush: Sure. Um I started selling my designs in the shop in July of 2020. In the midst of the pandemic. I had talked about this for years. Like I really wanna open the shop. And I had opened the shop but I sold uh a tote and I think some beads. I was just selling supplies that were you know de-stashing, so to speak. And that was it. Um then when the pandemic came I felt like suddenly tomorrow's not a guarantee. I mean everybody knows that life. But I just felt like this imminent like you must your dream now cuz you never know. Uh prior to that I was the queen of procrastination. Um enjoy Etsy's user friendly platform and there's some fail safes in place as far as mailing and delivery. Which make me feel good and they ease my worries about whether things are gonna get to the customers or not. Um, so that puts my mind at ease. I love seeing customers get excited about products through messages and reviews. And uh it feels good to have such a seemingly small service bring joy and humor to people. And I think the biggest thing I've learned is that my products aren't for everyone. But I'm okay with that because I feel like as long as I put my heart into it, it's genuine. And uh you know as a graphic designer with my career, it's um, you're always like people pleasing. You feel like you know there's marketing teams, editorial teams, depending upon line of business you're in. Right now I'm in packaging design. You always have people that say you know oh I don't like blue or you know I don't like that font. But there's like such a freedom that I feel like anybody who is ever thinking about doing anything creative on their own, go for it. Just get on there and and find your way. It's it's you know it can be nerve wracking at first like am I doing it wrong. But honestly it it doesn't take much time to catch on and get into a good routine. So.

[00:18:02] Jennifer Wilson: I love your point about feeling that freedom to create what you want. Particularly if you have to produce creatively in whatever type of capacity but for someone else or for another purpose. Um there's that's there's just so much joy in being able to do that.

[00:18:21] Jennifer Labush: Thank you. Yeah it's it's very different from my job and um my day-to-day job is there isn't a lot of creativity, so this really gives me a true creative outlet.

[00:18:33] Jennifer Wilson: So your products are for digital, hybrid, and paper scrapbookers. Um it seems like you've been really intentional at trying to um show options for everyone depending on how they want to create. Can you talk a little bit more about what you offer in your shop? And maybe some of the choices you've had to make in terms of Well you know I don't want to deal with that line of business because it would just be unsustainable in terms of packaging and shipping or production. Um I'm sure you have lots of creative ideas that don't actually make it to the shop.

[00:19:10] Jennifer Labush: Well that's true. You know as much as I would love to deliver paper products, I I just don't have the space in our one bedroom apartment. Um and also I really do like the versatility of digital. I like that you can print at home if you want. You can, I which I haven't tried yet, but I'm I would love to order some pocket cards through uh Pernickety Prints. Their work is beautiful. And You know just have that on the ready when when I'm ready to sit down and scrap. Um scrapbook, digital scrapbooking, excuse me, I love. Because first of all you could just shut your computer down and that's your cleanup. You don't have only supplies everywhere which you know when you're in a small space it's it's very nice. And the other thing that my customers tend to say is that they like the ability to use things over and over. And also change the color combinations if they want. To make things cohesive make them mix with other supplies they have. So I like that. Um initially, initially my business was intended to be a custom scrapbook album service.

[00:20:23] Jennifer Wilson: Oh interesting.

[00:20:25] Jennifer Labush: Yeah yeah. Quite an undertaking, right? I designed an album for a customer who traveled to Italy with her husband and her parents. It was very fulfilling for both of us and I encouraged her to write journaling even though she is not a quote unquote writer, as she put it. She was really happy that I asked her to add her own words since this was a gift for her husband. And um I just think it's really important you know I can lay out the design for you but the end it's it's her book and her husband's book. And, uh but I switched gears um with folks being extra mindful of spending during the pandemic. And pocket cards were my transition into the digital scrapbooking world. They were affordable and there were a lot of fun to design. And I love the Project Life concept. I love the the pocket concept. And also you you know you can do that digitally. You could do it hybridly. So it has a lot of assets to it. Um one of the first sets of pocket cards was mental health related. It's a subject close to my heart and one that I hadn't seen represented much or at all in the industry back in 2020. And it makes me really happy to see that more products of the same topic are being offered since then. Um it opens a dialogue and helps to remove the stigma of mental illness in my opinion.

[00:21:54] Jennifer Wilson: Oh for sure. And I think the pandemic just kind of added uh more light to it. It exacerbated problems people already had, as well as created new problems for people who maybe were kind of in in a you know a level place before. So uh personally it incur it kind of was the trigger for me to finally reach out and uh find a therapist and start medication. Because I couldn't keep it together anymore. So.

[00:22:26] Jennifer Labush: Wow I'm really glad you did.

[00:22:27] Jennifer Wilson: Oh me too. I feel amazing compared to how I did two years ago. So.

[00:22:34] Jennifer Labush: Yeah.

[00:22:35] Jennifer Wilson: It's been really like, it's felt so good to see products that are representing that. I've never I never personally felt like the stigma around talking about it. But it's so I know that it that others have and it's so good to just see it come to the forefront in terms of uh being something that we that we talk about, that we scrapbook about.

[00:22:58] Jennifer Labush: Yeah. I'm really happy about it. Um I expanded to full digital collections within the first year but I still had my heart set on producing stamps. And um I you know I do them in small batches so I don't have like like I said I don't have a lot of room in the apartment but it works for me. And um about a year ago I started selling clear stamps. And I have to admit they're my favorite to make. Because to me it's like designing a little logo which you know as a graphic designer that's my favorite thing to do in my line of work.

[00:23:35] Jennifer Wilson: Yeah I noticed like you have one that's all like little cats and it's so cute. And also but like you would think that maybe cat stamps would not be versatile but it feels very like versatile in every day. Like I could use this in my planner every week. So.

[00:23:51] Jennifer Labush: Oh thank you. I I try to keep the sizes about that size so that they can be, they have the versatility for scrapbooking and planners. I love those little cats.

[00:24:03] Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Do you hear from customers about things they'd like you to make?

[00:24:08] Jennifer Labush: Yeah actually I do. Like I have customers that will contact me about uh the reading themed items that I work on. The stamps in particular. And they ask for to add more genres. And sometimes I have that on the future list and sometimes you know I don't, which is terrific. Then I can give them what they're looking for.

[00:24:32] Jennifer Wilson: Yes. I've seen over the especially the past few years that uh books and reading type products tend to be hot sellers. And I think there's just there's something about scrapbooks uh often are readers as well.

[00:24:49] Jennifer Labush: Yes. There's there's such a big tie there. It it really was Incredible to see that. And I kind of have a little giggle about it because um where I met my husband we we both worked for a Double Day, it wasn't called Double Day at the time. They called it Bookspan. Um but it was a book catalog company. And now I'm like oh my gosh I've come full circle, doing books again but in a different way.

[00:25:18] Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

[00:25:19] Jennifer Labush: I like that.

[00:25:22] Jennifer Wilson: So your products very much reflect your personal beliefs and interests as as we've just been chatting about with cats and books and mental health. Uh you're tackling though is substance and snarks. So what does that mean to you?

[00:25:37] Jennifer Labush: Oh gosh. You know you have me thinking because I looked up snark and I'm like sarcasm. Maybe I'm using the wrong word. Maybe I should be saying like edgy or um feisty or something. Um, but you know I was raised to be a quote unquote good girl and not to make waves. So I I find it uh it's fun to be feisty and outspoken through my products. It's a release for me and it's nice to see others enjoying it as much as I do. Uh my husband encourages me to be myself. He says you'll attract like-minded people if if you just be yourself.

[00:26:17] Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

[00:26:18] Jennifer Labush: Honestly like I feel like it's It's less pressure too because it's natural. Just you know it's one less thing to think about if you're just doing what comes to you naturally.

[00:26:31] Jennifer Wilson: There's just been I think in,how do I say this, in certain ways there's been more of an acceptance of just being authentically you. And at the same time there are others that are maybe uh against that acceptance. But uh I think for the most part we all want to uh everyone to feel included and um for everyone to feel like they can be themselves. So that's something that I I love to see as as part of products that are coming out for sure.

[00:27:02] Jennifer Labush: Definitely. And I I guess you know I I've always felt kind of like an outcast. Like I um I was a nerd in high school and also liked metal. So you know you get a lot of stigma around that too. So I I never really was running with the popular crowd anyway. So for me it's just like hey just be you and whatever happens happens. Um you know with with all due respect to know not being rude to people obviously show kindness.

[00:27:35] Jennifer Wilson: Well and I think you also used the word sassy on your Etsy page and I was like, oh yeah. Like I definitely resonate with that word because like that magazine was my everything in my teen years.

[00:27:48] Jennifer Labush: Oh that's so funny. Oh man Um yeah I I've definitely grown into the sas I think in my mid twenties started to really come out. Um so as far as substance um I'm definitely an introspective deep thinker. I ask a lot of questions. My husband is always like well I don't know why why would I know that. And I'm like oh I don't know I'm just thinking out loud.

[00:28:19] Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

[00:28:20] Jennifer Labush: But my personality and sense of humor a naturally part of my products. And, uh, I enjoy, I enjoy everyday products as much as the next person, but I wanna continue to offer products that are not mainstream. And for me, that means even if it doesn't sell, like I just, I like exploring new things. I like learning new things, I've been researching topics that are un, that I'm unfamiliar with, with the goal of presenting them accurately and respectfully. I want people to feel seen because memory keeping should be available to everyone.

[00:28:57] Jennifer Wilson: Yes, yes, yes. No, I think that I, yeah, you're, I think you're, um, it's really exciting to see what you're bringing and, and the gaps that you're filling in our industry. Um, because I think the, the trend has been towards even, you know, the old trend was very thematic things. And now we're in a kind of a world of let's do it, everything non thematic. But then what if there's really specific things that you wanna include? Um, so yeah, I think it's a nice, uh, a really important supplement to kind of the broader industry of products.

[00:29:34] Jennifer Labush: Thank you. I appreciate that. You know, and I, I do feel that I'm kind of a late comer. I mean, a lot of the, the big people in the industry were, you know, they started in their twenties and, you know, there's, they've already covered this ground and it's. They have it under control and they're producing beautiful things. So I don't see any need to compete with that. I like to offer new things, it takes me a while to get things out, you know, working a regular job and then having the business. Um and also I wanna tread lightly because, like I said, I'm ignorant of a lot of subjects, so I wanna make sure I, I present them properly and with respect.

[00:30:20] Jennifer Wilson: Yes, yes. No, I think that's, uh, all the more important in these days. And, um, but just that you have the openness and the curiosity to do it well and to do it right, um, speaks a lot to your character.

[00:30:36] Jennifer Labush: Thank you.

[00:30:37] Jennifer Wilson: So you also run a private Facebook group to help foster connections between like-minded scrapbookers. I'm gonna include the link in the show notes if that's okay with you. But can you share more about your intentions behind creating it?

[00:30:53] Jennifer Labush: Thank you. Um, the intent of the private group is for fans of the products to share their pages and projects with open hearts and open minds in a safe space without anyone, quote unquote, coming at them, so to speak. You know, a lot of folks have private profiles on social media, so my goal is to offer a space for crafters to share with other crafters while avoiding online creeps and bullies. So far, I haven't had any shares in the group, but it's growing. People have been joining, and for the folks listening, I'd love to welcome you to the group and be inspired by your projects.

[00:31:35] Jennifer Wilson: Yes, I think that sounds so fun. I joined and I'm excited to, to see what people create inside of there.

[00:31:42] Jennifer Labush: Thank.

[00:31:43] Jennifer Wilson: Doing is really important.

[00:31:44] Jennifer Labush: Happy to have you. I, I guess I should get the ball rolling and start sharing some of my stuff, even if it's like older content. Go through my archives.

[00:31:53] Jennifer Wilson: Oh yeah, for sure. I'm curious um, if there's any, you, you already mentioned some of the things that people are requesting, but are you noticing any trends in the ways customers are using your products? Um, kind of like, I'm curious what's on the horizon for memory keeping? Are we shifting formats again? What are people doing? Is everybody just doing their own thing? Um, I'm always curious about how people are creating.

[00:32:22] Jennifer Labush: Well. You know, I can't say for certain, it's a trend since I've only immersed myself into this scrapbooking scene, you know, on social media in 2020. I'm seeing a lot of people using planners for their memory keeping. Whether it's a digital template they have printed into a book or a physical paper planner. I find it to be a very exciting format and, um, you know, if you have the discipline, it keeps you on track for little notes every day. Like it's nice to just have like, like a diary and, uh, my customers seem to use my stamps predominantly in their planners or journals. That's what I'm finding. Although could be that the scrapbookers are, are keeping their stuff private because maybe, you know, they're journaling about their mental health, so they don't wanna make that public. I'm grateful to my guest makers because they have been very transparent and honest about their journeys, and they share a lot of stuff that you know might be otherwise hard to share.

[00:33:26] Jennifer Wilson: Yes, for sure. No, that's a good point is that, uh, I think some folks are more willing to be open, more resilient in terms of, I'm just gonna put out there what I'm gonna put out there. And if some, nobody, if somebody doesn't like it, they can, they can go away. But I think others definitely, uh, maybe know that, that they're, they're, uh, too sensitive.

[00:33:48] Jennifer Wilson: And I don't say that in any kind of demeaning way at all. But they know that they, uh, don't wanna have that sense of vulnerability because, uh, negative comments, you know, are, uh, detrimental to their own wellbeing.

[00:34:02] Jennifer Labush: Exactly, and, and I respect that. And that's why I opened up the group. I'd been thinking about it for a while and I thought, you know, if, if people feel okay with that, and even if they join and they just see other people's content if they're shy themselves. Just, there's so much inspiration out there and it, it's so nice. Like my scrap lift pile, you know, my digital pile doing screen grabs and stuff is out of control. There's just so much stuff that I'm like, wow, I wanna do that. I wanna do that.

[00:34:32] Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, it's, it's hard. Like there's just, I wanna make all the things and, and then when you get into, maybe like you start doing different formats or even creative projects out outside of scrapbooking, you just, the list of things you wanna make, it's longer.

[00:34:50] Jennifer Labush: It's so true. I, I think I'm a die hard 12 by 12 girl, so my go-to and I love to see that there's still, so like everyone's doing whatever format they want. Like there's still um, 12 by 12 people out there. The, the grid people, um, I'm gonna pronounce her name wrong, but Cathy Z.

[00:35:13] Jennifer Wilson: Cathy Zielske. Yeah.

[00:35:14] Jennifer Labush: Yes. She turned me on to the grid way back when, and I never looked back like I was like, this is the way I wanted scrapbook. Um, one thing I would love to try is, the Traveler's notebook. I love seeing that out there too. That's pretty popular these days. Although I don't find a lot of people buy that that size from my shop, so don't offer it as much.

[00:35:40] Jennifer Wilson: Oh. Interesting. Maybe they're just using the smaller products on like an existing notebook versus kind of printing out the backgrounds.

[00:35:48] Jennifer Labush: I think that's what they do. I think that these smaller content and fill the page that way. Which makes more sense to me, actually.

[00:35:59] Jennifer Wilson: Well, I, I definitely see some of both. Like I find an intimidation with Travelers Notebooks that if I, I might mess up the page. And so I feel more, more confident to kind of create a tiny layout and then adhere it into my book. That would definitely be a comfort zone for me.

[00:36:16] Jennifer Labush: Yeah, I have a huge fear of messing up my books, which is terrible. I need to just lighten up and just have fun.

[00:36:25] Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, we could probably talk about, um, how perfectionism impacts, uh, everything for a long time.

[00:36:34] Jennifer Labush: Absolutely.

[00:36:37] Jennifer Wilson: You mentioned the grids though, and that's one of the things that I love about pocket cards. Cuz I'm not doing as much inserting the cards into actual pockets as much as I used to. But I love designing a layout around a card that I really like and you know, making it a grid and it's just something that's so kind of easy and elegant, simple.

[00:36:58] Jennifer Labush: Yes. Um, Suzanna Lee, she does that and I love that. She'll take a few cards, put 'em on a page, and then embellish around them. And that was like eye-opening to me. I was like, wow, you could do that.

[00:37:13] Jennifer Wilson: Yes, yes, I'll definitely include, uh, the link to her, um, Instagram as well as her previous podcast episode with me. So,

[00:37:21] Jennifer Labush: Excellent, excellent.

[00:37:24] Jennifer Wilson: I've had a lot of really incredible guests over the past, uh, 220 plus episodes,

[00:37:30] Jennifer Labush: Oh, that's incredible.

[00:37:33] Jennifer Wilson: Thank you.

[00:37:33] Jennifer Labush: Wow. How many years have you had the podcast?

[00:37:38] Jennifer Wilson: Three, well, it's been about weekly, so we're on episode 225 will go out next week. So I'm not that good at the math. Um, despite the being in math club in high school, I'm now really terrible at math.

[00:37:56] Jennifer Labush: I am laughing because.

[00:37:57] Jennifer Wilson: That actually makes it almost, that's four years, four and a half years.

[00:38:01] Jennifer Labush: Okay, that's wonderful. It's still a baby.

[00:38:05] Jennifer Wilson: And I did, uh, 72 episodes just for our members before I started this one.

[00:38:13] Jennifer Labush: Wonderful.

[00:38:13] Jennifer Wilson: And then I'm like, why am I keeping these private? So I started over from scratch and made a public podcast. So I needed to get out my like introvert nerves on podcasting with 72 previous episodes.

[00:38:27] Jennifer Labush: That's great. I'm laughing about the math part because I always joke that the art side of the brain has taken over. Like it just pushed the math side out. It's like, get out. We don't need you anymore. wait, hold on. What size is that pocket card again?

[00:38:45] Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. I used to be so good with mental math and number sense and all that, and now I have to write it down cuz I can't. I can't do it otherwise.

[00:38:56] Jennifer Labush: I'm the same way.

[00:38:58] Jennifer Wilson: Can't hold things in my brain that much anymore.

[00:39:01] Jennifer Labush: Likewise. I mean, if I didn't have the pen and paper or the note notepad app in, in the iPhone, I'd be lost.

[00:39:09] Jennifer Wilson: Yes, yes. So this has been so lovely. Can you share anything you have new or coming up, um, in the second half of the year?

[00:39:21] Jennifer Labush: Thank you. Likewise. It's really a pleasure to meet you and to be on here. Um, when I saw your post, I thought, oh my gosh, I wanna, but I'm so scared. And my friends said, do it, do it. Tammy encouraged me um, Becky encouraged me, so thank you ladies. Um, well currently.

[00:39:42] Jennifer Wilson: You had, you had nominations in addition to

[00:39:44] Jennifer Labush: Oh.

[00:39:44] Jennifer Wilson: Submitting your own. So.

[00:39:47] Jennifer Labush: Oh my God, I'm touched. That's real.

[00:39:49] Jennifer Labush: Really sweet. Um, currently I have more ideas than time to bring them to life, which my husband said that's a good problem to have.

[00:39:59] Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

[00:40:00] Jennifer Labush: And, uh, you know, maybe that'll change in the future when I can run my business full-time. In the meantime, though, I'm grateful to my customers and guest makers for the understanding about the lag time between my releases. Um, so I don't wanna spoil the surprise, but I think summer's a good time to be nostalgic and I want to do a throwback collection, so stay tuned for that.

[00:40:26] Jennifer Labush: And I'm also gonna be offering washi tape and other fun supplies like binder clips, um, like decorative ones in the shop. Cuz I, I always see things that are so adorable and I'm like, I want these to be like out there. You know, plus like I'll buy one for myself. Then it kind of justifies it like, okay, I'll use this product and then I could sell it too. So I'm looking forward to that. And uh, it's just a matter of making the time to photograph and put the listings up. And, uh, I can be found on Instagram, Facebook, and Etsy. So I'd love for anyone to stop by and say hello. Introverts are more than welcome.

[00:41:16] Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes, yes. We'll include all of those links, um, for sure. As well as it links to anything else that you mentioned during our conversation.

[00:41:25] Jennifer Labush: Thank you.

[00:41:27] Jennifer Wilson: Jennifer, thanks for spending time with me.

[00:41:29] Jennifer Labush: Thank you, Jennifer. Have a great day.

[00:41:31] Jennifer Wilson: You too. And to all of our listeners, please remember that you have permission to Scrapbook Your Way.