SYW326 – Balancing Multiple Scrapbook Projects with Sarah Jürs

Sarah Jürs: [00:00:00] By journaling daily, I recognize how much it does for my mental health also. And, just, calming practice of sitting down in the evening or in the morning and just writing. It's, makes a huge difference in my life.

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 326.

In this episode, I'm chatting with Sarah Jürs about how she balances multiple memory keeping projects while working full-time and raising her son in Germany. Our conversation includes her approach to documenting different projects and how daily journaling keeps her grounded.

Hello Sarah. Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way.

Sarah Jürs: Hi. Thank you for having me.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm excited to chat with you today.

Sarah Jürs: Me too. Thank you.

Jennifer Wilson: So I would [00:01:00] love for you to share a little bit about yourself.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah. So my name is Sarah. I'm 39 years old, and, uh, I live in Germany with my 11-year-old son.

Jennifer Wilson: Lovely, lovely. And we were talking just before you said you, you know, this is where you've, you've grown up.

Sarah Jürs: Right. So I live in, I was born in Frankfurt. And now I live, uh, a few kilometers away, but uh, yeah. Still in Germany.

Jennifer Wilson: Very cool, very cool. Um, yeah, and I'm sure we'll get into a little bit of how that impacts, you know, you being a scrapbooker though, you guys seem to have a wonderful community of memory keepers and crafters over there.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah. We do, we do. Well, mainly I, um, joined a community in the US so from mainly Ali Edwards.

Jennifer Wilson: Uhhuh.

Sarah Jürs: And um, in Germany there's not that much of a community, I guess. At least not that I know of. But, um, it's fun to connect with people, like-minded people who share the same hobby. And I was lucky enough to meet [00:02:00] some awesome friends and, um, yeah, love the connection.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, for sure. Yeah. That's what makes this, you know, even extra special.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah, right.

Jennifer Wilson: So do you have a favorite recent layout or project, something that just really stood out to you as a favorite?

Sarah Jürs: Um, recently I finished my December Daily. Uh, which is always a huge project in December. And, uh, a huge part of my December as I experience it. And, um, yeah, this, this time I was busy in December, so I didn't get to finish it or in this month. But just, uh, I think, one week ago or two weeks ago, I have done it and completed it. And it's always fun to put a completed album on the shelf.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. And so how do you approach your December Daily? What size did you do this year?

Sarah Jürs: Uh, I did 10 by eight this year.

Because I, I love the, yeah, the, the huge space that we have in the 10 by eight. And the different sizes I can incorporate. And it's always fun to work with a bunch of [00:03:00] projects and, uh, full page pictures. And yeah, I do, uh, 30 stories, so I think many people do just 25 and I go to 30.

Jennifer Wilson: And what is the significance of that?

Sarah Jürs: Uh, I don't know. It's, I think to the first time I did it, I went up to 30 because for some weird reason the, um, New Year's doesn't belong in my December Daily.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Sarah Jürs: I decided at some point I, I don't have really a reason for it, but, um, so yeah. Then I go to 30.

Jennifer Wilson: Very cool. Yeah, no, I love that we all can personalize these projects and, and make them really work for us.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah. Right. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: And plus so many of those collections of numbers go all the way to 30 anyway, so you might as well use those.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah. Right, right.

Jennifer Wilson: 26, 27, 28, 29, 30. So.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: I have tons of those in my number collection.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah, it's always fun because in the US the, the 25th of, uh, the big Christmas Day and [00:04:00] in Germany the 24th is the, um, yeah, the biggest celebration. So I usually don't have a lot of use for the big 25s in the collection.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, okay.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah, so last year it was, uh, 2025, so I got to use a bunch of them. That was fun.

Jennifer Wilson: Are there any like specific traditions, um, in Germany that are different than what we do on the 25th that you do on Christmas Eve?

Sarah Jürs: Um, no, not really. So we come together and we, um, gift our presents in the evening. I think in, in the US it's in the morning on the 25th. But other than that, it's just a different day.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah. Very cool. Thank you for sharing that.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Is there something new that you're excited to do, use or try either in scrapbooking or just somewhere in your everyday life?

Sarah Jürs: Um, I recently decided because I stumbled upon a YouTube video where a woman made a self portrait challenge, so she drew herself for, I think, 150 days in a row, which is insane. But I want to try it [00:05:00] once a month, with different mediums. And, uh, not really, my goal is not perfection. Just to have fun and, uh, get back to drawing again.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. I, feel like I've done a lot of drawing in my life, including self portraits, and now at this stage of my life, I'm like, oh, that feels kind of scary.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah, it's, but um, I try to took the pressure off by just playing and don't really worrying about if it turns out great or not, just having a good time and.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, very cool.

Sarah Jürs: Train the creative muscles, I guess.

Jennifer Wilson: Definitely send me the link to the the creator you were inspired by.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah. Okay. I do that.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. We'll include that in the show notes for this episode. We love to make sure that we can connect our listeners with all the wonderful things that are mentioned. So I noticed that your memory keeping takes a number of forms and I'd love to really focus on how your process differs. Like how you work differently when you're creating in your planner in a [00:06:00] travelers notebook or a smaller album like your December Daily. Can you start by sharing a little bit about your history as a scrapbooker just so we can kind of get to today?

Sarah Jürs: Yeah, so, um, I always loved pictures and I always had some kind of a photo album like these, um, old school bound paper albums. And I used to write a small note to the picture, like who's in it and where were, were we? And some kind of, uh, yeah, additional information. And um, then in I think 2011, I discovered Scrapbook.

Scrapbooking for the first time, like the traditional 12 by 12 layout. And, um, I started to dive in, which was not that easy in Germany, at least. I, I have had problems to find stores who, uh, sell the stuff. Yeah, but I, I managed to get some papers and embellishments and started with the traditional 12 for 12 [00:07:00] layouts.

And also I started Project Life in 2012. Um, also in a 12 by 12 album. And I'm still doing that, that in the size since 2012. Which is insane. But.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay, so you've done pocket page Project life in 12 by 12 for 14 years now.

Sarah Jürs: Yes, yes. It's crazy.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay. Okay. Uh, is it correct that you don't share a lot of your Project life on your Instagram?

Sarah Jürs: Yeah, that's correct, because I don't want to show my son on the internet. And, uh, he, it turns up a lot of course, in my Project Life. And then it's just a lot of work to edit and, um, yeah, censor his, his pictures. And oftentimes my journaling is a bit more personal than in some of my layouts, so I decided to not share.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, it makes total sense.

Sarah Jürs: And um, yeah, then in 2000, I think 13, I was in in design [00:08:00] team in a German shop. And, uh, received some products and, uh, dive even deeper. Created a blog. And it was a lot of fun. And then when my son came in 2014, there wasn't that much time anymore. So, um, I made, yeah, fewer layouts, but also in two, 2018, I decided to get a divorce. And then I stopped doing, uh, memory keeping for yeah, nearly two years. Just to adjust to the new situation and everything that comes with it.

Jennifer Wilson: No doubt. Yeah.

Sarah Jürs: And in 2021 I found Ali Edwards, to a YouTube video I stumbled across. And since then I am, yeah, deeper in scrapbooking than ever. I just loved, I loved her approach. Like, documenting the mundane every day and not so the, the, the big events. And, um, [00:09:00] in my traditional 12 by 12 project, I used to mainly focus on pictures and products and just, uh, one or two sentences. But, um, was discovering Ali and her, her approach, I used to write a lot of, a lot more journaling and, uh, I think that's fun and so important.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes, yes. . You do a lot of hybrid journaling, right?

So then we can even more words.

Sarah Jürs: Yes, that's right.

Jennifer Wilson: On that page when we type them out.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah. So I, usually get the digital files to a lot of the products. I get physical with subscriptions or things that I buy. And I like to, um, yeah, add my journaling digitally and plan the layout at least a bit in, in Photoshop. And then I print some stuff out and, uh, yeah.

But I, I couldn't imagine just going digitally. I like to touch the things and, uh, the paper, embellishments and arrange [00:10:00] everything. And it's fun to have a mix of both.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Um, hybrid. It can be a, a best of both worlds.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: For those who want, you know, really need and, and have the space and ability to do the, the tactile things that add a different experience to it.

Sarah Jürs: It is. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: So do you still make any 12 by 12 layouts?

Sarah Jürs: No, no. I, um, completely quit that.

Jennifer Wilson: So tell us what, what kind of activities or projects are on your plate right now or this year, like including things you've already committed to and things you anticipate doing this year.

Sarah Jürs: So Project Life as usual, usually I, um, plan to keep going with that. And then I have, uh, story albums. Um, which the past I, um, which had different themes. Now there is, uh, the Storyteller kit, which comes quarterly. And I, um, yeah, I make the extra layouts in addition to [00:11:00] Project Life with this kit.

Then I have my One Little Word projects. And still some travel projects and documenting to do from the last year. And, uh, yeah, as I said before, I'm, uh, participating in, at, I think every project Ali does a Week In The Life. And I'm excited for all of them.

Jennifer Wilson: So when it comes to your Project Life, are you, you said you're doing 12 by 12, are you using like the standard Design A pocket page, or do you change up the style of pocket page?

Sarah Jürs: Uh, mainly does Design A that works for me. I have a, pretty workflow, I think. Because I've done it for so long and, um, sometimes I include different, uh, page sizes when I have, uh, more pictures or more things to say. But usually the Design A.

Jennifer Wilson: Are you using primarily Ali's designs for three by four and four by six cards?

Sarah Jürs: Yeah. Right, right. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: And then what about your travel projects? [00:12:00] How do you approach those?

Sarah Jürs: So, um, usually in a six by eight album. So there's one album for each destination, I would say for each vacation. And, um. I haven't used a specific kit so far. So, uh, I, I usually go day by day and just, um, look at my pictures, what do I want to include, include what happened on each day. And then I try to crush some older Story kits and, uh, just incorporate things I have in my stash. Or, or layouts I saw on Instagram which was, uh, which inspired me, and then I yeah, build up on that.

Jennifer Wilson: When does a Traveler's notebook come into play? Are you doing that mostly with the, like the Ali's Story Play or Pieces Of Life type things or? Do you actually use those for travel projects too?

Sarah Jürs: Yeah. As a travelers notebook is, uh, fairly new to me, so I discover [00:13:00] it, uh, just last year in May when I attended the Miso paper event in London. And um, there were a bunch of people who used Travelers Notebook and I didn't really know much about it at this point. And, uh, yeah, I got influenced and um, brought an insert. And now I'm using it for travel mainly, and for ephemera. So everything I collect on my travels I will glue in and just write around the pieces. So I, I really enjoy the loose, the looser approach. So in my scrapbooking I tend to plan up a little bit more. And in my travelers notebooks, it's just everything goes. And, uh, handwriting, which I don't do that often in my other projects, and it's fun.

Jennifer Wilson: So would you say that for a certain, like let's say you were gonna go on a trip this year, you would probably work, like be kind of gathering your thoughts [00:14:00] and, and some of the memorabilia in a traveler's notebook, and then maybe you would do a, an album later for that project with your photos.

Sarah Jürs: Right. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Now I've seen that you are also kind of a very dedicated journaler in your Hobonichi. Can you tell us about how you, how you approach that and um, what role that plays for you?

Sarah Jürs: It's a huge role in my life at this point. um, I discovered Hobonichi I think also in 2021 by Amy Gretchen. I saw a video of her. And she talked about, um, being behind in Project Life and uh, having a place to jot on notes and to come back to. And she showed her Hobonichi. And at first I thought, yeah, that's a great idea, just for that purpose of uh, having a place to co come back and, uh, yeah, fill gaps in my Project Life.

And by journaling daily, I recognize how much it does for my mental health also. And, [00:15:00] just, calming practice of sitting down in the evening or in the morning and just writing. It's, makes a huge difference in my life. And I try to really go day by day and, uh, usually fill, fill out the whole page each day. And, um, yeah, it's great to have a place to come back to again, again, and again.

Jennifer Wilson: Are you including any creative elements on that page? Stickers, stamps.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah, yeah. Stickers. Stamps not so much because the paper is a bit tricky when it comes to stamps. But, um, yeah, stickers mainly from TheCoffeeMonsterzCo Um, or any ephemera, when it's not too bulky, then I like to include it. And yeah, a little bit. Hand lettering and, um, yeah, sometimes I draw in there. But not that often. Usually I have too much to say for, for bigger [00:16:00] embellishments or something.

Jennifer Wilson: So would you say that what you have documented in your planner is, uh, is used to plan your Project Life?

Sarah Jürs: It was in the beginning, but nowadays, not really. I just, uh, yeah, try to capture what the day looked like. So like activities, but also how I'm, how I'm feeling, what goes on in the world and make notes sometimes. And it's always fun to look back and, uh, I. I often go back into an older Hobonichi and look up when was and when was that. And it's fun to have a place to find those informations.

Jennifer Wilson: Can you talk more about how you might approach storytelling differently? So I'm getting the sense that maybe your planner is very much about you, and is your Project life more about your son.

Sarah Jürs: Yes. Yes, I, would say so. So, [00:17:00] um, I, I try to take note during the week of everything, no, not everything. But the main thing he does what he's into, what's new and um, that's a huge part of my Project Life. Because, uh, he loves to look back at our old albums and, uh, yeah, relive the memories. And, um, it's just great. Last December we looked back on an album and then he said, oh, mom, every time when we watch an album, we, we, we go through an album.

I just laugh that you do it. And 'cause sometimes when I want to take pictures, uh, asking some questions to write it down, and he's a bit, uh, how do you say it? Um, bothered. But when he sees, uh, what it came out of it and how I document it, and he's happy that I do it, that's fun.

Jennifer Wilson: I feel like that [00:18:00] experience is very normal.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah, I think so. Especially in this age. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: So in like a given week or month or even like day, day to day, like how, how often are you touching each of your projects? So, you're journaling daily. Um, when do you work on Project Life? Like how does your, how is your, week structured?

Sarah Jürs: So, as you said, I journal daily and I try to do my Project Life every Sunday. And yeah, capture the, the week. That, uh, doesn't work every time, of course. Sometimes I am back a few weeks, but, uh, because I have my planner, my, my journal, that's not a problem. Um, I try to at least print some pictures then, or jot some extra notes down.

And, um, there isn't really a day when I don't touch anything. At least when I'm home, of course. So, um, I sometimes print pictures for, for layouts or I [00:19:00] try cutting stuff out or, um, gather something I want to do, I want to work with. And um, yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: What, what time of day, especially during the week, can we find you scrapbooking?

Sarah Jürs: Um, mainly in the evening when my son is in bed or when he's with friends or so. Because I, I work full time during the day. And sometimes when I am in, uh, uh, working from home, then I can, uh, start a layout in my, uh, um, break. But usually in the evening when it's quiet around here. And I can collect my thoughts and my products and start working on it.

Jennifer Wilson: And when you do your journaling, are you doing that? You said, you mentioned you're working on it kind of throughout the day. Is that correct? Do you bring it with you?

Sarah Jürs: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: I love that. It seems like that's like a, a companion for you?

Sarah Jürs: Yeah. Yeah. That's the right word. Yeah. Yeah,

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I love that. I love that idea. I probably would, uh, how do, how do I say this? If I always was writing my thoughts and [00:20:00] feelings before I spoke them out loud, I might regret fewer things that I say.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah. That's right. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, no, I love, I love that you have that as a, as a way to process and, um, and, uh, you mentioned the, TheCoffeeMonsterzCo and seeing that like continuously through your pages just gives it like that sense of uniformity.

And yeah, it makes me wanna dip back into a Hobonichi, but I have to stay strong and not do it. I can't start anything else.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah, that's, yeah, I thought of that yesterday. I often think that I have too many ho hobbies because there are not much hours in a day. And um, it's hard to do everything I want to because it's just not enough time.

Jennifer Wilson: Are there things that you've decided like, okay, I would like to do this, but I, don't, I'm just not going to.

Sarah Jürs: I, I used, um, I used to go to phases. So there are phases when [00:21:00] I'm more journaling phases, when I'm more scrapbooking. Than I'm reading. Because I can't do anything, uh, everything at one time. And, uh, so January is usually my catch up and setup up phase. Where I try to finish projects from the, uh, last year and set up projects for this year. And, um, yeah, maybe then. So reading phase again. Let's see.

Jennifer Wilson: I would say that's, that's a, I don't know. I think a lot of us go through that.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah, I think so.

Jennifer Wilson: I, we always talk about how you can always trust that you're, I dunno, your creative mojo, your creative, like inspiration for scrapbooking. Even if you don't feel like it's high right now, it will always come back.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah. that's definitely the case. Usually when I am not feeling it or so, I try to at least, uh, write some stuff down or, um, get inspiration from other creators and, uh, save them for later. And, uh, yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh yes, for sure. And there's so many different fun ways to do that [00:22:00] these days.

Sarah Jürs: That's right.

Jennifer Wilson: So let's talk about how you would plan a project. So whether it's like Week in the Life or December Daily, are you. Someone who's kind of working one day at a time and getting that done, or do you kind of map out the whole thing and build it from the ground up, I guess?

Sarah Jürs: Uh, I think I'll go one day at a time. To planning the whole thing, it's not really my thing. And then it seems too huge. And then I get, uh, stuck and don't know where to start. So when I just dive in and approach one day at a time or one page at a time, that usually gets me going and then it's flows.

Jennifer Wilson: How does photo management play into making sure that you can, it sounds like you're, you're quite a finisher in projects. You, you know, you hold yourself accountable to get things finished in January, that may be, um, outstanding. How do you keep up with your photo management so that you can do all these things? [00:23:00]

Sarah Jürs: Um, so my, uh, I, I usually photograph with my phone. And, uh, the pictures get saved into my personal cloud. And, uh, once a week I, um, sort them by as, um, I have a Project Life folder, which is, um, divided by week. And uh, I try to put everything in there. And, um, when I'm traveling also I write that down and, uh, file, uh, name.

So that makes it easier to find specific things. And, um, then I favorite a bunch of pictures. So it's easier for me to, um, decide what goes on my Project Life or what's different layout and yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Do you edit your photos?

Sarah Jürs: Not really. It's too time consuming. So, um, sometimes when the lighting, or um, the colors are way too off, then I turn a picture in black and white, or [00:24:00] brighten something up a little bit. But other than that, not really.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. I love how black and white can fix all things.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah, it's a great solution.

Jennifer Wilson: I had picked all these supplies for a layout that was all very like monochromatic blue. Um, that's a favorite color in our home. It's a story about my husband and I, and when I grabbed the photo, I didn't realize that I'm wearing a red sweater. We're in a green booth at a restaurant and there's still a Christmas tree in the background, and I'm like, um, I picked totally wrong colors here. So now this photo is black and white.

Sarah Jürs: Right. That's the same for me.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes. So let's talk about your stash of supplies.

Um, when you bring your planner with you all day, are you bringing like other planner goodies with you?

Sarah Jürs: Mm-hmm. No, not really. I try to just bring a pen and my planner. Otherwise it gets too heavy. The Hobonichi thickens up through the year, and when I bring a bunch of stuff, it's it's [00:25:00] too much just.

Jennifer Wilson: And then when you come back home, do you have a space where you specifically work on your planner versus other projects? Or is it all together?

Sarah Jürs: Um, it's all together at my desk, but um, my planner stuff is in a shelf above my desk. And, uh, all the scrapbooking, memory keeping supplies are behind me. And there's a smaller desk where I store a project, projects where I'm just working on. And then my shelf for scrapbooking supplies. My huge stash which is a theme on its own.

Jennifer Wilson: So you are primarily or exclusively getting Ali Edwards products these days.

Sarah Jürs: Yes, yes. I just love her products and her approach, as I said before. And um, yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Are there any, was there a particular collection that you're most excited about for this year?

Sarah Jürs: Um, I am excited about the Week In The Life. So don't know right now how it will look like [00:26:00] and it's always fun to see the first sneaks and, um, get the date and, yeah, I think I have to wait a few months, but excited for that.

Jennifer Wilson: It's so, sometimes it's hard to remind myself it's only January.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah, right. But, but in general, there's usually this energy of starting and doing and, um, being excited for the year. And, um, yeah, it's hard to wait.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, certainly, yes. And I think that that is one collection that seems to be, it is very different year to year. There may be some, uh, similarities in kind of the, the colors per day, but the design overall, I love the variety in that. So.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah, me too.

Jennifer Wilson: Now when you're doing Week In The Life or Day In The life, how do you distinguish that from your Project Life? How are those different for you?

Sarah Jürs: Um, so during Week In The Life and Day In The Life, I'm trying harder to get myself in the picture. So that's usually the only time where I get out my, um, [00:27:00] tripod and, um, make more, I call them documentary shots. From, my son and me. And it's a deeper dive. So I tell more of the story. And, uh, in my Project Life during that week, uh, like by Week in The Life, I usually, um, pick a theme.

So I, last year I think I did tech. So I just talked about apps on my phone, what I use, what I like, and, um, I didn't talk about the week. Because it was hugely documented in my Week In The Life. So that's the only Project Life week where it's by by theme.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, that is a really cool idea. What other themes have you chosen in the past?

Sarah Jürs: I had tech and I had food and I can't remember what I did else. I think reading.

Jennifer Wilson: That's okay, but I love that.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah, because it's, otherwise, it's too repetitive for me, [00:28:00] so I like to get a theme in.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, and I think there, there's sometimes that, I don't know, internal tension of, okay, I really wanna do both of these things, but how do I make sure there it's not repetition, and how do I make it a very clear delineation in what my objective is.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah. Right.

Jennifer Wilson: Now, you mentioned you also do One Little Word.

Is that correct?

Sarah Jürs: Correct.

Jennifer Wilson: What is your intention with the One Little Word in comparison to say your journal?

Sarah Jürs: I think it's more of a deeper reflection than in my journal. And I am through the class, I'm prompted to think about different things and try different things and, um, hear people talking about their approach. And, um, it's fun as a, I think Liz is the one who, uh, usually prompts us to write a poem, which I don't usually do. And it's not that easy for me, but I try to do it. Um, and it's, it's sometimes. [00:29:00] We surprise ourself, I think.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, certainly. Do you think, doing One Little Word and maybe exploring longer journaling, has that helped you go a little bit deeper in your daily journaling? Like is it, I mean, it kind of is all circular for us.

Sarah Jürs: I used to only write, I did what I did in a day and, um, by discovering the One Little Word journey, I, um, yeah, I put more deeper thoughts in it. I would say.

Jennifer Wilson: And do you think you've had a shift in how much you've documented about yourself? Like when you started scrapbooking and and doing 12 by 12 layouts, were you including yourself in it?

Sarah Jürs: No.

Jennifer Wilson: About your son?

Sarah Jürs: There was just other people in my family and friends and, uh, bigger events. Yeah. That's the truth. I just realized that.

Jennifer Wilson: What was the first, kind of the first project that you touched that maybe was more [00:30:00] about yourself and helped give you permission to, to do more of that?

Sarah Jürs: That's a good question. I think when I worked with the first, uh, Story Kit from Ali Edwards, which was I think Currently was the theme. And uh, I think these were the first few projects I did, only about myself.

Jennifer Wilson: Was that initially challenging or no?

Sarah Jürs: No challenge. Challenging is not the right word. It Was different. I would say just uh,

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Sarah Jürs: To, yeah, to include myself that I wasn't used to it.

Jennifer Wilson: Maybe if maybe you were, is at a time where you were ready for it.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah, maybe. Yeah,

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I think the projects come to us sometimes when we need them.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah, that's right. I.

Jennifer Wilson: You get most of your supplies from Ali between hybrid and things being shipped to you. Hopefully things are getting to you in a relatively timely way. I know

Sarah Jürs: Yeah, that's a bit difficult and it doesn't get easier right [00:31:00] now, but yeah, it's part of the process.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Do you sometimes get started kind of with the digitals while you're waiting for.

Sarah Jürs: Uh, sometimes, but not that often. Usually when I, um, watch the first, uh, introduction videos or first layout from Ali and I get so excited that I have to start and I pick up the digitals. And, uh, at least start my journaling or put some things in a, in a folder and, um, when I get my kit, then I can't start right away and print stuff out and, yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: So clearly, we've talked about you have so much variety to how you're creating. Why does that work for you and why do you think scrapbookers, why do we always wanna try different things?

Sarah Jürs: Uh, I think we are creative at heart and we just love to document and memory keep and play with products. And, um, I think we inspire each other and want to try different styles and, [00:32:00] um, yeah, keep the creative muscles going and, um, it's always fun to try new things. I would say.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, certainly. Is there anything else that you would love to share about your hobby? I love you have clearly a, a passion for it. it's been really neat to see how it's evolved over time. Um, And it sounds like you found kind of a groove.

Sarah Jürs: Yes I did. And I found amazing people and that's the best part about it, I would say. So my documenting of course, and having all the, our life written down and, um, yeah, preserved. But the people I got to know and meet and it's, it's just amazing being, being part of this awesome community. And, uh, in the summer I will attend to the, um, New York Stationary Fest. This will be my first time in the US and I'm excited to hopefully meet some people from over there. [00:33:00] And, um, yeah, I'm really excited for it.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, Yeah, Now all of our podcast listeners know that you're gonna be there, so maybe be able to meet some more people. That's cool.

Sarah Jürs: I plan to meet Linda from, Linda Loves Creating, um, she was the, the, yeah, the reason or the, um. She had a class over on, Ali Edwards was Plan, Prep, and Play and I took that class and, um, there was some goal setting. And so, and during the, the class I discovered that I really would like to create an Instagram account and, and share my projects and, uh, not only consume, but also, um, yeah, share my stuff. And, uh, I'm really thankful for that.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, it sounds like it's been way more than just the, the sharing. It's been a way to connect with others and I think sometimes we forget about that, that, that Instagram is not, and in social media in general, it's not just about the pictures and the words, which that's why we do this, but it [00:34:00] is, it's about being able to connect with others on something that's so important to us.

Sarah Jürs: Yeah. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: I love that. I love that so much. Sarah, thank you so much for spending time with me and, and sharing everything about your hobby.

Sarah Jürs: Thank you too.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I can't wait to see what you create this year, and I hope you have a wonderful trip. Uh, you know, this, the whole, like the whole stationary planner world is so, um, so vibrant as well. And, uh, there's so many more kind of in-person events for this. So it looks, that's something that's definitely on my list as well.

Sarah Jürs: It's always fun to attend them. I just love it.

Jennifer Wilson: Alrighty. Yeah. Again, thanks for spending time with me and to all of our listeners, please remember that you have permission to Scrapbook Your Way.