SYW342 – Bold Shapes and Hand Stitched Details with Shanel Pettijohn

Shanel Pettijohn: [00:00:00] I do enjoy shapes. I have a lot of dies in different shapes. And when I sit down, I, I like to think of a scrapbook layout as building a visual story. So then I just let the story and the photographs guide my decision. Sometimes I let the paper and product guide my decision before the photographs. It could go either way.

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 342. In this episode, I'm chatting with Shanel Pettijohn about her colorful, shape-driven approach to 12 by 12 scrapbooking and how her creative practice has evolved from raising three boys to embracing life as a grandmother

Hey, Shanel welcome to Scrapbook Your Way.

Shanel Pettijohn: Hi, how are you?

Jennifer Wilson: I am good. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better in our conversation [00:01:00] today. Can you start by sharing a little bit about yourself?

Shanel Pettijohn: Sure, I'd love to. Thanks for having me, by the way. I'm Shanel of course. I'm originally from Tennessee, but I live in Oklahoma now. I've actually been here for many years now. Um, I am an elementary school teacher. I've been teaching for 12 years. Actually, now I am a reading interventionist, so I get to work with students one-on-one who have some barriers to learning, such as dyslexia.

I really enjoy my job when I'm not scrapbooking, of course. And I have three amazing sons who are now young men, all grown up. Super proud of them as well.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm curious how your scrapbooking changed as your sons went on to their own lives.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes, absolutely. You know, when you're, when you're raising children, and I had three boys, so it was a very loud, busy household, and I did set it aside for a few years. Because there just, I just couldn't work it in, [00:02:00] sadly. But now that I'm an empty nester, I have all the time to scrapbook, and I'm truly enjoying that hobby again, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, wonderful. I love hearing that. So Shanel do you have a favorite recent layout or project?

Shanel Pettijohn: I do actually. I made one last week. I created a layout that I'm completely smitten by. It has a layered sunburst that radiates across the page and has all the beautiful shades of blue with pops of color. If you've seen any of my scrapbook layouts, you know that I like a lot of color in my layouts.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Shanel Pettijohn: Um, this layout p- in particular, it just feels like a beautiful beach day, and I think that's why I love it so much.

The beach is one of my favorite places, and the colors of blue are so calming. So that has to be one of my favorites recently.

Jennifer Wilson: Awesome. Yeah, we'll definitely link, uh, share a link to that in the show notes.

Shanel Pettijohn: Okay, great. I'd love that.

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

Shanel Pettijohn: Well, that's a great [00:03:00] question. I did, um, recently embark on a new journey, and it, it has to do with scrapbooking, but more on a very intimate personal level. I usually create 12 by 12 pages, and I love each of, each one of them. They're like a little piece of art all in themselves. But I started, um, in January a Project Life type scrapbook.

So it has pocket pages, and it's smaller, and I find that my journaling, weekly journaling of our stories is more personal and intimate, and I can share a photo or two to go along with that. So every week I sit down and review our week and what we did, where we went, what happened, and I get to write, um...

It's like I'm writing in a journal, I guess. I'm a big journaler. I've always journaled. I have stacks of journals laying around. So I li- I love to write. So this, this new scrapbook album is very personal to me.

Jennifer Wilson: And what size is it?

Shanel Pettijohn: It's nine by 12.

Jennifer Wilson: [00:04:00] Okay. Have you done Project Life in other sizes before?

Shanel Pettijohn: I have not.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay, so this is your first time. Fun.

Shanel Pettijohn: This, it is. It's my first time. So I do journal on my 12 by 12 layouts, but I journal on the back, and it's usually a very short blurb. So I enjoy the Project Life because I'm able to write more and tell our story.

Jennifer Wilson: How did you start journaling on the back of your pages?

Shanel Pettijohn: Well, again, I really enjoy the creative, artsy.

Jennifer Wilson: Uh-huh.

Shanel Pettijohn: Part of the 12 by 12 layout. So sometimes I will journal on the front, but most of the time I include the story on the back. Because, um, a couple of reasons. One, the stories are usually very personal to me, and when I share my layouts online, I, I don't wanna put that story out there with the details of my family. And number two, I just, I don't have room to write on the front. So that happens sometimes.

Jennifer Wilson: That makes sense. It seems like it solves multiple problems.

Shanel Pettijohn: [00:05:00] Yes, it does.

Jennifer Wilson: So tell us how you got into scrapbooking.

Shanel Pettijohn: Well, my first son was very young when I started, and I was invited over to a Creative Memories Crop. I think that's how a lot of us got started actually. But my neighbor invited me over to introduce me to scrapbooking, and I was just instantly hooked. So it really appealed to me, preserving our story, and I al- I've always taken a lot of photographs, so th- those are important to me. And what better way to marry those two than a scrapbook, right?

Jennifer Wilson: And so has your... It sounds like you've done predominantly 12 by 12 the whole time?

Shanel Pettijohn: I do. That's my, that's my preferred size. I do enjoy making mini albums as well. You know, little tag albums or.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Shanel Pettijohn: Four by four, six by six albums. But the 12 by 12 format seems to be the mo- my most popular.

Jennifer Wilson: And do you create single pages or double pages?

Shanel Pettijohn: I do mostly single pages.

Jennifer Wilson: Has it always been that way?

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes. [00:06:00] I, I'm not sure why. It's just my prefer- my preferred style, I guess. I, I find that a double page layout's a little intimidating maybe, so.

Jennifer Wilson: No, I could see that.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: So what is your biggest kind of why or motivation behind the hobby? You mentioned you started when your youngest son was, was quite little. A- and I'm always curious particularly at how that why even, you know, shifts over time 'cause, you know, now you're in a different season of life.

Shanel Pettijohn: I think the biggest why for all of us is just preserving our story, but it also allows me to nurture my creativity. Um, life moves so quickly, and scrapbooking allows us to capture those everyday moments and, and save them so that we can remember them later. And, and the creative outlet brings me so much joy.

It helps me recharge. It's good for my soul. It's almost like a therapy, you know. I need my scrapbook time as a, as a release from everyday stressors. So it serves a lot of purposes, I guess there's a lot of whys there.[00:07:00]

Jennifer Wilson: No doubt. I know.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, think we're all kind of bouncing around all the time, and it's whatever why is bringing us to the table, you know, that day that week.

Shanel Pettijohn: Very true.

Jennifer Wilson: It all makes a difference.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes. And now I have grandchildren, so I get to scrapbook them. And as a-- I've been a boy mom, you know, three boys, and I have all granddaughters now, four of them. So.

Jennifer Wilson: That's exciting.

Shanel Pettijohn: It's been a shift in my scrapbooking as well, so it's exciting.

Jennifer Wilson: Did you f- did you find that you had to kind of, uh, adjust your stash? Like, maybe you had a lot of, a lot of the maybe more traditional boy colors in your stash, and you found yourself suddenly buying more pinks?

Shanel Pettijohn: Absolutely, yes. I mean, I'm not afraid to use a lot of flowers on a boy layout either, so. But yes, absolutely. I needed more pink in my stash.

Jennifer Wilson: So I notice in looking through your pages that you use a lot of different shapes. And I'm not just talking about like, you know, the rectangles that we use for pattern paper a lot, but, you know, the, the [00:08:00] composition is very shape oriented. How do you sit down and plan out, uh, the composition of a new page?

Shanel Pettijohn: I do enjoy shapes. I have a lot of dies in different shapes. And when I sit down, I, I like to think of a scrapbook layout as building a visual story. So then I just let the story and the photographs guide my decision. Sometimes I let the paper and product guide my decision before the photographs. It could go either way.

So colors really speak to me, and if I, if I see a pattern that I like and, you know, that I want to use, then I start from there.

Jennifer Wilson: Are you typically starting with a photo or story?

Shanel Pettijohn: I, I do it both ways. Sometimes I start with a product and sometimes I start with a photograph.

Jennifer Wilson: Are there any shapes that you particularly have fun working with? Like, which, which dies get the most use?

Shanel Pettijohn: I think the circles. I think that's evident in my layouts probably. The circles tend to be my favorite. They create so much movement on a page, and they just help guide your [00:09:00] eye around the design. Plus, they're also just fun and playful. You can do so many designs with circles, half circles, full circles, scalloped circles.

I stitch on them. So that has to be my favorite. Hexagons, probably my second favorite choice.

Jennifer Wilson: I remember back in the day I was always looking for a hexagon punch and I n- 'cause I didn't have a manual die cut machine at that time and I don't know that, I don't think I ever found one.

Shanel Pettijohn: I don't think I've ever seen one of those either. That's interesting. Never really thought about it, but yes.

Jennifer Wilson: So you mentioned that you do a lot of sewing. Are you, do you ever sew, like, around a circle, or are we sewing just across the circle? Because, you know, I, I feel like I have a reasonable amount of sewing experience, but I can't sew in a circle for the life of me.

Shanel Pettijohn: Circles are difficult, but I hand stitch. So I, I do have a sewing machine. I'm not real good on it, but I like to hand stitch on my layouts with embroidery thread. So, you know, before I stitch, I make the the holes with the paper piercer, so it's pretty easy to follow the circle that [00:10:00] way. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: That makes perfect sense. Duh. Okay.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes, no problem.

Jennifer Wilson: I never think about that, that people, some people are hand-stitching. I always just assume that, that it's a sewing machine.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: So tell us more about how you, how you do that. Do you ever find, like, it's hard to get, you know, you have too many layers and I can't, I can't pierce this anymore, or, um, how do you protect your surface beneath it?

Shanel Pettijohn: Yeah, you have to be careful when you're stitching. You don't wanna have too many layers on there, but sometimes I will do several layouts and save my stitching for later because it's just very relaxing to me. So I grab my stitching materials, my layout, I turn on a good movie, and I, I can stitch and watch a movie and just relax.

So that just fills my time, I guess.

Jennifer Wilson: Do you, like pencil in the holes first? Like do you measure out and, and, and draw dots or are you doing it kind of freehand?

Shanel Pettijohn: No, I typically like to draw with a pencil first. I use a ruler to trace my lines, or [00:11:00] in the case of a circle, I would use a smaller circle die on top of my circle on the page so that I can create an outline. So I draw it with a pencil and then I use my paper piercer to punch the holes. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice. I'm learning a lot of, a lot of tricks here. So I, I need to rethink that.

Shanel Pettijohn: Good. Yes

Jennifer Wilson: Somewhere in the closet there is a whole box of embroidery floss, so.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes, dig it out. Let's get started.

Jennifer Wilson: So you scrapbook a lot for design teams. Who are you currently working with, and what are your responsibilities for those teams?

Shanel Pettijohn: Uh, I currently design for Pear Tree Cut Files. I've been with them for almost a year, and then I design for Hip Kit Club. I've been with them for several months now. And there are a lot of responsibilities with a design team. But I think the goal is just, not just about creating projects to showcase product, but to create some educational content and build community for those brands.

So [00:12:00] I think those are important responsibilities as well. When I joined the Hip Kit Club design team, I was asked to create process videos on YouTube, and this terrified me. Because I had never done that before. And I am shy and introverted, so being on camera was a terrifying idea. But I have a few episodes now, a few process videos that I've completed, and my confidence is better.

My confidence is much higher than it was. Uh, there's always room to improve, but I'm getting better and, and more relaxed in the process now. So that's been a learning curve and a, and a good experience.

Jennifer Wilson: Do you do primarily kind of sped up voiceovers, or do you do real time?

Shanel Pettijohn: No, I don't do real time. It's voiceovers. Yes. So I had a lot of-- I'm not very tech-savvy, so I've had to learn a lot and it's, it's been good. I'm feeling good about it, so...

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, I'm so glad. Yeah, I think every year it's gotten.

Shanel Pettijohn: [00:13:00] Thanks.

Jennifer Wilson: A little easier. I, I mean, even with just the equipment we have now to make things easier.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes

Jennifer Wilson: Some of the rigs that we had a decade, 15 years ago even, to be able to, to f- film or take photos over our tables were a little, little crazy. And now there's so many different things that are just meant for that.

Shanel Pettijohn: Oh, I'm sure. Yes. I'm sure it, it has changed tremendously in the last few years. It makes it a lot easier for us.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yeah, I, and I'm glad. It just means that more people, it's easier to share and to, as you said, continue to foster this community around our hobby, which is, is one of the best parts for sure.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes, and I had no idea how many people watched process videos on YouTube. A- and now that I've started producing them, I also enjoy to watch other people, and I can-- you can learn so much, um, a new technique or a new trick. Um, they're really fun, amazing to watch, so there are some very talented YouTubers out [00:14:00] there.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, and a, a couple years ago I started taking some classes, and I'm like, "You know, I just want to, to, to be told step by step what to do. Because it's not gonna be necessarily what I would do on my own."

Shanel Pettijohn: Right.

Jennifer Wilson: Learned so many, so many tricks that I would've never, never thought to do or never even noticed on someone else's page, but then they tell you to do it and I'm like, "Oh, that, that does make a difference."

Like.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: Taking embellishments and, kind of crinkling them and folding them a little bit, like especially die cuts, to, to make them look less just like a flat piece of paper.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes, absolutely. We can learn so much from each other.

Jennifer Wilson: So when you are starting with a product or maybe you have a design concept, whether it's your, you know, your cut file or you're using a sketch, how do you go about selecting the photos and, and figuring out what this page is gonna be about?

Shanel Pettijohn: For the design teams, are we talking about those assignments or just any assignment?

Jennifer Wilson: Either. No, I mean, if anytime you're starting with a product or a design concept, and you're not starting with, you know, "This is a story I wanna tell.

Shanel Pettijohn: [00:15:00] Right. This seems to be the big debate in scrapbooking and, and it always has been, like, which comes first, the photos or the product? So.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Shanel Pettijohn: But, you know, the preference is up to the individual. I, I think both ways are just whichever way you prefer. Both ways are good ways to start. So, um, I've al- I think I mentioned earlier, I've always been inspired by colors and patterns, so for me, the product often comes first. And then I decide which photographs are gonna go with this layout.

Um, I do have thousands of photographs of my children as they were growing up, so a lot of selection there. But I, I like to do the design with the paper, the product, and then, and then choose my pictures. Uh, a neat little technique that I use often is if the photographs have colors that clash with your layout that you've just created, then you can always use a black and white photo.

I, I use a lot of black and white photos, [00:16:00] especially with bright colors or, or moody, subtle colors. They look phenomenal on a scrapbook page, so.

Jennifer Wilson: I just noticed this new collection that came out this week. It's actually a black and white collection for camping, and I'm like, "Wow, that means.

Shanel Pettijohn: Oh.

Jennifer Wilson: Any photo, any color photos are gonna go with this. I had never seen anything like that before.

Shanel Pettijohn: I love that.

Jennifer Wilson: what have you learned about your own process from designing on a deadline for your design teamwork?

Shanel Pettijohn: I think that was, uh, a struggle at first. I think it would be for anyone, because when you're... You know, it's a challenge when you have a product and a deadline, and maybe that day you're not feeling very creative. We all have those blocks. So I tend to pull out a sketch when that happens. Because I may not follow the sketch exactly, but it gives me a jumping off point, and it kind of helps me, uh, make the visual story in my head so that I can put it on the paper.

I try to stay ahead , on my calendar on [00:17:00] my design team assignments. So that I'm not waiting till the last minute to, to create something that's due tomorrow.

Jennifer Wilson: As someone who has their own team, uh, we're very appreciative of people who do that.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes. I mean, I'm not saying there hasn't been a time when I cut it to the wire, but yes. Yeah, I think planning is very important. You just have to plan ahead, and I actually keep a calendar with all my assignments on it. So that I know what's coming up next, and I try to stay organized.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, no, and r- and yeah, my, my team is amazing. Some of them have been with me since the very beginning, so for 13, 14, 15 years now. It's kinda crazy. So.

Shanel Pettijohn: Oh, wow. That's amazing.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I have, I have.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Very, some very loyal, creators that,

create for us, so.

Shanel Pettijohn: Good.

Jennifer Wilson: So you mentioned Hip Kit Club before.

Um, for someone who's never worked with a kit that's like theirs, what is the benefit? [00:18:00] It's, it's different than working with a collection, but it is designed to go together.

Shanel Pettijohn: It, it is. And that was, I've been a subscriber to Hip Kit Club for several years now. Um, so the draw to me was that, um, much like Pear Tree Cut Files, the, the Hip Kit Club products are all designed and manufactured by them. So they're unique and exclusive in that you can't go to any online retailer or any local scrapbook store and purchase their product.

Um, it strictly comes in the kit. And they're, they're very, it's a high-end curation of paper, card stock, embellishments, and options to add on each month. You can add on an exclusive monthly die that they introduce during the month or stamps. They have a color kit that matches each monthly kit. So you have a lot of options there.

And honestly, the box, the kit is just a huge [00:19:00] collection of supplies for the money. So I always... That, that was my draw to the kits to begin with.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, and, uh, I mean, they are, they are massive. And I remember I'd, I'd already made, like, a bunch of layouts with, with two different kits, and then I kind of combined them together 'cause they, they were coordinated enough, and I'm like, "I.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: Still have enough to make 15, 20 more pages here."

Shanel Pettijohn: Absolutely, yes. I love that as well. Uh, the Hip Kit Club, you can mix any kit from any month and they seem to go together. So even though the design and the colors are different from month to month, somehow they all coordinate together and I enjoy that part, too. I'm like you, I like mixing kits sometimes, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes. Yes. So I just noticed they launched a digital store. Can you tell us more about that if you're able to?

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes, they, they've always had an online storefront, but they did renovate it recently to include more [00:20:00] digital and hybrid products, I guess. Um, they're, they've introduced a lot more cut files than they normally have carried in the past, and I understand from Kimberly, the owner, that they're going to release a hybrid collection later this month.

So it will be a printable collection that will, that will include staples for any, any kit, uh, such as tags, ephemera in, you know, in solid and coordinating colors. So that you can just have those on hand when you need them, which is a wonderful idea. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

I've had a lot of guests on that have talked about the challenges of shipping and tariffs and, and all these different issues, and it is becoming increasingly expensive, especially for our scrapbooking friends who live around the world to, to get access to physical supplies. So the complement of having digital items that they can print at home, um, is helping keep some folks connected to the hobby.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes, absolutely. And Kimberly and Robert, [00:21:00] the owners of Hip Kit Club, they did just recently announce that they're going to, for the first time ever, pause their monthly kits for two months. Because they're moving their business and their home from one state to another. So that's a huge transition.

So for the next two months, we won't have the monthly physical kit. So I think that's why they have put a lot of energy and time into building their online store to offer those products during the time that their physical s- kits aren't shipping out, which is a... it's a great perk. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, for sure. For who'd love to be on a design team someday, what would you tell them to focus on?

Shanel Pettijohn: That's a good question as well. I think you just have to put yourself out there. I was a little nervous about doing that at first. And I hadn't really thought about sharing my pages online until a friend encouraged me to do so. Um, and let your style shine. I, I'm like you and anybody [00:22:00] else, I like to...

I like all the new trends, and I like to-- all the new techniques that are always being introduced. But I, I like to treat the new trends like an inspiration buffet rather than a checklist.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yeah, it's very easy to get overwhelmed by all the layouts online and the new trends, but, you know, you have to filter it through your own lens.

Embrace your own inner voice and creativity. Um, we all have different styles, and that's what makes scrapbooking wonderful and unique. They're all different, so just like people. And you have to do what makes you happy. When I create a layout, and it makes me happy, then I know that I'm, you know, I'm satisfied with that layout.

I, I do like to put them online and share them with others, but, you know, don't get discouraged by the, the likes or the comments and just embrace your style. That, that would be my main advice, I guess.

Jennifer Wilson: I love that. Yeah. No, that's great.

Shanel Pettijohn: Thanks. [00:23:00] Thanks.

Jennifer Wilson: So how does your process differ when you are designing a new layout around a cut file versus, uh, a kit or other product or, or even a story?

Shanel Pettijohn: Oh, absolutely. Designing with a cut file is a little different than just designing a scrapbook page. I mean, the process itself bridges the whole digital design that we talked about earlier, with the physical paper crafting. Because you have to use an electronic cutting machine to cut your cut file out of paper before you get started.

So, um, there, and there's so many creative possibilities too. You can back your cut file with a solid or a pattern paper. You can distress it with ink oxide. You can color them by blending ink on them with a blending brush or hand stitch details. You can put them on your layout, you know, as a flat embellishment, or you can use foam adhesive, which is really fun with a cut file.

It creates the shadows on the page, and.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Shanel Pettijohn: It's one of my favorite ways anyway.

Jennifer Wilson: Well and [00:24:00] there's a, there's a technique I learned from card makers, um, and I haven't personally done it with, uh, electronically cut pieces, but I have with manually. Of layering multiples to, to create that dimension so it's not just the, the thickness of a piece of card stock.

Shanel Pettijohn: Oh, absolutely. That's a great technique. Yes. It kind of ma- it kind of gives it a look of a chipboard accent rather than just a card stock. Thick, yes.

Jennifer Wilson: So you, you did mention that you don't feel as, as tech savvy as others, but you are learning. Are there any particular tips or tricks about using your electronic die-cutting machine that have simplified the process for you?

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes. Uh, when I first began cut files, I would trace the cut file, you know, just flip it over and trace it backwards on the paper, and there's a lot of fussy cutting there. I'm gonna be honest, I, I, uh, do not enjoy fussy cutting anything, so it's just, it's not my thing. So, um, I did learn from another, as we talked about earlier, experienced process video [00:25:00] YouTuber, um, a way on the Cricut to contour the cut file so that it cuts the inside pieces for you.

And it doesn't... Yeah, it doesn't always work, but most of the time it does, and that makes the cutting much easier on a cut file.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Well and I think that, um, I would imagine that those who wanna use digital supplies like digital papers could, you know, back their cut files that way and then print and cut those, and that would make it even easier, so.

Shanel Pettijohn: Absolutely, yes. I love that idea. There are so many cool techniques out there.

Jennifer Wilson: I know, yeah, and it's, it's sometimes you mention, like, don't treat them as a checklist, but sometimes, like, I wanna, particularly around, like, maybe December Daily. Like I wanna try these different techniques, and so I make a list, but I always try to just match things up. Like, okay, I wanna try this technique with this story or this product.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: With this story, um, to try to feel like I'm accomplishing multiple goals at once, I guess.[00:26:00]

Shanel Pettijohn: Absolutely. I love that. Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: So Shanel what are you excited about creating next?

Shanel Pettijohn: Oh, I don't know. I just love creating all the time, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Shanel Pettijohn: I'm more excited about, you know, what, what product is gonna come out next that I can play with. Even though I have a huge stash over here of things I need to use it before I do that. But I just look forward to my crafty time every day because I, you know, I, it just brings me so much joy.

Um, Kimberly and Robert, the owners of Hip Kit Club, I don't know if you know about their online community, but they created an online community on the school platform. It's called Craft and Connect. So that, for me, has been something I look forward to every week. They have an online crop on, you know, twice a week.

So, you know, if you remember the local scrapbook stores, you could go in to a crop, an all-night crop even, and, you know, you would talk with friends and create with [00:27:00] them and share ideas and, and that's what this community brings to me. So I do look forward to that every week. Um, I have made some tremendous friends on there from all over the world, and we meet, we scrapbook together.

You know, we're on camera. We can see each other, and we can talk to each other. I know it's not the same as being in person, but it's that sense of community that I think is so important. Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: They, I think they've done a really wonderful job with that community, and I love that it's, um... Our, our community is also off Facebook using a different platform. And I, and I love, uh, inviting people to, uh, have a sense of focus and concentration when they are engaging with their fellow scrapbookers rather than what perhaps Facebook does in terms of making us jump around to all the places.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes, I completely agree. I love the fact that you've created a community as well. That's, that's so important because we share this common hobby with each other and, and you can make some really [00:28:00] close friendships in those communities.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I, we just, scrapbookers are the best. Um, just the, you know, kindest, most, most thoughtful people, and I'm, and I'm so grateful to be part of this community.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yes, absolutely. I am very-- I admire you and, and the, uh, the women that, that run the two company, that own the two companies that I design for. I just think that, you know, taking your creative passion and making it your, your livelihood and putting so much passion in, in, into your business is very admirable.

So.

Jennifer Wilson: Thank you. Yeah, no, it's, it's very cool to see for sure.

Shanel Pettijohn: Yeah

Jennifer Wilson: So can you share where our listeners can find you online and anything else you might have newer coming up later this year?

Shanel Pettijohn: Okay. I have an Instagram account that I use predominantly, and it is @shadell_craftwithme. That is my name, my username on Instagram, so. Also share products on the Hip Kit Club, [00:29:00] um, Facebook group and the Pear Tree Cut Files Inspiration Facebook group as well.

Jennifer Wilson: Thank you for spending time with me, and to all of our listeners, please remember that you have permission to scrapbook your way.