SYW343 – My Way with Angela Speir

Angela Speir: [00:00:00] I've resigned myself to the fact that I will never, ever be caught up. I'll never scrap every memory that I want to scrap. So I pick and choose what I want, something that speaks to me, and I play and have fun.

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 343. In this episode, I'm interviewing Angela Speir for the My Way series.

My Way is all about celebrating the unique ways memory keepers get things done. We're excited to have Angela as the July featured artist at Simple Scrapper

Hey, Angela. Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way.

Angela Speir: Hey, how are you?

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

Angela Speir: Uh, yes, I am a scrapbooker from South Mississippi. Um, I live on the beautiful Gulf Coast. Uh right by the Gulf of Mexico, and it's gorgeous. Wouldn't live anywhere else. Um, I am a mother and a grandmother. Um, I have three adult daughters, and I have seven lovely grandchildren ranging from the age of 11 to 21.

Jennifer Wilson: Wow.

Angela Speir: I've ... I know. I've recently retired, and so, and I am in the middle of a, um, scrap room renovation or scrap room move, whichever one you wanna call it. And I am stuck straight in the messy middle right now, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, I, I can't wait to hear more about that as we get into our conversation.

Angela Speir: Ooh. So.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, and I bet with those grandkids, I bet there's like, you [00:02:00] know, obviously you've been through all the milestones with your daughters, but now there's lots of milestones for them as well, and.

Angela Speir: I know. I have, um, I have one that will be a senior this year, the oldest granddaughter. And, um, I just sit back and wonder how that happened. Because, um, she's still supposed to be that cute little chubby baby that we had on the sandbar just yesterday.

Jennifer Wilson: Yep, yep. I get it, I get it. Mine is, mine is just about to turn 15 and I'm, I have a lot of feelings as well.

Angela Speir: Oh, yes. Well, you know, the thing is once she graduates, for the next five years I have one graduating every year. And then I skip a year, and then the baby graduates, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: Are doorsteps. So it's nice. Yes. Yes. It, it does. And you know, I, I miss scrapbooking the baby stuff a lot. Um, but every once in a while [00:03:00] I'll go back and grab one of those photos. But I do enjoy scrapbooking the, the teenage life.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: Such as it is. Um, you know, my oldest is, um, you know, he's 21. He just recently turned 21. And, you know, he lives on ... He's out on his own. And has a big boy job. And all that kind of stuff. So ... And he lives really close, and he.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice.

Angela Speir: Yeah, he comes and helps out and does stuff around the house for me sometimes, so it is nice.

Uh, my oldest moved to Colorado a couple of years ago with two of her kids, and, um, they're actually here for part of the summer, and I've enjoyed ... You know, I'm enjoying that.

Jennifer Wilson: I bet you can't take that time for granted, so.

Angela Speir: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: So you're one of our featured artists this year. Do you have a favorite recent layout or project, and why do you love it?

Angela Speir: Uh, I do. Um, it's [00:04:00] not a layout, it's a project. Um, even though the oldest grandson graduated in 2023, I recently finished his senior album. Um, I had no intentions of making one, and a friend of mine made one for her grandchildren, and I was like, "Yeah, that might be fun." Not thinking that he goes to, or he went to a private school, was very involved in everything, and they took lots of photos.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: What started as a senior album turned into a two-album project.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice.

Angela Speir: Um, I recently finished it, and that was an accomplishment, and I love everything about it.

Jennifer Wilson: Now are any of your daughters also scrapbookers or are you the chief scrapbooker of the family?

Angela Speir: Uh, I have [00:05:00] none that are scrapbookers. My oldest daughter does junk journal and, um, she actually makes charms and stickers and those kinds of things and sells them.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: Yeah, she recently got into that. She does a lot of, um, like the Little Golden Books and turns them into baby books and, yeah, those kind of things.

Very different from what I do, but you know, she's very creative and very talented, always has been. She's just now started to embrace her inner crafty person, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Angela Speir: The other two could care less.

Jennifer Wilson: They could care less. Yeah.

Angela Speir: Yeah.

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

Angela Speir: I don't really... I don't know. I, um, I'm enjoying right now, the challenge of putting together my s- scrap room. [00:06:00] Um, and so that's really where my focus has been for probably the last couple of months. Um, I'm moving from a bedroom to a formal living room, or what should be a formal living room.

I've got some of my furniture here, and I have a huge order coming from IKEA, will be here Saturday. So because I live nowhere near an IKEA.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah.

Angela Speir: You know, my nearest IKEA is, you know, eight hours away, seven hours away.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, and I thought mine was far at like two and a half hours away, so.

Angela Speir: No. No. Um, you know, the closest used to be Atlanta, but we actually have one in Huntsville now, but Huntsville is still, it's a good at least seven hours away from me.

So.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah

Angela Speir: That what happens when you live at the end of the world, which is what I feel like sometimes.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh yeah, but it's so beautiful there, so.

Angela Speir: It is. Uh, you know, we, um, actually took a trip up the river [00:07:00] the other day to go have dinner as a family, and I was thinking the whole time, I don't, I couldn't live anywhere else. You know.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: So but, um, that right now is my focus. Uh, like I said, I'm in the messy middle. I have stuff scattered from one end to the other.

Um, my cabi- my upper cabinets have been installed. Um, I have some cube storage that's installed, but right now I'm waiting on my desk. So.

Jennifer Wilson: What do you anticipate would be the, like, kind of the biggest difference in how you're, like, using your space and using your different flat surfaces? Uh, 'cause it sounds like you're gonna have a lot more space overall.

Angela Speir: Yes. Um, I actually have a wall that's 187 inches long. That whole entire wall will be a desk. And, uh, I know, I'm so excited. Um, I hope [00:08:00] to... The plan, let, let me go ahead and preface that with the plan is to have a sewing station, a craft station, a die-cut station, and a messy station, um, for, you know, mixed media.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: um, that kind of thing.

Anything that's messy, watercolors, mixed media, anything I wanna do, have a, a dedicated space for that. And that is the plan right now. Yeah, my daughter has about convinced me to move my sewing machine to the other side of the room and use everything, every flat surface for scrapbooking. And yeah, that is a possibility, but you know, right now that's my four zones.

So we shall see if it turns out like it's planned.

Jennifer Wilson: Well and even just like thinking about that and knowing that you're more likely to do these various other things if they have a dedicated space. 'Cause oftentimes we need to move something and rearrange and [00:09:00] prepare, and that can be a barrier to, to doing the wet stuff or to actually sewing on a layout or doing any other sewing for that matter.

Angela Speir: Yes. Uh, even die cutting. You know, I love to, um, you know, create... I don't, I'm not a card maker, I'm strictly a scrapbooker. But I do love, you know, making, as my friend affectionately calls them, dickers, which are, you know, DIY thickers. And florals, that kind of stuff. I love die cutting all of that. But, you know, having to clean off an, uh, first of all, clean off a space. Because I'm, I spread. I'm a spreader.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: And you clean off a space, get my die cutting machine, get the dies, get this, get that, you know, fix it. Then put it all back up because I don't have a place to leave it out. And, you know, so that is gonna be nice. And my sewing machine is the [00:10:00] same way. Right now it sits on top of my cubes, so if I wanna sew on something, I have to get it down, find a flat surface to put it on.

So that, that was the main focus with, um, planning a new room, was to have zones. And be able to find my things when I want them. Because that's another, you know, um, having a small room, when I would get new supplies, I wouldn't have room with the other supplies, so I'd just stick them somewhere, and then it would be like, "I know I bought it, but I can't find it, so now what do I do?"

So that is one of the big focuses right now in the messy middle, is, like with like. And then hopefully by the time my furniture gets here and gets set up, we'll be ready to bin stuff and move [00:11:00] on, and I can get back to creating.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, it sounds great. So what would you say, we're kind of getting into our, this is a My Way episode where we really dig into kind of what makes you tick as a scrapbooker. What would you say to a non-scrapbooker about why you love this hobby?

Angela Speir: Um, I love this hobby because I love photography. I started, started as a scrapbooker, moved into photography, and found a way to mesh both of them together.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: Um, I also love being able to relive those moments again and again. Because when I pull out... You know, when I watch my grandchildren pull out scrapbooks and sit on the couch and look through them and laugh and giggle and talk about what that is or what they remember about that moment or, you know, if they find a picture of their mom or whatever. And they laugh and [00:12:00] giggle about her hair or her clothes, you know, it just makes my heart so full to be able to watch that.

And also, I love the creative process. Um, I am one who subscribes to the theory sometimes that more is more. Um, I love florals. I love the, um... You know, there's no quick layouts for me essentially. There could be, but the fun in it for me is being able to sit there and play.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Angela Speir: It wasn't always like that. You know, if you look back on my scrapbooks from my kids, I did not start scrapbooking until I had grandchildren, so, you know. But if you look back on my early stuff, you know, I was more of a linear scrapper, minimal embellishments, um, larger photos, you know. And because [00:13:00] I didn't have time for all the other stuff, you know.

It was make a memory, get it documented, and move on to the next one. Um, I've resigned myself to the fact that I will never, ever be caught up. I'll never scrap every memory that I want to scrap. So I pick and choose what I want, something that speaks to me, and I play and have fun.

Jennifer Wilson: I love your philosophy and, you know, also the recognition that things do evolve over time, and to kind of pay attention to what's, you know, tickling your fancy, 'cause that could lead you to a whole new place that's even more joyful.

Angela Speir: You know, I used to not be like that, but I guess with time comes wisdom. You know, I'm a grandmother now. I'm retired now. I have a lot more time than parents or grandparents that work full time or, you know, those kind of things. I also learned to make the memory and take the photo, [00:14:00] and one day it may speak to you and you'll have that time.

I just scrapbooked a photo of my 16-year-old granddaughter when she's probably about two. She's out by the pool. She's got a cute little hat on and her little smocked bathing suit. And, you know, I look at her now as a teenager who drives, and I still see that cute little girl with that crinkly nose and um, yeah, and so I get to relive that moment every day. And she f- she found it, and she was like, "Oh, y'all come look, it's me." And that just makes me feel so good.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes, yes. It's really highlighting kind of that deeper inner joy that we get. So you mentioned that you started scrapbooking, you were already, you already had grandkids. So what really led you to the hobby? What kind of exposed you to it?

Angela Speir: I had a friend at work that her mother was having a Creative Memories, uh, scrapbooking [00:15:00] party. Like many others, that's how I found my way. I went to the little party. I bought a corner rounder, a pair of scissors, and a pen. And I came home, and at that point I was lucky enough to have a scrapbooking store locally, two of them actually.

And, so you know, I would go there and we would have crops, and I would go in and pick out, you know... I wasn't a collection scrapper because back, you know, in 2004, you know, 2005, well, actually 2004. There really weren't, you know, quote, collections like they are now that have tons of embellishments and, you know, that kind of thing.

And, um, so that's what led me making a baby album for my first grandson. Started with his ultrasound picture, first thing I ever scrapbooked. And then, [00:16:00] um, Hurricane Katrina hit, and we- I lost everything. I lost all of the scrapbook stuff that I had. And, um, so I took about, mm, probably a year and a half off. Because life had other focuses at that point.

Jennifer Wilson: Certainly.

Angela Speir: Then I found that corner rounder that I had bought, and it still worked. It went under saltwater during Katrina but, you know, hey, that sucker, I still use it to this day. And, um, so I slowly got back into it. That point I only had one grandchild. You know, everything he did was perfect, wonderful.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: You know, created all kinds of...

You know, he's five years older than the next grandchild, so, um, then they started coming once a year, sometimes two a year. And [00:17:00] so that's when things got crazy and things got busy.

Jennifer Wilson: How did that experience with the hurricane and the recovery from it impact kind of how you looked at photos and scrapbook supplies, not to mention other just, like, personal treasures and things like that?

Angela Speir: I learned very quickly that things are things.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: Um, it can all be replaced except for your photos, which we lost most of. Um, the ones I have are very, very water damaged. You know, Brantley's first year and a half really doesn't exist in photos. Um, you know, we were too busy existing. My daughter lost her house, we lost our house, and my mother-in-law lost her house.

So, you know, we were just too busy trying to rebuild and exist and... Yeah, but you learn. When you look out and everything you own is in a pile at the side of the [00:18:00] road, and you look across the street and everything your neighbors own are in a pile in the middle of the street, and you're sleeping on somebody's porch in August. And it's hot as heck, but you're glad to have a place to sleep, your priorities change really quick.

And you learn that those are just things, you know, it can all be replaced. And so it made me treasure those memories and treasure those priceless things that can't be replaced made me treasure those all the more.

Jennifer Wilson: Certainly, certainly.

Angela Speir: And, you know, I think that's one reason I love preserving memories is because so much of those memories, well, not the memories, but so much of the proof of those memories are gone.

You know, my kids' entire, entire childhood essentially was gone, you know, other [00:19:00] than what friends had, pictures they had, pictures that didn't get lost and, you know, that kind of thing. So.

Jennifer Wilson: Have you found yourself kind of going back and telling some of those stories even without photos? Or has that felt maybe even too hard?

Angela Speir: Not really. It was hard. Um, you know, I had a child, you know, um, my grandson was born in May of 2005. Katrina hit in August of 2005. So those days were hard, and they s- they're still hard. And, you know, I don't... I would like eventually to go back and scrapbook some of the memories. You know, the fact that we lived with no walls and concrete floors, and the sole furniture that we had were two lawn chairs and a 15 or 16-inch black and white TV.

And we slept on a mattress on the floor, and we had plastic drawers to hold our remaining clothes. [00:20:00] You know, um, I would love to, to scrapbook that one day because those are things that I want future generations to know. But it's, it's hard, you know? And.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm sure. I'm sure.

Angela Speir: It's just hard. And, um, so yeah, but we survived. And it's 21 years ago, and I'll never forget it because like I said, Brantley was three months old.

And, you know, so my daughter lived in a FEMA trailer with a three-month-old.

Jennifer Wilson: Forwarding to today and, you know.

Angela Speir: Mm-hmm.

Jennifer Wilson: You're creating a new space for yourself and celebrating your retirement, what sizes or formats are you typically creating in, and has that evolved over time?

Angela Speir: 12 by 12 is my tried and true. Uh, I love it. Um, I always will. For myself, that is what I create. The albums for my [00:21:00] grandchildren are eight and a half and e- by 11 or nine by 12. And, you know, I'm starting Anna Claire's, uh, senior album, and h- hers is a nine by 12. Brantley's was eight and a half by 11.

I'm not as fond of those. I don't like the rectangular format a lot, but it is much easier to create. Because a lot of times it's one photo that I have. You know, I'm not opposed to a one photo 12 by 12, don't get me wrong. But, you know, uh, you know, I'm usually taking pictures off of Facebook or Snapchat or Instagram, you know, that kind of thing. And those tend to print better when they're smaller.

And so that eight and a half and, by 11 or nine by 12 format just seems to work better. Um, like I said, it's not my favorite. I prefer a square format. [00:22:00] Um, I do, attempt... I've only completed it one time, but I attempt every year to make a December album in six by eight. And it's kinda like the eight and a half by 11 or nine by 12. It's not really my favorite format. I don't like the rectangle. I'm a square girl all the way.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, I think that's an important thing to understand about yourself and to knowing, like, what really works and what works with your brain and the way it sees shapes. And yeah, I think that's an important knowledge to have. And then to recognize, oh yeah, sometimes I can't do it because there's a, there's a really practical reason for it.

Angela Speir: And yeah, the, the longer I... Because I created Brantley's album not in chunks, but I created, I sat down one day and I, I pretty much worked on that until I finished it. And so the longer I scrap the eight and a half by 11, the easier it got. But I still didn't love it. I love the layouts and I love the project, but is it the favorite, my favorite thing I've ever done?

No. I, [00:23:00] you know, I just, it was more like I have to think about it. I have to think about what I'm doing. I have to think about proportions and, you know, how, how they work in that format, where with the 12 by 12, it's intuitive. You know, I, I can cut a piece of paper, stick it down, be like, "Yeah, that works," you know?

It wasn't like that with the, with the other ones, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Now, are there any particular projects or activities that you're focused on this year?

Angela Speir: My scrap room. That's, um... Until I get that done, I do belong to a message board where I, um, am in a challenge. It's a 40 layout challenge. We create four layouts a month for 10 months. And, my focus right now is to make sure that I get my four layouts a month done. And get my scrap room set up like I want it.

Um, it started out to be a short [00:24:00] project. I am now, April, May, June, almost three months in and it's still a disaster. But, um, I'm hoping to be able to have it completed and set up like I want it, and live with it for a while and make any tweaks, you know, by the fall. I, you know, I'm giving myself until, you know, Thanksgiving, Christmas, to get it done. Because, you know, I know that it will evolve and I know that, um, I'm trying my best to catalog and sort and label and do all that as I'm going.

Because I've never done that before. I'm not an organized person. I'm a seat of the pants person.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: And, um, so this has been eye-opening for me, [00:25:00] shall we say. I do like the way it's working, but it is, y- you know, it, it's a big undertaking. And, so, um, you know, I have great son-in-laws, I have great kids, I have great grandkids.

My granddaughter was putting together a Kallax unit at, um, you know, 11:30 last night so. Those kids can build some IKEA furniture, let me tell you.

Jennifer Wilson: They can. Yes. Yes. Well it sounds like you to like develop some additional patience, um, that this, this is a thing that takes time, uh, because of the scale and, just to allow yourself to kind of enjoy that messy middle too.

Angela Speir: Yeah, it's, um, yeah, I'm, I'm trying to let myself enjoy the process. Because it's something I've dreamed of for years. I've never been able to make it a reality, and so now I am. And I'm planning to make the [00:26:00] best of it. But yeah, that's my big project for the year. That's what I'm gonna focus on. And, um, that and making memories that I can scrapbook when I finally am back in my room.

Jennifer Wilson: Sounds good. It makes sense. So let's talk about your style a little bit. If you had to describe it in three words, what would you say?

Angela Speir: No more than three photos, one page, and embellishment heavy.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay, okay. Um, what kind of like, do you, are there certain like color palettes or patterns you lean towards, or are you kind of everything goes, I love it all?

Angela Speir: Uh, I'm a traditionally, and probably 95% of the time, I'm a white cardstock girl.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: I love pattern, but not as a background. I love to mat my layouts. I do that probably on 90% of the layouts I create. It has a white background with a, [00:27:00] some type of border on it. Um, and I love florals. Um, I think that came from scrapbooking so many daughters, and I have three granddaughters, and they're all right about the same age, so that makes it easy.

I love the texture, and I love the laser cuts from 49 & Market, even though some of their newer collections have not been, for me. But I still love their style and love what they, you know... Um, and I bought.

Jennifer Wilson: Of like gardeny one that came out that I was like, "Oh, maybe th- I think they're getting back into a groove," and I, I really liked the style.

Angela Speir: I know.

Jennifer Wilson: Of it.

Angela Speir: Well, you know, I bought Rust and Rubs and Rust and Rubs 2, which is one of their older collections, probably at least twice. 'cause I used a lot of the backgrounds and a lot of the stuff in Brantley's album. Um, and [00:28:00] then, you know, I love that. Um, and Simple Stories is my heart. It always will be.

They're my favorite manufacturer ever. I love the variety. I love, I love their embellishments. You know, they're not so wordy. I'm not a wordy person on my layouts. I am in real life, but, um, in- not, I don't ... I love Echo Park. I love their, um, their papers and their ... But their embellishments are extremely wordy, and yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: True.

Angela Speir: Only, you know, I can only put so many words on a layout.

So a lot of times if I do use Echo Park, I use cut files for a big statement where I don't need as many embellishments. Or I am in my, um, acrylic stash or my wood veneer stash or I'm in my dies [00:29:00] cutting out things. Um, yeah, I just don't find their embellishments, um, user-friendly to me and my style. But, um, I do love their papers though, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Well and I think, yeah, you start to really understand which, uh, what lines are gonna deliver you what satis- what levels of satisfaction and informs your, your purchasing in the future. And can kinda combine things to, to make your best, uh, suite of products, for sure.

Angela Speir: Yeah, I am a, I'm a have it all k- kinda girl.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: Which is why I like Simple Stories because I can get a little bit of everything. And, um, but I've also learned that there are some collections that, you know, I can buy three or four sheets of paper and a sticker sheet, and I'm perfectly happy with it.

Jennifer Wilson: You mentioned cut files. Are there other, like, tools and techniques that you use a lot in your pa- [00:30:00] on your pages? Like, if we looked through your pages, what, what would we notice?

Angela Speir: Um, I use lots of texture. Um, I love pop dots. I love dimension. I think part of that comes from the fact that I know that I'll never scrapbook everything, so I don't worry about how I'm gonna store stuff. You know, I know I see a lot of people that are like, "I already have 50 albums, you know, and, and my kid's only five, and what am I gonna do?"

Well, I don't have that concern anymore. I scrapbook for me. And I love pop dots, and I love dimension, and I love, yeah, mixed media to an extent. I used to use a lot more mixed media and then, um, I went to having no scrap room, and I was scrapbooking on my kitchen counter, and that was not conducive to mixed media. So I kinda had to leave [00:31:00] that.

Jennifer Wilson: Close to a sink, I mean.

Angela Speir: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Maybe too close.

Angela Speir: I don't think my marble... uh, I mean, my granite countertops would like it very much. And, um, yeah, but I do love that look. I love watercolors. It's my favorite media or medium. And, I like stitching. I love stitching on my layouts when I have time. Just I like a little bit of everything.

You know, I'm, I'm not... I don't... If you had to say I have a style, I would say single photo or double photo, and a lot of that comes because I do have to... You know, I steal things from Facebook or Instagram or, you know, my children are not photographers. My grandkids aren't either. So if I say, "Take me some pictures," you know, I get two.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: You use what you have. And, my least favorite thing to scrapbook are events. I do not like to scrapbook, [00:32:00] birthdays. I don't like to scrapbook Christmas. I prefer scrapbooking those one-off everyday memories because to me that's, that's who they are.

Jennifer Wilson: I like, I often will find myself like some of the best photos are from, uh, just, just r- random happenstance. Sometimes they are from those events.

Angela Speir: Oh yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Holidays or whatever, but I love to use those for the stories about the personality and what's going on in their lives right now or our lives right now. The, the details of the event sometimes are, are not as important to me as well.

So I, I, I share that with you.

Angela Speir: Yeah, I mean that, you know, that one cute picture that, you know, the kids took when they were goofing off on the sandbar or, you know, they're being goofy and, you know, the little cheesy grins. 'Cause I have a grandson that never smiles. You know, he has that, um, face that you just look at him and go, "Really, dude?"

You know? And, um, [00:33:00] and he's nine, so of course he doesn't want to co- I mean, he's 11, excuse me. Oh, he would die if he knew I said nine. Um, yeah, so he doesn't, like, really want to cooperate with anybody whenever you ask him to do something. So if I ever get a little cheesy grin from him or something that he's not in a baseball uniform, then I treasure those photos.

Because, you know, baseball is life to him. Baseball and football. If it doesn't have a ball in it, he doesn't want to have anything to do with it.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Angela, is there anything in your hobby that you've decided is not for you? 'Cause it sounds like you do love a lot of things, but is there anything you're like, "Yeah, that's, I'm never gonna do that," or, "I tried that once and I'm good"?

Angela Speir: Complete mixed media backgrounds. Uh, yeah, I don't ... You know, mixed media to me is like a little, a little smooshing in the back or a little ink work, um, in my, you know, like stenciling my stamps. Or, you know, [00:34:00] that kind of thing, um, splatters. You know, as far as full-on mixed media, mixed media, that is, that's not for me. I don't.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: I never like what I make, and I know they say practice makes perfect, but if it doesn't matter to me, why, why bother? I mean, I can use my time better, well s- you know, I can spend it better. Really I guess that's ... Yeah, I, I don't like cutting my photos into like ... You know, I know some people have started, due to the junk journaling, you know, that has come into it, um, people cutting out silhouettes and putting them up.

That'll never be me. I don't, I don't fussy cut that well, and I don't like it that much, so the answer to that is no. And, and that's, I guess really those are, that's my main thing is mixed media. I love it. I love it when other people do [00:35:00] it. I think it's so cool, and it's so pretty, but I know me, and it's not for me.

It's not for me to make. You know, somebody wants to make it for me and give it to me, hey, I'm all about it. But.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: You know. But I do, and that's another thing about being a, an older grandmother who scraps and who's accepted the fact that I'll never be caught up is I can play. I can play and, and have fun, and really doesn't I don't feel the pressure that other, that some people feel. That allows me to have more freedom in what I wanna do.

Jennifer Wilson: Certainly. Um, when your space, uh, draws to a conclusion of, you know, "This is, this is good enough for right now, let's start living in it.

Angela Speir: Right,

Jennifer Wilson: What time of day do we think that you're gonna be scrapbooking? Are, is it all day long every day? Mornings, evenings? Like, what's your natural creative time?

Angela Speir: I, except on [00:36:00] Tuesdays. Tuesdays I, I have a Zoom that I scrapbook with friends from all over. Um, and that usually starts from 11 o'clock, well, for me, 11:00 o'clock in the morning, and then we usually scrapbook till about 5:00 or 6:00 at night. Other days, I'm not a morning person. I do not like mornings. Um, I think they should be outlawed.

Uh, my day normally starts around 11:30 or 12, so usually after lunch. Um, you know, and I will scrapbook into the night. I'm a go to bed at 3:00 o'clock in the morning kind of person.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay.

Angela Speir: Um, you know, I am, especially now that I'm retired and I don't have to get up and I don't have to go to a job every morning, um, I very rarely set my clock.

Um, you know, I get up when I get up, and I go to bed when I go to bed. But yes, I definitely am a afternoon night scrapbooker.

Jennifer Wilson: How did you [00:37:00] manage, like, beat that night owl tendency when you were working and wanting to get scrapbooking done?

Angela Speir: Oof. I, um, I scrap- yeah, I'm like, "Ugh." And I, and I did it for 30 years, so I mean, you know.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: That after a while it just becomes habit. But I c- yeah, it didn't take long to break those habits. Um, but I scrapbooked a lot on the weekends. Um, at that point, um, before COVID, um, I had a couple of friends and we ran a scrapbook crop once a month.

And then we also scrapbooked a lot of weekends together too. You know, we would go to other crops for, you know, and that was usually when I scrapbooked. I scrapbooked on weekends. I didn't, um, even though I was a night owl, and, you know, by the time I came home, [00:38:00] figured out what we were gonna eat for dinner, that kind of thing, I was like, "Mm, I ain't got the energy to scrap."

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: You know my husband was also, um He, um, had dementia for 13 years. So a lot of my time was taking care of him. And so that, you know, also was why I scrapbooked a lot on weekends. Because, you know, I wasn't so tired, and I could, you know, do things like that, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: But yeah, I, um, I was definitely not a prolific scrapbooker when I worked. Yeah, I scrap- yeah, I the, like, yeah, it, that went against all my natural tendencies. I should have been a night worker.

Jennifer Wilson: And my mom is the exact same way. She would love to stay up all night and, and sleep as late as possible, so.

Angela Speir: You know.

Jennifer Wilson: Uh, whereas I'm a, like I [00:39:00] wanna be in bed before 10, 10:00 PM, so.

Angela Speir: Ugh, not me. Ugh. I mean, I look... La- last night my daughter was staying here and w- like 2:00 she was like, I was like, "I guess I'm going to bed." And she's like, "Okay." So she has my night owl ten- my night owl tendencies also. So the girls went to bed like at 11:00 last night, and we were like, "Y'all are already going to bed?"

And they were like, "We're tired." I think they've, they've pulled too many all-nighters, and they're giggling. You know, they don't see each other often, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, yeah. That's cool to have them together though.

Angela Speir: Yeah, well it's hard because for the, you know, up until two years ago they lived like right down the street from one another. So they've, all of the cousins have all grown up together. Until Amy and them moved to Colorado two years ago. This is the first time my kids have ever moved away from home. And, um, as adults we've done a lot better than the [00:40:00] kids. The kids have had, yeah, they, they miss each other.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I bet.

Angela Speir: Lots of FaceTime. You know, thank gosh for FaceTime and that kind of stuff 'cause they definitely keep in touch.

Jennifer Wilson: So we've already talked on this a little bit, but in terms of organization and how, like what are you really carrying from your previous space to your new space? What things have worked really well for you that you're just gonna keep on working with?

Angela Speir: Nothing. Actually that's not true. There's a couple of things. Um, number one is paper storage. Um, I've used cubes for a long time. I like my cubes. I also have always, um, organized by collection or by, not by collection, by manufacturer. I still do that. That's the way my brain thinks.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: So that works for [00:41:00] me. That I'm ... The only difference is I've always stored collections and embellishments together. I'm actually storing paper by it- you know, paper collection by itself, and then I have bought these envelopes that are like an A5 size, and they have, um, Velcro, and the embellishments go in it. And they're labeled.

And the way my cubes are set up, in the, the top cubes I have paper. I have two bins per cube with all the paper. And then in the cube directly below it I have one large cube, and all the embellishments for that paper are in that cube.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay.

Angela Speir: Um, that is something new because collections with embellishments just take up so much room.

And, you know, it's wasted space. [00:42:00] So I've kind of, I've kept it, but I've modified it. Um, the other thing from my other s- craft space that I really like is I have a holder from IKEA. I don't even know if they sell them anymore, but it's the one where you can put your 12 by 12 paper and then your stickers, and yeah, that.

I, um, I have that on my desk, and I keep either, things I'm trying to use up, like if I have a ... you know, like if I'm working on like Brantley's album and I have like some- gears, wood veneer gears or whatever, and I have just a few left over. I would keep those in there to remind myself to use them. But I normally keep whatever collection or whatever I'm working with, the embellishments.

And then in the front, I usually have my edge distressor. I have, my, I use the Nuvo glaze, not the Glossy Accents, but that kind of thing. [00:43:00] I have, my dauber or a blending brush. That kind of, those little things. My tweezers. I'm a tweezer girl. Um, I love my tweezers. Can't scrapbook without them.

Yeah, those kind of things in the front. And then when I finish what I'm doing, I take all that out and then put something else in there. I do keep white cardstock in there at all times because I- I'm always looking for white cardstock.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm

Angela Speir: And those are really two of the main things that I'm bringing with me. Because my system didn't work. I didn't have a system. Like I said, I am not an organized person. I never have been. This is me trying to embrace my inner ADHD brain that, you know, trying to put things where I can actually find it. We'll see how it works. I'm using all clear bins, open storage where I can see it, because I'm also an out of sight, out of mind [00:44:00] person.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, interesting. Yeah I'm the one like, I don't know if you're familiar with the, the Clutterbug system. I.

Angela Speir: Oh, yes.

Jennifer Wilson: Need closed storage. I do not wanna see it, otherwise it is so overwhelming to me. I can't. Yeah.

Angela Speir: Uh, uh, I got to see it, which is my cubes. I do have closed storage, um, for some things. And I am liking that so far because it's things like my mixed media stuff that I don't really need to see. I know I have, and I know where it's at. Um, paper, I've got to see it. I, I have to. If I don't, I forget what I have.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah, I get it.

Angela Speir: So but yes, Cass has definitely changed the way I think about things, and, she actually was the one who gave me the big push to, finally take the leap and tell myself, "I can do this." So we shall see if she's right.

Jennifer Wilson: I think you can. You will, you will. [00:45:00] So with that in mind where would you like your scrapbooking to be, uh, another decade from now?

Angela Speir: Number one, I hope to still be scrapbooking because I will be old by then.

I would like for it to be to the point where my grandkids and my kids can look at my albums and remember all the good times and remember the emotions that were evoked, and to know that I love them. And they are the best parts of me and the best thing that's ever happened to me. And I want my layouts to be able to show that. And, you know, I hope to still be scrapbooking, um, the fun stuff, not birthdays.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: Not Christmas. My grandkids laugh all the time 'cause, I mean, like, some of them don't even have [00:46:00] first birthday layouts. They're like, "Nee Nee," and I'm like, "Uh, yeah, I'm gonna get to it, um, I promise." So y'all know I don't like doing that kind of stuff, and then they, they laugh and they're like, "We know." So, But that's what I... I hope that I'm still, uh, I'm still scrapbooking the memories that I want to scrapbook. The ones that make me feel happy and the ones that speak to my heart.

Jennifer Wilson: Ah, I love your, I love your approach and I love the way you think about scrapbooking. Um, my final question for today, what have you learned as being a scrapbooker? What have you learned about yourself, about life?

Angela Speir: I've learned that, life is fleeting. Uh, don't blink because they do grow up way too fast. You know, um, when my kids were little, I don't remember a lot of it, if that makes sense. You know, I was in the mix. You know, I was the one doing the raising. I was the one doing the, you know, baseball, all ... I mean, softball [00:47:00] and cheerleading and, you know, prom and, you know, those kind of things.

I was always the one that was the catalyst for everything. And, I was a stay-at-home mom for years, and so that was kind of... You know, I don't ... I mean, I remember things, but then I'll look back and go, you know, there's years that I'm just like, I d- I, I'm like just blank when I think about it. I'm like, you know, like how did they grow up?

You know, how can my daughter be in her 40s? You know, that's crazy. With my grandkids, you know, I had, I had time to appreciate it. I'm a very lucky person.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: Like I said, until two years ago I saw my grandkids on a regular basis, all seven of them. They lived very close, within 15 minutes of my house.

And, I've learned that, you know, t- time is fleeting. You know, when, when they're little, don't blink [00:48:00] because the next thing you know, they're driving and g- and, and they're graduating high school and, you know, and so you wanna soak up all those memories. Um, I've learned to take the picture, even when they say, "Nene, put the camera away."

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Angela Speir: My son-in-law, you know, he hates ... he'll be like, "Oh my God, she's in her photography mode again." And I'll be like, "Sorry, dude. You know, this is the way it is around here." And he's like, "I know." Um, my oldest grandson, the 21-year-old, you know, he's pretty good at corralling the grandkids even now because he's learned.

He tells them, "Just smile and then she'll stop." You know? So I've learned if I take the picture, then there's always one day to scrapbook it. And I've learned that I love to create. I love to be free to do me.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Angela Speir: And s- [00:49:00] it's, it is a, it's a passion of mine. I love making pretty things. And I love that they have meaning. And- They make me happy and that's who I scrapbook for.

I mean, I love that my grandkids love to look at them. I like that my kids like to look at them. But in the end, it's for me. It's to make me happy. You know.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Angela Speir: I am the memory keeper. I'm the only scrapbooker, you know, in my family. And yeah, but the thing is that in the end, I'm the one who has to be happy.

Jennifer Wilson: No doubt. I totally agree. Yeah. can you share where our listeners can find you online? Anything you have new or, or coming up in the second half this year? I guess, I guess it's your, all about your workspace for sure.

Angela Speir: Yeah, it's all about my workspace. Um, you can follow me on Instagram. Uh,

I am my_scrappy_adventure or [00:50:00] adventures. Is it adventure or adventures?

Jennifer Wilson: We will include the correct link in the show notes for the episode.

Angela Speir: Okay. Um, that is where I, s- share my scrapbooking. I also, it's also on my Facebook page, but most people, it's my personal page, and most people don't follow that.

Um, I don't have a scrappy's, uh, Facebook page. That's, it's all I can do to have one, and that's to stalk my family essentially. And, so that's it. I- no design teams, no, you know, no YouTube. I'm not tech-savvy enough yet. I would love to make YouTube videos at some time in the future, but, yeah, it's gonna be in the future.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, you're very scrapbook savvy 'cause your pages are quite lovely, so I appreciate you spending time with me.

Angela Speir: Thank you. It was great.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, thanks for the chat. And to all of our remember that you have permission to scrapbook your way. [00:51:00]