Scrapropos

Jayne Jones dreams of leaving Omaha, Nebraska and living near the beach with her husband and three kids. She’s a stay-at-home-Mom whose dog Zoe is queen of the house. Some of her favorite memories are of watching the sun set over Lake Michigan with the family. They’d make the 15 minute drive a couple of times a week just to take that in. Jayne is bubbly and fun and treasures the memories she’s made and is making. This is how she keeps them:

How did you get started scrapbooking?
I’ve always kind of scrapbooked…always collected ticket stubs and notes and things. I still have every single note ever written to me. I’ve always been a saver and kept a journal. I’ve always been into photography, always thought history was important. hen I was pregnant with my first daughter in 1997, I researched Creative Memories and then found a consultant. I loved it immideately and knew it was the thing for me.

When you hit a creative wall, how do you work your way around it?
I scrapbook a LOT. Most every day. It’s usually when I don’t scrapbook that I hit a wall. The best way to keep your creative juices flowing is to always be creating. You’re in the mindset all the time then. Going to crops once a month, it’s hard to get going. Now I don’t have that problem because I’m continually doing it.
When I do hit the occasional wall, I look at my papers. Somehow, looking at the artwork that goes into those paper designs inspires me. Looking at sketches are the second thing I do.

What influences have made you the scrapper you are today?
I have maybe 20 pictures of my childhood, and most of those are school photos. It was mostly a money thing - my mom couldn’t afford it. I always knew that I would miss having photos. The minute I got my first camera when I was 13, I became a picture fanatic, and I have been ever since then. From that time on, I had tons of pictures. Getting that first camera was a huge influence. It gave me power. It erased the missing parts. I’d always felt sad without pictures.

But as far as layout influences? Scrapbookers are the best sharing and giving community of artists there is. People so freely share their work and that is so inspiring. You can go at any moment in time and look at other people’s work and be inspired by it. You can pick and choose and take from that and make it your own.

How do you approach a layout once you’ve chosen the photos?
I definitely look at paper first. I fan out the picturess and pull all different sheets of paper and see what goes best.

How would you describe your scrapbooking style?
I think it’s pretty classic and balanced. I like clean lines. I’m not a free-style scrapper. I like them and I drool over them, but it’s just not me.

What is your best organizing tip?
I clean my scrap table immediately after doing a page. I don’t start another page until journaling and page protecting is done. I like to work on a clean surface. I love to have everything that I use regularly where I can reach them. My favortite organizational thing that I have is a galvanized steel magnetic board with magnetic baskets where I keep my adhesives and scissors. The things I use all the time are right in front of me.

Where do you scrap?
I just use a folding table in one of the two master walk-in closets in our bedroom. One day I looked and said, “I don’t need this space. I don’t have this many clothes!” I told my husband to scooch over in his closet and I put my stuff in with his. I made my closet in to my scrap room. It has a bunch of built-in sheves already, so it’s perfect. It’s a small space, and I love that everything is in reach.

How do you find time to scrap?
I don’t watch a lot of TV - probably only 2 hours a week. If I have free time when I’m not with family, I’m scrapping. It’s my activity of choice. So anytime I have free time, I’m on the computer doing scrap-related things or I’m in my scraproom. I scrap at least, on average, an hour a day. That’s what I love. I like to do what I love. It makes me a better person.

I still haven’t tried…
sewing! I don’t sew. Not even buttons on shirts. LOL! I love the look of it and think it would really enhance my pages, but how can I justify sewing when I don’t do it at all at home? What would my husband say? LOL!!

Do you have a favorite album?
Wow. My favorite album is my Book of Me. Before I started it, I was like, “Uh, this seems kind of selfish [to be making a book about myself].” But it’s the best gift I could’ve ever given myself. My son loves my “first car” page. If you had albums from your grandmother, wouldn’t you love to have her Book of Me? I’m hoping someday my great-grandchildren will want to know about me.

Do you have a favorite manufacturer?
Basic Grey and Fancy Pants. Part of it is the feel of the paper. It’s substantial. Their colors are deeper and yet kind of muted. Rich. Even their bright kiddish colors are still rich, even though they’re bright.

I can’t get enough…
paper. Absolutely. I could stop buying right now and scrapbook the rest of my life and wallpaper my house with it and still have enough leftover to pass it on to my kids in their inheritance. I love paper.

Is there a scrapbook item you wish you had?
A guillotine trimmer. I’ve been thinking about the Purple Cow one. My birthday is coming up….

Is there anything else you do when you’re scrapping that keeps you moving along?
I don’t eat or drink anything while I scrap, except for the occasional glass of water. There’s no electricity in my room except for the overhead light, so I don’t have a TV or radio or anything. Can’t use the iPod in case my kids need me - i need to be able to hear them, and since I’m already barricaded in a closet…lol. I do burn a candle, though. Mulberry.

What’s your best advice for a beginning scrapbooker?
Contact a Creative Memories Consultant. You need someone to mentor you. Whether that’s a CMC or a friend… someone who’s gonna help you and share their stuff so you don’t have to go out and buy everything. Just start. Don’t worry about not having everything. Make it your goal to do one album. Don’t think about all of your photos, just think about completing that one album. After that, you’ll be hooked.

Anything else our readers should know about you?
I read the comics every night. I love Zits and Foxtrot.