Welcome to the Lead Your Best Creative Life interview series! In this series, I feature memory keepers who make time to scrapbook in their busy lives. Each month you will meet a scrapbooker, just like you, and learn how they lead their best creative life.
I hope that this series will help you see that we all our doing our best to scrapbook our memories. It can be hard to prioritize your creative outlets, but you aren’t the only one that struggles with finding time to scrapbook and craft.
This month’s interview is with Katelyn Clary from Gray Florals. I recently connected with Katelyn through Instagram and some common FB groups. She has been scrapbooking and posting videos of her projects since 2009 on YouTube! What a treasure trove of not just her scrapbooking memories, but also to see how her process and creativity has evolved. Don’t forget to also follow Katelyn on Pinterest and Facebook.
Read on to learn more about Katelyn’s scrapbooking and creative process. See how her process has changed over the years and how she finds ways to prioritize her own creative time.
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How long have you been scrapbooking and why did you start?
I began scrapbooking way back when I was in 5th grade. A lot of my friend’s parents were avid memory keepers and let us play with their paper scraps when I was at sleepovers. My parents saw how interested I was in papercrafting and enrolled me in a scrapbook summer camp for two years in a row. After that, they fueled my paper crafting addiction with birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, and JoAnn Fabrics shopping trips. I began my blog and YouTube channel in 2009 and my habit grew from there. I started scrapbooking because it was fun and then I became more aware of how important it is that we document our lives as time went on.
Do you find it difficult to keep up with memory keeping?
Yes. I don’t think I’ll ever be “caught up” so there won’t ever be any sort of “keeping up”. Every time I sit down to craft I think of a million more stories and things I want to document, but I know it probably isn’t feasible to document all of those items. Instead, I just document what I feel at the moment. My main goal is to start tackling some of the projects on my list such as my travel albums that I’ve started. Completed projects make me feel more caught up.
How do you currently make time for scrapbooking and how often do you scrapbook?
I currently scrapbook at least three times a week, but I also dabble in card making which takes up some of my creative time. As a crafty YouTuber I find that having a schedule for my content helps keep me be creative. Knowing that I want to put up a video on Saturday helps get me in the craft room more often. When I wasn’t making videos very often, I would put crafty projects on my regular to-do list as if they were a chore or an errand. It’s a great way to hold your creative time accountable in your schedule.
How has your scrapbooking methods changed since you started?
I’ve recently gone through a headspace change where I’ve become super focused on the storytelling aspect of scrapbooking. When I first began, I was mainly in to scrapbooking for making pretty pages for my photos to sit on. I would say that this change is the biggest one by far. While I never had a definitive style when I first started, I went for a classic, clean and simple look like you typically see in the scrapbooking magazines. Now, I have all sorts of different pages ranging from vintage to mixed media.
Are there any methods, supplies, or strategies you use to scrapbook more efficiently to be able to finish projects?
When I sit down to make a page, I often have some sort of inspiration that sparked the original idea whether it be a sketch, color palette, or challenge. I’m very adventurous when mixing colors and textures and I’m often inspired by a specific product. My process seems to only have one speed which results in a completed layout in 35-60 minutes. I think the quicker layouts result from using a homemade stash kit or a select number of products. I don’t let myself go through every bit of stash for the perfect pieces, I just grab some pieces and rearrange them until I think they look decent, but sketches are really helpful when doing my paper layering.
What is your biggest challenge in scrapbooking right now?
I’d say my biggest challenge in scrapbooking right now is organizing the completed scrapbook pages. I have yet to figure out my end goal with scrapbooking, besides to obviously document my life. I’m in the midst of a photo organization project which will help me in the long run visualize what I want my scrapbooks to be. My scrapbooks are currently all over the place, but they are mainly by year and then specific albums for large trips.
Speed Round:
- Favorite scrapbooking tool or product? I have a rekindled love with cardstock stickers.
- Current inspiration that gets your creative juices flowing? Anything on Instagram and I love the new collections feature.
- Favorite scrapbooking guru? Only one?! Kira Ness on Instagram/YouTube always has unique layout designs that inspire me!
- Your go-to crafting method or design? 12×12 layout, patterned paper background, one 4×6 photo with a couple of paper layers surrounded by some clusters, and a large title.
- Something new you’ve recently discovered in the scrapbooking or crafting world? I’ve recently discovered that having crafty friends in real life is the best thing in the world!
Share a recent project that you made – we would love to see!
A beautiful watercolor flower card made by Katelyn. She even has a process video on her YouTube channel on how she made this card.
Any last thoughts for our crafty friends out there who are struggling to prioritize their scrapbooking and creative time?
Planning creative time in your schedule is the easiest way to prioritize. Whether that be during your cup of coffee in the morning or one hour on Wednesday afternoons. Put it in your calendar and get it in to your routine. It will become second nature once you find the right fit for you.
Thanks again to Katelyn for being a part of this series! I love how she has found methods to help her complete projects. Even minor things like creating her own stash and limiting her supplies. It was a huge success for me and I love that she is able to put together a layout so quickly! Don’t forget to check out some of Katelyn’s YouTube videos on her Gray Florals channel.
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If you are interested in participating in the interview series, please contact me here!
See you next month – until then, lead your best creative life today!
Julie
Blog header photo by Arnel Hasanovic on Unsplash
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