Growing up in a family that owned a printing/copying business, paper has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I loved to go to my dad’s shop and take home several sheets of the beautiful colors to create books,cards and drawings. My love for paper bled over to Mrs. Grossman’s stickers, mini Hello Kitty stationery sets, markers, colored pencils, watercolors, and art classes in school. When I was in high school, my mom attended a scrapbooking home party. She came home and showed us what she had made. I immediately thought to myself, “I want to do that!” Ever since then, I have been scrapbooking in one form or another.
About 15 years ago, I started to make scrapbooking a part of my daily life. As a mother of young children, I loved the creative outlet it gave me. I began participating in online challenges and design teams, which helped me to push myself creatively and try new things.
My scrapbooking style is classic, with lots of patterned paper layers and splashes of embellishments. I especially love adding dimension to my projects. I love playing with color combinations, clustering photos and embellishments, and using my die cutting machine. My designs are usually centered in the middle of the page, or coming off of one edge of the paper.
For me, inspiration is everywhere! I love looking at the designs in print ads, children’s clothing and interior decorating. I especially love to study the shapes, color combinations and textures in interiors and then try to translate those ideas into a scrapbook page.
My favorite colors to work with are candy colors. They are happy, bright and juicy, but not too garish or over-powering. I almost always mat my photos to help them stand out from the patterned papers I like to layer. I also love to use horizontal bands and circular elements in my page designs … they always anchor a composition perfectly!
My creative process usually begins with the products. I love working with coordinating elements from a paper collection on some pages, and mixing together products from different manufacturers. I have no qualms about busting into my stash to mix together the latest-and-greatest with “classic” scrapbook supplies and dimensional embellishments.
I select my photos and print them out. I use small to medium photos because they give me room to play around them. Next, I play with papers and start building layers on my page. I don’t really have a plan. Sometimes I sketch out ideas, but other times I just go with the flow. Once I have my basic design in place, I get to my favorite part of the process . . . embellishing! For me, adding the finishing touches to a page is like putting together a puzzle. I get absorbed with finding “just the right piece” for each corner. I especially love adding dimensional details.
I mostly create scrapbook pages, but I also really love putting my Silhouette Cameo to use and creating dimensional projects like seasonal home decor and clever gift boxes.
When I have a bazillion photos from an event, I love to create double page layouts.
I also really love pocket page scrapbooking! I began creating an overview album each year, so I would have a place to include all of those random selfies and cell phone snapshots.
It is such a satisfying process for me. And the best part is that at the end of it all, I have created something that pays tribute to something that is most important to me, life with my family.
Scrapbooking has become a part of my daily life and a part of who I am. If I’m not scrapping, I’m spending time with my family, reading, camping, or shopping/window shopping at my favorite thrift stores. I’m hopelessly addicted to chocolate and love listening to my favorite music or reruns of Friends and Little House on the Prairie while I scrap. I am a stay-at-home mom to 3 daughters and 1 son and have been married to my best friend, Kevin, for 20 years. We live in Bountiful, Utah.
Jana Eubank 