SYW307 – Crafting the Empty Nest Era with Caroline Gatenby

Caroline Gatenby: [00:00:00] Having some elements of crafting in every day, I think that's what is very important to me. So I often get up and do an hour first thing at the desk just to get something done. And that just makes a great start to the day for me.

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 307. In this episode, I'm joined by Caroline Gatenby to chat about the importance of crafting as she designs her empty nester life.

Our conversation includes how Caroline keeps her hobby streamlined in format, but detailed with a skill she knows extremely well sewing.

Hey Caroline, welcome to Scrapbook Your Way.

Caroline Gatenby: Hello.

Jennifer Wilson: I am [00:01:00] so thrilled to be chatting with you today. Can you start by sharing a little bit about yourself?

Caroline Gatenby: Uh, yes, I'm delighted to be here. Thanks ever so much for inviting me. Uh, I'm Caroline. I'm an empty nester. I have two boys in their thirties, one who got married last year, and one who's to be married next year. I've been married to Ian for 37 years and we have a sausage dog called Sergio who is 10 and he is had three IVDD back surgeries.

So he is an old chap now.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh yeah.

Caroline Gatenby: I live in Yorkshire, um, in a place called Beverly, which is sort of between York and Hull. So that's about me.

Jennifer Wilson: How long have you been a scrapbooker?

Caroline Gatenby: Well, I think, um, when I was off work with stress in 2009, I think I, I, I had six weeks off work with stress. And I think I decided then to look [00:02:00] for something to de decompress with. And that's when I came across it on online. And, uh, I've been doing it ever since.

Jennifer Wilson: Wonderful. Yes, that was definitely like a, I don't know, a really special and unique time. That's really when I really started getting into it as well, so. So we have two kind of more icebreaker questions. Do you have a favorite recent layout or project? What's it about and why is it your favorite?

Caroline Gatenby: Well, my favorite project has to be my Project Life albums. I think, um, I do, I do them monthly with, uh, Ali Edwards Stories by the Month Kit. And I just really use it like an illustrated diary. Um, I complete two nine by 12 albums every year. And, um, I like to have, uh, all our stories in there so that we can look back on the year and see what we've done.

But that's definitely my favorite project and I, I, [00:03:00] I love doing it.

Jennifer Wilson: We will definitely get more into that as we go on. But I'm curious how long you've done the nine by 12 size.

Caroline Gatenby: I think I started nine by 12 when it first came out. Was it probably 2017? I did get start in the 12 by 12 and it was just very unwieldy, I think, for me. And, and it's hard to pick up and look through. Whereas nine by 12 is much easier. Uh, and I love that the family liked to look back on them as well as me.

Um. I experimented briefly with the six by 12, but they, they weren't right for me. And I'm a bit sad now that the nine by twelves are disappearing because we just have no access to scrapbooking supplies here in the UK. It's just such a minor, a minor sport.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, that's, that's really unfortunate. And obviously all the trade issues aren't making anything easier, and nine by 12 was already harder to come [00:04:00] by.

Caroline Gatenby: Yeah, I know. I was really sad when Studio Calico and Ali Edwards stopped doing it. And I, I did buy enough for next year, and I'm just hoping that by next year somebody else might have reinvented it and we could start again.

Jennifer Wilson: I hope so. I hope so. So our other beginning question here, is there something that you're excited to do, use or try? It could be your hobby or in your everyday life.

Caroline Gatenby: Something I got into last year that I'm really, uh, excited about is I took a beginner's forestry course. And it's another aspect to creativity that I've always wanted to try. And, um, my friend school, old school friend and I went and, uh, did a six week course. And I really loved it. It was just a different outlet for my creativity.

And we're hoping to do the flowers for my son's wedding venue next year. So I think, [00:05:00] I think it was just something I've never done and I thought I always wanted to try and I've been really enjoying it.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, that sounds so fun. Now, do you typically do things from your own garden? Are you, do you go to the market and purchase flowers?

Caroline Gatenby: No. It would be purchasing flowers, definitely. Uh, my husband does a garden. I don't do the garden at all. Um, but I do like to have a go when I'm in the supermarket. I select some flowers and I do like to have a go, uh, when I get back home.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I am, I am not the garden person either. I think I can't, I, I could barely keep the humans alive. So the plants are kind of on their own. Uh, they are left to my husband and my daughter, so.

Caroline Gatenby: My, my dad was a, a big gardener, but unfortunately all he was interested in was food. So I didn't get, I, yeah, I didn't get, uh, any gardening tips for flowers from him. But I think it was something, I always fancied beam. When I was younger, I thought I might be a [00:06:00] florist. But my parents wanted me to become a teacher and uh, so I went off and did that instead.

Jennifer Wilson: What age level did you teach?

Caroline Gatenby: Well, to start with, I, I taught, uh, secondary school pupils, which was 11 to 16. And then I had a career break when I had the boys and I retrained to, uh, a different subject and different age range. And I went back teaching, um, five to 11. So I've done two different age ranges.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Which one is harder or which one is easier?

Caroline Gatenby: Uh, it's difficult to say really because there were different topics. Uh, I was, um, a

Jennifer Wilson: Oh

Caroline Gatenby: Home economics teacher first time round with food and textiles, which was a real creative outlet.

Jennifer Wilson: No doubt. Yeah.

Caroline Gatenby: And then when I retrained, I did, uh, special needs. So that was a completely different aspect. So [00:07:00] that was a total, totally different thing, just special needs within, within an, uh, the normal school.

But even so, you, you're approaching things differently and the, the creativity was, was not as present as it was when I was, uh, working with my hands maybe.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, I think it's a different type of creativity to provide an educational experience. All right, so I scrolled back on your Instagram as far as I could before just like wouldn't reload anymore. And you've been doing this for so long, um, and you have such a combination of cozy crafty things, just a lovely like lifestyle type of account. Um, you seem to take pictures of your garden, even though you're not doing the gardening yourself. But you know, lots of baking and home decor, and of course your little sausage dog. What else should we know about what your life looks like?

Caroline Gatenby: Well, I've always been [00:08:00] creative in different ways. Um, I was quite musical when I was younger and I was in a choir, church choir with my father and played an instrument and things like that. I think that, um, when I was teaching three or four days a week, I, I, um, went back part-time after having the boys. Um, I then got involved in supporting my elderly parents, so I think there's been sort of a period where you're looking after your children, and then that seemed to trans transfer into looking after parents. And it was only last year when I, I finally lost my mum. Um, that I, I've suddenly realized that I've got all this extra time. So previously I think what I was doing on Instagram, just things that were generally happening in my life. Whereas now I've got much more time, I'm spending [00:09:00] time actually enjoying my crafting more and sharing more. Which is something that's relatively new in a way. I'm being more conscious in my sharing. So crafting brings me a lot of joy. And, I find documenting even the bad and the good.

Through losing my mum that I find it very my cathartic. So it all sort of comes out in, in the creativity that I do.

Jennifer Wilson: Sure. Yeah. Yeah. No, it's, I think it's all of those things together, uh, become very meaningful and particularly scrapbooking. It's such a, it's a such, such a part of us. And that kind of element of it being different than other types of crafts because it is our lives.

Caroline Gatenby: I think, I think when I was doing a December Daily in 20, I think it was 2016, and I wasn't sure if my dad was going to survive, and I remember thinking, should I be documenting this? And I am so [00:10:00] pleased that I did write what was in my head down when I look back now. Um, and yet some people don't like to put things in their, in their documenting that they find difficult.

I find emptying my head onto paper, is really good for me. So sometimes I cover up that documenting in Project Life, but some, sometimes just to go back and read that you know, at another time is very insightful.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes. And I, and I love, we have the options of how and, and when we're gonna share it, if at all. Um, but if we don't, if we don't get those thoughts out, they're gonna somehow manifest some way or the other. So thankfully we have ways of doing that, um, in, in the crafty realm.

Caroline Gatenby: Yeah. Yes, true.

Jennifer Wilson: One of the things that I often hear from folks who are in a similar season of life as you is that they have trouble, uh, structuring their time so they feel like they're using it well. 'Cause like, once you have more of an abundance of it, you know.

Caroline Gatenby: [00:11:00] Yes. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Always feels like there's gonna be enough, but then the day is over or the week is over. So I'm curious how, how that works for you and how do you make sure that your, your crafts and your hobbies and, and the things that you love are a priority.

Caroline Gatenby: I think when I, I retired first before my husband. Um, and I, uh, loved that shift from all this pressures of schoolwork to suddenly having all this time to do all this work. And I threw myself into the baking and the, and the quilting and the sewing and the, and the paper crafting. And I used to say to people I could fill my whole day with that.

But, um, by having some elements of crafting in every day, I think that's what is very important to me. So I often get up and do an hour first thing at the desk just to get something done. And that just makes a great start to the day for me. Whatever else is going on, [00:12:00] if I've done that. Whether I get to that desk during the day or not.

If things take over, at least I've done something and I appreciate that time. Some of my reels are recorded in my dressing gown.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice. Nice. Yeah, no, sometimes that's what we have to do and we know if that's what's going to give us the best experience of the day and set us up for success and I love that.

Caroline Gatenby: Crafting makes me, me. And so I think that it's important to make time for that. 'Cause if we go away for any period of time, obviously I don't get to do as much. And then I come home and it's one of the first things I want to touch base with the day after we get back is put something down on paper.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, certainly. I always feel like the most creatively inspired when we're traveling and I'm like, wow, why don't I have my stuff here?

Caroline Gatenby: I have tried to take stuff [00:13:00] with me before and, and write things down in the moment because I think some things are better documented in the moment. But I, I tend to just make notes in rough and then do it more when I get back home. But I think that is true. And certainly I have an envelope with ephemera in when I'm away, certainly.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, let's dig into that a little bit more before we talk about kind of the core of your projects. How do you typically document your travels?

Caroline Gatenby: Well, if we have a foreign trip, we usually go abroad once a year. If we have a foreign trip, I, I usually try and make a little album independently, but that can take any format. Uh, I just do whatever I feel like making at the time. Um, I've been sharing some different travel, uh, booklets recently on my Instagram, and we tend to go to Sicily every year.

And you would think that documenting the same thing would be boring, but [00:14:00] actually I try and find a different way to put it on paper or a different format. Because I still like to, I still like to make, make a little book of it. But other trips that we make, uh, we have, um, a touring caravan and, um, other trips we make, like we've recently been to the lake district.

I would just put in a little insert within my Project Life in, in the month that we, we were there. So I, I do them in different ways. And, and all different page protectors in the Project Life to demarcate the, um, the travel insert.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice, nice. So. It's pretty clear that the real heart of your scrapbooking today is Project Life and then also the Week In The Life and December Daily projects. And you've been kind of, this has been the suite of what you do for a long time now. Why do you think that works so well for you?

Caroline Gatenby: I think that, um, I [00:15:00] discovered December Daily, way back in 2009. And I love Christmas and I think that is such a great way to document it. You can do it however you like to do it. And I've tried different formats again in that. I like to switch it up to keep it challenging. But I think that one I really like.

And, um, I find it easy enough to document every day or every couple of days. So I do it in the moment, but that's probably because of the, the, uh, where I am in, in my life at the moment. But, um, that, that I do, and try and get it finished before the end of December. So that it doesn't interfere with planning the next year's Project Life.

So that's a definite is December Daily. I've done it every year and I, I, will keep doing that one. Week In The Life I started doing, and then I missed a [00:16:00] year, and then I decided to do it not so deeply. And then recently I've gone back into doing it more deeply. I prefer the notebook format for that.

Purely really because of storage. But um, I have a minimal amount of area to keep all these projects. So I think that the notebooks are great for that. I tried doing it within Project Life, but it was too big. So I do like to do that, but I know why Ali refers to that as a marathon, not a sprint, because that can take a long time to complete. It, it's one thing to photo and record the stories. And then it's, it's another thing to actually then get it all the book after the event. But yeah, I can usually manage it.

Jennifer Wilson: It, it's so interesting how a project about a week [00:17:00] has such a different experience than a project that's about a month, know? Uh, and there, there might be the same number of photos.

Caroline Gatenby: Well, I think I put that during Week In The Life, I'd taken 800 photos and I thought, wow, not that you were ever gonna use all 800. But it was interesting to look back at what you did record over the week. And then to look at what you select. And I, I, if you look on Instagram, I only print out really small to fit in the notebook. But it, it's a snapshot of time.

And, and when you look back at my first one, which I went in the loft and found and, and recorded recently. I mean, that was very basic, but again, lots of things I looked at and I thought, wow, that, you know, I'd forgotten that. I'd forgotten that.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I [00:18:00] think we always think in the moment that we're gonna remember this 'cause it feels so vivid and so like clear and then time passes and those memories fade. And that's, that's such the joy of going back and looking at, at what you've documented.

Caroline Gatenby: I think in 2020, because we were all going through the pandemic, I made a conscious effort of really making that a, uh, a six by eight album. Because I wanted to be able to go back and look at that year. Um, and I think from the children's point of view in years to come, to go back and revisit, that will be very interesting. Um.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, certainly.

Caroline Gatenby: I kept a daily diary as well that that year. And um, uh, I've parceled that up and um, I think that will be interesting to look back at. My dad did a daily diary for, oh, I think ever since I can remember. And, um, we've, we've got them [00:19:00] all in a box in the loft. So I ought to really go back and revisit those. 'Cause he took the time to write about his garden and what he was planting in the weather and all sorts. So maybe it's in the genes.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. That's so cool.

Caroline Gatenby: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: My grandmother did the same thing, but she did not pass those on. She wanted to make sure those were destroyed and nobody would ever see them.

Caroline Gatenby: Well, I, I did have a snapshot, uh, of, of looking through them one day, and a lot of it was garden related and weather related, but there were other things that were amusing that you'd put in there.

Jennifer Wilson: Certainly, yeah, that's a treasure to have.

Caroline Gatenby: Yes, exactly, exactly. I always joke with my two boys that they won't be interested in all these books I've made when, when I'm no longer here. But, uh, but they just laugh. They just laugh.

Jennifer Wilson: So I'm curious about talking a little bit more about the [00:20:00] formats. Um, you mentioned how size and storage is what has led you to turn more towards notebooks. But what is it about kind of pocket pages that you like so much and have you always done pocket pages or was there a time when you made traditional scrapbook layouts?

Caroline Gatenby: I did start by making 12 by twelves. And um, I was a very early subscriber when, um, April and Scarlet started Studio Calico and I used to get their monthly kits. And I did, used to do 12 by 12. But then I kept filling up all these albums and kept thinking, where am I going to put them? So, um, in 2011 I did, um, a, a layout every week and then a monthly roundup layout.

And I suppose that was what then led me [00:21:00] to Project Life. Because I thought, effectively that's what I'm doing. Um, and by doing it in the Project Life format, I think I switched to the Studio Calico, smaller kits that used to do then the document kits. And I really, I really stuck with that format for, for quite a few years. And then when they switched more to Travelers Notebooks. I just didn't, I thought, this isn't gonna give me enough space. So I think what I like about Project Life is in doing it in the pocket pages gives me more space. Um, and I can do as many pages as I want for each month, depending on what I have to document. There is no rule or there are no rules. And, um, I can incorporate my creativity by making lots of flip ups and flip outs and page dividers and, and so it gives me the best of everything, I [00:22:00] think.

Jennifer Wilson: Well isn't, yeah, that's what we always want in all of our experiences. You know, let's optimize this and make it the best of, of all the choices.

Caroline Gatenby: Yes, I, think so.

Jennifer Wilson: I love how you found that for yourself.

Caroline Gatenby: Thank you.

Jennifer Wilson: So in terms of the notebook format, this has been such an interesting, uh, format, style and approach to scrapbooking as it has evolved over the past, oh gosh. Uh, uh, I don't even know how many, how many years it is now. But really in the past, like five to seven years, it's become just such this thing. What are some pros and cons, uh, to the notebook format of, of all sizes from your perspective?

Caroline Gatenby: For me, I think, um, they're quite compact. I've said that they're easy to store. You've got a fixed number of pages that you're working with, so, um, you can chop them about, take pages out, add pages in. I do stitch bits in and, and take certain [00:23:00] things out. You don't need to have a huge stash, um, to, to fill a notebook. And, um, I, I made a conscious effort a few years ago to really, um, declutter and, and have much less stash than I used to have.

And I, I think that's a bonus of notebooks. You don't have to have a huge stash. Um, uh, I think they're easy to take with you if you wanna take them with you, which some people do. Um, uh, but there are things against them as well. I think if you are going to do something. You, you've got a set number of pages and so you've gotta make whatever your story you're going to tell fit that number of pages.

Um, that's easy with the Week In The Life notebooks because they come with some pages [00:24:00] pre-printed, so you have to make everything fit in. But I have also worked out ways of adding extra bits if I want, if I want them in those. Um, you must be careful with a notebook to minimize the bulk, um, because otherwise they don't shut very well.

And, and so I do, um, I do tend to print on copy paper if I'm inserting anything extra. And if I want to insert something thicker, I would cut a page out to offset that. Uh, and the paper isn't always that thick itself, so when you're stamping, you can find it bleeds through. So I had an issue, I've had an issue with that before. So I tend to now stamp on copy paper and stick it in so it doesn't bleed.

I think it, it's, it's got like everything else, it's got pros and cons, hasn't it? But for me, I, I really enjoy it for, [00:25:00] for travel and for, um, Week In The Life. And I, I did do December Daily once in a notebook. I was inspired a bit by Heidi Swapp to try and then do it. She, she does an awful lot in notebook style things, doesn't she?

But, um, I found that some things, if I was trying to do a Project Life, like the Stop The Blur, it was all just too small for me for that. But I enjoyed doing it for December Daily and, and fitting it in a notebook.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, and each time we try, you know, matching a story with a, with a type of project, we learn from that and we decide if we're gonna do it again, or we're gonna evolve and try something else. So.

Caroline Gatenby: Yeah, that's true.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm curious about the decluttering that you mentioned. How were you thinking about what that you really needed to keep versus what you were ready to let go of?

Caroline Gatenby: Uh, that, that's interesting actually. I, I suppose like a lot of scrapbookers I had dabbled in different [00:26:00] things. I'd had a go with, um, some Tim Holtz stuff. I'd done some die cuttings, some card making, and, and I thought I'd just looked at everything and thought, what am I not using now? So that's how I started.

Um, some projects like, um. I'd been using the same stash for December Daily for a few years. So I thought, right. I'm going to put all that in a box and, and, and put that on eBay and just have a fresh start with some new stuff. Just to reinvigorate my mind, I think. Because I don't buy things every year and, um,

I think that you, sometimes you just need that refresh, that refresh. So it was a bit more, I wasn't using all the spray paints, I wasn't using a lot of the texture paste and, and stencils and things like that, that I'd had a [00:27:00] go with. And so I thought, right, let's, let's get rid of that and let's look at what you're actually using.

Uh, and that, that's how I made the start.

Jennifer Wilson: And how did it feel in terms of like your space and your ability to, to do what you wanted to do afterwards?

Caroline Gatenby: I think it worked really well for me. Um, oh, it's a long time ago now. I also streamlined all my stamps and, and I think it was, it was Laura Wonsik who had suggested, and in a class I took over Ali Edwards, that you curate your own stamp sets of things that you, you know, that go together. And just simply sifting out what you weren't using and retaining and organizing what you do use. Is, is just, it made the creativity flow much better somehow. 'Cause you've less to look through. So you, you, you're going to make your [00:28:00] decisions faster. Um, Ali did a great class, um, stash class a couple of years ago and I had, um, I had a look at that and I reorganized all my embellishments into just into two boxes. 'Cause I don't have too many. But again, now it's easy to lift that box out. Look what I've got. Is there something I want? And it's much quicker.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh yeah. I think that that particular conversation around embellishment storage changed things for a lot of people. Because I similarly have them in little trays now, organized by shape mostly, I guess, I use them way more than I did in the past. 'Cause before they were all tucked away, usually like with a kit in a small envelope somewhere.

Caroline Gatenby: Exactly.

Jennifer Wilson: And now it's like, okay, I need a circle. I'm gonna go in my circle bin and look for a circle and oh, here's the one that fits this layout. And then I move on. So they get a lot more love now.

Caroline Gatenby: I, I'd reorganized my office. I'm [00:29:00] very fortunate. We have a small room downstairs, which I use as the office. And I got two, uh, white chests of drawers from Ikea and I thought basically everything's got to fit in those two sets of drawers. Um, that I want use all the time. Then of course, I did get a Raskog cart 'cause it didn't all fit in. Do you know crafter who doesn't?

Jennifer Wilson: Still a pretty compact stash. Yeah. I have two in my office.

Caroline Gatenby: Yeah, exactly, exactly. And then I do have what I call my craft cupboard upstairs for everything backup. Like, you know, the big things like the Silhouettes and the Minc machine and things. They're all upstairs and they come out occasionally. But just by putting everything within reach in this small space, um, I, I felt cleansed, I suppose, in a way that I could move on.

Much, much quicker and, and I'm enjoying things much more. For [00:30:00] me, obviously it's worked. I look at my pages and I think they're not super designed. But they're quite full. But that suits me. I'm being me and my style. And I've got, I think hung up in the past on everybody else wasn't doing it like me and things like that. Whereas now I just do what pleases me and think, well, this how I like to do it and if I want to use these, I'll use them and that's how I'm enjoying it more.

Jennifer Wilson: That's amazing. I love it. I love your perspective and mindset around it. One of the things I know you love to do is to sew on your projects. So can you talk about how your, your previous background as a home economics teacher and, and your personal sewing, how have you applied those skills to your scrapbooking?

Caroline Gatenby: I sew on everything, and I always have, when I look back at my older projects, I've realized that right from the word go, I was [00:31:00] sewing. And I hadn't realized I was. So that's interesting, isn't it? Yes. I suppose it's because I taught textiles and the machine is very familiar to me and it's such a great way to attach different weights of things securely and it's just easy. , So I do encourage people to use it. And I, I try to demystify it a bit really, because I think a lot of people are afraid, uh, of the sewing machine. Um, when I was a teacher, I remember writing a, a booklet for the 11 year olds how to pass the sewing machine driving test. I thought that if these children can do it, anybody can do it. So I've started sharing more about, as I say, demystifying the sewing machine. But I, I like the texture that it adds to, to things as [00:32:00] well. So you, you get in that different, uh, element, even a notebook, um, you know, you can still stitch.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I, I have to say that I don't think I've ever regretted adding, taking the time to do it. And then particularly around December Daily time is when I tend to have the sewing machine out the most. And it always just, as you said, adds that fun texture and just a different element to it. So I enjoy that myself. I can understand the intimidation though. I, I think I've probably broken a needle or two, so.

Caroline Gatenby: I, I have obviously because I bought my super duper machine years ago when I made my wedding dress and when I was first engaged. And I, I have used that, but then, uh, I just bought a cheap one for to use on paper that costs very little. And, and I, I think for sewing on paper, you can just try it with anything. You know, if you get a one at the thrift store or, or whatever, you can just have a go and, and it just [00:33:00] brings something different to, to the project. So I, I would encourage everyone to, to have a go if they can.

Jennifer Wilson: So if you had to recommend someone look for a used machine versus maybe one of the ones that's more of like a, a compact, you know, brand new, inexpensive machine. I, I'm guessing you might choose the, to go to the used one.

Caroline Gatenby: Well, I, I tend, yes, I think so. Because there are some out there that people aren't sewing like they used to. The generation previous, everybody had a sewing machine. And, and, and then people are coming back to it now. I think, uh, you know, with the make do and mend, I think more people are coming to sewing. But certainly in my upbringing, my, my mum made quite a few of our clothes and taught me to use the machine at a very early age, but it was a needs must generation.

I think they made everything. [00:34:00] And we're a bit of a throwaway generation and I think people are turning that round now aren't, they. And so sewing machines are becoming much more, much more popular.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, and I think we're seeing all the downstream impacts of the, of being a unfortunately throwaway generation and lack of longevity of our products.

Caroline Gatenby: My younger son, he went to dance school in London and um, when he was younger, I used to make all his costumes and he sew pretty early on. And when he was in pantomimes and things, when he was working, he could then, you know, turn his hand to help repair mend and, and, and he sews. So he very active, uh, online and he, sews and, and, um, he was saying a lot, a lot of people are taking it back up in that generation.

Jennifer Wilson: That's wonderful to hear.

Caroline Gatenby: Hmm.

Jennifer Wilson: Any other tips that you would share for someone who wants to [00:35:00] start sewing on their scrapbooking?

Caroline Gatenby: Um, I think the, the thing to remember about sewing on paper is not to have the stitch too small, because if the holes are too close together, it'll just rip. So, um, so, um, have, have a stitch that's a length three or something like that. That's probably bigger than you would do on fabric. Um, so that it doesn't tear.

And if you are doing, trying to do an embroidery stitch or a zigzag, if those stitches are closed together on paper again, it'll probably just tear. So that, that's an important thing. Um, another tip would be if you do use it for fabric as well as paper, keep, keep a separate needle for each. Because paper blunts, um, your needle.

And I never stick something [00:36:00] temporarily and then stitch over it because the adhesive gets on the needle and then it sticks. And that means that you often end up with machine not working correctly. So I would say they're, they're some useful tips actually for sewing on paper.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, those are all excellent and probably mistakes that I have all made and had to learn from along the way.

Caroline Gatenby: Well, I tend to use mini bulldog clips or quilting clips to hold things together whilst I sew them. Um, and and you do have, definitely have more control if you're sitting than standing. I've seen a lot of people do sewing standing up on paper. Because it's just so quick and they want it to be done and finished. But I I, I have mine on the top of my Raskog cart and I do still sit down and you've just got that bit more control when you're sitting than you have when you're standing because [00:37:00] you're, you're controlling your foot as well. So effectively you're trying to stand on one leg whilst pressing with the other leg and control with your hands. So it can go horribly wrong.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, no doubt. Now the point you mentioned about, uh, having separate needles for paper and fabric, that goes the same for our scissors, right?

Caroline Gatenby: Oh, definitely, definitely. My children will tell you you risk the wrath if you walk off with the fabric scissors. I'm still, I'm still using the fabric scissors I took to, uh, uni, uh, back in the early eighties. So, yes, I've guarded those with my life. But, uh, yes. That's, that's how to upset, a a sewer is to walk off with their fabric scissors.

Jennifer Wilson: I, I learned that at a very young age as well from my mom and my grandma. So.

Caroline Gatenby: Yes. The children will tell you that.

Jennifer Wilson: So, kind of almost on the opposite end here, in terms [00:38:00] of the creative spectrum, you also love including hybrid elements in your projects. So what are the, the situations when you turn to your computer for the creative solution?

Caroline Gatenby: Um, I've, I've learned, I suppose, relatively recently, um, how to do hybrid. Uh, I, I have an old copy of Photoshop Elements and I've dabbled in it over the years. And I took couple of classes over at Ali Edwards, which were fantastic. Um, but I would go to that if I need more than one of something, or I wanna change the color of something, or I wanna change the size of something.

And certainly since I started destashing, I tend to buy digitals, um, for stamps rather than the physical stamps. In which case I would stamp it, um, and print it. And then put it in my project. I think [00:39:00] more and more as you said, postage and tariffs are intervening. That the hybrid is going to be, certainly for us in the UK to access some, uh, of the things you have available over there. It's gonna be, uh, more easily, through the hybrid than it is through, um, physical product. But I, I do like to change color and size, and I, again, I've just been sharing a few tips on YouTube because I think, again, people are afraid of Photoshop. And, and sometimes it is really easy to do something.

Um, and I'm not saying I'm doing it right, but this is how I make it work. If, if it helps you have a go sort of thing.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I think there's this kind of feeling that some people have that you have to learn how to use the software, all of it, every feature in order to use it for the one thing that you wanna do. [00:40:00] And so, no, you just need to know those, this, these small number of features, how to move things around, how to create some text, how to, how the layers work.

That's really, if you can understand the layers, you probably can do everything else. You don't need to understand the ins and outs of it. And I've been using it for, oh my gosh, since like 1995 now. I think. So, but I still don't know all the things. And I would not consider myself an expert by any means.

Caroline Gatenby: I, I, I'm not an expert and I don't know all the shortcuts, but I just make it, it work for me. And if I want a digital paper for December Daily, but I'm only gonna use one outta that pack, then I wouldn't buy the whole physical pack just to get that one paper. And I mean, that's relatively easy to just print that out.

But that, that's an example of, you know, just where I, I wouldn't always, um, be able to afford to buy every product, but hybrid is certainly a [00:41:00] way of accessing things for me that, that, uh, I might not be able to, to get physically.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, and I think both in, in terms of the notebook format and pockets, hybrid works really well because you're, you're not looking for as much dimension because you want it to fit and be compact.

Caroline Gatenby: That's true. And I think that, um, the class I took with Jenny over Ali Edwards, she, she just cut things out and then them with, um, with three dimensional, um, sticky pads and things. So you have the option, don't you?

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, no doubt. So to start wrapping up here, what project are you working on next?

Caroline Gatenby: Well, with the holdup, with the kits, this, uh, at this particular moment. I've just got my, um, July, August and September kit all together this week in the UK. So.

Jennifer Wilson: Gosh.

Caroline Gatenby: So I've, I'd already done my July [00:42:00] kit hybrid. So, Project Life is up to date for July, so my next thing is to start August. Um, and so I'm gonna be, that's my first, um, my first priority is to start documenting August in my Project Life.

Um, I'm also, um, making my son's wedding invitations at the moment for next year. Getting those printed off. I still haven't documented, um, a trip we took to Switzerland in April. So that's on my list. A little travel album for Switzerland. I've got a baby quilt to make for my niece who's expecting, um. On the 3rd of January. And then I'm getting about all this December Daily prep that everybody's talking about.

So I think I've got quite a few things on my upcoming projects list the moment. But there, [00:43:00] there is no timeline really. I, uh, I just enjoy doing it when, when I can.

Jennifer Wilson: It sounds like a full plate of fun. I mean, yeah. Uh, not much to complain about.

Caroline Gatenby: I, I've, I've got plenty to keep me busy. And if the weather's gonna turn here in the UK, which we're obviously heading into autumn. You have a few more days where you can sit in, sit inside, and enjoy, enjoy the crafting. We don't get an awful lot of sunny days, but we've had a really good summer this year, so I suppose there's, um, there's been, uh, more opportunities to be, uh, out and away in the caravan and things. So, uh, I'm looking forward to some autumn scrapbooking.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, maybe that was a, a silver lining to the kit delays is so you had the chance to make more memories so.

Caroline Gatenby: And actually it fell, it fell really well with the Week In The Life. I was able to really major on that and get that done. And so that, [00:44:00] that was great because I had a project I could do so. So that worked really well.

Jennifer Wilson: Wonderful. Wonderful. Well, Caroline, this has been such a great conversation. Can you share where our listeners can find you online?

Caroline Gatenby: Oh, thank you. Well, I share mostly on Instagram. Uh, I'm cannycrafter over on Instagram, I've been on there, as you say from the start. I used to have, um, a blog, uh, years ago called Canny Crafter and I lost it, trying to transfer it over from Blogger to WordPress. So literally I just, uh, share most things on Instagram now so you can find me over there.

And since Christmas, um, I've been trying to share more on my YouTube account. Uh, I have a crafty friend called Sandra, who I met through Instagram, and she encouraged me to start sharing on [00:45:00] YouTube. So I have, I have her to thank. Uh, as well as my son, obviously my youngest son who's taught me how to make reels because I didn't know how to do that. But he's really digitally savvy because he does a lot with his job. So I'm mostly on Instagram, but I do have some things on YouTube.

Jennifer Wilson: Wonderful, wonderful. We'll include both of those links in the show notes for this episode.

Caroline Gatenby: Oh, thank you.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Thank you again for spending time with me. I really, really appreciate it.

Caroline Gatenby: Oh, thank you. It's been a joy and I, I've loved talking scrapbooking with somebody. That's, that's been great.

Jennifer Wilson: No doubt I can do that till the end of time.

Caroline Gatenby: Thanks very much.

Jennifer Wilson: And to all of our listeners, please remember that you have permission to Scrapbook Your Way.