SYW305 – Larking About with Franky Shanahan

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 305. In this episode, Franky Shanahan returns to the show to share how scrapbooking opened the door to new hobbies and personal growth. She discusses the joys and challenges of being a beginner as well as how she balances family life with documenting memories.

Hey Franky, welcome back to Scrapbook Your Way.

Franky Shanahan: Thank you for having me. It's really exciting to be here again.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes, I am looking forward to [00:01:00] our conversation and checking in on you. Can you remind our audience a little bit about yourself?

Franky Shanahan: Sure. Um, so my name's Franky. I run a copywriting business called Love Audrey, and I'm sort of known by that name online quite widely. That's my Instagram handle. So, um, yeah, that's, there's a little, sometimes a little bit of confusion about whether my name's Franky or Audrey, but yeah. Um, I'll answer to both.

Um, I live in Bristol, in the southwest of the UK, uh, which is, um, a city about two and a half, three hours from London. Um, and I live with my husband Carl, and we have two children. Um, our eldest Isabel, is 20 and she's currently at drama school in London, just coming to the end of her first year there. Um, and our [00:02:00] youngest Jessie has just finished,

literally last week he's just finished his GCSEs, which here they're, they mark the end of secondary school. Um, so, uh, he's got a very long summer break ahead of him. And, um, then he'll be going to, um, college in the autumn to study professional cooking. So he wants to be a chef. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: How fun.

Franky Shanahan: I'm looking forward to, um, eating all lots of free food in my future, thanks to his, uh, chefing.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes, I bet. I bet. I was just curious, will your daughter come home for the summer after this term, or will she stay in London?

Franky Shanahan: Yeah, she, she'll, she'll come home certainly for some of it. She has to move into new accommodation for her second year. So they, they have the use of the house. She's in a shared house at the moment. Um, there's sort of, I think six [00:03:00] of them all together. So it's quite a, quite a, a packed, um, student house and then,

um, they have the lease runs out at the end of August. So, um, we sort of have to do a bit of back and forth and moving her into her new accommodation and things. But she'll definitely come back to Bristol for some of it. And we're going on a family holiday, the, the four of us. So yeah, she'll, she'll be back for some of it.

Jennifer Wilson: Oh, how fun. Yeah. It seems like this is kind of a, a transitional point of like, you're not quite an empty nester, but you know, your children are spreading their wings and, and figuring out their lives.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah, we're definitely, we're definitely on the way. And, um, yeah, I sort of been describing myself as a, a partial empty nester.

Jennifer Wilson: Uhhuh.

Franky Shanahan: For the last year. It's definitely been, um, even though it's just one of them that's, that's left it, it really changes the, the whole dynamic of the household. And, um, you know, just at a very basic level, for the first time in my life, I'm outnumbered [00:04:00] by men, uh, in, in my own home.

So I've definitely felt, um, yeah, that, that, that's sort of been a different experience. We've always had a nice equal balance. Um, and I grew up in a house. It was just my mom and, and my sister and me. So it was a very female house household. Um, so yeah, it's been different not having Izzy here.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, fun observations you can include in your scrapbooking. Um, I'm curious if you have anything, uh, favorite, like what's a recent layout or project that you've really loved working on?

Franky Shanahan: It feels strange to mention it, uh, in the summer, but it's, um, not that long since I finished my December Daily 2024. So I always work on mine after December and I kind of, I kind of use the first few months of the year, the, [00:05:00] you know, when it's still winter and pretty miserable here in the UK to work on my December Daily.

And I always aim to be finished by kind of March, April, which is when spring finally arrives. But I took a little bit longer this year and I really only finished it, I think it was like the first weekend of May. So it feels quite recent. Um, but yeah, I loved, I loved December Daily and I love the feeling of completing that album and, um. Lots of hard work and and effort. And then it's kind of all done and you can it away and take a couple of months off and then start getting excited to do it all over again.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes, that's very true. We, we do do that to ourselves, but that's part of, part of the joy, and particularly I'll ask you a little bit later about kind of this idea of repeating projects and why we love doing that. But before we get there, another icebreaker question. Is there something new that you're excited to do, use or try either inside of [00:06:00] scrapbooking or in your everyday life?

Franky Shanahan: Well, this year a big focus for me and sort of, I guess you could say, um, a new hobby of mine is gardening. Um. we of finally got round to renovating our outdoor space. Um, it was sort of March, April time. Um, and we've been in the h we've been in this house for sort of 13 years now. And, um. It's got a very, I don't know, it's probably, I don't know how, if it's easy for Americans to imagine, but we live in, it's just a sort of quite a small terraced house and the, it's obviously in a city.

The garden is not a big space. It's a small urban garden. Um, and it previously was just all decking and I didn't really have any space to, to grow anything. Um, and I used to sort of, you know, I had a few pots and things, but it wasn't a particularly inspiring space. And, [00:07:00] um, it was mostly dedicated to the children and having, you know, a bit, a little patch of outdoor space where they could do what kids do outside, you know. Um, but we were finally able to renovate it properly earlier this year. And we put in some raised beds and I've really just gone all in, uh, on learning about gardening. Learning as much as I can and about growing things. And, um, and I've just been loving it. It's just, just brilliant and, um, I think, yeah, it's been more joyful than I even imagined it would be. I knew, I, I knew, you know, I knew it would be good for my mental health to have an outside space and, um, but yeah, it's been even more impactful I think, than I imagined it would be. And I'm really excited to make a scrapbook about that process and about my first, my first year of, [00:08:00] um, of growing and yeah, the process and, um, what that's been like and the, yeah, the transformation.

I've got some really good before and after photos and, and the, the difference is quite dramatic, so yeah, I'm excited to do that.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, there's something special about being a beginner. And I'm wondering like, okay, so if we think back and, and for our audience to give some context here, we chatted back three years ago on episode 162 where you were a new scrapbooker. Now you're a new gardener. I'm curious if there was something new that came before scrapbooking.

Franky Shanahan: No, I think, I think, um, scrapbooking was kind of the gateway to trying new things. And I think I remember saying to you that one of the things that motivated me to return to scrapbooking 'cause I had sort of dabbled in it previously and as a child and things. But one of the things that prompted me to sort of explore it again as an adult was that I [00:09:00] realized that I was the only person in my house who didn't have a hobby.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Franky Shanahan: And I think it, kind of opened the floodgates to wanting to try new things and learn new skills. And have creative outlets or things that were just for me that I did just for fun. Um, and yes, I, I would say scrapbooking was the, the beginning of that. And it also that, you know, I think when we spoke, I'd only been scrapbooking for about six months. Um, so I was really new. And I think it that helped, that process helped me get comfortable or Yeah, feel more comfortable being a beginner. Because it's not, it's not something that happens very often as an adult unless, unless you actively seek out that experience. You know, there's a period of our lives when we're growing up, when we're, you know, children or when we're starting out in a career where we are being, we are forced to be a beginner many times. [00:10:00] Um, and then that kind of just goes away.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, it's like it's a muscle you have to keep using to, um, to keep strong.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah. And I think that, um, scrapbooking helped me. Yeah, work that muscle and it gave me a little bit more, yeah, made me, made me braver to, to try other things, to try other hobbies as well. And I'd say gardening. Yeah. That's sort of the result of that really.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, it's beautiful and I can't wait to kind of see how your garden unfolds. I have yet not gotten that kind of inspiration. I feel very increasingly indoorsy, but I'm happy to let my husband, uh, take on the gardening as he becomes maybe increasingly more outdoorsy and, um, is enjoying tending that part of our life. So I just appreciate it. I guess.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah. Um, my, my mom is not a gardener, but my, um, my stepdad very much is, and, and she, [00:11:00] that's her hobby, is enjoying the fruits of his labor, I think.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Franky Shanahan: Sitting in the beautiful garden that he creates for her. So.

Jennifer Wilson: There. There's something to be said for that too. So when we last chatted, you've been scrapbooking, as you said, for about six months. What does your hobby look like then, and what does it look like now?

Franky Shanahan: Um, that's a good question. I, I was mainly working in I think when we spoke, I was mainly working in, um, travelers notebooks. I was using a lot of, um, Studio Calico supplies, which obviously sadly, um, no longer really exist in the same, quite in the, in the same format. Um, I'd made, I think I'd made a scrapbook about the previous summer, so summer 2021.

I'd scrapbook a lot of stories and memories from, from that summer. And I was partway through working on my first December [00:12:00] Daily. Um, which I had yeah, discovered in the autumn of 2021. I had allowed myself to buy a very small amount of supplies. Um, because I was kind of like, oh, I dunno if I'm gonna like this. And obviously shopping.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Franky Shanahan: Ordering from the UK, you know, it's not the cheap, it's not the cheapest, you know, the, the shipping and things as expensive. So I was really, I was really apprehensive about spending too much money because I didn't know if I was gonna enjoy it or if it, you know, I would do it. Um, and yeah, I was kind of, just getting to grips with that project for the first time and, um, watching a lot of YouTube videos and learning a lot about all the different projects. I think I remember saying to you that I didn't, I hadn't quite fully grasped the, sort of the flow of projects throughout the year. All the sort of different document, different opportunities for [00:13:00] documenting or community documenting. And um, yeah, I was just really in a phase of just learning what the hobby could be. Rather than, yeah, I wasn't sort of fully in it yet. I don't think in, in a way I was still still figuring, figuring out what I wanted to do and, um, what I enjoyed and what sort of fit in with my lifestyle. Was also quite sort of, I would say, kind of quite offline with it. I wasn't really sharing.

Any much of what I was doing anywhere online. Um, I was posting a little bit about it on, on Instagram. But more from the point of view of, um, focusing on the fact that I was trying a new hobby, not really sort of necessarily sharing the things I was making or, um, I, I kept it a bit more sort of private to begin with.

I, I wanted it, I didn't want it to be sort of part of all the other content that I put out as part of my, my sort of work, work persona [00:14:00] online. so yeah, it was, yeah, I was just very much in a learning phase and figuring things out.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm curious if that December Daily project, um, participating with others, you know, acquiring supplies, like really diving into that, shifted the way you were scrapbooking after that.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah, I, I would say so. Um, I think I, it was a, it was a really good way to discover lots of, um, people within the community, uh, especially on, especially on youTube and, um, Instagram as well. And just, I, yeah, lots of different styles, different ways of approaching it, um, and, yeah, it definitely, I, I, it definitely sort of, I, I was pretty hooked after that. And I, I realized as well that I, I, I knew that I'd made it a little bit harder for myself [00:15:00] by not buying more.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Franky Shanahan: I definitely, after, after that project, I felt because I was able to complete it and, and I really enjoyed it, it definitely, it sort of legitimized it for me a little bit. It made me think, okay, no, I, I can invest in this hobby. Um, I am using the supplies. I am enjoying it. There are multiple benefits. So yeah, it was, it definitely was a real. Um, yeah. Helped kind of, yeah, pulled me in. Pulled me in, and then that was it.

Jennifer Wilson: And then kind of, yeah, set you loose from there.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: So obviously you've, um, one of the big things is, is the growth of your children and, you know, you, uh, spreading your own wings and figuring out the next, uh, the next passions that you have. But has anything else changed in your life in this past three years that maybe has impacted your time, energy, and motivation for [00:16:00] scrapbooking?

Franky Shanahan: I would say, I mean the world has changed a lot. Uh, it's, it's really easy, I think to forget we, the last time we spoke, it was very early 2022 and I, I, you know, I dunno what it was like where you are, but very, here we were still very much in the pandemic. I mean, it was, we, we, you know. Life still wasn't back to normal at that point here.

And my children's schooling was disrupted for quite a while. Um, beyond that, that point as well. So it wasn't, it wasn't normal, it life at that point for us really. Um, so, and that's changed obviously massively. Um, and I think we, we still weren't really able to travel or anything like at that point really very much.

I mean, we did go away. We were able to, to go away later that year, later in 2022. I [00:17:00] think they, the first trip we took was we went to visit my sister in Australia. The minute they opened the borders to Australia, we booked um, flights. 'Cause she was pregnant with her first baby and we hadn't seen her in three years.

By the time. Um, yeah, by the time the border has reopened in Australia. So yeah, I think it's really easy to forget how different life was at at that point. Um, and yeah, I suppose the biggest change really is that my children have grown up a lot in, in that time. It's a period of rapid growth and change those late teenage years, I think.

And um, you know, I definitely have an adult child now, which is a different, a different experience. Um, and like, yeah, like you said, I'm not quite an empty nester, but I'm on my [00:18:00] way to being one. And hobbies and scrapbooking in particular have become, I think, really important to me. Because of that, because I do have a lot more time to myself. You know, I joke sometimes that I've, you know, I'm becoming a bit obsolete. No, you know, people don't need me like they did, um, you know, 3, 5, 10 years ago. So it is, it is a different season of life. A very different season. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: My daughter is 13, almost 14, and I'm just trying to wrap my brain around, uh, her being an adult within four years.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: And I'm like, how, how does this, this, this little person become? And she's so mature in some ways, and so still a little girl and others. Um, and so it's, just i'm, I'm holding on for the ride, I guess.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah. It, it's, it just sneaks up on you. It's, you know. It, it just happens very fast and sort of all, you [00:19:00] know, not very slowly and then very fast all at once. And you do sort of suddenly realize that, you know, um, they're, they're suddenly very grown up and yeah. It's exciting though as well.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah. Oh yeah. You feel like you've, I mean, you've done your, your, primary job as a parent is to raise them to become functional, you know, happy adults, right? So,

Franky Shanahan: Yeah. Roots. Roots and wings. That's what I always say. That's the job, isn't it? Give them roots and give them wings to, to fly away.

Jennifer Wilson: I, I love that, that metaphor. That's really beautiful. Um, so I'm curious, what things have you experimented with, tried out for yourself, and what worked well and maybe what did not work as well?

Franky Shanahan: So, um. I still love working in notebooks. But I haven't stuck to this traveler's notebook format. I tend to use a more sort of, uh, I [00:20:00] think it would be A5. I, I think, is it A5?? They call it a medium. I use, and I can never pronounce the German name of this brand, but I mostly use, is it the, I, I don't even know how to start to pronounce it.

Jennifer Wilson: Leuchtturm?

Franky Shanahan: Yes, yes. I knew you'd, I knew you'd be good at, I knew you'd be able to do it.

Jennifer Wilson: I dunno if I'm saying it right, but that's just how I

Franky Shanahan: How you would say it.

Jennifer Wilson: I'm sure we'll have some German listeners correct us.

Franky Shanahan: So it sounds right to me. Yeah. I, I tend to use what they call their medium size notebook for a lot of my scrapbooks. Especially, um, travel scrapbooks. Which is one of my favorite things to, um, work on. Um, I use the sort of the dot grid and usually a soft cover notebook.

Um. And I, I love working in those. And I've also really grown to love, um, six by eight albums. And that is from December Daily. Um, that was the, the first time [00:21:00] I used that. And I really enjoy, uh, working in that size. Um, and I really, I've, I think from maybe the second time I participated in December Daily, I really, I really got into sort of adding more interactive elements into my pages and I love doing that.

I love kind of creating flip outs or, um, just yeah, different, different sort of, yeah, interactive elements on the page. And in terms of things that I've tried that I didn't get on with, I'd probably say, and I feel like this is what is very common for people to say on this podcast, but it's probably mixed media.

Yeah. Um, and, yeah, for, for the, I think for similar reasons that other people have voiced before, but it just doesn't really fit well into, [00:22:00] um, my lifestyle and how I have to scrapbook. So I scrapbook at the same desk that I work at. 'Cause I work from home, so there's a lot of, packing my work stuff away and then pulling my scrapbook stuff out and. Um, I just, yeah, I can't sort of, don't really have the space to leave things drying or, um, make as much mess as mixed media sort of creates, I think.

Um, so I leave that to other people. Um, I love, I love watching other people and obviously. Yeah. I love seeing it when people bring it into their projects, but it just doesn't, doesn't fit for me.

Jennifer Wilson: So early on when I did not really have a workspace and I was transitioning from being digital to a paper scrapbooker, I discovered the beauty of a box. So anything that I was going to [00:23:00] do that was like, back then, it was all about the misting, but I was also doing some stencils and some other things, or even just letting something dry, just having a designated like, messy box. Gave me an ability to like, contain it. It couldn't get on other things. And then I could also put that box somewhere where it'd be out of the reach of, of children and pets. Um, to dry if I need it. Not that I want to like force you into mixed media, but for those who maybe are, uh, feeling like their circumstances make it harder, that is one strategy that worked for me.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah. Yeah, no, that's, that's a good way to approach it. And actually, I, in my latest December Daily, I finally had a go at heat embossing, and that's quite, that's kind of quite. You know, there's a potential for mess or the supplies are a little bit more involved. And, um, and I have actually started [00:24:00] to work downstairs, our dining table a little bit.

And that is partly because with my, yeah, with the children being older, that's more realistic now. Like I could, I can have stuff out and not worry that someone's gonna, you know, spill juice on it or, you know, that kind of thing. So, maybe it's in my future, maybe I'll go back to it, but.

Jennifer Wilson: I just wanted to share that last December I accidentally spilled like almost half a jar of glitter embossing powder on the floor. I don't even know how it happened. I think it was a cat or I sneezed, or it was just a weird circumstance and there's still glitter going everywhere.

Franky Shanahan: Oh Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not completely anti mess. Um, but I do like to feel like I can contain it or clear the decks quickly if I need to just because I have to work in the same space that I create in, I think. And yeah, but who knows?

Jennifer Wilson: So [00:25:00] we know that you are continuing to enjoy December Daily. I'm assuming you're gonna plan on doing it again this year.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah, definitely.

Jennifer Wilson: And are there any other projects that you've enjoyed kind of revisiting?

Franky Shanahan: So I've done, I've joined in for the last few years, uh, with Little Summer Joys. Have you? Yeah. Um, so Summer is my favorite time of year.

Absolutely love it. And, um, I, I really love documenting our summer. Um, not just, not just travel, but just, yeah, the, sort of the things that I look forward to all year.

The things that when I think of them, that's what gets me through winter. Um, because I don't like winter at all. So, um. Yeah, I love, I love documenting them and that's been a really nice project to, to do repeatedly. Um, and it's been a, yeah, that's been a nice way to sort [00:26:00] of, um, capture the children growing up a little bit as well.

And travel scrapbooks is something that I continue to do. Um, I have like a , a notebook. It's kind of a perpetual notebook just for mini breaks and day trips that I add to whenever we go anywhere. Um, and I love doing that. And then for sort of longer, holidays, I will do sort of standalone scrapbook as well.

Jennifer Wilson: And so do you have an idea of how you want to approach your upcoming travel?

Franky Shanahan: I've actually been agonizing over it a little bit because, um, I, I'm feeling quite drawn to doing a six by eight album just because it's a 10 day trip, which is sort of the longest trip.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Franky Shanahan: Done in a, in a few years. Um, and I keep looking at my notebooks. Um. And how [00:27:00] chunky they are and trying to work out if I could fit 10 days in one. So we went to Paris last year during the Olympics, and I think we were there for five days. And it's definitely over half full. And I'm just really, I just trying to work out if it would, if 10 days will fit in a notebook or not, and whether, or whether I should just do a six by eight album, um, and give myself more space.

Jennifer Wilson: That's a tough call. I think you have to, you'd have to plan it out to make sure it fits. Rather than hoping, because then you might end up with not enough space at the end.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah. Yeah. Um, yeah, and also just waiting to see what this year's, um, travel collection is like from Ali Edwards. 'Cause I really, I really love, um, her travel collections. So I think.

Jennifer Wilson: Maybe will make the decision for you.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah. Um, but I'm, I'm [00:28:00] excited. Uh, that is, I love travel scrapbooking so much. So, um, whatever format I end up with, I know I'll enjoy, I'll enjoy putting it together.

Jennifer Wilson: No doubt. Yes. I think that's, I think that's a really common thread. Um. Even folks who maybe are more interested in, let's say, like relationship or personality, scrapbooking versus everyday life. I think travel tends to be something that is kind of a universal desire. 'Cause you know, these, these are special adventures that we take. Some of us take more than others and some, um, but when we do get to take them that change of scenery makes it, you know, all the more impactful, I think.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah, and I think for me it's when I feel like I have the most head space for the creativity. Yeah. And, and just, I think especially for photography, like I feel like I take my best photos on holiday, not just because, you know, potentially you're somewhere [00:29:00] beautiful. Or there's, you know, but I just have more head space to be a bit more intentional and really think about how I'm gonna capture things and what I want to remember.

And, you know, there's just, you're more relaxed, hopefully. So I think it's just, it's just a different type of documenting, isn't it? To, um, capturing things every day, not, no, you know, not that one is more important than the other, but, um, I just, I just enjoy that. I, I enjoy the head space and the opportunity to lean into that part of the hobby as well.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I think we can't underscore enough this, the idea that when you do get away, we tend to think differently, act differently, come up with ideas like, uh, and maybe find some sort of new, like motivation or intentions for when we come back. I don't know. There's something like really, really powerful about it, and I think as long as you're paying attention, there's a lot to learn from it? I don't know. [00:30:00] I, at least that's the way my experience always is, so.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah, it's, it's like a big reset, isn't it? Like a big reset button. I think, you know, if you are able to have a relaxing holiday, that's, it's a big sort of creative reset almost sometimes.

Jennifer Wilson: No doubt. So you've been creating content as part of your copywriting business for a long time. Um, but recently you started a Substack called Larking About what are you writing about there?

Franky Shanahan: I mean, mostly scrapbooking. But also sort of creativity and creative play more generally. Um, and, and my hobbies. Um, but yeah, a lot of, a lot of scrapbooking is being written about over there.

Jennifer Wilson: And kind of what, what, nudged you to say, I need a different place to write about this than other places that you already had.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah. So. In 2024, I chose as my word of the [00:31:00] year, at the beginning of the year I chose play. And I made a conscious decision to prioritize creative play for the whole of 2024. Um, and it was such a positive thing that I did, and it was so transformative in so many ways, and I learned so much from doing that. That I just really needed to write about it.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Franky Shanahan: That's my, that's kind of my default. That's how I ended up doing what I do anyway, is how, you know, I, I was, I started a blog at the time that everybody was starting blogs and it was always about writing about the things that were, um, inspiring me or, you know, lighting me up or sparking my creativity.

And I think that, um, I just realized that I had a lot to say about these things. And I did [00:32:00] at one point start a separate Instagram account and sort of had a go at sharing over there about scrapbooking. But I, I mean, I really admire people who can run multiple Instagram accounts. I can't. It's just too much.

Um, and I think my, sort of business slash personal Instagram account takes up a lot of my time and energy and, and, and creativity. And I just couldn't juggle two. But I was, yeah, I, I wasn't writing, writing sort of anything, um, long form about, um, scrapbooking or about my hobbies more generally. Um, so Substack felt like a good place to do that.

Um, I didn't want to put it on my blog and kind of confuse the content over there, which has to be a little bit more business focused. Um, so, so Substack arrived for me at, at a good [00:33:00] time, or I discovered Substack, I should say. It's actually much older than people realize. I think it's been around longer than people realize, I think.

But um, yeah, I discovered it and I can definitely see a bit of a scrapbooking community emerging over there. Um. You know, Ali Edwards is writing there now. Um, and, uh, Kristen, Are You, Kristen? Kristen Tweedale. Is it her surname? I think? Yeah, she's over there as well. Um, writing every day. Um, about her daily pages and shares, her daily pages practice over there every day. Um, and I am, I'm slowly finding people and I definitely think there's a community emerging over there as well.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, it's such an interesting thing. It, it very much reminds me of those early days of, of blogging when it seemed somehow so easy to find people and, and find all these blogs to read, and, and nowadays it doesn't, it doesn't seem that way. So I think Substack kind of [00:34:00] recreates some of that, that natural connection that we had.

Franky Shanahan: Definitely and also there, um, what they call Substack notes. Which is, is, very similar to early Twitter, feels like to me. So I feel like that's another place where people are connecting. Um, and it does, it does definitely sort of hark back to an earlier internet time, um, in a lot of ways. Um, I do think the platform does, has so many ways that you can use it, that it can be a little bit overwhelming and if you're not familiar with it.

It can sort of, people can be confused by it, and I think it's useful to just know that you don't have to do everything. It is ultimately an, an email platform. So you can just have what people write, arrive in your inbox and not engage with it in any other way if you don't [00:35:00] want to.

Um. But you can also sort of go to people's publications and read them like you used to read a blog. Or you can have the app and you can use the notes function, which is a bit like Twitter and you know, so I think it's kind of, you don't have to do it all, but there's a lot of ways you can interact with it if you want to.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. And it's like, you know, we're talking about trying something new and being a beginner at something. Like there's that, that sense of, uh, fresh start over there to a degree. And I, I, yeah, I'm excited to see what happens.

Franky Shanahan: Definitely, yeah, there's, um, it, I've, I've felt like a beginner over there as well for the last, um, six months. And I, it was also, but it was also good to realize that the fundamentals of it. Uh, you probably, you probably already have the skillset. So I was very anxious about [00:36:00] joining the platform and you know how to use it.

And then as soon as I did, I just felt like, oh no, I know how to do this. This is just long form writing. I've been doing this for a decade. I know what I'm doing. It's just a different means of communication. But the, you know, I know how to write a post.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes. I'm curious how writing helps you get organized, and I realize that's, that's a big question. But how does, like, how does it help you wrap your brain around all the things swirling in your head, um, your plans, your ideas, and I realize, yeah, that's a, that's kind of an open-ended, big question. But I, I think there's something that's, that's some good truth there.

Franky Shanahan: I love this question. Um, I think writing is how I process things, everything. It always has been, I think. From when I was very young. And I think it helps me figure out how I feel [00:37:00] about things. What my priorities are. It helps me assimilate ideas and think about how I can incorporate things I'm learning into my creative practice or my everyday life.

And I think as well that, you know, if we are talking about writing that reaches other people, you then have the benefit of, you know, potentially having feedback from other people and hearing their perspective and having them either tell you that the way you are thinking is, you know, or they're thinking the same thing or they'll help you look at it another way.

Um, so I think, yeah, it plays a huge part in that, in, in how I organize my thoughts and process them and set goals. I think especially. And explore things. In, particularly in scrapbooking and, and in my sort of creative practice. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, to me it seems like very natural, the path that you've gone on. As you get more involved in the hobby, the more, [00:38:00] uh, thoughts we have. And if writing is your default for how you process these, we have to have a place to put it. Um, and if there happens to be a place that adds the benefit of, of community and interaction and and dialogue, then that's, you know, just, just a cherry on top. So I, I totally get that. Um, as someone else who often feels like I need to write this down to figure it out.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: So a couple different posts I want to mention. You recently, uh, had one that talked about your craft planner. Um, and many of our listeners will kind of know this to be similar to what we call a creative hub. And, and you said my hobby feels even more fulfilling now I have a craft planner to keep me on track. Can you talk more about what you include in this planner and the benefits you found of it?

Franky Shanahan: Yeah. So I started using a craft planner back in March last year. Um, I, I knew I wanted to at the beginning of the year, but it took me three months to get my act together. [00:39:00] And set it up and start using it. Um, and I was very much inspired by some conversations that I'd heard on this podcast. And also, um, by, uh, Linda Loves Creating, she's done a few YouTube videos about how she, um, I think she uses a Hobonichi um.

To, to as her, to have her craft planner, that's, she keeps it and uses it in that format. Um, so I was inspired by those and wanted to try it. Um, and I sort of decided to do it in a sort of, I suppose, like a bullet journal style really. I just use a notebook and I stamp out my own headings and my own sort of layouts.

Um, and I've. I'm now sort of obviously into my second year of, of using one. Um, and I've kept the same sort of setup. So I have a page at the beginning with, um, sort of projects and goals that I want to work [00:40:00] on this year. So, um, yeah, list of the projects that I hope to either, participate in you know, with, collectively with the rest of the community. Or, um, for example, one of the projects on my list this year is to complete Week In The Life from last year.

Um, 'cause I joined in with the documenting but didn't put my album together. So that's another project that was on my list for this year. And then I set myself some goals, particular sort of creative goals, crafty goals. Um, things that I wanted to try or, you know, um, take a scrapbook, online scrapbook class or those, those sorts of things.

Um, and then I set a page up every month, um, with my sort of to-do list for that month to move me towards finishing the projects that I want to finish. Um, and then for those bigger projects as well, like December Daily, [00:41:00] um, I have kind of, uh, an overarching list for that project as well. So, you know, 25 stories, tick, tick it off as I finish it kind of thing.

Um. And then I also have sort of space to add notes, um, and useful information, you know, photo dimensions, and um, things I, you know, if I watch, if I do a scrapbook class, I might take notes in the class and sort of have it all in one place. Um, and I also used my craft planner. When I did participate in Week In the Life last year, I just did all my journaling in there. So that I just knew where it was and I had it all in, in one place, um, for me to go back to when I started putting it together.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I mean sometimes half the battle is just knowing where things are and the more that we can centralize those things, it, it can be incredibly helpful when you are then going to, to make a project and, and figure out [00:42:00] what you were thinking in that moment.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: So on the topic of finishing projects, you also wrote a post about that, and I'm wondering, can you share a little bit of your perspective? Um, we'll definitely link to it, but I think one thing that I'm particularly curious about is how do you balance this desire to finish a project with the, uh, perhaps mutual desire to enjoy the process along the way?

Franky Shanahan: Oh, that's, yeah, that's a good question. How do you balance it? I guess for me it is important to finish things, for me personally. That's part of the joy of it for me is having a completed scrapbook. But at the same time I've got better at sort of knowing that I need to set something aside for a while. Or that finishing this right now is not realistic. Or that I can set myself a goal to finish something by a certain date. But it's also fine if it takes me longer. Um, you know, so I suppose [00:43:00] it's that it's kind of, I do like to have some boundaries for myself that I think help me stay motivated. So, um, I think the examples that I gave in the piece where that, for example, I, um, I wouldn't buy new December Daily supplies if I hadn't finished,

the previous years, that would be a rule for me. Um, but, but I've never had to enforce that rule because I've always finished them. So I, yeah, either it, you know, maybe that works for me. I've not tested it really because I've always, it's, I've always finished, I've always finished it before the supply, the next lot of supplies have been released.

So, um, that would.

Jennifer Wilson: I think it's buying the next year's supplies that really gets me lights, the fire to finish the previous years.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah, I see that for some, yeah. And I, you know, obviously some people, um, there's kind of like Christmas in [00:44:00] July isn't there?

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Franky Shanahan: People work on things at different times. So I think that's the thing, isn't it, that you've got to figure out what finishing something looks like for you. Um, and that's just a boundary that works for me. And, um, I know that in the summer, for example, I just wanna be focused on, um, on summer projects. I wanna be in that season and thinking about the documenting more than sort of creating or, you know, I just, I wouldn't wanna be working on December Daily in July. That just wouldn't suit me. So I think it's finding the limits that that work for you.

Um, I mean, I did that with Week In the Life this year, so I was so tempted to join in again this year. But I just felt that I couldn't justify buying the new collection if I hadn't put together the previous year's album. So I decided to use the, [00:45:00] like, the momentum that comes from, for community documenting because everybody gets so excited and people are sharing inspiration and people are talking about how they put their albums together.

And um, I decided to just kind of use that energy to motivate me to work on last year's and put last year's together. And I think if I successfully managed to finish that, then next year I'll join in again. And I think it's maybe okay to have a project that you do every two years or, you know, every three. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and I think a part of that is that finishing is really important to me. Because I have so many kind of tabs open in my brain in everyday life. And I don't want my hobby, what I do in my downtime, to have that aspect to it. Like, I don't want to have things hanging over me. And I know that's how it would feel to me if I did allow it to sort [00:46:00] of accumulate. Like I just know it wouldn't feel good, so.

Jennifer Wilson: I, I love that analogy, and I'm sure it's going to resonate with a lot of our listeners. For better or worse, I guess.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah. I mean, I think, yeah. Um, I, I like using my craft planner and I like having to-do lists. And you know, some people might, that might not suit, some people it might not feel very creative. That might feel too organized. You know, like creativity should be spontaneous, you know, you just do it when you're inspired.

Um, but the reality is that life's really busy. And if I'm don't prioritize it and I'm not really intentional with the time and the energy that I do have, then I won't be as focused and I won't necessarily get the things done that I want to. I won't have the opportunity to play if I don't approach it in that way.

Um, so I like a bit of order and that kind of, that sort of to-do list and, you know, being organized in that way. [00:47:00] But I don't want it to become something that is, yeah, hanging over me or that I feel like I'm behind. That, I would hate that. I just would hate to have that in my hobby. Because I have that enough in real life.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Well, there's also like both, um, like being, well, being a human, but being a parent and then like existing within the space of the larger world. There's so much, uh, lack of control we can feel. And any ways that we can kind of, even give a full sense of control can be helpful. To, to feel like we are moving forward and things are okay. And to kind of like help you feel settled so that you can keep moving forward. I don't know, that's maybe a weird way to think about it, but.

Franky Shanahan: No, I, I think so, and I think as that can also look like deciding to intentionally set something aside and come back to it. Um, and then doing [00:48:00] that in a way that's, um,

gonna make that easy for you in the future as well, you know? Um, so be, yeah. Being a bit more sort of organized about that. Um, and that's, you know, that's what I did with Week In the Life.

I sort of, the way I boxed everything up and I made sure that I had my, you know, I'd, I had edited all my photos and they were in a, you know, in their own folder. So I knew that when I came back to them, I, it, you know, everything was kind of where it needed to be. Um, and I know it will be a different scrapbook because I'm not making it, you know, as straight after the documenting week. I know that I will tell the stories through a slightly different lens probably. Um, but that's fine. I think that's fine. And I might even include something at the end of the scrapbook to explain that. That it was, that I did put it together the following year. Um, [00:49:00] sort of, I don't know. Yeah, I was thinking I might include some journaling about that at the end. Um, just, yeah, just 'cause I'm not, because I'm not doing it this year. And I think it would be interesting to just even just have like a little note, you know, almost, you know, a note from the future. Um, you know, maybe just about things that have changed this year. Some, you know, but obviously, um, and that I'm documenting it retrospectively.

Jennifer Wilson: I think that type of note, um, particularly the bigger the project, the more that that can be, I don't know, as a creator, help you feel like you've given the right context to a future viewer of the project. Um, yeah, I think that's a really valuable addition.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: So stepping back here and, you know, you're still kind of a beginner scrapbooker because you've only been doing it for a few years. Um, you know, I guess, uh, not counting, you know, maybe your childhood experiences, but what has been your top lesson learned in [00:50:00] the past three years?

Franky Shanahan: I think I found this really, I find this question really hard actually. I to just, I suppose like to pick one lesson is quite hard. The, you know, I feel like I've learned so much. But I suppose overall I just think how powerful creativity and creative play and whatever that looks like for you, just how powerful it can be and how much I needed that in my life. Is probably, yeah, that's probably been the biggest takeaway. And I can't really, you know, I, I'm really grateful to past me who is like, oh, I'm gonna find a new hobby. Oh, I'm gonna try this scrapbooking thing. Because it's such a big part of my life now. I aim to scrapbook every day in some way. To sort of be connected to that hobby every day, even if it's just for 15 minutes. And it's just a really important part of how I look after myself, I think. And so, yeah, I think that's just the, the lesson is that it can maybe [00:51:00] seem like, I mean not, I'm sure not to anyone that's listening to this podcast, but maybe to someone who's not so familiar with it, it could maybe seem, you know, like quite a, a frivolous, you know, oh, it's pretty paper and you cut and stick and, you know, um, but it's just so important to me.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I think that that's, that's definitely what keeps a lot of us coming back, uh, year after year. Sometimes the motivations shift a little bit, but just the deep connection we feel to it is why we have, you know, 300 plus episodes of the podcast because everyone wants to just keep talking about scrapbooking.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah, yeah. Um, and I think it's also been a real antidote to perfectionism for me.

Jennifer Wilson: Hmm.

Franky Shanahan: And it's made me braver, creatively and, um, more willing to experiment, I think. And like I said in at the beginning, talk, you [00:52:00] know, in terms of opening the floodgates for trying new things and, and you know, trying new hobbies. Yeah, that's been, that's just been transformative, I think. 'Cause I think I was, I, I struggled with that being a beginner in the beginning.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah. I get it.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah, I think especially 'cause I do lean towards perfectionism. I think it's really hard to do something and not be instantly good at it. And that's part of the process. You know, you're not gonna instantly master everything. And I think I've learned to love that actually. Um, you know, I'm not saying, you know, when I mess something up or when something doesn't turn out, it's not, you know, it can be frustrating, but I definitely feel like I recognize that as part of the learning process and part of getting better and improving.

Jennifer Wilson: It certainly is. Yes. Yes. To conclude here. Do you have any other advice for new scrapbookers?

Franky Shanahan: There's so much amazing [00:53:00] content and information and resources available online, and I think just my advice would be to just, use them, seek them out. Um, there's so many amazing creators out there who are, you know, willing to teach. Um, whether that's, you know, in a, in a paid scrapbook, you know, in an online class or just more informally through their YouTube channels and other free content that they put out.

Um. Yeah. I mean, we are just so lucky to live in a time where if there's a technique you want to try, you can Google it and you can find somebody who's made a brilliant YouTube video telling you how to do it. You know, that's, I had that experience recently with teaching myself to heat emboss and just watching YouTube.

It's just ama, we're so lucky that we have, um, access to all that information and people are so generous in what they share. [00:54:00] Um, so yeah, I think, uh, that would be my advice and I've learned so, so much listening to this podcast. So if this is the first episode you've ever listened to, lucky you, 'cause you've got a whole archive to, to go back through. I've, I've learned a lot from the conversations on this podcast.

Jennifer Wilson: Wonderful. It's very kind of you to say.

Franky Shanahan: Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, Franky this has been fun. Can you remind our listeners where they can find you online?

Franky Shanahan: Um, so I am loveaudrey83 on Instagram. Um, and I do share a bit of scrapbooking over there and lots of other things. Um, so creative things over there as well as my work. Um, and then obviously you can find me on Substack, uh, Larking About. I think, how does it, I don't, can never remember what the URL is. It's substack dot. com probably or something, but I'm sure it'd be linked in the show notes. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Will be. Yes.

Franky Shanahan: Um, but yeah, I'd love to have some more [00:55:00] crafty friends over there if people want to come and join me over there. That would be lovely.

Jennifer Wilson: Wonderful. And do you have anything like new or coming up later this year, either in your crafty life or your business life that you wanted to mention?

Franky Shanahan: No, just, Yeah, just plodding along.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, I can't wait to see what you do with your, your upcoming, uh, vacation album. .

Franky Shanahan: Yeah, that will be that. Yeah, that I'll be sharing that. And then, um, hopefully a completed Week In The Life album as well, at some point. That's, yeah, coming along. I'm staring at it out the corner of my eye.

Jennifer Wilson: Wonderful. Yes. Mine is also lurking about next to me. So. Again, this has been just so fun to reconnect with you and, and catch up on your journey. Thanks for

spending time with me.

Franky Shanahan: Thank you for having me.

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