J. Conlon and Sons

Well, look at that! Here’s our first Designer Spotlight of 2025. Allow me to introduce to you Jennifer, the J of J. Conlon and Sons. Jennifer is a relative newcomer to GingerScraps, but she’s not new to the world of digital scrapbooking design. Let’s get to know her! [Editor’s note: to avoid confusion, Jan‘s the “O” in the following conversation.]

O: Jennifer, it’s so nice to meet you! I enjoy your templates for their simplicity but I haven’t really done a deep dive into your kits. How did you find designing?

J: In 2009, after the birth of my first son, I started exploring online for ways to create a baby book using my graphic design skills. I didn’t even know the term “digital scrapbooking” existed at the time; I was simply looking for creative ideas. I was amazed by the array of products and layouts I discovered. As I began designing my own pages, I realized how therapeutic scrapbooking could be, especially as a gratitude practice. While I wouldn’t call myself a prolific scrapper, it’s something I find myself returning to time and again.

O: So we came to the digiworld around the same time. 2010 for me, but as a beginning digiscrapper, I was reallllllllllllllly bad. As time went by and my skills grew, I seemed to just gravitate toward certain designers and found my own style – classic and elegant but with a touch of whimsy. If you could describe your style using just three words, what would you say?

J: I try to mix it up a bit sometimes but I think my overall style is realistic, colorful and fun.

O: I appreciate realistic elements when I’m scrapping. Over the years I’ve developed a workflow that keeps me organized and productive. Do you have a process you follow when you’re designing?

J: This can vary depending on my inspiration, but I tend to start with a general theme, and I’ll put together a color palette inspired by that. I like a lot of color in my kits and on my layouts so I usually have at least 15-20 colors. Then I seek out or design some paper patterns. This is where the kit name can begin to form for me as the details start to fall into place. Once the main patterned paper pack is complete, I look for flowers, leaves, ribbons, etc. that fit with the theme. For example, in my 365 Little Things kit (the January Daily Download) I knew I wanted lots of brightly colored fabric flowers. Real flowers wouldn’t have felt as light-hearted as I wanted the kit to feel.

I wrote out a long list of word art and icon ideas that I knew would be the focus of the 365 Little Things collection. I created the simple icon illustrations in Adobe Illustrator—which were so fun to make! —and the word art for all the “stickers” in the kit. My scrapping style leans toward realistic so I will make a lot of my illustrations and word art into stickers, so they feel like a physical product.

The rest of the collection (extra papers, painted edges, pocket cards, etc.) will then be based off the kit. It’s so satisfying to watch it all come together!

O: It really is, isn’t it? I created a memory book for my sister using photos she took while on her first real vacation in about 20 years and gave it to her for Christmas. It was definitely a labour of love, but also deeply satisfying. I ended up with 31 pages! I tend to do most of my “work” in the evenings while watching TV. What does a typical day look like for you?

J: I am 100% a morning person. I not only just like to wake up early but I’m also at my most focused then. I get up around 5-5:30, make my coffee, and sit at my desk for work. In the afternoon, I’m taking care of house and family stuff. I will occasionally sit back at my desk after dinner to get something finished up but more often I’m reading or playing a game on my phone. And then it’s early-to-bed!

O: I HATE getting up early, which is a bad thing when you’re a nurse and you have to be at work and ready to rock-and-roll at 7 am. Now that I’m retired, you’d think I’d get to sleep in every day, but nope… I wish! Lately I’ve been in a real rut and have to force myself to be productive instead of scrolling my phone. Where do you find inspiration when your mojo’s blocked?

J: I like to look at the GingerScraps Gallery to see what people are scrapping. Like what life events or emotions are they documenting. Because that’s really what this is all about for me—pretty patterns and embellishments aside—it’s about the stories we are telling.

O: Oh, yeah! That’s a great source of inspiration. I usually get charged up while I’m prepping the Challenge Spotlight and end up in the Zone for a day or so. Sometimes I do something completely different, like make some greeting cards, play around with my Cricut or do some gardening, and that refreshes my creative juices. If you weren’t a digiscrapping designer, what creative path do you think you’d choose?

J: I went to school for graphic design and worked as both a print and web designer for 20+ years. I also dabble in all kinds of crafts and art techniques. This past year I played around with watercolors and collage. I’m currently working on a hexagon quilt that’s all hand-sewn so it’s taking forever but I can listen to podcasts and stitch away… it’s definitely about the journey and not the destination with that project!

O: I tried quilting. Not for me! My son and I dabble with watercolours – abstracts, since he’s developmentally disabled. It can be a lot of fun. His philosophy of life is that it goes on. What it looks like is up to us. Is there a quote or mantra that guides your designing?

J: “Done is better then perfect.” A former boss of mine said this to me and it has stuck around in my head ever since. At first, I thought she meant to just get things out the door even if they have flaws and I couldn’t get behind that ideology at all. Now I take it to mean that to be done means it is correct but you may still be futzing over the radius of a curved corner or if a button should be light teal or sea green. Little tweaks like that can become a waste of time.

O: Gina Krupsky, of Gina K Designs, has a similar outlook. “It’s better than horrible” is a healthy way to look at our work. Now, I have to ask… how did you choose the name of your brand?

J: My brand name, J. Conlon and Sons, was inspired by small company names I see on local vans and trucks all the time…lol. Like a plumber will have a van with a big logo that says “O’Hare and Sons Plumbing”. I wanted it to both identify me and be a bit generic. Fortunately, I was blessed with two sons!

O: Hey, that works! Do you have any guilty pleasures?

J: I love anything CIA-international-crime-action (Bourne Identity, Homeland, Jack Ryan) and quirky comedies (Schitt’s Creek, New Girl). I can watch any of these over and over and often have something on while I’m working.

O: One of my daughters is a BAU-type criminologist so I’m always watching true crime shows. Literally always! I LOVED Schitt’s Creek. Canada produces the best comedians, we really do! [We also originated pineapple on pizza, and put gravy on our French fries…] My husband could eat poutine almost every day, although his doctor would not like it… if you could eat only one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

J: I may get caught on a technicality here, but I’d choose pizza but change-up the toppings. Pizza is my favorite “naughty” food. It would be hard to eat only one thing for the rest of my life but if I could have a salad pizza or a white clam pizza every once in a while that might work!

O: You’d get along well with my son! He’s a pizza fanatic. And now I’m hungry… It was so good to chat with you, Jennifer. I’ll let you get back to work. For our readers, don’t go quite yet! I want to tell you a bit more about Jennifer‘s Spotlight. In addition to providing all of us the Daily Download kit, she’s hosting the Designer Spotlight Challenge on top of her usual monthly Template Challenge. AND… drumroll please! She has a coupon for all of us! [And it’s good for TWO months!]

Remember, any time you see a bold, coloured, underlined bit of text – it has to be all three – in any of my Blog posts, it’s a hyperlink! Click on it and it turns into a magic carpet, whisking you directly to the good stuff. Go check it out!