When Jennifer Gallacher took a scrapbooking class as a newlywed, she had no idea it would launch a passion that would drive her for the rest of her life.

As she learned and worked on creating appealing scrapbook layouts, she started her first foray into the business as a contributor to a scrapbooking magazine. Now she works as a creative editor for Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine and also sells printables, ebooks, and workshops on her blog.

She takes her love of writing and creating and shares what she learns with the world through the magazine and on her blog.

“It’s the best of both worlds,” Jennifer said.

She got her Silhouette shortly after they first became available and felt it was such a jump in the industry.

“Once I realized I could create anything I wanted, I was hooked. It was such a big jump from what I thought was possible,” Jennifer said. 

As she started creating and playing with the software and the machine, she continued learning by following tutorials and trying out new things.

“The more you learn, you realize you don’t know as much as you think,” said Jennifer. “We live in such a cool time where you can teach yourself anything from an online class.”

In 2007, tragedy struck her family and she lost her oldest son to cancer. It changed her. And with that change, she dedicated her life to bringing meaning and beauty to others.

“As a maker in the paper crafting and scrapbooking industry, I am blessed to have multiple opportunities to find meaning. It might be in the creation of a scrapbook layout that helps me remember a special event with my family. It’s often in a handmade card I deliver to a neighbor or special friend. And it’s always in the new connections I get to make when I meet crafters from around the world.”

Where does she find inspiration for the things she makes?

“When you’re making something new, you start to look for inspiration everywhere,” Jennifer said. “It might be as simple as a color combination. Every time I see something that inspires me, I write it down to put into my crafts.”

One of her favorite excuses to create new projects is the holidays.

“I like any excuse to make things. I’m so assignment driven. The holidays make it easier,” Jennifer said. 

Her advice to others trying to make something new is to “do what you love.”

“It’s a process. For me, it wasn’t an overnight thing,” she said. “If you focus on doing what you love, then the community and the opportunity to make money just comes. You need to love it first. It becomes mutual.”

Find her on her website, Instagram, and in copies of Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine.