January 13, 2012

Back to Basics

I cannot believe it has been this long since I posted to my blog.  There has definitely been a big gap in my life while I haven’t been crafting.  It’s now a new year,  and I have new ambitions and new goals.

Several months ago I was busy pretty regularly with projects for other people.  It was always for other people, never for myself.  That started to get really frustrating and annoying that any time I did have available was always spent on projects for others.  Now, I’m not saying that I was resentful of doing things to bless others, I just thought that I needed to stop taking on more than I could feasibly handle.  On top of it, one of my projects was not well received, and since I put a lot of time, effort, and love into everything I do, I was pretty bummed.  Needless to say I found myself completely out of crafting juice.  No motivation.  No inspiration.

I have not been on blogger in months to see what others are up to.  I put doing any kind of crafting on hold.  What I didn’t stop doing was buying paper.  Oh my did I not stop buying paper.  While I believe one can never have enough paper, my husband does not share that belief.  Looking at book and reading blogs was not giving me the jolt of inspiration that I needed. 

The last half of 2011 was such a rough one for me and my family and I was happy to see it end.  And with its end, I decided to also stop my sulking and start making time for more of the things that I want to do. Those things include working out, doing more meal planning for my family, spending time with them, and of course, scrapbooking.

You’ll notice that I didn’t say crafting.  I did a lot of thinking and soul searching and what I was really missing about my craft room was doing actual scrapbooking…taking the photos of my life and preserving them for my family’s future.  There are so many memories that need to be written down before they are forgotten forever.

While I like making other things, I am a scrapbooker at heart.  I miss it terribly and its time I get out of this rut and back to why I started this hobby in the first place.  It’s pretty late here right now so I think I’ll go to bed.  Tomorrow I’ll talk a little more about getting back to the basics of scrapbooking.  Why we do it, what makes scrapbooks special, and what my personal goals are for the coming year.  I might even have a little project thrown in.

Good night crafty friends!

1 comment:

  1. I can empathize with you doing things for others and occasionally not getting the response you were hoping for. I used to make special event and wedding cakes which took a long time to make and was stressful with timelines and all the while working full time. I finally gave it up when I put a long time making a cake (monopoly board replica) and not getting the appreciation I guess I was expecting. I hung up my apron and now focus on paper projects. I also learned to start saying "no". I am much happier now. If I volunteer to make something that's one thing but there is no longer any obligation. What freedom!

    Barb from Toronto, Canada
    http://barbsmithdesigns.blogspot.com

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