rediscovering the fun...

this weekend with national scrapbooking day & all of the challenges over at 2peas i think i rediscovered the fun in this hobby...got back to that no pressure, just have a good time part of this hobby...and i'm loving it...

things get so busy with the kids...and the dogs...and mike working a ton...so there has often been times the only scrapbooking i get to do is for design team assignments...but i've noticed that that kinda thing doesn't work for me...i start to get freaked out by the deadlines...and truth be told, self-doubt that tends to creep up on me and i begin questioning myself...then poof!...out the window goes the fun and my creative spirit...

so...i've been trying to get back into "just because" scrapbooking...i just pop on over to my craft table & start dabbling here & there with different things...try not to worry that i'm using photos that will be used again for DT stuff (note to self...take more pictures)...try out different challenges...do a bit on different ongoing projects i've got running like my Q & A book...

and i've discovered that when i take the time to do this, i'm really fueling my creative fire...and the fun comes right back in...i'm really enjoying it :)

& what has made it a bit easier is that i've taken the leftovers from my kits (i've got a box just for tarisota leftovers & a box for kenner road leftovers)...& i just go through it and pull out this & that that strikes my fancy...it has really helped cut down on all that "searching" time & just get down to getting creative...

& this weekend i pulled out my kenner road kit scraps box & hopped over to 2peas...they ran a ton of challenges in honor of NSD & there were so many great ones...i've written them down so that i can do & re-do them when i need a bit of a creative spark...hmmm...i think i need to create something to keep all these kind of ideas in, rather than the scraps of paper w/ chicken scratch i've got going now...(*lightbulb!* maybe i'll create that today :)

anyway...i did get to play along with 2 of the challenges...

* Tia Bennet's Yellow challenge (i had saved the heart i cut out from my Q & A book...just waiting to pop it on something...& i found it :)

* wendy bretz's NO patterned paper challenge...actually i did 1 and a half for this one, since after completing the layout i went back this morning & changed it...the previous version just seemed a bit too busy & i wanted to simplify it a bit...liking this version much better (yes...i'm aware i sound like a complete obsessive nutjob...lol...ah well...) & that bit of pattern under that tag?  that isn't from patterned paper actually, it is the back of a business card i got from an etsy fabric order...cool, eh?

so hope you have a happy & creative monday!!!

xoxo

gi

Comments

[DaniH]

You are my scrapbooking muse! You ROCK!

[Mandi]

Oh I know what you mean (pressure, self doubt...)! And I've just been able to scrap recently for myself... and it was a blast!

Annnnd... I think I'm using the last of my unscrapped pics this week! haha I better go do something fun to scrap! ;)

[Sarah Lambert]

Love the new creations....have a few questions....what is your Q&A book? Iknow what it stands for , but was interested in what you used it for. Also how do you find the time to sit and create? I always seem to find a million other things to do and then it makes me mad when I didn't get to it. At night I have a hard time going to my craft room because thats when I like to hang out with my hubby. Any ideas would be much appreciated. We are expecting baby number 2 in August so I want to get this under control now so i keep getting scrap time in.

Thanks
Sarah

[Amber Zimmerman]

Your lo's rock! I just love the yellow with the pic and the jrnling around the page. . .fabulous! I so know what you mean about using the same pics over. I have begun doing that and it is so freeing. I have so many different feelings and memories about one pic, so why not use it for two different lo's? =) xo

[erin]

oh, i LOVE you for posting these!!!
how many times have i said altho DT work is still fun, i need to scrap for just ME again.
that's it, the next time our 2 yr doesn't wake up at 5am, i'm all over it!!!

[Julie]

These are ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!!!! Glad U had a fun...no deadline....no dt....NSD! :):):):):):):):):):)

[sasha farina]

smokin'!!! I love it when i scrap for myself! you're a scrappin' machine Gi!

[Denise Morrison]

These layouts are so pretty and fun Gi, glad you had a great weekend!!