Reconsidering Medium

In one form or another, I have been scrapbooking since I was a teenager. Probably even before that if you count all the paper and crayons I consumed as a child. Without a doubt, the need for me to create has always been a piece of the puzzle that makes me who I am.

This year, I started a journey to find.....me. I can never deny the creative part of me. To take it away would be taking away an integral part. The projects I have in my head will always be much more grandeur than anything I can create. But what I am learning, is I need to create for me in order to satisfy my creative spirit.

Throughout the years, I have expressed my creativity in many different forms. Scrapbooking. Sewing. Drawing. Writing. I think I have done it all. I have been successful enough with my scrapbooking endeavors to have been published in books and magazines. Creating objects and clothing out of a simple piece of fabric has brought me so much joy. Watching my children learn from my talents is the most satisfying feeling. Words have always brought me joy, either reading or writing. I tried my hand at writing a novel this year, but when my heart wasn't in it, I knew it was a creativity I wasn't ready to share, so it was best kept inside.

Since the kids are back in school, it is usually the time when I start scrapbooking again. Usually, September is the month where I walk in my studio, and the projects I have thought about over the summer months, get my attention again. This year is different. This is the year, I am realizing I need to create to satisfy my creative spirit, and I am finally confident enough to say I am reconsidering my medium.

I'll keep you posted.

Card using Cricut Mother's Day Bouquet Cartridge

In keeping with wanting to use a Cricut cartridge when I purchase it - in order to justify owning the cartridge - here is a card I made today using Mother's Day Bouquet. The papers are inked with Tim Holtz's Rusty Hinge. The flower was cut at 4".

New Supplies!

I finally went to Scrap Tales tonight to use a gift certificate I bought and decided to focus on adding more inks to my collection. I met Laura who helped me pick out some Tim Holtz inks and add a few new Stickles to my collection. I laughed, and told her that I would post a photo of the Stickles on my blog when I put them on my shelf - I only added two to the collection - NOT all the ones in the photo!!

So, Laura, this one is for you - it was nice talking to you today! I will certainly make sure you are working when I come into the store.

If you get a chance make sure to check out her blog - http://www.rememberinglifesmoments.blogspot.com/- she does some beautiful work.

I also added a few more stamps to the spinner, although the ones from Washington, DC are still my favorite.

Snow Days!

My favorite days during the school year are SNOW DAYS! It is always fun to see the kids wondering and anticipating if school is going to close, and when it does to see the excitement on their faces!

So imagine their excitement having two SNOW DAYS in a row! I have a few projects that I want to finish up today and hopefully the kids will join me in the studio this afternoon. Today is their morning to sleep in!!

Quest to Use Every Cartridge I Own! COMPLETED!

Well, still working on the clean out. Progressing nicely, but I wish it was just all gone! Funny thing was I found some old issues of Somerset Studios magazine - we are talking pre-Benjamin magazines! Dated 1998. I started to get rid of them and then, maybe the page fell open, maybe I was mindlessly looking at the pages, whatever happened, not sure, but I saw this really neat project to make mini-books using shrinky dink material. Next thing you know I am looking through this magazine and, yes, it was returned to the keep pile! Broke every rule of getting rid of stuff, didn't I? There are only two of them, but I do plan on looking at them and tearing out the projects I would like to try sometime.

Enough about the purging! On to update everyone about my "other" project involving Cricut! Cartridges have been for sale at ridiculously low prices! I have avoided going to the store, only because I suspect with my obsessive/compulsive behavior, I will end up with cartridges I don't want. I decided to do something a little extreme....

I went through all my cartridges and actually USED them! I decided before I buy any more cartridges, it was time to hit reality that I haven't used most of the cartridges I own. Hence, was born another project!

Armed with my scrap bin, I was determined to make one thing from each cartridge. Rules were to use only scraps - I broke that rule twice - I needed black paper as an outline for many cuts and double-sided paper for one cut. For each cartridge, I went through the book searching for the right cut to hit me. I avoided doing one-layer cuts, and I think there are only two in the bunch. I wrote the name of the cartridge on the flip side of each cut along with measurements for some.

I have 59 cartridges, and 9 on the gypsy only. Truth be told, I am expecting three more cartridges today, and it is my plan to use them right away to include them in my project.

Throughout the week, I plan on blogging about my experience. What cartridges I love, and what cartridges I thought, "Why did I ever buy this?" and what I learned throughout the experience.

It certainly became an obsession for me to complete the project - now I can officially say I have used all the cartridges I own!

What is Going on in the Cricut World?!?!

Something is, that is for sure. Clearing out the gypsys? Clearing out cartridges?

I haven't even used the new ones I received for Christmas!!

Happy New Year!

The new year is here and it is time to....clean out the old scrapbook supplies! I signed up to participate in the garage sale again this year at Scrap Tales, so I am motivated to purge the old! I have decided to get rid of most of the old scrapbook magazines taking up serious cupboard space in the studio - I haven't looked at any of them in years, so it is time for them to move on.

So what else is on the purge list?
Some stamps, wood mounted and acrylic
Punches
...and is it time to get rid of the decorative scissors?

Of course, I have the list of items that I would never get rid of:
Glitter, in any shape or form! (Including Stickles)
Martha Stewart or EK Success Punches
Cuttlebug supplies
RIBBON!
Cinch Tool
Anything Cricut
Copic Markers
Buttons

The boys made me some new shelves to hold more punches and that is working out great! It is so nice to be able to see the punches. I just recently purchased the Ranger spinner - it is kinda a vintage looking rubber stamp holder. The spy stamps the kids purchased in Washington, DC now have home to reside. Interestingly, when I did an on-line search on how to put it together, I saw a note someone wrote about a stand her husband built for her Stickles. She is going to look around for a photo of it - I see a project in the future!