The Problem with Patterned Paper

Before I unabashedly tear down the foundation of creative usefulness that patterned paper is resting on, I would like to pay homage to the decorative, tree born entity.



My discovery of patterned paper signaled a shift in my scrapbooking (a mental break, if you will). Patterned paper, by it's very virtue, allows the scrapbooker to bestow his/her pages with a virtually weightless, 2 dimensional decorative accent that can be used to tie other elements of the page together as well as reiterate the theme of the photographs, if they so choose.



With so many different weights, colors and patterns available, it is very plausible to believe that one there is a perfect paper for every layout...if you have the time to search it out. Patterned paper is definitely one of scrapbookings' "good things"...



Unless you have too much of it...



In my minds eye, there are different types of patterned paper collectors:

• The efficient collector who buys for each project. She is a picture of control as she restrains her greedy inner child enough to enable getting out of the store with only what is needed in their shopping bag.
• The opportunistic collector who buys for life's many opportunities. You never know when you will be called to captain a ship across the Atlantic only to have it pirated...so the opportunistic collector buys papers for what could be a special moment in their lives. Ever bought Disney papers knowing that you'd probably never step foot in the magic kingdom because of your child's unrelenting fear of 6 foot rats? How about those papers that depict lovely snowy ski theme for people who know good and darned well that they have no intention of taking a trip to the mountains in the winter, let alone throwing themselves off a perfectly good hill with popsicle sticks on their feet and toothpicks in their hands?
• The paper hoarding collector. Destined to make it on the Most Wanted list in every fire department within a 50 mile radius, this collector buys what is pretty. Sometimes she does go into a store looking for a particular theme of paper, but rarely walks out without taking some intentioned 'extras' with her (sometimes she even manages to get the paper she came in the store for as well!)
• The doomsday collector. She buys only what she needs...but she has a slightly pessimistic view of what those needs are. Every opportunity to buy a particular paper is viewed as possible the last opportunity so she tends to buy in multiples...just in case. 3 or 4 of everything makes for a very secure scrapping experience for this collector who can sometimes be found huddled in a corner clutching the last sheet of a particular pattern in her white knuckled fists. Approach with care.

I'm not going to admit which kind of paper collector I am...but I will say that I have a lot of it. I'm not bragging...believe me, I'm not proud of the position that I've over-obsessed my way into! If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times, the presence of overwhelming possibility is an open door for indecision and stagnant progress. I'm stagnating.

When I start my layouts, I tend to start with the pictures and my color wheel for back up support. I then choose my patterned paper. Let me reiterate, I then start looking for my patterned paper. I have 7 CH paper files full of paper and a drawer of 'special' papers. I have to go through every stinkin' last one of them to find the paper that I feel will do justice to my pictures. I've tried every organizational trick known to scrappers but it doesn't seem to matter how I organize my papers, every search is going to result in sweat and paper cuts!

My problem? I don't really know what I have and I can't come up with an organizational system that will allow me to search what I have without constantly getting up, sitting down, and getting up again! I currently have my papers sorted by manufacturer for the most part (left over from my contest/dt days when that stuff mattered). I'm thinking about filing only sets by manufacturer and individual papers by color/pattern.

It never fails that I start a layout and wind up spending 30 minutes (and much of creative motivation) looking for the perfect paper. Mind you, when I start with the paper and work backwards (searching for a photo to scrap that matches the paper) I have a deal more success, but I have a hard time picking the picture because a part of me knows that I have "better" paper that will better suit certain photos somewhere. This is pretty much where my kit idea failed me. I have about 8 kits but no pictures that I want to use with them.

I remember the good old days when I only had a couple hundred sheets. I only had a limited amount of options so my decisions were made pretty quickly. Those days have gone the way of the dinosaur unfortunately. How could something so pretty do so much damage?

You want to know a secret? Patterned paper is very fertile too! I've given away/sold over 1200 sheets of paper but my stash always looks the same. Paper is like lays potato chips to me, you can't have just one, well you can...but where's the fun in that?

I am really interested in knowing how others go about organizing their papers and how they make that initial decision concerning which paper to use. I'm getting my butt kicked by my paper and it's no longer what I considered a 'good thing'.

Outdated Scrap Stash... Project Rejuvenation

I scrapped this weekend!

I created 2 layouts and I love them to pieces!

I'm almost certain that, were I to put them online, someone would balk at my use of older Chatterbox/Foofala/3Bugs papers, metal hinges, eyelets and die cut swirls.

I really don't give a hairy rats behind either!

There is nothing more laughable to me than to hear people criticize layouts for utilizing older product. When scrapbooking got it's start, the idea of trends and such nonsense were non existent. Why? Because scrapbooking was a personal thing, a soul searching record of memories and events. Today it's become just another main stream trend that offers potential financial growth for anyone who dares to exploit it.

Buy this! You have to have this! This is the latest craze! Take your craft to the next level with this! Ride this wave! Jump on that roller coaster! Buy! Buy!

Well, with all of this buying and trend watching... who has time to scrap with that kind of product influx! When we (the scrapper) finally come to are senses and stop stock shopping, we are faced with product that became outdated a week after we bought it! Somebody has to use it!

Is there really such a thing as outdated product in scrapbooking? When you think about the history of scrapbooking and the basis on which this craft/hobby was founded, one would be hard pressed to see the concept of outdated product as more than a marketing ploy to convince the overladen scrapper that she needed to keep buying! It's all about the dollar isn't it? If use of vintage (i.e. any paper greater than a month old) product were sanctioned by the industry it would be equated to chopping off a limb, so I'm not going to hold my breath for any sensible revelation out of that particular peanut gallery. Mags often provide articles about using your old stash...nestled neatly amidst 100 pages of trend watch articles and advertisements for the latest and greatest. Which message do you think is going to get the consumer vote?

The really sad thing is that the industry's pimping of products has changed the mindset of the scrapbooker in a not so good way. Take a look at insults that are slung at scrappers who dare to be different; Suzy has been told to go back to her room and play with her decorative scissors and stickers...Pages that fail to showcase the latest trends/product offerings are labeled 'boring', 'beginner', and 'CM style'. Just last week there was discussion on a critic/critique blog about the Pea Garden being inundated with boring "Suzy" layouts that didn't carry much aesthetic worth with 'seasoned' scrappers! Yes, a lot of people jumped in and defended the right of all skill levels of scrappers to post their layouts in the gallery...but amidst those voices of reasoned protest rang a shouts of elitist agreement. Comments were made about how they (Suzy and her posse) need to stop putting those ugly, outdated layouts in the gallery! Some scrapbookers were called praise whores for daring to post the layouts and expect praise, and what praise was given was devalidated and discarded. It seemed that the argument that everyone has a right to scrap the way that they want to scrap, was lost on those who were campaigning for a Stepford gallery.

Alas...I digress...

Just as you are only as old as you feel, your product is only as outdated as you allow yourself to think it is. I have some 1500 sheets of patterned paper and almost as much card stock, I can't afford for it to be outdated! I completed those 2 pages while consciously forcing myself to ignore the little voice that was telling me when I bought each element I tacked on the page. Tonight, I am going to go through some of my older magazine's and look for layouts to breath stale life into with my older stash. I plan to keep on scrapping this way until I've diminished my stash significantly. I'm not going to buy anything new until I do. I haven't purchased scrapping supplies (outside of basic tools) since November and I don't feel the urge to now that I've found a way to squeeze scrapping back into my life. Hopefully, but the time I get around to shopping for paper again the industry will, hopefully, have gotten over itself and started to present products that every scrapper can make use of... not just those that reside out of their boxes or on some artistic island fringe. I'm not going to lie, my moratorium is made that much easier by the industry's current offerings and the pretentiousness that is running rampant. I'm making my scrapping all about me and what I like...outdated or not.

Have Design Teams Outgrown Their Worth?

The scrapbooking Design Team. A bunch of talented scrapbookers hand chosen to represent a store, magazine or manufacturer with their creative works. The creative showcase offered by these chosen few is often used to move product off of dusty store shelves, to generate hype over the latest and greatest products available and/or to spread the 'good news' while bringing in a flock of fresh blood to a particular store. Payment for all of these leases on individual creativity varies from place to place.

Some would hold that DT's allow scrappers to get a little taste of the outer edges of the limelight while they make their way up the scrapping ladder of success. Others would contend that they allow for validation of one's creative talents as well as provide a fertile foundation from which to 'grow' in their mastery of this craft. Still others argue that DT's are nothing more than a tasteless way for mags, manufacturers and stores to acquire designers without paying designer wages.

I think that DT's are all of the above. What it ultimately becomes (to you) depends greatly on what you expect from it and what you put into it. Or at least, that's how it used to work. It seems that lately a lot of the DT owners have been playing the blood from a turnip game by expect everything BUT your pinkie toe in return for a spot on their team. Some of the more popular 'contractual requirements' to date:

Exclusivity (DT members are limited as to how many other teams they can man)
Mandatory 'per day' message board posts
Participation in online crops/events
Required number of particularly types of projects (Many with tutorials attached)
Required site advertising on other message boards
Articles and Newsletter entries
Written Product Reviews
Board Moderation Tasks
Coordinating board challenges
Requirements for submitting work for publishing
Teaching Classes
Attending "virtual" meetings
Acting as a mentor on the message boards
...and the list goes on..and on...

Payment for all of this grunt work is either in monetary form(typically magazines & manufacturers) or via compensatory scrapping products. Many stores also give it's DT members a percentage discounted off of their purchases from the site. Some would argue that being paid for a 'gig' is the best way to go...as long as the check does arrive in the mail...and it has zero rubber content. Then there are those who love the prospect of building up a sizable stash and therefore love receiving compensatory product...providing that product isn't outdated or sparse. It's all about the trade-off and some get a better shake than others...tell me something else I've already heard.

This entry isn't going to be about the technical nuances of the illustrious design. I'd rather focus on the burgeoning question of the feasibility of design teams at this juncture. First of all, I have to say that I feel that the whole DT thing has been over-played. The number of DT calls has blown my mind. When I first got started in scrapbooking, there were a few calls here and there. Now, everyone needs a creative team and trust me, this is one instance where "more" is definitely not more.

The DT call inspired "spirit" of competition has helped to divide and mutilated the sense of community that this industry was supposedly founded upon. What has resulted is an embarrassing cacophony of rejection,bitterness , entitlement, elitism and favoritism (that is the shortest description I could come up with) which only serves to further illuminate our differences. Everything, from the way that word of a DT call is spread to the way that DT members are perceived, has been touched by this ugliness:

• The Store owners who announce a DT search and encourage participants but fail to separate themselves from the contestants which allows for favorite 'personalities' to be preselected. Further insult is added when the biased owners fail to mask their blatant favor of certain 'contestants'.
• The manufacturers who encourage scrapbookers of all skill levels to enter their DT search but in the end select only the uber published/DT-ed scrappers (and thus far continuing the tradition of disregarding the true scrapping majority). The DT call results in an increase in product sales as well as disgruntled contestants.
• The contestants who, despite having several active DT gigs under their belts, pursue more and more DT commitments (regardless of the size of the site that is hosting the call) simply because "it's like taking candy from a baby". In many instances, equally talented, long time members of a site are overlooked simply because of the lure of the 'more experienced' scrapbookers interest in the call.
• The manufacturers who are being bombarded with DT sponsorship requests from retail stores.
• The elitist attitudes amongst members of certain design teams. They project a clear 'us against them' agenda as it pertains to interaction with 'lesser talented' scrappers on the boards. Often a few favorites are chosen and those lucky ones' are nurtured, groomed and supported by the DT (who effectively create another 'shoe-in' for the next call).
• The nasty back biting and mean spirited tactics aimed at disparaging the character of contestants viewed as a 'threat'.

The ultimate result of all of this super powered negativity is the wavering (and varied) opinion of the worthiness of the oh-so-special design team. I've heard women refer to DT contestants as desperate validation whores, regardless of how noble their justification for entering is. I don't subscribe to the 'all-DTs-are-staged/worthless' fan club, but I can understand where that mentality got its start. When I first began trying out for teams, I tended to internalize my failures and make it all about me (much of the time), but as I became a bit more savvy I gained the ability to tell the difference between not being selected because of the quality of my submission and not being selected because of the character of the person running the competition. I've had my DT successes and failures. For the record I can now say with emotional freedom that I've had more failures than anything. I know now that I am not meant
for DT work or publishing. That doesn't necessarily mean that I hate the idea of design teams.
No, rather, I dislike the way that the DT concept has morphed into something ugly and distasteful. I have been inspired by many of DT members, but I don't worship them in any way, shape or form. It took a long time for me to accept that some people like taking on 7...8...9..12 DT jobs and that it's the store owners who made the choice to further employ them.
The fact that some of those uber-dters fail miserably in supporting the sites that they represent is not my problem (do I really need to work with someone with dollar signs instead of pupils?).

I think that being on a DT can offer a tremendous amount of validation if the landing of one isn't deemed the end all be all of scrapbooking. I don't see how someone could be somehow less-than or lacking simply because their need for a DT gig varies from my own, to do so is beyond arrogant. I may be a lot of things, but arrogant isn't one of them. Is it considered arrogant to declare yourself anything but arrogant? Oh whatever!

Do I think that DTs are needed? For manufacturers and magazines, yes. For brick and mortar scrapbooking stores, yes. For online communities? It depends. If the DT is actually being assembled to offer inspiration for a site that has masses that need the inspiration, yes. If the DT is being assembled as a means to which to bring more people to a site even if they don't stick around after the call, no. Why would anybody want to have a bunch of people swear up and down that they love your site only to have them leave as soon as they aren't chosen? For online stores, I'd rather the owners do the legwork and hand select a short-termed design team from the members that have posted works in their galleries or, if they really need to, select their team from scrappers elsewhere on the web that appeal to them. The discontinuance of the public DT call (for online stores) would not only work to keep the community focus of the site, it would send a message of possibility and potential to many who feel that the DT gig is an unattainable dream (particularly when the DT is hand selected from the proven loyal members of the site).

I can't say that my views are right. I can't say that they are even foolproof. I'm sure that even in my scenario there will be instances of entitlement attitudes (amongst those who don't receive a random invitation ). I can't say that there won't be hostility derived from bringing in 'outsiders' to inspire creativity. I can say that it would be worth a try, though. Honestly, I think that any attempt to change the negative path that the industry is on would be better than continuing to do what hasn't been working.

Change # 20,401...

Okay, my plans for making kits didn't work out last night. I had a few jewelry orders to get started on and then there was the AI finale to watch. I'm so glad that Jordin won, I have my reasons, but I won't waste my time expounding on them.

I'm really starting to worry about my scrapbooking. It used to be that I would move planets and stars to clear up time for scrapping. Now, if I run out of time, I just don't scrap. That little priority bug is screwing things up for me big time!

I don't think that I have a block because I have ideas flowing freely from my mind. I think I am having issues with keeping my scrapping thoughts in the positive light (gee..I wonder how THAT could've happened!). I need something to kick start my interest level again.

I wonder how people juggle numerous crafting skills without neglecting any particular one? I would love to be able to effectively sew, scrapbook and make jewelry without leaving either hobby in the dust. Oh well...

I'm seriously considering taking a week off of any hobbying so that I can get my house in order. School is out in a couple of weeks and that means that my son will be home...all day...most likely eating and creating chaos. I have this silly notion that if I go through and do another spring cleaning he will feel the urge to pick up after himself to preserve that state of cleanliness. I have that notion every summer, but I won't give up hope... yet.

On a good note, I made $81 yesterday! A lady at work wanted to see my jewelry creations and promptly pounced on an earring, bracelet, and necklace set that I made. She then called her friends to look at the other bracelets that I'd made and I sold a few of them as well! Now I'm being commissioned to make 12 different bracelets and to dismantle an antique necklace to create 3 bracelets for a lady I work with and her daughters. I am so happy that my creative ability is being validated, but I can't help but wonder if I am following the right path. It's not like I love jewelry or anything...I don't wear the stuff hardly. Is there a name for someone who can be proficient in a craft without truly developing an appreciation for the output? Lame, perhaps. At the end of the day, I guess all that matters is whether or not I am happy. The answer is yes...and I guess I'll leave it at that.

TFR

Purty Papers ... The Nonsensical Side of My Hoarding

I too a trip through my stash last night. I was looking for papers to toss into the pot for a swap that I am participating in and I figured that I could stand to let some of my embellies loose on Ebay as well. All was going well until I came to 'the drawer'. "The Drawer" is a place in one of my organizers that is reserved for my unscrappable papers. By unscrappable, I'm not talking about paper that is ugly enough to make your eyes bleed. I'm talking about my out of sight and mind hidey hole for papers that I adore entirely too much. Thy drawer runneth over.

So I got to thinking...something that I try not to do with any regularity...Why was I still holding on to this paper? Why not use it before it loses it's appeal? The answer escaped me, much the same way it did when I asked myself the same question 6 months ago. It really doesn't make much sense to not use what I have in that drawer.
Yes, I do still like it, and I KNOW without a doubt that once I use it, it will be gone forever (some of it is a year old!)but I really don't see a reason to 'have' a piece of paper sitting in a drawer.

Nothing but air and opportunity. That's what my husband would say. All that stood between me and turning that paper into something fabulously creative was my desire to have it forever. Now I just want it purged. I don't want to hold onto my stash anymore. I'm not ready to give up scrapbooking, but I am ready to break the chains that my hoarding habits have used to bind my creativity.

There is something to be said about having less, that's for sure! Less means that you have to rely heavily on your own creative spirit. Having less means that you grow and master your craft. Having all of this excess has stifled my creativity to the point where just starting to scrap is painful. Having a special section reserved for 'special' stash no longer works for me. I need to be released!

So...tonight, I'm going to take my own advice and start assembling more kits. This time the kits will be for my 'thouper thspecial' papers and embellies. Tonight I will regain control over my stash! I haven't scrapped in a great long while and I think it's high time that I took this bull by the horns.

Tonight is kit night and my goal is to make up at least 12 of them. If anyone wants to join me in my fight against the hoard, feel free to post how many kits you're making up.

I can do this...I know I can...though I may have to call in a dorkfish for some moral support. I'm just rambling here. Sorry for the nonsense post, but I had to put my intentions in writing, lest I chicken out again.

TFR

Scrapping Shop Block... Could this be the end?

Last week I went to a local store that sells cameras and Scrapbooking supplies. I'm on a self imposed spending hiatus, but I have had a gift certificate for this store for over a year now and I figured, since I had time to burn, that I'd just go check out what is "new". This sudden interest was spurred by a flier that I received in the mail that offered a $10 off $30 purchase coupon...I figured I could find SOMETHING to use the silly GC on so that it could stop looking pitifully neglected in my wallet.

The entire time that I was driving to the store, I was trying to think of SOMETHING that I needed to buy. I swear I gave myself a headache trying to conjure up a mental picture of my needing anything scrapbooking related. I finally resigned myself to just 'go with the flow' and to let the mood move me when I got there. "Good strategy," I thought..."I'll buy the first thing that pops out at me and call it a day", I surmised.

Well, if I had decided to wait for the 'mood' to move me, I will still have my stagnating butt sitting in the store.

The last time I visited the store, about a year ago, I remember getting giddy over some Maya Roads chipboard or something of that sort. This time I walked in and I was drawn to the door that I'd just walked through. I walked around that blasted store for 15 minutes of my life and as the seconds melted away, I felt as if I were wasting precious bits of my life force. I felt nothing.

Nothing at all.

I looked at some of the clearanced Bazzill, nothing. Just last year those crates of cardstock would've have me needing a bib to keep my salivatory droppings from destroying the beautiful papers.

I looked at the new rubons...nada. I do remember thinking, "cute" when I looked at the Making Memories Rubon booklets with the colorful phrase transfers...but I didn't even touch the package. Did I ever tell you how I have 52 packages of MM Rubon Alphas? There used to be time that I would fantasize about having the world's rubon supply at my disposal.

Not a single, solitary idea book or magazine called out to me. Well, I'm sure they were, but I lacked the ability to understand what they were saying.

I was a little unnerved by this experience, truth be told. I have been pretty much avoiding any targeted scrapbooking shopping expeditions for over 6 months because I was concerned that I might lapse back into my spendy ways. I guess I have nothing to worry about since I couldn't even bring myself to by a sheet of patterned paper that was clearanced down to a quarter.

I wonder if this means that Scrapbooking is coming to an end for me. Could it be that I have killed off the craving for 'stuff'? I keep telling myself that I've simply trained myself to see the value in what I purchase and not to purchase anything that doesn't add value to my hobby. Hopefully, when I run out of something, my shopping trips will be a bit more productive.

Till then...I still have that annoying gift certificate...

Now, Tell Me Again Why I'm Not 'Artsey'?

A certain scrapbooker of controversial renown has once again stirred the scrapping pot with one of her layouts. The layout in question is journaled with an excerpt from a conversation that the 'artist' had with another of her ilk. This statement pretty much announced her distaste for people who aren't 'artsey'.

At first glance, I thought, "Whoa! Excuse the crap out of me! I'm sorry that I don't qualify to reside within your sphere of irrational existence!", but then I took it down about 500 notches and started looking at why I felt offended by the statement that the 'artist' had every human right to make. The end of my mini voyage of self discovery uncovered a personal identity crisis and a seed of self doubt. I'll expound:

I am a jack of lots of trades when it comes to crafting and because my interests branch out so much, I don't identify myself solely with any crafting group. Because I don't really 'belong' to a group exclusively, garnering acceptance from any one group has been difficult to put it nicely.
It was my lack of an "identity" that allowed me to feel as if I were being shunned by the anti-non-artsey layout. The responsibility for the way that I choose to see myself lands in MY lap, not that artist.

I brought this whole thing up to my husband when he called me during a break at work. He was very blunt and to the point having reached his 'eureka!' moment without the need of self discovery. "Why wouldn't you consider yourself artsey?" he asked, "All of the crafting you do falls into the realm of Arts and Crafts, so that makes you an 'Arts & Craftey' person; save some syllables and call yourself "artsey" and go to bed". Aside from trying to send me off to bed before I was ready to go, I found his comment extremely helpful.

My husband couldn't have hit that nail squarer on the head if he tried. All of the uproar and feelings of dejection that have been generated by that layout is the result of each interpreter's personal assessment of their self worth. In short, if you don't see yourself as artsey, then you will be offended, if you can manage to get over yourself long enough to see that you ARE artsey, then you won't (unless you decide to lead the charge on behalf of the non-artsey folks).

Scrapbooking is a craft that is in it's very essence is the artistic manifestation of a preserved memory. If it weren't artistic then it would just be pictures in a album; no journaling, no pretty patterned paper, no embellishments. This whole "just a scrapbooker" thing really does torque me when I hear it used in the recent context. Why do we have to personally devalue our hobby?

I know lots of non-artsey folks who hold more regard for scrapbooking than the women who actually partake in the craft! The ladies at work have called me 'artsey' as long as I can remember...I wish I'd remembered that before I'd allowed myself to be annoyed by the journaling in that layout. I don't begrudge KC for admitting that she doesn't like artsey people simply because :

• She didn't elaborate on what her idea of 'artsey' is therefore it's very possible that her journaling isn't as exclusionary as some of her past statements have been. Even if she does mean that she thinks all un-edgy scrappers are 'just lowly scrappers', so what? I refuse to re-align my self worth assessment to match her presumably narrow view of scrapbooking.
• I can only be insulted when I allow myself to be, I like to think that I rob any antagonist of the power to devalue me by first valuing myself and then by not allowing their input any purchase on my self perception.
• That woman is not responsible for buffering each individual scrapbooker's sensitive psyche; she may alienate herself by being so in-you-face and controversial, but that's HER bed to make and lay in. Some people appreciate the presence of all sorts of people in their lives, artsey or not. If someone wants to draw a line between themselves and the non-artsey world, then that's their choice to make. It's really about us. Momma would say that you didn't need nobody who don't want you.

At the risk of sounding like I'm preaching, I have to say that we as scrapbookers need to start checking our emotions at the door as it pertains to the opinions of others. We really need to start valuing what we do instead of watering it down for fear of being labeled pretentious or self absorbed.

If you play with scissors, paper, and glue... you might be artsey

How can anyone expect the non-scrapbooking people to have respect or appreciation for our craft if we don't even have it? We are not "just scrapbookers"! The memories that I strive to preserve are given my attention because they are important to me, that means that scrapbooking is important to me, and therefore not "just" or "only" anything. The time that I spend honing my craft (yes I did just write that) is not time wasted therefore why attach a negative connotation to my crafting?

It's funny how many scrapbookers are okay with being called 'creative' but deplore being referred to as 'arty' or 'artsey'...the words are synonymous! If what you create (there's that word again!) is aesthetically pleasing to people who view it, then it is an artistic representation of your creative spirit (yes, I did just write that). Heck people, even the dictionary is calling us artsey!

Artistic, adj.: 1. of art or artists, 2. done skillfully and/or tastefully, 3. sensitive to beauty Synonyms: inventive, skillful, creative, talented, aesthetic, imaginative (to name a few)

Arty (artsey), adj.: affectedly artistic

Artist, n.: 1. one who is skilled in any of the fine arts, 2. one who does anything very well, 3. a professional in any of the performing arts. Synonyms: master, painter, composer, dancer, creator, singer, (and the list goes on)

If create something aesthetic to be appreciated by others... you might be artsey.

I'm not trying to drag anyone to the waterhole kickin' and screamin'. If you don't want to consider yourself artsey, then don't (I'll still consider you artsey...so there!). Maybe it would be worthwhile to remind those who chose to take that route, that they are in essence allowing themselves to be included in that alienated group of non-artsey people. I hope that everyone chooses the positive route, whatever it is and ceases with the devaluing "just" and "only" tags that we attach to what we do with out memories.

Shameless rant session over.

If you are an investment banker who spends his/her free time...well doing more investment banking... you probably aren't artsey

What's beauty got to do with it?

I read the following comment from one of the people that have commented on this blog and I was so taken aback by the eloquence and focus that I think it deserves recognition...and further contemplation:
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The focus on appearance is an interesting topic. There has occasionally been some good discussion before it degenerates into character assassination and random uncalled for comments directed towards specific individuals. The problem comes from the fact that the magazines are all about marketing, and beautiful people and ideal looking lifestyles will sell. So, for someone wanting to be published, it becomes a serious topic to be considered because if one doesn't fit that mold, it could possibly (and I say that since I have no sure knowledge) make a difference in whether or not someone is published.

There's a lot of talk about wanting to see "real life" in the magazines, but let's face it. In this particular industry, "real life" doesn't sell. I think many of us are brought up to believe that utopia can happen if we work hard enough. So we buy magazines that show us beautiful people, beautiful homes, beautiful lifestyles and beautiful layouts that we too can have if we work hard enough.I think this holds true much more when it comes to your "celebrity" scrapbookers, which has been brought up repeatedly. Unfortunately, it doesn't work as a topic because you can only agree or disagree before everyone starts naming names.

Anyway, maybe I'm being a little Pollyanna, but I'm hoping that all of these blogs are opening some eyes and will lead to improvements. And I'm hoping that it comes to a point where we can have good, honest discussion without all of the vulgarities and insults. Do we really have so little of substance to share, especially among a group of women who have a hobby in common, that we have to result to school yard behavior? I'd like to think we do.
Anonymous
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I too have been reduced to shaking my head in shame and embarrassment when I look at the way that this hobby has evolved into yet another manifestation of the superficiality that runs rampant in our society.

I think that the poster hit on something when she said that "real life"doesn't sell. Look at the 'scripted' reality TV series that we are being bombarded with. The marketing gurus of the industry are looking for more and more ways to make money, and the scrapbooking industry is suffering under the weight of it's sudden "Extreme Makeover".

Honestly, I would identify more with a scrapper that I saw in a mag if I could see myself identifying with her on a human level first. The fact that the industry has become entangled in the appearance game has pretty much turned me away from it. Instead of trying to force feed us their perception of what a perfectly scrappy person/lifestyle would look like, I think that shift of focus in in order. Perhaps the first step in the restructuring should be that WE start dictating to THEM what a perfectly scrappy life is.

You would think that considering the demographic for the magazines, the editors would've thought it through better. Seriously, the magazines are primarily for scrapbookers who are, as a majority, women. Do we have to be bombarded with images of the "worthy' beautiful people when we are looking at scrap mags? What does something as benign as GOD seeing fit to retrofit me with a beaker instead of a petite nose have to do with my personal level of talent?

Some would argue that magazines like Vogue are just as guilty, but I think it's cabbage and tomatoes. Cosmo is focuses on fashion and some of that fashion is geared towards a particular (highly unattainable without starvation) body type. Therefore, there is a need for that body type to be represented in the image offerings. To use the same business model for scrapbooking is essentially saying that we can't obtain the levels of desired accomplishment without being physically "marketable' for the magazine/company. It's yet another medium that is sending an exclusionary message to the female masses. That message is one that whispers of inadequacy and shortcomings. That message is that talent isn't the most important prerequisite. But do you really need to be a bombshell supermom to step foot on the industry ladder? What does that have to do with anything that is important to the scrapbooker?

For some reason, all of this is tying right back to the almighty dollar. It really isn't a surprise that the backlash is such that it is. Long gone are the days when we would just sit in the eaves content to see another sister succeed. Today, we can discern that our level of talent is comparable to what we are being sold, and in doing this, we've begun to make our way through the multi-layered industry smokescreen and see the truth of the situation. That truth doesn't necessarily nurture the sisterhood; rather, it seems to only work to rip it apart. By taking our differences and using them as a means to divide instead of unify, the industry has helped create this monster.

BUT! Before we all start shouting in unified voices of revolt, we must turn that finger of blame at ourselves as well. The industry's machinations are only as powerful as we allow them to be. Some have fallen hook line and sinker for the 'standards' and have thus begun to hold their own courts in which they judge a fellow scrapbooker by her physical appearance. It's one thing to stereotype, it's another thing to call another human being ugly and untalented. I would be hard pressed NOT to believe that anyone who is capable of tying physical appearance and artistic talent together is truly a case study in human insecurity. Honestly, what directional choice does the industry have when personal attacks based on appearance are witnessed? The cry for the 'average, everyday' scrapbooker to be represented is pretty darned loud, but equally as loud are the blatantly superficial, borderline racist personal attacks that reverberate from some of these same scrappers.

Whatever happened to everyone being beautiful in their own right? What ever happened to 'if you don't have anything nice to say, say nothing? Whatever happened to the belief that beauty is only skin deep?

Here's a question: Are the personal attacks that some are subjected to a result of something besides apathy for their being in the spotlight? Is the 'you're ugly, therefore you're unvalidated' attitude serving any purpose other than to lend credence to the negative stereotypes about crafters/scrapbookers? I know, women are known to be 'catty' at times, but that is a matter of personal choice and is not genetic or otherwise inherent. So why are so many of us choosing to follow this destructive course of behaviour? Is it really easier to tear down others? Is there really more emotional benefit to devaluing someone based on something that person has little control over?

Life is too short...

...to spend it deliberating over paper and embellishment choices. Memories are being made while you preserve the moments of yesterday. Get'er done and get back to living!

...to spend shopping. The accumulation of 'stuff' that you can't take with you. Wow, either we are the most altruistic souls on the planet or we've lost touch with the days gone buy where a trip to the store was strongly linked to a need that needed fullfilling (and I don't mean the need to shop).

...to try to change people. If we were all the same then there would be nothing to argue about. As hard as it is, embracing our differences and *gasp* trying to see if there is anything at all that we can absorb from them, is something that we could all probably stand to benefit from.

...to sweat the small stuff. Someone's 'title' (self appointed or not), bugs you? Why do you allow it to? Human beings are granted the will to ignore things that we choose not to give our attention to...I know this because I catch my daughter trying to do it everytime I tell her it's naptime. If it's not your cup of tea, perhaps it's better to accept that it may very well be someone else's. I catch myself asking myself, "does such and such's behaviour impact my life?" if not, I don't sweat it. Embrace your inner ignore button.

...to spend it trying to convince people that they aren't special. We are all special, in our own way. No, I don't want anyone to hold my hand! I'm just saying that why is it important that everyone else on the planet not annoy us? Isn't our choice to be annoyed? Why are we so above scrutiny that we can try to tear someone down for being different than we are?

Is Scrapbooking Losing Ground?

I received my Joann's flier last week and I was somewhat shocked at what I slowly began to realize about it. If you have the flier, go ahead and open it up. Do you remember this time last year? The fliers that were published 'back in the day' had scrapbooking offerings literally spilling off of their dedicated 2-page spreads. You could find DCWV paper pack sales on the front page and maybe a tote or something elsewhere besides the 'scrapping' deals' page. I used to spend a few minutes just trying to take in all that was offered and creating a list of wants and needs based on the offerings. By the time I'd weeded out the wants from the needs, a good 20 minutes had elapsed, but it was time well spent in my opinion.

Now, you need a magnifying glass and a lot less deliberation. There is hardly anything being offered up. I'm not saying that there is little that interests me, I'm saying there is little there period.

The Michael's fliers, prior to Martha's line being launched, seemed to be a showcase platform for jewelry making and floral arranging supplies with scrapbooking getting a meager honorable mention.

Is this the first sign of the industry's imminent implosion? All of these years of systematic over saturation have to be taking it's toll in some way, shape or form. Is this the first sign? Or is it just the result of a slump in interest on the behalf of the scrapbooker? Perhaps, the consumer has grown tired of the way that they sells much of their products at a price that is10-20% above their competitor's (you know, you have to compensate for that 'generous', but limited 40% off coupon)? Perhaps all of the coupon word play and restrictions that M's and J's corporate implemented in the past have finally convinced many of us that it's just not worth it? Maybe all of those resolutions to freeze our wallets have resulted in a perceived lack of interest in the hobby? Is the online shopping arena finally gaining ground with their attractive sales and shipping deals?

Whatever it is, I know that it's not my imagination. I used to go to Joann's for lunch a couple of times a week (you absorb far less calories that way) and I would have to maneuver through the crowded scrapbooking section every single time. Now, when I occasionally go there at lunch, it's like a ghost town, though I must admit that I walk past the scrapbooking stuff enroute to the jewelry finding and beads. If I had a nickel for every time that I thought that now would be a the perfect time to get hoard happy...well, I'd have a lot of nickels.

If this is the first step towards implosion, then pray tell, what is the next one? Is this a good thing? Or will this come back and bite us in the behind? Will this atrophying (if that is indeed what it is) eventually expand to encompass the beloved online arena as well?

In a perfect 'scrappy' world...at least in mine...

I was doing laundry last night *gasp* and while I was in the throes of passionate folding I began to ponder what it is that I want from the scrapbooking industry. I mean, seriously, will I effect change with my novel-length musings? Doubtful! At best I will succeed only in locating a seemingly small demographic of scrappers who desire to intelligently discuss industry woes. Believe it or not, that's enough for me. I aspire to be a writer and I think one of my most basic desires is to have somebody read what I write and find value in it. Mission accomplished, as far as I'm concerned.

Where was I? Oh yeah, what do I want from the industry? I would say that I'd love to see all of us getting along, holding hands and exchanging supportive words while we frolic around in merriment, but the very thought just made me throw up a little. Here is what I would see if I were to peak into my own perfect scrappy utopia:

• Words and Phrases like "outdated", "that was so yesterday", "talented", and "CM-Style" would be omitted from the scrapper vocabulary. Words/phrases like those are too often used in pious judgement of other scrappers artistic representation and I think we could ALL do with a little less of that nonsense.
• Manufacturer's wouldn't be limited in number, but they would have to follow a staggered release time table and quantity guidelines. The companies would be allowed to showcase their release at one of 2 trade shows held per year. The first 1/2 of the registered companies would have to reveal their limited number of new products in January and the other 1/2 would reveal in theirs in July of that year.
• Speaking of trade shows. There would ONLY be 2 and only retailers would be invited on the first 2 days. The general public would be invited on the final day and the penalty for self promotion would be immediate expulsion and a future attendance ban (that goes for retailers who use the venue to leech free DT products from the vendors as well). Goody bags would be given to people who place an order only... that way, company's wouldn't have to leave the trade show feeling as if they'd been hogtied and beaten by the freebie grubbin' public. Maybe that would influence the price of the products that other retailers who didn't attend the show have to pay. It's a common fact that the trade shows have proven to be a financial black hole for many companies because of the entitlement attitudes of the attendees.
• The use of the word 'boycott' when not in reference to a company or event that is conducting business in a way that atrociously affects humanity. I'm tempted to impose fines or jail time for anyone daring to suggest a boycott of a company simply because it refused to cater its policy to allow for more financial gain for the retailers (even if it means red ink for the company). Employing children for pennies an hour is a boycott-able offense. Providing volume discounts to large retailers who can afford to order 150% more product than you can...is not. Neither is shipping the super large orders out first to the chain stores who then have to distribute the product to 100 other stores.
• Manufacturer Design Team calls would be taboo. That's right, no sanctioned cattle calls that primarily serve to boost product sales for a company. The marketing people would have to do some leg work and search out candidates and ask them to submit work for consideration. Stores would be discouraged from announcing cattle calls as well, rather it would be preferred if they chose their team from the group of people who have already made the choice to frequent that site...without ulterior motives!
• Somehow, through collusion or divine intervention, only 3 companies at a time would ride a pattern trend wave. That way, the scrapbooker doesn't have to choke on 15 different representations of the paisley pattern or 415 variations of the same flower power paper from 25 different manufacturers.
• The release of 'new' tools would be strictly observed. The Silent Setter, Click-it, Quick-Setter, Crop-a-dile. Need I say more? Okay I will. If it ain't broke, attempts to fix it will be scrutinized. Isn't it Johnson & Johnson that has the business model that states that if a product to be presented doesn't offer significant improvement over what's already on the market, then it's not released until it does? What improvement did the Crop-a-dile offer to those of us who have no interest in punching holes 1.5" from the rim of a coffee can? Did MM really have to come out with a notch tool? Is the spring loaded delivery system really so important that it was considered better than BG's similar spring-less system?
• "To Each Her Own" would be etched on every monetary note right next to "In GOD we trust". It would be on sign posts and on the back of every sheet of papers. Heck, there would be television shows that would teach how to better accept that everyone is different and how to avoid outwardly expressing any derogatory feelings you feel towards any one person's interpretation of OUR hobby. The US and THEM mentality would be taboo and anyone who dared to try to incite chaos by uttering disparaging words about other scrapbookers would be forced to walk around wearing a billboard that says, "I don't play well with others...kick me."

I guess in a nutshell, my scrappy world would just be a utopia of artistic acceptance and kinship. There would be no need for a lot of mushy hugs or sappy affirmations, but the general attitude of acceptance would more than make up for all of that.

Okay, I'm done being absolutely silly now. Perhaps I'll be more grown up tomorrow?

Martha, Martha, Martha...Part Deux...

After reading a comment that was left for my last entry and perusing the GS board on 2peas I decided that Martha has earned yet another 5 minutes of my time today.

Not that I adore the woman. Believe me when I say that I really don't have an emotional attachment to her or her product line. Her line is sophisticated cute and it caters to the demographic that really wouldn't give a flying flip if 2Peas dried up and rolled away.

I just want to toss my last 2 pennies in the mix concerning all of this Martha-Mess because I think that it is getting way out of hand. It used to be that women veiled their venom, not anymore. Check out this eloquently tolerant statement that was posted by a veggie:

"Actually, the A/F construction paper will fade like there's no tomorrow. It's crap. She is just so off-base. So far, Marie Osmond and Leeza Gibbons have crashed and burned in this industry. Martha will be next. We don't need outsiders, thank you very much, to smack their names on overpriced products that they don't even know how to use. We have plenty of products without them."

Whoa Bessy!

I'm sorry, but I think that the lack of oxygen must be getting to some people; obviously the high horse is not the best place to be after all?

OUTSIDER? Since when was scrapping a prerequisite for selling product to our horde happy masses? How many LSS owners do I know that don't scrap? 3 thus far, and I wouldn't dare tell either one of them that they need to quit the business because they don't scrapbook.

All of this latest Martha bashing is stemming from the fact that Martha mentioned matting photos with construction paper. Somebody get out the cattle prod, Martha's gone wacko! Seriously! Who the heck are we to dictate what someone else uses for THEIR scrapbook? Well, I know that that I would never do that so let me rephrase that: Who the heck are they to dictate whether the way someone else scraps is right or wrong? I don't know exactly when it was that scrapbooking got it's start but I'm sure that it long, long before anyone cared about acid & lignin free properties.

You see, this is the same attitude of judgement and intolerance that is bringing the industry down. Martha Stewart admitted that she doesn't scrapbook but would like to start. In normal, civilized society (complete with regular rabies shots) this would be a note worthy admission that shows the character of the speaker. In our rabid online community that admission was the equivalent to permission to pick apart every word that fell out of the woman's mouth from that point afterwards. And they did. Shamelessly so.

I really wonder how many of those people are of the bunch that were oh so eager to get her product on their store shelves or who held out against all hope for a DT shot? Sour grapes are a biatch, as my buddy would say. It's just really sad that the transparent motivations for all of this recent Martha Lynching activity aren't address instead of how much hands on knowledge she has of the scrapbooking hobby.

Here is my stance on this:

1. Martha has yet to send subliminal messages over the boob tube or Internet, so you are still at liberty to NOT buy her product. If you buy her product and don't like it, don't buy it again and tell a friend. If you have never bought her product but like riding that ugly wave of chaos, ask yourself how you would feel if you were subject to the same malicious attacks. NOBODY HAS TO BUY HER PRODUCT! Why is that a moot point in all of this? Is there really a consensus that all of this negativity and back biting will somehow make her go away? I'm sorry, but I think that Martha Stewart has been playing hardball a lot longer that the veggies who think she's an outsider...she'll leave when SHE wants to leave.

2. This whole 'outsiders' thing is prepubescent at best and blatantly arrogant at worst. So until a person earns their strips in scrapbooking, they are 'outsiders'? I'm sure I already have my stripes, but I tell you what, if that is what I would be a part of as an 'insider', I'd gladly rip off those stripes and skip my naked behind off to the land of the outsiders. We have been talking about overpriced supplies and the over saturation of the market for over a year now, and now that Martha is here doing things her way (as opposed to the way the 'insider masses' want her to), there is a problem with overpriced product and too much of it. 2 words come to mind here:
Grow Up!

3. I don't care if Martha Stewart has ever scrapbooked a darned thing in her life. She has proven herself as an uber crafty person...it's not a far leap from there people... I made it myself. SO WHAT if she's learning how to scrap as she goes! Do you need to know how to scrapbook to design a eye-pleasing patterned paper? I don't think so! Now, she might've been a little behind on her information (i.e., paper tearing being the latest thing... according to a dated scrapbooking show that she watched) but does it really matter? I really thing that a lot of people watched the show just so they could take her every word out of context. Martha has a supporting staff and marketing people who have done the studying that she has yet to get around to. Hello! I looked at her line and I liked the way it looked, and I'm not the only one. What does that mean? It means that somebody must be studying the scrapbooking public. It means that Martha may be a novice in the area of scrapbooking, but obviously there is somebody behind the scenes that knows what they are doing.

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Do what you like. Think what you like. Say what you like. It's the Internet, words are virtually free here and the price you pay for abusing other faceless people on it is small. I won't tell anyone what they should feel about Martha's line, that is a personal preference. I've made my decision based on what I've seen of her line, and not based on personal baggage that I want to lump in her lap. I couldn't care less if Martha makes it in this business or not, but I will wish her the best. I just wonder if she knew what type of judgemental, superficial, self-important, intolerant people she would have to be subjected to? I certainly hope that she didn't make the mistake of hoping for hand holding and rounds of 'kumbaya' that I did... otherwise she is in for a rude awakening.

Pink Plungers OR How to Clear a Creativity Block...

You've worked hard all day. You've dealt with people, big and small, who have threatened to run your last viable nerve through a wood chipper and you managed to escape your peril unscathed. Through it all, the prospect of being able to sit down with your craft kept you going. It was the one thing that kept you going when your mind screamed for catatonia. It's the ray of hope when the idea of you-time seemed like a dismal punch drunk daydream. It's your lifeline to which you so desperately cling. It's your inner sanctum, buffeted by your creativity, protected by magic more powerful that the best Valium on the market and oblivious to all things barring fire.

You make your way to your sanctuary, be it a multi-function table (ahem...dining room), a corner of a quiet room, or a hidey-hole complete with door and functioning locks. You reverently inhale the aroma of the creative potential that emanates from your stash and sit down in preparation for a visit to Utopia. Calgon has nothing on Bazzill and you wait to be swept away on the creative current. And you wait. You shuffle through some pictures and tidy up a bit here and there. And wait a little more. You take a stroll through your patterned paper inventory in search of a sheet that jumps out at you. And you wait. You concede that the Creativity Train is obviously in need of a little jump start so you grab a magazine or idea book. And you wait.

And you keep waiting until that once small niggling fear grows to monstrous doubt. You can't find the story that you've been wanting to tell. You're stuck at the station waiting for a train that at that moment, you're certain will never arrive. It doesn't matter that you're screaming for the release. Your mojo has taken a holiday and oddly enough, you were the last to know.

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Scrapblock. The obstruction of a scrapbookers creative flow.

It's pretty darned common and it has lead a lot of people away from the scrapbooking hobby.
How it comes about is not really known, but there is enough speculation floating around to choke a fairly large horse. Some of the more common 'noted' causes of scrap blockage:

• Too much or too little scrapbooking
• Too many or too few supplies
• Intimidation (brought about by focusing too much on the work of others
• Boredom
• Style Evolution/Progression
• Fear (of acceptance or rejection)
• Loss of focus (as in, "why do I scrapbook?")
• Guilt. Life has managed to infiltrate your inner sanctum and therefore blocks creativity (i.e., you really should go finish folding the laundry)
• Disorganization/Clutter
• Too many creative outlets

I'm no expert. I can tell you with a degree of certainty that to have me as you psychiatrist would signify the first step on a very ill-begotten road. What I offer is my experience in dealing with some pretty monumental episodes of scrap blockage (I'm tempted to add "known to man" but I won't go there). At the risk of posting yet another novel, I will detail the above mentioned triggers.

Too much or too little scrapbooking:

Quite simply this is referred to a burnout or disassociation. If you take a break from scrapbooking, you may go through a period of reacquainting in which you have to simply get your groove back. I liken it to trying to strengthen muscles that have been allowed to atrophy; you simply have to work a bit harder to remind it of it's capacity. If you have entrenched yourself into scrapbooking by committing yourself to numerous design team requirements or contest prerequisites, your creativity, much like the over used muscle will first tremble, then falter, and ultimately fail.

Too many or too few supplies

With options comes choice. With choice comes indecision. With indecision comes doubt. With doubt comes fear. With fear comes stagnancy. I have found that it is really hard to get myself to say "this will do" when there are so many other things that might possibly "do" better. Yes, it's lovely to have all of the options available. I get giddy when I look at my 137 different colors of Bazzill cardstock, but then I get nervous about selecting the 'wrong' color for my layout and wind up putting it off until I am 100% certain. That's why I still have pictures of my now 3 year old that I took when she came home from the hospital. Having supplies are good, great even, but we must be aware of the fact that they can pose a threat to our creativity much the same as the industry's over saturation does.

Intimidation (brought about by focusing too much on the work of others

There is nothing quite like feeling that your work doesn't quite "cut it". You see a layout and you are immediately taken in by the way it was executed, the way it's creator melded colors, textures and embellishments perfectly. You want to take some of that and put it into your own work, but you can't grasp her creative process and every attempt to emulate her style results in something you see as contrived and fake.

Boredom

*yawn* It's the same old, same old with you. You pick your cardstock, slap some patterned paper on it, throw down some pictures, journaling and embellishments. No matter what you do, your layouts always strike you as somewhat cloneish. The very act of scrapbooking has lost it's emotional appeal and may possibly begin to feel like a job.

Style Evolution/Progression

After months of doing things one way, you start to feel the tickling dissatisfaction with your layouts. You want to just scrap the way you have been but every now and then you catch yourself doing something that isn't conventionally "you". Things that you said you would never waste your time doing are now piquing your interests and the need to go flying off on some creative tangent is scaring the scrap out of you...literally.

Fear (of acceptance or rejection)

You want that peer validation. Sometimes you think you NEED it. You've submitted your work for public viewing and have received little or no feedback of value to you. Perhaps there is a cliquish atmosphere on the site or at the LSS that you frequent and you feel the need to have your work "fit in"? Perhaps you don't want to be accepted into any body's fold and would rather keep it to yourself despite a part of you desiring to share your art with the world.

Loss of focus (as in, "why do I scrapbook?")

Scrapbooking has become a habit to you. If you are contracted to scrap for a store or a company, often the requirement to produce pages fails to make allowances for your personal tastes. There's nothing quite as show stopping as being asked to scrapbook with paper/supplies that make it hard to keep your lunch down. You've entered into a loveless relationship and that flies right in the face of a hobby that originated from the need to celebrate the things that we love. Again, it's become a job and for most of us, the word job and the word fun don't go hand in hand.

Guilt

Life has managed to infiltrate your inner sanctum and therefore blocks creativity (i.e., you really should go finish folding the laundry). For some of us, scrapbooking is a time that is spent away from those that we chose to share our existences with. The pursuit of me-time can be seen as selfish and *gasp* anti-maternal. The needs of others (i.e., our family, the world outside of our scraprooms) can often manifest itself when we least want it to. Yes, you should clean out that freezer, but is it more beneficial to scrapbook away some stress or to clean out a freezer while envisioning locking your husband in it? We are often trained to put others needs before out own and I'm frankly shocked that more women haven't run away from home.

Disorganization/Clutter

How can you possibly find your creativity when you can't even find your desk? I've always said that the first key to using your stash is to know your stash. The second key is to be able to find it. Clear your work top, clear your mind. Your creativity doesn't fancy wading through your clutter any more than you do.

Too many creative outlets

I am what you'd call a truly crafty person. And I'm a Gemini, which means I need constant change to stave off boredom. Honestly, I had no business getting into hands-on crafts. It has literally been a life sentence of indecision for me and if I'd known then what I know now, I would ran away from the prospect of crafting. I sew. I write. I paint. I scrapbook. I crochet. I draw. I make jewelry. How the heck can I pick just one? Like they say, jack of all trades; master of none. It is really a juggling act when you have so many active hobbies and often partaking of one involves feeling a desire to be more active in one of the others. The best of scales couldn't pull off that balancing act.

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Those are some of the more common triggers for the infamous scrap block. The act of breaking up a block involves trial and error more than anything else. Keep in mind that individual solutions offered are not often the end all be all cure for any one trigger (though sometimes we get lucky). Usually the cure to a blockage will require a broad spectrum solution made up of any number of these remedies. The key to figuring out how to break a blockage will always lie in determining what triggered it.

Remedies:

• Rediscover your space. Clean it, reorganize it, make it new. Who doesn't like new stuff? Sometimes the simple act of reinventing your workplace can trick your mojo out of hiding.
• Seek your inspiration elsewhere. If you often frequent an online gallery and feel that familiar self doubt when you see work that you really like, go someplace else. Try a magazine, an idea book, a local store.
• Learn a new technique/take a class. Focus your energy on perfecting a technique (another good use of those little scraps you've been accumulating). With mastery comes a renewed interest that could be applied to your layouts when the time is right. By taking the time to master it, you take a great deal of power from the fear of "messing up" your layouts and you give yourself time to envision ways that your new found technique can be used in a layout.
• Explore other paper crafting venues. Go grab your stack of scraps and start making cards. It could be something as simple as a making a stack of generic gift tags for future gift giving, or it could be making a stack of "Thinking of You" cards for people you haven't started thinking about yet. I used to make paper piecings just to see if I could do it. If you can step away from scrapbooking for a while but still keep your skills honed, you stand a good chance of shattered that block in no time.
• Explore other crafting venues. This is a tricky one because of the whole balancing act that you have to perform once you go back to scrapping (uh..if you go back to scrapping?). Sometimes all it takes is to delve into a different creative venue to get the juices flowing again. Good creative flow in one area can often be rerouted to other areas and successfully maneuvering another craft can be therapy for the spirit as all is no longer lost.
• Turn off the computer. You know what I mean. I used to do online crops and all of that, but I noticed that I rarely got a lot of scrapbooking done during my time spent online. It's hard to keep your flow going when someone is constantly IM-ing you or when you have to keep up with what's going on.
• Learn to value the opinions of those who have to love you. Okay, that sounded bad, but it's true. Once you give more credence to praise that comes from the people who love you, the praise that you may or may not get from the nameless, faceless masses will carry little weight.
• Volunteer to teach someone to scrap. Once when I was feeling blocked, I began to teach my son to scrapbook. Yes, he did ask to be taught, what kind of mother do you think I am? The very act of explaining how I selected papers and my designing techniques was enough to 'remind' myself.
• Step back from your obligations. There is nothing quite as liberating as scrapping for yourself. Use the papers that you want to use. Use the pictures that you want to. Keep something just for yourself; who says you have to share everything with the world? You could create a layout that you love and simply frame it as a little something for only you.
• Talk yourself through it. I have a little scrapbooking show that I sometimes host. There are only 3 people in the audience (Me, Myself and I), but it's fun to talk my way through a layout, contrived British accent and all. My husband thinks I'm insane and my son is quite certain of it, having taken lessons from my cooky behind, but if it helps I'll do it. In the future, I'd like to get a recording of an audience applause just to lend realism to the 'show'.
• Do some sketches. Either make your own, or pick some up off the .net. I always recommend pagemaps.com because they have an awesome selection of sketches that varies in style. I sometimes take a layout that I like and create a sketch from it, then scrap the sketch instead of the layout. This forces me to make the layout mine without allowing the other scrapper's design choices to weigh too heavily on my own. Sketch challenges are an awesome venue for chipping away at creative blocks.
• Scraplift something. Either lift it or case it. Which ever you feel most comfy doing. Please, do give credit where it is due though. I've never submitted any work that I've scraplifted, but that is a personal decision that you need to work out for yourself. I've found that scraplifting challenges are awesome for spurring creative flow because you have unmitigated permission to copy AND you have a time limit that kind of puts a kink in the old indecision wagon.
• Scrap with friends or alone. Depending on what you usually do, doing the opposite, might just be the B5 shot you're jonesing for. Sometimes the incessant hen chatter allows you to create without thinking about creating. At other times, having only the company of our thoughts allows us to hear the sometimes whisper quiet mutterings of our strangled mojo. The key is to mix it up and take yourself out of the box that you're currently stuck in.
• Force indecision into a supporting role. I've mentioned it before, but it bears mentioning twice. Indecision is the #1 killer of creative flow. You can force that hairy monster out of the spotlight by making your decisions ahead of time. Take a creativity deficient scrap session and turn it into planning session. Make up a bunch of little kits with your existing stash. Store them in 2 gallon baggies and go on to the next kit. The next time you have scrapping time, either grab a kit and scrap with it or make more kits. The most important thing to remember is to not allow yourself access to the rest of your stash until you've used what you've supplied in your kit. By doing this, you have forced your indecision monster into the background (at least for a little while) and you've allowed your sense of accomplishment to reign supreme. That alone is often enough to shrink your indecisiveness down to manageable size.
• Finish those incomplete projects. Got journaling to add to an otherwise completed layout? Do it. Need to finish binding a mini album? What are you waiting for? Have a tray that needs some modge podge? Grab your brush. There is much power to be found in the feeling of having accomplished something. If nothing else, you will have given yourself one less thing to think about while you're supposed to be scrapping.
• Allow yourself a night off from scrapping. Sometimes it's as simple as allowing yourself the option to not to scrapbook. Flip through a magazine, watch the boob tube. Do whatever you like and do it without an ulterior motive. Allowing yourself to not scrap when you don't want to is a great mental stress relief.
• Don't shop. The worst thing that I can do for a scrapblock is to shop. That might just be me, but I don't think that it is. If you have enough stuff in your stash to make your LSS owner jealous, going shopping for the perfect paper is nothing more than a band-aid...and a dirty one at that. Shopping has a tendency to lend power to the blockage in that it allows for more indecision and ultimately supply overload. I would avoid shopping...at all costs.
• Make a list and stick to it. One of my dearest friends makes up a daily to do list everyday. Her list is comprised of all of the things that she wants to get done around the house before she can start scrapping. When she has checked off everything on the list, she then allows herself to scrapbook without the nagging guilt. The key here is to make up lists of just enough tasks to allow you to not feel that you're neglecting your family, but still honor your need for you-time. A typical list might include: Finish & serve dinner, load/run dishwasher, wash/dry/put away a load of laundry, clean 2 bathrooms, administer baths & bedtime stories. Believe it or not, but with some practiced multi tasking, you can actually finish that list in 3-4 hours and be scrapping by 8 or 9pm if you get home at 5pm (I'm a night owl, so that is perfect for me). Don't believe me? Email me. I'll send you a detailed agenda of the way the evening unfolds.

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Creative blocks are normal. They don't have to be the monstrous burden that they are perceived to be. I view them as a means by which to warn me that I need to stop and reevaluate. Usually after I finish rethinking the way I do things, the block melts away until I lose sight again. Everybody goes through blocks. Everybody. It's just that some people know themselves so well that they are able to discern where it's coming from fairly quickly and are thus able to get their juices flowing before anyone notices . That takes practice and self awareness and perseverance. Something we are all capable of.

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TFR!

What the *bleep* is wrong with scrapping simple?

Does a scrapbooking page really have to meet a quota for product usage to gain validation?

Nothing makes me cringe more than to read negative comments about layouts in various galleries.
It's pretty darned arrogant (in my little book) to assume that just because a layout doesn't reflect your personal style that it is somehow crap. I throw up a little bit whenever someone refers to someone else's clean style as CM or Suzy or even Zielski-ish.

Here's the skinny. If we can all be different people, then why the heck can't we have different tastes when it comes to our crafting? If a person wants to put enough product on her layout that she can't even pick it up without building up her upper body strength...I say, "Rock on and do what you do!". If a person wants to breath new life into the minimalist movement, I say, "You go with your downsized self!". I don't care what someone else is doing with their layouts...either I'm inspired or I'm not.

Not finding inspiration in a layout does NOT equate to that layout being worthless.

I can't help wonder how we have slipped into this cycle of judgement. I can't help but doubt that there is anyway for this industry to pull itself up from the depth of the abyss of judgement and intolerance.

I just wanted to get that off my chest.

Martha, Martha, Martha...let the whining begin...

I went into Michael's this past weekend and was blown away by the monstrous display for Martha Stewart's new line of scrapbooking products. I didn't buy anything. Not because I didn't like it, but rather because I need more scrapping supplies like I need a n 11th toe. I was, however, impressed by what I saw and the way that she approached this hobby.

The Pros:
I love the rich, ADULT-based color tones that she chose to signature her line with. It doesn't scream anything...it whispers sophistication. I'm not a big Martha fan, but I would be wrong not to give credit where it's due. Martha has made a name for herself in the domestication-with-flair arena and I'm glad that she tackled the scrapbooking thing with the same eye for design and attention to detail.
I really like that her products don't just touch on the ignored demographic of scrapbookers; rather, it yokes them up by the nape and tosses them to the forefront...exactly where the magnitude of their number should dictate them to be. It's about the everyday scrapper with the Stewart line and there aren't any pretentious offerings that I could see.
It's something new. Now, I don't see my self buying one of those huge, bigger than a stove top albums that she is offering, but it was so cool to see something that was actually new. She intelligently created this line in such a way that a beginner could get everything they need to scrapbook (even scissors) from one line and not have to bounce around. The biggest stumbling block for me when I was getting started was determining what all I needed. I spent 2 hours in a store trying to figure out if I'd gotten everything or too much.

The CONS:
It's not cheap stuff, so there is no cheap price. I felt the paper from a display and it's pretty good! It's no Chatterbox or Wild Asparagus, but it's not Sandylion either. To amass a dedicated Martha scrap stash, you'd better be prepared to spend some moulah. It's no more expensive than what's out today, but it's brand new so discounts are going to be hard to come by.
That brings us to the no coupon policy that somebody has chosen to implement. I don't care who decided that the 40% off coupons would not be valid on her line, it is what it is and I accept that. If I don't like it, I won't buy it. As it stands, I'm not in a buying mood, so I won't be caring any time soon.

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Whine and Cheese:
After seeing the line, I went to the Veggie Patch to see if I could find any reviews on the quality of the stuff. What I ran into was a public uproar over Martha's line and yet another small retailer attempt to organize a boycott against a product manufacturer. Why?

Because Martha/EK chose to make their line exclusive to Michael's for something like the first 6 months. Suddenly, the screams of blasphemy are raging from the LSS owners who want a piece of the Martha pie (at no doubt a 25% mark up for my wallet). Martha knows that smaller stores will play Russian Roulette and try to guess which products will be popular and only order those on the prediction list. Martha also knows that that is the fastest way for her line to go nowhere. Martha is probably fully aware that selling her stuff piece meal puts her at a disadvantage...you know...strength in numbers and all of that. Martha wants her entire line to be presented during it's debut...do you know of an LSS that has the space that would be required to put that woman's entire line out? It took 2 aisles and a floor kiosk at Michael's. Do you know of any LSS (outside of a major chain..but even they would be strapped for cash) that can AFFORD to order the entire line and to adhere to a no coupon policy? I don't.

The bottom line is that it's Martha's line...her baby...she isn't required to give everyone a chance to ride the wave and make money off of it. The only small retailer who has a pony in this race is the one who happened to put up substantial front money to help get the Stewart line off the ground. Oh... nobody put up capital?... oh... Martha and her backers put up the money... uh... okay... then I guess it's time for somebody to sit down and shut that flap trap down.

Rather than seeing the situation for what it is, there are people stomping around, firmly entrenched in their entitlement attitudes. The whole, "we are designers and deserve more advantage" and the "I run an LSS and I deserve priority " stuff is just getting old. The rant to boycott companies that don't want to bow down and pave the way to retail success for the little guy is just shameful.

As far as I am concerned, manufacturers should be held accountable for the quality of their products. To declare that Martha Stewart will be responsible for closing LSS doors is a stretch folks. I thought it was the responsibility of the LSS owner to keep her store opened and her customers happy? There are many scrapbookers who don't feel the need to pledge an allegiance to a store simply because it caters to our choice of hobbies. That number increases as LSS owners increase their markup to cover costs. I didn't ask anyone to open a store anymore than I asked them to have a family. Therefore, I refuse to acknowledge a responsibility for keeping that store open nor feeding the owner's family. Those are tasks that have been intrusted to the owner and sharing a common interest is hardly enough to gain my loyalty...especially when that loyalty means having less money in my wallet. Quite frankly, if a store's ability to remain up and running is contingent on whether or not Martha Stewart allows you to sell her line before the big retailers, then I have to say that the store's business model is flawed. Flawed because it is founded on a belief that we will come regardless of price. It's flawed because it ignores text book economical supply and demand facts. It is flawed because it fails to acknowledge that the consumer is the true powerhouse in the equation.

I can tell you this... I am a person who can wait a looooong time for what I want... If I want it, it will get it, for the price I want or not at all. That people, is power.