Should MAKERS Make Resolutions for 2021?

In 2011 I posted a list of My 2011 Crafting Resolutions. It's almost 2021 and I wonder, "Should MAKERS even Make Resolutions for 2021? Hmmmm... 

Well one thing has not changed through this past year is the deep desire to create.  Making, crafting is simply an integral key, a part of my life, who I am. Interestingly my grown son shared with me that a memory from his Christmas growing up was "making/creating" It seems that creating as part of our gifting brings fond memories of what Christmas means to him. 

One thing about having so many creative ideas is that it often leaves in its wake unfinished projects, which in the past had led to crafting resolutions. Unfortunately like resolutions for the New Year in general, those lists of resolutions rarely make it past the first few weeks. Oh dear, what to do, what to do?

After all my thinking, ruminating and mixed feelings I come back to the concept of "One Word" and as it applies to Makers. 

In preparation for this NEW YEAR my word in LIFE will be "Transformation" 

How will that play out as a "Maker"? 

I want to focus on enjoying the process, letting the moments I spend creating/making bring transformation to my soul. Instead of list making and checking off boxes I prefer to experience that moment where there is a quiet shift into that right-brained 

zone where time slips away and creativity just happens. 

As for all those unfinished projects...perhaps it is time to just "Let it go, Let it go!"

Inspiration is a mysterious thing, sometimes the decision to just let it go sparks the flame to completion. 

How I Started 2014: THE NEW YEAR

The simple things in life bring so much joy...hanging out with two of our grandchildren on New Years Eve...creating, laughing, child's play...yes the simple things :) The ART of Beginning! I look forward to what this bright New Year will bring. Perhaps like the banner our granddaughter created it will be bright, colorful, and sparkly with some "throw back your head laughter" thrown in for good measure .

Summertime Flurries

Deer in my backyard

Can you see the dragonfly?

Happy Birthday Grand Nephew

Happy Birthday Grand Nephews!

Breakfast ~ Overnighter

This summer has been a flurry of activity! Looking over my calendar we've had events at nearly every weekend. A recent overnighter with my WOW ladies was a blast. My dear friend Melanie D and I planned it together. Last minute adjustments to our plan came up of course and as often happens God works out all the bumps :) Melanie D taught our ladies how to make fabric flowers created from her fabric stash. We used our Sizzix Big Shot and Stampin Up Bigs Die "Fun Flowers". The variety and creativity was simply amazing!

We also made some Journals and our resident Graphics Designer Carol G created the design for our covers. The rest was done with designer papers, the Cinch was used to bind our creations. Our devotional time gave inspiration and refreshment...the topic... Abiding in Him. The journals turned out to be the perfect thing to write down what God spoke to us over the weekend.  

Sandwiched in between birthdays, visits from friends, and memorial celebrations and last goodbyes the days of summer are slowly slipping by <sigh>. With all the celebrating it has given me lots of opportunity to be creative since I delight in personalizing the cards and gifts I prepare.


I thought I would show you a few of the fun things I have made while hanging out down in my craft room. {Like the potato chip commercial I just can't seem to  make just one of anything, ha-ha.}

An ATC for SassyRose on Swap_bot

Vintage Themed ATC

Vintage ATC

Christs Miracles ATC Swap on Swap-bot

Finally, I'll be getting to hang out with my sons, grandkids, and daughters...yippie! I am excited to see everyone, I love to spend time with my family. Yes.... Arizona is always sizzling hot but as they say, its a dry heat!

The Art Of Life and

Looking back on my week, a sense of accomplishment and joy fills me when I can say "My art has affected the quality of my enjoyment of life and the lives of others", it is such a  rewarding feeling. Henry David Thoreau said...

To affect the quality of the Day, that is the ART of Life.

This past few days I have been creating digital ATC's. I've made two for a Digital ATC Swap on Swap-bot. It is a fun diversion from, and change with tools and techniques I had been using. The two ATC's are quite different but I was pleased with the outcome on both. Above I started with a cool bohemian floral image then blended the quote and woman fanally adding the accent flowers. On the ATC shown below, I practiced grunge layering atop of a fun reptilian image.



Other swaps I've been working on include an ATC Pansy, and ATC that features elements that go over the edge of the card, an ATC using a book page as a main element, creating a postage stamp ATC picture, decorting an envelope with bees and finally a card with bees, butterflies or some other summertime critter. All of the swaps are on thier way and I'm on to other swaps but one thing remains... The quality of my day/week has been affected :)

 

Scraps of Life ~ Toward Inspiration and Creativity

I had a most fabulous day gathering inspiration and stirring creativity. The day was spent with my sister at South Towne Expo where the Scrapbook USA event was being held. Although we noticed that the event is not nearly the size it has been in the past that did not hinder us from spending all day and lots of dollars as we took in all the wonderful booths.

Many of our old favorite booths were there like Its Cheaper Than Therapy and they did not dissapoint us...the array of Sizzix dies and folders was truely amazing. 

Purple Cows had some astounding deals on their bundles...of course I had to get all the wonderful blades that wavy cut, perforate and fold.

Tessler Stamps & Stencils were there and demoing as they always do. They had a great little Make & Take project that even two very tired expo attendees could manage. I was delighted with my finished necklace and had a hard time picking out products from thier great assortment.

Are you a Cricut fan? My oh my the company Cri-Kits has some cool stuff you have to see! Embossing on metal, sparkly markers that fit any Cricut and more will get your mind going crazy with ideas.

Unity Stamp Company really knocked our socks off. The stamps they carry are beautifully detailed, fine art. The owners have a wonderful boothside manner and were so helpful at easing the transition of my money to thier till LOL. One of my new purchases... a bird stamp & word Life Is Beautiful.

I couldn't manage to pass The Eyelet Outlet without picking up a package of adorable ladybugs and Blue Moon beads lured me to pick up a few new strands of beads.

Are you still struggling to organize tangles of ribbon? Are your spools spilling out of drawers? You may just NEED one of these cool caddys from RicRac Rollers.

One booth that got me all excited though was Just Me! Music. I know, I know its not even a scrapart booth. Psssst! Let me share a secret, I have a Christmas gift and its only September!!

Bits and Pieces

My dear friend Sarah and my husband have been so sweet to me since I broke my ankle. Not only have they been concerned about helping me with everyday life but they have also been wonderful about making sure I am able to get to keep busy where I can. Sarah has been a huge advocate of making sure I am able to get to my craft supplies, she knows me well ;)Tom helped me get downstairs one day and I pointed out my basic supplies then I remembered I have a drawer marked card components that has grown quite full over the past year. It holds parts and pieces...items that are from an experiment with a background on plain cardstock, or when I've assembly lined a bit more than needed or when I start a card and I find that it isn't working, it gets thrown in that drawer. Well I am quite excited! I have put together quite a few cards in the past week. A side benefit is that I am still on track with cleaning up and reorganizing my little craft heaven...YEA!!

Creativity , "What does it have to do with organizing my scraproom?"

Creativity is spurred in each of us in a myriad of ways. Just do a search on google using the terms creativity, messy and organized. I did, and what I found were folks out in cyberspace each of them postulating thier own way of thinking. To show you what I mean, here are a few quotes I collected in my personal research.

• "I’d rather refer to it as organized chaos"- Unknown
• In terms of creativity, messiness juxtaposes things that otherwise would be separated by order. For instance, let’s say you’re writing a proposal and you have many papers and documents on your desk. You can see all the relationships between the different documents and you can combine them in different, creative ways. -Eric Abrahamson on the Benefits of Messiness
• “messy desks are the vivid signatures of people with creative, limber minds"- Pentelope Green
• Without this playing with fantasy no creative work has ever yet come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of imagination is incalculable.- Carl Jung
• Clutter, both mental and physical, can do a number on our productivity and eat away at our time.
• I used to have a coffee cup that said "A creative mind is rarely tidy." Most of the really creative types I know are actually pretty organized, except when they are in the midst of creating. Then all bets are off!
  Do you enjoy walking in to your craft space when everything is in its place? Is your personal sytle all about being stimulated by the piles of color, tools all thrown about, and project pieces in mini piles here and there? I fall somewhere in between but the best description of me is in the last quote I found. It rings so true... I am actually pretty organized, except when they are in the midst of creating. Then all bets are off!