After school

Sid and her buddies walking home from school. I love documenting these everyday rituals. Wish I had some pages about my childhood to look at!!

Happy Birthday my love...

Sean Forrest Moore, the love of my life is 40 today. He's the best husband and father anyone could ever ask for. I've loved him since that fateful day cupid's arrow hit me almost 19 years ago and he's silly enough to love me back. I'm the luckiest girl in the world. Happy Birthday Seany McForrest Pants.

Yep...

After himmimg and hawing I decided to re-apply for another spot on the Butterfly Crafts DT. I'm happy to say that I got it and was also asked to be the Assistant DT coordinator. Yay! Not sure what my official duties are yet but I'm sure it will be fun.
Thanks for etting me share the news!

Hmm...

Got some good new scrappy news today, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say anything yet. So, I'm silent like a butterfly for now.
In other scrappy news, Canadian Scrapbooker is out and I have a layout in it, just not sure which one. If anyone sees it, please let me know. My copy won't be here for awhile!!

A few newbies

I've made a bunch of stuff in recent weeks but haven't photographed most of it. So here's a couple fresh projects.
The card I made with some left over Doodlebug paper from my DT kit from the Scrapping Turtle. (Great paper and we got so much that month.) I used my square punch to make a patterned paper quilt and cut it out with my Spellbinder dies. The craft cardstock is the back of one of Sid's construction paper packs.
The layout is mostly Sassafras Lass. I bought a tonne of it at Scrapfest and was pretty intimated to start cutting it but it's really fun to work with.
Thanks for looking!

Creativity

Creativity. Being creative. Creating. However you say it, it's part of me. I like to make things, it makes me happy. It also makes me mad, sad and a bit crazy. I can't help the impulse, the inspiration to create.
Elizabeth Gilbert (the author of Eat,Pray, Love) recently gave an interesting talk about creativity and how we, as a society, are too hard on our artistic selves. I highly recommend listening to it HERE.
The muse often haunts me when I don't have the time to play and eludes me when I do. How many times have I though up an absolutely brilliant jewellery idea on the way to babysitting (back in the pre-Sid days) and totally forgot about it when I got to the studio? These days it is an idea for a layout or a card on the way to work that I can't remember how to create when the day is done, the child is asleep and the quiet evening is mine. This is the part of creativity that maddens and frustrates me.
There's other times (albeit not as frequently occurring) that an idea or inspiration feels like winning the lottery. The clear insight into a beautiful design for paper or metal occurs in my brain and I manage to execute it flawlessly (or almost) and feel an amazing joy inside.
Most of the time these days it's all about playtime. No pressing deadlines for clients just fooling around with paper, paint, glue and pens. The downside to this fun is lack of direction and usually lack of results. Scrapbooking is a lovely hobby but I've never been in it to churn out a zillion pages. I love creatively telling our story. I experimenting with new techniques.
Recently, I find myself changing the direction of my scrapping. Each new page seems more complex than the last and I'm riddled with challenges along the way to completion. I love taking my time with each page but sometimes I have to wonder, will anyone care in twenty years? Does it matter that I hand painted and stitched the background or would it be just as fine if was a picture slapped together with some stickers and words? I guess I like doing it. That's what matters and it's keeping my muse happy...for now.

The last Butterfly Challenge

I can't believe it's my last challenge...yikes where does time go?? It's been loads of fun playing along and I will miss it. Our final challenge was to create a project based on a favourite Disney character. Well, Sid is the Picky Princess, so that was not hard...lol! Check out the challenge and the fab prize here.
Here's what I wrote:
When I received this challenge I realized that my daughter is no longer dressing up like she used to. Princesses were the subject of all her make believe until very recently. I'm a little sad to see this era end, so it seemed fitting to make a little catalog of the princesses she emulated the past few years. Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Aurora; I will miss you guys!
Click on it to see the enlarged photo. I used that Bind it All (thanks for the loan Kate!!), my new Spellbinders dies, a Theresa Collins album, some Hambly and Basic Grey.
Thanks for looking!