At the risk of challenging the “LIFE CAN’T GET HARDER” Gods… I am re-starting my re-start of this Blog. (Insert hilarious laughter, I know.) I am no longer trying to achieve half-perfect. You are going to get me in all my GLORIOUS MESSY SELF. Because that is what life often is – MESSY. As much as I wish life was all about Crafting and Scrapbooking, there is plenty of muck and mess, and challenges in life. So let’s keep it real and throw some of that in too.
Sidenote:
This is a long intro to take you to a path of something special I am going to be introducing and sharing. Parts of it might read like a little brain dump, so bear with me if you will. It will (I hope) make sense as I join the dots and more detail unfolds. So, either pull up a cuppa and read along, or come back as I post each little snippet to set us up for the start. I’ll try and get there as quickly as I can, despite any “MESS” that I might encounter along the way. Either way, I hope you will join me because I have a feeling this will lead to something special.
My Love of Writing
Writing provides me with a form of therapy, just like my Craft does. And I miss writing. Recently I tripped across a post on my computer I wrote mid 2015 (and never published), and Dang It – it was good. It triggered all sorts of memories and visuals of what life was like then. (My kids were almost 4.5 and 3. I could vividly see the scene and feel the torment my kids were inflicting on me. It’s now too long past to publish, but the memories will go into my Scrapbook albums as it tells a tale of a crazy morning trying to get my kids ready for creche.
I am so glad that I wrote it as it brings back so many memories of imperfect situations, the challenging characteristics of my kids, and a whole lot of hilarity. And I would never have otherwise remembered all that detail… (and there, my friends, is another long post in that point). Finding it was like another little sign that I should be getting on with this Blog and there have been a few in the last few weeks. I am also trying to work SMARTER (not harder). Redirecting some of my musings over here to my Blog will also allow me to move a lot of my monthly Customer CTMH Crafting Newsletter here too. So, it serves a dual purpose.
So, are you ready? Let’s launch into it.
Right Now
I have been trying to resume some form of “NORMALITY” in my life because I am a tad sick of my life looking like this little cartoon. It wasn’t quite a New Year’s resolution, but I wanted no more excuses of moving house, packing, unpacking, settling kids into new schools, school holidays and more, getting in the way of PROGRESS. Of course, I still have a list of TO-DO’s a million miles long, and time and an altered emotional state (good or bad) is not going to change that. But sometimes, just sometimes, you just have to roll-up your sleeves and get on with it.
AND I HAVE! Well… in some areas.
How it started
Without knowing it, I have been KonMarie-ing (is that a word?) my mindset, mood and thinking. Boy, were there a lot of things in there that DO NOT bring me JOY. And they are hard to move on. Well, I don’t think I am exactly 100% successful at moving it all out yet. But unlike the KonMarie method, I have realised that the only way to move a lot of things OUT of your mind, are to REPLACE THEM with OTHER THINGS that do bring you Joy. And to do that, I have by listening to PODCASTS. Until now, I haven’t really been a real PODCAST girl. I had subscribed to a couple along my travels but I have not been an avid listener.
However, I am not one to spend hours and hours every available night watching TV either. (It just promotes too much comfort eating and I want to avoid that). And most stuff on TV is just too depressing or makes my body tense. Now that can’t be JOYFUL. I therefore, theoretically, have plenty of “available” Craft and thinking time at night. Whilst this is my usual time to Craft, I found in the months prior to Christmas, that I didn’t even have enough energy (physical and emotional) to Craft.
WHOA! I know – no energy for crafting? Me? Alarm bells! Crafting has ALWAYS been my answer to everything when it comes to needing to relax, refocus, and rejuvenate. And when that doesn’t work, I am in trouble. I was in a downward spiral and whilst catching up on some sleep got me part way out of that muck-hole, I still felt like my feet were in quick-sand.
Here comes the Idea (the Real Story)
Now I have had this idea for a long time (and I mean years since I started this blog) to HELP OTHERS to get out of their Scrapbooking rut (maybe that’s YOUR muck-hole?). And it was starting to look like I was entering my own. Maybe my rut had a purpose for me to truly empathise with some of you readers before I could take this path. I would no longer be that Crafter who had her Crafting world “all together”. I had major distractions sapping my energy and time. Oh… that word TIME, or lack thereof. Now here comes the clanger. I learnt a number of things whilst listening to some podcasts about TIME. and these words just stuck with me. They went something like…
Cathy Heller, as interviewed by Ruth Soukup (a hugely successful Blogger and Podcaster)
“you don’t need to find time, you just need to find your passion… ”
This was something I actually already knew about my own scrapbooking but helping people find their passion isn’t always easy. But then Cathy added… “you need to be ENERGISED to do more“. WOW! It’s not time we all lack for crafting. Its passion and energy. And I don’t think these two are mutually exclusive.
So, what I want to do, is to help YOU find YOUR PASSION and/or YOUR ENERGY for Scrapbooking again. If it’s something you WANT to be important, or raise its importance, then I think I can show you how. I may not be able to drag you kicking and screaming into my Studio, as much as I would like to (smile!). BUT, I can share with you some of my tools and approaches to making scrapbooking that much simpler in a busy, complex MUCKY life. (Are you intrigued yet? Just a little?) These include:
- Tips and ideas on how to be more organised.
- How to use those little pockets of time to get more done.
- Options for bundling page preparation and creation.
- Tools for gaining confidence with cropping photos.
- Thoughts and ideas on how to free your mind from the pressures of doing it all.
And probably a lot more, but that is a start.
Finding Your Joy in Scrapbooking.
So YOU are invited on the journey of FINDING YOUR JOY IN SCRAPBOOKING. I am calling it that, because I figure if I can help you find your own Joy, in your own way, then your passion and enthusiasm, and energy will shine through. And miraculously, you WILL FIND TIME, to do more.
We can discover what “YOUR JOY” in scrapbooking means (and what is NOT JOYFUL!). This is not a one-size fits all, but some food for thought for you to consider to add to your existing toolbox.
Enter Stacy Julian’s e-course and Podcasts (perfect timing – YIPPEE!)
At the beginning of February I received an email from Stacy Julian letting me know her “Principles of Photo Freedom” e-course was ready to use after a recent review. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE it!. Stacy says:
“These five principles become the foundation of a personal digital workflow that you can create, customise and practice.”
I just love her thought provoking ideas, stories and the way she gets you thinking. If you want to listen to it, follow the link and sign-up (it’s FREE!). I plan to chat to you about each PRINCIPLE through this Blog and would love to hear your thoughts as we review it, and make a start together. If you are curoius, or just excited, and want to skip ahead through her course you go ahead. It won’t hurt for some of it to sit with you and digest it. I don’t have a set plan as to when I will chat about each principle on here. It will literally be as and when I can make the post. Remember – I am JUST DOING THIS regardless of the MUCK around me (Grin!).
If you decide to join me on this journey, I will be sharing how we can keep connected through this process. Actually lets be real, and call it accountable, because without accountability and encouragement and inspiration its just too easy to go back to doing what we have always done – RIGHT!
Exactly Enough Time (Stacy Julian)
Thank You Stacy Julian for re-releasing your e-course so generously and also starting your new PODCASTS – EXACTLY ENOUGH TIME. As a side-note, I am enjoying these, too. And her initial message about TIME and IMPORTANT THINGS – SOOOOO resonates with me, as I hope it will you, with this process we are about to begin. Now go and find EXACTLY ENOUGH TIME to listen to the introduction and first principle of Stacy’s Photo Freedom. I am planning on sharing one of my tools (as an email giveaway) for all those that do take that first step.
What are the IMPORTANT THINGS in YOUR LIFE?
My Reference List
Here is my reference list in case any of you are curious to know (or hear) more about the podcasts I have been listening to:
- Cathy Heller, Podcaster “Don’t Keep Your Day Job“. www.cathyheller.com/podcast
- Ruth Soukup, writer, Podcaster “Do It Scared” www.doitscared.com/epidsodes
- Stacy Julian, Author, Blogger, Podcaster “EXACTLY ENOUGH TIME” www.stacyjulian.com/podcast
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