Okay, so I have been playing in my scrapbook stash because, well, times are tight. I am a SAHM with a son in college. I am trying to spend less on new products. My problem is, I love all the great new scrapbook and stamping products. It would be great to join the awesome kit clubs Studio Calico, and Swirlydoos. If only I could purchase all the beautiful paper lines from from Basic Grey, the wonderful stamps from Hero Arts and the awesome distress inks from Tim Holtz's Ranger Inks line. All of these are my favorite, awesome, reasonable and great products, but I placed myself on crafting financial lock down right now. I've gotta use what I've got. Adding to this covetousness, I recently joined Twitter. It has been a wonderful opportunity to see what others are up to in the industry, as well as find out the latest releases from my favorite companies and artists. I thought this would be my time to get inspired and reconnected to doing what I really enjoy. But it is HARD to want to use my old stuff. With all this new craft industry information, also comes feelings of inadequacy (I could NEVER create something that beautiful) and self-doubt (am I good enough to ever become able to do this for a living?) not to mention all the cool links and creations that are presented from the likes of Jennifer McQuire and Kristina Werner (my craft heros). Where do they find all this stuff? Where do they find time for this? It's like they, along with countless industry big whigs are a part of some huge clicque of which I will never be allowed to join. Which of course brought me to my knees.
I know we are not to be covetous. I believe it was the Apostle Paul who said, "In whatever state we are in, to be content". That is where I want to be. God made me special, with my own gifts. He made you special as well. Jennifer McGuire would make a terrible me, and I would make a terrible, well...any other person. You see where I'm going with this? What God has for you, it is for YOU. Use what you've got.
So I will stay in my stash, plugging away at my blog. I will try to create new pieces for my Etsy shoppe. I will continue to hope for followers to inspire, to be inspired. Maybe, one day, I'll be asked to be a guest designer or blogger, get published, get free products to create and share, or even actually win a contest. Maybe I'll make some extra change from my Google AdSense and Etsy and be able to purchase the latest and the greatest. But even if no one else notices, I will be content. Because when you are doing what you love, you'll do it for free, and when no one else is even looking. What God has for me, it is for me.
FROM MY STASH:
Graphic 45 Fashinista Paper and K&Company Tim Coffey Paper Stack
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| Leftover Graphic 45 Fashionista paper |
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| I love the colors of the pattern paper and the border of the card. |
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| I hand cut the ladies out, and embellished like kwazy! Now in my Etsy shoppe. |
