Working on that mojo

I'm sure it's just burnout, it happens to everyone, it happened to me when I first arrived in Canada, it will, I'm sure, happen again. I think sometimes I get fixated on trying to constantly produce "wow!" layouts and that is wrong. I'm always telling others that not everyone layout has to have that wow factor. In fact I think if you had an album where each page knocked your socks off, then it would be sensory overload. I, personally, think an album flows much better if you have mostly good pages with the odd spectacular layout thrown in every now and then. By spectacular I don't mean that it has to be so artistic, or so different but more that you have spent just that little bit longer thinking about it, that you finally got out those coveted chipboard alphabets, that you just seem to want to hold on to, and actually use them. And then there is also the fact that we don't always have the wow pictures to produce the wow layout. I want my albums to record our 'real' lives not just the beautiful studio portraits (of which I'm definitely going to get myself) but what happens in the everyday, the playing with the Rescue Heroes action figures, messing around in the garden. And let's face it, not all those candid shots are good shots but I do want them in my albums.

Anyway, I digress, thanks to Bev I have decided that I should just go back to basics in an effort to rediscover my scrapping mojo. So I think I need to plod my way through it and in the mean time get out the sketches.

What I like about sketches is that they really do help you kick start your creativity. You start out with the intention of just going the sketch as is and by the time you finish you can often end up with something completely different. Sketches give you the option of being more creative, or not, if you so please. I'm particularly loving Becky Fleck's (of Memory Creators) at the moment. There is a good variety of sketches, for multi photos, single photos, and large photo formats (very popular in the Gauger household lately due to the recent Photobox special offer of 10 10"x8" photos for the fantastic sum of £1).

Thanks also to those of you who have set me challenges, see also Chrissie's blog for details of the challenge she has set, I love a challenge or two.

I didn't get around to doing much during the recent UKScrappers cyber crop but did sit down yesterday and complete Pam's flower class, below left, and was impressed by how simple and easy it was to create flowers. Definitely something I will use in the future. I also did a very quick layout inspired by one of Becky Fleck's sketches. So 2 pages in one day. Woohoo, I'm on a roll...

      

Still searching

For my scrapping mojo!

I thought the UKScrappers cyber crop would have helped kick start it but alas, I really just didn't get in to it much. We have had a visitor, Richard's mum, staying this last week and I just felt too guilty (why?) to spend the whole weekend closeted away in my scrap room and so only did one layout from the crop all weekend. Shame on me as there were some fabulous classes. This is my take on a great class taught by Theresly. I'm loving it. Loving the colours, the crispness, the snow (I miss the snow!).

I think part of the loss of scrapbook mojo is that I'm just so tired. The stress of the last few months has caught up with me. I keep telling myself to go back to the basics. Do some sketch inspired LO's, scraplift (something I just can't seem to bring myself to do, weird eh?) but every time I sit down to do so I just spend my time shuffling papers around and doing pretty much, well, pretty much nothing!

Any suggestions? Perhaps I should be going to Florida with some of my other scrapbooking pals? I'm sure that would get me back in the scrapbooking mode, LOL!

Oh, Kat's birthday party was a great success. We saw Ice Age 2, not as good as the original in my opinion, and then wandered over to Pizza Hut for supper. The 4 girls she invited along are so cool, a great bunch of girls. They were making me laugh with all their 'silly' girly chatter. Particularly the following quote (from a movie, I think?) that they were practising and planning on saying to all the boys at school: "Girls with butts like ours do not talk to boys with faces like yours!". I want that printed on a t-shirt!!!

Here is a little photo montage (a la Ali Edwards) of the evening.

My baby girl is 10

I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. Katarina is 10 today.

It only seems like yesterday. That tiny (6½ pounds) little baby girl who was so quiet and slept all the time, we didn't know we had her. That chubby, moon faced little toddler with the cheeky grin, it's only looking back that we noticed how moon faced she was! The stubborn pre-schooler who refused to learn any of her letters because "mummy, I'll do THAT when I get to big school". And before we knew it you were at school and growing up even quicker than ever before.

10. A whole decade. And we have loved (almost) every minute of those years. She is such a lovely girl, I know, I'm biased, but she is. Such great company. A budding scrapbooker. A ballroom dancer. A girly girl. A joy.

Happy 10th birthday darling daughter!

To bring it back down to reality, and to stop this being too schmaltzy, Richard and I only realised this morning that we've just made it through the easy 10 years. It's the next 10 that will be the challenge

Not much to say, only A Million Little Things!

Yes, my parcel from A Million Little Things arrived, this morning, safe and sound. And here it is in all it's yummyness:

And, for the enquiring (notice I did not say nosy) amongst you, a list:

• Foof-a-la Rub-ons - Scribbles by Rhonna Farrer Enchanted



• Foof-a-la Rub-ons - Scribbles by Rhonna Farrer Graffiti



• Rhonna Farrer Papers from the Enchanted and Graffiti ranges



• Imagination Project Papers - Center City - East & West Village ranges (these are even yummier in real life)



• Basic Grey Papers - Urban Couture and Hang 10 ranges

The only slightly worrying thing is I don't remember ordering this much paper. I've made a conscious decision not to order any more paper. I have more than enough already and do not need any more. Hmmmm, obviously when I enter any scrapbook store my mind goes blank and I go into automatic pilot mode. I really, really do not need anymore paper. I. Must. Stop. Buying. Paper.

So, now all I'm waiting for is my Scraptivity kits (March and April) and my pre-order from Two Peas to arrive and I'll be all sorted.... except I am in real need of those Making Memories flower foam stamps....

I did it! {Updated}

I completed a LO. And before someone posts out the obvious to me, I know it's gone midnight so I haven't strictly uploaded it within time BUT I would have if Richard hadn't moved the bloody scanner and unplugged it {grrrrrr}.

I'm not sure about it but I'm happier with it than my first attempt and so am calling it quits and putting it in my album. I didn't end up using any of Ali's lovely stamps (I will definitely use them though as they are de-lish) but decided to be brave and just go for what felt right for me.

The lettering is very Elsie Flannigan and was inspired by her Two Peas Tokyo Girl font. I still couldn't find the right shade of pink and after wasting over 1/2 hour looking for the children's colouring pencils {another grrrrrr - why can't they tidy up after themselves, or perhaps they have and that's why I couldn't find them!} I got out the inks and water brushes.

Edited to add: You know, I just couldn't let it go. It still didn't feel 'right' so I've made a couple of small adjustments and, whilst I don't think I am ever going to love this LO, I am happier with it now. Revised version on the right.

Easter Monday Ramble

I need to scrap but I think I've just forgotten how to.

Since moving back I've really only done pages that have had to be done, either for classes I've been teaching or for the LO I did for Scrapbook Inspirations £5 Challenge. I've not really done much general scrapbooking. This was understandable as I just didn't have the space in our rented house nor the stash as it was still in boxes distributed around the house.

But now I have no excuses I find myself generating them. I haven't got my scraproom just so, I need to sort out my stash better, I should update my blog first... and so on. And I still feel as if I've lost my mojo. I know I should just sit down and do something and I would then get over the hump.

So, I'm going to publicly challenge myself to create a LO, scan it and upload it to my blog by the end of today. I've been wanting to re-do Ali (Rowe's) fabulous doodling class that I recently took at Scrap Magic's weekend ScrapManic crop. The pink was just too pink and it makes me shudder just looking at it so it has to be re-done. So perhaps I'll do that.

Scrapbooking keeps me sane, it feeds my soul (I know very american mumbo jumbo but it truly does make me happy) so I know that once I get back in to the groove I'll feel better and my mojo will come back.

Not that I feel bad at the moment. I don't. Life is really getting back on track. Moving in to our own home is a big help, I'm loving the space and am excited about turning my own little part of it in to my own oasis of creativity. I'm currently looking in to storage and trying to find quirky, interesting ways to store stuff.

Ok, need to go as Harriet is nagging me to play on her new Nintendo DS game, Animal Crossing: Wild World, and sadly I really want to play too!

PJ {Day 7}

You know, I think I'm going to pretty quickly get completely hacked off with this whole "take a photo a day and stick it in a journal" thing. Today I feel more like "I'll tell you where to stick it!".

But I'm determined to stick with it. I have to, I took a trip to Borders and drifted into the Paperchase section and bought this gorgeous photo album/journal type thing, so I have to keep going. I think though after today my daily photo will be relegated to an album in my sidebar as I'm getting bored of seeing them in my blog, let alone any unsuspecting people straying my way. I mean, I don't want to bore the pants of people anymore than I already do.

So, now I'm torn, do I post a photo of my album/journal or the hyacinths my friend gave as a 'welcome to your new home' present? Hum-te-hum-te-hum....

Journal, I think: