In the Creative Dumps

I really enjoy traveling in our motor home, but I do have to admit that it's not very conducive to crafting. I'm just not doing that much these days when it comes to scrapbooking and stamping.

We just don't have enough space for me to spread out like I'm used to doing. For that matter, we hardly have enough room to turn around. LOL After living in a four-bedroom house, trying to live in a 38-foot motor home is a real challenge. I'm a collector of "things," and I keep wanting to buy this and buy that. I've managed to accumulate so much in the motor home that we can't even get to the dining table anymore. And there's no room in our 20-foot, enclosed trailer for our car at this point! Of course, part of what's in the trailer is dh's; but a good deal of it, I have to admit, is mine.

As a result, I'm now in the process of trying to downsize. I've been going through closets and boxes, trying to get rid of things that we don't use. But that's the problem: We use most of it at one time or the other! I guess I'll have to make some difficult choices if I want to clear up the chaotic mess that has accumulated during the year and a half that we've been in the motor home.

Of course, the fact that we've been parked in one place since July 2008 doesn't help a bit. When we were traveling, I at least had to sort through things and pack stuff away when we wanted to hit the road. But with our new grandson nearby, we've been staying put in Walland since shortly after he was born. He's just too adorable for us to hit the road!!!

Another problem is that when things are a mess like they are now, I find it very difficult to be creative. The only thing I've made this year is one set of greeting cards for a card swap that I hostessed this past month. And those cards were pretty much my standard formula -- stamp and embosss, layer, chalk or ink a little, and toss in a ribbon or some Stickles (in this case, both), and end up with a "tailored" style card/page/whatever I'm making.

I really need to break out of the box and try some new ideas. I've thought about trying digital scrapping, since I've got my laptop with me. That would certainly solve the lack-of-space problem. But I really enjoy the feel of putting things together on paper and seeing it come together as I create, so I don't want to give up paper and glue scrapbooking.

Well, enough moaning for now. It's a good thing that I'm the only person (as far as I know) who reads this blog!

Ramblings

Okay. I've started a blog. Now, what to do with it?

Well, I've told myself that I need to work/play with my art supplies more often. I hope to use this blog as a place to keep track of what I do and, maybe, to make notes about the techniques I use. Guess we'll see how that works out, eh?

For now, I'll post a photo of a project that Nancy P taught us last week when we got together at my place. She found the technique on TV Weekly (http://www.tvweekly.com) on The Scrapbook Lounge channel. It uses oil pastels, watercolor crayons and rubber stamps on watercolor paper. The photo's not all that great; one corner of the paper curled up, and the background is actually more creamy colored than it looks in the photograph. But at least it gives you an idea of what the project looks like. I'm thinking that if I place it in a 4-section frame, it might actually look okay. What do you think?