Monday, April 16, 2012

Monday, Monday

Oh how I would like to crawl back under the sheets for a few more hours as it's so grey and rainy!! I'll be honest, sunshine is a HUGE motivator for me and well as creative inspiration. I seem to be more creative when I can see the sun!! BUT...the show must go on!

So, I'm writing this post, and then heading to the studio to get somethings done before it's time to get ready to go to work. What I really wanted to share with you was the first thing I did in the new studio start to finish...

This was for our dear friend Danielle's new little baby. The picture doesn't really show how the colors pop, but at least you can see it.

Now off to go be creative...it makes my day brighter!!


Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Find your THING, it will ROCK your WORLD!

WOW!! Lots going on and not a lot of time to sit down and blog about it. But I'm trying!! LOL

The biggest bit of news for Snips of Time is that I've (and therefore the studio) has moved! As is typical of, it was just a move of a few miles...but the studio now has it's own room and since I started working on unpacking it and putting stuff away just Monday, it's coming along nicely. My goal is to be able to be able to work in it come Friday evening at the latest. It's been KILLING me not to be able to create these past few weeks.

This lack of time (and place) for creativity has really brought me to what I want to blog about today. I have really learned what a huge part of being creative means to my life. There are a lot of people in my life who say things to me like "it's so nice that you scrapbook" or "isn't that sweet that you make your own greeting cards." I can almost hear in their voices "why would you waste your time cutting up bits of paper?!" But here's the deal people...I NEED to do it. There are so many parts of myself (as is really true for everyone) that can't be expressed at work, or in my "day-to-day" life, so to speak. My paper crafting, my "hobby" is what allows me to express what I need to express. My husband will attest to this...without my scrapbooking, or at the very least creating SOMETHING I am not a happy person.

Here is something that's interesting, just to think about. I suffer from depression and take Prozac for it. Do I think the Prozac helps? Absolutely...I wouldn't take it every day if I didn't. HOWEVER, Prozac alone does not make me feel "good." I had to find my positive thing. When I say that I mean I suppose there are negative things that could make me feel good, IE drugs, alcohol, whatever. But my creativity, or expressing it really is my POSITIVE thing. I have emotional issues without my Prozac, things get very hard for me to do, getting out of bed is a struggle and so on. Without my creativity it's like another world. It's a world I can function in, but I'm not happy in. 

Here's something else to think about and it was something else I had to learn. You can live to make others happy...and don't get me wrong, I'm a pleaser and struggle repeatedly with how it effects me when those I love aren't happy; but what if you CAN'T make them happy, or if they move away, grow up, leave you...whatever?! Then what does that do to your "happiness?" I've learned that your happiness has to come from inside yourself.  Not from what society has said you need to be happy, not what your best friend said you should do to be happy, not what I say, your mother says, or even a therapist tells you. If they aren't telling you to find it inside yourself...good luck is all I have to say. There HAS  to be something in your life, inside of you, that no one can take  away from you, that is not dependant on anyone else, that is about you alone that you can find happiness in. That my friends, is what my creativity is about.

Am I saying you have to be "creative" to be happy? NO, I'm saying you have to find that something that does it for you. Something that you can look forward to on a bad day, that something you know is always there for YOU. I have been through some tough stuff in my short life people...and my creativity has carried me through. It has managed to give me a sense of accomplishment when I couldn't find it anywhere else. It has allowed me to find like minded friends, make lots of new friends, and even have (albeit small) a second income.

So go out there and find your thing people. It will rock your world!! I promise!!