BIG Changes

This is indeed a time full of big changes and I want to share these BIG changes with you!

First and BIGGEST is that I'm opening my studio to the public! I have always wanted to teach, share what I already know, what I'm learning, and what I love with others. Taking my studio public will allow me to finally be able to do that. Second (though this is the biggest size wise lol) my studio has finally moved to a dedicated and larger location. Upon acquiring our current home, we realized that we would NEVER use the formal living room/dining room and I instantly saw "studio" stamped all over the space in my mind. Thankfully my husband was all for it. It's about 300 sq ft (hubby says...I don't measure too much past 12x12 myself) and has been renovated with a sink, fantastic lighting, and doors to close it off from the rest of the house (and I can't leave out the full size fridge for the ever important cold drinks and other snacks that creative minds need!)

I'm over the moon excited because what this all really means is that I'm taking Snips of Time a step further. I'm going from a hobby I sometimes get paid for to full time. I've stepped down from my full time position at CVS (scary!!) and while I haven't left there completely, work a very limited schedule so that the studio can be open regular hours for you to come and crop and learn. The main business of Snips of Time is scrapbook for hire and card making....the teaching and cropping is just the icing on the cake for me!

Other things are changing with all of this. I plan (and I REALLY mean it this time) to blog regularly. When I say regularly I'm actually going to make myself a schedule and just like with any job, intend to stick to it (or I'll have to write myself up LOL) I plan on having guest bloggers (so if you think you'd like to be a guest blogger, let me know.) And the content of my blog will be changing slightly. I'm planning on doing tutorials and maybe at some point videos as well!

If you've been following me for any length of time, you know that I'm so very passionate about creativity, scrapbooking, hand made cards and sharing all of this with others. I intend to be passionate about this blog and using it as a way to continue to share all of this with you. With that being said, please don't hesitate to email me snipsoftime@yahoo.com to tell me what you want to see on here or what you DON'T like. I've got a list a mile long of things I want to do with this blog and with YouTube channel and my studio, but your input is invaluable because I really want you to enjoy this. I want you to look forward to seeing my posts and what I'm sharing with you. 

Please share/forward my blog to others you think might enjoy it. Follow me on facebook   https://www.facebook.com/SnipsofTime. I often have give-aways on my facebook page :)  And never hesitate to contact me directly by email snipsoftime@yahoo.com. I will also have a website up soon, and there will be a calendar of events on it, with class and crop schedules. Don't worry, I'll make sure all the exciting dates will be posted on here too. 

Keep checking back, my big Open House will be coming up soon and I'll post the date and times on here for you so you can attend if you'd like. There will be goodie bags, drawings for prizes and one of my biggest supporters and friend since age 13 will preparing some incredible food to go with it. (She has a business baking speciality cakes, so it should be awesome!!) Hope to hear from you soon!!

Go be creative!!
LeighAnn

Other creative endeavors

I write about my paper crafting quite a bit. That's where I express my creativity the most. I'm a very tactile person (hence not really getting into the digital rage for scrapbooking) and love touching the papers, cutting them, manipulating them into works of art. Lots of people think I'm crazy when I do some of the hand cut items I make because there is a lot of tedious hand cutting involved, but I LOVE it. It relaxes me. I get into my own little zone and can forget about what is driving me crazy, can let my mind wander and problem solve kind of on it's own. But you already know about all of that...

So what else do I do to be creative? I take pictures. I've always loved having a "record" of things and people. I've always loved looking back at pictures and saying "oh remember that!!" I loved looking through my Grandmother's photo albums, so it made sense to want ones of my own. Now I have scrapbooks of my own.

I've jumped from taking pictures for the purpose of visual memories, to beautiful visual memories. Now I don't just want a picture of my friend's little boy I want a beautiful picture of my friend's little boy that tells a story!! (This is where scrapbooking takes over other parts of your life and you get a little crazy LOL!!)

So now I work at taking beautiful pictures and thanks to digital photography I can keep the good, the great and delete the ugly!! I enjoy the process of finding the great shot and what I've learned, especially with children is pick a sunny day and let them play. Here are some great pictures of my friend's kids that they have NO idea I took. I mean they know now (and yes the mom knows...I'm not a like a kid stalker or anything) but I put on my telephoto lense and took a step back and let them be kids. I just kept snapping and after a couple of hours, and 80+ pictues I got around 50 good shots and some of them were GREAT!!

How do you not love this picture?!! Isn't he just a cutie?!! There's more of him too...

And his sisters were total cuties too!!

So, that's another way I'm creative. I love taking pictures and then giving them to the people I take them for. For Christmas I gave their mom a collage frame that holds three 5x7s and put a black and white of the little boy laughing, the blonde as you see above and a different one of the brunette. (If you are wondering why I'm not using their names, it's just because this is a public blog and and while I don't worry too much about posting pics on here, putting kids names with the pictures --especially when they're not MY own kids, I think may not be the smartest thing to do.)

Anyway, I get a lot of enjoyment out of taking pictures as well. Eventually you'll see some of my scrapbooking on here as well, which showcases my photography!!

Enough rambling from me today!! I'm off to shower (I know TMI) make some cards and hopefully put up our little bitty Christmas tree!!

Go make something!!!

God bless and if I'm not back by Christmas, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

LeighAnn

Getting to know me

Hello all!! I just wanted to say hello to everyone and introduce my blog. I'm LeighAnn, I own and operate Snips of Time, a small business that makes handmade greeting cards, scrapbooks for others and teaches scrapbooking and card making classes. I live in the great state of Indiana with my husband and two children. I also work full time at our local CVS as the photo lab supervisor (fitting don't you think?! LOL!!)

I'm very passionate about scrapbooking and card making. I've always been involved in crafts and hand making things since I was a little girl. My Paternal Grandmother crocheted and did embroidery, as did my mother. I was always "trying" to sew something, then it was cross-stitch and now it's all about PAPER!! I love paper and all paper crafts. I'm totally immersed in this medium and craft and really want to share it with everyone, the world!!

To be honest, sharing is why I created this blog. I want to share what I've learned and the sites I've found to feed my creativity. I've learned that a lot of people think they "can't BE creative" or that they can't "CREATE." That is simply not true. There is a creative side to all of us. If you are interested in finding that part of you, you are in the right place.

If you live close by, I would love to teach a technique or two to you. If you aren't close by, at some point I will be doing videos as well. I am more than happy to teach via the web on webcam, and/or IMing too.

I feel so strongly about people finding their creativity. I believe self-expression aides in self-esteem and a better feeling of self worth. It goes back to being a little kid and saying "look what I made!!" Ask my husband, he hears me say that on a daily basis :) Life is short and we need to find ways to positively express ourselves. This is my way. Knowing that the card I'm sending a friend or loved one will bring some happiness and joy into their lives, it just makes me smile.

Feel free to email me at snipsoftime@yahoo.com !!

So until next time, go MAKE something!!

God Bless,
LeighAnn