"Here's What I'm Thinking"

Here is a link to an essay I wrote for the National Scrapbooking Association in the nsa voices section that sums up what scrapbooking has done for my life and how it has effected me. I was flattered to be invited to write this, and I put a lot of thought into it, baring some truths about myself that I have previously kept to myself.
http://nsavoices.typepad.com/hwit/2006/10/they_call_me_ta.html

~Beyond Appearances~

~Beyond Appearances~
Here is a link to my layout for the RX challenge:
http://kearymaryswords.blogspot.com
Hopefully I will be more successful here this week than the last timeI tried to link you to my version of the last challenge...I think I suffered some technical difficulties in that department last time!

Just What The Doctor Ordered

Here is a layout I did for a challenge fro Beyond Appearances. The challenge was "RX: what would the doctor prescribe for you?" After much thought, and not wanting to do something that was just a face-value, easy answer to it - I thought about what it was that I might be needing in order to have my life be more of the way I want it to be. Thinking on this took me back to a number of years ago when I was much more carefree and less bogged down with worries and closet skeletons. I remembered back to when I was a brand new mother, completely full of hope for the future, with no fear of anything, I had the world in the palm of my hands. I was in control of my destiny. There was no stopping me. And you could tell this by looking at a photo of myself from back then - I was totally beautiful, seeping self-confidence, oozing with pride, full of creativity and ideas...So much has happened in my life since then. The wind has been knocked out of my sails on more than one occasion, I have been downtrodden at times, suffered judgement, and sacrificed much. -Don't get me wrong - I have also grown leaps and bounds, gained much wisdom and experience, come a million miles, to hell and back, lost and then gained back more that most people ever have in the first place...But I sure would love to have that unstoppable attitude that I once possessed, that sureness, that ultimate confidence...

Art Hurts

Well, I am so late in my pregnancy that I am totally swollen up, and it's causing me to have severe carpal tunnel syndrome in both of my hands. Basically, it pains me to create anything, from typing this blog to doing any of my artwork...But I don't care. I cannot help but spend the precious time every day in my studio that I do. I wouldn't be anywhere close to "sane" if I didn't. Those few hours a day at my desk is what keeps me going, keps me from getting bogged down by the mundane, makes me whole. I am in the process of moving - my house is pretty much all packed - with the exception of my office, which hasn't been touched yet. I can't imagine a day without being able to go in there and see everything, without being able to do any and every kind of project that strikes my fancy. I envision myself, at the very last minute, putting everything in my studio into boxes and rushing it over to the new place and unpacking it all immediately. Never mind my clothes, or the kids' tuff, or the kitchen...it's the essential lifeblood that's really important. I do have my priorities, you know!

Queen of the Outlaw Scrappers

Well, this Outlaw Scrappers thing seems to have some real possibilities. I've got a bunch of members, posted a challenge, added a link or two, and am diving into this thing wholeheartedly. I'm having a blast and really getting in to being a "moderator" - oh boy, the authority of it all...Now my challenge is to find new and exciting way to bring out the diversity of the group. Should be fun, to say the least!
I've been wanting to take my scrapping to a higher level - to make it more a part of mylivelyhood. I've just been chosen for one of my layouts to be published in Legacy Magazine. Been taking a workshop in Adobe Photoshop, which has been very enriching. Started this Yahoo group. Selling my cretions at a local art mercantile. Actually writing lists of projects I feel obligated to make...
And funny, my husband who gives me grief at home over how much time I spend in my studio - when we go out in public, like for instance last night when we went out for dinner with 11 other people, the first thing he did was brag that I'm the queen of scrapbooking! Funny, the positive reinforcement from him comes once removed. But at least I know it's there...

If I could have spent all night at my desk last night, I would have. Darn neeccessity for sleep.

Here's a nice light hearted layout I did as part of a challenge fromn the last online crop at Scrap 4 Life. This is the first one I've ever done like this - with the quote being pretty much the whole design.

All kinds of new stuff...

I've started a Yahoo group: Outlaw Scrappers. I hope I ha ven't gotten in over my head, and I fear I may have. Reading all the fine print akes me realize all that's involved with it. But I was onthis thread at 2Ps, where there were all these women talking about how they didn't fit the "norm" - the conservative craftsy crowd who dominated most scrapbooking sites and communities. There are a lot of us "alternative" types out here. Someone mentioned the idea of "Outlaw Scrappers" and I was immediately intrigued with it, and thought it was just the thing for me. Perfect. So hopefully it will attract some like-minded artists who share common thoughts and viewpoints - hopefully it will bring out some newly inspired art, different, cutting edge...all that. Anyone reading this who might want to check it out - go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/outlawscrappers. Tomorrow I'll think of something cool to put up for the homepage art.
I just know this is going to take a good bit of my attention. DH is going to hate it, I'm sure of that. He already hates how much time I spend in my studio - no matter how much I explain to him how much I need that time, how much my sanity depends on it...

~Beyond Appearances~

Here is my version of the challenge from Beyond Appearances: "what do you do to relax?" A little late and past the deadline, but still yet, here it is...
~Beyond Appearances~http://www.scrap4life.com/gallery/data/500/medium/Relax.jpg

~Beyond Appearances~

~Beyond Appearances~I loved this challenge