Last night I reached a realization.
One of the reasons that I am not scrapping much anymore is that I am not taking pictures much anymore. With my oldest child away at college and my other child a busy teen, I have lost two of my major subjects. Kari is busy with track and field or cross country, both of which are very difficult events to photograph well. The few pictures that I do get are the same images over and over. I get a few photos that Keenan's college pals post on Facebook, but they are usually the typical staged group shots.
With no photos of them, what do I scrap? I know that there are some people out there who scrap about themselves. I tried that for a while. I don't have many photos of myself and I can only do so many pages about my hopes and dreams.
I love my scrapbooking hobby. It has always been a personal release- allowing me to throw my creative energy into telling a story with photos, papers, embellishments, and journaling. It also allowed me a stress release. Alone in my scraproom with all of my "toys" I could create without fear of someone coming by to evaluate the outcome.
I don't really know what my future is, as far as scrapbooking. I don't see grandchildren in my future for quite a few years, but I don't think I can give it up either. I would love to hear from some of you scrapbookers out there who are like me- working women who have or soon will have an empty nest. What do you scrapbook? Where can I go for motivation?
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Valentine's Day is Coming...
Christmas is barely behind us and now I need to get a start on Valentine's Day projects. Lucky for me that we had a crop at Scrappin' Mojo over the weekend!
I decided to get a jump start on some V-Day cards.
One challenge asked us to select a Pinterest project that inspired us and create our own card or layout based on it. I decided to make a Valentine card based on one made by Darlene over at Splitcoast Stampers. Here's my finished card:
I love the way the patterned paper peeks up though the the heart-shaped hole. This is one of the first times I have used Baker's twine too. I think I like it!
For my second Valentine's card I tried a different technique.
First I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the white paper. Then I colored the raised parts with my Prismacolor pencils. I used gamsol to soften the color a bit. I added some pearls on some of the flower centers, tied on ribbon and a couple of tags. I LOVE the look!
I decided to get a jump start on some V-Day cards.
One challenge asked us to select a Pinterest project that inspired us and create our own card or layout based on it. I decided to make a Valentine card based on one made by Darlene over at Splitcoast Stampers. Here's my finished card:
I love the way the patterned paper peeks up though the the heart-shaped hole. This is one of the first times I have used Baker's twine too. I think I like it!
For my second Valentine's card I tried a different technique.
First I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the white paper. Then I colored the raised parts with my Prismacolor pencils. I used gamsol to soften the color a bit. I added some pearls on some of the flower centers, tied on ribbon and a couple of tags. I LOVE the look!
Friday, January 18, 2013
A Special Page
This weekend my favorite gals over at Scrappin Mojo.com are having an online crop. I happened to have a bit of time so I figured I would join in on the fun.
Terri posted this sketch from Page Maps for one of the challenges:
I flipped through my photos and found the perfect 2 to create a special page. They weren't the size mentioned in the sketch, but I thought that I could adapt it.
When I started working everything just seemed to fall into place. I ended up with THIS page commemorating my daughter's baptism this past Easter.
There is plenty of time to join in on the crop fun. Come on over to Scrappin Mojo. You'll find a link in my list to the right. They are great girls with very creative ideas!
Terri posted this sketch from Page Maps for one of the challenges:
I flipped through my photos and found the perfect 2 to create a special page. They weren't the size mentioned in the sketch, but I thought that I could adapt it.
When I started working everything just seemed to fall into place. I ended up with THIS page commemorating my daughter's baptism this past Easter.
There is plenty of time to join in on the crop fun. Come on over to Scrappin Mojo. You'll find a link in my list to the right. They are great girls with very creative ideas!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
WHOO HOO!!!
A new year and a new goal for myself.....
Last year I didn't get much srapbooking or crafting done. Work, life, and other things just took too much of my time and focus.
This year I have made a goal or a resolution, if you will, to reignite that creative flame in me and to begin scrapbooking once again. It has always been a kind of therapy for me, a chance to escape the stress of life and work and just do something that I love. I need that back in my life.
I figured that there was no better time to start than January 1, so today I completed a simple, but finished page, focusing on my daughter's love of s'mores.
I used old papers, old chipboard, old letter dies, and some sewing. BOY, did it feel good!
Last year I didn't get much srapbooking or crafting done. Work, life, and other things just took too much of my time and focus.
This year I have made a goal or a resolution, if you will, to reignite that creative flame in me and to begin scrapbooking once again. It has always been a kind of therapy for me, a chance to escape the stress of life and work and just do something that I love. I need that back in my life.
I figured that there was no better time to start than January 1, so today I completed a simple, but finished page, focusing on my daughter's love of s'mores.
I used old papers, old chipboard, old letter dies, and some sewing. BOY, did it feel good!
Friday, June 1, 2012
The Best Laid Plans....
A lot has happened since my last post. The most significant thing is that I will NOT be retiring.
The last two months have been filled with a lot of discussion back and forth between myself, the group who was going to be hiring me as a literacy coach, and the Kentucky Teacher Retirement Systems. It took three visits to Frankfort, but today it finally became apparent that I just wasn't going to be financially able to leave my job and take a different one.
I won't bore you with the details. I will just say that there were certain stipulations placed into legislation that I still don't understand. They are just too open to interpretation, and apparently we were not interpreting them the way of the powers that be.
I am a bit disappointed. The idea of a new career had given me a renewed enthusiasm that I had been lacking for quite a while. I only hope that I can find a somewhat similar enthusiasm once I discover what my position will be in education next year.
The last two months have been filled with a lot of discussion back and forth between myself, the group who was going to be hiring me as a literacy coach, and the Kentucky Teacher Retirement Systems. It took three visits to Frankfort, but today it finally became apparent that I just wasn't going to be financially able to leave my job and take a different one.
I won't bore you with the details. I will just say that there were certain stipulations placed into legislation that I still don't understand. They are just too open to interpretation, and apparently we were not interpreting them the way of the powers that be.
I am a bit disappointed. The idea of a new career had given me a renewed enthusiasm that I had been lacking for quite a while. I only hope that I can find a somewhat similar enthusiasm once I discover what my position will be in education next year.
Friday, May 18, 2012
This is IT!
Today was my last day at school. The teachers met to finish up all of the end of year paperwork and to enjoy a celebration meal together. My principal presented me with the traditional "Bell" that is given to all retiring school personnel.
I am very excited about the future. My new position has given me a renewed enthusiasm for learning and for my career. My head is swirling with ideas that I can implement, along with the teachers at OCES. This is not the end of my "play"; it is merely the end of one act and the beginning of another.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Milestones
Significant events come along every now and then, but for me it seems that many of them are hitting me all at once.
My son is a senior and will be graduating from high school next week.
That means that I will be the mother of a COLLEGE student in the fall.
Sweet hubby turned 50 last week.
That means that ME turning 50 can't be very far away.
Perhaps most significant and definitely most difficult for me to believe is that I will be retiring from teaching this year. I am completing year 27, and while I am still fairly young for retirement, I felt that it was time for a change. A position as Literacy Coach became available at the elementary school and it just seemed that it was meant to be. The timing was perfect for me to go ahead and step aside, leaving room for some new blood in the middle school language arts class. My new position is funded through some grant money and I will be paid through Berea College.
I am excited about helping younger children learn to love reading and writing. I feel more invigorated about my job than I have in quite a while. I will miss the middle school faculty. We have become a real family over the years. When one of us hurts, we all hurt; when one of us cries, we cry with them; when one of us is joyful, we help them celebrate. I will miss many of the students. Some of them have really touched my heart over the years. I will, no doubt, have to drop back in from time to time, just to check up on them and see how they are doing, but I truly think that God has prepared me for this time and this change. I have faith that his hand is helping to guide me and that my future, with this job, is meant to be. I hope that this change will be less stressful and will allow me more time to be with my family and to create. I look forward to posting more on this blog and sharing more of my creative endeavors with all of you.
That means that I will be the mother of a COLLEGE student in the fall.
Sweet hubby turned 50 last week.
Perhaps most significant and definitely most difficult for me to believe is that I will be retiring from teaching this year. I am completing year 27, and while I am still fairly young for retirement, I felt that it was time for a change. A position as Literacy Coach became available at the elementary school and it just seemed that it was meant to be. The timing was perfect for me to go ahead and step aside, leaving room for some new blood in the middle school language arts class. My new position is funded through some grant money and I will be paid through Berea College.
I am excited about helping younger children learn to love reading and writing. I feel more invigorated about my job than I have in quite a while. I will miss the middle school faculty. We have become a real family over the years. When one of us hurts, we all hurt; when one of us cries, we cry with them; when one of us is joyful, we help them celebrate. I will miss many of the students. Some of them have really touched my heart over the years. I will, no doubt, have to drop back in from time to time, just to check up on them and see how they are doing, but I truly think that God has prepared me for this time and this change. I have faith that his hand is helping to guide me and that my future, with this job, is meant to be. I hope that this change will be less stressful and will allow me more time to be with my family and to create. I look forward to posting more on this blog and sharing more of my creative endeavors with all of you.
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