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I think I found my mojo

michelepixels

michelepixels

A pun is not fully matured until it is full groan.
Joined
Jan 2, 2015
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I was just writing in my journal about how I haven't scrapped much this year.

After about 650 words, I think I have found my mojo.

Because while I'm not finding scrapping as compelling as I used to, for various reasons I can share if anyone is interested, there is still one big reason to keep doing it (and printing the pages in an album with Blurb, which I have never stopped doing. My last 2 albums are just really skinny.

I hope it never happens and maybe it's even improbable with all the backing up I do but what if I lose all my digital data?

Suddenly I feel an urge to scrap some of it.

Just wanted to share because you all are kind of my accountability partners, you know? I also miss interacting with you all, by the way, which was also a reason I want to keep scrapping!

p.s. Thank goodness for MOC. Please never stop it! Of the 43 pages I made this year, 38 of them were made in the first 5 weeks of the year. Last year is a similar story.
 
I made 2 pages. Or 4, depending on how you count. I scrap 8.5x11, so two page spreads are 17x11, which feels just slightly smaller than a 12x12 page while scrapping so it's as easy as one 12x12 in my mind.

I had to scrap more pages to fit in enough photos of this wonderful hike up Crabtree Falls in Virginia (east of Charlottesville) my husband and I did a week ago.



 
I sometimes look through the thousands and thousands of photos I've taken since my kids were born and think about how there are many that NO ONE has seen except me! Not that every photo is a priceless gem, mind you, but I would like my family to be able to have the photos and memories when I'm gone. That's a big part of why I do this as well as, more recently, just a pure creative outlet. Like everything, mojo rises and falls -- just try to ride the wave while it's high!
 
Thanks @dawnmarch I was scrapping a lot when my kids were young, at least after 2007 (so maybe I should scrap some more of my first two babies) and through most of their teen years, so I feel like there's plenty of printed books full of them for them to see if they ever want to. (So far only 1 of the 3 has shown a little interest.)

But I'd like to keep recording my own life! It's just less adventurous as a full time paraeducator compared to being a full time mom. Also I don't think I'd be allowed to photograph my students every day like I did with my kids.

I had started thinking I should just make my journal be for my best, print worthy photos, but how many times do I need to scrap about my daily walks and my meals? Today I changed my mind on that (though it's not reflected in the layouts I made today) and I'm going to go ahead and make a lot of photoless pages and pages with smaller print worthy photos but with lots of journaling.
 
Hello Michele and welcome back to scrapping. I think both your ideas (to scrap print-worthy photos or to do photoless pages with lots of journaling) are great ideas for scrapping and for printing out in books afterwards. Do what brings you joy!
 
@michelepixels I've totally gotten into documenting my day-to-day minutia and, honestly, the more I do it, the more I feel like it's the right thing. I do still snag photos from (and with) my kids (and events) when I can but I have become a strong believer in telling my story through what I do every day. Our vacation to someplace exotic is great but my weekly trip to Dunkin is who I am. :D And I'm a believer in what Heidi Swapp calls "Stop the Blur" -- if you don't document what you're up to, it all just becomes a blur after a while.

I mean it doesn't get any less adventurous than documenting my new bug catching gizmo and trip to the carwash
 
I’m glad you found some mojo Michele! I love how you used Cheryl’s “beautiful” template for a hike page; I need to try that ASAP!
 
Glad you found your mojo.. I get it and sometimes you need to step back. Glad you are picking it back up.. wonderful pages Michelle!
 
Yay for finding your mojo! I know the journaling has always been super important to you, so if you're capturing that and get a smidge of creativity out of it too... that's a big win! I really miss my old TN journals that I did for a few years. I ended making it too complicated with stickers and printed pictures too (even though I loved both of those things) it just started to get overwhelming and now I'm not doing my daily journals anymore. I loved having those for reference when I would do scrapbook pages long after that fact. I love going back to those to see the daily bits of life captured in them too that aren't always so detailed in my scrapbook pages.

Love your gorgeous hiking pages! Off to take a closer look!
 
michelepixels said:
I had started thinking I should just make my journal be for my best, print worthy photos, but how many times do I need to scrap about my daily walks and my meals? Today I changed my mind on that (though it's not reflected in the layouts I made today) and I'm going to go ahead and make a lot of photoless pages and pages with smaller print worthy photos but with lots of journaling.
Click to expand...

Karen said:
Yay for finding your mojo! I know the journaling has always been super important to you, so if you're capturing that and get a smidge of creativity out of it too... that's a big win! I really miss my old TN journals that I did for a few years. I ended making it too complicated with stickers and printed pictures too (even though I loved both of those things) it just started to get overwhelming and now I'm not doing my daily journals anymore. I loved having those for reference when I would do scrapbook pages long after that fact. I love going back to those to see the daily bits of life captured in them too that aren't always so detailed in my scrapbook pages.

Love your gorgeous hiking pages! Off to take a closer look!
Click to expand...

I can definitely also over-complicate things in ways that make it hard to keep up with it. I have seen some gorgeous journals that are almost all journaling and few or no photos and they are amazing! I guess the point is that ALL ways of scrapbooking/journaling/art journaling are valid and valuable and you just have to find what inspires you. I'm glad you've found a path forward for now.

And speaking of few pictures, I have weeks (like the last couple) where I hardly take any photos. I have no qualms about using bad photos and I've also have been keeping in the back of my mind the fun "pictures" and images from NBK that I could use. She has so many fun ones -- a few examples of what I mean below.



 
yay for finding your mojo again! that's awesome! i can't wait to see what you create! maybe it will help me get inspired as well! :)
i've been struggling so much with this as well! i look through our photos and i can't help but think, we have had so many great moments and so many fun stories to tell! but then i either can't find time to scrap, or when i do, i get the scrapping equivalent of writer's block! i just sit there not knowing where to start.
 
mojo is a bit all or nothing sometimes - having new photos and adventures can definitely make it reappear after it vanishes or dwindles and i get you on accountability - great new pages and i'm glad you're still printing stuff - can't remember the last time i did that myself!
 
It is more of a challenge as the children grow older and they don't like their photos being taken.
Good on you though for making a start. We are always here to cheer you on.
 
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