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Scrapper's Block Thoughts

bestcee

bestcee

In love with places I've never been to
Joined
Dec 18, 2013
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I was listening to Nora Roberts (prolific author, 198 books on the NY Times Bestseller list) on the show "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" by NPR.
The host Peter Sagal asked her if she believed in writers block.

Her answer really made me ponder when I feel like I have scrapper's block.

Nora Roberts: "I don't let myself believe in it. I feel very strongly writing is habit as much as an art or a craft. And if you write crap you're still writing. And you can fix that. But if you walk away then you've broken the habit."

Peter Sagal: "Really? But you've never, like, finished a novel and said, I have written about all the relationships I can think of and all the murders I can think of, I got nothing?"

Nora Roberts: "Oh, no. There are 88 keys on the piano, but do you run out of music?"

I love the idea that if you scrap crap, you are still scrapping. And with digital, it's easy to start over. No photo is ruined, no supplies wasted. Yes, time, but I loved the second part where she says "If you walk away, then you've broken the habit". I finished MOC last month, and realized that it's the 25th of February. I've only created 13 layouts this month. Sure, that's still a good number, but I'm feeling like I broke the habit.

Thoughts? Agree, disagree? Let's discuss!
 
Well, kinda sorta. I go in spurts. Sometimes I'm on a roll and can churn out a few pages a day. Other times it's like pulling teeth. So on the teeth-pulling days I do other things scrapping related: scan negatives or slides; edit, identify, organize photos; go through windows and delete things that can be trashed (like zip files that I've already backed up); "fix" .page template conversions I've downloaded that aren't set up the way I like them to be; work on journaling that I've been stuck on; stuff like that. I figure it needs to be done sometime, so why not when I'm not inspired to make a page? I may not be making a page, but I'm doing some of the housekeeping that needs to be done. Make sense?
 
I know if I miss several days and don't do any scrapping related stuff, it is hard to get back in the swing of things. So it makes sense to me.
 
Okay I have never looked at it like Nora but it does make sense and I like how she explained it. I feel like such a slacker now though! LOL
 
Love it! She makes perfect sense.

I was so thrilled when I completed MOC, and I was bursting with ideas for scrapping, total renewal of my passion for scrapping. As soon as the Feb challenges were posted I bookmarked them and write down ideas (same with the designer's challenges).
I decided to have a couple of days where I would only scrap at night after the kids had gone to bed, so that I could spend some extra time with them, get some much needed things done, and also spend some time on my favourite computer games. Then things kept popping up that took away my scrapping time at night. Bellamy starting preschool, Melody changing to a new school and the school year starting, lots of shopping, we got sick, and so much more. My days flew by, and before I knew it, it was the 21st and I hadn't scrapped a single thing...
So I decided to start again, with my favourite challenge, Liz's blog challenge, and I have have scrapped 4 days in a row now, even taking a leap and doing some Art Journalling for Anne's Get Skinny Challenge.

I DEFINITELY think scrapping is a habit, and I DEFINITELY think I broke that habit after MOC. But I am trying hard to get back into it, because it is a habit that I love! And so far I don't feel like I have scrapped any crap, but I am sure I will on the way back to the habit.
 
Oh...I needed to read this about three months ago. Yes, I totally believe it. Since I took a break, literally nothing done until January and then a couple of projects for a trade show, I am scared to start back up. I had good intentions to scrap today and guess what...it's 930 and I still haven't.

I think tomorrow I am just going to have to sit down and "make" myself do it and get over the hump. I do have a girl's weekend that is coming up next week and the plan is to scrap at that, even though I have said I may bring sewing stuff also. I know once I do a couple of layouts, I will be fine, it's just the starting that is holding me up.

Thanks for posting this @bestcee this may help me!!!
 
I don't have scrappers block, I have scrapper's burnout today. In many ways if that's possible. Time to knit for a while.
 
QuiltyMom said:
may not be making a page, but I'm doing some of the housekeeping that needs to be done. Make sense?
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Totally. To me, it's part of the process. If the housekeeping, or downloading or unzipping isn't done, I can't scrap effectively. I just have to be conscious I don't get stuck in the constant organizing, and never move on to the scrapping part!

Chippi said:
But I am trying hard to get back into it, because it is a habit that I love!
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Me too!

KatrinaHunt13 said:
it's just the starting that is holding me up.
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This is so true! Maybe start with a card? Get the engine primed?
 
bestcee said:
I love the idea that if you scrap crap, you are still scrapping
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That's where I'm at right now with PL 2016... it's crap and I'm not happy with it, but I'm trying to keep it going so it can be done.

Anyway... breaking the habit is how I got behind on 2016 in the first place. I was a little burned out with my plan for that year and I got busy, I wasn't motivated to work on it, so I stopped. I have had the hardest time going back to it. A new plan for 2017 and MOC got me scrapping again. Now I'm trying to maintain that. What's working for me right now is having multiple projects going with no hard deadlines for any of them. I'm staying current with PL, but when I get bogged down with it I do a page or two for my Disneyland album, our cabin album or my DYD album. I have no deadlines for those, just doing pages when I need some variety and mostly for the challenges. All seven of my challenge pages for February are for my Disneyland album. We'll see if I can maintain this throughout the year, but for right now this is what works for me.

Also... with the habit thing. Non-pocket pages are not usually my thing. MOC last year got me doing those again, but I didn't maintain that habit after January and I lost my confidence with them. That's why I'm trying really hard to keep going with the challenges each month, I don't want to lose my ability to do those types of pages.
 
tkradtke said:
I didn't maintain that habit after January and I lost my confidence with them.
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I love this! I hadn't thought to put that in words, but it's so true. When I get out of doing one type of page for awhile, I start to doubt everything about it. I think that's why the Clean and Simple challenge is always a challenge for me.
 
Definitely agree!!!

A few years ago, when I was practicing my photography every day, one day I complained to my husband that nothing inspired me to photograph that day and it was getting late, so there was no "good" light anymore. He told me basically what Nora said, that even if it was crap it was practice.

Last year I finally completed my first Project 365 completely. I'd been kind of doing it for 7 years but last year was the first year I really made at least one picture every single day. In January I decided to relax. For several days I continued to have that habitual urge to pick up the camera, and that anxious feeling at the end of the day if I hadn't made a picture yet, but by the end of January I was almost completely forgetting about my DSLR. A couple of times I haven't picked it up at all for a whole week! I'm using my phone camera a bit more, but even that is less than usual. For a while I felt okay about it. I said I was taking a deserved break. But now I'm questioning it. And myself. Do I still want to be a fabulous photographer? If so, I need to keep up a daily habit. I haven't missed a week for my Project 52, so that's good, at least.

This also makes me think of my daily walking habit. I've let it slide a bit this winter, skipping some days, and I'm finding that the more walks I skip, the more I'm likely to skip. It's so easy to fall out of a habit!

I especially love her analogy about the 88 keys on a piano. I will tell my singing, piano-playing daughter that. She also composes a little, and she has had frustrating moments when she doesn't think it's worth trying because she's not feeling inspired.

As for digital scrapbooking it's kind of the same, but also different. It's something I really do just for fun (though I've considered scrapping for hire; actually tried to set up a business in 2012). Scrapbooking or other things I do just for fun require less practice. I mean, of course the more I do, the better I get, and if I practice new techniques my pages will improve, but I don't feel I really need to, as long as I'm just making pages for myself. I have the basic skills learned well enough that it's like getting back on a bicycle; I don't seem to forget how to digiscrap (at least the basics!). I nearly stopped scrapping in 2013-2014 when I was focusing on photography and considering going pro. When I started scrapping again in 2015, it was as easy as getting back on my bike, which I really don't ride often, but it's just as easy no matter how long it has been since the last time.

@bestcee 13 pages in a month is absolutely fine! I think even if someone only makes one page a month it's worthwhile. Think of just a lifetime ago when a person might only be photographed a few times in their entire lives! Compared to that, even just a few pages a month is a wealth of memories! And your 13 pages doesn't sound like a broken habit either. That's approximately every other day. Or maybe you did them several at a time once a week. Habits can be weekly or even just a few months! :) I really think MOC-speed scrapping is unsustainable. It's best we only do it once a year (maybe twice; I'd like to do it again in the summer). We do have to do other things so we have stuff to scrap about! :D
 
I do something scrap related every day. Sometimes its a layout, sometimes its downloading, unzipping and filing. Other times its perusing galleries and pinning ideas. I also work in spurts and love it. After MOC there is a slump though, for me summer is the worst and I need to grit my teeth and just get through it, great news though Winter is coming!
 
yikes, I am in a powerhouse at the moment with mojo flowing so fast, real life is getting in the way! lol, but I found myself not taking photos like I used too. I need to get back to capturing the moments. I have grown a bit weary of snapping pics of life in general.
I remember telling my husband, I need new pots and pans, cause I am tired of washing these ones...bhhha...he bought me the most beautiful red ones, that I lovingly wash and hang after each use.
I nnneeeeeeeeeeeeeeed a different view point on my daily life photos!
 
I do 'crap scrap' all the time. Often I'm a little burnt out on the weekends from CT scrapping so I go through my folder of matched up kits + photos and pick the ones I'm least emotionally attached to (birthdays for instance) and just get a page done without worrying too much abt what it looks like or whether it's 'inspired' or 'CT worthy.' I love, love, love photoless pages so I will often churn out a couple of those, too, when I feel scrappy but not enough to actually scrap.
 
AnneofAlamo said:
yikes, I am in a powerhouse at the moment with mojo flowing so fast, real life is getting in the way! lol, but I found myself not taking photos like I used too. I need to get back to capturing the moments. I have grown a bit weary of snapping pics of life in general.
I remember telling my husband, I need new pots and pans, cause I am tired of washing these ones...bhhha...he bought me the most beautiful red ones, that I lovingly wash and hang after each use.
I nnneeeeeeeeeeeeeeed a different view point on my daily life photos!
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Amen to that, I found that if I say to my self "I need to take more ( and better "deep sigh here " ) photos," It matters not a jolt, and I don't. But it does help to say : " I need to take more photos at a different angle, or more photos of my dog looking up " etc being more specific helps.
As for scrapping, I am not like Nora Roberts, and last year I definitely broke the habit, more than once... She is right though I think.
 
The "broke" part is not my issue.. I did 41 (+ a few 5 or 6 not in the gallery here) pages so far for February... doing all the TLP Feb challenges plus designer challenges and some of the scrap chats. I find I like to play with photoshop and new techniques to hone my skills, plus I like doing some new things to spark interest.

I also dig through and use old photos if I don't have new or I use some free stock photos if I have a kit to use with no photos to match.

Yes sometimes I am in a block. When that happens, I will play some on line scrabble and do some other things non scrapping just to break things up and then come back later. Usually a stuck page that works with ...

I definitely need to take more photos though, and like most of what everyone says, I too will spend some time filing and moving files to my EHD on more difficult days.
 
I 100% agree with this when we're talking Project Life. Once I stop, it's so very hard to get back in.
And in general, once I stop scrapping, it's hard to pick it up. I have times that I don't scrap for weeks and times that I scrap several times a week. Although I loved MOC, I cannot scrap every day. I simply do not have the time for it and on busy long days at work I just need to chill while mindlessly watching Netflix. Scrapping is too much then. But I should definitely make it more of a habit. Commit to it. But I cannot commit to a workout habit either, so no promises. The fact that I'm scrapping for 7 years is already sign that this is a habit, isn't it?
I've realized before, that I often scrap a page and then "take a break" when it's time to add my journaling. It sometimes takes me days to finish it. MOC forced me to get going, finish the full page, and upload it.
 
For me I have pages that I'm committed to making every week, no matter what. My weekly double page spread, project life if you want to call it that. I've been doing those for 5 years now...I think it's been 5 years. It's a habit now. I've learned to just keep going on my page even if I'm not feeling like it, even if I'm not super happy with it. I know my kids will love it no matter what, and I know I'll be very happy when I have my completed album at the end of the year.

For all those other pages & pics that need to be scrapped the mojo comes and goes. I'll scrap 4 or 5 pages in a week & then none for another month. Sometimes I need a break and I'll do other creative things. I think I would totally get bored with digi-scrapping if it was the only "hobby" I had. Not that I really have other hobbies, but I have other things I enjoy doing...reading, sewing, cooking, hiking, etc...

I think the commitment to the double pager each week helps me to keep going with my other photos. I could totally see how if I stopped scrapping those double pagers how I might not come back to scrap other photos. KWIM?
 
I love this way of thinking and I am trying to apply it to my art. Yesterday, I painted my first face in my journal. I sketch all the time, but I don't paint with the fear of messing it up. I want painting to be a habit too!
 
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