Sometimes I lose sight...

...of why I scrap.  For those of you who read this little blog of mine that don't scrap, you can just skip this part if you wish.  But for those of you who do scrap, bear with me for a few minutes.

Do you ever feel like you forgot why you started this whole scrapping thing in the first place?  Over the past few days as I have had time to finally settle down and relax a bit -- and have time away from the computer -- I have been able to reflect on why I scrap, on what is important to me, and about what I hope to gain from all of this.  And I realized that without noticing, I have lost sight at times of what this whole scrapping thing is about.  For me, this is what is important (in order)

1.  Capturing life and preserving memories for myself and for my family.  To capture in a picture, in words, and in design the moments that tell my story. 

2.  The art.  CD Muckosky said it best (I can't find the direct quote) when she said something like "I love preserving the memories for my family and the art, well, that's just for me."  As much as some people would like to say otherwise, it isn't JUST about the memories.  They are important, but the art is important too.  At least it is for me.  It is a way to express myself and the way the photos make me feel.  Making pretty art doesn't lessen the importance of scrapbooking.  In fact, for me it makes the drive to scrapbook even stronger.  I get to do something that benefits my family AND it is something that I ENJOY doing.  Two birds with one stone.

3. The challenge.  I love to be pushed -- to try new things, to scrap in new ways.  This is where challenges, competitions, and creative teams come in for me.  I don't just LOVE everything I am given to work with as a creative team member.  Of course I adore most of it or I wouldn't do it, but there are some things that I just look at and wonder, "Now what am I going to do with this?"  But you know what? Often those times have pushed me to look at things in a new way, with fresh eyes and a new perspective.  And some of my most favorite layouts were birthed from  a time when I sat staring at my screen and thinking, "I just can't work with this."  And so the challenge is exhilarating.  And the designs that I may not have liked at first glance show their true beauty when I pair them with a moment in my life worth capturing. 

4.  The community.  At times over the past year and a half I might have put the community aspect of scrapping up higher on my list.  And some day it may once again rise higher.  But right now, I am realizing that I just need to lay low on that side of things.  I have made some wonderful friendships and I have come to know some women that I have utter adoration of, but I seem to be letting the "need" to be involved on message boards and being "in the know" about what is happening in the scrapping world that the first three scrapping priorities have been neglected.  I am not capturing the memories I want in the way I want.  I am not pleased with some of the art I am creating.  I am not pushing myself to try new products or to scrap new subjects.  I love the scrapping community but I love the other stuff more.  However, if I were to "count hours" my time sheet would not reflect my written priorities.  That needs to change.

So there you have it.  My scrapping priorities and my reflections on this hobby of mine.  I hope that as I enter into 2007 I can refocus on why I do this and on what I want to get out of this.  I can't wait for the coming year!

Comments

[Erika]

Great thoughts! Good luck keeping focus on them!

[MandaKay]

Great post - oh so true! Love number one! Number two for me is a stuggle b/c I don't feel very ARTISTIC really - not an artsy person I guess! Love number 3 and 4 too - just a great post to all remind ourselves WHY!