Joan B has expressed a few times on her blog recently that she's rethinking some things about stamping, such as using buttons and bows on her cards. Bulky stuff is, apparently, making her balk now. I love that she's sharing her doubts and questions. She makes me feel not so alone.
For some reason, I've been feeling the AR/OC itch to completely reorganize my craft room. It's time to aggressively shuffle the stuff (and to recklessly split infinitives). Unfortunately, I have no time right now for this. As some of you have said in comments and emails, it's a busy, busy time of year. My house needs attention. End of school means about twenty activities to work into the schedule. DH wants to invite his boss, wife, and kids for a cook-out this weekend. My Google Reader is overflowing with unread blog posts. My apologies to anyone who's waiting for a comment from me...please understand I love you even if I don't comment. Life intrudes. Plus, my allergy meds are inadequate for life in the fourth worst city for allergies in the entire United States. Oh, yeah, my dog is dying. How sad is that?
No wonder I want to distract myself with the happy--and completely unnecessary--task of reorganizing and purging my craft room. So even though now isn't the time to clean out my craft room, I'll probably do it anyway because I'm tiny bit obsessive compulsive and bringing fresh new order to one corner of my crazy life will help me deal with all the rest.
Viva la organization.
What do you do to help you with the crazy busyness of life?
Your Kraft card looks great as it is. I think the doddling gives it a frame and a purpose and brings out the gorgeous bling of the apples!
ReplyDeletemmmm...I tidied all my DT work and craft stuff into lovely neat piles...but DID nothing!! I love reorganising and tidying as it procrastinates the inevitable :)
Have a great day,
Judy x
Re-organising is commonly known as therapy, not a bad thing in itself. I could advise that you start off with a little area of your craft room but who are we kidding - it will end up full scale chaos. With regards to a change in style, not a bad idea, I went to a card making class last night with the girl who first got me hooked on stamping (so there is a degree of loyalty here) and realised I have moved on from her style that I once found so appealing. We move forward ....
ReplyDeleteI really like your card - including the doodling. It works!
ReplyDeleteI took a little time for reorganizing, but would like to do some more. Sounds like life is busy/hectic for everyone! Good luck with everything!
I retreat into my craft closet and spend time with just me ink and stamps. We have a fine fine party.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your organization, and I sincerely love the doodling on this card, brings more whimsy to your design.
Being a big fan of doodled borders I love yours (and the bling-y apples)!
ReplyDeleteI've been considering a big craft room purge myself! Mostly because of the guilt - so much unloved stuff in there.
Beautifully simple, I love your card. Yes, understand all about the doubts, get on with it enjoy it, life is too short................. Oh sorry, got carried away, talking to myself xxx
ReplyDeleteI have just re-read my last comment, I apologise it sounds really unsympathetic, I assure you I do understand and sympathise. We lead increasingly busy lives and are having less and less time doing the things we love and when we do (the things we love) we feel guilty and that's just daft, be happy with what you do, it brings joy to others as well, xx
ReplyDeleteSusan - I LOVE this card - all that beautiful krafty goodness. I realize that this is way out of your comfort zone but the doodling is great - Very CAS but "krafty CAS". . .
ReplyDeleteWell, look at you doodle! That card is so simple, but SO much fun - I love adding bling to Kraft! Yikes, sounds like I need to come help you with your therapy! You and I together could clean and purge twice as fast, and play with stamps twice as soon!!! Thinking of you and your family, and dear, sweet Hoover.
ReplyDeleteSusan, this is gorgeous - the blingity bling apples make me happy too! You always manage to get the balance of bling/no bling just right! Jo x
ReplyDeleteWhen life is crazy, I make cards! You can tell how stressful my life is by the number of cards I make! Love this card and I think the doodles add just the right touch.
ReplyDeleteSo sad about your dog...I am sure you are giving him/her extra love right now.
ReplyDeletedifferent stresses require different responses...
prayer
cleaning (the purging kind)
retail therapy (the looking kind)
gardening (the I wish I had a green thumb kind)
cards (the they all look terrific or they all look terrible kind)
NCIS (the no matter how many times I've seen the episode it's new to me kind!!)
and finally a nice long, soaking, hot bath
blessings
patti moffett
Susan I LOVE this card!!! and you know me and doodling ... I think it looks awesome!! Remember that this blogging stuff is supposed to be fun ... so don't have any guilt about comments, etc. We are all busy so we all totally know where you are at!!! And we too will still love you even if we havn't heard for you in a while ... crafters are just that way :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat I'd like to do to deal with the crazy busyness of my life is pull the covers over my head and go back to sleep ... that would be nice. However, what I try to do is get super organized by making sure everything is on our calendar, getting some supper meals ready a head of time (great for a soccer night when I'm getting home late from the office, etc.). Also, I keep 'everything' else in my life to a minimum ... for example, this would not be the time to get my hair cut or organize my craft space, ooopps!! LOL!!! Have fun Susan!!!!!
Hugs to you. This time of year is always so busy. I often want to find a cave to live in just to get away from the craziness. Having grown up in Dayton I know what you are dealing with for allergies. It is the worst. Add on top of that a dying dog, you deserve a break! If some time reorganizing helps, go for it. Certainly more productive and less harmful than a lot things people do to relax.
ReplyDeleteAdore that tree, doodling and the bling. Personally I think I would have made it one-layer but as we all know, card making is very individual and as Cassandra says we all move on. My current style is very different from the stuff I started off doing.
ReplyDeleteHope re-organising helps cheer you up, it definitely does me the world of good. I think my DH has given up trying to know where things are! Hev:)
Susan- First of all, don't even think of replying to this post; you have much more important things to do. Second, I absolutely love your style (you have inspired me many a time). Third, I too reorganize my craft space to center myself. I find it all-consuming, peaceful, almost meditative. Finally, please accept my sympathies. May your dear dog to go his equivalent of stamping heaven. Jenn
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the card and the doodled frame is great as it brought my eyes towards the apple tree. I too have been rethinking the use of big, bulky embellies on the cards that at least get mailed.
ReplyDeleteHaving been there-done that with the end of school stuff, I can totally sympathize with you. I am, however, very glad that I don't have to deal with it anymore!
ReplyDeleteI've found that each stage of life brings it's own challenges...while I was busy wishing my kids could do things for themselves...WHAM! they're suddenly in their 30s!
Savor each moment...good, bad, busy, hectic, funny, tearful...they all make you who you are...and even though we've never met IRL...I think we'd enjoy one anothers company.
As for my scrappy room...I gutted the room in January. Put down wood flooring, bought all new furniture, re-arranged everything and PURGED really good. Donated lots of stuff to the Ronald McDonald House and some to a few of my scrappy friends.
LOVE your Kraft card. I am a big fan of doodling..so I love that too!
Thanks for sharing with us each day. I look forward to checking out your blog every day.
Sending you {{{HUGS}}} as you deal with life's stresses!!
Susan
PS...sorry for the book! LOL!!
Currently I escape into the early seasons of "Lost". We are just finishing up Season 4. Or, I visit your blog. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful card!
ReplyDeleteI'm SO sorry to hear about your dog! Poor thing. :(
Sometimes you just have to do what makes you happy. Reducing my expectations is a great way to ease my stress.
ReplyDeleteBig HUG to you!
Diane M
I think your doodles look fantastic and I wouldn't change them!!! I love the stones you added on the tree and love seeing your CAS card-it inspired my teacher's gifts where I knocked out 88 cards in less than a week!
ReplyDeleteLove the Kraft card just the way it is. The doodle line anchors the image perfectly.
ReplyDeleteReality sucks. Don't let it overwhelm you. Prioritize your list and check them off as you do them - it is very satisfying to do that.
As a dog breeder and lover, I can recommend that you take your time dealing with that because it impacts the whole family. You'll know what to do when the time is right - its funny how that happens, but it does.
Hugs and keep looking forward.
LL
I adore the doodled line. It adds a lot. Gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love this card!
ReplyDeleteAnd the doodling totally works.
And what I do to deal with the crazy busyness? I give myself a break - lots of them. Yeah, sometimes the kitchen is a mess. Other times it's the living room. In the end, so what? It'll get cleaned up at some point, some things can be put off till later. Others can't. Learning to let go is tough, but hey, I've got cards to make! :)
How do I deal with crazy busyness of life? Stamp, of course! I very sorry to hear about your dog. Very sad. I hope you find peace.
ReplyDeleteGo organize, girl!
ReplyDeleteLet it be your peace in a crazy, crazy world.
It's an extreme example, but when my beloved Dad passed away a few years ago, I spent almost every free moment for the next six months or so sorting buttons. Pounds and pounds of buttons bought off eBay. Just looking for matching sets, sorting by color, material, style. It sounds crazy (and maybe it was a little bit) but it brought some measure of peace to my heart. Thankfully my husband understands my OCD and never said a word except "yeah, that is a cool button!" until I had worked past that immediate part of my grief.
Go sort. Let it bring you peace.
I want this stamp! Going to a Craft event in Edinburgh next weekend and will seek it out. I love the doodles and will copy with gratitiude. I use an expression - "baking bread" which means that I carry out one task to avoid another. However, I do love organising my craft stuff. It is so good to reintroduce yourself to forgotten purchases!
ReplyDeletelove anything stamped on kraft--the added bling is perfect!
ReplyDeleteI love to organize and feel that a clean slate helps with productivity....but then I don't know where I put stuff!
So I like the clutter.
Crazy busyness of life makes me read more. Which doesn't help with the crazy busyness, but helps me... :P
ReplyDeleteI really like this card. I like the doodled border, the bling and the kraft! I _finally_ got my kraft cs order! Now I just have to christen it...
P.S. Forgot to say, give Hoover an extra hug from me!
ReplyDeleteI love your little online world, such great comments! I say leave the craft room a mess, if it's clean and orderly it'll just be asking for you to make another mess... so skip the clean up and just keep crafting. Life is always busy, realistic expectations, that's my motto. The mess never goes away, but as long as everyone is healthy and relatively happy then I've done my job. Sorry about the dog :(
ReplyDeleteFunny how Spring incites certain behaviors in all the animals AND the humans. Even our hair and fingernails grow faster. And we get these urges to organize. I say, Do IT! The peace that comes after a good cleaning beats a Valium or a Manhattan or a beer. OR go all out and do all four. Just having the boss for dinner, in the midst of all you already have on your plate, qualifies you for Sainthood.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE doodles and would do them on just about every card, except my doodles look like I'm an old bat with palsy. Yours are fantastic!
This card is perfect with its doodles, and I adore the red bling apples! Just go with the flow during the busy times and do what you can do. Consider it a victory as long as you get your kids fed and clothed!
ReplyDeleteYou never cease to amaze me with your talent ~ how you can make something so simple look so stunning! Great card!
ReplyDeleteYou never cease to amaze me with your talent ~ how you can make something so simple look so stunning! Great card!
ReplyDeleteI'm SO glad I found your blog. Your cards speak to me on so many levels...I love looking at the "bling-y" cards, too, on other blogs, but yours make me want to make cards again - something I've gotten away from for the last few years.
ReplyDeleteSo, take a deep breath, organize, give your dog a big hug, and then deal with the rest. It will all work out.
Spend time with your dog then organize, organize, organize. I can so relate. One of my precious babies went to the Rainbow Bridge last year. It is never an easy task but life without dogs would be so boring.
ReplyDeleteI love the card just as it is. Actually, I love all of your cards. If I only have time to look at one or two emails in the morning, yours is always the first one. Your style is awesome and so are your cards.
Thank you for sharing your talent.
I am new to your blog and enjoy seeing your creations, reading about your stamping philosophy and love reading everything you write. I can very much relate to most of it.
ReplyDeletePurging, OCD, simplifying, organizing, it is all part of what I want my life to be...if I can just get past this serious lack of momentum.
Have a good weekend and do spend some time on the things that give you a sense of order in an otherwise unpredictable world!
Beautiful! I love the kraft and the red bling.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that your dog is dying. That's not fun.
This little tree is so happy, and it makes me smile. I relax by taking a tour of the yard/flowerbeds to see what is poking it's head up. That doesn't work in northern MN in winter, so bundling up and going for a walk is therapy. Sympathies and hugs on your dog ~ I'm still mourning a favorite kitty lost to the highway in August...
ReplyDeleteYou did good! The center would not stand out without the lines...I really like this card.
ReplyDelete