There is nothing more frustrating than scrapper's block. I sit at my table, having cleared my schedule for scrapbooking but I am totally blocked. I aimlessly sift through my product or pictures trying to find a spark that ignites my creativity. Then I look at the clock, my creative time is gone, and its back to normal life for me. It isn't a pleasant feeling to waste precious creative time, especially when I feel so passionately about scrapbooking. In order to be productive, I think every scrapper should identify her/his creative blocks or creativity killers. In no particular order, here are a few of my blocks.
1) I don't have a story to scrap. Sure I have thousands and thousands of photos, but what do I actually scrapbook? I scrapbook to relate memories and experiences. While I enjoy creating pretty pages that highlight special photos, the layout isn't as meaningful if I don't have a story to tell about the photo.
2) All my product is disorganized so I don't know what I have. Then I spend my time looking through paper, embellishments, ink, and getting nothing done. I want to maximize my crafting time and not waste it looking through product.
3) I am too tired to create. Creating requires energy and if I am too tired I cannot make fun or inspired crafting choices.
4) I have too many product choices. Unfortunately, there are times when I waste my crafting time just trying to find the perfect embellishment or paper from my stash.
5) Perfectionism is the enemy of creativity. There have been too many times when I have been paralyzed by wanting to scrap a beautiful photo in the perfect way. I often give up because I can't scrap the photo the way I think it should be scrapped.
6) Feeling disorganized and without a plan. I know this is probably atypical for most scrappers, but I have learned that if I don't have a focus or a plan, I am not very productive.
Over the next few Saturdays, I am going to show you my solutions for overcoming these creativity killers.
What are your creativity killers? What prevents you for using your scrapping time well?
© 2007-2016 TIFFANY WACASER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
1) I don't have a story to scrap. Sure I have thousands and thousands of photos, but what do I actually scrapbook? I scrapbook to relate memories and experiences. While I enjoy creating pretty pages that highlight special photos, the layout isn't as meaningful if I don't have a story to tell about the photo.
2) All my product is disorganized so I don't know what I have. Then I spend my time looking through paper, embellishments, ink, and getting nothing done. I want to maximize my crafting time and not waste it looking through product.
3) I am too tired to create. Creating requires energy and if I am too tired I cannot make fun or inspired crafting choices.
4) I have too many product choices. Unfortunately, there are times when I waste my crafting time just trying to find the perfect embellishment or paper from my stash.
5) Perfectionism is the enemy of creativity. There have been too many times when I have been paralyzed by wanting to scrap a beautiful photo in the perfect way. I often give up because I can't scrap the photo the way I think it should be scrapped.
6) Feeling disorganized and without a plan. I know this is probably atypical for most scrappers, but I have learned that if I don't have a focus or a plan, I am not very productive.
Over the next few Saturdays, I am going to show you my solutions for overcoming these creativity killers.
What are your creativity killers? What prevents you for using your scrapping time well?
© 2007-2016 TIFFANY WACASER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
6 comments:
- A long list of to-do's that don't include scrapbookin
- A messy scrap room
- Too many pictures, that need organization, that I don't want to address
- Being tired, or sad or mad (not a regular thing for me...thank goodness)
I wish I could sit in chaos and scrap. I just can't.
Love this! I think I've experience all of these at one time or another. Looking forward to seeing how you tackle them!
Great post, and I agree with all of them. The stuff is pretty organized, as in I know where most things are, but I still have to go through all the embellishments to pick out what I want to use with certain things (big time killer).
@ KathleenM, I can relate! I have six children and it seems like something always needs to be done. When I start to feel guilty about scrapping instead of working on my endless to-do list, I remember that being creative is a form of self-care and I am happier for taking the break and doing something uplifting.
I share my scrapping space with my kids. My work area is where the kids do homework, so my room gets pretty messy. I have definitely used my creative time to clean the space instead of crafting... But sometimes it must be done.
I agree that our emotions really do impact our ability to create, for better or worse.
Thanks for commenting!
@Adrienne, thanks for you comment. I hope the follow-up articles are helpful to you.
@ Pat Agnew, the hunt for the perfect embellishment never ends, does it? Thanks for stopping by.
Post a Comment