Perfect the way you create ?
Why are we so hard on ourselves when scrapbooking should be all about fun ? That's what I've been thinking about the last couple of days.
You see my belief is that everybody has their own scrapbooking style, there is no right or wrong it's all a matter of taste, style and experience. I have a friend who has this need to be the best and is upset because not everybody gets her style and I told her sweetie you are perfect just the way you create but it left me with an uneasy feeling.
So this got me thinking, especially since I tried a different thing with my lo and I was not happy at all with the way it turned out. But why wasn't I happy with it, because I hadn't created a masterpiece ? Because I wasn't praised for it ? Because I didn't even that much constructive critisism on it ? No it just wasn't giving me that smiling feeling the next day when I looked at it, and you see that's why I scrapbook.
I do not scrapbook to get published, I do not scrapbook because I want others to say I rock or am the best thing since choc chip cookies. I scrapbook because I think it's a great hobby, a way for me to relax, sometimes it's therapy, to have a creative outlet and document our photo's in a totally different way, not just by noting a date or a few words but by journaling or using that title with that certain photo that will say more than a thousand words.....and that's what makes me happy ! And that's what it should be about unless scrapbooking is your job in which case I still think it should be making you happy otherwise you have the wrong job LOL.
Please share with me what you think.... As I am curious if you are as hard on yourself when you create as my friend or are you totally not critical of your work ?
Remember it is a HOBBY, it should be FUN there are plenty of other things to worry about !
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21 comments:
I could not have described you feeling about scrapping any better then you just did!! I create my lo's for that smiley feeling, but mostly just for the fun of creating cause that is what I love to do. I sometimes spend an evening just playing away with paints or inks and after hours I decide I did not like my creation, and through it in the bin LOL. Still have a great feeling then because I have played all evening. Scrapping is a bit different though... I hate it when I cut up my paper and it looks like .... :-(( But I think it is only because of the waste of (expencive papers and or pictures). You got to have fun, otherwise it is no hobby anymore right!! BTW I kinda liked your sneeze lo!
so glad you posted this!
scrapping is fun! and should make you happy - everyone in their own way. for some it may be that they are only happy when published. for others when they get lots of praise... for me it's the joy of capturing moments - little snippets of our lives. i have so many lo's that are not the best artistically - but they tell our story, something important in our lives, something i want to remember 20 years from now. so that story makes me smile, that memory, that moment. no one but me will know that the lo may not be the best creatively - and i just let it go - place it in my albums and that's it... on to the next moment to capture!
goed gezegd!!! en helemaal mee eens!
A masterpeace-post i reckon...
I so recognise what your thoughts are on this... I think a lot of scrappers run into this now and then. I think photo's of our own moments are so special to us, that even just showing/sharing those photo's is a big thing (it is to me anyway). We do more with those photo's, use our creativity that comes straight from the heart. That makes it even more personal. Than sharing it is step 3, throwing it on that digital highway and everybody can see/have an opinion about it. Yikes. Scary stuff. Are we only as good as our last layout? Hope not. I can get really overwhelmed by the talent of all those scrappers on the internet or in CK, when i put CK down i think: ok, stop looking at what others have perfectly made, DO something yourself. And then nothing happens. But when i just start having fun because i just came up with this funny idea to create (or a deadline appears along that horizon), it happens, magic. Then step 3 AGAIN, sharing it. YIKES.
I agree with you so much!
I think a lo must give you a happy feeling. If everybody founds it very beuatiful and you don't get a smile on your face looking at it, it doesn't meet up to your standard. But hé, not everything can be great, so I leave it that way, mostly!
Ditto to how you feel about scrapping.
I create for myself too and anything else is a bonus.
Thanks for popping by my blog.
A great post. I now SB just for me, altho it wasn't always that way, but when you SB to 'order' it loses the fun element. I love to experiement and create, it gives me pleasure doing that... and I've met some great people along the way - both real and virtual. :)
I totally agree with you, and share your feelings. Of course it is nice when you get praise, or even have your work published, but the most important thing is that YOU like your own work. I scrap for me, and my loved ones and that is what counts.
I agree...its nice for someone to praise you about your scrapping but I am just as happy when someone says my son is well behaved or handsome!
Scrapbooking is just about capturing life and if that changes it only leads to problems.....I just am a paper addict...and not ashamed to say it!...oh and ribbon and paint and chipboard and......:) loves ya dan xx
Great post! It's not about competition it's about sharing! In life we have good days and bad days and lots more....happy, sad, etc. Scrapbooking is a part of it. We shouldn't make life more complicated as it is. Let's be nice to ourselves and like Ali Edwards says "go with the flow"... It's unique how we express ourselves in scrapbooking. Let's have fun!
Love your post!!! I agree so much! I scrapbook because I love it, I have a job that is sometimes so hard and evil - LOL - that I need scrapbooking a creative outlet. I also love sharing my layouts with others - it is sharing myself and memories with others. I don't mind get published - it is fun but I don#t need this to love scrapbooking. I scrapbook for myself and if that layout gets picked up fine if not- whatever - lOL! Funny thing is that I used to write a diary - I have a huge pile of those collected over the years but since I scrap I stopped. For me there is more in the layout besides the photo and the journaling,there is also my mood I was when I created it. I know why I picked that certain photo when I look at the layout and that is a memory too and a feeling that no one else but me will know then looking at it.
i agree!! *back to the roots*!! ;))
have a great evening!! and for this post you deserve a lot of hugs!!
Ben het er wel mee eens. Ik doe voor de Fun mee met de Dutch Dares en in mijn eigen creatie's probeer ik zoveel mogelijk mijn gevoel er in vast te leggen. Maar ik moet bekennen, heel soms denk ik toch wel eens..... Wat zullen anderen hier van denken???!!! Maar dat zal wel een beetje bij mij horen ;-)
i just have to say: amen. and does it sounds arrogant if i say i love my own work?? it just feels good to work, let my creative energy flowing and create. i love browsing through my books (with Sanne) and when i look at my lo's i still love them. they sure are not perfect. far from that. but they are mine. my creations, and i love them. and your friend should too. no matter what other people think or say. only your opinion counts. you scrapbook for yourself. and to buy some cool goodies :P
Rembrandt and Van Gogh got their 'well done' way after they passed away ... so don't wait for anybody to say 'well done'. Sometimes, somebody will cherish your 'work' and never let it go. Imagine finding some LO made by a precious familymember ..... what ever it looks like: You'll love it because it's made by ....
I totally agree with you, that's what scrapbooking is all about, fun...... although sometimes it can take me 2 or 3 days before I'm completely satisfied, I don't care! As long as I have fun... Have to admit, I really like it when people give me a compliment about a LO I made, that makes me feel more happy! Especially if it's about someone special to me, like the last once on my blog!
Heb er niks meer aan toe te voegen behalve dat ik het helemaal met je eens ben.
Het zijn mijn herinneringen,mijn boek,mijn werk en ik moet het mooi vinden.
Als iedereen in scrapland dat ook eens zou denken dan zouden we een heel leuk landje worden!!
Amen, sistah.
Wise words!! scrapbooking should be fun!
I could give you a comment on this post about how I totally agree and how I think of it, but you've said it all. Thanx for sharing also MY feelings.
And that's the way it is!!!
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