Returning from a Blog/Creative Hiatus



It’s been awhile since I’ve been on here.  In the last 6 months my life has changed significantly.  I changed from working in a LSS and teaching 5-6 creative classes a month for the last 6 years to working full time at a fast paced growing college.  The change for me and my family has been major to say the least.  I have been creating layouts and such for myself and those around me.  Mostly for pleasure that has been fun.  I have also been working in my ETSY shop a bit utilizing the new listing tools ETSY has put in place(I like them a lot).  But to be honest all of this the creative stuff needed to take a back seat to my Family and regaining some of my energy and enthusiasm for the Crafty World and everything around me again.

I still love my hobby don’t get me wrong I can’t imagine doing anything else but the physical and mental drain of mass creating for no other reason than someone elses gain has taken its toll on my creative mojo.  I’ve read a lot lately of many bloggers discouragement with this industry and how things work and how the general viewing public is unappreciative.  I don’t know about that?  I found those that took my classes very appreciative and many became friends and people I am proud to know.  But they were sitting in an actual classroom learning from me, we exchanged ideas and stories and built up a relationship so the basis is different. I personally was burnt out from time and sheer volume of creating and had to make a choice continue for little or no money doing what I love or take a leap of faith and return to working full time and see what happens.   I am proud of myself that I made all of my own choices and took control of what was really a losing situation, for that I give myself all of the credit.  Big pat on the back or is it a round of applause(my teenagers are rolling their eyes I’m sure).  

So enough of that let’s talk about NOW.  What’s happening!  Well I’ve been out of the 9-5 workforce for about 15 years now and wasn’t sure I could go back?   I mean 15 years of not going to a regular job working at a desk 8 hours a day to suddenly working 9-5 Monday thru Friday was daunting.  I was lucky, I created a resume, applied for a couple of jobs online, went on one interview and that was that.   It’s taken me a few months to figure it out, only partially, and I’m still struggling with kid’s schedules, dinner, household chores, appointments etc.  But it gets better each week and I find I enjoy working everyday outside the home it is very rewarding in so many ways.  Not only did I  start a new job but in an industry I know nothing about.  I went from Stock Market/Investment Data to Education at the College level.  To say that I had no idea what was going on is the understatement of the year.  I sometimes know I must have the Deer in Headlights look to people that are speaking to me at work.  My mind is frantically trying to piece it all together whenever I am asked a question, but I have to say it gets easier as well each week.  And it is totally fun learning something new, since I am naturally curious.  Today for instance a student was sent to me and I got nervous, they are going to ask me something I won’t know (I have a standard line about looking into it and sending them and email…..).  But the student asked their question and I actually knew the answer, with confidence could tell them not to worry, they even walked away happy.  There is some satisfaction in learning a new job and doing it well.  So there is that.  I’ve also been getting back to my scrapping which, I was surprised to learn isn’t really all that stressful (it was for a while) nor demanding (it was for a long time).  I can usually get about 2 layouts a week done which is my new goal.  Sometimes I take pictures of the layouts more often than not they just go into the books.  If it feels stressful or not fun, I won’t attempt it in the creative time I allow myself.  I’ve been cleaning in my craft room again little by little and will hopefully be able to get to a garage sale to unload some things.  I’ve unmounted a ton of stamps (lots of clear boxes I’m afraid to throw out) making more room and a more organized way of finding things.    I’ve also taught myself a bunch of new techniques and explored various tools I have, most notably I created my own stickers and cut them on my Silhouette, my mind is swimming with ideas for this among others.

Outside of creative and work ventures, I’ve also had a lot of fun doing things on the weekend with my family and we’ve taken an actual vacation where we went to the beach and everything.  The puppies are also awesome and this summer I need to get them signed up for obedience training.  Potty training, for the puppy has been a challenge especially with being in the kennel for the first part of my back to work but now it’s summer and someone is usually around so she can hopefully learn what she’s supposed to do.   In the mean time she has given some of her bad habits to the older dog that has to be broken.  Oh well it’s all pretty good until it rains but then they are Doxies, they do not do rain or snow or dew or anything that may touch their little belly’s or feet or ears or back or fur (you get the idea), EWWWWW.  We’ve also spent a bunch of time in the last 3 months with family so that is good as well, and we have plans to do more.  I am even went to have a massage with me, myself and I.  CRAZY right?  Well in my old world it would be.  In my new world everything has changed and that is really what needed to happen.  

I look forward to reinventing my creativity, my blog and my shop to be what I have started to envision in my mind now that it is clear.  To say that I am starting to become re-energized is an understatement.  If you’ve stuck it out to the end of this post thank you so much and I promise to try to stay away from long winded posts in the future.  And I will definitely add pictures in my next posts of creative things!

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