Life Without Stampin' Up!

So now that I have made a decision to stop being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, I feel like there is a small whole in my heart.  What do I do now?

I truly love making things, but I can't seem to find my niche.  I love this hobby of mine, even before I know I did.  In college, I toyed with the idea of being a photographer.  (I still LOVE the idea of a dark room).  When I got married, I made the wedding programs.  When I had my baby, I made the birth announcements.  When I found out my mom had died I stayed up all night crying and making 12x12 announcements to be placed in all four of the buildings that make up Riverdale Towers (where I was raised and where my parents lived until the end).

I prayed for a long time because I really thought that if you found something you loved, you could find SOME WAY to make money from it.  Maybe I was not meant to make money from it.  Maybe I was meant to be good at project management, at putting the pieces together for organizations to meet or exceed goals, to participate in the machine...but at home, in the quiet solitude of my craft room...I would create.

Well, look out world.  Here I is!

Love, peace and crafts.
Cas

Make Your Own Smash Book

So you may be saying, "What the devil is a Smash Book?"  A smash book is a journal you keep on any subject you want (or none at all), where you don't think about how it looks, you just "smash" down photos, magazine/newspaper clippings, receipts, ticket stubs, dried flowers...really anything that inspires.

You can make one on their favorite color where you smash down pics and things and journal about how each thing feels.  You may smash a journal on a vacation or perhaps things you want to do to fix up the house.  It's totally up to you.

So here's my challenge...make your own Smash Book!  Pick a topic (or don't) and then journal away.  Don't worry if it's sloppy, if things match...just slap and go.  Here is a video on how to make your own.  Post pics of what you do.

I made mine out of various sheets of double-sided sheets, and other papers I didn't know what to do with, but totally was in love with.  I am using mine to collapse the mound of mags I have down to a cute little idea book.  Pics to come.

Love, Peace and Crafts
Cas