Ruby Blooms

Thursday, October 20, 2016

In the Mood? A Card Maker's Dilemma!

Hi again!

I don't mean anything naughty by my post title, hope you aren't disappointed (cheeky grin). Any way what I'm talking about is being in the mood to create. When it comes to card making, crocheting, scrap booking, whatever the hobby may be I seem to have to wait for the mood to strike me. I am always curious to find out how the creativity of others works. Whether you are into baking, cooking, card marking, quilting, whatever it is you may like to do. Does it require that you feel like doing it?

One of the reasons this presents such a dilemma for me is because I want to do things that require consistency. Such as blogging for example or making YouTube videos, even being on a design team. All of these things are time sensitive and require working on a schedule with deadlines. I am striving to learn how to be creative not just when I feel like it but because I have set aside the time to do so.

I know how I am when I come across a blog or a YouTuber that I really enjoy and that can only be described as "content hungry". It is so easy to consume a ton of content that has taken the provider time to create. For me if I am following someone who is consistently putting up more content then I am more likely to read, watch, or listen to it. So knowing this about myself I can't help but think that if someone comes upon my blog or YouTube channel enjoys what they see but then realizes that they have no idea when more content is coming they may stop checking back at all. This is the reason that I am determined to find a way to be consistent.

If you struggle with this is well I would love to hear what methods you use to be creative even when you aren't in the mood. Do you do anything to get the creative juices flowing such as listen to music, watch YouTube videos, movies etc. I am employing a multitude of different strategies to find out what works for me. 

I have made this card and even took pictures as I went only to have still not created the blog post to talk about or share it!


Up to this point I have come up with the following plan of action to see if this helps me train myself to be creative when I have time for not just when I feel like it:

  • I schedule time with friends via Face Book or Google Hangouts with the purpose to create, we typically pick out a video, a card style (ie pop-out, gate-fold etc), or a technique to do during our time together. This has been MOST beneficial and a great way to develop and nurture those friendships as well.  (BONUS!)
  • I take advantage of any writing mojo I may come upon when I am writing up a blog post. I don't know about others but for me once I start writing and get in that mode I often find myself with more ideas about posts I would like to write and in the mood to do so. Therefore I go ahead and write it up thinking that I can always come back and edit, add pictures or whatever else I may need to do that post and that way I can work a little ahead. 
  • When I do sit down to create on my own I try to either watch YouTube videos of other people making cards, listen to a podcast, listen to music to get me pumped up, or watch a movie that I have already seen. (Watching movies I have never seen is a bad idea because then I stop creating and focus on the movie but this has also been known to happen when I watch movies I've already seen especially if I am not in the mood to create.) Hmm...I think I just nixed the movie idea
These are a few things I am trying and I will update as time goes on to let you know what I am finding works for me and what doesn't. As for now the jury is still out on the best way to stay motivated and create when I need to and not only when I feel like it. Thanks for "hearing me out" !

Wishing you sunshine and smiles,
Kim :) 

Saturday, October 15, 2016

My Favorite FaceBook Store Just Became a WEBSITE!!!



Hi ya!!!

So unbelievably excited to share some wonderful news! If you have read any of my previous posts then you are aware that the Scrapping for Less FaceBook group has been my go to store for ALL things crafty since it opened over four years ago. Now for the BIG NEWS...

INTRODUCING Scrappingforless.com SQUEEEEE!!!  I don't know about you but I am an avid online shopper and to have the option to go look at products that are being provided by my favorite store is just super exciting to me!

Just in case you are new to the Scrapping for Less FaceBook group or are just wondering what the differences between the FB group and the online store might be let me share some info. The FB group is for pre-orders, meaning that when there are brand new products that have just been released you can look through the albums and put in the quantity for what you would like to order, pay your invoice, then the order will be placed and Teresa (the owner and operator) will then ship your items to you when they arrive.

The scrappingforless website is for ITEMS THAT ARE IN STOCK! Meaning that when you go online and see an item you want you will see the quantity of what is available and if you want it you order it, are able to pay online with a credit card or through PayPal and then it is shipped to you!

So if any of you out there share my reality where my budget is not always on the same schedule as some of the releases from FABULOUS companies such as Lawn Fawn, Doodlebug Design, Stamping Bella (one of my faves)...etc. then the website is where you can go take a gander on YOUR time table and see what is still available. I am also finding that it helps out with some items that I may have been on the fence about and then once the pre-order has been placed I am inevitably thinking to myself "I should have ordered one of those". This site is my second chance to grab said item. Whew!

As an example of what I am talking about I have made a couple of cards out of items in my stash that I didn't pre-order but that I did purchase from the "overstock" or "instock" albums for those of you familiar with the FB group and it is the items from those types of albums that are now featured on the website.


The card on the left features and image from La La Land Crafts "Baby Luka" and is currently available at scrappingforless.com , the card on the right features an image from C.C. Designs and the paper pad is from Prima "Coffee Break" 6x6 paper pad, there are other Prima 6x6 paper pads on scrappingforless.com as well!


So do yourself a favor and check out scrappingforless.com to find scrap supplies at less than retail prices you will be so happy that you did! If you are here following along with the blog hop today your next stop is going to be the beautiful Sandy Hentzel so hop on over to her blog and have a terrific day!!! OH, and Happy Shopping! ;)

The prize I am offering for the hop:

The blog hop line up for today is as follows:
Carpe Diem Clips from Simple Stories




Wishing you sunshine and smiles,
Kim :)