Crafter's block (with copious whining)

It's been way too long since I last wrote anything here, almost a whole year. After starting work as a postman I soon found myself too exhausted with work and all the classes I took last autumn that I simply didn't find time or energy to write anything. Besides scrapbooking and sewing classes I hardly had time or energy to do any crafting at all. Even though I left the job at Itella last spring, I sort of haven't managed to find the joy of crafting again. This massive crafter's block is starting to worry me. Even the surefire way of getting new supplies (always a real joy) hasn't been helping much.

It's not like I didn't have anything to do. On the contrary, I hardly know where to start (which actually might be part of the problem). I've loads and loads of pictures that need to be gone through, sorted and processed: friend's graduation, our wedding, a trip to Italy, my sister's confirmation party, a friend's wedding and bachelorette party... Then I have two throws in progress (have been for several years...), several sewing projects and people just keep having birthdays and other parties that require cards. Although I still like crafting (or I think I do?), I seem to be postponing it until last minute. I'm sort of drifting into becoming a real couch potato (well, I prefer armchair to sofa and reading to TV, but still...). And I'm not really happy with this. There's so much I'd like to do, if only I got started. I think I might need extra hours to my day.

Lately I've been thinking of getting rid of some of my stash. I just finished cleaning my desk (and the floor and the bookcase...) and the amount of stash just started to feel uncomfortable. My paper crafting has shifted almost exclusively from cards to scrapbooking, so I've found myself contemplating on selling some of the cardmaking stuff. But, being the materialist I am, I tend to cling on the oh-so-familiar mantra "But it's possible I might perhaps need it someday for something", so I'm torn between decluttering and "saving money" (I guess I'm afraid I end up buying the same stuff back at some point). Maybe if I just got one big box and threw all the stuff I don't feel like using enough in there and shove it in a closet or something. But I guess I have to face: I can't keep storing everything I might need as my patience with the ever-increasing amount of stuff seems to be ending.

How low can you go?

Pretty deep, if my day's is anything to judge by... Started with a colleague with whom I carpool oversleeping, continued with stupid mistakes at work, didn't get to deliver the mail till over an hour later than usually, a dog bit my leg (even these legends about postmen seem to be true...) and it rained the whole time.

My hardships didn't end with the day's work, started on a scrapbooking course today (the best thing that happened today, really), so needed some photos to scrap. Selected some yesterday evening and found that my camera settings over three years ago when the photos were taken were just shit, the resolution is way too low... so when I went to get them before going to the course, I ended uo with grainy, pixelated pile of crap. They had scaled the pictures to full size instead of keeping them the size I wanted. Well, partly my fault as well, but it didn't improve my day, going to the course without any photos to scrap. Besides, I also forgot to take my papers and albums with me, so even if I'd had the photos, there was pretty little with which to scrap...

And the final blow was to hear that they're gonna cease publishing Scrapbook Inspirations! That's my favourite craft mag and now it will be gone. I'm shattered. Didn't believe it at first, but after hearing the grim truth straigth from the horse's mouth... what I'm going to read from now on? And just when I'd renewed my subscription for the next year...

I'm off to bed now. Getting fined on riding my bicycle without lights or crashing with a car were just about the only thing missing from the day, not taking any chances them or something equally nice still happening ...

Whee!

Been smiling like a lunatic for the whole day, tomorrow I'll be starting work at postal service! Been wanting to go back there for these past 2,5 years I've been away and now it's happening! Whee! Yay! Haven't been so excited for... a long time. I think I might be a bit daft with my passion for sorting post, but just can't help myself. A bonus factor is that I don't have to finish an uninspiring training course I started and found out to be not for me after all... And won't be unemployed anymore and will get paid for a job that I love (at least for a while, the contract is temporary). And actually got some positive feedback (and a job!) on my application letter, which normally tend to be hideously unimaginative. So, all in all, it's been a good day :) Only downside is that I don't get to craft as much as I did when unemployed and that work starts at 6 am, but I can live with that :)

I think this little froggy is as happy as I am. The card was truly a quickie, conjured it up in 15 minutes before running off to meet friends, which is really unusual for me (I tend to ponder over my stash again and again).

Stickers: Penny Black 'Pondside celebration' / Upikit
Card blank: CMPC
Paper: DCWV

Move it, baby!

Been waiting for a call to job interview all morning, but it seems it's not happening. Well, had to guess as much, I'm probably the worst application writer in the world (and besides they probaby got someone on internal transfer anyways). Means I'll unemployed for a bit longer. Which also means no early meanings, more time to craft and more time to loiter at home. Unfortunately it also means less income and with all that wonderful stash out there that's a bit of a drag...

I'm off to Helsinki today, my brother is moving flats and I'm making myself useful (now that's new!). Too bad I'm not likely to get to drive the van, I genuinely like it :) Since my aunt's birthday party is coming up on Saturday, I probably won't be bothering returning to Tampere before that. Even more exciting is the fact that I have to make her present (a minalbum) away from my desk and, yikes, stash! Since I don't want carry extra, I'll be trying to digiscrapping for the first time. Let's see how that goes...

Playing around

I'm getting bored of this archiving stuff but unfortunately I'm set to finish it until I may start blogging like normal people do. I only wish I wasn't so stubborn, but I guess that's not likely to happen. When I get something in my head there's no turning it... So I'm posting about zillion posts a day like a madman to be done with it.

I've also been eager to tweak my layout and find interesting gadgets lately. I've come to like my Google Account more and more, it just seems to be working so brilliantly. For instance, I found out that the photos I add to my blog go straigth to an album at Picasa. Nice! I wanted to try to make a slideshow of them, since they were in the web and usable, but although Picasa offers an opportunity to embed a slide show on your site or blog, I couldn't modify it as much as I'd wanted (like the tempo and background). Luckily there are those nice people who create nice thingies for us, and even add good instructions. I found my slideshow here, and this was just what I wanted, a simple code I can modify and, more importantly, instructions on how to make it work and how to modify it. Oh, I'm so over the moon that people like this do exist (and a bit proud that I still remembered how HTML works, it's been a while...).

So, I've realised that I don't want to continue posting just cards and repeating the same stuff about how I made them. Now, if I only knew which way to go with this... we'll see. But I guess there will be some changes coming up.

Nomen est omen

And just like that I decided to change the name and address of my blog. Sorry to cause any inconvenience...

Intermission

I'm starting to get bored on posting all these ancient cards here. I'd so much want to move to the present than wallow in the past but, on the other hand, I want to archive all those cards I've been making. Somehow I feel that I can't move on until I've gone through with the past. Oh bother, I guess there's nothing more to it than just keep on posting those cards... It feels funny to post about zillion times a day (well, not that many, to be honest...), but the quicker I post these ancient cards, the quicker I get to other things.

When I first started blogging... OK, when I first really started blogging I wasn't going to post anything but the finished projects. But now I think there might also be some general what's-going-on posts coming up. Not a diary or anything like that, I've never been comfortable or able to keep a diary but something according to that line. We'll see.

I sometimes feel funny writing these posts, like talking to myself. Although I do constatly talk to myself (to the point of seeming quite mad), I find it odd to do so in writing. I wonder if someone actually reads this. It would be nice to have readers, but then again I don't want to be "too social". It's hard to balance with the wish to be part of a community and the wish to remain an outsider...

This may be a start of a beautiful blogship...

It's finally done, my Master's thesis is in and I'm finally ready to indulge myself in the luxury of free time. One of the first prizes will be starting my own blog. I intend to concentrate on my craft creations and gardening endeavours, but let's see how far I'll stray from the subject...

I guess I'll be writing in English, at least for the most of the time, let's see if I change my mind as I go.