Note to Self...

Re: Scrapbooking, Creating, Crafting

I've discovered lately how important it is to trust myself creatively. It's great looking to others for inspiration and guidance, to learn new techniques and get ideas but when I see something that I admire and then try to create something implementing techniques used with that project I am discovering that if it is different (I'm talking, way out there, here) from my core sense of style it turns out dreadful and I get extremely discouraged. I get frustrated with myself because I'm fighting my instinct, the very core of me and my vision. I don't want to do that. I want to be okay with what I create and have it be enough, and I'm finding that I often am when I just am concentrating on telling the story rather than "the products used", thinking about the presentation of that story and how I want it to be told. It wastes time, (fighting my creative instinct), it's detrimental to my sense of creativity and creates an almost tunnel vision regarding what I can see and appreciate in my work as well in others. Sometimes I feel as though I "need" to create something using some new fangled "product" when what I need to do is just step back and say no...it's okay not to use the cutting edge supplies when they are "cutting edge". With scrapbooking as in all things pertaining to my life I always have found that I am happiest most when I follow the beat of my own drum.