Craft

October 13, 2013October 13, 2013

Can you be too focused?

This past week I was swamped with putting out fires for Ignite. (Okay, yes, I hear the irony in that sentence now.) Just when I thought the hard stuff was done, several tasks that seemed straightforward ended up getting complicated to the point they seemed to take up most of my week.

The thing is I can get so locked into a project that I let almost everything else fall by the wayside. Instead of making progress on other projects or creative work, I want to wait until I can switch to that “mode” before I even think about them.

If (for example) I have 4 posts that are almost finished, I can get so focused on The Big Thing I am working on that I don’t just take a few minutes to get one posted (which may have something to do with my radio silence last week). This goes for other creative endeavors, as well. Instead of working on part of a craft project, it may just sit on the shelf until I feel like I have enough time (whatever that means) to work on it.

There are definitely times when I’m easily distracted and just flit from one thing to another. I counteract this tendency by going into tunnel vision mode when I’m really ready to get to work on something. The bigger/more urgent the project the more I am laser-focused on it – to the detriment of other things I need to do.

Finding some kind of balance would be good.

How do you focus without going into complete tunnel vision mode? Have you found a way to get things done in smaller increments without getting totally distracted from the major project(s) you’re working on?

September 30, 2013October 2, 2013

Rebooting

Part of the reason I’ve never finished a scrapbook is that I stopped crafting altogether for a few years. In fact, I stopped doing a lot of things I enjoy during that time. Parts of me had gradually shut down.

There were lots of reasons for this. It’s kind of a whole tangled mess I’ve been trying to unravel since last year.

In January, I announced to a friend that this was going to be “MY year!” and then laughed because I wasn’t even sure what that meant. I just knew that it was the beginning of 2013 and 13 is my lucky number. Okay, I don’t really believe in lucky numbers, but I was born on Friday the 13th. I like the idea of turning the “unlucky” around, and it always makes me smile when a 13 shows up in my life.

As it turns out, this year has been about powering back on, opening up, jumping into new things, saying yes – even when I’m not sure why. It’s been about doing things I love. And not feeling I have to justify every single thing as being part of some Greater Purpose.

I still haven’t finished a scrapbook, but I’ve been crafting more. And taking last-minute trips (camping + conference). And sitting outside drinking tea in the mornings. And launching Travelcraft Journal. And picking out plants for our garden. And basically just doing things that sound awesome and not worrying so much about fitting my life into some constricting mold.

It’s a little weird out here outside the boundaries.

But I kinda like weird. I was born on Friday the 13th.

Photo of me by Phillip Liebold, while I was heading out the door to BlogHer.

September 21, 2013September 20, 2013

Paper bag journal: part 1(ish)

The idea of collecting trip mementos in paper bags has stuck with me since I saw it in Anna Corba’s Vintage Paper Crafts awhile ago, and I wanted to give it a try during our Colorado trip this summer.

Last year when we went on our Epic California Road Trip, we picked up a postcard for each day and wrote what we did on it. However, this time, I knew we couldn’t rely on always being somewhere with postcards for sale. Instead, I jotted down my notes about each day on brown paper sacks and tucked the day’s mementos (maps, cards, travel information, etc.) inside. I also collected a flower for (almost) every day to press during the trip and clip onto the pages later.

As we were getting ready to leave, I threw a stack of paper bags, pens, scissors and glue sticks into another paper bag. While Phillip drove, I numbered the bags 1-7 with the day of the week and wrote the date on each. Before I went to bed, the next day on the road, or whenever I found a moment, I would write about the day and doodle around the number with something related to what we did.

My notes got shorter toward the end of the trip, but the point was to write something – not to write a novel. I brought scrapbooking supplies, but I didn’t end up using them. The days were so packed it was all I could do to keep up with my basic journalling. I decided I could put things together when I got home and just kept the items I collected (except the flowers I was pressing) in each day’s bag.

If you wanted to give this a try, here’s what you need to create your own paper bag scrapbook:

A paper lunch bag for each day of your trip, plus one to store them all in. (Okay, maybe a few extra, just in case.)
Nice, archival-safe pens for journalling, doodling, or simply making a list of interesting things you saw that day.

Optional:

Clothespins or clips to keep bags together and/or clip things on outside of bags
Additional scrapbooking supplies (scissors, glue stick or double stick tape, etc.).
If you plan to collect a leaf or flower for each day, check out How to press flowers while traveling.

Now we’re back, and I have a record of what we did each day, a book full of flowers being pressed, and the other odds and ends I picked up along the way sorted by day.

Phillip says that if I never got the rest done, we’d still have a nice record of our trip. Me being me, I want it all finished and awesome. I’m still want to print more photos, weed out the bag contents, put the pressed flowers in clear plastic bags and attach them to each page. I don’t have a great track record with finishing scrapbook projects. But I’m crossing my fingers this post will have a Part 2!

September 10, 2013

Paper craft demonstration

Remember I told you about Craft Hack? (Yeah, I know you’re nodding while surreptitiously checking the link. I’ll refresh your memory.) It’s a monthly artist and crafter gathering. We chat and work on whatever craft projects we have in progress. Plus, each time there’s a different craft demo for anyone who wants to try something new.

Well, this time, I’m the demo-er. Demo-ista? Demotante?

Anyway. I’ll be demonstrating a few paper crafting techniques, while we pimp out paper sacks into holiday-worthy gift bags.

Should be fun times! Stop on by Gangplank Chandler for tomorrow’s Craft Hack, if you’re in town. Otherwise, I’ll be posting about it here later on.

August 28, 2013October 30, 2020

How to press flowers while traveling

Pressing wildflowers is a great way to remember the landscape you’ve traveled. You create a simple souvenir, a keepsake with more dimension than a photo.

Before you go/materials list:

1. Find a book you don’t mind destroying. You can use an outdated catalog or phone book, but just make sure it’s not too bulky to pack! This will be your portable flower press.

2. Find a rubber band that will fit around the book to keep it shut or several clips (or clothespins) that can hold a group of pages together.

On the road:

3. Look for leaves or “flatter” flowers with fewer layers (think daisies over roses) along the road, trails, or other places you visit. Pick a one or two or a few. Note where you found it/them or take a photo of the spot, so you can remember later. You may want to pick a flower for each day of your trip. After you pick one, I’d recommend doing a quick check for bugs. And, of course, don’t go picking on plants where it’s prohibited, like National Parks or people’s gardens.

4. Set the flower on top of one of your book pages. (If you’re picking one each day, you can press the first day’s flower in Chapter One, the second day’s in Chapter Two, etc. Or just make a note on whichever page you press the flower on.) Carefully close the book over the flower, so it’s positioned the way you want it to be pressed. You can put a few flowers on a page, but don’t put them on adjacent pages.

5. Band the book or clip a handful of pages around the flower to keep anything from falling out. Stick the book under your luggage, in between large items in your pack, or wherever you can put the most pressure on it.

6. If you add more flowers, place them in a different part of the book, so you aren’t moving the first one and are allowing additional pressure/weight between them. (Again, starting near the front and working your way back might be helpful.) Also, you want plenty of pages in between to absorb any moisture the flowers release while drying.

7. Give them a few weeks. When ready, flowers will be thin, dry and papery. If you get home before they’re ready, stick the book at the bottom of a stack of books or some heavy object that you won’t be moving around. Just don’t forget about them!

8. Pressed flowers and leaves would be a beautiful addition to your trip scrapbook or framed with your travel photos! They’ll be pretty fragile, so you may want to put behind glass, slip into plastic sleeves, or cover with contact paper.