New cards

Bday card for my Grandmama
Originally uploaded by mantequilla81

So, I said I'd post once a MONTH, right? Not once a week? Just wanted to clear that up. ;D

How do you find motivation to craft at the end of a long day? I'm having trouble finding it. I can look at craft stuff all day on blogs (if work is being particularly slow - usually I don't get much of a chance to go on the 'net) and be SO INSPIRED, and then I come home, walk the dog, do any chores, start dinner, and before I know it it's 7:30pm and I have no desire to do anything other than watch the boob tube or surf the net.

I think my other issue is that my craft area is very small and only conducive to certain crafts. For example, I've been wanting to sew, but my desk won't support it and my sewing machine needs to be looked at but we don't have the funds. I've been crafting on our dining table because my desk (which nicely holds all my craft supplies) doesn't have a ton of room for actual crafting, esp. with my laptop on it. Plus my desk and dining table are in the general front room of our 1-bedroom apartment, so I have no privacy and am easily distracted.

Either way, I go through phases where I can't stop crafting, and then I go through weeks where I have no inspiration or motivation. I miss it right now, but I did craft up a storm at my mom's this weekend. Made 4 cards, including the one pictured, which was my favorite of the bunch. She admitted she doesn't always craft when she gets home, too, which made me feel better. Hopefully when The Hubs and I can afford to move into a bigger home, I'll feel more inspired since we've agreed that we'll get at least a 2-bedroom that I can use one of the rooms for crafting, which means I could spread around and have everything I need in one room.

In the meantime, I will just continue to gather links to cool stuff I want to make. My dream is to start an after-school monthly crafting club for whatever school I work at long-term, so I actually have lots of those links saved and ready to go. I also have the desire to make Valentine's for my friends again this year, so I think I'll work on that as my motivating project for this month. Hopefully when I post next month, I can show you what I ended up doing! xD

I'm not dead!

Retro Card 1
Originally uploaded by mantequilla81

I know, I know, I've been dreadful about updating this blog.

Part of it was lack of time - I was busy cranking out Xmas gifts.

Then it was lack of inspiration. There are so many blogs out there centered around crafting, I don't quite know how to make mine interesting, let alone relevant.

THEN it was actually getting a long-term sub gig that kept me tired and busy.

FINALLY it was due to adding a new member to the family. I blame this devil:

Don't be fooled by her adorableness, she's... well, she's not evil, she's just distracting. xD

I do want to make this a regularly updated blog. Maybe not daily, but at least weekly. For now, it might just be a "Look what I made!" blog, and that's fine, as I find my niche. I won't say that there won't occasionally be a blathering about other creative things, though, like theory or people I admire that are what I deem "creative". I also might blog about style as it relates to me, as I'm trying to pull myself out of a self-imposed duldrums when it comes to self-expression.

In the meantime, I wanted to start the new year on the right track and say "Hello!" I am re-committing to this blog, there's no point in having it and not using it, and I really do want to show what I make more often.

If you'd like more info on the card featured above, please click on the picture to go to the Flickr page with description. =)

Happy 2010! Let's make this an awesome one, eh?