A Decade of Collecting

Before I moved to Miami, I was into scrapbooking, card making, crocheting, and most things crafting chicks like to do. I can’t pinpoint an exact reason that I basically stopped doing them. Perhaps it was the fact that I didn’t have any friends there that were into it. ...or possibly the long hours of designing and creating things at work on the computer, left me with little desire to spend time cutting & pasting things together.

That is when, I began using the computer to design Christmas cards. Many years after designing the company Christmas cards and having 500 ordered, my personal ones were not so thrilling. Several times, I even bought the generic ones with the cutout for the picture to be slipped into. **I should admit that I made my own wedding invitations and programs and a few other things, but most of the time everything was ALL computer generated.

Now that I have been a SAHM for about 3 months, I am beginning to think crafting would be fun again. It all started about 2 weeks ago when a friend hosted a Christmas card stamping party. When I got the invitation, it sparked a new interest in making Christmas cards. The class was full of people I had known prior to moving to Miami. They were quite shocked when I revealed my lack of crafting for the past decade. It was fun to sit and chat with the girls. I enjoyed the time with them and the fun of digging in without using a mouse or keyboard.

For several years, I have been thinking about the advantages of each method. I have old scrapbooks and I have a new one that I made digitally and printed. I printed several copies of the new one to share with family members 2 years ago for Christmas. Doing it the traditional way would have been a nightmare. I have also created numerous cards over the years with the computer. There are things I really enjoy about using the computer for crafts, but I have also missed the layered affect and bit of that homey feeling.

When I got home from the stamping party, I decided to sift through my crafting bins. Would you believe I have five big ones? Ten years of ignoring that part of me meant that I would continually forget what I had, so when a new project came up I just went out and bought more. I don’t even want to reveal how many paper cutting tools I have. It is embarrassing.

In light of my rekindled interest and the discovery of mountains materials and tools, I think I am going to put extra time into my cards this year. I don’t have to worry about being burned out on company Christmas cards, so why not? Perhaps, I can find a way to mix the best of the digital world and craft world. I usually send out about 50, so we’ll see how I am feeling over the next few weeks.