A New Attitude

One of the perks of being an empty nester is having fewer obligations on my time. My husband is an "out and about" kind of guy while I LOVE being a homebody. Fortunately we have learned over the years to make this work - he has lots of "out and about" friends and hobbies while I relish my online groups, creative hobbies and quiet time at home. Not to say that I'm a total hermit but I am happiest when I have plenty of time to putter around the house.

So, now that I've had a little time to settle into our new life... miss the kids...worry a bit over the kids... find out that they are both thriving so far (Woot Woot!) it's time to move ahead and this cover page I made for my planner last week pretty much sums my New Attitude.

You all know how much I love fabric, but I have always been a collector of paper as well. Notebooks, journals, Post It Notes, cute refrigerator pads, to-do lists and scrapbook paper just to name a few. On the flip side, paper is also my #1 nemesis when it comes to organizing & filing important papers. Funny how that works!

I'm choosing to embrace the fun side of my paper addiction with some new (to me) takes on paper - Smashbooking and Junk Journals. When I first heard of Smashbooks I was immediately intrigued by the reference of the UnScrapbook because I was never able to get into that craft. It just seemed too formal somehow. After watching the video HERE I was hooked! It's a lot like like scrap quilting - kind of messy, informal, creative and just plain fun. The first page of each book really sums it up well.

After joining a few Facebook groups and buying the above Smashbooks to get started I happened across Junk Journals. These are like Smashbooks without the premade book because you make your own out of papers you have laying around. If you Google Junk Journals or search for them on Pinterest you will see what I'm talking about.

One of the Facebook groups I've joined is called 365/30 Lists for Planners and each month one of the members posts a list of 30 prompts. I have a section in my ARC planner where I'm keeping them for now and I am really enjoying this sheer play time. This month I'm choosing to play with paper and fonts. In the future I plan to dig out my untouched scrapbooking supplies, play with watercolors and even try some journaling.

I've also joined a Junk Journal swap. I'm excited because there are lots of newbies like me so I think it will be a great way to jump in with a deadline to spur me on. Don't worry that this is going to turn into a scrapbooking blog... but I'll share some of my projects periodically. Quilting is still #1!