3 reasons to explore your craft…

(2013) P.Lynne Designs

It seems lately, everything is up for new things to explore.   A baby taking their first steps, a teen learning how to drive and to explore the adult world for the first time, and a couple exploring what it is like to get married by living together.  This world is up for exploring whenever a person visits a new country, tasting new foods, and going after their dreams.

In 2001, I decided to explore into the world of direct selling by selling for a company called The Longaberger Company.  They sell baskets, pottery, and wrought iron.  In other words, home goods.  A few years before that, I decided to explore into the world of papercrafting, by creating a scrapbook for my newly born nephew, who is now 19, and is doing a little exploring himself by learning how to drive, tasting coffee, and being a doggy daddy.  He is still exploring the idea of going to college.   In 2009, I decided to explore into the possibility of going into the world of creating customized scrapbook albums, greeting cards, freelance writing, and other stationary areas, such as invitations and note cards.

As we all are trying to find and make our own path in this entity called life, a person will find out that a lot of it is nothing more than trial and error.  At the end of the day, some of it is successful, while others are duds.  Some are “glad I tried it”, while some are “I will never do this again”.  Again, at the end of the day (this time, I am talking about the end of life), when eyes are closed for the final time, a person should be happy with most of the choices made in life.

Now you are wondering, what does this have to do with crafting, especially scrapbooking.  It has to do with remembering to explore and to capture that moment, like when a child takes that first step, when a teen goes on their first date to the prom, when a person gets married, has a baby, and so forth.  Document (journaling) is a great way to hold on to those memories, taking pictures is another.  Once all that information is gathered, it is time to inform the younger generation about these happenings.  It is called heritage, it is called growth, and it is called learning about your past in order to understand your future.  Scrapbooking is merely a book of memories, no matter how pretty you make it. 

So, take out your papers, your glues, and other things to help embellish your albums.  Make them fun and inviting to other people, who do not mind looking at your family, friends, and events.  These are worth sharing.  They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but when family and friends are in it, they are priceless.