Don't Be Hasty

Lately, I’ve been purging in my craftroom and have toyed with the idea of getting rid of my Copic markers, among other things. I admire all of my crafty friends who are able to perform magic with their Copic markers. Sad to say that even after several online classes and hanging out at YouTube University, I am not one of them.Then I got an email from a local scrapbook store that beginning in April, they will be hosting a series of Copic classes taught by someone featured in several of the Copic books on the market. So my interest was peaked and I mentioned it over in the Copic group on SOC. Alice challenged me to dust off my Copics, just get to colorin’ and the skill would come. So I let out a big sigh, dusted off those markers and got to work this past weekend.

My “adopted” Granny is turning 90 tomorrow (the same day my maternal grandmother would have turned 110 had she still been living) and I needed to make a card and get it in the mail to her by Saturday morning. She's still sharp as a tack and when she goes out, more often than not she's in leather pants with boots that coordinate! I ordered this digital stamp from Robert Jackson and had it in about five minutes. I used a sketch and the card went together rather quickly. I had intended to color the boot more of a red/maroon, but my first attempt with those colors didn’t go well. I struggle with blending the reds. So I switched to using some of the browns.

Yesterday, I spent my birthday EXACTLY the way I wanted to, scrapbooking at Michaels. I was the only person who showed up, so it was just me and the Michaels staff member. That’s okay with me… more room to spread out and work! I was able to get this card, which also contains a Robert Jackson image, completed while there. This one was for an impromptu challenge over at SOC and is a birthday card for the science teacher on my team whose birthday is on Tuesday. I used another sketch, paper from a Recollections stack, cardstock scraps, Glossy Accents for the flowers, and Stickles.

We as crafters are ALWAYS buying stuff especially when a new technique or crafty fad hits the market. Every now and then we have to purge to make room for the new stuff. If you’re an organization nut like me, you sometimes want to give away stuff that you haven’t used in awhile not thinking about the investment (can we say Cricut and its many cartridges???) and the fact that as soon as you give it away, you’re going to wish you hadn't.  Several of my scrappy friends said DON’T get rid of your Copics; you’ll be sorry! They are probably right, especially since I have so many. Can’t quote the number here (‘cause my momma reads my blog and I don’t want her eyes to bulge) but suffice it to say, I have about 2/3 of the Sketch markers available.

I actually found some therapeutic value in coloring this weekend and know that after I get my hands-on training and practice, practice, practice; I’ll be so glad I hung on to them.

So the lesson is this, before you get rid of your crafty stuff, think about what you’ve invested in those items and consider whether or not they are things you might want to use again one day when you have more time or experience. If you've searched your soul and know that you’re moving on and you never want to revisit that technique or those supplies/embellishments/tools again, then by all means remove them from your craft space forever. 

And now, I must get some rest and prepare to deal with my little darlings for this last week before Spring break. Thanks for reading and y’all pray for me!

WrinkleFreeDiva!