Trusting the Process

Last week, in an effort to get more scrapbook pages done, I decided to participate in Classygirl's From Desk to Done in Just 5 Minutes challenge. Pretty funny, since I can't do ANYTHING in 5 minutes when it comes to scrapbooking. I admit it, I have commitment issues - everything from deciding on patterned papers, arrangement of said papers and photos, what embellishments to use, should they be 1.5 or 2 inches from the edge - I think you get my point. I refuse to say that I have a Type A personality, but I will admit to being a B or B+.

That said, I really thought that following this was going to be easy. The first day I was to choose two photos that could be cropped to 4 x 5. Easy peasy! My photos are well organized so that took me about 10 minutes. Always being the overachiever I chose two different sets. Day 2: choose two pieces of colored cardstock and three pieces of patterned paper. OK... managed to do that in about 10 minutes. On Day 3 I was supposed to choose embellishments to use on my layout; that's when things started getting shaky. I have commitment issues, remember? AND tons of embellishments! I struggled to find embellishments that matched my theme(s) and not knowing how they were going to be used on the layout made it hard. Choosing embellishments probably took me an hour. On Day 4, we were told how to cut our papers. The analyzer in me wanted to know where they were going on the layout, the orientation, etc. so that I could decide which pattern I wanted to use where. Not having that information gave me a bit of the crazies for a moment. I had to stop, breathe, just go with the process, and trust that it would all come together just fine.

Day 5 was the put it all together day... And this is what I came up with.

Not bad, not bad... I even did a little altering of some of the rosettes with Inka Gold Metallic Rub because I didn't like the words that were on them. *Note to self...Glimmer Mists warp paper! Don't use on layouts anymore! 

I must say that sometimes we teachers are the most difficult students! I was given instructions in little bits and pieces; this made it really hard for me to trust the process since I didn't know where we were headed. Yet, as a middle-school math teacher, I want my students to trust the processes I teach them and have faith that those processes will lead them to the right answer.

The art world is not an exact science like mathematics, yet our faith in the artistic outcome of our projects is often tested and we sometimes get in our own way when it comes to trying to shape that outcome. (More on that in my next post where I'll share the second layout!)

So... having said all of that, let's get to our lesson for today which is simply learn to trust the process. And that lesson applies not only to your crafty projects but to your life as well! 'Nuff said!

Thanks so much for hanging with me today!

WrinkleFreeDiva