Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Eggshells

I've been absent from the blog for a long time. I've been so busy with moving that I haven't had much online time for myself. I haven't had time to scan my usually message boards. I haven't even had time to scrapbook. But when I do I just go along. Merrily creating whatever comes to my mind. If a magazine happens to like it, they publish it. That's it. That's great.

When I first started scrapbooking I didn't understand why in the world people made their own embellishments. Why would you do that when there are all these wonderful things you can buy? Once I started getting more comfortable with the hobby, I realized what I loved about it. It was every hobby I had ever loved rolled into one. It was photography. It was decorating a page instead of a wall. It was arts and crafts.

I have always loved arts and craft. Making things with my hands. Getting dirty. Coming up with something beautiful out of nothing. Maybe out of something you would throw away. Like eggshells. That is what I love about scrapbooking. It is the ultimate hobby for me. Everything I enjoy doing rolled into one.

When I got the closed call for creating a project using eggshells from Creating Keepsakes, I was instantly intrigued. I was instantly challenged. I love having a product and asking myself what all I can do with it. Anyone who has spent any amount of cropping time around me knows this. This is also why I love Creating Keepsakes. They aren't afraid to think differently and creativly. They understand there is more than one way to use something. Even eggshells.

I accepted the challenge thinking what a fun way to use all those eggs you have leftover from Easter! I experimented with them and came up with a few fun things. Creating Keepsakes happened to like one of them so it got published. Then last week while I was packing some people on a website got all crazy over eggshells. Who knew people could get so fired up about eggshells?

Why NOT turn trash into treasure? Why NOT offer an alternative way of creating? Granted, it may not be for everyone, but it's for someone. When I first started I would have overlooked it, but now I think what fun it would be. What FUN it would be to make my own little something. What FUN it would be to get my hands dirty making something on my own. That's what it's all about for me. FUN. I don't scrapbook for anyone else but myself. I do what pleases me. If a magazine happens to like what I have done that's all the better. But I do realize it's not for everyone and that's fine with me. But you know what? No matter how crazy people get about eggshells, I'll still be creating and I'll still be putting it out there for people to love. Or hate. It may not be for everyone, but it's for ME and by golly I have FUN doing it.