Trying Something New

One of the things I love about scrapbooking is that it encompasses so many genres and branches off into other artistic directions while still using the same general scrapbooking products. There is absolutely no way to get bored, which is perfect for me because I tend to get bored quite easily. Once one technique has been mastered, there are at least ten others waiting to be learned. And once I have become tired with a particular line of papers, at least a dozen more are vying to become my "new" favorite.

Altered art or an altered item is a very simple concept. You take an item meant for one thing and then you "re-purpose" it, generally decorating it and making it prettier in the process (that's where the scrapbooking supplies come in). Just about ANYTHING can be altered, too! I have seen altered jars, cans, paint buckets, clipboards, jewelry stands - you name it. The items can be functional or purely for decorative purposes. Your imagination and creativity truly are the only limits!

So, with such a seemingly endless list of ideas to choose from, you would think I would have tried my hand at altering something long before now. But - you would be wrong! I don't know why, but I have really been a complete chicken about decorating anything more three-dimensional than a layout. Perhaps it's the memories of my horribly deformed construction paper banks and cubes made in grade school that held me back. Whatever the reason, this past weekend I decided to conquer my fear and alter a used cigar box that Hubby was getting ready to throw away. The box that started out looking like this:

...ended up looking like this:

I loved the end result, and it felt great knowing that I had challenged myself and conquered the "there's no way I will ever be good enough to do that" fear! While this project was time consuming (mostly waiting for my paint to dry so I could move forward with the next step), it was in no way difficult! If you've never altered a cigar box and want to give it a try, the detailed process with pictures taken at various steps can be seen HERE, and the wonderful Cosmo Cricket Salt Air Collection papers can be purchased HERE.

Here's the best part about challenging myself this past weekend. My ten year old daughter, who loves scrapbooking, saw me trying something new that was outside my comfort zone. We discussed how silly it was not to try something because we were afraid we MIGHT not be any good at it. After mulling our conversation over for a few minutes, she came to me and said that she wanted to try to make a mini-album, something she had previously been afraid to try. It really brought home how closely our children watch us and base their own actions and decisions on what they see us doing (or being too afraid to do).

And now, my awesomely perfect followers, I would love to hear about any scrapbooking (or scrapbook related) technique that you recently tried after conquering your own fear! And if you want to share a picture of the end result, just email it to me at krissyrockstx@yahoo.com, and I will gladly post it on my blog for all the virtual world to admire!!!

Hugs, and have a happy week!