Hello Again

 

Greetings friends. It haas been a while, hasn’t it? I can’t believe my last post was in August of last year. Time really does pass by quickly. I guess now is as good of a time as any to say that I am going to do things a bit differently on my blog. You may want to stay for the ride, and you might choose not to. In any case, I don’t take it personally! If you just want to see card samples that I am creating, the best place is over on Instagram. My user name there is stampjournal.

A lot of my blog in the past highlighted classes I was teaching or designs I was creating for various stamp companies. I do still design for Memory Box, but most of those creations are over on the Memory Box blog. 

I have spent some time recently going over my posts through the years, and I got a bit nostalgic. I used to post more about what was going on in my life. Sometimes it was things I was creating. Sometimes it was trips I took or events in my life. I decided I wanted more of that. I want more of a record of what I am doing or thinking. The blog is basically going to be a record for myself. Anyone who wants to follow is welcome, but the topics will probably be as scattered as I am. I do know that a lot will focus on art in different forms.

Some of you know, and some of you don’t know that I have been battling endometrial cancer for several years. It has taken up a good chunk of my time. I think this is the first time I am mentioning it on my social media. Part of me thinks it would have been good to have a written record of the really bad times: the year with all the hospital stays, the surgeries, the radiation treatments, the chemo, losing my hair, the years of wound care, the physical struggles, and the pain. Perhaps it is better that there are no written records. I am still in cancer treatment, but I am in a very different place. I am in a more reflective place, and a lot of it is tied into art.

I have utilized probably every cancer therapy offered at my cancer center. I have even participated in equine therapy! However, I will be forever grateful to attending art therapy. I really resonate with it. I haven’t had good therapy experiences in the past, but I feel like I was waiting for to find art therapy. I am also very grateful for my mindful journal group at the cancer center. It is a combination of a support  group and an art journaling session. 

All of this yammering has been very long way to introduce the picture I am sharing at the top of this post. It is one of the pages from my mindful journal group. I have been doing more art collages as well as junk journals. The pages above were created from magazine clippings and were reflections of issues in the pasts and visions for the future. I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy art journaling. Some pages are really personal and are just for me. Some I will share.

My thoughts for this blog moving forward is that I am just going to share my life and create a record for myself. I wish I had blogged about the library art classes I took that helped me get back into crafting when I didn’t feel so well. I wish I had blogged about the Frida Kahlo exhibit I saw in Richmond. I wish I had blogged about the glass art event I attended in Norfolk. I don’t have a specific blogging schedule in mind. It will be when I want to record something or when I feel inspired.

I truly hope that everyone is doing well. Thanks for your support in the past and for letting me take my blog in a new direction.  Laura