Creative Corner

One of the things I'm thinking through and trying to work on is spending more time in my Creative Corner.  After all, Dream Boy & My 2 Sons built it for me as a Christmas gift a few years back & I must take advantage of this gift, right?

I, at one time, was an avid scrapbooker.......I still do it from time to time, but I'm more into making my own books and the photography side of it now.  My creativity seems to flow better when I create from scratch rather than in a pre-made book of sorts.  I have oodles & oodles of pictures to scrap & I will work on them from time to time, but I still end up going back to my own creations.

I look at my top shelf in my Creative Corner & love the row of hand made creations.....Circle Journals, Travel Journals, Picture Boxes....oh....and my version of Flat Stanley!
Well, Flat Stanley,   er, Mama G Flat, will find a new purpose this year.  My mind is spinning with ideas as I write this post!
As I look around me I see projects half done - projects in the process and projects not even yet begun.

Last year I read somewhere, pardon me for not being able to remember where, this idea for a "time capsule" of sorts.

I took a small jar, inserted a family photo & throughout the year dropped little mementos in it.

Today I pulled that small jar from my shelf..

....and had a look inside.
Most of it was ticket stubs from movies & soccer games, but it defined a lot of what I enjoyed this past year.

These will be put into a book of sorts, but for now will remain in my 2011 Jar of Memories.  I will make a new Memory Jar for 2012.
I have spent the last few days in my Creative Corner trying to decipher my new Adobe Photoshop Elements.  It can be SO overwhelming!  But I did find a great series of tutorials on YouTube that are helping greatly.
One thing I did accomplish in my Corner is this:

 A re-usable calendar.  The price of calendars is seriously extreme!  So I was looking around my Creative Corner & saw this 11x14 poster frame still in it's original packaging.  I believe this is from the massive collection I inherited 3 years ago when my dad died.  So I came up with this concept!  I made my own calendar template and matted it, complete with a few embellishments & framed it in.  I used dry erase markers for the month & can wipe it off each month & start anew!  If I tire of the of the matting behind it I can always switch it out!  Easy peasy!
In my reflections I have jotted down several ideas and things on my "to do" list.  As the days pass, I will sort through this list & prioritize it as to how & when I want to accomplish the items on it.  Some are at the top of my list to do now & others can be worked on as I want.
I just know that I want to use the gift of creativity that God has so graciously blessed me with.  I want to use it much more in 2012 and see where it takes me.
I hope you enjoy this journey with me!