Lost my mojo!

Okay I used to read posts about people who hadn't scrapped in ages and had "lost their scrappin' mojo" and used to think "just do it!". Well, now I get it, I have lost my mojo!!! I have lots of excuses: my Grandad died in January, I lost all my digital photos in April (hard drive kicked the bucket), we moved in May, work was hectic in June (I'm a teacher), but now I have NO excuses!!! I have a brand new, huge scrappin' room and nothing but time over the summer and I just can;t bring myslef to do it! I don't really even feel like it! *gasp* Never thought I would say that!!!! Oh dear, I hope it's not lost forever!

My goal was to do 200 pages this year, ack, I've done 20!!!

Okay, rant over! Thanks for listening!

Don't feel bad. I've been struggling with the same issue. And I figured out that my stash was killing my mojo. So I reorganized everything I had.. rearranged my scrap area.. and purged, purged, purged. I found papers I bought when I first started scrapping about 12 years ago and STILL haven't used. If I haven't yet, I'm not likely to. So.. I took them out of my pp pile. Got rid of about half of my scraps too for the same reason.. I had a HUGE scrap pile.

And as I was sorting through I kept thinking.. hmm..I could use this on this.. and etc etc.. I actually sat down and scrapped a little tonight- the first time in weeks.

I'm hoping a change of scenery will help me. A week ago I was a scrapping fiend... this week I can't even look at it, but I have stuff that needs to get done. So... I've packed everything up and am taking it to a creative retreat this weekend (I usually quilt at this retreat). I'm hoping that the scenery, the ladies and just getting away will get it to all come together for me!

I just got over a two month period of scrap-jo leaving. Every so often I lose my mojo this time was a bit longer. Hope you get your scrap-jo back soon!

POWER THROUGH POWER THROUGH POWER THROUGH!

Sometimes you just have to power through. I knew a lady who was in a slump for 7 months! I talked her into JUST DOING IT. She didn't like what she created at first but she got steam back.

Another thing I would do is take out some dear piece of paper or some delicate embellishment and just work with it. Look at it, study it see what pops out at you.

OR you could just go and take some new photos...that might inspire you.

try another type of project,,,,alter something,,,make a mini book,,,,,make your Xmas cards,,,,

sometimes doing something ELSE that's creative can take the pressure off to scrap and can bring our mojo running back

First off happy birthday Scrapbook Queen!!! Second I so feel your pain. I have been in a slump for over a year. I think part of my problem is when I started my job three years ago the required overtime was killing me and I couldn't see straight when I got home to even think about scrapping and life got busy. My scrap room was "broke in to" one evening by my little ones while DH was watching them and paper and stickers and bling was everywhere. Then the room became the family catch all room. I have so many pictures to scrap and still buy supplies. Heck I even say to myself tonight I am going home and cleaning up that room and finding my innner scraper. Then something always seems to come up. I still hold out hope that I will get back into it. I love it to much to let it go forever.

I feel Kendras pain!!

We finished our basement and turned one of the rooms into MY scraproom--furniture, storage, everything.

It is now the CATCH-ALL room and I mean ALL. It looks more like a storage room than MY scraproom.

I have started (slowly) bringing up my scrap stuff to the dining room...don't tell DH. Maybe a change will help me get my mojo back!!

Or maybe if he doesn't want all of it in dining room--he'll clean up the mess in my scraproom??? AH HA I have an idea--this might just work!!

I lost mine for quite some time -- a couple of YEARS. I finally figured it was gone forever and started to go through all my scrap stash to give it away and, lo and behold, I saw stuff that I forgot I had, it was "new and cool" again, and the mojo came back! Then I got an ATG 714 and it gave me a real boost -- my scrapping life has been totally back on track since then. So the next time I'm in a slump, I'm going to reorganize my stash and get excited about scrapping again.

Hope your mojo comes back in a hurry!

I totally lost my mojo there for about 2 or 3 months. Then I just decided that I would look through my stuff... clean, purge, and sort my STUFF until I got my mojo back. Then about a week ago, I finally got it back!! I went to break open a new pack of adhesive (i thought they were photo squares) and found that I had bought PHOTO CORNERS instead!! I was so mad! Then I had to wait about 4 or 5 days to get more... then the next morning, I broke out my stuff and I scrapped and I scrapped and I scrapped!! It was amazing. It's only been about 3 days and I've already made 3 cards and 4 layouts! After a few months of doing nothing!! Also, when I was trying to find my mojo, I went on the internet, bookmarking sites, reading articles, learning new techniques, and before long I was itching to try out everything I had learned!! Try it! I hope you find your scrappin' mojo soon.

~Jordan~

Thanks for the support - fingers crossed!

I lose my mojo all the time and it is really frustrating. Some times it's because my craft area is a mess and can't find anything and others I am just so exhausted I can't even think straight (4 kids will do that LOL!)

I think that is why I like challenges all the time, sketch challenges or color combo challenges, it keeps me motivated and most of the time my mojo comes back.

I'm sort of in the same slump. The only time I seem to get any pages done is when I go to a crop. I have one coming up next w/end so hopefully I'll get back on a roll again. With all the $$ I've got invested in "stuff" I can't afford for this slump to last forever, lol! I'm sure we'll both get going again real soon.

I recently lost my mojo and at first I had no idea why. Then I realized that I was in a slump because I wanted to try to use more patterned papers and incorporate new/ different techniques but I couldn't even get started. I was spending ALL of my energy on trying to visualize how everything was going to come together. Then I happened upon sketches and lo and behold I had a starting point. Now instead of wasting all of my time on coming up with the blue print, I could go straight to playing with different patterned papers, techniques, etc. By using sketches, I was able to get to the part that I enjoyed more quickly and once I saw the finish layouts, I had renewed energy to keep scrapping. Not sure if this applies to you... however I do feel your pain - being in a slump is no fun!

• artfuldelight Said:

Yes!! Challenges are great for jump-starting the mojo!

Mine seems to wax and wane frequently. I know it's because I have a HUGE millstone around my neck -- a family history project that consists literally of boxes and boxes of photos and memorabilia. The stuff from the early 1900's through the 1940's is now sorted and filed and a small fraction has been scanned. When that is finally finished, my sister will give me all the stuff from the 50's and 60's. I can see this stretching into years before being finished and find it so depressing even though it is something I really do want to do. It's just such a huge job and there's no one else to share in it.

I finally realized it's probably better to break it down into small manageable jobs that I know can be finished in a reasonable amount of time and also to take a break now and then and do a few layouts of other things to put some fun back into scrapbooking.

Perhaps if you just shirk off the pressure of feeling you have to do something and just look for some pleasure in a LO or 2, you can reclaim the joy. As others have already suggested, just browsing through your stash and rediscovering those beautiful papers and embellies you have tucked away may start you on the road to recovery.

Thanks for the opportunity to do a little whining and hopefully share a little of your pain. Hope you are back on track very soon.

Dear Scrapbook Queen
That sounds like a post traumatic scrap disorder. Jajjajaaa. It's a joke! I think, and this is very personal....that scrapbooking is something we do for fun, so there shouldn't be a reason for sadness. Listen....forget about scraping for a while...be nice to you. Follow some of the recommendations that these ladies had gave you and then...read a book. Something romantic, or what ever the topic of your preference. I know some of you are very passionate about doing this, but scraping shouldn't be that important. If you concentrate in other amusing things, I'm sure the inspiration will come back eventually. Make notes of ideas to work out, but do not start right away...wait and keep reading or writing, or organizing, or cleaning that room, or whatever...and then in a couple of weeks or months, you'll be back in track. The more attention you gave to this, (more anxiety)the less motivated you are going to be. I hope this help you as well. It has worked for me. Ahh. that doesn't mean you stop taking pictures. That's my biggest point of motivation. So keep shooting!
best regards!

I have 3 kids at home 9,6 and 20 months. I can go weeks without doing anything. Since the kids are out of school and I'm home I made a goal to get caught up before 8/23.

Maria

I agree "post tramatic scrap disorder"!

That's it, I am scrarapbooking today whether I like it or not!!!!!!! I have some pre-done pages to add photos to and I entered the neg. space challenge!!! I will do this if it kills me!!!!!

Thanks for all your advice and comments.

I did it, I did it! Hopefully the drought is broken... If you obey all the rules you miss out on all the fun! By Scrapbook Queen

TFL!

• Scrapbook Queen Said:

I love it...>AMAZING. I think this is the start to Mojo rising. Good job.

Ok... now how do you feel? Craving more? That's how I felt after I made a page!

• Jordannichole Said:

I am not cravig more exactly but I don't feel like I don't want to anymore, hopefully it will progress!!!

Yes... that is progress!

I'm so needing to get my mojo back too! After the divorce I just didn't feel like scrapbooking all those memories so it's been like 3 years now and I still have a huge stack of paper, photos and embellishments all laid out.

Got too much money in all of my scrapbooking supplies to let it got to waste!

Just need do it!

lol

Cindy

I recently found a whole bunch of techniques I wanted to try, but was feeling overwhelmed and couldn't decide where to start. So... I wrote each one down on a slip of paper and put them in a jar. Then I wrote down colors or types of paper (vellum, metallic, etc) on other slips of paper and put them in a separate jar. Now when I'm stuck I pull out two or three slips from each jar and I already know the colors and what techniques I'll be incorporating on the page! Add a sketch to it and it's really helped me put together pages faster and with lots less frustration!

I have to give a thumbs up to sketches too. My slump was YEARS long. I used to work at a LSS and I was just plain burned out. My mojo was exhausted! I put it down and didn't look back.
So when I was ready to start up again, the whole industry had changed! So many new techniques and my style was just not done anymore! My mojo-itis was quickly becoming terminal.

Sketches saved it from the dreaded 'garage sale' graveyard. It's a great starting point. I've got a nice little sketch book that holds all my favorite sketches and I go to it before just about every page. I still don't scrap as much as I used to, but when I do, I get stuff done!

My mojo is definately on the mend thanks to sketches:)

I also put some of my favorite pages up as wallpaper on my computer. A little reminder to get me motivated:)

I took that SDU class like 4 yrs or so ago and in the binder that you got it came with some sketch pages and a little plastic template that had your picture shapes and other shapes to help you make sketches and I recently made some copies of the blank scetch pages and took the template out of the book and that's as far as it got:(

And I have a huge stack of scrapbook mags and sit and look bathrough those but most of those are from 2006! lol

Cindy

I think I broke mine this weekend.......

I too feel overwhelmed by some of the projects I have taken on. I am almost finished up with one but struggling.....completely overwhelmed. I spent this weekend working on page kits for my niece and nephew's albums since I'm over a year behind on them. My nephew's pictures are all in 2 1/2 gallon ziplock bags by layouts, sketch included, and paper. A few even have some embellishments. My nieces are all sorted in bags with sketches....haven't gotten to the paper yet because, I had the itch to actually SCRAP and did 5 single pages in 2 evenings. Layouts go so much faster when the big paper and layout decisions are already made!!

I now have a goal to go through all my sons pictures this week and sort what needs to be printed so I can do the same for his. Now I just need to win the lottery so I have the time to work on all of them!

Another tip that I JUST discovered is if you feel like you are about to lose your mojo, make something small; an ATC or an inchie (check my blog for inspiration) and you'll start to feel like you want to scrap a layout! It's pretty cool!

I can relate! I lost my scrappin mojo from sometime in 2006 until just recently. That's a Long Time! I still can't bring myself to work on 12x12s, but I've been making lots of cute little mini-books. Many of these don't have pictures in them, yet...I'm working on making new memories to take pictures of.

Maybe you need to do the same? Sometimes scrapping those "old" photos, and trying to play catchup can be exhausting mentally, and can come to feel like a chore. Give yourself a break and scrap some theme that is totally new--like your new house (and move, and town, etc), maybe!

Another idea is to pick a totally new 'style' than what is normal for you, and challenge yourself to try it!

One more idea is to make a 'gift album', even a mini-one. Sometimes doing something for someone else can break the cycle of the hum-drums.

Or....make a date with a scrapping friend for every "monday night" (or whatever night) and get together at eachother's houses. Another thought--if you have webcam, you can 'get togher' virtually, and scrap with your web scrappin buddy! (has anyone tried this, btw?)

Something that inspires me is to cruise the galleries...there is so much talent here, and on other sites, as well.

Anyway...Good Luck!!