I can’t believe how much time has passed since my last post … I knew I had been neglecting my poor baby blog, but I don’t think it really occurred to me just how long it had been since I actually laid eyes on Dandelion Lane. Isn’t it odd that time works that way? Especially if life has thrown you a curveball—time seems to crawl by and you’re just scrambling through until that crazy move has passed. But then, when you’re finally on the other side of that bit of crazy, you’re caught off-guard by how quickly that same amount of time has come and gone.

So where have I been? In a word: lost. Specifically, I lost my creative drive—with art, with my crafting hobbies, with words, with all of it. Life sort of crept up and socked me in the face, and I was left creatively winded.

The biggest drag to my creative mojo has been clutter. I have been completely taken over by it. I’ve seen a series of memes that say something along the lines of, “I am one ______ away from being featured on an episode of ‘Hoarders’…” So true. I’ve always been a bit of a collector—each time I dive into a new art medium or I’m trying out a new hobby or craft supply, I want one of everything. I can’t ever just pick a few colors, I have to have every shade of every color in existence, because ya just never know when you miiiiight need that one particular shade of that one particular color that matches that future project just so, even though that project hasn’t even been thought of yet—surely, it will be.

And, surely, that color of whatever-it-is won’t be available then, so best to get it now and hoard it like a piece of precious.

But when I started getting into making junk journals, that crafty collection became a literal garbage dump of junk. And it’s all justified, right? Cuz I’m going to re-purpose and upcycle that thing and turn it into a beautiful something … someday. Right. Oh sure, it’s a genius idea to take junk mail and paper scraps and old/tired/slightly-damaged-but-still-useful bits of whatever and breathe new life into them. And it’s the frugal thing to do, too—why spend money on hoity-toity art or craft supplies when this free bit of trash would work just as well?  Especially when you’re just starting out as an artist, or dabbling in a new medium or technique. Surely, practicing on trash is the better alternative, financially. So really, I’m saving money by letting every spare inch of my house get overrun with clutter and trash and junk for all of my many, many, “someday, I’ll make THIS” flashes of brilliance.

“Of course I will,” says the Procrastination Queen. “When my creative space is cleared and organized, I’ll be able to create again. And I will need this thing and this thing and this … oh, and this …”

Soooooooo many brilliant ideas, so very, very little time. Especially when I am not being vigilant about making the time.

And so, here I am. Almost a year later, still swimming in clutter, still preoccupied with genius ideas for all sorts of creative endeavors, still choked by procrastination, stagnation, and a general lack of motivation to just do.

Drowning in overwhelm.

And finally getting sick of the stagnation and lack of creative fulfillment. Finally getting back into my creative rhythm, but still struggling to find the best balance for all that is going on in my life. Finally starting to outline my plan of attack for getting out from under the overwhelm and back into my crafty happy place:

1. Time to cull the hoard. Time to live by that oh-so-clever saying, “Use it up and wear it out; make it do or do without.”
2. Time to go on another craft supply “diet” and actually USE what I already have. Time to limit my purchases to basic consumables (adhesive, plain-colored cardstock for card bases, card envelopes) or things for a specific project (and only if that project is a definite thing and not a dream of “someday, I wanna make ______”).
3. Time to learn the technology involved in getting up and running on YouTube as a video-maker and not just an obsessive video-watcher. (Another procrastination crutch? Come on, how hard can it be …)
4. Time to make time, and carve out dedicated chunks of time for craft-making AND blog posting.

Let’s get started, shall we?