I want to welcome friends from Stan and Jenn's great site today, Scrapper's Workshop. If you are into digital scrapbooking, photo editing using photoshop,or you're just interested in photos and making them better, they have great tips and advice. I always learn something from them every time I pop over!
I have noticed that I've lost quite a few readers lately. I'd like to think that it's because of summer vacation and such ~ people spending more time outside and doing things like going to the poor or watching little league games, but hey, it could be that I've just gotten boring! I don't want to be boring, I really don't!
I admit that my blog creativity has been wavering lately. Maybe it's because I'm in the middle of a very mind-blowing and challenging creative marketing/writing effort at ACME. It's one of those things where I should be sleeping with a note pad next to my bed, and keeping one in the car, because I seem to get these flashes of inspiration when I least expect them. Of course, given that I can remember the telephone number of the dude that I had an unrequited crush on in the seventh grade, but I can't remember what anybody told me five minutes ago, these moments of brilliance are fleeting. They're here and then they're gone. Dang it! I should be writing them all down the moment that they roll in and out of my aging consciousness.
I looked up images about creativity today and this came up, and it made me laugh. I'm SO fortunate that ACME isn't like this at all, and for me, at least at the moment, the ideas are flowing pretty well. I recently had the great opportunity to attend a creativity/innovation workshop at Eureka Ranch, which is one of the leaders in business innovation training and inspiration. I think their purpose in life is to fight attitudes like this:
Maybe my lack of mojo is my exposure to chatter both at home and at work from things like television, radio, internet, Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter. Do people talking at you all the time keep your brain cells from going "Oh Snap!" I'm sure it doesn't help.
Maybe I'm having an identity crisis. The title of my blog is Black Belt Scrapping. I'm still a black belt, but I retired from taekwondo training this spring, and let's face it, I haven't scrapped a layout in most of 2009. So I'm not yapping about things that I yapped about when I started this adventure four years ago. I started writing this blog as a way to share layouts and scrapbooking goodness with fellow scrapbooking friends around the country. Back then.....and four years is a long time in these days of high technology....there wasn't any Facebook. Website message boards were the way to communicate with internet pals and blogs were just becoming popular. Now everybody's on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Twitter. But I'm still here because I enjoy it and hopefully because other people do too, no matter what I'm yapping about on any particular day. I'm not changing my name, because my name is my brand and I'm sticking to it. Down deep, it still represents who I am.
So if you're new here and just popping in, I hope you'll come back! If you've been here before and you're thinking of permanently popping out, please don't! If you feel like popping some popcorn, I'll be happy to share! And speaking of sharing, since I'm managed to write about seven paragraphs about how I have nothing to say, I will share with you some of my favorite blog entries of all time. I hope you'll pop over there and check them out.
Regardless of how or what you're popping, however, I'm glad you're here and I hope you'll come back. I hope my mojo comes back too (I know it will!).
That cartoon is too funny! I hope you find your mojo soon. And thanks for the link to Scrappers Workshop, off to check it out now.
Posted by: Lisa Carroll | June 17, 2009 at 08:18 AM
Stopping by from SITS. As far as losing readers, nothing stays the same. That's why your blog has evolved-it's changed in the same way you have changed over the last four years. I like what I see so far and I will check out your suggested posts. If you get a chance, stop by my blog and enter my one year anniversary contest.
Posted by: Preston | June 17, 2009 at 08:39 AM
I thinking it's summer and people's schedules are changing. At least, I'm hoping because I'm experiencing a similar phenomenon and I'm trying not to let it determine my self-worth. Then again, my self-worth is still attached to Feedburner by an umbilical cord so what do I know?
I, for one, love your blog.
Posted by: Creative Junkie | June 17, 2009 at 08:49 AM
I'm still reading, Barb, if not commenting regularly. And I know the feeling about the mojo thing. I went a year without designing anything, and now it feels good to make stuff from nuthin' again. Everything goes in cycles, I think the trick is to ride the wave and see where it takes you. Usually when riding waves you end up on solid land, but sometimes not. If not, there's always another wave right behind! Keep on paddlin'!
Posted by: Jenn White | June 17, 2009 at 09:13 AM
LOl funny cartoon and I love reading your blog, don't get here much, sorry yep its summer time.
Happy Scrapin' Kat
Posted by: kat | June 17, 2009 at 09:27 AM
I'm still reading, Barb. Don't feel bad. I'm sure you still get 10 times as many blog readers as I do! You have a great, fun writing style. And I think we all love Recipe Tuesday!
Posted by: Jan C. | June 17, 2009 at 09:28 AM
We all lose our mojo from time to time. I haven't scrapped in forever either. I started doing Project 365 and fell off the wagon in April. I'm currently in the middle of what's turning out to be at least a 4 part series on the weekend that was my sister's wedding. Nothing like a weekend and trip from hell to give some blog mojo.
Posted by: Amanda | June 17, 2009 at 12:03 PM
I love reading your blog, although I mainly hop around the blogs once I have blogged, lol. Otherwise, I would never get anything done! Your mojo will make an appearance soon!
Posted by: Dawn | June 17, 2009 at 01:43 PM
I'm still here :) though I do miss your layouts.
Posted by: Sue | June 18, 2009 at 08:00 PM