Retirement.....

Well, I know I'm long overdue to be updating here. Unfortunately, I'm at home with a horrible cold and sore throat, so there's no time like the present, right? It's 3pm, I'm in bed in my jammies, and here goes.

First of all, RETIREMENT. I've been hinting for a while that I had scrap related things that I was going to post, but I had to take care of some things first. Those things were resigning from any remaining "paper based" design teams that I have been on. That's right. After a lot of soul searching, I've decided to retire from paper scrapping and put my scrap energies into doing all digital. I'm not saying that I won't do any more paper layouts, but I'm certainly not putting my focus there anymore.

Why? Well, lots of reasons. First of all, TIME. Since my job responsibilities have increased as well as my hours, I was finding no inspiration or motivation to scrap. On Mondays and Tuesdays, I get home late and it's all I can do to get dinner on the table and help S with her homework. I'm constantly running and on the go at work and when I come home I'm just exhausted! The last thing I want to do is go up in my scraproom and haul out all of the paper and glue. With digital, I can plunk down in my chair, grab my laptop and watch The Bachelor while doing a layout. No fuss, no muss, no mess.

Second reason...CLUTTER. I've been on a rampage against dust and clutter lately, and anybody who scraps on a regular basis knows how the junk can clutter up your trunk. I have so much stuff that I don't know what I have anymore...hence the Crop and Shop (more on that below...important update!). Yesterday I spent about two hours putting together two large baskets of supplies for two different events at church, and sorting out what to keep, what to sell, and pitching the rest. I still have a lot of CRAP that nobody will want, so that stuff needs to go. I am going to liberate one entire closet! Seriously, I have so much shit. It's just obscene. It has got to go. By Thanksgiving I'm determined to have 90% of it gone. I'll keep a little patterned paper, my basic cardstock, some basic inks, adhesives, and my tools. That's IT!

Third reason...the INDUSTRY. It was no secret that working inside the industry didn't suit me well. I felt that it sucked all of the creative mojo straight out of me. I got tired of hearing that my work was "too Barb Hogan", in other words....not mainstream enough to sell to the average Creative Memories scrapper. It was true too, but I didn't like compromising my style. Anyhow, I'm glad I got out when I did. The industry is in upheaval...companies going out of business, the whole "scrapbook celebrity" culture, the brutal backstabbing hidden behind a facade of phony sunshine and sweetness. I am tired of it and I don't want to be a part of it. Then this past week, the controversy surrounding the disregard of the rules in the Creating Keepsakes Hall of Fame contest exposed CK for what they've been suspected of for years....playing favorites, and that did me in.

So hello, digital world! I guess in my mind I made the switch several weeks ago, but it was hard to put down the glue stick. In the meantime, I got offers to be on the creative teams for two hot new digie sites, Christina Renee Designs and AH! Designs by Amy Hutchinson. Both ladies have incredible teams and incredible products. I've been so inspired that I've cranked out nearly 20 layouts (digie layouts dont' take me near the time that paper ones did either...bonus!). I'm so thrilled and honored to be on teams that include some of the hottest digital scrappers in the biz. Combine that with my design work for Katja Kromann and Something Blue Studios, and I'm certainly keeping the layouts coming!

So anyways, that's the deal. I still feel sad about letting my paper teams go, but it feels like the right thing to do too. The time factor was the biggest thing, well, that and lack of motivation and it's just not right to stick around if the motivation isn't there.

CROP AND SHOP
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NEWS FLASH.......... The date will be changing from the first weekend in November until the weekend of the 16th and 17th of November. Like a doofus, I totally spaced on the fact that our good friends Jason and Kris are getting married that weekend and I'm doing pics! That's a big DUH right there. I'll do another blog updte on it this week as a reminder.

IN OTHER NEWS
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Shannon's braces go on tomorrow! She's excited and freaking out all at the same time. The Bengals...well, let's just say that it's starting to look like the Bad Ole' Days. The car ~ loving it!

BLOG ACTION DAY
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Today is the day that fellow bloggers are supposed to get out the word about going green. Well I don't want to get political in any way, but I try to do my part to recycle, reuse, and repurpose. Like I said earlier, I'm trying to give away and sell most of my scrap supplies. What I can't sell will be given away. And frankly, going digital really does reduce the amount of garbage that I produce each week. So do your part, try to be get into the recycle groove if you're not already there. If you are, see if there's something else you can do to clean up your world. You know, give a hoot, don't pollute and all that jazz.

If you'd like to see some real inspiration, check out the Stand Up and Scrap contest for digital scrapbooking. I've had a LOT of fun participating and the layouts are just stupendous. You can check out the weeks 1 and 3 galleries here and the week 2 and 4 galleries here.

That's about it for now! All layouts here done for Christina Renee Designs and Amy Hutchinson.

Comments

[Kimberly Brock]

Congratulations girl on making the switch!!!! I love the digi layouts you made-Talented girl I say :)

Awesome news about the new DT you are on- I'll have to go check the stuff!!!

You Go Girl!

[susan opel]

I'm glad for you! It just seems like the right decision. I hope that we can still be friends, even though I'm digitally handicapped!

Wish I could come by the Crop and Shop!

BTW - Love the mystery man layout! Haha!

[Heather]

SO exciting, Barb! Congrats on making the switch!! Now for me to get rid of all of MY paper piles like you - can't wait!!

[Tina]

B-Still reading your blog all the time, wanted to post that I think it's cool that you are making this change for yourself. Good for you. : ) I know what you mean about the time involved in getting it all out to scrap after a long day or week at work.. I'm in the same boat my friend.
Take care-
T.

[Sherry]

Oh good lock! I sold all of my paper scrapping supplies not long ago too!

[Kayla S.]

Barb, I love of all these pages you have done!! They are wonderful!

[Keitha]

Barb-

Best of luck to you with your new digi gigs. You will be missed at RMH, but I can totally relate to being so busy that pulling out all of your supplies is the last thing you want to do on a Friday night. The CK fiasco has just put me in a funk, too (and I never entered HOF once). You've inspired me to try harder with the digi-scrapping! Keep in touch, girl!

[Lynn G]

Congrats on the decision AND on getting onto those fantastic digital design teams!! Got to love digital for all those reasons you mentioned. Love your layouts too.