a creative mess

A couple of you faithful blog readers have been kind enough to inquire about my  creative process. I think that's sometimes something that we wonder about most people that take on creative endeavors. How to you get from here to there? Complete a layout? Tell a story? Create an album? {notice my scissor sharpening flyer tacked up on my board. HeeHee. Must sharpen those sewing sheers! }

For me, the creative process is a creative mess. That's what it really is for me. :) I tend to be a fairly organized person when it comes to the "bones" or structure of things, but then fly by the seat of my pants as far as getting it done. HeeHee. Not just in scrapbooking. In life as well.
Meal planning: I plan a list of meals and grab ingredients, then make whatever I feel like on a particular day.
Homeschooling: I've got a general organization going, but mostly just shove it in a binder and make sure week by week that we get done what we need to. This still makes it easy for me to grab and organize the required portfolio at the end of the year.
Cleaning: I have a list of weekly tasks that I do + a list of deep cleaning stuff I rotate through periodically, but I do it when I see it needs to be done, not any specific day.
Scrapbooking layouts: I start with a story I want to tell. Then pull, layer, push around, ink, etc. until it  feels right. Generally a layout takes me about 1-2 hours.
Creating a mini album: I generally set up a repeating pattern or structure to give me some guidelines or a direction, and then I go to town. You'll see this in the album I post later this week. :)

When I'm in the midst of a project - you'll see stuff everywhere. It spills over on to almost every available surface in the area - including the floor. {Though admittedly, I've also been cleaning and purging things out of my scrap space, so there are a few extra piles...well, just one. }And I didn't bother to photograph every surface in the area. I get an idea, and start working. Then the piling and digging commences. I always misplace my foam adhesive dots. And every other thing that I decide to use. Then spend time digging when it hits me that it's the perfect thing for this spot right here. No, this spot right here. Now where is it?!

And when the project finishes, the whirlwind subsides, and the clean-up begins. I usually try to take advantage of the "high" you feel after creating to do a quick cleanup. Especially since my creative space does not have a door that can be shut when visitors or anyone else arrives. It's in our main living area in direct line of the front door's sights.

So this is what I'm working on at the moment:

My December Daily album. If you're not sure what that is, you can check it out here... I'm over half-way through and I'll be posting the "base" for my album in the next day or so. I promised myself that I wasn't buying anything for this project, but I guess I'll have to make an exception for a few more letters. LOL  I'll also be posting a few sneaks of the layouts I'm working on with my December kit from NoelMignon!

Have a great night!