Hey everyone!  It’s Suzanne and I want to thank you for joining us for the So Suzy Podcast where we help you build a business out of the hobby you love.  You will also be able to get the show notes and the links we reference by visiting us at SoSuzyPodcast.com   

Over the past 6 months or so, I have been listening to the Strong Within Podcast from Chris O’Hearn.  It’s a quick 7 to 11-minute podcast that focuses on, essentially, the power of YOU.  Every day Chris has a Daily Affirmation podcast that 9 out of 10 times totally hits home and leaves me asking a ton of questions and gets my mind going a million miles a minute.

One of his podcasts, number 338, I Bring Joy to Whatever I Do, left me thinking about my craft life; making cards, painting galaxies, coloring the latest Kit and Clowder monthly class and the joy it brings…until I think about the picture and posting process.  Getting the right light, posting it in my favorite Facebook Groups or Instagram. 

Do I blog about it or just post it?

So many times, I make cards at night and the lighting is terrible, so I fret about the lighting and staging.  So many of these thoughts race through my head until I am frustrated, disillusioned and depressed about the whole process.

If I blog about it, I should write instructions, leave a list of the items I used and include all of the correct SEO words.  It takes time and we all know how poorly I take photos, so let’s not even broach that touchy subject.  Bottom-line, everything that should be done, sucks the joy out of something I used to do to relax.

Making cards has turned into a chore.

I see others post their creations and it never fails, just as they get the courage to post, the evil troll comes out of its dark, dank, hate infused hole to spread its hatred for all to read. 

Confession?  There are times when I post in the hopes of one such soul sucker will leave a nasty comment on my project, just so I can have the pure pleasure of blasting them into the darkest depths of hell for the pain and suffering they have caused to other crafters.  And yes, I probably have watched John Wick one too many times.  But I digress.

After listening to Chris’s podcast, I realized that I stopped making cards out of JOY.  Instead, I was making them out of necessity.  Whether they were for business, blog hops, holiday cards, or for my own ego, it wasn’t always because I WANTED to.

I would make a card and then throw it into a drawer.  Not send them out.  There was no purpose, other than to make a card, post it and get a reaction.  A heart, like or comment.  What I wasn’t focused on, was the JOY.  The joy of making it, spending time in my craft room, playing with my stamps and supplies, thinking of the person I would send the latest creation to.  Those thoughts were not at the forefront of my mind and it caused me to lose the happiness I once had.  Which depressed me, here I am surrounded by tens of thousands of dollars in killer stamps and supplies and I was SAD, burnt out and did not have the joy I once had.  And frankly, that was unacceptable.

That month’s Kit and Clowder class, I colored the Penguin Christmas scene for Shannon, who absolutely LOVES penguins. 

I painted so many galaxies, it was INSANE!  And turned them into bookmarks for friends, family and my mom to give out at Christmas.

I started playing with my Art Impressions stamps and made cute little watercolor projects.

I painted more galaxies because they put a smile on my face and I created something special for my friend Anne in England.

I started to find MY JOY again.  Sometimes I would post something on Instagram and I didn’t worry about the staging, lighting or anything else for that matter.  I posted them because I thought they were cool and I needed to make sure that my mom had proof of life. 

I found my memory of why I enjoyed making cards.

Chris said in his podcast, “We believe that joy is brought to us in the new things we receive, instead of understanding what we already have is joyful.  So, we wait for that new thing to come, in hopes that it will make us feel better.  We are bored with what we already have, and we get impatient thinking that our lives aren’t what they should be because of the idea that newness brings joy.”

Which got me to thinking about all of the stamps and supplies I have and have not even used.  Let’s face it, retail therapy is AMAZING, but how many of you are like me and have stamp sets that you have NEVER used?  We buy them and have grand ideas of using the stamps and making gorgeous cards, but then they arrive and already we are looking at the next PERFECT stamp set, and we must have it. 

This reality smacked me full on in the face while I was cleaning my craft room and I found two bags full of unopened and unused supplies.  One bag was from 2 years ago, the other bag was from 6 years ago!!!  I bought stamps and never even pulled them out of the bag!  As I went through my purchases and after I got over my initial disgust with myself, I started to remember why I bought them.  How cool they were and what I could make with them.

A part of me was tempted to put them back in the bag and put them away later, but let’s face it, creator first, adult second, right?  So, I pulled out one of the stamps and started playing with it.  Just because.  For no real purpose, except that I wanted to use it.  Which led to going through my other drawers and checking out some of the other stamps in my collection and do you know what?  It was like shopping all over again, except I was doing it in my own house without spending any more money and it was so much fun!  A messy fun, but the smiles just kept coming.

My stamps were like a mini photo album of my life.  What I was attracted to, the styles I have had over the years, the memories of why I purchased them and for whom.  I also discovered that I truly love snarky stamps and always have.  I sat for hours laughing at all of the silliness.

I had found of my joy.  There were no pictures.  No posts to social media.  It was just me, surrounded by a humongous mess of stamps and a whole lot of happiness.

If you have lost your mojo or your joy for creating, take some time for you and find your joy.  Make a card because YOU want to.  Don’t worry about posting it.  Don’t fret about how it measures up to the latest and greatest crafting diva.  Just make it for the joy of creating.  Go through your stamps and supplies, what does your stamping life album look like?  Remember the emotions you had when you made the purchases.  The people you had in mind.

Make a card for someone just for the joy of giving.  Don’t worry about what they do with it after they receive it, just know that in that instant when they open their mailbox and see an envelope that is not a bill and open up your card, you gave them the gift of happiness.  A bright spot in their day and life. 

Your thoughtfulness and creativity is the joy in their life.

Until next time, this is Suzanne, and you have been listening to the So Suzy Podcast.

 

Happy Stamping!