music, therapy, and me

I am doing something that I rarely do during my breaks from my job as a school-based music therapist - I am leaving my house for a craft class! I signed up for this craft class back in June for a July class, but the instructor broke her elbow and had to reschedule. This is the day, so I am looking forward to going to make something new with people (hopefully, more than just me there!) who share some of my interests in paper and making books. I know the business owner makes the types of books that I like to make, but who knows if there will be others?? I certainly hope so. I have two and a half hours before the class starts, and my time anxiety is already starting. I will go get gas for the car, breakfast for me, and then sit in the parking lot until the store actually opens. I will bring a small bag of my personal favorite crafting items, and I will bring some money for shopping as well! The last time I tried something like this, I ended up being the only person who showed up for the c...

So, I have a problem. My problem is that I love paper. I like writing on it, getting as much of it as I can, and then reading from it. I have two shelves of scrapbooking paper and cardstock that I am trying very hard to use, but there are so many more designs that are out there, just waiting to be purchased... by me! As far as problems go, this isn't the worst one to have, but it can be an expensive one. I have a smaller shelf of finished books that I have made that just sit there. No one has wanted to purchase one, but I continue to make them because the creation brings me joy. Do you want one?? I will send it to you! The more I make, the more I get so I can make more things. This is the fundamental issue with being a creative person, I guess. I am feeling the urge to make another something today. Unfortunately, my living space is not a place where I can spread out my materials quite yet. There is still some work to be done before I can use my glue and my paper and my paper cutter...

It is Sunday again. Today's randomly selected post comes to us from May 22, 2015 - the day after my birthday - and is all about music-themed gifts. Do you ever get things that are musical because you are a music therapist? I don't get them very often, so when music-themed gifts arrive for various celebrations, they make an impact. On this birthday, I found a music and cat themed necklace in my gifts. It is still one of my favorite pieces of jewelry because it combined things that I love into one representation. My jewelry is still in a box somewhere - I need to find it and unpack all that stuff so I can wear it again. (Not at work, but when I am not at work... you get it!) Most of the things that I own that are music-themed are things that I have found for myself. Most of the things that I own that are music instruments are from my family members. Most of the music that I own is something that I purchased, but some of it was gifted to me. It is interesting how things arrive in ...

I had Monday off from work. That made this week seem indeterminably long. It always happens that way. I am never really sure why, but having Monday off makes Tuesday through Friday just drag on and on... My week was full of watching my intern lead sessions, leading my own sessions, and lots and lots of thinking. This past four days was not a "doing" time, but was a thinking time. I did put together a paper bag junk journal for a co-worker's birthday. It turned out pretty well, and she's an art therapist so she will use it for all sorts of things. I am having fun making things for other people. Everyone is getting some sort of homemade gift from me, and I am using up some of my stuff in the process! That is the best part of all for me - using up stuff!! My interest in papercrafting stems from my interest in books. I like books in all sorts of forms. I like hardbacks and paperbacks, blank books and picture books. Books are a part of my necessities all the time. It is ra...

A couple of months ago, dissatisfied with the birthday celebrations at work for a group that doesn't bother to celebrate my own birthday but that assigned me seven birthdays to celebrate without assistance two months apart, I rearranged how we celebrated. So, I now am in charge of personalized birthday things. We are no longer doing large group celebrations where only two people pay for treats the entire group. (Most of my protestation was that I was assigned April and July with partners who were not present to help me buy and make things - AND that was after the May celebration was scheduled at a time when I was not able to be there - no mention of my birthday or anyone celebrating me, so cue the disgruntlement.) I am having fun with this. There is one other person who "helps" me out. She hasn't done anything yet. I have a couple of rules. If the person has contributed the $3 that we asked for, then they get treats and some homemade paper craft things. If they haven...

I cannot do it. I cannot write about how I am feeling today because I just can't handle the fact that I am not feeling well, that I am frustrated that I can't seem to do anything because I am constantly putting out fires, and all of that... So, it is time to figure out what I can write about here. My emotions are off the table. Oops, almost went into that thread again. Work is off the table since it seems to be the source of most of my current frustrations. What does that leave? Well, my giveaway! I have to get that launched tomorrow!! Eeps! I have put together six different file folders, several other resources, and all that, but I am not ready for marketing quite yet. That will need to be this evening's process - taking pictures and getting things ready for tomorrow's launch. One of my favorite things to do is to make visual aids. I have boxes and boxes of resources that I use with my clients, and I keep making more! There is nothing more satisfying to me than seeing ...

I had a really good day yesterday. I spent time decluttering, shopping, and crafting. I finished up a small book that I made out of thick cardstock, some craft paper, and various bits of writing paper and scrapbook paper. This was a bit surreal, but this book wanted to be finished, so I finished it. I am not going to use it as a journal (I don't have enough words to write in all the journals that I make), so I am going to give it away to someone. Who wants it? Really!! I feel that this book has a home out in the world somewhere, and I want to give it away! Here are some of the pictures of this little book. The first is next to a tall paperback book to give you an idea of the size of the book itself. I did not measure it, but I will do that from now on. I think this will become a habit - making a book and then giving it to someone who wants it.  This is not my typical style of book, but it was fun to put together. I used some vintage photo cutouts to put together this couple on th...

I did a bit of playing with paper yesterday. I've been trying out different techniques to see what hurts my fingers and what I can do with recovering tendon issues and a healed fracture, and I completed a project for a SkillShare Class that I signed up for a while ago. Here is the video of my most recent project - a junk journal. I took bits and pieces of paper that I had around the house and made them into a journal of sorts. This project is not finished - the only thing done is the construction of the book itself. True junk journalers then take their books and make them into masterpieces of painting, journaling, ephemera, and memories. I don't usually do that much with the things that I make, but I am going to try with this book. It is WAY out of my comfort zone, but that is what this year is all about for me - deepening my experiences to experience things more. For some reason, actually using a book that I make is difficult, but it was nice to know that I could assemble this...

Inside cover of a new project I am in a season of introspection. This has quite a bit to do with being socially distanced and also with an upcoming birthday, and it also has to do with being middle aged and not liking it one whit. I am feeling lots of stuff - mostly negative emotions at the moment. I don't like these feelings, but I am striving to learn as much about myself as I can during this down time. Since I am bored with all this stuff happening but have no control over it all, I am trying to find some things to do that are outside of my comfort zone. I examined my social media feeds, and do you know what I found? I only really use those feeds for music therapy things. That is not a surprise but rather just an observation that I had never really paid attention to before. Outside cover in progress I have started to fix this by joining two paper crafting groups. They are groups that encourage folks to make things out of paper. I am simultaneously cowed and challenge...