When Your Muse Should Keep Silent

Okay.  I must admit that occasionally the little voice inside my head speaks louder than it should.  Or rather, a little louder than I should allow it to speak.  Recently, my muse told me that I should offer my talents to several graphic designers with the hopes of becoming a member of their creative teams.  Everyone (that is my mom and boyfriend) tend to enjoy my scrapbooking skills and I had the insane idea that everyone else would love them too.   Instead, my art was met with little less than fanfare.  In fact, I believe that I was called boring...or dull.  I am not really sure because my muse has been in shock ever since.  I actually have not been able to enjoy scrapbooking ever since.  ...That is...until today.  Even though I had an epic failure with my attempt at joining a creative team, I was given the opportunity to enjoy my passion once more.  One of the designers stated that she had several positions opening for members to create art other than scrapbooks using digital scrapbooking kits.  Thoughts began to flood my mind.  My creative juices simply keep flowing.  I don't know whether I should build a matchbook shrine, an Artist Trading Card, a journal, or simply a Random Act of Art Kindness postcard.  Sometimes one door has to close in order for a window to open.  Sometimes we have to listen to our muse, and sometimes, it is best for her to keep silent.  She eventually will start talking again (in her own time), and we just must be receptive to the ideas that she puts forth.  Hopefully, I will soon be able to take a picture and enjoy the fact that one day someone else will enjoy it too.  

When push comes to shove, the only person who can tell your muse to be silent is you.  But make sure that if you tell her to hold her tongue, you are willing to live a life a little duller, a little colder, a little darker, and a lot lonelier.  I have learned that while I may not always like what my muse has to say, I will always give her the opportunity to speak.  She has a lot of wisdom to give, and if I don't listen, who will?

Choo! Choo! January's Blog Train has rolled into town!

For all of you who love digital scrapbooking as much as I do, I wanted to inform you that the January Blog Train on The Blog Train Blog has rolled into town.  So what exactly is a blog train, you ask?  A blog train is formed when groups of designers all offer FREEBIES on their blogs which coordinate in some way.  The Blog Train Blog hosts one every other month, and January's train is called "Refresh."  This month, 71 designers (yes, 71!) have created mini-kits, alphabets, papers, and embellishments that all follow the same beautiful color palate.

However, all of these downloads are considered as "Outside Content" for the MyMemories Software Suite.  This does not make them any less easy to use: just make sure you follow my instructions from this blog on using outside content.  Prepare to be amazed and surprised, find new designers that you love, and gain fresh inspiration of creating scrapbooks for the New Year.  It takes a while to make it through all 71 blogs, so start early with the downloads and remember that these freebies will only be good through the month of January 2012.  Remember to make a memory today and everyday!