Why I create...

Why I create...

This post will probably be a little more talky than usual, so if you are here for the card, just scroll down a bit.  I also want to apologize in advance for possible run on sentences and bad grammar.  Its hard to write clearly when its coming from a personal place, for me that is.  So, here I go...

Why do I create?  Lets go back in time a bit.

I was very lucky to have a Mother who would sit and color with me for hours.  We didn't have a lot of money, so my Mom would make a lot of gifts.  One year she made the coolest fuzzy pillows for all of my cousins, along with myself and siblings.  Then when I got a little older she started to make jewelry, really beautiful jewelry.  Both my Mother and Father (whom are now divorced) are musicians, they both love to sing and my Dad has a love affair with playing the guitar.  Being creative was just engraved in me at a very young age.  I was able to take piano lessons and was also able to learn to play the viola and cello.  Weekends consisted of Saturday morning cartoons on the USA network channel, followed up with American Bandstand and Soul Train.  I thought my Mom was so cool, who had the best dance moves.  Don't get me wrong, getting a good education was very important to me and my parents.  However, call it being a product of the 1970's, my parents wanted me to be happy and to do what I love, plus I'm from Northern California, full of free thinkers.

Okay, we are going to fast forward a little now.  Its 2007, I have dabbled in scrap booking and have made a few cards.  Both of my children are in school all day, and my husband just made a career change in the Navy from being on Nuclear Submarines to become a Helicopter pilot.  Not to mention we just moved (again) and I knew no-one.  Needless to say I was wondering what I was going to do to fill my days.  Let me back track, after we had our second child Jacob, we decided, as long as Jess (my husband) was in the military, our children deserved one full time parent (me).  Also, I had just been diagnosed with Crohn's Disease a few years earlier, and being a stay at home Mother, really was the ideal job.  So, with everyone starting new ventures, my role was changing, I no longer had a baby to keep me busy and I really couldn't volunteer everyday at my children's school.  Let me clarify, I have volunteered a lot in my children's schools, I think for the last 9 years, I have always been the room Mom.  With all of these changes going on in my family unit, I now had time to focus on a few hobbies.

I love to take pictures...LOVE it, so scrap booking is/was a creative outlet that just happened out of a need to do something with all of my pictures.  Creating a page can sometimes take a long time, so I started looking for some craft that could fill my need for immediate gratification.

Hello Splitcoaststampers!  When I found SCS, I felt like I had won the lottery.  My mind was opened to this new craft of card making and stamping, I was in awe!  For the last few years, I have been engrossed in learning techniques, new card folds, experimenting with my style, and now I'm sure my house is a mini Michael's (or whatever your favorite scrap book store is lol).  

I am a military spouse, I have an unusual life.  I do not have the luxury of having family and old dear friends live near me.  When I get sick or have a doctors appointment, there is no back up plan, the buck stops with me.  I have had to adapt to being very, very, independent.  We have been stationed on the east coast the last 11 years (well we were in San Diego for about one year), my entire family lives in California, so no one can just drive over when I have needed help.  Being a Navy wife means, lots of lonely nights, being strong when you don't know where the strength is going to come from, smiling when you want to be crying, & understanding that your husbands duty to his country will always come first.  But with the hardship comes the pride that fills my heart, knowing how much my husband loves his country, and the job satisfaction he has, not to mention I am married to a MAN, an manly man, and I love that!

Back to the question.  Why I create?  Whether I am making a card, a scrap book page, an necklace or baking cupcakes for my children, it takes me to a place where I have no stress.  I'm able to be creative, not be a mom, wife, or Navy wife, I am able to be Latisha.  In that moment, making something pretty makes me happy.  I'm not worried about what my blog readers will think or if its good enough.  Creating is my release, my safe place, my passion and it frees my mind to let go of things I have no control over.  I don't create to get on design teams, or for it to end up in a magazine, those are just the cherry on top, an added bonus.  I create for me, its the one constant in my life, besides my faith.  Well, I'm not too sure why I wrote this LONG blog post, maybe to give you an insight on me?  Not too sure, but it sure feels good just to write from my heart every once in a while.

Now the card lol...

just because

paper and stamps are from American Crafts

ribbon & card stock are from Papertrey Ink

I used Marvy markers for acrylic stamps for my ink