Scrapbooking On the Road - A Guest Post for Julie Fei-Fan Balzer

The following is a post that I was honored to write for the amazingly talented Julie Fei-Fan Balzer at www.balzerdesigns.typepad.com. I just realized that I never hit 'Publish' to share it here with you...

I am a scrapbooker. I am a traveller. I am a photographer. I have an inborn need to explore this beautiful world we live in. I have multiple sclerosis. I have a poor short term memory and an even poorer ability to convert those short term memories to permanent memories. Therefore, I scrapbook. I take pictures. I write. I make art. The closer to the actual event that I can record my experiences, the more raw and authentic my art will be. Because no matter what I do, no matter where I go, no matter what I create, I want my work to represent me – bad, doctor-scribble handwriting, and all.

One of my favorite ways to document my adventures is a result of an Ali Edwards-inspired 'light-bulb moment.' I scrapbook on the road. I take pictures and collect memorabilia and add them together with items I have prepared at home and brought with me on my trip. I want these bits and pieces to be flat – to not take up too much space in my luggage (airline 50 pound weight limits + scrapbook supplies can be challenging if you actually need to bring clothes and shoes with you) or in my book. I know from experience that I will be collecting A LOT of stuff on my trips – admission tickets, pamphlets, flyers, subway tokens, gold flecks (ever panned for gold while learning about the California Gold Rush?), business cards, etc., and this 'stuff' can rapidly add bulk to my travel albums.

My family is planning a 2 month road trip to Alaska this summer. This scrapbook-on-the-road has the potential to be several volumes long. I plan to use Basic Grey's Capture Albums, along with my Instax camera and printer for my daily documentation. My prep work has included collecting letter stickers, page protectors, film, and blank Project Life cards along with several rolls of adhesive and inks and stamps and label stickers to embellish my found treasures along the way. I have used Julie's stencils from The Crafter's Workshop as the foundation of my album décor. Using the stencils with acrylic paint, distress ink, and gel medium has given my album a unique look that is All Me. The techniques are quick. They are easy. They look really darned cool, and by making them ahead of time, I can eliminate the need for paints and other messy, liquid supplies from my packing list.

1. The Album Cover:

I used some washi tape that I don't love (we all have a few of those rolls, right?) to hold my stencil in place on the cover of the album. I then used an old hotel room key to spread gel medium into all the empty spaces of the map stencil to create a resist of the United States map. After letting it dry overnight (I wanted to be extra safe and not mess it up), I used my Ranger distress ink to bring out the pattern and add some blue color. This effect could also be achieved with embossing ink and powder or even Mod Podge – anything that can create a resist on your background.

                                    

                                    

                                              

2. The States Cards:

Using the same 6x6 USA map stencil and some blank grid Project Life cards, I placed the state I wanted to emphasize in the 'middle' and used my Distress Ink to highlight that state and a few of its surrounding neighbors at the bottom of the card. I then used a contrasting ink to stamp the state name over the stencilled image. I plan to use these state cards as title cards or journalling cards for each new state that we cross into.

NOTE: This is also how I created cityscape 3x4 and 4x6 cards, to be used for any major cities we may visit.

                                                

3. Days of the Week Cards:

Using the same blank grid cards, I spray misted various colors of ink over the banner days stencil to create several weeks' worth of cards. I have not yet decided if I will use these as-is or if I will cut them apart and adhere the corresponding day to a place. Time on the road will determine how I use these cards.

4. The Painted Patterns Cards:

I experimented with Distress Paint and these fun, funky patterned stencils. I dabbed the paint over the stencil onto the cards, and left a good old-fashioned mess, BUT being the ink and paint snob that I am, I immediately took the stencils, flipped them over with the paint-side down onto new blank cards, brayered over the stencils to transfer the paint and pattern, and made title cards that I absolutely adore. I honestly think these may be my favorite cards of the bunch. I'm planning to use them as title cards for the different portions of our trip (ex. Alaska cruise vs RV life vs road-tripping with and without my parents, because, yes, they are going to be with us for a month of this 2-month long adventure).

                                    

                                             

I hope that I have inspired you to pull out your stencils and inks and paints and art supplies and just play. I hope that you realize that you can use 'themed' (ex the map and the days of the week stencils) and 'unthemed' (ex the fun, funky patterns) products to make a project your very own. I hope that you discover the love of travel, be it far or near, and that you learn to appreciate and document this life you have been given. And most of all, I hope you know how truly honored and grateful I am to have been given this opportunity to share my passions with you today.

I've Lost My Mojo

I am a scrapbooker. I am a photographer. I document life. These are my hobbies. They make me very happy. But sometimes I have to walk away from it all. I have weeks and months where I can't stay away from my desk, and I can't stop creating. And then I have weeks and months like I have had recently. I have lots of new toys to play with. I'm always taking pictures of something or other (just find me on Instagram if you need proof of that). I am surrounded by inspiration online and in magazines and catalogs...but I just don't have the desire to create. This has happened before, and I know it will happen again. It frustrates me, because I WANT to want to create, but I don't. I avoid going upstairs to my desk. I pile my new toys on the stairs. I find other ways to occupy my time (I mean, hello! Have you ever seen me blog this much EVER???) I immerse myself in life.

I may not be actively creating, but I am still always learning. The last 6 weeks or so have been rough...total life upheaval rough. Immune system shutting down. Pseudotumor cerebri. Changing MS medications again. Having to give up my very-favorite food cold-turkey. Major life changes. I tell myself it's ok not to be crafting and 'making pretty stuff' (as Heidi Swapp calls it). I am reading. I am researching. I am studying. I am pulling out my med school textbooks for the first time in years. I am learning how to transition my life and my family's life to this new reality. I am trying to relearn how to cook (Think about it...how many of your go-to recipes require flour? I had to relearn how to make a roux and gumbo this weekend! I can't even go to a deli and get a sandwich or soup any more, because they both contain wheat. This has not been easy or fun.).

So that's where I am. Not crafting. Not recording memories. Not playing with paper and glue. Not giving up. I am going to fight this disease. My doctors said I have to give up wheat and gluten. I may hate it, and I may complain about it to anyone who will listen, but I'm going to do it, because if it works, then just maybe I'll have a functional immune system again. I may have lost my crafty mojo, but it will come back...just as soon as I find a good substitute for hamburger buns so I can enjoy a good red meat fix again.

Waiting for God

I have been asking God what He wants me to do with my life for over 3 years now - and when I say daily, I really mean DAILY. All the time. Begging. Pleading. Wondering. Questioning. Sometimes He tells me to "Do This Now" or "Do That Now," but until recently, I had to keep questioning and wondering the BIG "What Do YOU Want Me to Do with My Life?" Now I am starting to wonder if He is beginning to reveal His answer to me.

I am a Pediatrician. All my life, God has called me to work with children - with His Babies. In high school and college, I skipped the whole waiting tables/fast food/serving thing most of my peers excelled at. Instead? I babysat. I worked at the Birmingham YMCA after-school day care and summer day camps. I lived and worked with kids. I loved it. I loved them. I loved showing them that someone loved them and wanted them around. And so when it came time to choose a Life Calling, I became a Pediatrician - but not just any Pediatrician- and Emergency Room Pediatrician. Because not only did I love children, I also love(d) Instant Gratification. I'm an adrenaline junkie. I am a multitasker. I can't sit still and only do 1 thing at a time. Watching TV at night? I will also be reading blogs or a book, talking to my husband, folding laundry, and anything else my hands and body NEED to be doing at that same time. I'm a wee bit nuts. It drives my husband nuts, but in his own (very recent) words, "I'm HIS Crazy." He loves me anyway.

So what does this have to do with anything? Three years ago I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. In an instant, I had to relearn how to live. Being a Pediatric ER Doc? Gone. Multitasking 10 things at once? Gone. Staying up and working nights and weekends? Gone. Saving lives one earache at a time? All gone. Instead, I lost 2-3 months of my life. I existed. I relearned how to walk without a walker. I learned how to concentrate with a near-constant FOG in my brain. I relearned how to use the microwave (yes, there are times when I forget how to turn on our basic appliances). I learned what it meant to be The Patient, and not The Doctor. And through all this, I questioned. I asked. I begged. Why God? Why Me? Why push me and let me go through all that (often-miserable) training to have my dreams taken away from me? Why teach me how to save babies and then not let me save them? WHY?!!!

And through all this, He's been teaching me. Teaching me patience (I HATE patience). Teaching me to rely on others. Teaching me to (gasp, gasp, gasp) not only accept help, but to (gasp, choke, gag) ASK for help. Teaching me that I can't DO everything. Teaching me to be still. Teaching me to accept limitations. Teaching me to Trust Him and HIS Plan. But I still just want to know. I want to know WHY? I want to know WHAT NOW? I want to know WHAT NEXT?

The last few weeks have been rough. I've had another MS Flare and have been back on massive, high-dose steroids. I have had another three weeks of just existing and sitting on the couch. I have not been able to take care of my family. I have barely been able to take care of myself. Showering daily has become a GOAL, not an ASSUMED part of my day. I have read a lot. I have slept a lot. I have watched a lot of TV. And I have created a lot of art.

I am a scrapbooker. I am a photographer. I take pictures of everyday life and document my family's stories for us to remember later - and to help me remember. Another side effect of my MS is poor short term memory and difficulty forming new memories. I, literally, forget entire conversations and days. It's as though they never happened. Scrapbooking helps me with this. By looking at my pictures and reading what I have written, I can remember. By looking at them with my children, I can hear what THEY remember. I can hear their perspectives on our family's life. I can hear how they perceive this marvelous life of ours. I can process and question Why God has given me this disease.

During this Flare, I haven't been able to scrapbook as much. My mind and hands have not been able to coordinate well enough to play with pictures, words, and pretty papers. But I have felt this NEED to create - a need to express on paper how I'm feeling and the thoughts that keep swirling through my mind. God has reminded me of hymns and verses I learned as a small child. He has put them in my heart and in my mind to remind me of His Love. He has 'lead me beside the still waters for His Name's sake.' He has prompted a need in my heart to create. To create art with the words He has been whispering in my heart. To make a visual reminder of this season of my life. To document His Love for Me.

I don't know what comes next. I don't know what He wants me to do with my life. I don't know what He wants me to do with my love of children and Pediatrics. But I do know that He has a plan. I know that He is in control. I know that He wants me to play with pictures and pretty papers. I know that He wanted me to write this blog post and many many more about this journey He is leading me on. So bear with me, World. There's no telling what's coming next.