on imperfections and experimentation

One of the things I struggle with as a scrapbooker is imperfections. My friend Tabitha laughs at me sometimes, because of the lengths to which I go to create perfectionism (or something close to it) in my work. This can make experimenting with new techniques or trying new ideas a struggle - because what if it doesn't look great?!? So I really enjoyed reading this blog recently, and its encouragement to revel in those imperfections that come with experimentation.

I also realized at a scrapbooking workshop last Friday that sometimes mistakes turn out really awesomely. For example, check out this adorable little Halloween card I made...



See those great little scuff marks underneath the cat's feet? The ones that add just a little bit of extra attitude and action to the stamp? Yeah. Those weren't supposed to be there. They're marks from the side of the stamp...an error that shouldn't have been made. But I loved the way they looked, so I went ahead and used the tag.

In fact, I liked the look so much, I tried to recreate it. But as anyone who has ever tried to recreate a mistake knows, it doesn't always work out. For example...



Oh well. I tried. And along the way, I was again reminded that it's okay to make mistakes...that sometimes, the mistakes look just as good - or maybe even better - as the intentions.

Where I am: home
What I'm reading: the October issue of InStyle magazine