Along with this change in my life, I've also got a bit of confession to share. During the time I was making these decisions I realized something. As much as I tend toward the clean and graphic style, I also really love the grungy and distressed. I love getting my hand dirty with ink and paint and gesso! I've also come to admit that I'm a Tim Holtz crazy fan! Yes, I've got my fair share of Distress Inks and such, but I'm talking about doing more of the grungy, mixed media style that his products can lend themselves toward. I've secretly hoarded tons of his Halloween and Christmas products with dreams of creating vintage and distressed style vignettes and projects. However, when you don't have the time to do anything but your design team assignments, it's difficult to fit in anything extra. And then of course self doubt would set in and I'd wonder about whether or not people would like to see mixed media projects from me when they are used to what I normally share. Yes, I'll admit that thought has crept into my head more than once. It still does, even as I'm writing this post.

So, yeah, I've rarely made the time to do this sort of creating. And maybe those doubts added to my excuses to not do it. A few crafting friends have seen me play with this stuff, but they are the very few who have actually seen what I've made. And truth be told...I've not really made that much until recently. When I decided to step down from some of my teams I gave myself permission to play and create what I wanted to. In January, I began playing with some of my Tim Holtz products and of course I also added to my stash of stuff as well. I needed to fuel this creative fire within me and his products spoke to me in a way I've not had in a long time. I actually day dreamed about what I wanted to create. This is something I used to do years ago, when I spent most of my creative time scrapbooking. I have missed that type of creating. Ideas popping into your head when you aren't even creating. Usually, I've had to sit and play with the products for the ideas to come to me. I now know that this was because my creative brain had been stifled by my own doing. I've learned a valuable lesson when it comes to creating for others. Too much of good thing can be a bad thing. So from here on out, I'll be focusing on my 2 design teams and then spending the rest of my creative time doing things just for me. Yes, I'm open to doing guest design spots and such. In fact I'll be doing one here very shortly for an amazing company and I can't wait to share about it with you! But in the end, the focus will be on creating just for me.

Have you ever felt this way? Join me on IG and share what you create just for you using the #creatingjustforme. It would be great to know that I'm not alone and....that it's OK to step outside your known style and spread your wings and just create! It really is all about finding your creative joy!

Speaking of "creating just for me" here's a project I recently created just for me. It's super grungy and distressed and all things mixed media. I'm going to be putting this little "piece of art" in a prominent place in my craft room. I want it to be a reminder of what I've shared today and learned about myself recently.

Mr. Bones | Possibility Begins with Imagination

To create this mixed media piece I used some fabulous Tim Holtz products of course.
The background was creating using Distress Oxide Ink in Vintage Photo, Antique Linen and Brushed Corduroy.  I then stamped on it using the following stamp sets by Stampers Anonymous: Inventor 1 and Entomology. I stamped them with a mix of Distress Ink and Archival Ink.

To finish it off, I layered the piece onto some patterned paper from the most recent Tim Holtz Halloween Paper Pad and then finally onto a piece of gold paper from the 8x8 Kraft Stock Metallic Paper Pad.