Mojo Hunting

It happens to all of us every now and again- stuck in a rut, unsure where to begin. There are the usual remedies of scanning magazines or online galleries for inspiration, picking a favorite product or photo and letting it inspire you, or participating in a challenge. Sometimes the mojo just doesn't want to be found. You've spent hours sorting through photos, surfing the web, and (heaven forbid) hacking up your precious paper. Sometimes you just need to give it a rest or approach it from a different angle.

Here's an idea to get the ideas flowing.

If you are anything like me (I'm sure there has to be others out there?!) you have a collection of what I like to call "bits and pieces" lying around somewhere. Maybe they are thrown in a basket, piled in a drawer, still strewn across your workspace, or neatly filed away. You know, the tag from your kid's new shirt that you saved because it was cute, the letter stickers you pulled off your last layout because they didn't work, the buttons that never made it back to live with the rest of the button family. If you don't save things, and/or put everything back where it belongs, you can stop reading here. Go ahead and grab a selection of this stuff. Believe me, this is EXACTLY what you've been saving it for- go ahead and use it all!

I gathered up these things today from my stash:
2 ice cube trays full of do-dads
2 chinese food containers full of die cuts and bigger do-dads ( I use these as catch alls)
1 bucket full of scrap paper strips
some random paper scraps

The idea is to PLAY here, not to create an award winning layout. See how much of this you can get onto a layout. It will challenge you to use things you normally wouldn't, to put together new combinations of things, and if you're lucky, begin to open up some of the pathways in your creating brain for the mojo to creep back in. Don't stress about the finished product. there may only be parts of it you like in the end, but as long as it gets you creating again we're happy!

Here's how mine turned out. The only things I used that didn't come from the "junk" pile were some letter stickers and rub-on letters and a fresh sheet of cardstock for the base. I used the negative sheet from some diecut journaling spots, and flipped it over to use the white side. ( You can forget the supplies list for the rest LOL!)

Happy Mojo hunting!

Erin