Not a good sign.

I used to be very interested (read: mildly obsessed) in scrapbooking. Seriously. Since about 2003, scrapbooking has been my only real hobby. I have gone through stages where I've scrapped every single day, at the expense of all other activities.

To scrapbook, one has to have photographs, of course, and I've always enjoyed taking pictures. I was not nearly as dedicated to photography as I find myself becoming now, though. I took pictures of my kids and the activities and events of our daily lives without much thought on the technical aspects of the photographs. I didn't feel any desire to explore photography as its own event. That has all changed. Scrapbooking has been completely eclipsed for me now.

The last time I scrapped was in February. Since then, my area has looked like this:

I haven't touched it. Some stuff I had ordered previously has sat untouched, still in its bags, since then.

I'm scheduled to go to an all-day crop this weekend. In order to do that, I need to pack some stuff to work with, and in order to do that, I had to clean up and organize a little bit. I started on that lengthy process tonight.

Usually, when I feel "blocked" or like I've "lost my mojo" (which is the term the die-hards use to describe the feeling of a lack of creative ideas), going through my scrap stuff will help to rekindle a desire to create. Not this time. It felt like a chore, and all I could do was clean up and make a couple of piles of things I might bring with me this weekend. The further chores of selecting and printing pictures and then choosing supplies to use with them still loom.

Don't get me wrong...I'll still go to the crop. I know I'll have fun there, and I will probably enjoy the process of creating some new layouts and playing with my supplies. I just don't think it will carry over to Sunday.