Crafting with Scraps versus Scraps of Life

One of my favorite things to do is paper crafting, mixed media or altered art. Crafting to me is very relaxing and therapeutic. I've been crafting for many, many years. I turn on the music and get in my zone losing myself literally for hours. There have been times that I once I set down, I don't get up until many hours later. Yes, I know - that's not healthy - but when I'm in the zone, I'm in the zone...I'm oblivious to the clock, literally. 

Several months ago, I wanted to create something from a box of tidbits leftover from other projects. I grabbed the box and started pulling different things out that I had placed in there. Looking at all the things laying out on my desk - I began layering them. I'd move a piece here and a piece there. I'd tuck a piece of scrap paper up behind this and move it over there. 

Continuing to look in the box for other scrap pieces, my eye caught the large butterfly at the bottom of the box. It's called a wood veneer. It's probably 3 x 3 (give or take a few centimeters). The butterfly now became the focal point of my layered embellishment. I wanted to showcase the meaning of the butterfly in the way of 'transformation'. 

The word TRANSFORMATION has always been huge for me in life. I can't tell you how many times I've had to be knocked down in order to get back up and through the process of being knocked down - having a sense of transformation for change. Whether it was the change of attitude, change of heart, change of mind or just plain change...in order to transform the situation, there had to be a change of some kind taking place. What's the adage, "don't expect a different result if you aren't willing to make a change?" I remember using that line many times when I worked in the Behavioral Health field...people were always wanting things to change, but never wanted to put the time or effort to make the necessary changes. They'd just stay on the same circle going around and around and around...expecting a different result and then becoming frustrated because things didn't change. 

I'm all about change. Sure, sometimes it's a difficult pill to swallow and sometimes, we are taken out of our comfort zones - but if we aren't squeezed a bit - things will never change. At least that rings true for me...I can't tell you how many times I've had to change - all my life!! Too many times...and most of the time it's because of other people's choices. Transformation - putting boundaries in place. Removing the toxicity from our lives. Having filters in place. Learning the two-letter word - NO. Learning how to forgive when wrongs have been done towards you. That one is hard, isn't it...how many of you find it easy to forgive? Better yet, forget the wrongs...? Easier said than done...but it is doable. One needs to transform their way of thinking. Discard the old and bring in the new. Maybe even have a change of heart. 

Using the scraps and tidbits in the box I mentioned above, this is the piece I created from those scraps. I have it sitting here on my desk and I look at it daily. I see a new beauty in the layered embellishment each time I look at it. 

Layered Embellishment created by H2HSC2020

I haven't decided yet what kind of journal it will grace the cover on or even who I will gift it to. That will come once I begin working on it. 

The same is true when I look at people. I look at their eyes. I observe their body language and the tones of their voice. I think I've always been a people watcher...people amaze me on many levels. I can pick out the ones who are hurting or the ones who are hiding behind the rose-colored glasses quite easily. You see when a person has walked a journey filled with pain, abandonment, traumas, and everything else this may look like - they can relate with no words spoken. When these same people learn the true meaning of forgiveness and transformation, things change. They change. They are free. They can walk into their futures with their heads held high free of any judgments or ridicule from others. Transformation...

The sad reality though is not everyone will have the opportunity to turn things around. Some people fall into a deep, dark abyss never finding peace. They aren't willing to forgive. They aren't willing to trust. They aren't willing to love. They are lost...that's the harsh reality of life. 

Transformation takes time. It's not going to happen overnight. Taking the scraps of life and turning them into something beautiful will take work. I call them stumbling blocks that I've turned into steppingstones. Taking the scraps of life that have been dealt and turning them into something beautiful in my life. That's what I've chosen to do in life. I guess you could call them 'my layered embellishments'. 

When we are hurt, we literally must work through each layer - peeling it back like an onion. Processing each layer before moving to the next...that's how we heal. That's how we transform. That's how we change. Transformation...

I have another box filled with many different types of scraps. I'm going to create beautifully layered embellishments and think about how my life has transformed into something beautiful today. 

What do your layered embellishments look like? 

Heart to Heart Soul Creations

H2hsc2020