10 ways to scrapbook soothe without making a mess

I have been off the grid for the last week and I apologize for that.  Life has been a bit rocky these last few weeks which has kept me from actually sitting down and putting my thoughts together.  My husband is undergoing chemotherapy so most of the family life responsibilities are now on my to-do list. I have been feeling really overwhelmed and sad which has also put a damper on my writing enthusiasm.  I also have been avoiding making a mess.  The cleanliness of my living environment makes me feel more in control. Yet creativity really soothes me, so I decided to work on a bunch of projects that would not generate a huge mess.  Here are 10 creative activities that do not involve glue, ink or paint.

1. I went through my digi photo files from 2009 to present and ordered a bunch of the pictures I have not yet scrapbooked using my own stash as my guide.
2. I caught up on some journalling.  Just a few things here and there but enough that I knew the who, what, where, why on layouts that were previously unspecified.
3. I did a little shopping.  I picked up some of the Sn@p line by Simple Stories, replenished my stock of chipboard embellishments and ordered the Basic Gray warehouse mystery box.  The idea of having a box of unknown goodies delivered to my door gave me something to look forward to.
4. I got reacquainted with my supplies.  How easily I forget what I have to work with.  I have to look though my stash on  a regular basis our I forget all of the treasures I have on hand.
5. (Ok - here is one exception to the "no-glue" exercise, but it only involved a glue stick so that doesn't really count.) I pulled out some mini albums I had made in classes over the years and added photos.  I mean seriously; I have these adorable naked projects and tons of photos that have no place to live so I just decided to get over the need for a creative indoctrination, and glued the pictures to the pages.
6. I cut up the "cut apart" elements from several of my scrapbook paper collections. I realized I will never use them if they are hidden in my paper stash.
7. I put together page kits.  I pulled bits and pieces from here and there and made unexpected combination kits.  Sometimes it is the selection process that gets me stuck. With this system, I can approach a layout as a scrapbooking challenge the next time I get scrap-blocked. 
8. I searched for inspiration on my computer.  The 2peas gallery is such an amazing collection of talent! I was drawn to a bunch of Glitter Girl's projects (project above is from adventure 043: A Manly Model) so I went to You-Tube to watch her in action.  It was sooooooooo fun.
9. I tried to master my Cutterpillar.  I hate to say a single negative thing about this trimmer because the company was so kind to give me one for free, but I have had a heck of a time getting my paper to stay put without a paper holder.  I can't get a straight cut for the life of me. My paper tends to buckle from the pressure of the blade cutting through the paper.  I did some googling to find out what I was doing wrong and I learned that a couple magnets at either end of the paper edge near the cutting line holds the paper in place.  It worked!  I have to admit that I am still struggling with getting straight cuts buts the buckle problem is fixed.  Any suggestions?
10. I cropped photos (not with this trimmer!).  I have loads of photos that have empty space around the edges so I did some trimming.  Cropping is another one of those scrapbooking steps that can slow me down.  I get so caught up with keeping the photos uniform in size that I stop looking at everything else.  I thought that if I did my cropping ahead of time, it would force me to take chances and think outside of the box when putting together a layout.   I will admit, after doing this I had some regrets.  There is something to be said for uniform sized photos but what is done is done.

I will make every effort to post more often this week.  I have a few more things to share.  I hope you are enjoying the change of seasons that the passing of Halloween signifies. Let's face it, it is a whole new ball game until 2013.