When "The Feels" Interfere...

I haven't posted in awhile. There was/is lots going on. As the kids say, "I had some FEELS." I won't go into specifics, but let's just say there have been headaches, heart aches, tears, and lots of worrying. I don't see an immediate resolution on the horizon, but I'm slowly doing things. Instead of just coming home from work and lying down for the rest of the evening, I began last week to put in an hour here and there (sometimes in the wee hours of the morning) towards fulfilling my artsy obligations.

This most recent emotional speed bump is really making it clear how much I need to pull back from signing up for these things. While I love the challenge and also the friendships I've cultivated, this stuff is more stressful than fun. The deadlines stress me out when I'm already stressed out.

In the coming months, my goal is to sign up for fewer swaps. Maybe my energy will return. Maybe it won't. Maybe my drive for creating won't feel so squashed in the future. In the meantime, I have to fulfill obligations and do my best not to leave people hanging.

 These are some Valentine-type ATCs I made for a swap.

 And these are some non-traditional Valentine's tags for a swap.

 Ditto...

  I made this for a HeART swap. Unfortunately, I didn't adhere to the rules, which specified there must be a heart somewhere on the item. The feeling and intent is there...

 This is one of 5 greeting cards I made for a swap...

and another greeting card...

 and another...

 and another...

... and the final greeting card in the series of 5.

 Then there's a black and white postcard swap, for which I made this...

...and this.

 I also signed up for a black and white ATC swap. I can never make just one of a thing, so I ended up with a series:

It's good not to be catatonic. It's good to feel I have control of something, even if it is just colorful little pieces of paper.