creating · Creative Rituals · creative wellness · Everyday Joy · Healing through art · Mindset & Motivation

What If You Created Like You Believed In Yourself?

Somewhere along the way, we learned to second-guess our creativity. To hesitate before sharing, to doubt our worth, to minimize our joy. But what if—just for today—you created like you believed in yourself?

What if your next scrapbook page, handmade card, or journal entry was crafted with confidence, not criticism?

🧠 The Inner Critic Is Loud—But You Are Louder

Many of us who’ve lived through trauma, chronic illness, or self-doubt know the script: “Who do you think you are?”
You’re someone brave enough to try.
Someone creative enough to make beauty from scraps.
Someone resilient enough to keep showing up.

✨ Try This Confidence-Boosting Prompt:

Take out a tag, journaling card, or scrap of paper and write:

“Today, I create like I believe in myself.”

Then:

  • Stamp or decorate around the phrase.
  • Use bold, joyful colors—whatever speaks to your version of light.
  • Add it to your wall, vision board, planner, or card front.

💡 This is your creative permission slip. And no one else needs to validate it.

📣 Bonus Challenge:

Post your tag in the VIP group, or share in your stories with the hashtag #CraftWithConfidence—you’ll inspire someone else, too.

You don’t have to wait until you feel “ready” to create from a place of belief.
Start now. Start messy. Start joyfully.
Because you, your story, and your art are more than enough—just as you are.

🧡 Need a little more guidance on creative confidence?
Join my Monthly Membership for healing-focused prompts, mindset encouragement, and exclusive live sessions.

Community Inspiration · creating · creative expression · creative wellness · Healing through art · Mindset & Motivation

Creating Together: Why You Don’t Have to Craft Alone

Creativity can be incredibly personal—and also profoundly communal. When you’re navigating healing, chronic illness, or emotional burnout, connecting with others through creativity can feel like opening a window to let the light back in.

Today, let’s talk about the magic of crafting in community—and why it might be just what your heart (and hands) need.

💛 Why Crafting Together Matters

Whether online or in person, creative connection brings:

  • Companionship without pressure—just show up as you are.
  • Encouragement when you feel stuck or self-critical.
  • Motivation to follow through with your ideas and projects.
  • A space to be seen in a season where you may feel invisible.

For survivors of trauma, grief, or long-term illness, isolation is a common thread. Crafting together becomes a gentle, joyful thread that ties us back to ourselves and others.

✨ What Creating Together Looks Like:

  • Virtual Create-Together sessions (like my Friday lives!) where we share space, ideas, and laughter.
  • VIP Groups that feel safe, kind, and filled with inspiration.
  • Album Retreats or scrap nights focused on connection—not just productivity.

💬 “I joined for the creativity… but stayed for the kindness.”
That’s something I hear often, and it never stops being true.

🛠️ Don’t Overthink It:

  • You don’t have to have all your supplies ready.
  • You don’t need to talk if you’re not feeling it.
  • You don’t have to finish a full layout.
    Just being in the space makes a difference.

You don’t have to craft alone.
You deserve spaces that feel safe, creative, and healing.
And when we create together, our light expands.

✨ Join me for Create Together Friday Live at 10:30am Pacific inside my VIP Group!
You’ll get to see behind the scenes of this week’s layout, ask questions, and soak in a little creative peace.

💌 Not in the group yet? Click here to join the VIP Community and let’s create something beautiful—together.

business · Creative income · Join my team

Why I Joined Stampin’ Up!—and Why You Should Too

When I joined Stampin’ Up!, I wasn’t looking to “build a business.” I was looking for connection, creativity, and a path back to joy. I needed a safe space where I could grow at my own pace, surrounded by support—not pressure.

If that resonates with you, I want to invite you to join my team. Not because I want to “recruit.” But because I believe in this community—and in your ability to thrive through creativity.

💗 Why I joined Stampin’ Up!:

  • I wanted access to beautiful supplies at a discount
  • I longed for community with kind, creative people
  • I wanted to share my healing journey through art
  • I needed something joyful that could grow with me

🧘‍♀️ What you don’t need to join:

  • A sales background
  • A huge following
  • A perfectly organized craft room
  • To be “fully healed” or “ready” (is anyone ever?)

What you do get when you join my team:

  • A warm, judgment-free community that supports your pace and path
  • Access to exclusive team training, creative prompts, and business support (only if you want it!)
  • A welcome kit of my favorite resources and products of YOUR choosing
  • Monthly team Zooms with optional shares, quiet co-creating, and healing space
  • 20–25% discount on all Stampin’ Up! products (and commission on any sales you make)
  • First access to catalogs, specials, and new releases

🌿 Whether you want to build a side income, deepen your creative practice, or simply belong somewhere that feels good… there’s room for you here.

You don’t have to be perfect to lead. You don’t have to be loud to be powerful. You just have to begin. If you’re craving creative joy, gentle encouragement, and a judgment-free team—this is your sign.

➡️ Here’s how to join my team:

Community Inspiration · creating

Group Scrapbooking: Crafting Connection

Healing doesn’t always happen in silence. Sometimes, it happens in the soft hum of scissors, the clink of embellishment trays, or the laughter that bubbles up over shared memories. Group scrapbooking offers more than creative inspiration—it’s a beautiful way to rebuild trust, share stories, and remind ourselves we’re not alone.

Whether you gather in-person or online, scrapbooking with others can nurture emotional connection and creative courage in truly powerful ways.

🤝 Why group scrapbooking matters:

  • Reduces isolation (especially during healing seasons)
  • Encourages shared creativity and idea exchange
  • Creates gentle accountability to show up
  • Builds confidence through validation and encouragement
  • Helps create joyful memories while documenting them

🧵 Ways to group scrap creatively:

  • Host a virtual scrap night:
    Use Zoom or Facebook Live, keep it casual, and give everyone a sketch or prompt to work from.
  • Mini swaps:
    Trade handmade journaling cards, embellishments, or 3×4 affirmations with group members.
  • Theme challenges:
    Like “Joy in the Everyday” or “Rewriting the Narrative” — invite participants to interpret it their own way.
  • Collab albums:
    Everyone contributes a page or layout about a shared theme (grief, growth, gratitude, etc.).

🧡 Emotional safety tip:
If you’re a trauma survivor, choose your group carefully. Look for communities that honor emotional pacing, welcome imperfection, and center compassion. A kind creative space can become a huge part of your healing journey.


Creativity is connection. And when we make together—across miles or across the table—we heal in ways that solitary crafting can’t always offer.

➡️ Want to scrapbook with others in a safe, joyful space?

  • Visit the VIP Facebook Group for upcoming group scrap nights and challenges
  • Share a layout made during a group session using #CraftingConnection
  • Not ready to join in real-time? Subscribe to the newsletter for weekly prompts you can explore on your own time
creating · Mindset & Motivation

Why Comparison is a Creative Block

Have you ever opened Instagram, seen a perfectly styled layout, and instantly questioned your own creativity? We all have. Comparison is sneaky. It shows up as admiration, but often leaves behind doubt. For those of us who’ve survived trauma, battled chronic illness, or are healing from burnout, comparison can be especially painful—it chips away at the safe space we’re trying to build.

But creativity isn’t a competition. It’s a path. A practice. A deeply personal journey.

🌿 Why we compare:
We compare to feel connected. To orient ourselves. But in a creative space, that habit can become harmful. Instead of inspiring, it can paralyze us. Especially if we’re already feeling vulnerable or uncertain.

🧠 Comparison tells us lies like:

  • “Your work isn’t good enough.”
  • “You’re behind.”
  • “Why even bother?”
  • “Look how much better she’s doing.”

The truth is:

  • Your story is unlike anyone else’s.
  • You are allowed to create slowly.
  • You don’t have to share your work to validate it.
  • The messiest page can still hold the most meaning.

💗 Reframing your mindset:

  • Instead of “better,” try asking: What’s different?
  • Instead of “behind,” try: What do I want to feel?
  • Instead of “they’re better than me,” try: I admire their style. I’m finding my own.

Comparison is a thief of joy—and creativity. The next time it sneaks in, pause and ask: What is true for me today? Then create from that space.

➡️ Need a judgment-free space to reconnect with your creativity?

  • Download my free Bloom Tracker to focus on consistency, not comparison
  • Subscribe to the newsletter for gentle encouragement each week
  • Share a photo of your real, in-process work using #CreatingWithoutComparison and tag me @gemspaperscissors—I’ll cheer you on every time 🌸