Free Spirit -vs- Conformity

Sometimes a get a giggle out of my own thoughts. Actually I laugh at myself a lot lately. I made the same New Year's resolution that I didn't keep last year. My goal is to scrapbook at least one digital or paper layout a week. I've been very good about things so far but since the introduction of a horrible menace to my time called "Facebook", I've found a lot less time for Photoshop.

I'm a free spirit and I like to make my own layouts. I start with a blank canvas then add my bits of inspiration as they come. I'm very much a perfectionist. Even the most simple of my layouts sit on the back burner and get a few changes here and there until I'm finally happy with the finished product. This really takes days for me. I don't even post a layout until I've been able to "sleep on it" at least one night. This is also the reason I rarely ever use permanent adhesive when I paper scrapbook. I know it's horrible and I would be much more productive without such an OCD for my work but to me it's art, an expression of who I am, & what I treasure in life. Pastor Jeff really said something in the message yesterday that keeps resonating in my head...and yes, we go to church on Saturday night, anyone who knows me well, knows I'm not a morning person. Okay, back to what he said, "God doesn't expect perfection, He expects progress." Why is that so hard for me to grasp? I want both perfection & progress.

So here's the dilemma... I am torn about using pre-made digital templates. They're pretty easy to use. It's mostly drag & drop...easy peasy. I've used them a few times but I'm torn. Where is the line? To me it feels a little like plagiarism. I've been plagiarized before and it was devastating to me. It felt a lot like having someone you work with use your idea and then claim it as their own. YES, I credit the artist who created the template (as anyone digiscrapping should!) but I still feel a little like I'm passing off someone else's art as my own. I still add my own personal touches and rarely leave a template "as is". It's faster and easier but I guess it just doesn't feel genuine to me.

Thanks for reading my rant. I'll step down off of my soapbox now. I'm even going to be brave enough to post a layout I did using a template...



credits: template by Brenda Miller, papers & elements - "Tannah" by Sweet Digi Scraps, font - segoe script