Haiti Help and S.C.R.A.P. as Inspiration

I only watched part of the "Hope for Haiti" telethon tonight, but I loved that the artists were singing some old classic music that will be sold on iTunes to add further funding for help to Haiti. I made my donation and will continue to find places to donate as time goes on. This isn't going away any time soon, so sustained giving is a good thing. If you didn't catch the website they were using last night, it was www.hopeforhaitinow.org and the funds go to a number of reputable relief agencies - UNICEF, the Red Cross, OXFAM, WFP, the new Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, YeleHaiti and Stand with Haiti Partners in Health. I like the idea of many organizations under one umbrella because clearly these organizations can cover the gamut of needs and may be aware of issues and/or areas of Haiti that most need assistance. I also appreciated having a PayPal option to pay so I didn't have to give my credit card information to anyone.  Help today if you can.

On a *much* lighter topic, I went to work before the sun came up this morning and as a result, was not feeling very arty, although I have been missing my lovely art journal this week.  I realized that my fearlessness of the first couple of days disappeared and I haven't been willing to "ruin" my journal by making a mistake.  Um. Duh. A journal doesn't have to be perfect, Jean.  You could rip out a page, or cover it or change it if you don't like it... Anyway, on the way home, I stopped at S.C.R.A.P. (thank you, Shannon) and bought some items I hope will push me over the hump.  I've stared this demon in the face before, but I'm not going to be stopped by a little perfectionism rearing its ugly head. I bought some magazines I normally don't buy so that I could find some images and words that don't necessarily appear in Oprah's mag every month, if you know what I mean. :)

For those of you who don't read magazines much (I don't really, either, but I have been getting some for the collage adventures) - they are EXPENSIVE!!  At S.C.R.A.P., I got 20 magazines for $4.  I can't even get a copy of most magazines with good images for less than $4.99 - many of them are substantially more.  If you don't know about  S.C.R.A.P., it is the School and Community Reuse Action Program and they have TONS of stuff that you can use for a variety of different purposes - old notebooks, fabric, paper, post it notes, envelopes, magazines, paint, pens, glass, jars, spools, mat board, etc.  And all for CHEAP - it recycles products and you can get them for less money. Win-Win.

So, hopefully, I will get back on the horse.  I have just been feeling like I don't know how to do it right - but there is a teeny part of my brain that KNOWS there is no RIGHT way or WRONG way. Just do it. I just have to give myself permission to experiment, I think.