Capricious? Me? Well yes actually...but only in the most positive way.

The Chambers dictionary that I keep in my bookcase just in case my Nan tries to slip a made-up word past me during a game of scrabble defines caprice as: "an unpredictable or unaccountable change of mind, opinion or behaviour; a whim; changeableness" and capricious as: "full of caprice".

So why have I chosen to call myself Capricious Kate?  After all, the definition above doesn't sound that great does it...?

No, don't answer that question.  Let me answer it for you.  For years the perfectionist part of my personality has been uncomfortable with my inner capriciousness.  "You never stick at anything!" my inner critic cries, "You should do this! You shouldn't do that!  Are you ever going to finish that?"  

And so, for as many years as I can remember, I have listened to my inner critic and tried my hardest to stick to the rules and hide my capriciousness.  Do you think this has made me happy?  No, of course not!  Allowing the perfectionist and critical aspects of my nature to have such a free reign had an unexpected (and until last year unnoticed) side effect.  I lost my creativity.  I stopped making things just for the fun of it.  I became so crippled by guilt and regret if I did start a creative project which turned into a UFO (unfinished object), that I rarely risked starting new things.

Then, in the summer of last year I discovered digital scrapbooking.  What a revelation that was.  I joined a number of scrapping websites where I was able to share the layouts I had created, and also get inspiration and support from other scrappers.  Being a part of such a lively and inspiring community has opened up a whole new creative world to me.  And from there, I rediscovered my love of physical crafting.  And even more amazingly started to realise that perhaps my capriciousness could be a strength not a weakness.


So, my resolution for 2012 is to embrace my capriciousness, and give myself permission to unleash my creativity even more and delight in the new and unexpected places I end up in.  And instead of berating myself about the number of UFOs lurking in my various craft cupboards, learn to count them as trophies of glorious past crafting adventures...