The Paper Lady Scrapbook Atelier

Finally, I have remembered how to access this blog! I am shattered before the day begins!! Anyway, I just wanted to tell you about my Scrapbook Atelier which I run from my home in Westwoud. This is the site: http://www.thepaperlady.nl/ and all the information about scrapping and workshops and crops can be found there. I started it about a year ago when we moved to our new home, as I had given up my previous work due to ill health and wanted to try something completely different! All my working life has been spent in the Health Service in England. I trained as an Occupational Therapist (ergotherpeut) and held various positions over the years, but mostly in psychiatry. I followed a two year university course in management in the early 1990's and became a general manager (amongst other things) before moving here. And suddenly I was expected to give it all up! Quite a shock really, as I suppose one gets a lot of one's personal "role" defined by what one does for work, and that was abruptly taken away from me, and so far has not been returned. I find myself in an uncomfortable position which I am sure is one experienced by many foreigners living outside their own countries: despite the excellent qualifications I hold, no-one wants me, boo!hoo!!! I have learnt to resign myself to my fate, for the most part, but it means that I have to earn a living by utilising other skills; hence the scrapping! And I love it! It is only small and I have learnt a lot more about business from doing it - the pitfalls mostly! - but I have also met some great people and that is what keeps me going. I miss my work with people the most. I miss managing a team, bringing about change, inspiring people to excel in areas they never thought they could, I miss the buzz of seeing something come into being....yet with scrapping I can feel some of that again. So, come along and scrap with me!!! It is fun, gezellig, interesting, challenging, a great hobby and never DULL!!!!!!