Waxing Poetic on Day 365

If you are familiar with my personal blog, Cath, etc., you know that waxing poetic is one of my favorite things.

I don't do it much here in the Moxie Fab World, because that's not at all what this blog is all about. But today, on the eve of the Moxie Fab World's blogiversary, I hope you won't mind indulging me, especially considering the fact that there's not one single photo--a first here in the Moxie Fab World! But I digress.

As you know, a year ago tomorrow, the Moxie Fab World will celebrate its first birthday. For a long time, though, it was just an idea. Since my Moxie Fabs column was launched in the February issue of that same year, I had been thinking about how fun it would be to create a blog called the Moxie Fab World that would be an extension of that column. After all, there is so much inspiration in the world, and I wanted the chance to tap into that more.

For a while, the Moxie Fab World blog concept just waited around in my brain, fluttering about the rafters every now and then, but making itself known that it was an idea that pretty much could not be ignored.

It flitted and fluttered, ploofed and pluttered when finally the time just seemed right. Before I knew it we were sitting in meetings planning and strategizing, I was writing proposals and editorial guidelines, a broader concept was emerging, a design was evolving, a template was being created, and poof! I hit the "publish" button and the first official blog post went live.

My life has not been quite the same ever since. In fact, it has been more fun than I ever could have imagined.

Because you see, ever since I first started at Paper Crafts I have been a product lady-of-the-evening. At my first CHA, I got so excited about the new products that I was seeing that I could hardly contain myself. My eyes would light up like stars in the night sky, my face would flush with excitement, and my pulse would race as I bounced from booth to booth. My teammates thought me quite strange as I oohed and aahed and pointed and exclaimed and interrupted as I spewed ideas for how to work the shiny bright new goodies I was drooling over into the features and columns for the magazine.

It is the same for each CHA that I attend. When I step onto the showroom floor, I can't wait for that quickening, the knowledge that inspiration is just waiting to be discovered around every corner of every booth.

And now, for me, that's what each day in the Moxie Fab World is all about. I wake up each morning more excited than you might believe about bringing that kind of tingly inspiration to each of you. The features that have evolved are a direct result of my desire to try to bring you that quickening, that knowledge that there is something inspiring around every little corner of the Moxie Fab World.

And while I get what some might call some pretty ridiculous kicks out of browsing Etsy for a trend I'm following, or writing a little poem to go with the images I'm presenting, or coming up with an inspiring challenge for you to try out, or writing with gleeful joy to describe how I feel about a trendy product in each Moxie Monday, what I love most about this Moxie Fab World is getting to know all of you.

I hope you feel welcome here. I hope you feel inspired--and perhaps more importantly, empowered--to try something here that you've never tried before. I hope you come to this blog each day with an expectation that you will find joy, and that you leave wanting to create or try or find or discover or realize that you have a smile on your face that wasn't there before.

For, as I mentioned in my inaugural post nearly one year ago, the Moxie Fab World is a place where we can all get to know one another a little better. It’s a place where we can enjoy a stout cup of coffee, a warm spot of tea, or a sweet sip of cocoa and gather around our computers on our own time and on our own terms. It’s a place where we will share ideas, explore the trendy possibilities, and uncover the magical opportunities we have to connect with one another in this most heartfelt of hobbies, paper crafting.

I hope that, one year later, this is that place for you. I hope that you have made friends here, that you feel part of a community, and that you feel more connected to your fellow paper crafters than you did on November 11, 2008.

And while I wish there were more hours in the day for me to respond to more of your comments, please know how much you mean to me. That you would spend part of your day with me here in the Moxie Fab World is an honor in and of itself. That you would take the time to leave a heartfelt or funny or profound or silly comment--whether there's a prize involved or not--goes beyond my wildest dreams. That you are my friend is something that I treasure more than I could ever express.

I feel so blessed.

So from my heart to yours, thank you for being a part of the Moxie Fab World. Thank you for your participation, your contribution, your support, your kindness, your encouragement, your can-do attitude, your creativity, and for your friendship.

Most of all, I want to thank you for being so inspiring to me.

Breaking out the tissues (no seriously, I really am crying here--but then, that's what I do),

~Cath