Getting Crafty

If finding time to craft is a problem, there are some small things you can in ten, fifteen or more minutes of free time. You’ll be surprised by how smoothly your craft time goes when you finally sit down to do it. But the best part about these ideas: you don’t need to set aside a several hours to do it!

Without further ado, why not:

• crop pictures in preparation for a scrapbook page
• do some quick journalling to accompany pictures
• untangle a skein or ball of yarn (this will take longer than 15 minutes unless you have lightning quick fingers!)
• organize your knitting needles and crochet hooks
• create bobbin spools of thread
• cut pages from magazines for collages
• group pictures needed for each page together, then group all pictures in order of how you will use them

How do you maximize the shorter time periods you may have?

I can’t stop buying paper. I have thousands of sheets of solid and patterned paper and this weekend I added some more paper to the collection:

I see this making a very lovely set of magnets.

I love how light blue and light green look together. The shades of this set really would be great for thank you cards, which is fortunate because with all the cards I have to make, all I need is time to actually use this paper. Next week I’m on vacation so that is when some serious crafting will be taking place!

Even if you have a large room for all your crafty supplies, complete with a mammoth table, you might find yourself getting cluttered. Crafting can be a messy hobby, so why not take the time to clean up your workspace? Here are some ways to declutter and tidy your craft space:

Get rid of non-craft stuff
Simple enough, right? Right! If your craft room or corner or desk is holding mail, toys, appliances, anything that isn’t meant to be used in a craft, banish them from your craft area!

Packaging
So many craft related gadgets and materials come overpackaged-they’re wrapped in plastic and cardboard, or put in styrofoam or other material for protection. Once you have liberated the item from its packaging, toss the packaging! Chances are you can come up with a more permanent housing for the item that will require less packaging.

Be generous and give, give, give!
Many crafters (I refuse to believe I’m alone in this!) find something on sale and buy, buy, buy with the intention of giving it away. Chances are, somewhere along the way you end up storing it in your crafting area, even though you know you aren’t going to use it. Well it’s time to do a little digging and get these items out in the open, then out of your house. Mail them to the recipient(s) if driving it over isn’t feasible.

Recycle vigilantly
So often I cut some paper and save every little scrap that I’m not using for the day when it will come in handy for some other project. Of course, the next time I need a little scrap, I end up cutting it from a new sheet because I’ve forgotten about my previously saved piece of scrap paper. How can I avoid this? By recycling regularly! If a cut sheet of paper isn’t used within a reasonable timeline for you, recycle it! Scraps add up; this is a way of keeping them under control. Don’t limit recycling to paper alone-if there is anything else you tend to hoard but never end up using, get rid of it!

Make stuff and give them away
This is related to the third point: instead of giving away extras you buy, why not use all your materials to make gifts? You can challenge to give only homemade gifts in an effort to slim down your stash. Instead of sending someone an extra kit you bought, they might appreciate receiving what the kit can make instead!

How do you declutter your workspace?

declutter, messy crafts, tidy your craft space, clean your workspace

Remember this post?

A coworker who I credit with introducing me to the world of hooping found me on the front page of Hooping.org, the online magazine for all things hooping! It’s a bit unnerving to have a sweaty-faced picture of your “I can’t hoop more than six revolutions” self on such a site but it was an unexpected surprise.

If you want to make your own hoop, check out Jason Unbound for instructions. I’m still trying to find a place that will sell me less than 100 feet of tubing! If you’d rather buy a readymade hoop and decorate it yourself, and you live in the Ottawa, Ontario, Canada area, check out this limited time offer.

I’ll leave you with a picture of a junior hooper to be (note: hoop is not handmade). If she starts at this age she’ll be doing tricks in no time!

hooping, hooping.org, getting fit with hooping, hula hoops

This is a use of a ribbon I hope I won’t have to use again.

Five years ago, a family friend was killed, and during the time leading to his funeral, ribbons in the colours of his home country, Nigeria, were made and each mourner was presented with one to wear on their lapel. Unfortunately the time to don the ribbon has arrived again.

If you are mourning, you may find it comforting to wear a ribbon in colours that were dear to the heart of the deceased, or colours you associate with them. This ribbon is simple enough to make: cut 4-5 inches of ribbon in the colour(s) you require. Make a loop with the ribbon(s) so that both ends of the ribbon(s) meet in the middle. Hold loop in place with a dressmaker’s pin.

I have asked my artistic friends with drawing ability to help create a caricature of me.

I don’t want anything too detailed or too caricature-y actually; what I really want is a cartoon that shares some superficial qualities with me:

• brown skin
• glasses
• large mouth (I’m undecided whether I want my cartoon me to have a gap between her front teeth like I do)
• plus size
• an affinity for sugar

I’ve wanted a cartoon me for ages, and I finally asked three friends to help me realize this dream. While I want something that is different and somewhat unique, for inspiration, I’ve asked them to check out the following sites:

Derek Yaniger, who drew the art on tenth-muse’s site.

Catraggedy - the cartoon woman is stock photography and I think she’s adorable.

Kerflop’s cartoon self in the header is quite cute too!

I can’t wait to see what my friends will come up with!

I’m so behind on my crafting, especially my marble magnet making.

I have three sets to make and so far I have only started one set:

I love the bright colours in this set though and I hope the recipient will too.

I found this card which will make very cute floral magnets:

Here’s hoping the weekend will bring more in the way of magnet making!

It may seem crazy to be thinking about Christmas in July but as any crafter who makes gifts for holidays knows, the preparation for Christmas is best begun earlier in the year. This way, if you stumble upon a fantastic idea for gifts in November or December, you can start planning for next year (either that or give people more gifts than you originally planned to!).

Here are some ideas of things you make now to prepare for Christmas:

• gift tags
• gift bags
• christmas cards and envelopes
• wrapping paper
• ornaments

If, like me, Christmas makes you think of the less fortunate, why not get out your knitting needles or crochet hook and make some warm clothing for somebody who may be spending Christmas in a shelter? Faster and equally useful gifts include hats, mittens, and gloves.

By the time you get through this list December might be right around the corner!

What do you make ahead of time in preparation for Christmas?

Christmas gifts, handmade gifts, gift tags, gift wrap, Christmas

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If you work in the craft industry and would like to share the challenges or your general experience, I would love to interview you. You can provide a tutorial, talk about your journey, or give a commentary on your industry in general.

Some questions that you might want to answer include:

Did you notice a difference when you went from crafting for fun/yourself to crafting for money?
What are the biggest challenges of working in the crafting industry?
How do you find inspiration?
What tools can you not live without?

If you are interested, or know somebody that is, please leave a comment!

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Are you looking for a craft that can be used to keep fit? Allow me to introduce you to hooping!

Hooping is a sport that adults everywhere are taking up. I look at it as the new bellydancing. It’s like the hula hooping of your youth, stepped up quite a few notches: you use an adult size hoop (that reaches anywhere from your chest to your belly button, and the hoops are heavier than the ones sold for children; they are generally made of pvc.

After some pleading, my coworker made me my own hoop using pvc tubing, some bungee cord and connectors. It is collapsible:

You can make non-collapsible hoops too–they are a bit harder to transport but they can be slung across your body just fine:

The timing of this craft idea couldn’t be better: World Hoop Day was last Sunday and you now have nearly an entire year to make some hoops and perfect your skills before July 7 rolls around (get it?) again (assuming this is an annual celebration).

If you would like to make your own hoop, there is only one site to consult: Jason Unbound. His site has easy to follow instructions and the tutorial is illustrated too!

Make some hoops for the whole family, learn some tricks and stay fit! The only difficulty, depending where you live, will be finding the materials you need!

Happy hoop making and hooping!

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Do you ever feel like your creativity is stifled or stalled? That all you do is copy and not actually create?

I hear you.

We’re lucky to have a plethora of tutorials, available online and in numerous books, that show us how to make any number of things, including things that we wouldn’t even think of making had we not seen it on a website or in a book first. I thoroughly enjoy tutorials, and appreciate the beauty that people create, but I tire of always being the follower and not the creator.

It seems like everything has been done before, that there is nothing new to develop, invent or create.

When you feel like I do, there is an easy easy solution. After taking a deep breath, screaming in frustration, or tossing something against a wall, go out for a walk. Look around you, tramp through the snow or rain, bask in the sunshine, enjoy a sunset. The sun rises and sets every day but no sunset is quite the same. You may see some of the same colours but each one is unique. No two snowflakes are the same. And think of the different sorts of rainfalls we can have, even though they all consist of the same thing: water falling. Let that be a metaphor for creativity: just because you imitate something that someone else has done first doesn’t mean that you are not creative. You may make the same thing depicted in a tutorial, but since it was made by you, it’s unique. You may discover upon completion of a project that rather than using it for the “intended” use, you have devised a different use that best reflects your life and your reality.

No matter what you decide to do when you’re feeling uncreative, don’t stop creating! The process of mimicing something may be just what is needed to get your mind thinking in new and unique ways.

creativity, stifled creativity, how to inspire yourself, how to create, create

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Ah, ribbon.

Fat or skinny, shiny or matte, rough, made of sheer chiffon, organza, tulle, paper or silk, ribbon is great stuff. It generally gives things a dainty, fancy or “dressed up” appearance–tie a ribbon around anything and it gives it a special air.

I like to tie up gifts wrapped with ordinary wrapping paper with cloth ribbon, or continue a rustic theme by tying a gift wrapped in plain brown paper with paper ribbon. Another nice use of ribbon is to sew up cute fabric bags, and use ribbon to tie them up.

Or, dress up a handmade card by punching holes in cardstock and weaving ribbon through it.

Another neat idea I saw in a Christmas craft magazine was sewing several long strips of wide ribbon across the middle to create a quck and easy table runner.

What interesting ways do you or have you used ribbon lately?

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At last, I’m finally posting the tutorial for how you can make your own very basic scoubi keyring.

I apologize in advance if the pictures aren’t helpful. Hopefully the words will help explain any tricky bits.

Without any further delay, here we go:

Obtain a keyring and two 3-4 feet lengths of scoubi lacing (or gimp). Contrasting colours look quite nice.

Tie one of the lacings around the keyring (here I have tied the red one) and slip the other piece of lacing through, allowing an equal amount of lacing on each side.

Selecting one colour (here I chose red again), making two loops going in opposite directions (one looped toward you, and one away from you) and hold the loops in place with your finger.

Using the end of the second colour on the left hand side, weave this end over the loop to its right, and under the loop furthest away.

Using the end of the second colour on the right hand side, weave this end over the first loop to its left, and under the loop furthest away.

Pull all four ends tight. I usually grab two ends, each of a different colour, and pull, then pull each individually.

Repeat.

And repeat.

When the desired length is reached, make a double knot with each colour. The result is your very own keychain!

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A coworker of mine has some extra time, and I have suggested that she take up crafting. Her problem with indulging in crafting is she must have a place for her craft–she cannot make a craft without knowing exactly who it’s for, or where it will go. While she doesn’t anticipate having any trouble giving away the first few crafts, she worries about being the lady who makes handmade gifts and things for every event, the lady that everyone gets sick of because they’d like to receive a gift that was bought in a store, just for once.

To that end, I’ve suggested she take up scrapbooking–by using her own pictures and scrapping the main events in her life, she gets to use something she already has and turn it into something that she may enjoy even more.

What other crafts would you suggest she consider?

I know I promised you a tutorial but camera issues (the issue being I don’t have enough hands to both demonstrate and photograph the demonstration) have prevented me from posting it.

Never fear, it will be posted by the end of the week!

In the meantime, check out some of the neat things you can make with scoubis:

Alphabet keyrings
Funny faces
Key chains, zipper pulls, necklaces and more (I also discovered that this plastic lacing is called boondoggle too!)