Getting Crafty

Have you had time to think about your crafting goals? If not, and if you would like some ideas of goals you could make for yourself, here you go:

Make presents
Perhaps your goal this year could be to make presents rather than buy them for your loved ones and friends. This past holiday season, a “buy handmade” campaign was promoted and with popularity of etsy, buying homemade gifts, even if you can’t make them yourself, was encouraged. A reasonable starting goal would be to make one gift every few months, or a total of four gifts that take a substantial amount of time. If you do find you have extra time, work on making quick projects that can be stocking stuffers for this Christmas, or small add-on gifts. Summer has some great ideas for quick crafts, especially gifts with a Christmas theme.

Explore a new craft technique or art form
If you’re looking to try something new, why not pick up a book on a type of craft you’re unfamiliar with, or sign up for a workshop to learn a new technique? From embossing techniques to digital scrapbooking to jewelry-making, there is a lot out there that might have grabbed your interest or your awe. Take the time to learn how to make your own awe-inspiring creations!

Go into business
As mentioned, etsy’s popularity has allowed anyone with a passion for crafting and for sharing their high quality work to sell it for profit. The site is quite helpful in getting you set up, as are others who are already using it. Before you contemplate selling your photography or sculptures online, you may want to do some research into some of the site’s policies and the associated fees and ask questions to make sure you don’t end up spending more than you expected. You may become very popular very quickly so you may want to make sure you have a few things on hand so you’re not sold out before you begin!

Join craft forums
If you’re looking for a way to meet crafty people who are passionate about their work, or if you would like to get some constructive criticism on your work, join a crafting forum. One that comes to mind is Craftster. On this forum you can post your work and get comments and/or compliments on it. You can also share patterns and ideas and meet like-minded people, online or offline. Another great resource is a group on Ning for independent designers and crafters called Indiepublic.

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There are lots more crafting goals that you can make, or that you might already have made. Please feel free to share in the comments what your crafting goals are.