Tuesday, February 15, 2011

How To Simplify Your Crafting

Last week I experienced something that anyone who's even a little crafty has experienced: the downward vortex of the Craft Gone Wrong.  You think you're getting into something terribly simple, and it ends up just being terrible.  A trip to the craft store is made, then a return trip to pick up something you forgot, then a third trip because you've gone and screwed everything up and have to start from scratch.  Ya feelin' me?

I'll be showing you the finished product of my Craft Gone Wrong real soon, but this one got me thinking--how can I simplify my crafting?  It's so easy to get caught up--nay, obsessed--at least for me.  But I do have a few suggestions for simplifying and maybe you can offer some too!

Use what you have.  I made this owl for Littlest for Christmas, using only fabric I had on hand, which is just so fulfilling compared to running out to the fabric store and throwing money at them.

Orange ears: cashmere sweater that got holes in it.  Denim: kids' jeans with holey knees.
Yellow eyes and back: leftover flannel from sewing a sleepsack back in the day.  Brown tummy:
microfiber left over from some pillows I made.  Prints: old cotton T-shirts of mine.

If at first you don't succeed, try again--once.  Only once.  If it's not working, just stop and wait until you get a simpler solution in one of those strokes of genius that can happen only after all the supplies have been put away.

Do what you know (and love).  I love the cake decorating aisle at the craft store.  All that fondant, all that sugar, all those adorable little toppers.  But I refuse.  Flat out refuse to get into cake decorating.  It would be a whole new world of tools and supplies and learning curves, and for now I am just not going there.  Stop tempting me, Cricut Cake machine!

Make a list, then forget it.  I have been driving myself crrrrazy lately with the ongoing list in my head.  As in, every time I walk into a room I think of 24 gazillion projects I want to get to in that room.  So the other night I made a list.  It had some realistic goals and some pie-in-the-sky projects...the only question was, "Do I think about this project on anything like a regular basis?"  My project list was 5 and 1/2 pages long and covered every room in my house, the garage, the exterior and our closets.  Woah.  I'm even crazier than I thought.  But since I wrote the list, I haven't been nearly as tormented...the list is on paper so it doesn't need to be in my head.  Try it--it's really a relief.

That's it!  A few suggestions to get you started on making your crafting simpler.  If you have a suggestion, I would love to hear it!

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