Organize Your Craft Supplies

organize your craft supplies

Description : Lots of great ideas to help you Organize Your Craft Supplies. I love this idea of using a floss container to organize ribbons.

Craft Link : Organize Your Craft Supplies

Source : Everything Etsy

Read More : Good Reads or Home

10 Ways Crafting Reduces Stress

In today’s bustling world, taking the time for deliberate relaxation has become a modern day necessity. Between work, family life, and other responsibilities, the average person spends his day going from difficult situation to even more difficult situation. Crafting provides a great way to break out from this routine and de-stress for a little while.

Here are 10 reasons crafting is good for your mental health:

1. Crafting focuses our minds on a productive activity.

2. Crafting allows our stressful energy to be released through our hands in creative ways.

3. Crafting provides an outlet for creative problem solving, which creates the flexibility that is an essential element of stress reduction

4. Crafting, like any focused activity, creates a mild trance state which is highly conducive to relaxation and letting go of stress.

5. Crafting gives us time in our busy lives in which we can reconnect with ourselves.

6. Crafting is fun; and fun things reduce stress.

7. Crafting creates a time in which we are free from worries (about time, money, relationships, and the many other things we tend to worry about).

8. Crafting keeps us productive and when we’re productive we stress less.

9. Crafting is a great get-a-way without having to go anywhere.

10. Crafting is something we can do for ourselves (a self-care activity), and doing for ourselves (self-care activities) reduces stress.

So, the next time the stress becomes overwhelming, consider skipping the beer and chocolate, and reaching for the knitting instead!

Ben Klempner, LMSW, founder and editor of Effective Family Communication, is a trained social worker. Please visit his blog at: http://www.EffectiveFamilyCommunication.com

Read More : This And That or Home

A New Camera And A Quick Game

Ever since I left the US four years ago, I’ve been telling my old friends how beautiful my new home is. I just got a new camera two weeks ago, so I decided it’s finally time to prove it. Here is the view from my balcony at dusk and then, sunset.

How many of you can guess, just from the architecture, which country I now live in? (Looking for clues in previous posts is cheating!)

If the architecture isn’t enough of a clue, here are three more:

1. My current country is in Asia, but near the African border.

2. My current country is the most religiously significant country in the world.

3. My current country is constantly in the US news.

Please send me an email with your answers.

Read More : Uncategorized or Home

Make It Your Own

Several years ago, while on vacation, my teenage daughter purchased a needlepoint kit for me. I wasn’t crazy about it. The colors were too subtle, the design too chunky and the directions called for the kit to be worked in long stitch, which I dislike. However, because it was a gift from my daughter, I knew it would be completed.

Instead of throwing the kit out, I redesigned it. The light yellow and pink were exchanged for a rich gold and burgandy, the blocky design was adjusted in certain areas, and the stitch changed from long to single. Suddenly, the needlepoint kit, was lovely! And, just as important, the prepackaged canvas was now a unique, one-of-a-kind design.

This experience taught me an important lesson: kits and projects designed by other folks need only be starting points. The projects can easily be changed a bit here or there without sacrificing the finished product. Now, I almost always make changes to prepackaged craft kits and projects.

Here are a couple of tips for making your next project more deeply reflective of your own taste…

…Start with the colors. If you dislike a color of fabric, yarn or paper that is supposed to be used for a project, feel free to hit the craft store for something more to your taste.

…Work with the small things. You might not feel comfortable changing the sleeve pattern on a blouse, but you might feel fine about adding or subtracting a pocket.

…Make small changes to the technique. Add a fancy stitch to your cross-stitch or use a special piping tip for your cake decorating. Just be aware that these changes may require the purchase of additional supplies.

…Embellish, embellish, embellish. Feel free to fold an origami flower to use with your scrapbooking kit or add a unique center square to your quilting pattern.

Warning: Avoid making really big changes unless you know the technique well. For instance, don’t make any structural changes to a knitted sweater unless you really understand how the changes will effect the finished garment.

Read More : Design or Home

8 Ways To Find Inspiration

The desire to be creative is something all crafters have in common.

Very few of us, even when following project instructions, follow the design exactly. We like to add our own fabrics, our own embellishments, our own little touch. Something that makes the project our own.

But what happens when inspiration just won’t come? Eight ways of “forcing” inspiration are discussed in an article at Marc Makes Art.

Here is my favorite :

Other Artists. When I feel uninspired, I go to the library and sit on the floor with art books sprawled around me. I always like to choose some favorites, and a few that are unfamiliar. I keep a notebook of ideas that sometimes includes rough sketches of an idea, but always a line or two about a project I want to start. Sometimes, it isn’t the library, but the Internet where I look at inspiring artwork. Drawn!, Flickr, DeviantArt, PhotoJojo, a random Google search, The Wooster Collective, or even a place like Bighappyfunhouse….Always explore the unknown genres of art, music, whatever when finding yourself uninspired.

Head on over to read the rest of the article for seven more inspiring ideas.

Read More : Good Reads or Home

Styles Of Crafting

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about my style of crafting. I’ve recounted every project I’ve done over the last couple of years, and I’ve come to a realization….I’m a utility crafter.

What is a utility crafter?

It’s a crafter who crafts useful projects only. I don’t make decorative eyeglass cases, pretty little toe rings or lovely lingerie bags. Those projects are charming, but their not for me.

What I do make are fitted sheets, skirts, replacement board game boxes, greeting cards, gifts of food, and mini-notebooks. All things that are cheaper to make myself or can’t be easily located.

The only exception is scrapbooking. Scrapbooks don’t save me money and they aren’t really useful.

I’d love to expand my crafting horizons and make a couple of things just for the creative fun of it. Unfortunately, I never have time. Instead I’m busy crafting gift tags, making free, printable board games and sewing storage bags. Oh, well.

What is your crafting style? Please send me a comment and I’ll be happy to publish it.

Read More : This And That or Home

« go back