Making something by hand, while it’s a knitted cozy for your favorite coffee mug, a table you’ve built yourself or a hand-stamped card, creates a sense of satisfaction that buying something in a shop simply doesn’t. If you have caught the crafting bug or are curious about trying out a craft or DIY house job, the hardest part of all might be committing the opportunity to pursuing your idea. But in the midst of a busy life, the balance that engaging in a homemade, unplugged pursuit could bring is well worth it. At the end of the hour of creative time, you will probably feel mentally refreshed and revived … now that is something TV can not do for you!
Check out these tips for getting inspired, setting up your own space, picking a job, getting help and connecting with like-minded others.
Holly Marder
Locate your medium and become inspired. Before picking a job to work on, it can help to explore with an open mind. The entire world of crafts is the oyster! Dive into a great big heap of art, craft and design books and magazines, browse the DIY section, visit the library or a well-stocked bookstore, and see what grabs your eye. Did you learn a craft, such as knitting or sewing, and drop it? Pick it up again — or try something entirely different.
Here are a few ideas to Receive your creative juices flowing:
Sewing and fiber arts: knitting, crocheting, embroidery, needle felting, sewing, quiltingPaint, collage, mixed-media, newspaper craftsFurniture rehabDecorative paint techniquesWoodworking and construction
Ryan Nelson Photography
Set up your distance. As soon as you’ve zeroed in on a craft that you need to explore, carve out the area to do your own work. We have all drooled over those wonderful photos of dream studios and studios, but the reality is, you don’t need a huge space or fancy new furniture to get started. Work with the area you have available and pull from furnishings you already own. Making do is better for your creative soul anyway.
11 Tips to Get the Creative Space You Crave
Sarah Greenman
Choose a project. Now is your opportunity to choose what you’ll work on the first. Choose something that’s calling out to you — something that’s inspiring yet also looks achievable. If you are realistic about your ability level, you’ll have better outcomes. If you want to know about furniture rehabilitation, for instance, start by painting a small flea market cabinet and lining the doors with pretty cloth, maybe not reupholstering an armchair.
Holly Marder
Be patient with yourself … and take lots of breaks. Creative work could be fun, but crafting also has its moments of pure terror. Too strong a word? If you have ever been a couple hours into a crafting job and realized you have been doing it all wrong, you might not believe so. Be kind to yourself and expect things to not go smoothly 100 percent of the time.
Much of crafting work takes intense concentration, so remember to weave in regular breaks. Put on music you adore, sip a cup of tea, go for a stroll and come back to your job, refreshed and renewed.
CM Glover
Get Assist. When things go awry, it could be tempting to throw in the towel. But if you’ve been enjoying your creative time, there are still ways to salvage your job if you decide to. The perfect choice is to find a local craft studio — a place that offers classes and workshops is greatest, but many cloth, yarn and home improvement shops can be a great help, also. Call ahead and see if you can bring on your job to acquire help with a tricky part.
If there is not anything available locally, then it is time to jump online and find some digital assistance. There are various sites and online communities (Ravelry is your go-to help place for knitters) prepared and prepared to help a crafter in need. Additionally, there are plenty of free how-to videos on the market; a fast search should turn up a bunch.
Use what you’ve got. It’s shockingly easy to spend lots of money on craft and DIY job supplies. Rein in spending by searching your own house for supplies prior to hitting the shop — get creative and challenge yourself to come up with a project using just everything you’ve at hand.
By way of instance, in the dining area shown here, blogger Melissa de la Fuente utilized old botanical prints as DIY wallpaper and coated the inside of her vintage secretary with burlap.
Discuss your handiwork. When you complete a job, snap a few photos of your job. Publish them to your profile to discuss with the community. If you’ve got a site, you can discuss the photos and also a bit about your process in a blog article. However, even if you don’t have a site, sharing your job in an internet forum with like-minded crafters can be a real boost.
Ida Lifestyle
Predominate a crafting team. What is more fun than focusing with a knitting, crochet or DIY job on a rainy day? Doing it with a group of friends who share your passion. If you are beginning your own group, you are able to make the rules — think about whether you want to limit it to a single craft or maintain it open to all those members want to create. You can take turns leading the team in making a job workshop-style or render it free form.
However you structure the team, set some tasty snacks and beverages, and supply seating that’s appropriate for the type of craft you’ll be working on. Knitters can plop down anywhere, but other job work might require table space for spreading out materials. Plan ahead to have the right furniture and gear available.
Holly Marder
Keep a craft and DIY laptop. If you enjoy making items, it can be very helpful to keep tabs on everything you make, in addition to an inventory of what supplies you have on hand. Since your stash develops, it is going to get easier to buy more of the same materials you already have, simply because you forgot they were there. You might also use your laptop or ideabook to jot down ideas for future projects, and notes to refer to if you create the identical job another time.
Inform us Are you a crafter? Love to DIY? What brings you to making things by hand? Please share your ideas in the Comments.