One of the things I stumble on a lot when scrolling thru social media is new crafts or new craft types. I love seeing the creativity of others and what they come up with. Even if it’s just a new crochet stitch, new paper crafts that I’ve never seen, miniature builds from scratch using wood and saws and sandpaper to junk journals and more. I love all of it and get so inspired by most of it that I want to make and do all of them. This often leads to a sort of crafting ADD but I still love it. Here’s my process in how I learn and try a new craft.
What makes you interested in a new craft?
For me, it’s usually because I see something new in my Pinterest or Instagram feed that I find cool or pretty and i’m curious as to how it’s made. Fortunately, the post usually contains a short video on how to make that item but that doesn’t mean I don’t deep dive immediately into all of the aspects of the craft. We’re talking materials, tools, equipment.. All the things.
Where do you find the materials for the crafts?
It usually depends on the craft. I have a respectable supply of crafts already and anything else I might need usually comes from Hobby Lobby, Amazon or Temu. All of these depend on how long I want to wait for the items and how much I want to spend to try out this new type of project. If you have other places you recommend, please let me know in the comments!
How do you learn the right techniques?
Well this one is a bit trickier. There are usually dozens, if not hundreds of videos available on YouTube that provide great instructions how to do certain steps to how to complete a whole project. I usually consume a lot of these. I also read other blog posts with step-by-step photos so I can see what it’s supposed to look like.
I have the materials and tools and I think I know what I’m doing..
This is the actually the hardest step for me. I have a tendency to be a perfectionist with most things that I’m doing. I can step back and realize that it probably won’t be perfect the first time, in my head. The reality is that i’m so excited to start this new project that I want (and expect) my novice abilities to be able to turn out a perfect craft project the first time. There are times where I will start over and times when I pause work on it all together until I realize that I need to find some more tutorials for certain techniques. It doesn’t help that I usually try to start on a difficulty level that experience or expert level at least. In short, I bite off more than I can chew.
And what happens when you realize you don’t know how to do the project or the techniques you need to make it look the way you want?
Well, here is another situation where: it depends. In the past, I have been known to give up. My thought is “oh you don’t know what you’re doing and it looks awful. Clearly this craft is not meant for you” and I set it aside, usually never to be touched again. This was leading to a lot of annoyance with myself because I felt like I was smart enough to figure it out. While that may be true, my own personal perfectionist demons where insisting that I should just give up because if I can’t do it perfectly, then why do it at all?
Do you still do that?
Sometimes, yes. I have put a lot of work and thought process into how I approach projects now. Rather than letting a perceived failure be a roadblock, I have actively worked to view it as a learning experience. Even this is not perfect (ironically). But as with most things in life, it is a work in progress.
How do you choose a new craft project? Do you get inspiration from social media? Do you have a list of crafts that you are working thru? Do you see materials in a craft store and take inspiration from that?