One of the most difficult things about starting a new hobby is learning the basics: understanding the materials you’re working with, learning how to use the tools, which tools are the best ones, and learning the techniques to make your project come out how you want it.
One of my other hobbies, crocheting, gave me a lot of humbling moments. I tried so many times to figure out how to make single stitch rows with straight edges. This basic technique was so troublesome to me for so long that I gave up on crocheting numerous times. It wasn’t until much later that I realized that counting my stitches was crucial to making uniform pieces. After I mastered that, I noticed that my stich work was uneven. Some stitches were tight while others were loose. But I was determined to make the stitches look uniform and so I kept at it. I created and frogged so many patches and sample squares.
It took me quite a while of consistent, albeit limited, practice of learning stitch types and how to join rows and which size hooks give me the right stitch size to get to the point where I can create amigurumi that comes out looking how I want it to.
The same process of determination is universal across all hobbies and activities. Some people are savants and can look at a craft material and just understand it. I am not one of those people. I don’t think most people are like that, despite how social media makes us feel.
For me, I have been slowly learning the techniques and tools needed to achieve that level of “perfect” in making miniature houses. It took me a while to figure that out a simple thing like tweezers can make all the difference in the world. Once I started working with those, the art of making those miniscule paper pieces became so much easier.
Next was the discovery of precision scissors to cut the materials. This was a true revelation of genius.
The absolute best tool I stumbled across though is the precision glue bottles.
The mere fact that I was able to apply glue in places without it getting all over my hands was a life saver. I hated the fact that the glue was always getting on my fingers and making them gooey and sticky only to have it dry and have to peel off my hands later.
My latest crafting find though has been something super neat: I found these pink crafting clamps at the dollar store of all places! They have been so handy when needing to hold something together until it dries. I can use the clamp on it and then I can move on to other parts of the project. These have been so incredibly helpful and I highly recommend them.
What techniques have you spent time learning to get better at your crafting? Are there any tools that you have found to be a MUST HAVE when working on miniatures or paper crafts?