Hi my friends! Today, I’m talking about how my crafting has changed and why. This might be a long one so grab your coffee, your tea and sit back while you read! I hope you’ll enjoy it and comment if you like!
My crafting has changed more than once over the years, and I have a feeling it will probably change again. That's one of the things I've learned about having a creative life for a long time. The things we love don't necessarily disappear, but the way we make room for them can change.
One of the biggest changes in my own crafting journey was moving away from cardmaking as my primary craft and spending more of my creative time with fiber and fabric arts.
Let me say this first: I LOVE cardmaking. Nothing will ever change that!
I love taking a piece of paper and turning it into something artistic, cutesy, elegant, funny, or encouraging and then giving it to someone. I especially love when a recipient tells me they placed one of my cards on their desk so they can look at it every day. That makes me smile from ear to ear because I know how much thought went into making it.
But eventually I ran into a problem that was very personal to me:
I couldn't keep up financially or emotionally.
Too many decisions can sometimes cloud my mind to the point where I have trouble making any decision at all. At the same time, paper crafting companies were releasing beautiful new kits, tools, stamps, dies, papers, inks, and other products month after month. I reached a point where my wallet simply couldn't sustain the purchases, so I unsubscribed from my monthly kits and decided to concentrate on the supplies I already owned.
That created another challenge for the kind of cardmaking content I had been accustomed to sharing. Many of the products in my stash have been discontinued. If I shared a card and linked to the products, those links might no longer work or the item might never be restocked.
I've been on the other side of that experience myself - seeing something I really liked, clicking the link, and discovering I couldn't buy it anymore. It can be disappointing. I also chose not to pursue design-team work. That was simply a personal choice based on the way I create. My cards often combine products from several different companies. My brain may see pattern paper from one company, ink from another, a sentiment from a third, and a die from somewhere else and decide they all belong together. I enjoy that freedom, and I didn't want to change the way I naturally create to use mostly products from a single company.
Then there was the practical problem: I had made a LOT of cards.
We're talking thousands of cards stored in shoeboxes over the years. I donate cards when I can, but mailing hundreds of cards costs money, and there aren't many places near me where I can donate large quantities locally.
I revisited my first crafty love: crochet. Using a foam grip on my crochet hooks allowed me to crochet again more comfortably, and I fell in love with yarn all over again.
I love taking a piece of paper and turning it into something artistic, cutesy, elegant, funny, or encouraging and then giving it to someone. I especially love when a recipient tells me they placed one of my cards on their desk so they can look at it every day. That makes me smile from ear to ear because I know how much thought went into making it.
In fact, the image above is a 3-panel (back and front) storybook card I made for Valentine's Day a year ago using beautiful vintage pattern papers that flow so beautifully together. I enjoyed making this card!
There are so many decisions involved in one little card. What should the sentiment say? What colors should I use? Do I want pattern paper or should I stencil my own background? Should I stamp images or use die cuts? Do I want dimension or a simple one-layer card?
Gems, pearls, sequins, ribbon? Maybe a shaker card, a fun fold, a gatefold, or even a storybook-style card? Exploring all those choices can be so much fun, and there are an incredible number of tools and supplies available to paper crafters.
There are so many decisions involved in one little card. What should the sentiment say? What colors should I use? Do I want pattern paper or should I stencil my own background? Should I stamp images or use die cuts? Do I want dimension or a simple one-layer card?
Gems, pearls, sequins, ribbon? Maybe a shaker card, a fun fold, a gatefold, or even a storybook-style card? Exploring all those choices can be so much fun, and there are an incredible number of tools and supplies available to paper crafters.
 |
| photo by unsplash.com |
But eventually I ran into a problem that was very personal to me:
I couldn't keep up financially or emotionally.
Too many decisions can sometimes cloud my mind to the point where I have trouble making any decision at all. At the same time, paper crafting companies were releasing beautiful new kits, tools, stamps, dies, papers, inks, and other products month after month. I reached a point where my wallet simply couldn't sustain the purchases, so I unsubscribed from my monthly kits and decided to concentrate on the supplies I already owned.
That created another challenge for the kind of cardmaking content I had been accustomed to sharing. Many of the products in my stash have been discontinued. If I shared a card and linked to the products, those links might no longer work or the item might never be restocked.
I've been on the other side of that experience myself - seeing something I really liked, clicking the link, and discovering I couldn't buy it anymore. It can be disappointing. I also chose not to pursue design-team work. That was simply a personal choice based on the way I create. My cards often combine products from several different companies. My brain may see pattern paper from one company, ink from another, a sentiment from a third, and a die from somewhere else and decide they all belong together. I enjoy that freedom, and I didn't want to change the way I naturally create to use mostly products from a single company.
Then there was the practical problem: I had made a LOT of cards.
We're talking thousands of cards stored in shoeboxes over the years. I donate cards when I can, but mailing hundreds of cards costs money, and there aren't many places near me where I can donate large quantities locally.
Our household budget is tight, so I don't have a regular shipping budget for sending boxes of cards. My circle of friends and relatives is small, so there's really no need to keep that many cards in my stash.
Eventually I had to make a hard decision about what to keep. I saved cards with designs I really loved and the occasions I knew I'd use most - birthdays, Christmas, friendship, encouragement, and similar cards. The rest...well, that's a sad little story. I eventually had to let many of them go. But I didn't want to stop creating.
I'm a creator. Making things with my hands is part of my life. So instead of giving up crafting altogether, I needed to pivot.
Eventually I had to make a hard decision about what to keep. I saved cards with designs I really loved and the occasions I knew I'd use most - birthdays, Christmas, friendship, encouragement, and similar cards. The rest...well, that's a sad little story. I eventually had to let many of them go. But I didn't want to stop creating.
I'm a creator. Making things with my hands is part of my life. So instead of giving up crafting altogether, I needed to pivot.
 |
| photo purchased from canstockphoto.com |
I revisited my first crafty love: crochet. Using a foam grip on my crochet hooks allowed me to crochet again more comfortably, and I fell in love with yarn all over again.
Sewing joined the mix too. Fabric was easier for me to obtain in a way that fit my budget, and although I did invest in a sewing machine, let me tell you - it was NOT an expensive machine! LOL! I bought the machine I could afford at the time. It's more of a beginner machine, but it has served me well, and I've made plenty of things with it.
So where did that leave cardmaking?
It didn't leave my life at all. It simply became more intentional.
These days, I shop for cards in our eBay room (our walk-in closet)! LOL! I keep many of the cards I saved in a couple of bins, organized by occasion, with a few more in shoeboxes.
So where did that leave cardmaking?
It didn't leave my life at all. It simply became more intentional.
These days, I shop for cards in our eBay room (our walk-in closet)! LOL! I keep many of the cards I saved in a couple of bins, organized by occasion, with a few more in shoeboxes.
When I need a card, I check what I already have. If I don't have the right one for the occasion, that's when I make a new card. And sometimes inspiration hits and I pull out my paper supplies simply because I feel like making one.
For the most part, though, cardmaking has become an intentional hobby for me. It usually serves a purpose now rather than being something I mass produce.
For the most part, though, cardmaking has become an intentional hobby for me. It usually serves a purpose now rather than being something I mass produce.
Maybe some part of my story resonates with you. Rising costs have made many of us look more carefully at our budgets, including our craft budgets.
Craft companies are businesses too, and new designs, products, and kits are part of how they inspire customers and keep their businesses going. At the same time, crafters have to make decisions that work for their own households. Both things can be true.
So if you need to shop your stash and use products that are no longer in stock, I say, "Use them"!, and share your creations! Just because something is old or discontinued doesn't mean it has no purpose left.
If you can comfortably continue purchasing monthly kits and they bring you joy, that's wonderful too. If you need to be more selective, maybe choose the companies and products you love most and let the rest simply inspire you from a distance.
There isn't one correct way to be a crafter.
Our crafty journeys change for all kinds of reasons. Budgets change. Bodies change. Homes change. Interests change. Available time changes. Sometimes the craft we once did becomes something we do occasionally, and another creative love moves to the front.
And that's okay.
I use the hashtag #createeveryday often in my social media posts because I truly believe in it. To me, that doesn't mean we have to finish an entire project every single day. That's not always realistic.
So if you need to shop your stash and use products that are no longer in stock, I say, "Use them"!, and share your creations! Just because something is old or discontinued doesn't mean it has no purpose left.
If you can comfortably continue purchasing monthly kits and they bring you joy, that's wonderful too. If you need to be more selective, maybe choose the companies and products you love most and let the rest simply inspire you from a distance.
There isn't one correct way to be a crafter.
Our crafty journeys change for all kinds of reasons. Budgets change. Bodies change. Homes change. Interests change. Available time changes. Sometimes the craft we once did becomes something we do occasionally, and another creative love moves to the front.
And that's okay.
I use the hashtag #createeveryday often in my social media posts because I truly believe in it. To me, that doesn't mean we have to finish an entire project every single day. That's not always realistic.
Maybe we start something. Maybe we add a few rows of crochet or knit, sew one section, choose fabric, color an image, make card bases or spend a little time working on something already in progress.
The point isn't constant production. The point is to keep creating. My crafting has changed, but creativity is still here. And as long as my hands and imagination are finding ways to make something, I'm happy to let the journey keep changing with me.
Thanks for reading!😍
The point isn't constant production. The point is to keep creating. My crafting has changed, but creativity is still here. And as long as my hands and imagination are finding ways to make something, I'm happy to let the journey keep changing with me.
Thanks for reading!😍
