CRAFT YOU.

SEEK YOUR CREATIVE SPACE WITH TENCRAFTYFINGERS

Love Me Do February 14, 2010

Filed under: Altered Projects,Scrapbooking — tencraftyfingers @ 4:06 PM
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It’s Valentine’s Day 2010.  Have you told yourself that you love YOU?  I hope so.  (Insert cheesy stuff here.) 

My gift to myself was an acrylic mini album about me.  It covers a few of my accomplishments and some of the places I’ve traveled.  Although I’m dedicating it to my son, I really wanted a way to remember who I was before he got here.  I’m still the same person at my core, of course.  But having a baby does change you.  It has to. 

I hope that my son loves that his mom did a lot of things before he met her.  Even more, I hope that he loves that she doesn’t want to forget. 

Here are some photos of the album.  As much as I tried to capture the details, it is much better live.  Click HERE. 

X and O. 

"Before You" Cover

 

 

Gettin’ It Done February 8, 2010

Filed under: Altered Projects,Tips, Tricks and Techniques — tencraftyfingers @ 1:55 PM
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It’s still relatively early in 2010 and while I don’t usually make resolutions, I’ve decided to try to get a handle on accomplishing those things that are always on my to-do list. 

While I would love to say that list encompasses things like my daily workout and finally cleaning out all the closets, it actually has fun stuff on it like working on my mini album and blog hopping. 

Sometimes life gets in the way and just like us folks that are trying to dig out from this recent blizzard, you can’t always always know what to expect.  But, you do have to find your way back on track and forgive yourself if you go off course sometimes.  We’re human.  It happens.

To help keep myself on track, I’ve organized my tasks into a schedule of sorts:  Mondays, I usually check in with the blogs I read (although I check back in throughout the week).  On Tuesdays, I tackle a one time goal like finally creating an inventory of all my Stampin’ Up! stamps.  I’ve dedicated Friday nights to working on my son’s scrapbook, which you’ve been reading a lot about lately.  And so on and so forth…

If I happen to miss a day’s work, I don’t stress it too much.  I just attempt to complete the day’s “assignment” and continue working on my goals.  It helps me to not feel overwhelmed, but more than that, I don’t feel like I’m neglecting any of my projects. 

Pictured above:  my Master List Keeper, as I’m calling it.  I’m a person that likes to keep different lists together.  So, the left side note pad (second photo) I would use for my grocery shopping, while the one on the bottom right might be used to give a quick reminder to someone else.  The top right one would be one for myself, or a place to jot down some project inspiration I’ve come across and don’t want to forget. 

The great thing is that you can adapt this idea to fit your needs.  Say you prefer two sets of “grocery-style” notepads or you want every type of post-it pad known to man at your fingertips. Done!

I’ll be uploading a video to my YouTube channel soon and I’ll give you some tips on how to change it up to better meet you needs.  Stay tuned!

 

Baby, It’s Cold Outside December 20, 2009

Filed under: Altered Projects — tencraftyfingers @ 11:40 PM
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One of the all time greatest holiday tunes, in my opinion.  That’s the fantastic thing about handmade gifts:  not only are they cheaper than what you could purchase at the store, you don’t have worry about venturing out in the cold to have a very thoughtful present for someone.  Of course, they are not for everyone, so you definitely have to know your audience. 

But I think the real reason why people don’t always attempt to create something by hand is that they are intimidated.  Or, they think that it could never be good enough.  Or, that whatever they bought would look a thousand times better than anything that they could make.  While I can understand these arguments, there is only one single reason why handmade is better.  Because it is unique, authentic, and one-of-a-kind . . . just like you.  Watch how easy it is.

Click here.

 

Thankful Thus November 29, 2009

Filed under: Altered Projects — tencraftyfingers @ 11:19 PM
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Like most people during this time of year, I too am reflective of all my many blessings.  However, at this point in my life I am more thankful for all of the mistakes that I have made.  All those times that I felt apprehensive, a little scared, or somewhat challenged only got me closer to the place I needed to go.  For that, I am thankful.

My grandmothers call me young and those that I mentor and support have told me that I am wise.  While I take each piece of commentary with a grain of salt, I realize that I am just like everyone else–trying to do the best I can.  I’m at a crossroads of sorts and I am feeling energized and encouraged about what’s around the bend. 

Here is what I know for sure–the minute that you begin to forgive yourself and remember that you too are human, you free yourself to move on to the blessings that are waiting just up ahead. 

While being a mom has undeniable rewards, it hasn’t always been the easiest of rides.  I am my son’s protector and provider and with that comes an amazing weight of responsibility.  However, he is healthy, wise, and wonderfully vibrant.  I am thankful thus.

My full-time job carries with it a lot of responsibility.  When I accepted the position, which was newly created at the time, I had no idea what issues I would encounter.  I’ve been there going on five years now (really?) and I feel like there is still so much that needs to be done.  However, there are people who have been out of work for months, years even, those who have lost their homes and sometimes even their sense of self.  I am thankful thus.

And besides everything that constitutes my real  life (as noted above), I am attempting to expand on this sense of creativity that I have always had.  I study and research my craft just like I was getting a PhD, staying on top of trends and the latest tools, gadgets, and techniques.  My biggest struggle ahead, and ultimately my goal for the coming months, is to really figure out who I am as a designer, a scrapbooker, a card maker…a memory keeper.  It’s not happening as fast as I would like though.  I get frustrated when my project doesn’t match my vision.  What exactly is my vision anyway and why would anyone care?  The good news is that I have time to find out.  There’s no need to rush. It will come. I am thankful thus.

I really like how these turned out.  I hope you do too.  Let me know if you have any questions about them and remember…be thankful, thus.

 

To Market, To Market (Or, How to Price your Crafts) November 15, 2009

Filed under: Tips, Tricks and Techniques — tencraftyfingers @ 1:00 PM
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For the last couple of weeks I’ve been extremely busy getting ready for my first official craft fair.  So, in addition to my full-time job and being a full-time mom, I’ve turned my hobby into a full part-time job. 

I didn’t really have a game plan in mind, you see.  As a matter of fact, I didn’t even “price” my wares until I began setting up.  That part I had planned to do beforehand; however, I ran out of time and was much more concerned with having enough product and a variety of product to sell.  If I didn’t have anything good to sell, who would care about the price anyway, right?

I’ve done a few quick online searches to see how people determine their price points.  I even looked at tips people have posted about selling at flea markets and the like.  Needless to say, I’ve didn’t come across any really useful information.  So what does a crafty person do when something doesn’t exist?  They make it up!  And that is exactly what I did.  As I began laying items out, I took into consideration the approximate cost it took to make, multiplied by my time and effort, minus what it took to secure the table (a 20% total donation), adding my “profit” and you get….a very confusing process.

My original plan was to treat each item as one large summation of a lot of small costs.  I was going to rely on what I had learned as a budding chef (oh yeah, I did that too once) and break each item down by the pound and ounce.  Or in this case, that would be foot and inch.  For example, a 12×12 inch sheet of paper that costs me $1.44 equals 1 cent per  inch.  If I create a card that is 6×6 inches, then I have spent 72 cents because the card is actually 12 x 6 inches in size. 

While this is a very elementary example, you get the point.  The same would go for inches of ribbon and embellishments.  If a have spent $3 on 30 eyelets, I know that I have spent 10 cents per eyelet.  And so, I would transfer the costs into the price of the card.  That’s the easy part.  The hard part is accounting for my time and effort.  What is my time worth?  Only you can decipher that one.  However, when it all comes down to it, your customers want a good price.  And based on how much I sold and the fact that no one raised their eyebrows at me, I think I estimated well, especially for the first try. I was very humbled and very encouraged.

Take a look and be sure to tell me what you think.  I’ve signed myself up for another fair in a couple of weeks.  Wish me luck!

 

Take a Flying Leap November 1, 2009

Filed under: Altered Projects — tencraftyfingers @ 10:04 AM
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I’ve just uploaded a new video showing how to take one die cut and use it in several different ways.  While I have a million and one ideas that I would love to share, it takes some time to go from idea to concept to product.  (I often wake up with ideas….seriously.) However, I always try to be insightful and help you (and me) stretch a dollar with my crafting.  To do that, I have to think outside-the-box a bit and try to see things from several angles.  How was this supply, this tool, this material supposed to be used and how I can I use it differently? How can I improve on it and use it better?

The video was definitely an experiment.  I hadn’t practiced any of the projects before I started filming.  In a recent post I talked about working on a project and although I completed it, I realized that it didn’t really manifest in the way that I envisioned.  That’s okay.  I learned from my mistakes.  But it never pays to play it safe. 

You’ve got a whole new 60 minutes to work all around that little box in your brain.  Think a little first. 

Then,  jump!  When you do you can come up with something like this:

A Spooky Scene

A Spooky Scene: Experimenting with Alcohol Inks

 

 
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