Keeping A Portfolio of Your Craft

Hi Crafters

Today I thought I would talk about how you keep tabs on what you have made and the templates used.
I know I am aways talking about YouTube and this is a great source of instructions and templates, and then there is Pinterest, whihc you can not only check out for Inspirations and often free patterns, but also if you open an account you can also store your ideas in your files in your Pinterest account. 
Pinterest is a great way of sharing your ideas and cateloguing them for future use, but be aware that if an item is removed from a Pinterest account or an account closed your item may not be available.

So longterm how do you build a Portfolio of work.

It is unlikely that you will want a copy of everything you ever made, as not all makes are equal. Some you love and enjoyed making, others you love the look of but are not sure if the work was worth it, and some fall short of expectations. But for every project when you get up the next day and feel as pleased with it as when you finished it, that project is worth documenting so you have it for future reference. 

I do this on my computer. I have a file called projects, they are numbered and named in index, and for every new card style, box or fabric item that I have made that I know I will want to make again, I write out the items required and instructions on how to make it and then take a picture of the finished item and add it to the bottom of the page.

For those who do not type quickly or like using a computer, this can also be written by hand and put into a file or scrapbook. The downside is being careful with compiling and storage the upside is you can make drawings as you go through the instructions.

Here is a page from my folder 

Once you have built up a number collection you can always sub-divide them into craft categories, cards, boxes, gifts, etc, or you can regroup the cards into occasions so if you need a wedding card or birthday card you can go straight to your folder and select a favourite. It takes a little time to collate but is well worth it over the years. 

You can also go on to catelogue other areas of your craft such as words and labels for your cards, blogs and YouTube sites you like to visit, and if you do demonstrations for craft clubs or other groups theh why not have a catelogue of suitable makes, and this way you show them to the groups with suggestions of those suitable for the time and audience.

You could of course use an Index box to store these details and thats another project I will share with you soon

Happy Crafting

Dee