New Year and Where is My Crafting Going to Take Me

 Hi Crafters

Today’s post is all about where my crafting is going in 2021. 

I really enjoy my paper crafts and am very grateful to all those crafters and artists who share theirs ideas, templates and makes, on YouTube, Pinterest etc. But having said that I am at a loss what to do with my makes. I make cards for family and friends. In the past I have held workshops, and I have widened my crafts to gift bags, boxes and now albums and journals. Like a lot of crafters I have bought more and more dies, stamps, tapes and tools wanting to try the latest designs and ideas. I have purchased in large amounts because I do Workshops where I need enough for 10 to 12 persons, or occasionally a little craft session for my WI for 30, so my paper stash particularly has mounted. But the more I buy the less I seem to use as the boxes get too full to find anything easily. I destash regularly but buy even more regularly and without craft fares and meeting up with friends and WI I have no outlets for my excess. 

So I have thought a lot about what I want from my crafting, and decided to try to clear, consolidate and bring my stash down to a place where all my boxes in the cupboard are easily accessible and when I want to make something I know just where to go to get the items I need . I have managed this with my knitting and sewing items so why not my paper crafts. Also what am I going to make until such time as we are able to get out and about again. 

I look at the TV Craft shows and whilst I recognise these artists and businesses have a living to make, it seems that sales have taken over the shows with packages regularly being marketed at £100 plus. I have to ask myself what are people doing with all these packs they are buying. Is it piling up, or are they producing 20-30 cards a month to use up these packages. But even if the packs include a full set of dies, some papers, or stamps, dies and charisma designs which need printing out there are always other items needed to complete the make, maybe the printing, or card stock and envelopes. We then work hard to reproduce the beautiful cards that have been made by the design team on the shows and feel downhearted when ours do not match up. 

I have therefore decided to go back to basics. Take what I have learnt over the past 15 years and use it to design and make my paper crafts. If I need a Birthday card I will:

think about the person I am making for

Select suitable stamps and dies 

Decide the design that suits those stamps and dies and get the items out necessary to make the item

The next person with a birthday is my sister, so it will be a feminine card. As she also crafts, it needs to be quite a new or fancy design and I have decided to use my Anna Griffin dies. I will make an easel card.

I have cleared out a lot of spare dies and stamps, some paper pads and put them on Ebay to sell. I will continue to make small sets of notelets and journals as I have a friend who sells them for charity and I enjoy making mini books gift envelopes and other small gift items that I can give as Happy Mail. And part pads and extra ribbon and embellishments etc go to a group that make cards to raise funds for a local hospital. 

Just a small selection of mixed items that I am selling on Ebay. I also have listed lots and lots of dies, new and used.

I have read a couple of musings from fellow crafters with their thoughts on paper crafts and their ability to amass a myriad of crafty items that they do not use, and I wonder how companies continue to sell in such vast quantities. On the one hand it is great that crafting is there for everyone to enjoy while there is isolation, but wonder how long sales will continue before the bubble bursts. Would it not be a good time to sell smaller kits for everyone to be able to join in and not put pressure on people to purchase £100 to £150 sets.

I remember way back when QVC was the first tv selling company of craft items, American Crafts and Anna Griffin, Hot off the Press and Die Cuts With  A View (DCWV). Lots of lovely demonstrations and packs made up of stamps, cards die and sticky pads, all you needed to make up a collection of cards for your money. Then Create and Craft joined in with great decoupage card kits, which I still buy occasionally on Ebay when I can pick them up for a bargain price. 

I will continue to blog my craft journey with you and you can see if I keep to my 2021 resolution.

Happy Crafting

Dee