A Lovely Little Boat

I made this little boat using Ann Wood's Dear Little Boat Pattern. The cereal box I used was really stiff, almost too stiff. I used old dictionary pages that were torn up to cover the boat and some glue mixed with water to hold everything in place. It turned out really cute and was a fun project. It took me out of my comfort zone in making, but that's good, too.

Heart Map for Crafters

One of the activities I use with my writing students is the heart map activity. You draw a heart on a sheet of paper and section it off as you write or draw in things that interest you and this "list" gives them ideas of things to write about.

This could also be a great idea for crafters. Think of it as a way to visualize things to include in embroidery or on a quilt. It could be used as a starting point for things to sketch or paint. You could use it to make a collage or to make different pieces of jewelry.

A heart map could even be used on its own as a piece of art. Sketch it out on a piece of muslin, then embroider it and frame it or make it into a small art quilt.

Use individual simple sketches to create your own rubber stamps or stencils.

Add things you like such as coffee or tea. Add tools of your crafty trade.

#craftyheartmap

Define Your Color Palette

If you don't have a good selection of DMC or other floss at home, go to a craft store where there are plenty of colors. Choose 12 colors that are your colors. You might choose a rainbow of colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink), a selection of neutrals (black, white, gray, brown), a monochrome palette (baby blue to deep navy), or just an assortment of colors.

Keep these colors together and work with them. Is there a color you always avoid? (This yellow doesn't go with my other colors!) Switch it out. Maybe a color that you simply must include got left out.

Embroider a project using only these colors. Does one stick out and drive you crazy? Are there any you didn't use? Did you need a color you didn't choose in the beginning? (I love to stitch flowers and I have 6 greens, but no flower colors!) Adapt and change.

Go a step further and narrow these colors to 5. Work from only these colors for a few days. What works? What doesn't? What changes need to be made?

What other crafts you do? Can you find these 12 colors in yarn? In paint? In markers or colored pencils?

Knowing your favorite or most used colors can save you money since you can buy only those colors and know you will use them. Ever bought fabric that you got home with and the color just wouldn't work for anything? Wouldn't it be great to buy a supply and know that color will be used?

You might want to expand the colors to 20 if you need more colors to work with or, perhaps, you decide your just right grouping of colors is 8. Adjust and refine to make it work for you.

Tomato Pincushions

 I love pincushions of all kinds, but tomatoes are just so classic. So, I was thrilled when Theresa Venette of Shakespeare's Peddler and Kittenstitcher on Flosstube accepted an article and project for tomato pincushions to go in the second edition of her Samplers Yesterday &Today Zine. If you haven't seen the Zine, check it out. I love the articles and history she gives on samplers and designers.

 Both issues have sampler patterns in them and a selection of other lovely patterns. She also includes a recipe and craft project in each one. If you love cross-stitch and samplers, you really should check it out.

The tutorial for making the tomato pincushions includes the pattern for stitching the "Pins" tag as well. To go directly to issue 2 of the Zine, click here. And no, I don't get paid for directing traffic her way, but I'd really like to see more people buying the Zine so she keeps producing more!

Craft Brain Dump for Monthly Planning

A brain dump is simply writing everything in your head down on paper. I like to do a craft specific brain dump at the end of each month looking forward to the next month.

Here is a list of triggers to get you started jotting down things you want to get to next month.

* WIPs
* SALs
* To finish
* To work on
* To start
* Focus piece (what one thing do I absolutely want to finish this month)
* Gifts to make in the next 3 months
* Gifts to finish this month
* Exchanges
* Smalls
* Christmas ornaments
* Bowl fillers
* Supplies to Purchase
* Supplies to Use Up

I keep a full list of WIPs divided by type (cross-stitch, embroidery, knitting, crochet, quilting, etc.) in my craft bullet journal. I also have a separate page just for SALs where I can keep track of whether I finished that month's stitching or not.

Sometimes there are other pages as well. For instance, I have a page just for Farmgirl's #stitch9challenge where I mark that I've spent at least an hour on each item for each month of the year. My goal is to do at least that much on each of the nine items and I'm probably going to have to do at least a month of what I call "stitch 10 daily" for each.

"Stitch 10 daily" is where I have a goal to focus on one piece by making at least 10 stitches in it every day for a month. Now, any of you stitchers know that it is practically impossible to only make 10 stitches in a piece so I usually end up doing more and even finish the piece that month sometimes.

Can you think of any other craft triggers? How do you plan your craft schedule each month?