Blackswan
Banned
Joined: October 2008
Posts: 6,388
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Post by Blackswan on Mar 27, 2015 1:38:52 GMT -5
Contact your local mission when it's time to disperse your beautiful handiwork. It's so special, women creating beautiful items for others, like the old days in America.
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Blackswan
Banned
Joined: October 2008
Posts: 6,388
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Post by Blackswan on Mar 27, 2015 1:43:20 GMT -5
Oh script you inspired me! I'm going to make a thank you card from my animals to my mom! That I can do! She has taken such good care of them. I can do something cute with paw prints and she will feel appreciated! Oh thank you so much for the inspiration, my mom needs acknowledgement she has taken on so much! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!
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Post by anewleaf on Mar 27, 2015 8:43:44 GMT -5
You make an excellent point, reb. That screwing up is all part of the learning process. My mother, the handywoman, is often fond of stating something similar. But then, at the same time...she IS the quintessential woman who does not throw anything out-EVER. She just stuffs it away in closets and cupboards. Seriously. I've found paper doilies that I used to make picture ornaments as a child. Dried-out acrylic paints that were purchased in the mid-nineties! Sometimes it's nice, like when I find a decorative item from my childhood stowed away, but mostly? It needs to go. I actually organized her Christmas decorations this past year-boxes and boxes filled with probably 70% garbage, much of it old trash bags. And I LOVE Blackswan's suggestion of donating those quilts to the homeless! If that's not readily possible, you might also consider donating them to an animal shelter. I never throw away things like old towels; I instead donate them to our local low-cost spay and neuter place. And I agree-blankets should NEVER be thrown away! If nothing else, they can be donated to Goodwill or a similar places. Oh and I really adore the idea of card-making-especially the personalization of it, as store-bought cards leave me mostly cold. I just hate giving someone something so generic, you know? But card-making supplies are NOT cheap!
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Post by reb on Mar 27, 2015 9:12:13 GMT -5
anewleafThe big outlay for cards was a pro paper cutter. That way, I could buy stock on sale or use heavy watercolour papers. Buying precut card stock is VERY pricey! Even a large cutting mat, metal ruler and exacto isn't too expensive. Also, if you make them in a certain way [make diagonal cuts in the card, slip the painting edges in, or use photo edges--also saves stock from when there are errors], the painting can be extracted with ease if the recipient wants to keep the painting to hang. I often threw out many trial cards before I had the finished product. I only kept things worth keeping although as time goes by, I tend to go through stuff again and re-decide. Which reminds me, I might do that again, soon.
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2015 11:43:40 GMT -5
Gosh, a couple of 'likes' popped up on a post I wrote over two years ago! Thank you for the likes. I've been mulling it over and perhaps the thread has moved on but I thought I would offer an update on my own situation. I had forgotten all about that post and re-reading it it is as if it was written by someone else, I can feel my own pain from that time, although at the time I wasn't aware of it. I am in a better place now. We moved about 11 months after I wrote that. Before we moved I found a charity shop that was happy to take the patterns and fabrics. I have never regretted getting rid of them. In fact all I feel now is relief that they are not still taking up physical and emotional space. Recently I had another cull of the patterns and have several more to dispose of. I looked into selling them but the potential buyer never replied once I sent her the list. The problem is that while patterns up to the 80's are now considered fashionably vintage, 80's patterns aren't! I can't be bothered keeping them while I wait for the 80's to come back into fashion! I also cleared out some finished and unfinished embroidery and knitting/crochet projects. They went in the bin. I moved them twice in the last twelve months because I couldn't face sorting them out and making decisions. There is a market stall near here on Saturdays and I am going to take the patterns to the stall and either sell them or gift them to the stall holder. If she will take them! Failing that I will check with the local charity shop. Failing that they will go in the recycling bin. I have bought more patterns, just a few! These are in a good style for me and in a range of sizes that will fit me both now and if I ever lose the weight! I am looking forward to starting sewing again soon. I am enjoying doing the other projects I am working on without guilt about the UFO's. Meanwhile, I don't regret doing what it took to get the stuff out of my house and out of my head. It has allowed me to move on, literally and emotionally. I was never going to recover the money I spent on them and there was no point in keeping them because they once cost money. Hopefully the ones that went to the charity shop will benefit someone in some way. There is a good article her on the value of UFOs and WIPs and why it is OK to move on from them. UFOs
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Post by Di on Mar 27, 2015 11:55:37 GMT -5
My update as well, I have tossed, purged, gifted, and thrift stored 99% of my craft stash. I have one plastic drawered cabinet that holds my current "stash" with one smallish tote in the attic. I have been buying for a project, making the project and getting rid of the leftovers before starting another project. I don't know what I was thinking when I used to go in and purchase 20 patterns at a time. NO one can do 20 projects at once. I have even --GASP-- used a pattern and then thrown it away. The fabric stores put them on sale for $1.00-$2.00. my space is worth that much. I do keep expensive boutique patterns.
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Post by anewleaf on Mar 30, 2015 3:59:10 GMT -5
I'm glad to hear that you were able to get over you mental hurdle @greenhill! And you're right-though 80's clothing is considered "vintage" (and elements of it keep popping up in today's fashions), the patterns themselves aren't making any comebacks. I should know-I regularly dig through piles of them, looking for an early 60's or 50's pattern. And like you say, you won't be able to recover the money you originally spent. How many people cling to stuff for that very reason? "But I paid such-and-such for it!" Like Di pointed out, the very physical SPACE those items are taking up is worth more. Not to mention, the mental! And reb, I would LOVE a pro paper cutter. I bought a cheaper, plastic version at Wally World, went home and read the reviews on it and returned it without even opening it. I've gotten VERY good at returns! If I instead use an exacto knife, what surface should I use? I really don't have a "work area" per say, though my kitchen table currently serves as one. I'm thinking a wooden work table would really be the only suitable surface. And speaking of UFO's-I have a paint-by-numbers I purchased online, because I couldn't obtain the artwork any other way and loved it (a impressionist-style lady, giving a side glance in her gloves and hat). It turned out to be so tedious and difficult with the cheapie paintbrushes included-but even after I bought better ones....STILL. INCREDIBLY. TEDIOUS. And so difficult to stay within those teeny-tiny areas. I don't know if it will EVER be completed! I'm afraid that even if I spend the many tedious hours it will require, it'll end up looking like crap! But in other crafting news...having already put out my little Easter bouquet that matches my menu of services (with a green gingham background, paper daffodil stickers and a little white picket fence) I was dismayed only to find some yellow and soft peachy-pink flowers and a really beautiful mix of creamy peach and shimmery beads (that I planned to use as the filler in the bottom of the vase) at our local dollar store. Well, I've also been looking for an Easter wreath to put out for my business that isn't $$$ and isn't the same one everyone's seen a hundred times at Wal-Mart. And what do I see yesterday, but a green styro wreath at Wal-Mart, marked down to $2! Enter mini glue gun, some glue sticks and voila! My first wreath! I had some extra picks-pink and yellow glitter styro eggs, a pink bunny and a yellow butterfly that I had purchased last year. Snip, snip and in they went! They don't really stand out in the sea of yellow and pink, but still cute, nonetheless! Will post pics later if @greenhill doesn't mind Or perhaps I should start a new thread for such purposes?
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2015 9:22:11 GMT -5
anewleaf: it's not my thread! I don't mind about anything anyone does! ,
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Post by reb on Mar 30, 2015 9:39:52 GMT -5
anewleafIf you go to an art store or order from one online, there are these green grid mats that aren't too expensive, made for precise cutting. You put them on a table. They're made out of some sort of rubbery material that self-heals after you cut. Online they cost a fortune but I bought an 12x 18 inch one at a dollar store in the crafts section and a bigger one for about $7 at an art store that work just fine for cutting up watercolour and art paper, along with a cork-backed metal ruler. From what I see online, it's probably cheaper to go to a real art store such as Curry's or Loomis & Tole to buy them. Before I had those I used to used leftover heavy cardboard boxes and then just dump them when it was done. The problem with paint-by-numbers is that no matter what the original artist who painted the painting did, most paintings are painted in light/shadow layers to get subtlety of colour and blending so there you are, busting your buns and wondering, at the end--why yours doesn't look as good. Of course it's tedious too because you have say, 7 little yellow bits to paint in separately [that still never look right] rather than ONE yellow hue blended into the light and shadow layers. And if it's tedious why bother? It's one thing to embrace some tedium and frustration for your own work, but do you really care that much about a copy? Learn what you can from it and move on is my motto
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Post by Script on Mar 30, 2015 11:09:37 GMT -5
Oh and I really adore the idea of card-making-especially the personalization of it, as store-bought cards leave me mostly cold. I just hate giving someone something so generic, you know? But card-making supplies are NOT cheap! For card-making EXPENSE: I think it depends on what your "primary craft hobby" is. I do scrapbooking. I take photos for scrapbooking. I buy print cards from a camera store ON SALE ONLY: and print some photos primarily for photo cards: maybe it costs me 20 cents a card? I think big box stores are even cheaper, but I do not ever go to these places. I also use up the leftover paper from scrapbooking projects. I do NOT make my own envelopes, but buy packages. Also I save any "generic" blank envelopes that show up here. I save them in one place in the craft room. I often make a card in a size specifically to FIT one of the generic left-over envelopes. I made a vow to myself about 5 years ago? "No more store bought cards" ever. I have been able to stick to that resolution one way or another. I also buy "blank cards/envelopes" with embossed edges. As I make so many cards, I buy the "big box" -- maybe 100 per box? These are not cheap, but they are more reasonable in big quantities. A "good card" in a card store here would cost maybe $5.00. If your primary hobby is "fabric crafts" -- I would start using scraps for cards, plus buttons, lace, rick-rack, charms. I have seen this done very effectively. I make photo cards with pictures I take on holidays. I give about 75% of what I make away as GIFTS. Examples currently done: 20 cards of Caribbean (from January cruise); 20 cards of floral display (greenhouse we visited on weekend getaway). My mother makes cards too. She uses her own photos of flowers from her seniors residence; she takes the pix on her iPhone and has them printed at a camera store. She uses paper and embellishment hand-me-downs from me. She cuts everything with a scissors and uses a glue stick. The cards are far from perfect, but she is doing very well for an 89 year old with health issues. The CHEAPEST way to make cards is with stamps, stencils, ink. I am abysmally poor at this....
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Post by Unswamping on Mar 30, 2015 18:29:41 GMT -5
anewleaf walmart sells those green mats, theyre in with the quilting supplies. I have a regular exacto but i also have a swivel blade exacto for cutting curves etc. i dont know if you have a michaels near you. Every couple of months they offer a 40% off coupon off one item. You could use that to buy a mat. As for the paint-by-number, i have seen a guy that does them and they look decent. The interview i saw said he makes sure to blend the areas so they dont look like a coloring book. I have always found them tedious although i have two in progress. After i get my art room set up, im going to reevaluate them. Since they are not a copy of a older painting, theyre a more modern design, i took the liberty of tossing the paints they came with and used my own. Im familiar with the feel of my paints and brushes and found it easier. Do you know the artists name and the painting title? I bought a print once online of a painting i really liked. It may be possible to get a print from the museum gift shop if its in a museum. I don't know if youve looked recently because prints are becoming more readily available, especially now that canvas printed and giclees are so popular. So regular prints are coming down in price. Buying the print may make it worth just tossing the paint by number.
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Post by Unswamping on Mar 30, 2015 18:31:13 GMT -5
@greenhill thank you for that link on UFOs. Im setting up my art room and it will be helpful when i start culling my supplies and projects.
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Post by anewleaf on Apr 5, 2015 16:47:55 GMT -5
I appreciate the tips, Script, Unswamping, and reb. I haven't seen the green mats at Wally World (our crafting section is pretty abysmal), but might look the next time I'm at Michaels. I the place! I go into a "zone" when I'm there! I'm not sure what my "hobby" is per say, but I really like the look of die-cuts, ribbon, embossing and just really elegant and feminine cards in general. I tried my hand at calligraphy with a marker (which arrived with one side already dried out) and quickly became frustrated and threw in the towel. And the blending required for paint-by-numbers? Eeek! How does one do that? Also...decided to do a "mantle-scape" last night, for Easter. Again, I things don't show up as well as they might, due to the bland background (I MISS my lavender living room!), but here ya go: All Goodwill/local dollar store/Dollar General/Dollar Tree finds (the decorations, that is).
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Post by anewleaf on Apr 5, 2015 16:57:22 GMT -5
Oh! And forgot to mention: the s.o. and I hit Half Price Books in the Big City yesterday and I found a book called "The Creativity Cure". I usually avoid self-help books, but I like the premise: that "tapping into creative potential" can "unleash happiness and alleviate depression and anxiety". I see that it's also on amazon and could probably be purchased used very cheaply.
I believe, if nothing else, that focusing on creating and getting into that state of "flow" can help to lighten depression and anxiety. At the same time, when projects prove frustrating, they can actually exacerbate these maladies! At least, this is the case for me!
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Post by hollyhock on Apr 6, 2015 7:15:22 GMT -5
Beautiful stuff anewleaf. I love your spring wreath and mantle-scape.
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