Reflection

What I’ve done

I’ve attempted a few arts and craft projects and posted about my experiences with them. These posts include the steps I took throughout my project, pictures of each phase, and a reflection of my overall experience. I also wrote a post on the rise of crafting culture in general.

My best post and why it’s good

I think my post about “Fun with Foil and Glue” was my best because of how much I loved doing that project. I included nice-looking pictures and detailed instructions which made the project clear to my reader. I really enjoyed the project, and I think that showed in my writing.

What I’d like to improve on

I need to be post more often. I haven’t done many projects yet, which would probably cause me to lose a lot of followers if I was actually a serious blogger.

What I’ve learned about myself as a learner

I’ve learned that I struggle to put effort into an assignment when there is no incentive. I like crafts and I enjoyed the few I actually did, but I didn’t do as much as I could have. I learned that in order for me to really get into something, it has to be something I’m really passionate about.

Where I’d like to go

I actually think I want to change the topic of my blog. Trying different craft projects sounded like a good idea, but it takes a lot more time and money than I’m willing to give up. I think I want to change my topic to graphic design. I have a book full of design challenges and tutorials, so I think I’ll enjoy doing those each week. It will be free, less time consuming, and help me set up a nice portfolio for college.

All the Rage

In case you hadn't noticed, crafting is totally hip right now. It seems like even the least artistically inclined people are branching out into the craft world. The internet is probably the main reason for the spread of the crafting epidemic. I mean, look at what my blog is about! It's about following DIY tutorials that people have posted online. Sure, my projects may require a little artistic ability and creativity, but I'm essentially just following step-by-step directions. Almost anybody can do that. And I say that in a good way. Crafting is no longer limited to skilled artisans. For inspiration, you can just browse through Pinterest. For help when you get stuck, you can just find a helpful YouTube video. You don't need to have a crafty grandma in order to learn how to quilt, you just need a few good Google searches. That is so awesome to me! The creative world is now open to everybody, and people are making good use of it.

For many people, crafting has become far more than a hobby…it's become a lifestyle. Let's just take a moment to drool over the following craft spaces.

These spaces belong to people who have dedicated their lives to crafting. It may sound silly to some, but crafting is as much a part of some people's lives as a career, schooling, or sports may be in yours. Because DIY projects have become so accessible, it's no wonder why they are so popular. Crafting, ladies and gentlemen, is all the rage. 

Fun with Foil and Glue

What do you get when you combine glue, tin foil, shoe polish, and a bit of creativity? A really simple and unique piece of art.

I had so much fun with my project this week. I found this tutorial through Pinterest and really wanted to try it because it seemed so easy, creative, and inexpensive. I was right. This project was easy enough for a kid to try and left a lot of room for creative freedom, while using supplies that I already owned.

I suggest reading briefly reading though the original tutorial (linked above) to get a feel for the project. Here are my experiences with it:

First, I cut out a piece of foam core and sketched my design in pencil. I didn't do the same design as the one in the tutorial, but that's what's so cool about this project. You can make the design anything you want! You can use names, words, quotes, images, symbols, patterns, or anything else that sparks your interest. I chose a simple swirl design this time, but I plan on incorporating words and quotes into some designs I do in the future.

Next I took my Tacky Glue and traced the pattern on my foam core. The stroke of the glue wasn't totally consistent, which kind of bugged me, but it worked out perfectly in the end and actually added to the grungy effect. This step made me realize that it's important to keep your design simple, because the glue could potentially mess up a design that's really busy and/or bold.

After my glue dried, which took a few hours, I covered the board with aluminum foil. I covered the back of the foil sheet using a glue stick and carefully pressed it over my design. I smoothed out the foil and defined the embossed parts by pressing around them with a cotton swab. I had to be careful not to rip through the foil for this part because that would have really sucked and I would've had to start over. So be careful while smoothing out the foil!

Here's a close-up of the foil-covered design.

The last step was covering the foil with shoe polish. This was such a fun step because it totally changed the feeling of the piece. After dabbing the shoe polish and roughing-up some parts, the piece looked really grungy and metallic. When I try this project again in the future I want to experiment a little with this step by trying colorful paint or something instead of black shoe polish. Maybe I could use a red/orange paint and make it look like rusted metal. There are endless possibilities with this project. 

Like I said about a million times, I had so much fun with this project! I recommend this to anybody, even those who aren't artistically inclined. It was so easy and effortless, yet it produced a one-of-a-kind piece of art. Expect another post with this same type of project pretty soon, because I can't wait to get started on another one!

My Crafty Cross

So I kind of went against my basic principles for this project and didn't base it on any particular Pinterest tutorial, but I did use some skills that I learned from browsing Pinterest in the past. I decided to decoupage a wooden cross for my first project because it is fairly simple and not too time consuming. In other words, I chose to keep this project short and sweet.

In the end this project only cost me about $3. I bought the wooden cross on clearance at Hobby Lobby for only $1.79 and the book (that I tore the pages out of) from the Dollar Store for, you guessed it, $1. I already owned the brush, paint, and Mod Podge, so it's safe to say that this project was pretty wallet-friendly.

It just took a few easy steps to completely transform this simple cross.
I began by sanding down the edges of the wooden cross. It then became clear to me why it was on clearance because it wasn't very symmetrical and the base was falling off. It actually was quite convenient that the base fell off, however, because it made the painting and decoupaging a lot easier!

The cross is sanded and ready to
have its edges painted!

After the edges were properly sanded, I painted them with a light gray acrylic paint. I chose to paint the edges first because I could cover up any paint mishaps with the decoupage in the next step. It was kind of hard to paint all of the curves and niches, but I dabbed paint on them and they turned out just fine.

The cross is ready to be decoupaged!

After I painted the edges, I tore out tons of strips from the book I got from the Dollar Store. I accidentally bought the "revised young reader" version of Alcott's Little Women (in an attempt to include classic literature in my project). The watered-down version of the novel is not what I wanted, but for the purposes of this project it turned out all right. I tore out strips from the book, highly entertained by its young language and illustrations (yes, there were illustrations). After I tore out enough strips (illustrations not included), I was ready to begin Mod Podging.

All covered and ready to be
cut down to size

As planned, the cross looked like a total mess after the strips were glued down. I cleaned the edges up with a scissors and a sharp exact-o-knife. This was probably the hardest step because I had to cut in all the cross's tiny nooks and crannies. The edges looked far from perfect when I was done, so I took some sand paper to smooth them out a little bit. The only thing left to do was glue the base back on!

I'm pretty happy with the end result! This project was far from perfect, but it was inexpensive, simple, and fun, which is what really matters. For my first project, I am pretty satisfied.

Material(s) Girl

Although it will be a blast, all the crafting I plan on doing will not be cheap. Before I actually get started on my projects, I think it is important to find cost-efficient ways of obtaining my materials. I composed a list of four websites that sell craft and hobby supplies for reasonable prices. The websites are:

www.save-on-crafts.com

Save On Crafts is “DIY Elegance On A Budget.” They sell classy, elegant, discounted supplies for scrapbooking, decoupage, rubber-stamping, paper crafts, jewelry making, and other general crafts. This site is perfect for sophisticated projects, especially home decor.

www.createforless.com

Two words: bulk discounts!

This site also offers a blog called “Think Crafts” that posts new projects and how-to’s every day! This will be a great resource to guide me for my blog.

www.orientaltrading.com

We all remember flipping through Oriental Trading Co.’s catalogues and fantasizing about all the cool (and probably useless) things we could buy for our birthday parties. It was just recently that I realized they sell crafting supplies too! A lot of their products are geared towards kids, but I’m sure I’ll encounter some projects where that is exactly what I need.

www.misterart.com

This self-proclaimed “largest online arts and crafts supply store” will come in very handy for me this year. They sell a huge variety of crafting supplies and also offer bulk discounts. They also have a Member’s Club for frequent buyers who want to save even more.

I also plan on buying some of my materials from Elk Grove's local craft stores: Jo-Ann, Michael's, and Hobby Lobby. Each store has an app that features a daily savings coupon that can be used once a day, every day. I can also find some useful materials at the local Dollar Tree, which will save tons of money and force me to use my imagination a bit more.

Now that I've found some money-saving resources, I can't wait to get started on my first project this week!

What I'm All About

           

Get ready to witness a series of awesome Pinterest project attempts! (...successful or not)

            Pinterest, the site for “collecting and organizing things you love”, has become a widely known medium for sharing all kinds of craft and project ideas. I have always enjoyed crafting and DIY stuff, so I am taking this opportunity to attempt a multitude of the crafts, projects, and tips that Pinterest has made so popular.

Most Pins are linked to a website that has a tutorial, so I won’t be doing these projects blindly (thank God!). However, anyone who’s ever tried a new craft or hobby knows that having directions doesn’t necessarily guarantee a perfect result. But that’s the fun part! I don’t want to dish out faultless results week after week, because then I am clearly not learning or improving. I want to challenge myself, make mistakes, and become more creative in spite of it all! I want my readers to laugh along with my failures as well as learn from them. Ultimately, I want my readers to gain as much knowledge about crafting as I do.

Posting pictures and tutorials of flawless DIYs is what Pinterest is for, realistically attempting them is what I am for. Every couple of weeks I will look through popular Pins to find a project to attempt. I plan on covering a multitude of creative fields and working with a variety of materials. I will be taking on woodworking, crocheting, scrapbooking, baking, decorating, and other fun DIYs. I will keep things interesting by focusing on a wide range of projects, but I will keep things practical by picking projects that will actually help and relate to my readers.

For each project I blog about, I will make sure to include my thoughts about the difficulties, successes, practicality, and enjoyment I faced throughout the process. I will also post pictures from each important stage along the way. My readers should expect honest opinions and a thorough analysis of each project (thorough analysis?...I sound like a teacher!). My blog posts will hopefully give my readers a good look into what doing the project would truly be like.

I can’t wait to get started! For a sneak peak into some of the projects I will take on, click here.