If you read my blog you’ll know that I just completed my challenge of trying a new craft a week for a year (and I walked 26.2 miles in a bra but I won’t dwell on that here!). I’m really proud that I made it and I thought I’d share a few of the lessons I learnt on the way. Hopefully they’ll help you in your creative endeavours whether you’re trying a year-long challenge like mine, making a quilt or just learning something new.
Get organised
I don’t mind telling you that there was no plan for the year gone by. I didn’t have a clue what I was making on a week-by-week basis. This was good and bad. It meant I could engage with the crafty community to get ideas on what to make but not so good when it was 9pm on a Sunday and I still hadn’t made anything. If I was doing this again – which I am actually, details at the end – I’d definitely get organised, write a schedule for the year and get supplies in advance so I’m good to go.
What’s your motivation?
If you’re starting on any kind of challenge you really need to motivated. If you’re dedicating a large portion of your time to something and you don’t really care about it, it isn’t going to happen. I was motivated by several factors: the desire to learn new things, an innate love of craft and the people all over the world reading and commenting on my blog. This motivation was vital to get me through the weeks when I just wasn’t finding the crafty mojo.
Ideas and inspiration
I’ve spoken about inspiration before. You need to have lots of ideas, and surround yourself in inspiration, to get through a big project. If you’re making a quilt you might want to look at colour inspiration, patterns and tutorials. And certainly for a project that’s taking a year or more, having a rich source of inspiration to keep you going will be essential. I wouldn’t have made it without tapping into inspiration sources from the Internet, to books and my sketchbook.
Use the force…
Of the craft community to help you. As well as providing inspiration and motivation, the extensive and enthusiastic craft community have been invaluable to my project – they’ve re-tweeted, blogged and commented and helped over 4000 people find the challenge and in June alone.
And finally
At the end of your project, celebrate your big success, and do it all again! At least, that’s what I’m doing. I’m embarking on year 2 of 52 crafts in 52 weeks after a little break. If you want to join in, head over to the blog to find out more.
– Christine Evans from 52 crafts in 52 weeks project writes the column Creativity Corner, which appears bi-monthly on Tuesdays. Read more about her on the contributors’ page.
A collection of Christine’s 52 Projects…
OOH! these projects are just incredible, and I’m so glad you’ve reached your goal. It inspires me to try out the same with painting. It would have been amazing to end up with 52 paintings after a year…