Happy New Year 2023! I hope you all have had a wonderful Holiday season and are ready for a fresh start. If you are like me and you have a slew of projects that you never completed last year, or the year before that, nor the years before those, then you should continue to read on and see some ideas that can help you simplify your crafting endeavors.
First of all, what do you feel is stopping you from finishing your cards, scrapbooks, canvases, junk journals, and other gifts or mixed media crafts? You really need to have an answer for that because knowing it is the key to the root of your procrastination. Have unforeseen life changes happened, such as a new move? Maybe you no longer have the same craft space and access to materials that you used to have. Perhaps health issues may have hindered your progress in completing your works.
Even if none of those or similar unpreventable things in life have occurred, and your crafting journey came to a halt as a result of sheer dilly dallying there is still a solution to your problems.
Simply define a list of what you know you will commonly make through out the year. In January, do you typically make cards or gifts for anyone’s birthday, anniversary, or for something routine that happens at this time of year? Do you create gifts for Mother’s Day?
Make a monthly list of birthdays, occasions, and holidays. Use the free Multimedia Crafts Digital Yearly Craft Worksheet provided as a download. This page contains important 2023 dates in it to aid you with your checklist. It will not only help you remember what you need to make, but it keeps them in chronological order according to priority. Is your child’s birthday coming before your best friend’s graduation? Do you have a craft fair coming up and need to make a host of items to sell as well as bake cookies for your church’s community yard sale happening in the same month? By recognizing when each project is due will give you time to plan accordingly..
After you have made your list, assess what types of supplies you’ve got on hand. USE WHAT YOU HAVE. I can’t stress that more than anything. Part of my problem was coming up with gift ideas that I felt like needed craft materials that I didn’t own at the time. I would then purchased some just to still not use them. I would get overwhelmed and have crafting cramps (in other words my mind would go blank). I thought my projects had to be over the top and elaborate when they didn’t.
Sometimes LESS is better than more. Only you know what your recipient likes when it comes to gift giving. What are their styles? Do they like certain themes and colors? Do they like bulky type cards or prefer a minimalist appeal? Look and see what kind of papers, fabrics, and tools you have in your stash to make these projects. If you don’t have all you need you can do swaps with fellow crafters who like to do the same types of things you enjoy. If you do the swaps early enough, you may receive some goodies that you didn’t have and make what you planned on creating without having to buy the extra supplies.
Many facebook groups do swaps. A few are Where Baking & Crafting Meet, The Maker Exchange, and Makers of Mixed Media Art/ Artists. There are a plethora of other ones. They are so much fun because they provide all sorts of ideas and techniques you can employ. They are a fun way to find inexpensive items in case you still need to purchase some. Many offer free digital downloads, discount codes, sales, and links to free or very low cost supplies.
The Multimedia Crafts Digital Facebook page offers freebies like the latest paper kit called, “Icy.” You can access this 5 page digital printable by going to the page, then “Photos,” then “Albums, ” and then “Freebies.” Scroll down until you see which kit you want. Click on the photo of the kit and the corresponding link will bring you to the download link.
When you are shopping around, set yourself a budget. Don’t go overboard. Once again, sometimes LESS is better. The less you have the fewer decisions you have, which can be a good thing, especially if you need to make a last minute gift. Sometimes the more you have gives you more choices, which could then delay your decision making process. Keep it simple and just do it.
Stores like Dollar Tree, Hobby Lobby, Walmart, and Michaels are great places to start. Go to the clearance isle and see what things have been marked down. You may even find supplies that may have been opened or returned, but are still in good shape. Often times the stores will reduce the price in order to help with loss prevention. A sale at a discounted price is better than no sale and having to throw the item away. If you decide not to go for brick and mortar stores, then there are always online shops. Etsy and Ebay are great places to check out. With Etsy you can find handmade goods, supplies, digitals, great gifts, and so much more. The same can be found with eBay, only you can even get things in bulk with the option to purchase it right away, make an offer, or even bid on an item that is being auctioned off. With eBay people bundle all sorts of things together, giving you a better deal than buying supplies separately.
Which ever portal or store you choose to purchase your acquisitions from, remember to be resourceful with them. Most of all have fun creating!
I hope that this article has been helpful. Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!
Disclaimer:
Some of the links within this article are affiliate links. If you click on them and make a purchase I will receive a monetary percentage of the cost of your item(s). Thank you in advance. Happy New Year!
Multimedia Crafts Digital 
Hey Mrs. Sonya, I like this post. The less is more part is where some of us have the biggest problem. Lol. That was my issue when I first started crafting. All I wanted was cardstock. Then it turned into a love for stamps, then after that, dies. After watching dog gone near your who channel, I learned to love scraps more. There are some out there that use them, but not on the level you do. They encouraged me to collect and you encouraged me to use. I needed that balance from both sides. Also, thank you for the shoutout and that freebie is nice. When I get on the computer, I’m gonna add it to the collection. And even though I’m doing less content creating for 2023, I’ll try to use some of that free time to tackle that box of unfinished projects. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you for checking out this post. You are absolutely welcome for the shout out. I love to share with others some of my favorite Facebook groups and how they can get stuff. Yes I have a bunch of dies and embossing folders that I don’t even really use. I’ve only used my Cricut Explore Air 2 maybe 15 times total in all the years I’ve had it. We really don’t need a lot of materials to create something fun. Thanks so much for reading this post.
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No problem. With the Cricut, I can agree. I gave my Explore to my aunt because I have the Maker I may have used each of those the same amount of times. I think if I had it set up all time I would use it more, but “sigh” we know thats not gonna happen. Lol.
Happy New Year!!
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