My top 5 favorite sources of online inspiration

We all have “slumps” when it comes to our creative arts. You spend all day or week looking forward to the time when you can put the world aside and make something. You prepare your tools and materials, sit down to begin and inspiration flees before you can touch pencil to paper. With a blank mind and sketch pad you may be tempted to walk away – putting craft time aside until inspiration hits again – but before you do browse around some of the following sites:

1.  iStockPhoto

I use the category links below the main feature image on the iStockPhoto homepage to browse the site for interesting colors, shapes and textures. Due to iStock’s preview function that enlarges image thumbnails when you mouse over them and their lightning fast loading pages I’m usually filled with inspiration in mere minutes.

2. Pinterest

The newest in my arsenal against creative flat-line is growing in leaps and bounds. Unless you’ve been avoiding the Internet for the past year, no doubt you’ve heard of Pinterest. This site is the ultimate scratch for my craft idea hoarding itch. You can collect  boards of “pins” for a myriad of purposes – from aerobic tips to zebra stripes and everything in between.

3. Etsy treasuries

While I have a deep and abiding love of how Etsy works and its many talented sellers – I would caution browsing areas that match your craft-of-choice. I find that when I follow what other Etsy jewelry artists are doing my work loses its uniqueness. After browsing the treasuries specifically for color and theme inspiration I can accomplish some of my best work – without wondering if I’ve subconsciously replicated another talented individual’s work.

4. ColourLovers

My ultimate favorite for inspiring new color combinations is ColourLovers.com. This community of artists allows you to browse and create your own colors, palettes, patterns and shapes all while keeping up with what is very “now” in palettes for fashion, web design, weddings, interior design and more.

5. DeviantArt

A community of ridiculously talented digital and print artists, Deviant Art is a portfolio of some of the most heartbreakingly beautiful artwork I’ve ever seen. Variety abounds with everything from anime to sculpture to cosplay photography all by a variety of artists, some highly experienced and some just breaking into the art world.

A note of warning about these sites – they can be highly addictive to crafty-types and if used irresponsibly can result in hours and hours of wasted time and rampant digital hoarding. For this reason I keep a tablet or laptop near my craft work area and attempt to limit my browsing to 15-20 minute intervals when needed.

However sometimes you just NEED a good 5 hour stint on Pinterest to unwind after a rough day. Just sayin’…

The Gosh-Darn Cutest Thing I’ve Seen Today

I love nothing better than something that reminds me of my 1980s childhood – and this project certainly fits the bill. Rust and Sunshine uses #6 plastic containers to make shrinky-dink jewelry.

This is recycled jewelry at its downright cutest! What are your favorite “reclaimed” items to craft with? Let us know in the comments!

My Current Obsession: Summer Dreams

Today I’ve got the blues – but not in a sad way. The weather is beautifully sunny and the sky is a brilliant shade of cerulean. There are leaves on the trees and the weather outside is so comfortable I can barely tell the temperature difference between inside my house and out. It is finally here (and long awaited since I am in Wisconsin) – summer!

When the weather turns nice I inevitably begin working more color into my crafts. This year, my focus has been on capturing some of those beautiful hues in teal, turquoise and aquamarine. The calming colors of a summer sky or a gently rippling lake near a cabin in the woods.

What colors call to you in the summer? Are they the same palette every year or have your favorites changed over time? Leave your ideas in the comments!

5 Ways to fit Crafts into your schedule

Image from Stock.xchng (http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1385312)

We are all so busy these days. Wants and Shoulds stack up while Needs and Musts whiz by. It can be difficult to fit time for our passions into our hectic lives, but when we can manage to wedge them in we never regret it afterward.

1. Carry a small sketchbookBuy (or better yet make!) a small notepad that fits inside your purse or pocket and carry it with you daily. Jot down ideas and small sketches or diagrams as inspiration hits. The benefits to this are twofold: It makes your actual crafting time more enjoyable because you won’t need to waste time visualizing what you should try; and it trains to you act immediately on what inspires you. I know I’ve lost many great ideas – telling myself “I’ll remember”. Let’s face it – we’re inundated with distractions every minute – you won’t.
2. Infuse your dayNo matter what your boss or coworkers say – you are entitled to a 15 minute break. If you are a full-time Mom – use your children’s nap time. Take at least 10 minutes to search for new inspiration or learn a new technique online. It will refresh you for the rest of the day. No computer access? Try going for a walk and looking for inspiration in your surroundings (don’t forget your sketchbook!).
3. Give yourself a goalWant to try a new technique but haven’t found the time to experiment – give yourself a drop-dead due date. Make your mom a card for Mother’s Day using the latest scrap-booking materials. Give your siblings hand-knit gifts for Christmas. Sew new lunch bags for your kids in celebration of the first day of school. As soon as you’ve committed to a deadline the time you spend testing or learning will no longer feel like “wasted time” and it will light a fire under you better than anything. A word of warning: make this goal serious, but don’t beat yourself up if you don’t quite make it. This is crafting not brain surgery.
4. Work around your familyMy husband likes to sleep late on Saturdays – so I build my craft time into times when I know he’ll be asleep. Chances are there are regular times during your day when you can be alone (or at least semi-alone – no one is saying you can’t get the kids involved in your craft time as well!). Use your time wisely. Refer to your sketchbook so you can start making right away. Don’t have the right materials? Try getting a similar effect to your sketch or vision using materials around the house. Think outside of the box.
5.  Join a class or groupSign up for a local college class on pottery or metalworking. Join a knitting group at your closest yarn shop. Schedule time with your nearby friends to get together and scrapbook. Keeping craft time social can be fun and, if you plan it weekly, will give you a special time with people you enjoy to look forward to all week. If you’re the new kid in town use it as an excuse to meet some new people. You’re almost guaranteed that you’ll have something in common.

How do you fit craft time into your busy schedule? Tell us in the comments!

My Current Obsession: Sea Glass

“Beach of sea glass” photo via Flickr user meganpru

When a concept or material grabs my attention – I often find that it “follows” me for a few weeks or until I give in and begin exploring its uses in my crafts.  This week – sea glass has been stalking me.

I found a gorgeous photo of a beach speckled with pale blues and greens. Those same blues and greens appeared in a friend’s purchase at a craft show the same week. A day later, I run across a seemingly random article about how to make sea glass. And now I’m hooked.

From Danger comes beauty

The concept of sea glass is an interesting one to me also. From a carelessly discarded bottle – a dangerous thing to barefoot beachcombers – nature makes a thing of beauty. Sharp edges are rounded, colors are muted and the shards that were once litter become a thing of beauty.

True sea glass is becoming rarer due to a combination of decreased glass littering (hurray!) and a good many people harvesting it for its use in artwork and jewelry. Never fear to those of you eager to use it in your work however. The craft glass equivalent can be created from broken wine bottles using some materials you can get from your local hardware store.

Making Sea Glass

1. Using a hammer (and protective eye wear!), break up any old clear or colored glassware. Thicker pieces work better than thin but feel free to experiment. Remember that the color will become more muted than the original shiny glass – the piece will appear “frosted” by the friction.
2. Load the pieces into a device that will mimic the constant motion of the sea, like a rock tumbler or a cement mixer for larger amounts.
3. Add abrasive materials like grit, sand, larger rocks or chunks that will knock off the edges of the glass. Feel free to experiment here also. You’ll want a good mix of large to small abrasives to mimic the imperfections of nature.
4. Add some water. Again, experimentation is key here. You’ll want to saturate the mixture so it doesn’t dry out in the process without causing the water to overflow the device you’re using.
5. Turn the device (tumbler or mixer) on and leave it on for about 4 hours. Check the mixture to see the progress. It is up to you if you want to keep going from this point. Some references I’ve seen insist that it will take 12 hours or more to receive a good effect, but this will depend largely on your own expectations. For a completely rounded and frosted piece the longer the tumbler runs the better, as many sea glass pieces have been tossed in the waves for years upon years. However if you prefer a more subtle look or you don’t mind the glass retaining its original shape or characteristics then a shorter time in the tumbler is needed.

Some great uses for sea glass

• jewelry
• mosaics on just about any surface
• mobiles
• garden decor
• floral arrangement bases
• water fountain decoration
• aquarium decor
• beach-themed weddings
• mirror surrounds
• simple home decor (sea glass is beautiful on its own in a bowl or glass jar)

Share with us!

I’d love to see the results of your sea glass making efforts, your finished craft projects, or even pics that inspire you to start using sea glass. Please share with us in the comments, or if you use pinterest send me your username and head on over here: http://pinterest.com/corvuscrafts/sea-glass/ to pin your faves!

On a final note – anyone looking to get rid of an old cement mixer? 😉

The Healing Power of Craft

We all know the aesthetic benefits behind taking the time to create, but we seem to take the healing and transformative powers it can have for granted. Whether you knit, paint, draw, sew, write, cook, crochet, craft or anything in between – any creative expression can lead you to a place of better physical and mental health.

My path to healing

A few years ago I undertook a candy-making adventure just before the Christmas season. I put a great deal of pressure on myself to prepare for the holiday since this was the first I’d be sharing with my now-husband in our new apartment together. I diligently set up the tree, cleaned the entire house, and gathered my mother’s recipes for Christmas candy.

After skimming one of the recipes for easy microwave peanut brittle, I measured out my ingredients – mostly sugar, corn  syrup and water – and poured them into a casserole dish. I popped it into the microwave for about 15 minutes and went on my merry way. After the timer beeped I went to add the peanuts.

I reached into the tiny microwave to pull the casserole dish out, catching it on a small lip on the bottom of the microwave. The bowl flipped over, splashing searing hot sugar syrup over my left hand. After running it under cold water for what seemed like a very painful eternity, we agreed that I needed to go to the emergency room.

I returned a few hours later heavily bandaged and drugged. The next few weeks were agonizing. I was in a lot of pain; my hand throbbed even when I was taking painkillers and keeping it elevated, which made it nearly impossible to get any sleep. I could not type properly since two fingers on my left hand needed to be wrapped together, which meant a good deal of my usual entertainment had become impossible for me.

Over time I became somewhat stir crazy and my fingers (finally beginning to heal) itched like mad. I took the heavy bandages off and attempted to complete tasks around the house without them. It felt weird to actually bend them after so long and I was concerned about doing anything too strenuous with them.

I had taught myself to knit the year before – but had given it up telling myself I didn’t have time for it. I sat down and began work on a project that had been abandoned months before.

I knit the sleeve of my first sweater, keeping tension on the yarn with my injured fingers. Bending and flexing them when needed. I made great progress and the work made me feel productive and took my mind off of the pain.

Before long I had finished the sweater – and my fingers were cleanly healed without much scarring at all. My knitting served as physical therapy – stretching my fingers and allowing them to heal without limiting my range of motion.

Though in this case the act of crafting had served to heal me physically there are also occasions when having a creative hobby can heal emotional pain. This was however, the first time I had experienced its effects directly.

Since then I’ve become more aware of how to use crafts to treat my own mental barriers, de-stress and make much needed time for myself. Though I’ve branched out into other creative pursuits, I still knit regularly and consider it one of the best ways to calm and center myself.

Share your own experiences

Have you ever had an experience where your craft helped you heal from a traumatic physical or emotional event? How has that experience affected your life since then? Please leave your story in the comments section.