10 Ways to Become Craftier in the New Year

The ball has dropped, the champagne has been drunk, and the confetti has been thrown…the new year has arrived! Each year, so many people reflect on what they’ve done over the past year, and what they hope to accomplish in the coming months.

I, for one, strongly dislike New Years resolutions. They just set you up for failure. I am sure one or more of you have fallen victim to the “I promise to get in better shape” resolution, or the “I’m going to save more money this year” promise. The problem with making resolutions are – they’re just a wish. And although I consider myself to be an optimistic person, I’m also a business person. And I know that it’s nearly impossible to achieve your wishes unless you have set specific goals, and compiled a “business” plan to achieve them.

Sticking with Your Resolution Business Plan

Yes, I said business plan. And no, I’m not crazy. Although your new years resolution may not be your business, you’ll need to run it like one if you want to stick with it.

The first step is to come up with tangible numbers for your goal. If you’re looking to get in better shape, what does that look like to you? Is it a number on the scale, or the size of your clothes, or how many of your abs you can see when flexing? Whatever your goals are, write them down.

Next, do your homework, and plan out month to month what you are going to do differently to achieve your goals. If you have a smart “business” plan written down, it is much easier to get to where you want to be. Suddenly, your WISH turns into REALITY.

For me, and I’m sure maybe you too if you’re reading this post, I want to become craftier. I enjoy crafting, I’m semi-good at it, and I would like to spend more time perfecting the crafts I enjoy doing.

I wouldn’t call this my new years resolution (mostly, because I strongly dislike the term) but I would definitely say it’s a goal of mine for the next 12 months. What’s tangible about this goal? Well, for me, I’ve decided I want to create at least 3-4 new, usable crafts per month. Crafts that are fun, items I like, fairly quick to do, and can be utilized by myself or my friends. Simple enough, right?

For you, it may not be this intense. Maybe your goal is just to be able to do SOMETHING yourself, make a gift for someone, redo a room in your house, or DIY an event. Whatever your reasoning for wanting to become a better crafter, I’ve made a business plan that is foolproof.

Below are the 10 steps I’ve come up with to ensure my goals are met. You can utilize these steps to bring help you become craftier, for whatever your crafting goals may be.

The DIY Crafter’s Business Plan

Step 1 -Take Some Time for Yourself

I know I know, life is busy. We all have excuses for why we don’t have enough time in the day. But if we’re constantly slaves to our jobs, our kids, or whatever it may be, we will NEVER be able to achieve our personal goals.

Take some time each week (whether it’s an hour a day or your entire Sunday) and spend it with yourself. Allow yourself to internalize what your latest likes and dislikes are, without any outside influence. What makes you tick? What are you passionate about?

Start writing these things down. The more you enjoy something, the more you’ll want to do it, and the more likely you are to stick with it. If you don’t like sewing, but have committed yourself to crafting a quilt for your mom’s birthday, it’s probably going to fall by the wayside. Figure out what it is that you are passionate about NOW, and start your crafting adventures there. It will lead you down a path of limitless creativity (and happiness).

Step 2 – Stop to Smell the Roses

Just like step 1, this step helps us to remember that we need to slow life down a bit. Yes, taking time for yourself is the first step, but we also need to remember to take the rest of the world instead of it passing us by.

If you’re focused too much on the everyday, you’ll never be able to truly understand what makes you tick, and what gets your creative juices flowing.

There might be a new song you’ve never heard that may catch your ear. Or a flower on the side of the road that is just starting to bloom. Stop and listen to that song, or take a picture of the flower. You’ll never know what will be your next source of crafting inspiration. Don’t let the craziness of life prevent you from taking it all in.

Step 3 – Spend More Time With Friends Who Enjoy the Same Things You Do

Hanging out with your friends is already a fun part of life. More than just enjoying their company, take in all the ideas they give you! It may not be given to you in a “here’s a great craft to try” format, but use them as inspiration!

Be a good listener, and take in what they say. What did they do last week? What was something really nice someone else gave them? Are they looking for something they don’t know how to find? Did they recently do a project they have tips on?

Whatever the conversation may be about, make sure to get takeaways for yourself. You’ll never know where you’re next inspiration will come from, and dynamic dialogue with friends is the perfect way to ignite your creative spirit.

Step 4 – Follow Blogs that Inspire Your Creativity

Spending time with friends is great, but let’s be honest – it probably can’t happen every day. And easy way to get out there and connect with others with similar interests is to follow inspirational bloggers.

Following others that love DIY, crafting, and fun lifestyle choices is an easy way to get constant inspiration without it being a time suck. They often focus on things that are relevant and hip, and are more often than not, super fun to read.

You can pick and choose those that have similar likes and interests as you, and build yourself a tiny little online community of friends. The best thing about these friends is they’re always there, they don’t care if you flake, and you can see them when it’s convenient for YOU.

Even if you just choose one or 2 to start with, it helps with your commitment to achieving your goal of becoming craftier.

If you want a few to start with, here are the Top 5 blogs (in no particular order) that inspire me:

Lovely Greens
The Beauty of Country Living, with handmade beauty, recipes, gardening, and projects
Pinch Of Yum
A Food Blog with Simple and Tasty Recipes
Little Miss Momma
Life Lessons From a Momma in Training
Hello Gorgeous
Homemaking, beauty, and fashion lifestyle blog
This+That
Fashion, food, travel, and lifestyle inspiration

Step 5 – Pinterest Up a Storm

If you’re still lacking for internal inspiration, or aren’t yet ready to come up with your own crafting ideas, Pinterest is a great way to help spark the fire. There are hundreds of thousands of amazing ideas for any occasion, and most will link to a tutorial of how to DIY.

Start by searching for the things you are most interested in at that moment. Then, branch out to broader searches such as “easy crafts,” “cute crafts,” “crafts for beginners,” the list goes on.

Make a board to pin all the ideas you love. Then, come back to them should you need more inspiration. The key to becoming a better crafter is to do the crafts you love with frequency. The more ideas you have for future crafts, the better. Pinterest is a great way to start to stockpile your DIY aspirations, until you have a few of your own.

Follow me on Pinterest here if you’re looking for some extra inspiration – I post quite often…

Step 6 – Hashtag

We all make fun of the hashtag. In my opinion, they’re WAYYY overused. However, they are quite useful in this instance.

If you’re trying to bring out your inner crafter, check hashtags on your favorite social media sites to see what others just like you are doing.

In case you aren’t aware, hashtags are used just like keywords in a search box – only you’re looking for other people’s social media posts. If you’re looking for a specific craft (say, for example, wedding calligraphy) you’d hashtag #weddingcalligraphy. You can hashtag anything, really. If you’re not sure of something specific, you can always go broad and try #DIY, #Crafting, etc.

Using hashtags is just another avenue to get some crafting inspiration from your peers, and keep your creativity alive if you’re having crafter’s block!

I find these most helpful when used on Instagram and Pinterest – THOUSANDS of ideas under every hashtag, and the ones that will appear in your search will change daily.

Step 7 – Walk Around Michaels and Joann’s Stores

They’re like adult Disneylands for crafters! Seriously, I love these stores. Just walking around and seeing the floral arrangements they’ve put together, or the latest dress that’s been sewn is enough to get your mind racing.

I’m a HUGE dork, and I like to walk up and down the aisles not only looking for what’s on sale, but seeing what’s out there and new things I can craft with.

Sometimes, just looking at glitter can make a lightbulb go off for a DIY project. Or seeing raw materials can help you understand how your friend made that cute holiday wreath and how easy it would be to DIY yourself.

Come in with an open mind, a credit card, and of course MULTIPLE coupons. You may not know what you’re going to do with the things you buy, but I assure you they’ll come in handy at some point.

Step 8 – Set Up a Space Just for Your Crafts

THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!! I repeat, THIS IS IMPORTANT! As I mentioned earlier, we are easily distracted by the craziness of life. If you don’t have a specific space in your house, basement, attic, or office that is specifically dedicated to you and your crafting projects, you’ll probably have a failed goal of becoming craftier.

If you’re planning to start your projects on the dining room table, or the island in the kitchen, what will you do when someone else needs to use the space? You’ll spend all this time setting your project up, only to have to move it or put it away.

Where are you going to put all the supplies you get from your craft store trips? If they’re not organized in an easy-to-get-to fashion, you’ll probably lose them or forget where you put them. That’s not only a huge waste of money, but a time suck when you’re trying to look for them. The time you set aside to craft, will be wasted on the set up and clean up.

Now, it’s not like I have an entire room dedicated to DIY in my house. Heck, I barely have enough space as it is. However, I have set aside a desk in my spare bedroom for my projects. Albeit small, it has storage space and a flat surface. I’ve also created a little space in the closet in the same room to store my extra fabrics and supplies.

Whatever you can do, no matter how large or small, just make sure you have a permanent solution for your craft area.

Here are the items pictured above that I bought to get my space started:

• Compact White Desk
• Rustic Desk Chair
• Wicker Storage Baskets
• 10 Drawer Organizer Cart
• Silhouette Cameo Di-Cutting Machine

Step 9 – Start promoting your crafts

Now, you don’t have to go so far as to sell your items on Etsy (like I’m starting to do in my shop). But just be proud – show others what you’ve done! Whether it’s a quick share on social media, giving something you’ve crafted as a gift, throwing a party with all your DIY swag, or going so far as to sell your creations online – be proud of what you’ve accomplished!

No matter how big or small your craft seems to you, others will LOVE the fact that you put in effort to make something yourself. The feedback from others gives a sense of euphoria that helps to perpetuate the crafting cycle. And the more positive reinforcement you get, the more you’ll want to DIY, and the craftier you’ll become.

Step 10 – Craft more often

Getting positive reinforcement helps, but just sticking with it is the key. Like I said above, the more you craft, the better you get, and the more likely you are to start another project. The cycle is never ending!

However, you need to keep it fresh. Make sure to continually follow the steps above to make sure you’re doing what sparks your interest. The more you craft, the better you become, the more you realize what thing you like and dislike, and the more you see what you excel at and what you need work on.

Everything doesn’t need to be a big project, even just making a card for a friend could be considered a craft. No matter how small, continue to DIY, and hone in on your inner crafter 🙂

Following Through On Your DIY Crafting Plan

Now, you have a resolution in place, and a complete plan to follow through. The hardest part? Actually consistently doing it. ALL of it! If you want your resolution to be a success, you need to constantly be checking yourself, reprioritizing, and making sure you’re sticking to the plan you’ve made.

Print out the tangibles in a simple checklist. Put it on your fridge, desk, mirror, wherever you know you’ll see it. Check it once a month to ensure you’re sticking to the plan, and you’re still enjoying what you’re doing. If you find things that challenge you, work on those for a month until you’ve mastered them. If there are things that work for you that you’ve forgot to include on your original list (or didn’t even realize when you were making it), refine the list and add them to it.

Whatever it may be, don’t give up! And if, like me, becoming craftier is your goal, here are a few things I’d use to get started:

• Downloadable Checklist of action items above
• Creative Crafting Download (Kindle Edition)
• DIY Household Hacks (Kindle Edition)