Friday, October 26, 2012

“But I like shiny new things!": thoughts on how to ease yourself into upcycling and handcrafting (part 1)

 
Start with what you already have at home or what you could use – Look around your living space.  Chances are that you already have projects awaiting your attentions.  That really awesome pair of wool pants is waiting for you to adjust the length and redo the hem, the boring scarf could use some colorful accents, the pieces of cedar that some one left in the back alley (yes, I do live in Vancouver, BC) could be used to make the key holder that you need, and on and on.  Look around and get started!

projects and more projects
Plan before you gather - Be realistic about your storage and work space…especially if you live with others.  When you let your creative side take charge, chances are that you will come up with thousands of ideas for projects.  That is a great thing, however, you may find yourself gathering the materials that you need for all those, and other projects, all at once.  Clutter will take over and soon you will be wishing that you had space to work on your projects except the materials will be in the way.  If you are going to be working on more than one project, it helps to work on multiple ones that use similar materials and/or tools.
 
Sharing = Learning - Sharing ideas, knowledge and materials are great aspects of upcycling and handcrafting.  This community of interesting people with which to network is a cool bonus.  That is how you get to learn new stuff, save time by learning from others’ mistakes, and maybe even get to score free materials for your next project.

-by KQ

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