Heart-to-Heart #1 + Giveaway

Hello dear friends! 

Thanks a lot for joining me in my crafting journey! I am excited to have you here. 

In case you do not know, I am having a little GIVEAWAY to celebrate 1 month of crafting. All the details for the giveaway are under the "giveaway album" on my facebook profile "Dutt Preety" 

Please do play along and follow all the steps to be eligible! I am super excited to have my first giveaway :) would be great to have you.

So I thought I would write a series of posts about tips, tricks, experiences that I have had in the crafting world in the past 6 months which is roughly when I started buying supplies. 6 months in, I think there are a few things that nobody really tells you, so this will be my attempt at discussing those issues. To keep it short, I will write about 5 points at a time. So here goes. 

1. Art and craft supplies are expensive

No matter where you are in the world, from watching videos to reading other people's opinions, generally this fact holds true. So before you decide to get into it full-time or even part time, you need to know that it will cost you. 

2. Buying art and craft supplies is addictive

Since there are so many art and craft forms out there, there are literally thousands of products, hundreds of brands and they keep coming out with new releases and products every few months! So there will always be things that you find reallllllly pretty and you don't have. So you will feel compelled to shop. I should know!! I have been on a constant shopping spree for the past 6 months and honestly I am emotionally exhausted! It is that high of getting new and pretty things and then the guilt that follows and then the need to shop again and the cycle repeats itself. It is incessant and difficult to get out of. 

3. Crafting requires space 

When one starts acquiring supplies, it does not seem like much but as the days/months/years pass by, things can get really crazy in terms of the amount of stuff one gets. So in order to craft, one needs to know that a decent amount of space would be required. When I say space, I mean a work surface like a sturdy table with drawers/shelves to store essential supplies along with places to keep other supplies. If you wish to buy a die cutting machine, please know that it requires space. Not just the machine itself but the platforms it comes with, the dies and embossing folders you will acquire over time. And also you need a work station to deal with die cuts (to pop them out of the dies). Stamping is another craft which I think requires a dedicated space. From the storage of stamps to your actual work top which will include acrylic blocks/misti/stampoholic, stamps, inks, heat tool, embossing powders-it can get pretty crowded. Cutting and trimming paper is another task that requires a dedicated space because guillotines and trimmers tend to be big and need a stable surface to cut. Scoreboards especially the Martha Stewart 12" scoreboard does take up space but it is pretty light. So essentially, one needs to figure out dedicated spaces in one's room/studio in order to cater to these specific crafting tasks. 

4. Organization Skills

If you get into crafting, you do need to get organized. Big Time. Organized with regards to the supplies- their storage, their bills (keeping a record of where what was purchased in case you want to destash/sell it later and also to keep your finances in order). If one does not get organized right from the start it can get pretty unmanageable. 

5. It is not all fun. It is a lot of work 

Sometimes one might get into crafting after watching youtube videos or tutorials and the great artists in those videos make it look so wonderful and effortless that one feels inspired to do the same. And yes!!! that is so awesome. But please realize that crafting does take a lot of energy, effort, patience and work. Right from collecting the supplies, to brainstorming the design, to fiddling with your art work for hours-days, to cleaning the muck that is created afterwards (bits of papers, ribbons, inked up mats etc) , to clicking good pictures (yes it is not easy, I still have no clue how to do that, so you really need to research and figure out how to take good pictures of your piece), to blogging/posting/sharing it on social media --- it is a lot of work but hopefully one feels such joy in the creation that it inspires one to get into crafting. 

Thanks for your time! Stay Blessed

Preeti