Getting Ideas Out of My Brain and Into Felt-y Reality

I have so many projects that I've been thinking about making for aaaages. I need to stop faffing about and just make them so I can share them with you guys!! They're no use to anyone just sitting in my sketchbooks (well, I say sketchbooks but I mean "scribbled on the scrap pieces of paper I had to hand at the time I had the idea").

So, on Sunday my To Do list read, in full "MAKE ALL THE THINGS".

I made a good start! I cut out lots of felt...

 

... for a whole bunch of different projects.

I then took my To Do list a teeny bit literally, sketching out a quick pattern and cutting out a bunch of felt letters...

... so I could make a permanent reminder to MAKE ALL THE THINGS.

Tutorial and pattern coming as soon as I've finished stitching it :)

Finishing Things, Starting Things

I finally managed to fit a Making Day into my schedule, hurrah! After a quick bit of emailing etc on Monday  morning, I spent the rest of the day working on some sewing projects - sketching, planning, cutting out pieces, sewing, and generally enjoying having time to work on my own projects after weeks of being quite deadline-focused.

I finally finished these sparkly owls that have (I am ashamed to admit) been in my WIP box for over a year!

You can find instructions for making your own felt owl ornaments here.

I've also started stitching a couple of new things which I can't show you just yet - something pink and purple and summer-y that I'll (hopefully) be sharing soon and something Halloween-themed in white, orange and yellow (can you guess what that might be?).

It does feel a bit weird working on a Halloween project in May- especially when I have lots of summer-themed things on my To Do list - but that's the project I felt like making, and you've gotta go with the creative flow sometimes, right? :)

Sneak Peeks & the Return of the Making Day

As I mentioned the other day, I can't blog about most of the things I'm working on at the moment as they're projects for other people... but there are a few things in my WIP box that I can share snaps of.

Spring flowers!

Felt letters!

Gingerbread shapes that I started cutting out last autumn!

With any luck, you'll be seeing these pop up as tutorials at some point but it might be a while because argh deadlines argh and also OMG there is so much other stuff on my To Do list.

I think that as well as scheduling Nice Days Out to make sure I'm getting proper days off from work that I may need to start scheduling Making Days to give me time to brainstorm new ideas, work on my personal projects and generally feed the creative bit of my brain. I tried having a weekly Making Day a couple of years ago and totally failed to stick to it, but I think it's an idea that's worth another try! 

Making Stuff & Making a Mess

It's amazing just how quickly my studio space can go from "super neat and tidy with everything put away" to "looking like a crafty bomb went off with piles of stuff everywhere".

This usually happens when I'm brainstorming some new ideas, as I go rummaging through lots of boxes of supplies looking for the perfect material and try to get half a dozen different ideas out of my brain and onto paper / into prototype form all at once. I love making sessions like this: so much creativity and crafty fun!

Tidying up afterwards = less fun, but never mind :)

Luckily I have a dedicated studio space at the moment so I can leave the desk, coffee tables, sofa and floor covered in heaps of crafty stuff, shut the door on it and come back and tidy up later! After years of working from the kitchen table or in the living room in my old flat it is a delicious luxury to be able to really throw myself into making things / working on new designs and not have to worry about tidying up straight away.

More Making! Plus a Sneak Peek

So, it turned out that the temptation to spend another day doing crafty things was just too hard to resist :)

I've got a whole heap of things made and photographed ready for some mammoth photo-editing and tutorial-writing sessions over the next few weeks...

As you can probably see from the photo, I've got a few Christmas tutorials planned. Most of these were actually on my "Crafty Christmas" to do list last year but got put on hold due to my sudden move. It feels really great to finally be getting them out of my sketchbooks and into reality. I'm pretty pleased with how they've turned out & I hope you'll like them too.

The only downside is that my studio looks like something exploded! Luckily, one of the perks of having a dedicated studio space is that you can close the door on all the mess and go put your feet up without having to worry about it (well, until the next day anyway).

Time for a Making Day

I couldn't focus on my emails and the rest of my to do list yesterday, so I switched off the computer and spent the day making things instead:

I took a whole bunch of photos too, because what I'm working on at the moment is some new tutorials :)

I haven't had a "making day" in months. I'm sure I say this every time, but I really need to try to have them more often! In fact, I'm tempted to have another one today...

Another Making Day

 

When I tell people what I do for a living, I often get the impression that they think I sit around sewing and sketching and "doing crafty things" all day, i.e. not really working. If only this was the case!

In fact, despite my entire job revolving around crafting, there are always so very many other things on my To Do list that actually making things can easily get squeezed out of my schedule. 

Replying to emails and editing photos and updating my website and doing my accounts and ordering new supplies and packing parcels, and all the other things that need doing to keep my business running seem to be "more important" so they get ticked off the list first and being creative sort of falls off the bottom of the list (especially during busy weeks).

With this in mind, I think including a "making day" in my schedule each week - a dedicated time for all that "creative stuff" - is really, really important and I'm determined to stick with it. I'm also trying very hard to write myself more focused and manageable To Do lists so I don't get overwhelmed by tasks each week, working the whole time and burning myself out in the process... and so I can actually get on with making stuff on making day, instead of feeling guilty about all the work I think I ought to be doing!

I have to admit to admit to feeling a bit "meh" about some of the results of this week's making day (which is why I'm only showing you these slightly teasing photos) but it's always useful to try out ideas, even if they don't quite work out how you planned them :)

Making Day

I've decided to try and make Thursdays a dedicated "making day" - a special space in my week dedicated to brainstorming new crafty projects, trying out ideas and sewing new designs.

Here are a couple of very quick snaps from my first making day, today:

I'm looking forward to next Thursday already!