10 New Year's Resolutions for a Crafty Person

As a crafty person, I have my New Year's resolutions this year. I think I have done pretty well this year with my crafting, but I am hoping that 2007 will be even better. If I pay attention to the following resolutions - things can really improve.

I love crafts. Crafts are fun, they are a great way to relax and unwind and just be creative. I do several different types of crafts. I do decoupage - I like to make decoupaged picture frames, boxes, plates and to decoupage a variety of other wooden objects that I find along the way. I also like rubber stamping, knitting, cardmaking, scrapbooking and jewelry making. I think a lot of crafters do more than one type of craft, but I would have to say that I have been doing more decoupage this year than anything else, that's just been the way things have been going.

1. To finish U.F.O. If you are a crafter, you are probably laughing in recognition. You might just have a couple of U.F.O's yourself. U.F.O's are unfinished objects, or unfinished craft projects. I still have half a sweater sitting guiltily in my closet that I kept promising I was going to finish by October that just never got done. I have scrapbooking pages I wanted to get done before the end of the year. And we all know the longer you avoid a U.F.O, the more impossible it seems - so I'm either going to get them done, or I'm going to (gasp) throw them out!

2. Try a new craft. I picked up this great book about how to make pop-up books. I just couldn't resist it. It looks like so much fun. You need card stock and a good x-acto knife and a self-healing cutting board and some other things, I have most of the things you would need to get started on doing this craft. I'd like to sketch out some ideas for a pop-up project and try it. Sometimes I get very critical when I try something new because it isn't going to look great when I try it out the first time, I know I'm going to have to do it several times before it really works. So I'm resolving to try a new craft, to get the ball rolling.

3. Give my crafts to friends and family. Some people are very good at this and I do this sometimes. It is fun to make gifts for other people. But I think I need to do this more. If I did this more, I would certainly have more crafting goals, and I'd probably be doing more crafts projects. Maybe I'd also be learning some new crafts techniques. One of my friends gave me a handmade scrapbook and I just love it, I thought, what a thoughtful gift. So I should do this more.

4. Bargain shop for supplies. Crafting can be pricey. I don't know about anyone else, but sometimes when I go into a crafts store, I can wind up picking up other things that interest me and before I know it, I've got a cart full of stuff. So I need a resolution to do more bargain shopping for my crafts supplies.

5. Organize my supplies. When I look at my Container Store catalog, I feel very guilty, because I know that my crafts supplies could be better organized. Okay, I don't think everything needs to be put away with the precision that would make Felix Unger proud. But I think some good labeling and maybe some storage boxes would just make things a little easier to find. This is probably what I will start with, because once you know what you have, then you won't be buying doubles of things, or wasting crafts supplies.

6. Take a crafts class. I would like to stand up now and say that I am a very below average knitter. I need help. H-E-L-P. A class is in order. I have several books and this approach doesn't seem to be working. I need an actual person to look at my stitches and tell me what I am doing wrong, because I appear to be zigging when I should be zagging. Something like that. So I'm going to look for a knitting class.

7. Subscribe to a magazine. Subscribing is cheaper than buying a magazine at the newsstand or at the crafts store, especially if I am buying it all the time. So I am going to subscribe to that scrapbooking magazine I like to read all of the time, I know that will save me money, and I will look forward to reading each issue.

8. Go to more crafts shows. It is always nice to see what professional crafts people can make, and often their wares make lovely gifts. I should attend more crafts shows and take a look at the lovely things they make.

9. Spend time with crafty people. Not all of my friends do crafts. Some of them just nod their heads and say "oh, that's nice". But others are crafters. Others understand what it feels like to finish a project. Or to get a great bargain at the crafts store. They have great ideas, great suggestions. So I should be spending more time with crafty people.

10. Have fun with my crafts. I think this is the most important. I do this as a hobby. If its not fun, what is it? So crafting should be relaxing and fun and something I do to unwind, not something that makes me feel like I should be as skilled as another crafter or that I wish I was farther along in my abilities like another crafter. Just relax and enjoy the ride.