I failed. I was ready to post on Tuesday, but life took off without me. Grading papers, teething babies. Both required my attention, one a little more loudly than the other. On to crafting!
Every serious crafter, no matter what his/her craft, one day wishes for a space set aside for your pursuits. When I was a kid, my parents finished the basement, and along one wall was a long counter, puncuated with cabinets. At the end was a huge cubboard for games and craft supplies. My mom stored her sewing machine and its accoutrement, while Sarah and I stowed our markers and Perler beads in the drawers. My dad did a fantastic job. Today, I long for such a space. A place where I could leave my projects out and not have to start all over every time I want to work.
When we moved into our current apartment, I wanted to ensure my things were organized, and the first on my list were craft supplies. An abandoned dresser, far too small to hold anyones wardrobe, holds my scrapbooking supplies, ribbon, tape, scissors, stickers, and notions. In the hall closet, I housed my two plastic drawer towers of yarn and used the shelf to hold my scrapbooks (I have 8). I wanted to make a table out of the the drawers, but the space wasn't wide enough.
Anyway, one day we'll have a house with the space for an office / craft room. I want a glass topped table, that way paint and glue are easily cleaned up. Ikea has a few really beautiful options. This End Up has sturdy kids furniture that would be good for Elliott to craft along-side Mama. Sarah and I had that brand of stuff in our playroom growing up, and aside from the marker, it held up well.
Because I prefer to hide my things in drawers, it can be difficult to find supplies when I need them. This is why I love Ravelry. It has a feature to organize your yarn (pictures and other tools so you can look through your supplies before you dig through drawers), hooks, patterns, needles, and even their "notebook" feature to track the progress of your projects. Most patterns can be stored in your "library," along with the books you may own in real life. It takes a little time to get it set up, but once it is, it truly makes life easier.
I'm thinking of opening an Etsy store, but I really don't want to have to pay commission on my sales. I would really rather just sell things on my blog or something and install a "PayPal" button. I don't know. I'm saving those decisions for after the holidays. I have a lot of gifts (and a couple of commissions!) to make.
This was a boring craft post, but I wanted to discuss it.
- J & M.
Recipes coming soon!
No, I liked this post! We have an office, but don't have the money yet to get it furnished (there are more pressing rooms like our family room that needs seating). Anyway I love the idea of creating a space for kids too. Pottery Barn Kids has great tables/accessories too. There's two blogs I love that have great spaces like this: http://naptimedecorator.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteFYI - You still have to pay a bit of commission on Paypal. If someone is paying for goods and services and you charge $25... you won't get all of it. Paypal still takes a cut.
ReplyDeletehttp://thefeecalculator.com/
That'll help.
The only way to get all the money you want from a transaction is to do it without an invoice. The person logs in and sends you money as a gift. It could work for friends, but strangers will usually want an invoice.
I vote etsy... bigger marketplace!