The Introverted Crafter

How do you go about keeping up a blog whose subject is crafting when you have a creative block? Depression can be a bit of a hindrance sometimes when it comes to being creative. This week, I was feeling particularly uncreative, but I perservered. First of all, here is the update on my photo stitch. I tend to stitch more when I am feeling anxious. I have been feeling pretty anxious this week, which resulted in me finishing a page in record time. I only have one more page to go till it is finished. I also took one of my other kits to work so that I could do a bit of stitching during my break. I started this on Monday. That's quite a bit of stitching! I'm leaving the glitter parts till last because I hate working with glitter thread. It always snags. I got Thread Heaven for christmas last year, so I'm hoping this gets rid of the problem. I didn't feel like this was creative enough, so I tried to make a card. I had no idea what to do, so I gathered together...

I got my second geek box this morning, and this month's theme is QUEST! LEt's take a look shall we? Some Hobbit postcards - I loved the Hobbit but postcards are a bit disappointing. A Game of Thrones bookmark. Haven't read the books or seen the programme but I can always do with more bookmarks. The other side of the bookmark. A Funko figure. As I've said before I haven't seen Game of Thrones but I appreciate a good figure. Out of the box - it's cute. This month's t-shirt design. I love this! Reservoir Dogs is my favourite Tarantino flick and I'm a huge Tolkien fan, so I'm very pleased with this. Bertie Bott's every flavour beans from Harry Potter. I don't eat jellybeans so someone else can have these. Now the question is, do I take off the ingredient list so that someone eats a funny flavoured one by mistake? This box is ok. I love the t shirt and the figure, but I'm disappointed by the...

I wanted to keep the previous post separate, as I felt it was too important to clutter with crafts. I have however, decided to take a leaf from Robin's book, and approach this post with a small modicum of humour. I have stated before that I want to do tutorials so here is my first (sans pictures I'm afraid). So here it is: 1. Grab your clear shrink plastic. Realise that you've grabbed acetate and not shrink plastic only after you have sanded the acetate. 2. Sand the shrink plastic. Do this both horizontally and vertically. 3. Stamp the sanded side! Remember to use an ink pad that will stay on the shrink plastic without smudging (best is Staz on) 4. Drop the ink pad onto your leg, so you have a nice black smudge. 5. Ink the required stamps. Leave to dry (very important) 6. Sand the other side of the shrink plastic. Make sure you remember which side the stamp is on! 7. Use Sharpies to colour the plastic. Promarkers work as well, but Sharpies are better in my opi...

I've thought long and hard about whether to say anything about the passing of Robin Williams, and what to say. In the end I simply want to say that his legacy should be two-fold. His death should be an eye-opener for any who look at an individual and wonder what they have to be so down about, and why they simply can't snap out of it. His suicide is not a reflection on his life, and there is no point in looking for reasons on why he chose to end it. Depression is an illness. I have been in that black place, where life has become merely existence and it is a monumental struggle to get through each day. When you feel that everybody that you love would be better off without you. Robin Williams was not a coward for ending  his life. You would not call a physically ill person a coward for giving up the fight. And he put up one hell of a fight. Throughout his career he made it his utmost goal to make people laugh, and he did this splendidly. So much so, that it is now only after his d...

I'm the first to admit that my weaknesses are layering and working in three dimensions, at least when it comes to crafting (actually the layering is an issue clothes wise too, I never know what goes!) Anyway, instead of ignoring weaknesses it is best to work on them in the hope that they become strengths. I had bought a couple of templates from house of Zandra when I went to a craft exhibition in Exeter last year, and, since last year, they have been sat in my craft room gathering dust. I have two; a chest of drawers template and a book box one. I decided to use the book box one, as it seemed a little easier than the chest of drawers and, as a newbie, I thought I'd dip my toes in the water instead of plunging headfirst into the deep end. The templates are made from durable card so they can be used again and again, and they are relatively cheap. The drawback is that, at least with the book box template, the instructions are not explicit enough for somebody like me, namely th...

I've always loved the idea of buying something and doing it up but haven't done it till now. I bought a bird cage the other day from Store Twenty One for a fiver, and then got to work. I started by finding some paper for the inside of the cage. I ended up using the free paper that had arrived that morning from Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine, and some kraft card. I also found some blue ribbon to which I added some more kraft paper that had been die cut. I then got my only set of framelits, and cut alternate sizes of the patterned and kraft card, all inked with tattered rose distress ink and then stamped with a sentiment. The only other thing on the inside of the cage was a length of twine to which I added some blue pegs.  On the outside of the cage I added some yellow flowers. If you look closely you can see some droplets of water on them, another plus with the choice of glossy accents as a glue is that it makes perfect raindrops. I coated some chi...