Building An Arsenal

Craft supplies can be expensive. This is a fact that all crafters are well aware of.


 I don't remember a single supply shopping trip where I did not end up with much more in my basket than what my budget would allow. The bulk of my trips are often spent trying to decide which things I could live without... for now.  These limitations, which a good many of us face, especially now when the economy has slowed down and more people are getting by on less, can be very frustrating. They can be, but they don't have to be.
The very essence of creativity centers on the use of imagination, the ability to create something tangible from an idea. Building in the artistic sense can be very flexible and forgiving. As long as you are not working with huge, or dangerous projects that require certain structural needs to be met for safety's sake, there is always room for experimentation.

With the stress, worry, hardships and even horrors in the world today, it can be a fight to find the motivation to spend time on yourself. Because of all these same reasons, however, it is that much more important to be able to express yourself and release the whirl of energy trapped inside. Every emotion you feel can be channeled through creativity. With the ability grasp the echo of a memory, or revel in the sheer joy of unrestrained whimsy, crafting can help you record and shape your life.

Finding time for your creativity may be a fight but you can go in well armed. Learning is the foundation of your crafting arsenal. Mastering new techniques that can lend themselves to any number of applications makes you more flexible. Finding new ways to use basic supplies to do things you never dreamed of, works wonders to inspire your imagination. Experimenting with what you have on hand to recreate designer finishes at a fraction of the cost keeps your pocketbook happy. Discovering new materials and new ways to use them to keep your old stand-by favorites evolving and growing with you. Embracing the idea of "upcycling", reusing found objects to create whole new projects, allows you to view everything for it's potential.

I am a lifetime crafter, it is in my blood and I can not escape it. I am one of those people who will never be able to go through a craft fair without trying to figure out just how they did this or that, who can not pass up a sheet of awesome stickers or a scrap of unique paper, who must create to survive. I have accepted this fact and learned to embrace it, just as I have accepted the facts that I am not endlessly rich, that I will probably never own a Hobby Lobby no matter how much I would like to, and that I can not afford all of the wonderful things I find on Amazon and Etsy. So I search the internet for Craft Ammo, ideas that fall into my budget and fuel my passion to craft. This blog is a look into my arsenal and an opportunity to share some of my ammo with others, to keep the creative process rolling. So enjoy!

~Kerry

Posted in: Welcome