Category: Creative Lifestyle

How to Make time to Craft: 8 Tips

Posted on by melissa

A couple of people to whom I’ve shown a crochet work in progress or a finished craft project have said to me, “I don’t know how you make time to craft!” And while I wish I had the power to stop time, I do not. I have the same number of hours as everyone else. But I haven’t always been able to figure out how to use them for creative work. When I decided for sanity reasons I needed to “make” time to craft, I made a schedule prioritizing it. I was able to make time to craft by making it a priority. “Make it a priority” sounds simple, but it involves doing some work figuring out what gets in the way of actually spending time doing what you want to do.

Cooking Creatively

Posted on by Stephen

Try as I might, I am unable to create an apple. It’s probably a good time to come completely clean rather than letting the truth come out one slow drip at a time. I can’t create a carrot either. Or a cow. Or a tree. What does it mean to create? What does it mean to be creative or to show creativity? While I can’t make any of those things out of thin air, what I can do is arrange them in certain ways. I can manipulate them with heat or cold. I can cut them. Combine them. I can control quantity and portion sizes. Granted, I can’t create an apple. But I can create an apple pie. That’s what it means to be creative in the kitchen.

Trainee Hero: Creative Life…Our Mission Expands

Posted on by melissa

I have some news! Trainee Hero Crafting is now Trainee Hero: Creative Life. Trainee Hero Crafting grew out of a desire to spend time crafting every day. As I (mostly) did this, I realized making time to create and craft each day came with its own set of challenges. What kinds of things does one cut out of their days? When is the easiest time to fit crafting into the day? How do I maintain my energy and motivation when a project isn’t going as planned? Am I just being selfish? Does this project count as crafting? And is this time I’ve set aside for crafting enough? Is there a way to make creating a bigger part of the day?

Works In Progress: 5 Reasons for Abandonment

Posted on by melissa

I have a box of secret shame in my craft room. This box is full of good intentions that met various life obstacles. It contains a tangle of gorgeous yarn and half finished projects. You guessed it: it is my works in progress box. Over the years, it has grown from a small basket, to a basket and a bag, and then to a basket, a bag, and an IKEA Lekman bin. I call them “works in progress,” but let’s be real: I have not worked on most of them for years. They are not in progress. They are abandoned. Works in abandonment.