It's Time To Get Back To Crafting
Remember when you sat down at the kitchen table on a rainy afternoon and Mom put out things like construction paper, a pot of glue, a pair of scissors, and some crayons? If you were lucky, she set out fun stuff like glitter and poster paints. You'd sit there creating some kind of masterpiece (Monet or Picasso...?) that would end up taped on the refrigerator.
Crafting...it was fun then---and it can be fun now!
We've become a gotta have it now/gotta buy it society. We pick up pre-made decorations for holidays. We want to show people we care so we rush to the store to buy a pre-packaged gift basket, a card, and a gift bag that the basket will fit into. And sometimes we even forget to sign the card---that's how much of a rush we're in.
In the time that it took you to go to the store, walk around looking for a gift and reading through a dozen cards, you could have easily stayed home and hand-crafted a personal gift and card. People appreciate the personal touch more than they will ever appreciate the pre-packaged basket of scented soaps.
The key is having things on hand, ready to get put together at a moment's notice. This is simple, and can be very inexpensive. All you need are a few basic things and a couple of ideas to get you back to crafting!
Here's some basic crafting, quick gifts, and gift-wrapping items to have on hand. You can get all of these (and more) at craft stores like Michaels, discount stores like Target and Wal-Mart, or dollar stores. I like to watch the Sunday paper for ads and coupons for stores like Walgreens and CVS---it is amazing what you can pick up during "$1 sales" or by using cents-off coupons. Use these lists as your starter kit and then just add to them as you browse through the aisles and shop the sales.
Crafting items:
1. Scissors, hole punch, ruler, pencil, glue stick, tape
2. Colored construction paper, a ream of colored computer paper, a package of card stock, or a package of pre-scored cards with matching envelopes (you can usually find these at Target and Wal-Mart, but you might need to make a trip to an office supply store like Office Depot)
3. Colored markers, coloring pencils, crayons
4. posterboard
5. glitter
6. packages of stickers (of anything, you name it)
Inexpensive "quick gift" items to have on hand:
1. Scented votive candles
2. Bookmarks
3. coffee mugs (add one-cup-sized bags of specialty coffee, box of teabags, or a few pouches of hot cocoa)
4. matched scents of bath gel and body lotion (travel sizes make fun "hostess" gifts!)
5. "good for a guy" stuff like automobile air fresheners, pocket-sized lint brushes (great for a guy who travels for business)
Here are the basics for gift-wrapping:
1. tissue paper (lots of colors and designs)
2. curl ribbon (lots of colors)
3. plain-colored gift bags (white and kraft-paper brown are good starters)
4. shredded paper (also called excelsior)
Many websites now offer a wide variety of "free printables" that you can use for crafting, making decorations, and creating cards. I like to keep a variety of computer papers on hand, better-quality paper, ivory-toned papers, etc., along with matching envelopes. I also have a complete selection of blank labels, business cards, and postcards that I can use to print up gift tags, and create cards and envelopes with matching clipart printed on them.
It is also handy to keep computer-paper-sized pieces of clean cardboard on hand. This comes in handy for crafting, as well as making "certificate" type gifts (you can glue a printed page onto the cardboard).
If you have a scanner, you can create your own clipart (images, graphics, and photos) to use for making crafts, cards, and invitations. You can also buy very inexpensive CDs that contain literally thousands of clipart images. Some websites also offer free clipart that you can download and use. It isn't hard to teach yourself some basics about inserting clipart into Word documents or into Paint programs so that you can create your own pictures, banners, other craft ideas, letterhead, cards, invitations, and envelopes.
There are very inexpensive card-making softwares available. I've seen card-making CDs as low as $10 (and as much as $50). However, you don't need card-making software---you can create fun and easy cards with any word-processing software by learning a few tricks with your word-processing program.
It isn't only cards and gifts that are good crafting ideas. You, and your kids, can craft decorations for around the house, especially for the different holidays. Be sure to check for websites that offer holiday printables! Easy-to-make banners, placemats, and window and door decorations can be crafted using what you've got on hand along with the free printables that you find on the web.
Getting back to basics is fun and it isn't expensive. You'll probably surprise yourself at how much you enjoy it!
For samples of the types of simple crafts, cards, and gift ideas that you can make quickly and with just a few on-hand items, go to:
Getting Back to Crafting: Sample Projects
Jan K., The Proofer is a freelance copyeditor and proofreader. Visit Jan’s Portal (http://www.jansportal.com/) for more information about Jan's free crafts, recipes, tutorials, other resource sites, and free content articles, as well as Jan’s business services. Be sure to visit Mom's Break (http://www.momsbreak.com/) for free printable crafts and projects. © Copyright 2005 to present. All rights reserved.