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FaveCrafts 365 Forget the Milk, Got Inspiration?

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We all hit dry spots in our creativity on occasion. There have been days when I knew I had to get something done, butthe creative mojo would not come. It can be frustrating. It can be upsetting. Yet, the best thing to do is just keep moving forward. Break it down into smaller tasks. Bribe yourself! Chin up as they say!

This video talks about a few ways to jump start your creativity. I try to have fun with it and I hope you will to! I’ve taken breaks in my work for many reasons and I’ve always found that there are so many ways to be creative. We can creatively inspire ourselves too. Check out the video!

Buying The Artist’s Vision and Stories

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Nearly 20 years ago I was an Artisan’s sections of the Canadian National Exibition where there was a couple of guys selling some “Self Made Jewelry”. The jewelry was unlike anything I had ever seen. One of the guys had a dentist friend… He was making some jewelry with false teeth. Before your cringe and think that’s pretty gross… there was something about the jewelry that was somewhat “goth”  but out right fascinating. It was undeniably the most unique thing I had ever seen. The stuff they were offering wasn’t for me… but their ideas for the jewelry was memorable.

10 years later. As I scanned across a table at another Artisan’s Festival, the jewelry on the table was indexing my brain from a memory of the work that I had seen before. When I looked up, it was the same two guys. This time, they had developed interpretive passion about their jewelry. By now, their collection was enormous. They were busy with people standing 2 or 3 people back from the table just to get a look and listen to the stories about the ideas they had. In the 10 year span since my last visit to their table… their passion was being incorporated into their work… it wasn’t just jewelry anymore… it was wearable artwork. You knew when you bought a peice that you were buying into their creativity.

From that moment and the last time I seen them nearly 10 years ago… I was so drawn to the ideas I had seen on the table. Not so much the “Goth” but the idea that something can be created to have emotional creative energy which is captured inside the artwork. The artwork tells its own story, but now the jewelry has a second story by the actual designers.

When someone is buying creativity… it’s not just the colour and shape. Its the emotional connection and meaning associated with whatever you are producing. If your a designer… or wannabe designer… it’s important to think about who is your purchaser and what would draw the type of customer you are looking for.

After all, they are not just buying some fabric, metal, or plastic… they are buying into the creative dream of the designer.

iTunes and Free Creative Resources

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My free online tutorials, Mikeyssmail, has been broadcasting Free Loom Knitting and Crocheting Tutorials for iTunes for 1 month now. iTunes is something I have stayed away from because I never owned a Mac Product. I figured iTunes is just for iPod-like products. I never realized the power and free accessibility for everyone online that has access on iTunes. If you are not listening or watching a PODCAST, you can just turn on a radio station that is specific to your listening pleasure broadcasting live.

I was encouraged to join iTunes about a year ago but I didn’t know how it exactly works. There are costs associated to uploading the Podcasts to iTunes but it remains completely free for all users who subscribe. Some of the iTunes stuff does cost money such as downloading music or movies… but “Podcasting Remains Free For Everyone Which Favecrafts Radio & Mikeyssmail Are Broadcasted On!”

I recently stumbled across Tiffany Windor’s Favecrafts Radio. OH WOW! What a treat! I am working at my workplace and people think I am listening to the radio… but don’t tell anyone… I am being inspired and getting the itch to get home and get some yarn and crafts into my hands to begin something that I have heard about on her show. Her guests are creative and just regular people who have found a way to really expose their creativity.

The advantage to iTunes is that if you own an iPod or something equivalent, you can simply download and take it with you. This allows you to do tutorials on roadtrips and continue to be inspired without being wired to your home.

Come on over to the iTunes store and search Mikeyssmail or even Favecrafts Radio. You will find both of us there. Inspire, Create, & Celebrate!

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