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What do you do when your creativity stalls?

creativity block solutions: GamerCrafting

Sometimes, your creativity can stall. Some have called it “writer’s block,” but not all creatives are writers. Some of us are musicians, bakers, designers, or artists. Whether you’re starting a blank canvas or a ball of yarn, the feeling of failure can wreak havoc on a creative. Here are my foolproof methods for beating back the brain bats and getting back to business.

Step one:

Go for a walk. If you are differently-abled, try to get a change of scenery. Sometimes, just leaving your apartment or studio can job some creativity. Getting frustrated is only going to cause more problems, so get your shoes on and remind yourself what the outside world looks like. 

Step two: 

Take some pictures. No, not everyone has fancy photography equipment, or even an interest in taking pictures – but sometimes, framing the world in a different way makes a difference. Take a picture of something small to remember just how huge and vibrant the world is. My personal favorite inspirational photography adventures are bugs, flowers, and leaves. 

Step three: 

Have a cup of coffee. Or tea. Or a milkshake. Don’t do it in your house – go to a local coffeeshop (support your local businesses if you can!) and read a book or just sit and observe life. Giving your creative brain some space to breathe gives you oxygen for ideas and contemplation. 

Step four: 

Go listen to this song. I’ve mentioned it before on my music blog, but the point stands: sometimes you need a reminder that the bad things you think about yourself aren’t valid. (Caution: profanity ahead!) 

What do you do to unblock your creativity?

If you like this blog (and I hope you do!) please like the page on Facebook and follow me on Bloglovin’ so I can keep you updated with free patterns and inspiration. Have a happy week!
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Make a Frozen headband in less than 10 minutes

Frozen headband tutorial on GamerCrafting

Happy Saturday, fellow weekend yarn warriors! I couldn’t be at the Spring Knitting and Stitching show this weekend because I’m down in Fareham teaching crochet and taking it all in. It’s been a whirlwind so far, but I can tell you this: they really, really like boats on this end of the coast.

In any case, I wanted to share my Frozen headband tutorial in case you missed it on LoveKnitting last Monday! You can make one of these in less than 10 minutes, it’s a great craft for the kids, and it’s something useful that won’t just end up cluttering up your life.

Enjoy, and tag me on Instagram with your finished projects!

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Pom pom sheep tutorial

pom pom sheep tutorial on GamerCrafting
Click here to see the tutorial on LoveKnitting

This week, I created this tiny sheep made of pom poms and mini clothespins for the weekly Knit by Bit feature at LoveKnitting. If you have forks and yarn, you can make this sheep – you don’t even have to be a knitter or a crocheter to have a successful project.

In fact, I think it would be a great project for kids over the spring break – and it’s a lot less messy than finger paints or watercolors, no?

You can click here to see the tutorial on LoveKnitting. Happy pom poming!

Pom pom sheep tutorial: GamerCrafting
Click here to view the tutorial on LoveKnitting

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How to organize your craft stash without spending a fortune

Organize your craft stash

It’s almost 2 full months into the new year –  have you fulfilled your resolution to organize your craft stash yet?  These quick tips have got you covered.
I like to be organized, but I’m not always good at it. I put everything away into neat little places, and then immediately forget where I stored the scissors and tear through all the drawers looking for it. I drive my other half into near insanity with my constant, “Where is my yarn needle? Where’d I leave my scissors? I thought I left my crochet hook right here!”

This year, I wanted things to be different. I wanted to find a solution that worked for me – and for me, putting things in cabinets and drawers doesn’t work. When I’m crafting, I like things to be accessible, not hidden beneath last month’s bank statement and 14 receipts from the sushi place across the street from work.
I also didn’t want to spend an arm and a leg on fancy new storage – not to mention, I don’t have the space for that kind of thing. With limited resources, I got to work, and I found the best options for organizing your craft stash on a budget.

Glass jars

I used old instant coffee jars (don’t judge me, I’m more of a tea woman than a coffee lover). I also used some cheap spice jars like these on Amazon. I used them to hold crochet hooks, needle tips, buttons, beads – you name it, I stored it.
Organize your craft stash

Fabric boxes

It might be an old suggestion, but it’s a good one. These storage boxes have open tops and many fit into bookshelves or under desks and coffee tables. You can find these boxes in almost any size and shape, with any print you could want. I got these white ones, to make sure they go with any room they happen to end up in. I organized my yarn by weight: lace and 4 ply, DK, Aran, and chunky and super chunky. So far, it’s made cleaning up my stash dives way easier, and I can find things without turning the living room into an outtake of Hoarders.
Organize your craft stash

Washi tape

I know I’m late to this party, but once I started to use Washi tape, I knew I was a goner. This thin removable tape is perfect for renters like me, or for people who don’t like commitment to sticky things (also like me).
I ordered this washi tape in a variety of cohesive patterns that represent me and who I am. There are loads of places with unique designs now, and it’s a cheap way to dress up those glass jars we already talked about. Plus, if you mess up, you can peel it right off. No drama or crisis necessary (unlike that time I got an awesome watercolor t-rex sticker for my tablet case and put it on incorrectly).

Organize your craft stash

Store your paper in a trash basket

I love wrapping paper, and I love fun photography backgrounds. Those two things together means a lot of paper rolls kicking around in corners all over the house, gathering dust, getting in the way, and ultimately getting damaged.
Last week I HAD ENOUGH. I grabbed a basket from the bedroom (like this one) and organized my papers into rolls. Monochrome papers, pastels, and brights. A few rolls stayed on their own, like the reversible green and purple, the stags, and the wood grain. Let me tell you, it’s the best thing I’ve done for this organization challenge!
Organize your craft stash

What are your favorite ways to organize your craft stash? Tell me in the comments!

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The kinetic energy in a ball of yarn

kinetic energy in yarn: GamerCrafting

I’ve been thinking lately about the kinetic energy in a ball of yarn. Before it’s knitted or crocheted into something, a ball or skein of yarn has a beautiful kinetic energy – and I think that’s why we keep crafting.

(more after the jump!)

In physics, kinetic energy refers to the amount of energy something has as a result of its motion. I’m no rocket scientist, but I understand that the potential something has is like a universe in itself.

Before yarn reaches a hook or a pair of needles, it exists in stasis – at that moment, it could become almost anything. I think that’s why we all have huge yarn stashes; the amount of creativity just waiting to blossom is waiting just around the corner, inside the next yarn shop, and on the next new set of needles.

Above: a skein of yarn I hand-dyed, which I called “Cheshire Cat”

Maybe I’m crazy, but maybe I’m right! What do you think?

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Free friendship bracelet tutorial for Galentine's Day

free friendship bracelet tutorial for Galentine's day

I don’t know about y’all, but I love the show Parks and Recreation. Leslie Knope is a force to be reckoned with, and her idea of “Galentine’s Day” is one of the coolest concepts to ever grace primetime television. Galentine’s is celebrated the day before Valentine’s Day, and is dedicated to celebrating the awesome ladies in your life.

Click here to view my tutorial on LoveKnitting, and feel free to comment if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. 

Rock on, Galentines!

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New year, new you, new blog, new view

Some of you may already know me from my writings at LoveKnitting and LoveCrochet – if so, hello! If you only know me because we went to school together once or we’re sort-of-acquaintances through a friend of a friend (of a friend), then…hi to you too. I hope you like crafts and stuff, because that’s where this is headed.

Knitting blog, crochet blog, new blog and yarn

Some of you may know that I’ve had a music blog that’s been running (running might be an over-estimation, it’s more of a “walking and stumbling” type blog) for a couple (few?) years now. I’ve always been a musician, from that time when I was 4 and snuck out of the house to try and sing with the birds at 5am and scared the living daylights out of my parents.

I digress.

Along with being a musician, I’m also an avid crafter, and I’m making a move into blogging about my efforts, seeing as I already spend most of my time blogging about knitting, crochet, and yarn over at LoveKnitting and LoveCrochet.
I decided to make more time for creative endeavors, and that means my crafty Instagram account has been getting more love lately. (I’m @Gamercrafting for crafts, and @TheMusicShark for personal and music stuff.)

It also means writing down my designs, and selling patterns, and giving some away so that you’ll all like me more. (Click here to see my patterns on LoveKnitting!) It’s a work in progress, but hopefully you’ll start to see more patterns appearing over the next few weeks as I start to try and get my act together. Be patient with me <3

Finally, it means opening an Etsy store to sell commissions, knitted and crocheted stuff, and again, patterns. In the next 6 months it will also mean selling hand-dyed yarns, because I discovered a few months ago that I have a knack for it, and people want to buy my skeins. Who knew?

A photo posted by Gamer Craft (@gamercrafting) on Jan 17, 2016 at 3:48am PST

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I’m excited and hopeful about 2016 – what will it bring? I have a renewed and reinvigorated commitment to being a Creative (with the capital C) in all aspects of my life, and approaching goals and ideas with enthusiasm and a positive ideology. We can all get bogged down in life and responsibilities and lose sight of what’s important – myself included.

Let’s all vow to take some time out of our busy schedules to be creative this year. Pause Netflix for 20 minutes and learn to crochet. Or keep watching Making a Murderer and party hardy with an adult coloring book (like this one by Millie Marotta, my lord and savior of gorgeous, inspiring coloring books.) My partner in crime highly recommends Prismacolor colored pencils, and I trust her advice seeing as she’s an artist extrordinaire. For the record, I can only color in the lines. I’m well and truly amazed by anyone who has enough skills to actually draw.

Anyway – who’s with me? Let’s make 2016 a year of creativity, innovation, and FUN.