August was a roller coaster of a month. The beginning of the month, I got a big boost of energy from trying out a new craft, then I lost a lot of that motivation around the middle of the month. I’m still doing my best to come out of that rut, but hopefully, some of these upcoming projects will spark some motivation.
Experimenting
At the beginning of the month, I got my first Sophie and Toffee package. UV resin has been something that I’ve been interested in for a while now so I was super excited to start playing. So far I’ve made a couple mediocre charms and a trinket dish as a present. I definitely need some more experimenting before I make anything good!
Key lesson: Take the safety precautions seriously!
I don’t have a respirator so I made sure I was in a well ventilated room - remember, this is plastic. You don’t want to be breathing that in. I also wore gloves so that no uncured resin got on my skin - it can cause skin reactions for some people and it’s general good practice.
Practicing
Like with anything, practice is necessary for improvement. When you like to hop between hobbies like me, it’s hard to focus on one thing and practice it for a long time. This month I mostly practiced embroidery and digital art.
Key lesson: To combat hobby fatigue, switch it up every week OR spread out your practice over a longer period of time eg once a week instead of once a day.
Hobby fatigue is something I struggle with a lot and so I feel like I never improve. Last week I started doing a weekly art challenge together with my friends so we can hold each other accountable to ensure we draw something every week. You are free to join in, if you want a good reason to practice your art or your craft! We are following the August TinkerSketch prompt list and finishing each piece by Saturday. This Saturday will be Week 1, “tiny”.
What’s coming in September
Amigurumi
Several people saw the amigurumi whales I made and I got lots of requests for whales and even other amigurumi! I’m really happy to see that people like what I make. In September I will be fulfilling more of these requests and perhaps practice more crochet so I can start making some patterns of my own.
Plushies
Before I started anything else, I was sewing plushies. I have an old series planned that I would like to bring back and soon I will have all my old templates with me. Look forward to seeing lots of little plushies in September!
What did your August look like? Did you try anything new this month? What are you looking forward to in September? Let me know in the comments below or toss me a message on Instagram or Twitter @thenerdiyblog. If you'd like your crafting questions answered live, I stream on Twitch at twitch.tv/finding_doro.
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