Take It Outside
July 16, 2009 | By
Summer is upon us! (At least here in most of the northern hemisphere.) With summer comes a lot of wonderful ways to improve your craft and/or art. The days are longer, warmer and full of a vital energy that is a wonderful way to infuse your body and your craft with a sense of ‘newness’. I’ve compiled a few ways for you to take advantage of summer and to incorporate into your craft.
Take it outside! Can you move your crafting operation outdoors? I recently moved my dye station to our back patio to cut down on the amount of dye particles that were flying around the house. If you’re a knitter, spinner or crocheter sitting outside for a few hours while you work will allow you to get some fresh air and some sun. If you have the space for it, a folding table in your back yard on a warm summer day is the ideal place for projects with the kids as well, and super easy to clean up.
Use natural resources. I recently built inexpensive solar ovens to heat set my yarn and fiber in instead of using the microwave and ovens in the house. This has cut down on not only the electricity and energy I’m using in my creative process but also the physical heat in the house. Living in the desert, this has been a huge plus! If you use your oven to set clay, polymer or just about anything that requires heat, consider building yourself a solar oven. If you live somewhere that gets decent direct sunlight you’d be surprised by the amount of heat you can generate with a handmade solar oven. My ovens get up over 160 degrees!
Include elements of nature. Now is the perfect time for floral patterns, bright colors, light weight fabrics, sparkly gem stones and other things that remind us of the warmer months. Leaves can be pressed into handmade paper, natural gemstones that catch sunlight are perfect for jewelry and those light cottons, batiks and linens are exactly what shoppers are looking for in hand made clothing. Remember, 2009 is the year of natural fibers as well! Now is the time to take advantage of that.
On the flip side of these ideas also keep in mind that winter is right around the corner, summer is the perfect time to get started on holiday crafts and gifts. Take advantage of these warm summer months to create for the cold winter ahead, it’s easier to think ahead then wish you’d started something sooner.
(Sunny Susans image courtesy of CreationsAnew, Days of Summer image courtesey of BuddsPhoto)
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