Hey everyone!
People tend to make a lot of new resolutions on the 1st day of the year. I personally don't like the idea of 'resolutions' - they seem to imply some kind of bad behaviour which needs correcting, and I'd rather think of something that's more on the positive side!
So in 2014 I had noted down a few crafting goals for myself in planner and was successful in completing many of them. A few of those were:
A few were not completed. So, without further ado, I present to you my Crafting Goals for 2015:
1. MAKE AND POST AT LEAST ONE CARD EVERY WEEK
Now, I didn't say that my goals were going to be easy, lol! I really enjoyed the creative pressure of making a lot of cards during the craft fairs, but I could not post them simultaneously. Making new cards really left me feeling good, being able to achieve that.
So, that's why this one will be a tough goal to keep, but with all of you providing encouragement I will strive and do my very best to uphold it!
2. SUBMIT TO MORE CHALLENGES
I don't tend to submit to challenges all that often now a days. I just need to start doing that more often I'll be the first to admit that this is a self-esteem thing. I am ambitious and competitive and I like to win. When I don't win a challenge I get rather despondent and feel pretty down about my cards - why weren't they good enough? etc. But in focusing on the negative aspects like this I have been missing the whole point of challenges - they are there to challenge. To help you get out of your comfort zone, be creative and put your work out there. I might not win any of the challenges I submit to over the coming year, and I will not submit to every challenge out there - but I do intend to pick the challenges that speak to me (even if they are out of my comfort zone, no, actually - especially if they are out of my comfort zone) and create for them. Who knows - I might get spotted and actually win!
Which brings me nicely onto...
3. PUT MYSELF OUT THERE MORE
I *really* want to get onto Design Teams, get published in magazines, get 'spotted' more, get more blog visitors and comments... but how will I ever do this if I don't keep trying? So, in the same vein as #2 above, I am going to try, try, try... and keep trying. I had a lot of success last year and I want to do even bigger and better things this coming year - so I have to keep trying!
4. TAKE BETTER PHOTOS OF MY PROJECTS
My photos aren't bad exactly. The are clear, they are pretty true-to-life in terms of color, and they usually work with the project I'm photographing too. But they are not good enough for my liking. I want to take amazing photographs. Beautifully lit, light, bright detailed, breathtaking. Also I have a new DSLR now, so want to use that more , lol! End result: I want photos that make people think *WOW!*
5. BE A BETTER CRAFTING COMMUNITY MEMBER
What do I mean by this? Well. I follow quite a few blogs in Google Reader. But I'm A poor commenter. A poor follower. A poor supporter. And generally also less of an explorer - I've stuck to the blogs I know, commented on few... and therefore missed out on a whole community of talented individuals. The couple of posts I've seen from some bloggers where they've highlighted their favourite projects of 2014 created by other individuals really opened my eyes to what I've been missing. So in 2015 I will aim to comment more, to support more and to explore more. There's a whole load of talent and inspiration out there and I don't want to keep missing it!
And finally...
6. HAVE FUN WITH IT
Stop taking it all so seriously. This is a hobby and it brings me great, great joy. It has introduced me to a fewfriends, fellow artists, amazing talent, products, companies, opportunities, techniques... but it is not life or death. If I don't win or don't get picked up for publication or don't get noticed or don't get on Design Teams - that is not failure. That is life. And if I put (unhealthy) pressure on myself and get downbeat about not being good at something out there then that will take some of the love and joy out of the creativity that I enjoy so much. Yes, I will still be competitive. Yes I will still be ambitious. Yes I will still want to keep bettering and bettering myself, and then better myself some more. But I will do it all whilst having fun.
And there you have it - my Crafting Goals for 2015! There are some things that I'm sure are missing from this list (hoard less, use more etc) but if I set too may goals I might set myself up for a fall. Besides, those others can all fall into the 5 goals above, no? So, I do hope you'll keep joining me throughout 2015 to provide support and encouragement as I keep working towards these goals. 2014 was a great year for crafting for me... But you know what?
2015 is going to be even better.
People tend to make a lot of new resolutions on the 1st day of the year. I personally don't like the idea of 'resolutions' - they seem to imply some kind of bad behaviour which needs correcting, and I'd rather think of something that's more on the positive side!
So in 2014 I had noted down a few crafting goals for myself in planner and was successful in completing many of them. A few of those were:
- Buying a Cuttlebug
- Learning new techniques that use embossing and diecutting
- Working with Alcohol inks
- Participating in Craft fair ( I was able to do 3 last year)
A few were not completed. So, without further ado, I present to you my Crafting Goals for 2015:
1. MAKE AND POST AT LEAST ONE CARD EVERY WEEK
Now, I didn't say that my goals were going to be easy, lol! I really enjoyed the creative pressure of making a lot of cards during the craft fairs, but I could not post them simultaneously. Making new cards really left me feeling good, being able to achieve that.
So, that's why this one will be a tough goal to keep, but with all of you providing encouragement I will strive and do my very best to uphold it!
2. SUBMIT TO MORE CHALLENGES
I don't tend to submit to challenges all that often now a days. I just need to start doing that more often I'll be the first to admit that this is a self-esteem thing. I am ambitious and competitive and I like to win. When I don't win a challenge I get rather despondent and feel pretty down about my cards - why weren't they good enough? etc. But in focusing on the negative aspects like this I have been missing the whole point of challenges - they are there to challenge. To help you get out of your comfort zone, be creative and put your work out there. I might not win any of the challenges I submit to over the coming year, and I will not submit to every challenge out there - but I do intend to pick the challenges that speak to me (even if they are out of my comfort zone, no, actually - especially if they are out of my comfort zone) and create for them. Who knows - I might get spotted and actually win!
Which brings me nicely onto...
3. PUT MYSELF OUT THERE MORE
I *really* want to get onto Design Teams, get published in magazines, get 'spotted' more, get more blog visitors and comments... but how will I ever do this if I don't keep trying? So, in the same vein as #2 above, I am going to try, try, try... and keep trying. I had a lot of success last year and I want to do even bigger and better things this coming year - so I have to keep trying!
4. TAKE BETTER PHOTOS OF MY PROJECTS
My photos aren't bad exactly. The are clear, they are pretty true-to-life in terms of color, and they usually work with the project I'm photographing too. But they are not good enough for my liking. I want to take amazing photographs. Beautifully lit, light, bright detailed, breathtaking. Also I have a new DSLR now, so want to use that more , lol! End result: I want photos that make people think *WOW!*
5. BE A BETTER CRAFTING COMMUNITY MEMBER
What do I mean by this? Well. I follow quite a few blogs in Google Reader. But I'm A poor commenter. A poor follower. A poor supporter. And generally also less of an explorer - I've stuck to the blogs I know, commented on few... and therefore missed out on a whole community of talented individuals. The couple of posts I've seen from some bloggers where they've highlighted their favourite projects of 2014 created by other individuals really opened my eyes to what I've been missing. So in 2015 I will aim to comment more, to support more and to explore more. There's a whole load of talent and inspiration out there and I don't want to keep missing it!
And finally...
6. HAVE FUN WITH IT
Stop taking it all so seriously. This is a hobby and it brings me great, great joy. It has introduced me to a fewfriends, fellow artists, amazing talent, products, companies, opportunities, techniques... but it is not life or death. If I don't win or don't get picked up for publication or don't get noticed or don't get on Design Teams - that is not failure. That is life. And if I put (unhealthy) pressure on myself and get downbeat about not being good at something out there then that will take some of the love and joy out of the creativity that I enjoy so much. Yes, I will still be competitive. Yes I will still be ambitious. Yes I will still want to keep bettering and bettering myself, and then better myself some more. But I will do it all whilst having fun.
And there you have it - my Crafting Goals for 2015! There are some things that I'm sure are missing from this list (hoard less, use more etc) but if I set too may goals I might set myself up for a fall. Besides, those others can all fall into the 5 goals above, no? So, I do hope you'll keep joining me throughout 2015 to provide support and encouragement as I keep working towards these goals. 2014 was a great year for crafting for me... But you know what?
2015 is going to be even better.
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