An Altered Attitude

Way back before I  joined up for facebook, a blog and my madeit shop, I use to do craft projects just for me, gifts for friends and for things around my home.  Therefore I would start a project and finish it before I moved onto another one.....in short, a WIP pile was something I never had or had to think about.  

These days, things are vastly different.  The more I create, the more I want to create and the more ideas there are in my head screaming waiting to come out.

I now seem to have an ever increasing work in progress pile, that I swear multiplies when I am not looking.   Even when I would finish one, there would be two more to take its place.

It use to get me down and make me feel completely disorganised, until.......I worked out a better way of thinking about it.

I am not a disorganised, obsessive crafter with too many unfinished projects - I am a mega multi-tasker, just brimmng with creativity (sounds better to me anyway lol)

So with the altering of my attitude, I figured I would share this thought with you in case you need to adopt the same way of thinking, to keep sane about that pile lurking in the corner, cupboard or assortment of boxes.

Having justified my WIP pile, let me share just a few of my current ones with you.

A Granny Square cardigan - The back and half the front are finished.  The last one I made was too big, so I felt the need to get it right.

Cute crochet shapes - they are waiting to be made into hangings. 

Mandala Drawings - I haven't even finished the first one, but have already drawn up the second one.

Shell Scarf - I wasn't happy with the flower one I did last week, so HAD to start another one - it is cold after all!!

Doilys and Coasters - I discovered this lovely pattern on Pinterest.  It is for coasters, but I just had to have a play around with different size wool and hooks.  The pattern can be found at http://crochet.about.com/od/vintage/ss/aa052606.htm

Waffle Pattern Bath Mat - We need a new bath mat and I wanted to learn Waffle stitch so I combined the two - makes perfect sense to me.

Coaster Tutorial

Having had my collection of patchwork coasters depleted to nothing by being sucked into the vacuum cleaner, eaten by the cat, and generally going missing in action, I was on the look out for something more sturdy and robust.  This is what I came up with after wondering through the internet, rather than the shopping centre, Mod Podge Coasters.......

You will need

Square ceramic tiles from a hardware or tile store.

Scrapbooking paper, wrapping paper, or spend 3 hours drawing your own images like I did.

Mod Podge

Sponge Brush

Foam or rubber circles or squares

PVA Glue

Cut your paper 1cm smaller than your tile - My tiles are 9.5cm x 9.5cm so my paper is 8.5cm x 8.5cm

Using the sponge brush, apply Mod Podge evenly to the back of the paper, and position it on the tiles.  Press down on the paper firmly, especially around the edges.

Set aside and allow to dry for around 20 minutes

Brush one coat of Mod Podge onto the entire top of the coaster.  Set aside and allow to dry for around 20 minutes.  Repeat for another 3 coats.

Onto the back of each tile glue foam or rubber feet.  Allow to dry

I am thinking that these would also make good birthday and Christmas presents, especially if the drawings were more personalised.  You could also use greeting card images, photos or even fabric.....so many posibilities....