The delicacy of crafting is highly underestimated. Save the few exceptionally talented who turn every project to gold, so to speak, the rest of us know how quickly a creative masterpiece can be reduced to a pile of fabric or a heap of rubble. Thankfully, such catastrophes can be saved if correctly approached.
Step Away
Do not attempt to salvage your creation immediately. Waiting overnight is usually necessary to ensure the well-being of yourself and your project. And feel free to mourn, if you must. The key is to resist taking out frustration on the DIY project itself.
Reevaluate and Regroup
After a significant break, return to the scene of the crime. To avoid painful emotional replay, approach the situation logically. Think detective, not victim. Ask yourself, what is the extent of the damage? How much material remains? Determine if slight alterations will allow you to create the intended final product. If not, you have a wonderful opportunity for new creative expression.
Search and Ask
Return to the Internet, library, and craft books! Search for new ideas based on the material you still have. For example, search “clothing with one yard of fabric” or “glass marble ideas.” Indecisive? Ask a trusted crafter friend’s opinion.
Often a helpful place to look is the source of your initial inspiration. DIY bloggers desire popularity and audience feedback. Share your scenario in a comment on her post and she, or another reader, may have the ideal solution.
A few ideas to reignite your imagination:
- Tie thin scrap fabrics around a long ribbon for an easy fringe scarf.
- Quilt randomly shaped fabric scraps to make book covers, pillowcases, and pencil or makeup pouches.
- When paint disaster strikes, go for texture. That color you hate as a top coat may be fantastic under sponging or streaking. A modern room can even pull off a two-tone layer dripping effect.
- The beautiful aspect of any sort of collage craft is the ease with which the crafter can continue to layer, covering whatever you don’t like.
- Use shattered pottery or glass to mosaic picture frames, mirror frames, pots, or sink backsplashes.
- With reduced material, think smaller. For example, when you no longer have enough fabric to make a skirt, you could still make a scarf, leg warmers, a hat, or gloves.
Decide and Act
After selecting a new plan of action proceed without hesitation. Healthy caution is one thing, but stalling too long can sap your creative enthusiasm. Finish your project and reap the rewards of lessons learned and a job well done.
Sierra Donahue - Sierra Donahue is a student of biochemistry and journalism at George Fox University.
