10 Ways to Overcome Crafter’s Block & Find Your Creativity

So, you’ve had your Silhouette or Cricut machine for a while now. You’ve made it all: tee shirts, cups, cards, wood signs, doormats, ornaments, decals, and so on. Perhaps you run a business and are getting burned out making the same set of products over and over again? If you’ve been feeling in a rut with your machine lately, let’s change your mindset!

Today, I’m sharing 10 ways that I use to get my creative juices flowing and my mind back in the game.

10 Ways to Overcome Crafter’s Block

1. Window shop at home decor and craft stores. No need to buy anything, I usually use my phone camera to take pictures of things that inspire me.
2. Flip through the latest magazines and catalogs. They don’t have to be craft related. In fact, I wrote a whole post on how I use magazines and catalogs for inspiration at this link. If you don’t subscribe to any, head to your library or local bookstore.
3. Browse Pinterest. It’s a no brainer for inspiration! Use caution though – Pinterest can become a rabbit hole and suck away your whole day!
4. Head to a craft show/co-op/antique market. If there’s one going on in your area – head there. When I’m looking for inspiration for my own crafting, I usually skip the small talk with crafters and just browse. Be sure to ask before taking any photos, as it hurts some crafter’s feelings.
5. Redo a previous project/finish something you started a long time ago. You know the ones I’m talking about: that crooked sign you made when you first got your machine or that glass etching that didn’t turn out the way you had hoped it would. Redo it and use your experience to make it better. Or, maybe you’ve got a nagging project you started ages ago – now’s the time to finish it.
6. Clean your craft room. I’m just as guilty as the next crafter – I buy things at craft stores and then stash them away. When I clean my space I rediscover the things I’ve previously bought. (Oh, buying supplies without a purpose is a big money waster for small businesses – read more here.)
7. Take a craft class. Whether you choose online or in person, doing one crafty thing usually leads me to more and more ideas.
8. Create with my kids. There’s that old saying about nothing is the same when seeing it through the eyes of a child. When I’m lacking creativity, I turn my kids loose in my craft space for a while. Sometimes by watching and helping them, it sparks my own ideas.
9. Get together with crafty friends. Plan a night together to share crafty ideas over dinner out. No actual crafting needed, just bounce ideas off of each other.
10. Pack it up for a bit. As much as I hate to say it, sometimes the best thing for me to do is to lock my craft room doors for a few days and stay away. In my time away, I do anything but think about crafts.

Tell me in the comments: How do you get over crafter’s block?

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