Looking for my craft mojo

I don’t know about you guys, but I seem to have lost my craft mojo since the holidays ended. I can’t seem to make my ideas come together for projects I want to make. And if I do come up with an idea, I can’t seem to motivate to start it. It’s crazy because this is the perfect time for crafting, when snow and cold have me trapped inside.
1/16 Pattern Writing
I have been working on my February mittens. Though I admit I’m stalled at the hand of one mitten done and the cuff of the second. I pick them up, knit a few rows and then end up playing Candy Crush instead. Even looking through Pinterest doesn’t seem to hold my interest these days!

I know this will pass, but I’m frustrated with myself for not spending more time creating and less time clicking on candies. I need some advice, what do you do to help jump start your creativity?

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13 Comments to Looking for my craft mojo
    • DrRuss
    • I will add my two cents worth (keeping in mind, I only know your online presence rather than you personally).

      What works for me are goals. I have set time limits on myself and have given myself deadlines for projects. I am currently doing a 365 project. I know that I have to post something every day for this challenge. Sometimes some projects are better than others but I still get the satisfaction of having completed that deadline.

      I keep lists–lots of lists and when creativity is waning I look at them (similar to your looking at boards on pinterest).

      Finally, I treat my crafting as if it is a job. I create in a designated space (my second bedroom is my studio). I do not do any crafting in my bedroom (my non-designated space). When I get up in the morning, I take a shower and get dressed as if I am going to work and walk the steps to my studio and get to the business of crafting. Even when I come home from my day job, I will change into my crafting clothes before going into the studio.

      These are some things that really work for me–even when I am physically and emotionally zapped of creativity.

      • Susi
      • Thanks for all that Russ.
        I am smiling ear to ear thinking of your “crafting clothes”. Pray tell, what is your preferred outfit? Until i hear, I will picture you in a lab coat, with traces of old project barely visible. – Susi

        • DrRuss
        • Usually, it is a white, too tight tshirt, sweat pants, an enigeer’s apron, vans, and headphones. The too tight tshirt is on purpose so the excess fabric doesn’t get in the way. Everything else is paint and glue splattered so I have no problem wiping my hands on any cloth surface I am wearing. Hopefully you weren’t envisioning me in a long sequined dress and high heels cuz that’s only on Saturday nights–LOL.

    • Ros
    • I need my crafting not to become a chore, so I do the opposite of Dr Russ! If I’m not feeling it, then I mostly don’t do it, unless I’ve got an external deadline – a birthday present, or something. I’ll read a book or go for a walk or something instead.

      • DrRuss
      • I definitely understand. Because I have so little time for crafting, I “force” myself to do it otherwise I would just take a nap or watch TV. Even when I don’t seem 100 percent committed when I begin, by the time that I am done, I am so grateful that I went through the paces.

    • Kay M.
    • I tend to procrastinate also, unless I have a deadline. Then I use the Nike motto. “JUST DO IT!”. Right now, I have one boot cuff finished, awaiting a bow, and one left to make. Oh, I also was supposed to have a baby blanket finished by this weekend, but it isn’t even started. Thank goodness it’s a personal gift for someone and not something I have to apologize for not having finished.

    • Kat
    • Thanks for your comments everyone. I’m trying a little bit of everything. I’m giving myself more of a schedule throughout the day so there are “work” hours when I work on some sort of craft. To me it is still better than most work. But I’m also putting in time to learn a language and play a card game with my husband, so I’m mixing things up throughout the day.

      My craft room is a bit of a stumbling block right now. It is a small open alcove off our kitchen with built in desk and cabinets. We are going to have the carpet torn out, wood flooring put in, a frost glass door installed and lots more cabinets. Until then a lot of my stuff lives in plastic bins piled on the floor, so it isn’t the most creative space yet.

    • Susi
    • I have taken some time and updated my Pinterest. I found it to be dull, and not to my interests, and so I went in and spiced it up. We are in Northern California, so, while some of you are frozen into Popsicle, we are having a severe drought. (with lovely blues skies and warm days.) So I have added some “no lawn” boards to my group. I edited some of the boards where people would post 30 pins in one day, and then no others for months at a time. And when I found a pin that I liked a lot, I went to see where else it had been pinned. That lead to some nice new boards.
      I also have a Crafts I want to make Board. http://www.pinterest.com/craftroom/crafts-i-want-to-make/
      There are 152 pins on there. I go back from time to time, and laugh at some, snort at some, and get giddy looking at some. that is a sure fire way to get me running straight to Micheals/JoAnn’s.
      I don’t know if that will help with your Mojo. But it will hopefully help you fall back in love with Pinterest. : )
      -Susi

    • NameLINE
    • You are not alone at having trouble getting started. I have really left my house in about a month. I can blame the weather but really I just need to sit! I craft a little but my production output is minimal compared to the rest of the year. I use to feel bad about it, force myself to do something. I don’t anymore, not because I’ve given up but because I need this down time if I’m to get into super production mode later. Creativity has a life cycle that is renewed constantly but I think that observing a little down time is good for me. No guilt just rest!

    • Marlene
    • Oxegen! To much hibernating. More ultraviolet lights. Covered up from the cold,
      We tend to wilt. Two walks a day will pump up the blood stream. And make you feel like a sun flower!

      • Kat
      • I’m trying, I’m trying, but when it’s -36 outside it’s very hard to get more than my morning walk on the treadmill in. I know part of the problem is a little bit of Seasonal Effective Disorder.

    • Silvia
    • I have phases like that as well and they seem to sort themselves out. Sometimes I simply don’t pick up any projects at all, just give myself some time.
      Also, I wanted to let you know why I’ve been kind of gone these past few weeks. I had a car accident on Christmas Eve. I wasn’t seriously hurt but my car ended up upside down and totaled. It was orange and I loved it. A couple of weeks ago my grandmother passed away and a few days later one of my kitties (she had a cancerous tumor that started making it impossible for her to eat) had to be put to sleep. I have felt so sad and completely out of it and not done hardly any crafting at all of any kind.
      Lately I just feel like curling up in a ball and hibernating. But, there’s a new Nerd Wars tournament starting and the Winter Ravellenics and I also want to join you guys again very soon.

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