AND THE THIRD 'FRIDAY GUEST BLOGGER' IS

Caroline Nash of Carolee Crafts

Thank you Caroline for being this week's guest blogger in my Friday blog posting venture; I know everyone will enjoy your chosen topic:

Motivation

Motivation can be hard when working for oneself and even harder in the current climate when sales could be slow to full stop.

How to motivate yourself? This is hard as I can be the biggest procrastinator out but find meeting up with like-minded individuals either as a group or one to one is excellent.  At these meets you can discuss problems, share ideas and hopefully motivate each other with the suggestion that you have to complete. Say, a, b and c by the next meeting.  If you start a craft meet try to make it at least once a month, any less and things can slide – any more, unless as a working group, can become tedious and too restrictive.

There are loads of small business groups around that are not all craft-related.  From personal experience I have found the mixed career ones harder as the people in non-creative businesses find it hard to understand what makes us creative types tick. but on saying that if you find a good one you have a captive audience to sell to.

One wonderful and easy way to get motivated is regular blog-roll calls, these can

encourage you to get on and make something to be able to tell a story about your make and get comments from others, there are many around like Handmade Monday with 1st Unique Gifts.  We all like to receive praise, it’s human nature, blogs are ideal for this if used in the right way, ie post, join a linky party, visit other blogs making sure you not only read the publication but leave comments.  Don’t expect to receive comment on your work if you don’t bother to leave a comment; I am afraid I feel if you have the time to post a blog you have the time to visit other blogs and comment.  Why join something you are not going to participate in – it’s a bit like going to the gym but sitting on the stairs, this does not mean you have actually been to the gym.

If you are having a down time, take a walk, watch a film, read a book or do something you enjoy.  If you can do this around something creative then all well and good but sometimes a break can be more motivational than sitting trying to force creativity.  I use journals not so much in the written format but a collection of sketches, pictures from magazines that have accumulated over the years and whilst not always in vogue, generally things are revisited over a circle of time.  I find these invaluable when I have a creative block as points of reference.  The pictures are not necessarily items to make they can be of a beautiful moment in nature with different hues of colour and shade but all give inspiration.

From experience do not force creativity, it does go but will soon be back and one thing is to enjoy what you are doing the biggest lack of motivation is working for yourself and making what you no longer like to make, it tells in the finished item and your general attitude.

Being passionate about your finished craft and your demeanour about your product tells a story better than a thousand words.

Happy Creative Motivation

www.caroleecrafts.com
caroleecrafts.blogspot.com