She Dressed in Black: Guest Post // Wake Up, Lovely: A Good Craft Day

Hey there, lovelies! I'm Kate from Wake Up, Lovely; a blog about inspiration, pretty things and positive living! I'm sure a lot of you, like myself & the girls of She Dressed in Black, have an ever so crafty pair of hands, so today I thought I'd share my tips on how to have a good craft day!

Knowing what your plans for the day out before it starts is great for three reasons. One; you don't waste half an hour racking your brain for all of the to-do's you've been mentally making a note of the past few days, because you got it all thoroughly thought out and written down last night while you were curled up watching television. Two; it's easier to prioritise things once they're written down. You know roughly how long different tasks will take, therefore you know how much time you can afford to waste browsing twitter. Three; It is extremely satisfying to tick each task off as you complete it. It's perfectly okay to write down things such as 'post letter' and 'paint nails' just because it's nice to see that at least one task has a big line through it.

Back to what I said before, it helps to know how long different tasks will take and how many you need to get through. You'll know what suits you best in terms of getting certain things done at certain points of the day. If you're at your most productive in the afternoon, get the least tedious tasks out of the way in the morning. I like to tick off all of the tiny, insignificant bits and pieces, like tweezing my eyebrows and tidying my workspace, first thing in the morning so I can spend the rest of the day concentrating on more important to-do's. I also tend to go between the more mundane tasks and the just-for-fun tasks so that I don't have to tackle all the nagging tasks in one go.

If I've learnt one thing over my crafty years (though I'd like to think of something that contained a tad more wisdom) it's that if something needs various coats of paint, start on them early, then you come back to them in a few hours & they'll be ready to finish! I believe if you can get it all done today, get it all done today.

Distractions being other members of the house infuriating you with their loud music, having to pop out for an hour in the middle of the day, anything that takes your attention away from being totally and completely creative. Not always easy, but it's do-able. I'm at my crafty best when I'm surrounded by peace and quiet, politely declining social invitations and in only my own company.

Something I frequently struggle with myself is staying away from the internet. Twitter, blogs and email inboxes are so cruelly distracting and beg for my attention throughout the day. Try setting yourself time periods where you are banned from your computer; use a quick browse through your favourite sites as a reward for getting a craft done!

It might be loud and upbeat, simple but delightful or extremely heavy metal music. It's your bliss. I'm an instrumental music fan, and have zero shame (though I very much should) in admitting that a vast majority of my day is spent accompanied by any one of the Harry Potter soundtracks. I find them incredibly motivating, peaceful to paint to and undistracting to write/blog to. Too many lyrics clog up my attention. However, if a louder bass or your favourite artist gone acoustic is more your thing, embrace it and enjoy it.

You'll also find it's helpful to avoid music all together sometimes. Peace and quiet is a wonderful thing. Take your crafts outside and listen to the birds chirp. Your mind and your imagination will thank you for it.

Make the time to just do something silly with your creativity. Give something new a go without worrying about all of the other projects you should be concentrating on. I think we're all a little guilty of letting potential hobbies and interests build up without ever just giving them a go. Allow yourself an entire afternoon to just do something new. Take up crochet. Make some candles. Paint a picture even though you have absolutely nowhere to hang it up. Life can wait.