4 Tips for Beating Crafting Procrastination

Whether you’re a seasoned card-making enthusiast or just starting on this delightful journey, there’s one common obstacle that often stands in our way: procrastination. We’ve all been there, staring at a blank card, unable to decide where to start. But fear not! Daniel West is here to explore four effective tips to beat procrastination and embrace your inner artist when making handmade cards.

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Hey, y’all! Daniel, here, feeling like a total hypocrite! I’m writing this post about beating procrastination… because I needed the encouragement myself. I am the biggest procrastinator! And it’s debilitating, sometimes. But I found some great tips for beating it and got myself in gear to create a great little project for you mixing Copic Markers with Sketchmarker Pros to color in the Seaside Stamp Set images.

Here are the four amazing tips for all you fellow procrastinators!

1. Set a Creative Space

First and foremost, create a designated and inspiring space for your card-making. A well-organized and clutter-free workspace can work wonders for your motivation and focus. Whether it’s a corner of your study or a dedicated craft room, make sure the area is well-lit and filled with supplies and goodies that spark your creativity.

Decorate your creative space with inspiring quotes, handmade cards, or artwork to set the tone for your crafting sessions. This ambiance will act as a powerful catalyst to get you in the right mindset and help you avoid the distractions that often lead to procrastination.

I started by just clearing off my work space and putting everything in its place. You don’t have to do a whole craft room reset every time you craft. Do that every month or two.

2. Work Ahead of Deadlines as a Favor to Yourself

One of the most effective ways to beat procrastination is to work ahead of deadlines, especially if you’re crafting for special occasions or events. Think of this as doing a favor to your future self. How would you feel if you came home from a long day and someone had cleaned your house, folded and ironed your laundry, made your bed and cooked dinner? You would feel cared for and pampered!

Now, pamper yourself by doing work ahead of time. While doing this, think of how lovely it will be to have already done so much for future your to not have to worry about.

3. Embrace Creative Warm-Ups

Just like athletes warm up before a big game, creative warm-ups can help you get into the artistic flow. When you’re struggling with procrastination, start with some simple and fun exercises to loosen up your creativity.

Try doodling, creating quick sketches, or playing with color combinations on a separate piece of paper. These warm-ups can help you overcome the initial hesitation and get those creative juices flowing. Moreover, they might even lead to fresh ideas and inspiration for your greeting cards.

Before deciding on a final project for this post, I stamped out a scene to color and play with the markers. I blended Copics and Sketchmarker Pros together on a piece of X-Press It Card. I also made extras of the little images and I can use those on another project!

The picture on the left shows my playing with flicks for grass and color combos. I needed to familiarize myself with how the inks from the Sketchmarker Pros work with the Copic inks. They actually blend nicely. The yellows and oranges blend the best. The darker, less saturated reds — R52, R35, R11, I used from Sketchmarker blended with the R20 family from Copics, but not as readily. I just worked them a little more and tried not to overdo it. You’ll know when you overdo it because the pigments will mottle a bit. This happens with Copics by themselves, as well. You can see this mottling in the top gradient in the middle picture. The bottom gradients was more successful.

All this to say, that I needed to break my procrastination and make progress by just playing and using my supplies.

4. Break It Down into Steps

Procrastination often creeps in when a task feels overwhelming. Making a greeting card from scratch can appear daunting, but it becomes much more manageable when broken down into smaller steps.

Start by visualizing the end product and then list the individual components required to achieve that result. For example, divide the process into designing, selecting materials, cutting, assembling, and coloring. Focus on completing one step at a time, celebrating each milestone achieved. This approach not only helps you stay organized but also provides a sense of accomplishment as you progress.

After playing with the supplies a while, I needed to start my project by just stamping out the images and coloring them in.

Next, I needed to die cut them out and arrange them successfully on the front of my card. I literally took 3 hours to come up with the final setup, after several failed attempts.

I ended up die cutting an arched stencil out of cardstock and ink blending some Catherine Pooler Rouge, Mandarin Spice and Eucalyptus inks through it to create a sunset window. Then, I deckle trimmed the edges of the panel and popped it up on the front of a piece of textured watercolor card.

I stamped some gulls in the back with Concord & 9th Black Ink. Then, I finished it all off with a sentiment I heat embossed with White Detail Embossing Powder on Black Cardstock. I die cut it out with the EBE Postage Dies and popped it all up on the front of the panel.

In conclusion, beating procrastination when making handmade greeting cards requires setting the right environment, pampering future you, warming up your creativity, and breaking the process into achievable steps. Remember, crafting should be enjoyable and fulfilling, so don’t let procrastination hinder your creative journey. With these tips, you’ll be well on your way to crafting beautiful and heartfelt cards your friends will love.

Happy crafting!

Daniel