CRAFTY IDEAS TO HELP USE UP YOUR STASH/HOARD

There are several places I go to get ideas. The first and most obvious is to look at what others are doing on Etsy. I don't mean that I steal ideas from other artists on Etsy, I go there to see what people are doing and look at their creations. That always INSPIRES me in some way or another.

Another place I go to is About.com.  About.com has many, many areas of interest and not just ideas and patterns for creating handmade. Most recently I have been there to get free knitting patterns. Along with the knitting patterns, they have crochet and other needlecraft patterns. They have "how-to's" also. When I began knitting again in September after being away from it for years, I couldn't remember how to "cast off" or "bind off." I watched a video and had it mastered lickety-split. I believe this site to be the most comprehensive I've run across in my Internet browsing. Here is a link to the sites "Family Crafts: Crafting Tutorials" page: http://familycrafts.about.com/od/craftstechniques101/Crafting_Tutorials.htm/.

Some e-commerce sites that sell supplies will also offer free patterns and hope you buy the supplies from them. One such business is Leisure Arts. I recently bought some pocket guides for knitting and crocheting from them. Here is a link to their free projects page:  http://www.leisurearts.com/FreeProjects/skill/Crafting/Default.aspx/.

Another place I frequent is Threads eLetter. They have items for sale, a print magazine and the newsletter. http://www.threadsmagazine.com/. Lots of good stuff here.

This is a project I think I will try because they are so adorable and such a sweet little gift. This website is "craftstylish." http://www.craftstylish.com/item/945/how-to-make-pretty-pincushions/.

So, if you are out browsing, check out these places to get ideas to use up your hoards!!

But most importantly, have fun doing so.