introduction

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU STARTED a craft project and never quite gotten around to finishing it? How many times have you laughed at the blogs featuring Pinterest "fails" only to be grateful that your own fails never made it online? Over the years, I've talked with many readers of my blog, A Subtle Revelry, and learned that many of them have very long lists of projects, crafts, and tasks they want to tackle, but no clear plan for how to see these things through. In fact, they have little hope that many of their ideas will actually become a reality. Why is this?

It is certainly not from lack of inspiration, nor lack of materials. Lack of time perhaps, but then again we all seem to make time for the things we really want to see through. No, over the past two years of interacting with readers, blogging, and pinning, I have come to learn that the reason we stall out on great ideas is because we lack a foundation of skills — we need a guide to lead us. Guides teach us how to accomplish what we desire and encourage us to develop the right techniques.

It always begins the same: We see a pretty photo, we click the link. We read a post that starts with "melt the wax" and we freeze because we don't really know how to melt wax, what kind of wax to use (is it different from the wax we — painfully — experience at the salon? we wonder), or where to buy the wax.

We then search "working with wax" online and come upon article after article of technical jargon that often contradicts itself, and is full of unrelated keywords and obnoxious ads. We get discouraged, downhearted, and quickly put aside the original idea we had to be creative, to make something new and unique with our hands. And we return to scrolling through the pin boards, seeing great ideas and dreaming about accomplishing them someday.

So here's the question: What if you had a guide to lead you through these photos and posts? A guide that could take you back to basics and teach, in simple language, the skills needed to work with a foundation of simple materials to produce projects mirroring the beautiful inspiration you find online? A guide to take you through the process and give you the ability to stumble upon any photo and make it a reality in your own life?

That is what I hope this book becomes for you. A guide to take along with you on your blog-hopping, Pinterest-scrolling, Instagram-idea-making adventures. Each chapter is devoted to a different common craft material, so that you are ready to tackle any project that you find online or in the bookstore. I have also included a lookbook at the end of each chapter which showcases other gorgeous DIY projects that have inspired me from some of my favorite bloggers and pinners. From finding inspiration to getting prepared and gathering the right tools, Materially Crafted will teach you to create the amazing projects you've always wanted for your own materially crafted home!

ON FINDING inspiration

If you are looking for a treasure trove of crafting inspiration, I hope this book will help by encouraging you to play around with materials you may not have thought to use before. I find that often it's the actual work of starting a project that ends up inspiring me in many new and different ways. So if you are feeling stuck for inspiration, my greatest piece of advice would be to get crafting: Just. Start. Something. Now! Here are a few other tips I have for staying creative and getting inspired:

1 DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT

I always seem to find new inspiration when I break up my current routine. Read a new genre, go to a new type of event, eat at a new restaurant, pick a new material from this book to explore, or go to a new park with the kids. Enliven your senses to new experiences, and you will pick up inspiration as you go. In my opinion, routine is the enemy of creativity.

2 WALK (OR BIKE) A NEW NEIGHBORHOOD

This tip could easily be translated as: Travel. Experiencing new cultures is the singlemost inspiring thing a creative person can do. However, with kids, work, and everyday life, it is not always possible to jet-set around the world. In the meantime, exploring new neighborhoods in your own town can be quite inspiring.

3 READ INTERNATIONAL MAG AZINES

I try to make time every so often to catch up on a couple of my favorite international magazines, like Vogue Living Australia and Elle Décor. I find the scope of ideas in these magazines is greater since many American magazines take their stories from the same sites I read daily. When reading them, go beyond the explicit and write down the names of inspiring photographers, stylists, and products to research later. Many of my conceptual ideas, pins, and projects come from exploring this world of media.

4 EXPOSE YOURSELF TO ART

Museums are great resources but concerts and dance performances can be just as inspiring. Anywhere you can find art around you, soak it up and jot down what you love for later.

5 SHOP VINTAGE

One of my favorite inspiring activities is to shop vintage stores. Walking around, dreaming about repurposing items, and seeing the designs of the past have a way of really jogging my creative side. And never skip the book section! Home design pre1980 is so fun to read about and always inspires a new project or two for me.

6 DRINK COFFEE AND LAY IN BED UNTIL 3 A.M.

This one happens more often by mistake, when I forget that having caffeine after 2 P.M. is a great recipe for insomnia. My most creative ideas come when my body is at rest and my mind is racing. Next time you are up past midnight, try brainstorming about an upcoming project and write down what you dream up. Just be sure to erase 40 percent of the crazed, middle-of-the-night thoughts the next morning.

7 GO FOR A DRIVE

Driving has a very cathartic effect on my mind. It redirects the left side of my brain and allows the right, creative side, to let loose. Distracting your brain from the problem at hand can often spark a burst of creative genius, so go out and take a drive if you're feeling uninspired.

8 FIND SOMETHING AT HOME TO MAKE AWESOME

Take something you currently have in your home that you don't love and challenge yourself to remake it into something you do! Once every few months, I go through the house and pick out pieces that are "almost" awesome. I set them on a table in the garage and begin to envision what would make them spectacular. Often, a new coat of paint, a change of fabric, or switching up how I use the item is all I need to make many pieces in my home much more useful to me. I love having plants around the house, but was recently underwhelmed by the pots I had. Forcing myself to envision the plants in different planters made me realize the rustic look of concrete would help them look awesome next to just about anything, and...