Keys to Crafting Success

Once you've explored what NOT to do when it comes to crafting in 10 Things to Avoid When Starting a Craft Project, what are some things you can do to ensure a positive experience for you and your child? Here are seven to get you started, but I'll bet you can easily think of more.

1. Make Yourselves Comfortable

Make sure your crafting table is at a comfortable height for you and your child. If you need to, provide two different work surfaces, one that's comfortable for each of you. A smaller, lower folding table and chair might be best for a young child, while you work alongside on a surface better suited to your own size. Put a cushion on a chair to both raise your child to the proper height and make it more comfortable to sit.

2. Provide Adequate Light

This an easy one to overlook, but can make all the difference. Lighting that may be fine for family dining might not be bright enough for picking up small beads on the end of a needle. You may need to add additional lighting with a clamp-on lamp or a floor lamp you can move to the work area and put away when you're not crafting.

If you're working during the day, try to introduce some natural light, since that's the best of all, but you don't want it glaring you in the face.

As part of your project planning, analyze the lighting situation and make adjustments. Ask your child if she's comfortable with the lighting and can see adequately.

3. Understand Your Basic Materials

If you're planning on doing a lot of crafting (or even if you're not), it's worth the effort to understand the differences between paints, glues, scissors, papers, and other basic tools and materials.

Look for books on crafts materials, as well. There's a book available just on the subject of glues called The Crafter's Guide to Glues by Tammy Young that helps you decipher all those different chemical names and choose the right glue for the task. Usually, beginner's books for a particular craft will cover materials and tools. Read these sections carefully and then talk to your local crafts supplier. There may be new and better products on the market.

I've found a wealth of information on various crafts forums (which are on CompuServe) and newsgroups online (such as the ones on America Online). There's a newsgroup or mailing list for just about any craft you can imagine.

4. Hone Your Skills Before You Start a Project

Many times it's best to concentrate on mastering a basic skill before you try to apply it; for example, learn to hammer a nail before you try to build a birdhouse. Give your child an opportunity to practice on something non-threatening, like a piece of scrap wood, before tackling an actual project where it "counts."

Kids get a real kick out of practicing skills like hammering and sawing anyway. (Anything that makes noise, right?) You may also want to choose projects that are skills-oriented, developing one level at a time. In learning beading, for instance, it sometimes helps to start with simple stringing techniques first, so you can learn the basic tools and develop an eye for color and design. Then you can graduate to the more difficult techniques. Allow time just for learning, without any specific goal in mind.

5. Pick a Quick and Easy First Project

I say this with some reservations, since I can only speak from my own experience and I don't always reflect the norm. I sometimes learn best when I'm making something I really want to make, even if it's a little more difficult than a beginner's project. I may need help at various stages, but I'm more likely to stick with something I'm really excited about. I suspect some people might be like me, but others prefer the exhilaration of a first success and then move with confidence to a project they find more exciting.

If a project's too long and involved I can lose interest, so I often pick one that can be done in a day or a weekend for the satisfaction of completing something quickly. Gauge yourself and your child and determine what suits you. Choose your projects carefully, and certainly give your child as much say as possible in the choices.

6. Allow for Spontaneity

I know, I just told you to plan. That's true, but there's a more general way of planning that sparks unplanned crafting sessions that can be just as much fun. Fill up a medium to large box with crafts materials that your child can work with at any time. This means no toxic materials or dangerous tools (gear this to your child's age and ability). Check the box periodically and make sure it's well-supplied. It should contain crayons, colored pencils, glue, construction paper, rubber stamps, ink pads, stickers, scissors, paper fasteners, pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, fabric scraps, yarn, string, scraps of ribbon and gift wrap, recyclables … whatever you feel comfortable letting your child play with when you aren't supervising closely.

Make up another box that's labeled "Adults Only." This box can contain other crafts materials that require supervision or raise safety concerns. Teach kids the difference and explain that one box is off limits without an adult and the other is theirs to play with on their own.

Provide your kids with their very own crafts apron, gloves, eye protection, crafts box, and a clean, well-lighted work area. Then watch them go!

If your child has become especially interested in a particular craft, you can put together a kit with lots of materials for that specific craft. If the hobby is rubber stamping, for example, create a rubber stamp box. If it's woodworking, have a toolbox just for her and some scrap wood to use whenever an idea strikes. Encourage your child to decorate the box and personalize it.

Keep crafts boxes, tools, and supplies in an easy-to-reach location to encourage your child to use them AND to put them away when she's done (I'll talk more about organizing in Choosing Your Crafting Space). Teach your child to clean up carefully and return everything neatly to the box for the next crafting session.

7. Have a Sense of Humor

If you can't laugh, then what's the point? This is play, remember? So if you find yourself getting too intense or losing your temper, lighten up! Laugh at yourself and you'll be giving permission for others to laugh along with you. Everybody else thought the glitter stuck on Mommy's nose was funny, too.

Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Crafts with Kids © 1998 by Georgene Lockwood. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

To order this book visit the Idiot's Guide web site or call 1-800-253-6476.