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I did beading and jewelery a long time ago, and i'm sorry, THAT is an expensive hobby!!! I didn't have Michael's back then, I shopped at little bead shops, but before you know it you've dropped $50 and you walk out with a tiny little paper bag and you're like "What did I just spend that on???"
I like my crafting just how it is.. Paper and markers and stamps.. yummy....
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I think that card craft will still be popular or years to come. The fact that in the UK we have 2 shopping channels dedicated to the craft is a sign of its current popularity - when they stop broadcasting I will get worried.
Maybe people are realising how much pleasure can be got from having a hobby and it's not that card craft is "going down" but other crafts are gaining in popularity (if you get what I mean).
One thing's for sure my love affair with card making isn't stopping!
Girls who love to crochet I am going to enable you so much. This is a cheap hobby.
Amigurumi is the Japanese Crochet Technique of making little tiny animals or objects like cupcakes. You can use all those little spare balls of yarn you keep around in your stash because it doesn't take much to make these cutie pies.
As you can see it's the hottest thing in Crocheting right now. Tons of patterns over at Ravelry and on the Internet. I am addicted to them. My DH has mad crocheting skills. He crochets so fast it's like watching a blur. He makes me little animals, lol. He's a big strong Harley type guy.
Amigurumi is crocheting in the round. Each project at the most takes two hours but a lot of patterns are only an hour.
Stock up on safety eyes, embroidery floss and hoard your little balls of yarn.
Oh I am sooo jealous...we don't have ANY channels devoted to ANY sort of crafting....boo hiss Australia!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cardmaking-Comp
I think that card craft will still be popular or years to come. The fact that in the UK we have 2 shopping channels dedicated to the craft is a sign of its current popularity - when they stop broadcasting I will get worried.
Maybe people are realising how much pleasure can be got from having a hobby and it's not that card craft is "going down" but other crafts are gaining in popularity (if you get what I mean).
One thing's for sure my love affair with card making isn't stopping!
You can choose your preference based on "trends".
You can choose your preference based on "what you enjoy".
You can choose your preference based on "what you see in magazines", trendy or not. **Yes ... some publish items that are "not" in trend.**
What it all boils down to is this: What do YOU enjoy doing?? Whatever your answer is, let THAT be your guide. In the end, you will be much more satisfied.
Oh I am sooo jealous...we don't have ANY channels devoted to ANY sort of crafting....boo hiss Australia!
I lived in the UK until 2006 and they weren't my "style" then, and had a lot of repetition but they do serve a purpose. And of course I had ordered several kits before I realized my style so they did their job! :lol:
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasGrammy
This is just one person's opinion. ;)
You can choose your preference based on "trends".
You can choose your preference based on "what you enjoy".
You can choose your preference based on "what you see in magazines", trendy or not. **Yes ... some publish items that are "not" in trend.**
What it all boils down to is this: What do YOU enjoy doing?? Whatever your answer is, let THAT be your guide. In the end, you will be much more satisfied.
HTH! ;)
I think that is so true! There are several hobbies I love the look of but they aren't my thing or something I enjoy doing!
I don't dare even try beading. I can see me going nuts with it, and I can't afford another hobby with the addictive personality I have. Coffee, Chocolate, Stamps... I stick with the basics. lol
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oohhhh i am so in love with amigurami - wish i had more time - i am just streteched thin at the moment. i am currently making a little tinker bell hello kitty for DD. and of course there is always crocheting your own embellies which i have done alot of too....
I love quilting! I don't have as much time to do it as I'd like, but I didn't start because it was a new "fad". It was just always something that I wanted to do.
I did get into crocheting and knitting, too, because I've never met a craft I didn't like, but not as much as stamping and quilting. NO time for those!
Beading is another big one, and I did let my cousin get me sucked into that one, but I gotta know when to stop, ya know!? LOL
I don't dare even try beading. I can see me going nuts with it, and I can't afford another hobby with the addictive personality I have. Coffee, Chocolate, Stamps... I stick with the basics. lol
You can keep the coffee but chocolate and stamps sounds like pure heaven!:mrgreen:
As you can see it's the hottest thing in Crocheting right now. Tons of patterns over at Ravelry and on the Internet. I am addicted to them. My DH has mad crocheting skills. He crochets so fast it's like watching a blur. He makes me little animals, lol. He's a big strong Harley type guy.
My husband is a big rugby guy and he is a very good cross-stitcher. I am not a fan of the "pictures" myself, but it's the strangest thing to see him yelling at the TV while watching baseball or hockey then look down and thread his pretty picture.. hahaha... Maybe I'll get him into crocheting so he can make me those animals... hmm... :rolleyes:
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I design for: Stampendous!, There She Goes, Technique Tuesday,
SRM Stickers and Deconstructed Sketches.
I think the brick and morter stores are closing because it is nearly impossible to compete with the internet....It is so easy to cruise the internet in your jammies and buy buy buy and the sales come to you.....The brick and morter stores have to pay rent so their prices are higher...JMHO.
blessings.
oohhhh i am so in love with amigurami - wish i had more time - i am just streteched thin at the moment. i am currently making a little tinker bell hello kitty for DD. and of course there is always crocheting your own embellies which i have done alot of too....
OH PLEASE, please, please post a pic of your Tinker Bell Hello Kitty when you are done. I would soooooooooooooo love to see it.
To the OP: I made one of the posts you might be referring to here. I read the online industry magazines, and there is definitely a downward trend in papercrafting. All craft and hobby industries are cyclical and this kind of trend is disappointing but expected.
This doesn't mean that papercrafting is going away. "Memory books" have been around for several centuries now and are not going away. Sending cards is also a long time habit. BUT, the easy availability of huge quantities of supplies WILL change.
Those who want to continue papercrafting will certainly be able to do so, and many people WILL do so. But others, in large numbers, will drift away and find new hobbies or return to old favorites.
Lots of stitchers are returning to embroidery, in all its forms, because while papercrafting is relatively quick compared to needle arts, there is something very special about creating heirloom quality things that can be passed on through generations. Centuries old pieces of needlework are now regarded as treasures, even though many of the ones now valued were simple teaching/learning pieces at the time they were created.
There is also something more fulfilling emotionally, at least for me and I guess for other needleworkers, in the act of stitching.
When I have the time, which there is always far too little of in my life, I stamp, make cards, and scrapbook, both paper and now digitally. I also crochet, tat (a form of lacemaking), do cross stitch and fancy needlework including hardanger, and make Hawaiian quilts. I have also done bobbin lace making (gave that up due to 57 year old eyes and arthritic fingers), painting, jewelry making and other beading activities, latch hook, and other activities too numerous to mention. I'd love to take some One Stroke painting classes, get into locker hooking, try weaving, and so many other things- and maybe someday I will.
The Internet is a wonderful way to keep so many of these hobbies going- people can now easily find others with the same interest. I've found dozens of tatting blogs, for example, and there are hundreds more I don't look at just because of time.
So, no, papercrafting is not going away, but it is definitely declining as a mainstream hobby. This will not affect dedicated cardmakers and scrapbookers, as long as they are willing to make the extra effort to find supplies.
You have just confirmed my thoughts that I need to continue with my rubber obsession - and be certain that I am buying classics that I can use in multiple ways. I'm glad I never got overly addicted to patterned, designer papers because I'm betting they will be the first to go by the wayside. Give me a stamp and I will stamp my own! I have been drawing/painting/designing for a long time as a hobby so I doubt that will change.
I'm thinking no craft ever completely goes away. There are those who will give it love no matter what. I agree with the person who's noted the size of the Michael's craft sections, that stamping might still be there, but beading seems to be taking on a whole new life.
I have friends who began as enthusiastic card makers, became collectors and have now moved on to other crafts. My two best stamp buddies have both moved on, one to quilting, one to beading. I still love my cardmaking and even though I don't have the time I'd like to put into it right now, know I will at some point in the future. I'm not buying much right now for that reason.
I wonder, in this can-I-do-it-fast? world, if we won't see a swing between fast output crafts and slower output crafts.
(Another first love cross stitcher here, too! I have several ready-to-start projects that are sitting patiently waiting. They've been waiting for at least 15 years and may sit another 10. I'm not ready to toss them, still think they're beautiful. In the end, they may get tossed after all, but for now they take up little space and I still think they're beautiful. Just hope my eyes hold out! lol!)
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Last edited by jeaniebean55; 10-24-2009 at 03:52 AM..
Gee......I don't see any evidence of Paper Crafting fading out as is stated in Post #1. I teach paper crafting other than scrapbooking and see no decline in classes or interest. People are realizing just how much there is to do in the world of Paper Crafting.
I think a craft is only dying out if you are not interested. There are still lots of people who do all the crafts mentioned in these previous posts.
Patti
I can see this point of view. We have a friend who has made an after children are grown career out of felting. I don't completely understand it, but she has her own spinning wheels. She goes all over the country, and to other countries, demonstrating and speaking about her craft. I think it has to do with wool, and spinning it into a soft yarn, and then into felted vests, etc. Who would have thought this would be so popular?
I used to love counted cross stitch and needlepoint. Then I discovered papercrafting. Despite having enough needle projects to last a lifetime, I have pretty much moved on to papercrafts.
I teach in a high school that once taught fashion merchandising and sewing. Then, in the 90's, I think, they took out all of the sewing machines. It was not taught at all. Now, it is back. They have a room full of machines, and kids take sewing I, II, and III, as well as Fashion Merchandising. It all ebbs and flows.
My husband is a big rugby guy and he is a very good cross-stitcher. I am not a fan of the "pictures" myself, but it's the strangest thing to see him yelling at the TV while watching baseball or hockey then look down and thread his pretty picture.. hahaha... Maybe I'll get him into crocheting so he can make me those animals... hmm... :rolleyes:
Bwaaahaahaaa! This image had me rolling!!!!
My mom worked for a dentist who did better cross stitch and French knot pieces than most of the women who worked for him. (NO ONE is better than my mother, though!) All that fine motor work on teeth translated nicely to stitching.
As for the OP, I'm the last person to predict trends, but I'd like to see people doing whatever craft makes them happiest. Paper makes me happy, so I'm sticking with it. Like all trends, paper crafting will surge, fade a bit, surge again. Cycles are natural, and no craft dies completely, it seems!
I wouldn't mind having a hobby that is more portable especially when I am waiting for appointments etc.
My grandmother started quilting had 10 kids and then when she got ill with cancer she picked up that quilt again because it was portable to piece a quilt together.
I don't think I have the patience to hand quilt...
I wouldn't mind having a hobby that is more portable especially when I am waiting for appointments etc.
My grandmother started quilting had 10 kids and then when she got ill with cancer she picked up that quilt again because it was portable to piece a quilt together.
I don't think I have the patience to hand quilt...
Portability is the reason I alternate between knitting and paper crafting. I started knitting socks for self preservation sitting at the kids' icy cold spring sports practices and games. YOu get far enough along with a nice wool sock and you can slip your hand into it. Plus, you always need more socks than you do mittens. They travel well in the car or other places, like doctors' waiting rooms. And no one has ever been displeased with a gift of a handmade pair of socks.
What a great thread. I hope papercrafting doesn't disappear as I have just gotten into it 2 years ago and I am enjoying it and have spent way too much money on it to give it up now.
I too, am a cross stitcher and I am currently working on a huge Beatrix Potter alphabet picture for our next grandchild due in 3 weeks. I love Hardanger too and have done a lot of it, also Stumpwork (three dimensional embroidery). I had to give up knitting and crocheting because of shoulder difficulties.
We need something to relax with in this busy world and I think any kind of hobby is great for that.
[QUOTE=stepha;15403706]I think the little stores will always be eaten away by the big guys. It's unfortunately a fact of life. I don't necessarily think it shows a decline in crafting, but in the amount and quality of supplies we can purchase because there really is no one in the "big" stores willing to help.
As the owner of a small card and gift store, my husband and I understand the need to help the customer and make suggestions or get find they need. Big stores don't do that. But, that being said, we can't compete with the big guys in terms of pricing, so customers tend not to buy local and that does hurt our business. The LSS are no different. And how many sheets of cardstock do you need to sell to make the rent?????[/QUOTE]
I think that's it right there. The overhead is so high for a local store. The online companies don't have that kind of overhead, so the online stores can sell the same items for less. Of course, there is shipping and handling to consider, but they still seem to be able to beat out the brick stores.
This afternoon I attended a scrap and stamp expo near Milwaukee, WI. It was pretty crowded and there were lots of bags walking around. It seems the industry isn't really dying but some of the things I saw today I have seen in years past. I think the industry is getting a little stale. Of course, that didn't stop me from spending more than I should have! Trends and hobbies come and go...I think someone before me said it best that trends have very little to do with pursuing the hobbies and crafts you personally enjoy most.
This afternoon I attended a scrap and stamp expo near Milwaukee, WI. It was pretty crowded and there were lots of bags walking around. It seems the industry isn't really dying but some of the things I saw today I have seen in years past. I think the industry is getting a little stale. Of course, that didn't stop me from spending more than I should have! Trends and hobbies come and go...I think someone before me said it best that trends have very little to do with pursuing the hobbies and crafts you personally enjoy most.
Walking bags?!?! Dang!!! LOL!!!
(Totally just kidding with you, and noticing another WI stamper. )
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Last edited by jeaniebean55; 10-24-2009 at 05:10 PM..
I can't predict what the next trends will be. Heck, if I could predict, I'd pick the lottery numbers so I could retire and spend all my days crafting!
I am a cardmaker and will always be. Same for scrapbooking. And counted thread. If the popularity of these crafts decline, my stash of supplies will keep me going until a resurgence occurs. Or at least that's what I tell myself as I continue to shop!
Well, I've done quilting, soft sculpture, making cloth dolls and stuffed animals, cake decorating, tole painting, calligraphy, crocheting, embroidery, furniture re-finishing, macrame, weaving, wreath making, flower arranging, and probably some other crafts I don't recall, but I started card-making about ten years ago and never looked back! I love this craft! There's always something new to excite me and keep my interest. I can't let a day go by without creating cards.
I do all my shopping online now, where I can always find a much larger variety of items. If the craft does ever fade away, I have enough 'stuff' to keep me going until I fade away! LOL![IMG]//www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/images/icons/icon12.gif[/IMG]
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No matter what happens....I will be set until they are ready to put me in the wooden box! I have enough stuff to keep me going until the new millenium...
so a stamper I can remain forever....what a comforting thought!!!!
Michelle
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pat in Ohio
I can't predict what the next trends will be. Heck, if I could predict, I'd pick the lottery numbers so I could retire and spend all my days crafting!
I am a cardmaker and will always be. Same for scrapbooking. And counted thread. If the popularity of these crafts decline, my stash of supplies will keep me going until a resurgence occurs. Or at least that's what I tell myself as I continue to shop!
I think that card craft will still be popular or years to come. The fact that in the UK we have 2 shopping channels dedicated to the craft is a sign of its current popularity - when they stop broadcasting I will get worried.
Maybe people are realising how much pleasure can be got from having a hobby and it's not that card craft is "going down" but other crafts are gaining in popularity (if you get what I mean).
One thing's for sure my love affair with card making isn't stopping!
I love to do all crafts, but I always try to stick to things that are useful or consumable. Cards and edible items get used up and don't clutter my space or the recipient's space.
Cake decorating, and cookies, are huge right now. Just see http://www.cakecentral.com and all of the cake shows on tv. I can be creative and it gets eaten up, then I don't feel bad about making something else!
I love to do beading, but I hardly wear jewelry, and I don't need much for gifts. I tried selling my crafts, but I just don't have the time to make enough and go to the shows right now because we are homeschooling and taking care of ill parents.
2 years ago I had to stop being a SU demonstrator due to time & health issues, and I have not stamped at all since then. I really miss it. I did a lot of cake decorating in that time though, because we needed cakes for occasions and I needed a crafty outlet. We are slowly getting to a point where I can find tiny bits of time again to stamp, so I'm going to start up, but mostly I'll make things for specific reasons. Currently, doing a bridal shower. I just ordered the Big Shot and am looking forward to using that. I've never done die cuts before, but I only ordered useful things, such as tags, boxes, and trim (which I can use to make fabric trim for my daughter's clothes), and those cool cupcake wraps.
Probably a lot of people are buying from the internet, or even trading, so the stores are feeling the crunch. In my town, we have a little store that is run by the local senior council. People donate their unused craft supplies, even half completed projects, and the store resells them for pennies on the dollar. That place is always packed whenever I go there (I've been clearing out and donating a lot lately; need space and have too much hoarded.) People I know check there first when thy need something. I also see a lot of trading and selling going on here, as well as selling on ebay, craigslist, and garage sales. People still want to do all sorts of crafts, but trying to find more frugal ways to get their supplies.
For me, if I need something, or a gift, or to do a party, I try to make it instead of buying pre-made. It doesn't necessarily save me money on that item, but, I get to be crafty, so in the end, I do save money because I'm not doing a craft just for the sake of having something to do.
Hobbies do "evolve". So far I have done, tatting, sewing, crocheting, embroidery, candlewicking, macrame, beading, candle making, cake decorating, doll making, scrapbooking (digi and traditional), stamping, altered art, and just about anything I can get my hands on! Of all these, my true passion is card making. Trends do change tho, and beading, quitling and knitting are definately hot right now.
I think that it also depends a little on where you live! I live in northern MN where we have 2 seasons, winter and the 4th of July. You either get a hobby or go stark raving mad!
Hobbies do "evolve". So far I have done, tatting, sewing, crocheting, embroidery, candlewicking, macrame, beading, candle making, cake decorating, doll making, scrapbooking (digi and traditional), stamping, altered art, and just about anything I can get my hands on! Of all these, my true passion is card making. Trends do change tho, and beading, quitling and knitting are definately hot right now.
I think that it also depends a little on where you live! I live in northern MN where we have 2 seasons, winter and the 4th of July. You either get a hobby or go stark raving mad!
ROTFLMBO!!!! DH is originally from northern MN. I hear ya!
I 'm an instant gratification girl and don't have the patience for embroidery etc. I like to start a layout or a card and have it finished in a day or two. I could go as far as to add some stitching to a card or a layout, but that's all!
I've done needlepoint and counted cross stitch in the past. I then got into scrapbooking which evolved into stamping and card making which I truly love.
I've recently done some painting in my house and want to do some decorating. What I'd really like to learn now is rag rug making....remember those big rugs our grandmothers had?
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I was talking one day with a friend about hobbies, and whether we had 'picked up' the hobby habit from our parents. My mom was a quilter, a crocheterm knitter, tatter,a scrapbook maker before all our modern scrapping supplies and ideas, and also did neat things like learning how to bind books, or how to make plastic castings of the marine stuff she collected. She was also (gasp- pre-conservationism) a butterfly and fossil collector.
Then I remembered that my dad's mom (my gramma and also my aunties) were into a variety of hobbies as well- I remember a year when everyone received silouette pictures done with shiny foils, and then there was the cross-stitch on gingham, and embroideried everything. And I think now that for a while Gramma also perhaps sold costume jewellry findings- I remember her catalogues, and her showing some ladies how to make certain brooches and necklaces.
Anyway, I agree that many crafts go through cycles of popularity, but always some people have a love for a particular thing no matter what the latest 'rage' is.
Girls who love to crochet I am going to enable you so much. This is a cheap hobby.
Amigurumi is the Japanese Crochet Technique of making little tiny animals or objects like cupcakes. You can use all those little spare balls of yarn you keep around in your stash because it doesn't take much to make these cutie pies.
As you can see it's the hottest thing in Crocheting right now. Tons of patterns over at Ravelry and on the Internet. I am addicted to them. My DH has mad crocheting skills. He crochets so fast it's like watching a blur. He makes me little animals, lol. He's a big strong Harley type guy.
Amigurumi is crocheting in the round. Each project at the most takes two hours but a lot of patterns are only an hour.
Stock up on safety eyes, embroidery floss and hoard your little balls of yarn.
Dang you! LOL... I have all this old yarn that is sitting in boxes .. and I JUST had to pull it out to try this! TOO Dang cute.
