Hello and welcome to The Craft Room Podcast. I'm so glad you're joining me today, as we are talking about forgotten gems. If you've been crafting for a long time, like me, then you likely have a LOT of amazing products and resources. Back in episode 40 I talked about The Craft Stash, and this is kind of an extension of that episode. Usually when people talk about forgotten gems, they're referring to old movies or television shows, paintings or travel destinations. But this is a craft podcast, so, of course, we are going to be talking about them in the context of crafting.

In thinking about this for a few weeks, I've found that forgotten crafty gems tend to fall into one of three categories … 1. Physical (which falls into 3 sub-categories - Consumables, Tools, References/Resources) 2. Virtual/digital 3. Techniques/knowledge

So … what can we do to uncover our forgotten crafting gems. Well, before we talk about that, I would like to remind you of one important thing. If you were out in Lightning Ridge mining for opals, not everything you dig up is going to be a beautiful gem. There's going to be a whole lot of rubble, and, let's be honest … there's going to be some dirt. The same applies when searching for forgotten crafting gems, in your stash, on the internet, on your computer, your phone or in your memory. Be prepared to find a few things that you look at and wonder 'Why did I keep this?', and I suspect there will be some dust, and potentially a dead bug in there somewhere.

The easiest way to find anything is to look for it, and I'll walk you through from low effort / low time options, then we'll level up.

1. Look 2. Closer Look 3. Sort 4. Organise

If there's anything I hope you take away from this episode, I hope it is this …

* It's worth pressing pause on bringing new things into your home so you can take some time to look at what you have, decide what you love and curate a craft stash that is a true treasure chest.

* Keep track of your virtual and digital gems so you can enjoy them before they disappear. Block out some time to watch that video, look at old bookmarked pages, work your way through that online course or print those checklists and templates and use them.

* Sometimes we need to clear the rubble and the dirt (and the dead fly) so our gems can truly shine. One crafters rubble is another crafters treasure.

Mostly I hope that you find great joy in your craft stash, and if you find a truly amazing treasure, please feel free to share it, maybe in the Craft with Dawn Lewis Facebook group (link in show notes and on the blog). Enjoy the gem hunt, and happy crafting! LINKS Episode 45 blog post Episode 40 'The Craft Stash' Online Courses & ClassesCraft with Dawn Lewis Facebook GroupShop Creative Fabrica Sign up for newsletterBuy Me A Coffee Benable budget crafting board