Hello, welcome to The Craft Room Podcast. I’m so glad you’re joining me as we look at ways we can set ourselves up for Success for a new crafting year. I have ten tips that you might find helpful.

I was live in my card membership group a while back, chatting about this delicious week between Christmas and new year. The festive, yet chaotic energy of Christmas has passed, and it’s my favourite time of the year. I’m in my pjs on the couch in front of the AC and Netflix, living off leftovers and cheese boards and I have no idea what day it is … living the dream! This is the week I use each year to set myself up for success for the following year, both in business and my personal craft projects. I talked about New Years crafting resolutions back in episode 32, so I’ll link to that episode in case you missed it (or want a refresher), but I thought I’d talk about some of my favourite things to do in the last week of December that will set me up for success in the year to come.

LINKS

Christmas Cards on Time limited edition box

Marni’s foundation Paper piecing

Rule of Three notepad

Episode 32

Episode 36

Hello … welcome to The Craft Room Podcast. I’m so glad you’re joining me today, because we are talking today about the upcoming Card Maker Success Summit. 

I’ve been attending these summits for the past few years, and even though I’ve been making cards for over 30 years, I still come away from the event having learned something new, and loaded up with inspiration. So imagine my excitement when an invitation to speaker this year landed in my inbox! At the time I was putting finishing touches on the All Occasions box, so when I saw the theme for this summit … Card Maker Success … saying yes was an easy decision. The theme completely aligned with what I was already working on. Now, after months of secret-keeping … I can finally talk about it!

So today we’re going to cover a few things you might find helpful to know about this summit, including … What even is a card making summit? What does it cost? Who is the summit for? When is it happening? How to get the most out of the Summit experience? What is an All Access Pass?

And most importantly, what’s in it for you. I’ll try to be concise, because it’s open for sign-ups now, and there are some important things to share before you go grab your ticket.

The Card Maker Success Summit - get your free ticket here

Stamp Me Some Love live YouTube videos

World Time Buddy (time converter)

Happy new year to you, and I’m so glad you’re joining me today as I answer the most common question I’ve received so far this year, which pertains to glue. Way back in Episode 26 I talked a lot about glue, but I’ve learned a few new things this week, so I thought it was time to share updated information and answer a question that lands in my inbox almost every day … “What is the ETA on the Precision Glue Press”. I made a short video about this today, but there’s more to know, so while this isn’t a super long episode, it does have some useful information, about the product, and glue in general.

LINKS

Blog post (with full transcript)

Precision Glue Press short video (YouTube)

Precision Glue Press (in my shop)

Pre-order form

Video about the Precision Glue Press by MSP

Jennifer McGuire’s review

Simon Hurley’s YouTube review - (start at 1:05)

Altenew StampWheel

Waffle Flower Grip Mat collection

Bearly Art glue

Art Glitter glue 4oz

Art Glitter glue 2oz

Gina K Connect 59ml

Gina K Connect 15ml

Tombo Mono glue

Make it By Marko glue holders

Fine Tip Squeezy glue bottle

Gina K Fine Tip bottles, 3 pk

Bearly Art Glue short video

I’m so glad that you’re joining me for this episode, because it’s a wild ride. Even if you’re not into crochet (or parasols), I hope you’ll stick around for the thrilling tale of how a 34 second TikTok video sparked a crafting odyssey. I have some hot tips to share that you might find useful in your own crafting life.

I’m sure I’m not alone in this … you know that moment when you see something on the internet and you just know in your heart that you HAVE TO MAKE IT. This is what I’m talking about when I say “obsession”. I’ve experienced this many times, though in recent years, not so much, as I’ve dabbled in most crafts already. However, mid-2021 I had a moment on TikTok where I saw a project, and I instantly became obsessed with it. I had to do it, and I knew I would do it, even though I didn’t know how I was going to do it. So today I will regale you with the tale of the crochet parasol.

LINKS

Original TikTok video

Crystals & Crochet

Mandala Madness pattern

Mandala Madness YouTube

My Crochet Parasol video on TikTok

Hobbii

Hobbii, Sultan Yarn cakes

Helen’s Hookaholics FB Group

Umbrellas & Parasols shop

Today we’re talking about an important crafting topic ... cost vs value.

This is something I mention a lot on the podcast, but have never talked specifically about, so we’re going to talk about it today. In a nutshell, the cost of something is the price you pay for it. The value is what the product is worth to you.

Todays episode is sponsored by Altenew. If you’re unfamiliar with them, Altenew have been around since 2014 and are renowned for their layering stamps, dies & stencils, detailed embossing folders, coordinating ranges and innovative tools. I am an Altenew stockist here in Australia, but I know that people are listening in all over the world, so the lovely folks at Altenew and I have put our heads together to come up with a special offer from each of us for podcast listeners. When you shop with either myself at www.dawnlewis.com.au or Altenew at www.altenew.com, you can use the code ALTDAWN10%OFF to receive a 10% discount on Altenew products. The code is valid up to 9th August 2023, and as a bonus for my Australian customers, I will extend that code to any Altenew pre-orders that are received and paid in full from today up until that date when you leave it in the comments section of your pre-order form (and if you already have an Altenew order in with me, if you send an email or DM mentioning the code, I will apply it to your existing pre-order). Those who have been shopping with me for a long time will know that this is the first time I’ve had a discount code like this, so if you’ve had some Altenew on your wish list, now is the time to add to cart or use the pre-order form. Huge thanks to Altenew for being part of the podcast today!

LINKS

Altenew category in my shop (for Australian shoppers)

Altenew (for International shoppers)

Pre-order form

Blog post for Episode 35 (with photos, links and full transcript)

Episode 28 - Stencils

Episode 27 - Digital Craft Resources

Creative Fabrica (affiliate link)

My YouTube channel, digital tutorials

The Big Birthday Box

Amazon, What to Write Inside Birthday Cards book

Amazon, Birthday Card Address Book

Today we’re talking about a couple of very important things you need to know if you have Copic markers, or are thinking about starting your collection … maintenance and handling.

I want to start by laying out my credentials … I am a certified Copic instructor, and an Authorised Copic Stockist in Australia. I have been using Copic markers for over 13 years, and I created the Copic Subscription Box as a way to help crafters build their Copic colouring skills, as well as their marker collection. And, while I do know a lot about Copic markers, I don’t receive updated information from the TOO Corporation, so I have to work a lot of things out on my own and keep an eye on various online forums and articles.

As part of my business I offer a Copic reinking service, and last year I noticed a marked increase in the number of extremely dry markers that were coming in for reinking. In every single case, extremely dry Sketch markers had a crack inside one lid, always the lid on the Super Brush nib end. In most cases the marker could not be reinked, and I was left with the awful task of letting each customer know that they needed a new marker. So, I started reading up on it, and I learned a few things … which is how this episode was born. I want to share that information with you so that you can make your Copic markers last for many years.

Copic reinking service - https://dawnlewis.com.au/copic-reinking-service/

Article about replacing brush nibs - https://markernovice.com/copic/copic-replace-nib

Previous Copic episodes - www.dawnlewis.com.au/podcast14 and www.dawnlewis.com.au/podcast15

Pre-order form - https://form.jotform.co/63050755145856

Ep 5 - Quilting - https://dawnlewis.com.au/podcast5/

Frankensteins Fabrics - https://www.frankensteinsfabrics.com/

Creative Fabric Fans - https://fans.creativefabrica.com/creators/dawn-lewis-imagery/

Unsplash - https://unsplash.com/

Minecraft Quilt pattern - https://www.kellifanninquilts.com/p/minecraft-sew-along.html

Mario quilt pattern - https://angelapingel.com/category/quilt-alongs/mario-quilt-along

Achieve (craft donations) - https://www.achieveaustralia.org.au/the-sewing-basket

Gift Vouchers - https://dawnlewis.com.au/product-category/gift-certificates/

Copic Subscription Box - https://dawnlewis.com.au/product-category/copic-subscription-box/

Ep 20 - Craft Planner - https://dawnlewis.com.au/podcast20/

Helen Shrimpton's Crochet patterns - crystalsandcrochet.com

In todays episode I thought I'd catch you up on what's happening with international shipping. Between pandemic and Christmas levels of demand, USPS has become overwhelmed and suspended all shipping to Australia (and some other countries).

I have some insights, as well as suggestions for alternatives to shopping overseas.

LINKS Blog post - https://www.dawnlewis.com.au/podcast31

In todays episode I’m answering a question from my awesome friend Renee who wants to host a swap for her online community. She wanted to know exactly how it’s done, so I thought it would be fun to talk today about how you can be a great swap host, and also a great swap participant. I have talked about craft swaps in an episode previously, but this will be more about the technicalities of what goes on behind the scenes and what makes a swap great.

There are lots of different types of craft swaps, which I talked about in Episode 17, but the style of swap that I host are where participants create multiples of a single design, send them to me, I do the swapping around, and send them back an envelope with the same number of pieces created by other swap participants. I choose this style of swap, because it’s the style of swap we did as part of OzSwapTillYouDrop, which was a tried and true method well before I came along. Sure, I have participated in one-on-one swaps, but sometimes people don’t come through, their partner misses out, and that leads to angry and upset folks who have put in a whole lot of work, but received nothing in return. So, while it is a lot of work, I stick with the host-swaps-out method. Today I’m going to walk you through the way I choose dates & themes, announce swaps, send emails, create graphics, swap out and handle the bad stuff like complaints and problems. For anyone who thinks they might like to host a swap, I have a free PDF host checklist that you can download over on my blog. I will link to that in the show notes.

My final word of advice for hosts. Start small, find what works for you and your community and be very clear in your communication. Also, don’t forget to download your free Swap Host Checklist on the blog. And for swappers, read the information, ask questions if you need to and hit your deadlines. Most of all ... have fun with it, enjoy the process and be sure to do a little happy dance when your swap envelope arrives.

If you are a card maker in Australia, and you would like to join one of my swaps, I have a new swap opening this month, which is helpful if you’re listening when this episode goes live. But if you’re listening later, and still want to join, you can always sign up to my email newsletter to be notified when a swap is happening. There is also a swap tab on the website where you can find the latest information, including the date of the next swap announcement.

Episode 17 - Craft Swaps

Episode 12 - Clever Craft Storage Solutions

Episode 19 - Handmade Christmas

Episode 5 - Top 10 things you need for quilting with Marni Franks

Jotform

Trello

Newsletter signup

Swap detail page on my website

Unsplash

Canva

Affinity Photo

Sample swap blog post