7 Fun Ways to Develop Your Creativity for Paper Crafting

You're sitting at your desk, staring at your supplies, excited to craft. After a long day at work, you finally have time for yourself! But alas, it's been a few minutes, and you still can't figure out what project to do. We've all been there - when our motivation is blazing, but our creativity is bleak. That's okay! Creative blocks happen to the best of us, and it's normal to experience as a crafter.

Golden Days Stamp Set

If you are wondering how the designers here at Altenew seem to never run out of ideas, then you're in luck because today, we'll tell you the secrets to unlimited inspiration!

Creativity isn't just a random spark; it's a continuous fire that can sometimes grow bigger or smaller, but you can keep it blazing with just a few tricks. In today's blog post, we'll talk about how to increase creativity and boost it with these seven easy and fun tips. Keep on reading to learn more!  

1. Learn a New Technique

You know what they say about learning - it's a lifelong process! The same holds true for paper crafting. If you're a cardmaker feeling stuck on ideas for a design, why not try a new technique, such as paper quilling? Or maybe you can try your hand at a completely new project, such as crocheting!

Whatever technique it is, paper crafting is a vast area, and there are still lots of new projects to get excited about. 

Cardmaking Classes To Spark Your Creativity

You can just pick one you've never tried before and see how it inspires your creativity. Our brain is naturally more active when doing something new, so perhaps your creative block is just because you've become comfortable with what you're naturally good at! 

2. Talk a Walk and Go Outside

Majestic Peonies

Take a walk outside and marvel at your surroundings. There are a lot of beautiful things outside - sometimes, we're just too busy to notice them! Stroll around your neighborhood, your park, or the places nearby with sceneries.

Nature has one of the best color palettes around! You can collect leaves, flowers, or other natural materials. Use their colors, textures, and patterns as inspiration for your paper crafting projects, or even use them as materials themselves!

3. Collaborate With a Community of Crafters

From cardmaking forums to Altenew's Facebook Fan Group, there are lots of positive online crafting communities and boards out there waiting for a member like you! There's no better way to ignite your passion for crafting than to be surrounded by people who enjoy it too.

You can even make a post about how to boost your creativity - members will surely help you out with any questions or concerns you may have.

These communities are nice because not only do they provide you with support and companionship, but they will also serve as endless resources of inspiration. Many members post their daily journals, scrapbooks, cards, origami creations, sewed pouches, and more, so you'll definitely be in awe of all the projects they make.

Plus, you'll even get to learn a new technique you can do with your existing supplies - one that you never even thought of before! 

4. Start and Join a Challenge

Here's a fun idea: make your own crafty challenge! Challenge yourself to create something every day for a week or a month. This will help you flex your creative muscles and push yourself to try new things. It can be a small project you can do in a few minutes daily, like a simple paper flower, a quick card, a mini watercolor painting, or even coloring one page from a coloring book!  

If you can't think of anything, try heading over to the Altenew Instagram or the Altenew Blog, where tons of challenges, contests, and even giveaways are being held often. You'll surely find tons of inspiration there!  

5. Enroll Yourself in Some Crafty Classes

We can always learn new techniques from free resources, like Youtube vlogs, blogs, and posts, but there's nothing like the advanced and unique techniques that come from crafty classes! There's a reason why these classes have a pass - there's so much learning to be had with every session! 

From advanced techniques, arrangements, and designs available per class, you no longer have to worry about having no ideas. Your only problem would be managing the overload of so many beautiful projects you can make! 

Crafting 101: Getting Started with Gouache

6. Create a Vision Board of Your Favorite Things

Collect images, quotes, and other inspiring materials to create a vision board for your paper crafting projects. This helps you visualize what you want to develop and can inspire new ideas. It's also better if you can include your favorite things relating to art, such as favorite color palettes, designs, flowers, patterns, and paintings.

Having a vision board can also help you identify a theme and subject that interests you, such as plants, people, fashion, or animals. This can inspire new ideas and help you think more creatively. For example, you can create a scrapbooking project reflecting your favorite travel destination or make adorable cards showcasing your favorite foods. 

7. Mix Up Your Supplies 

Most of the time, your techniques and projects are limited to the supplies you always use. Maybe it's time to try a new stamp design or buy a completely new tool that lets you do other methods! Whether you get tools for hot foiling, embossing, die cutting, stamping, layering, or decoupaging, you will likely be more productive and excited at the prospect of using new goodies. 

Crisp Dye Inks for Crafting

Besides buying new supplies, you can add some spice to your collection by incorporating other materials like fabric, felt, pretty packaging household supplies, or even found objects like real dried flowers, leaves, or twigs to add unique elements to your creations. 

Develop Your Creativity With These Handy Tips!

Through these seven simple activities, you can experience growth in your approaches toward crafting. After all, crafting is an art form of endless possibilities and encourages those who practice it to be imaginative with their projects!  

Take the time to try these different methods, make them a routine, and over time, develop creativity. Find what works for you and create with an open mind. Most importantly, don’t forget to have fun along the way! 

If you’re looking for more ideas, inspiration, and tutorials, then check out our All About Crafting blog at Altenew! With a full catalog of paper crafting projects that range from beginner to advanced levels, we can show you what a fantastic world of creativity awaits. Ready, set… craft!