Years ago, I bought a used pink Cricut with a few cartridges. Soon after, I started buying more and more cartridges, new and used. I don’t remember making very many things though, and I didn’t know anything about vinyl back then. I started collecting the sample color paint cards and pages from paint stores and Home Depot to use to practice cutting with. I thought I was so thrifty. I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t tied down to only using the cartridges. After a while, I quit using it and got more into teaching myself how to read crochet patterns and collecting yarn, so I got rid of the Cricut. My daughter in law got a newer model of Cricut and I was in awe of the fact that she didn’t have to buy cartridges! That newfangled technology had me excited again, and my husband told me that I needed something like that. He is the type that does a lot of research before he buys something. (He’s good like that) For Christmas that next year he surprised me with a Brother Scan n Cut CM350. It could do all the stuff a Cricut could do, plus had the scanning option. I was excited! But, also intimidated. I played around with it a little bit, with the built-in patterns, but I couldn’t figure out how to hook it up to my laptop with the cable. Then my husband bought me the wireless activation card that goes with it so you can use the Scan N Cut that way. I was still confused at how to get patterns, called SVGs, where to get them, what the hell they even were, and how to use them. (Funny to think, considering how many I have collected and used since then) After a lot of talk over the years, my husband finally told me that if I didn’t figure out how to use it, he was going to sell it and buy me a Cricut instead. I told him no, I just needed to get off my ass and quit being scared. I joined a few Facebook groups dedicated to learning how to use it and watched YouTube videos. I started off by printing out images and scanning them into the machine to print out images on vinyl. The results varied and definitely not up to the machine’s potential. Again, my husband urged me to learn how to use it. I started downloading free files and using them for small projects and got really excited. I knew of a few websites that had free downloads, so I scoured them and got all the ones I liked. The list was small. Here it is, only 5 months later, and my collection of free downloads and free websites has grown substantially. (For my standards, at least)
I also joined some Facebook groups that are dedicated to helping each other out by answering questions, giving ideas, and posting free SVGs. One group led to another, and now I have found quite a few. I added a page to my website, “Social Media Resources”, in case anyone is interested. (There are also pages on there for crochet) On these pages, I have learned so much more than I knew was out there! Such as:
-Photo editing: how to do it and free websites to use
-AI (creating images from your imagination by typing in words!!!) and free websites to use
-Free font websites
-The best places to order supplies from
-Other crafting methods such as glass etching and wood burning using torch paste with a vinyl stencil then a heat gun!
-Turning photos into cartoon images
And so much more that I can’t think of right now. But you get the picture! There is a wealth of knowledge out there, you just have to find it. That’s one reason why I wanted to start my website. I wanted to share what I have learned and am still learning. There is so much, and I can’t do it all, so I might as well share! There are still things out there that people will want to pay for, but there are also so many resources that are free, so why not use them??
I do have a confession though. I have enjoyed working on this website and finding all the stuff to put in it so much that I haven’t had time (or should I say, made time) to actually make anything in a while. That hasn’t stopped me from collecting more stuff though. Craft hoarding, if you will. I had lunch with a dear friend the other day and I do have a project that I need to sit down and figure out. This project link has been on my crochet page for a while now, and I encourage any crocheters or knitters to check it out. The project is called “Knitted Knockers.” It’s an organization where people basically make prosthetic “knockers” or boobies out of certain qualities of yarn that aren’t itchy against the skin of mastectomy patients. They donate their time and the supplies, and they are sent to women who need them. The website has both knit and crochet patterns, and you have to sign up in order to be able to send them in to be donated.
(Click the red button below to be taken to the crochet page where you can find the website info for "Knitted Knockers")
It was a few years back that my friend was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. When I found out, I was terrified. She had the culprit removed and went through the treatments. She got really sick and lost her hair but missed a lot hell of a lot less work than some of our “healthy” co-workers”. She’s a damn tough woman and she has made it through. She got an implant but ended up having to have it removed this past summer due to scar tissue issues and pain. At the plastic surgeon’s office, she found a card that talked about the knitted knockers and ordered herself one. They’re free of charge, and she said it took about two weeks to get it. She popped it out the other day for me to check out. Pretty handy, I’d say. I’d need a banana shaped one to match mine if I ever needed one, but she’s more of a petite gal. She said she just sticks it inside her sports bra, so there’s no need for special yarn since it’s not going to be touching her skin. They are stuffed with polyfil, and I read that you can use bath poufs or similar material to make swimming knockers. These women who deal with breast cancer have my highest regard, as does my friend who I was just talking about. <3
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