What kind of art or craft are you involved in?

I did try my hand at stained glass a few years ago. I bought all the equipment, tons of glass and took a couple classes. However, I was not good at it. It didn’t come natural and I would spend hours on a 3 or 4 piece suncatcher.

I am really good at breaking glass. I don’t do crafts unless you count building things with wood.

I used to do counted cross stitch, embroidery, crochet, knit, & I used to do paint the glass in picture frames & then add crumpled aluminum foil to the frame. It made for an interesting picture. Those were only in style for a very short time but I did make a lot of personal gifts for friends. Since my stroke, I can no longer do any of these. I can’t hold the yarn in order to control the tension in order to knit or crochet. I can’t hold the frame in order to do the cross stitch or embroidery. My eyes are no longer sharp enough to see what I paint & my hand isn’t steady enough to paint a decent picture.

Every now & then I still make an attempt to return to doing any of those, but my frustration level is so high that I put it back down in disgust!!! I still miss the pleasures that I received while doing any & all of them!!!

@chyna -Did you work with lead came?

@Coolhandluke -Wood counts. What kind of things have you made?

I craft responses.

@lucillelucillelucille steampunk is what tickles my fancy when it comes to woodworking. I’ve made shelving with water piping and added gauges. More of what I’ve done include spice racks, outside planter box with bench combo, key holders from barnwood, decks, etc.

@LadyMarissa -If you are having trouble with dexterity, give pottery a whirl!
On days where my hands bother me, I find that I can still throw clay much easier than I can do detailed paintings.
On the bad days, I use heat and stretching to help with dexterity or simply have a colossal meltdown. Both great options! :D
I will start a painting this week to see where I am at with it.

@Jeruba – :D

@Coolhandluke That sounds interesting!
Post a pic if you can

I used the lead came on the bigger pieces my instructor helped me with. I was more comfortable using the soldering tool on the smaller sun catchers.
The one piece I spent well over 100 hours on was a desert scene with a sunset. It sounds big, but in reality was less than 20 pieces probably. I made it for my brother because he was my biggest fan. His wife stuck it in their attic. :-(

@chyna I missed the class where they taught how to use lead came. Is it hard to stretch?
That’s unfortunate that your SIL didn’t appreciate your time and effort. Those projects are a lot of work.
I imagine the scene you did was beautiful with all the different colors.

For many years I have wanted to throw clay, but I could never get past the expense. I think if I suck at it, I have laid out a lot of cash for nothing.
Also, my first husband, and another past love both died suddenly, and young. I’m askeered that if I try it, a ghost will come up behind me and make me sculpt a penis.
Ya know, maybe…

The cheapest way to do it would be to take an adult ed class or call local studios and see if they offer classes.
A friend of mine was commissioned to make penises for a bridal shower.
She said she modeled them after an old boyfriend as it wouldn’t take much clay, keeping the costs down.
She ended up with 35 wee wee wees.

I usually do what needs doing, but I love to write. I am a fan of J K Rowling- her tweets, when they make headlines, in particular. I am handy and getting better at it thanks to all who post on the internet. ...I haven’t looked into stain glass, maybe I will?

@lucille x3 Yes, I found the lead came very hard to stretch. That’s why I avoided the bigger pieces and stayed with the sun catchers. I have a huge appreciation for glass crafters.

I would love to watch glass blowing sometime. I don’t want to try it because it would be clumsy and frustrating. That would ruin it for me. I would love to watch someone who really knows what they are doing. It would be cool to buy a piece I watched being made.

@CelestialIncognito -:)

@chyna -I need to make 4 panels around 18“x 8”.They will be part of a set of folding shutters.
I haven’t decided on the design yet and thought if I learned to work with lead came & picked a linear design, then I could get that done right quick! lol no grinding either. I think I’m done! LOL
Then I read that the copper foil method is structurally stronger than lead came.That surprises me.

@Patty_Melt – I have yet to try that.
It looks interesting, but I couldn’t stand the heat.
One of my booth neighbors at an art fair was a glass blower. I’d see him once a year (for years) and we’d trade work.
He was a very funny guy that made beautiful things.

I know a beautiful guy who makes funny things. Want to loan out a trade?

I’ve got one already but you are welcome to take the glassblower!

I do decoupage. I learned it in a faux finishing class. I also will do other paint techniques, sometimes combined with the decoupage, sometimes on their own. I refinish things like jewelry boxes, by either painting, staining or decoupage, or a combination.

I took a stained glass class once, but it hadn’t occurred to me that I might get pieces of glass stuck in my fingers. When that reality hit, I dropped the class.

I am also part of a sewing guild and have a machine, but I don’t sew. I’m kind of intimidated by the machine, because they get wonky with the tension and other issues. A good friend sews and has a lot of machines, and she’s always tinkering with them – the tension, the bobbin, something is not working right. To me, just threading the machine is intimidating.

I would love to learn beading and other types of jewelry making. I buy gems, findings and I have the tools, but not the know-how.

@jca2, I have seen some native beaders online. Sometimes they do live bead togethers.
I’ll see if I can find a link for you.

@jca2 -Sometimes craft stores will offer jewelry classes. There are also people who cast their settings using the lost wax process. That looks pretty interesting.

No sound contour beading.

Beading for beginners step by step instructions.

Loom beading.
I did some loom beading when I was a kid. It is faster than stitch beading, but if there’s a snag, you have no repair option. I had lots of fun making bracelets and headbands for myself and my little friends.
I have thought about doing some loom beading again. I would want to buy a loom this time because I probably would never get around to making my own again.