
35 episodes

The Craft Room Podcast Dawn Lewis
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- Leisure
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4.9 • 15 Ratings
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The Craft Room Podcast is fully dedicated to crafts of all kinds. Card making, quilting, crochet, stamping, painting, embroidery ... there's so much craft to talk about, so join Dawn Lewis in The Craft Room.
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#35 Cost vs Value
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 -
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#34 Copic Marker Maintenance & Handling
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 -
New Years Crafting Resolutions
In todays episode let's talk about those crafting goals you may have set in January, and ways you can set yourself up for success. LINKS
Blog post - https://www.dawnlewis.com.au/podcast32 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 -
International Shipping
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 -
How to Host a Craft Swap
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
Customer Reviews
Great tips!!!
I just found your podcast and it is wonderful. I really appreciate all your tips and information you share. I have been bingeing through your episodes and I am really enjoying each episode. I hope you continue adding new episodes.
Love!
I love your podcast!! Great tips, nice length, and you’re a wonderful speaker. I’m primarily a papercrafter, but love hearing info about fiber arts sprinkled in there. Thanks for the incredible content!