Then I met a wonderful woman online who was an advanced card maker. She lived over the Pacific Ocean from me, but she understood what I was going through. It was via her friendly emails and gorgeous pictures of her cards that my interest in stamping was finally allowed to grow. I wanted to try making some cards so much!

My friend sent me my first stamps, designer paper samples, ribbon and bling. I then found some ink pads and started to play. I had no idea how large and wonderous the world of rubber stamping was at the time, so I just did what I knew I could do. It pleased me a lot to be playing at last.

When a few nice stamping companies started selling stamps and supplies in Australia, I began to see how much was possible. That’s when my collection of tools and supplies started to grow.

So what did I buy? I’ll show you my list, but remember yours may very well be quite different to mine. I just went in the direction my interests and awareness took me. This is such a fun hobby there is no right and wrong way to do it – for me there is only play and experimentation!

Some of the things I make I love. And some I don’t. It’s all learning. Let yourself enjoy your own journey of exploration.

Here’s what I soon collected once I started rubber stamping:

Apart from buying the stamps I loved at the time I soon bought some cardstock that was colour coordinated (from Stampin’ Up!) and also their colour wheel. I had trouble putting nice and adventurous colours together at the start and the colour wheel helped me a lot Some good quality white cardstock to make my focal image for my cards I also bought good scissors – a rubber cutting pair and a small sharp pair for the tricky bits of paper trimming I bought a large self-healing cutting mat a stamp cleaning pad and stamp cleaning mist (the cleaning mist conditions the rubber in the stamps) an adhesive snail as much ink in as many colours as I could afford some watercolour pencils and crayons metallic gel pens, a good black journaling pen and a white gel pen a permanent black ink pad so I could colour over the lines of my stamps without smudging them a Versamark ink pad for embossing some embossing powder some double sided tape a good metal ruler a bone folder a mat pack and tool for paper piercing

I have to say I still use all of these tools years later.

As I got interested in other techniques (or out of necessity) I bought more tools. For example I used a toaster to emboss things at the first. (I do not recommend using a toaster for embossing, by the way. Read on to see why not!) When I was embossing so much I nearly set the house on fire one day, I decided to buy a heat gun (hence the necessity! Hubby finally agreed I needed a heat gun when my paper caught fire!)

Embellishments just grow like topsy when you start buying them. I started out with:

some split pin brads some paper flowers some ribbon and some tiny buttons

Then I decided to start my paper punch tool collection because I started learning how to use punched shapes.

Next I move on to wanting to set eyelets and that’s when I bought a noisy eyelet setting system. When I couldn’t resist setting eyelets at night after hubby (a shift worker) had gone to bed, he agreed I needed a Crop-a-dile – it’s silent and oh so efficient!

I think you can now see the pattern my craft supply buying has taken over the years?

My advice is this: go ahead and trust your own creative leanings when you are building up your rubber stamping and paper crafting supplies and tools. Find a nice open and airy place with good lighting to craft in and think about how you are going to store your supplies as they expand. I made do with an ordinary desk that had an overhead bookshelf attached to its back. It was placed near an open window and I added a desk lamp for times when the sky was overcast or I was crafting at night (which is often).

Only buy tools and supplies as your interest in them grows. If you would like more information about tools and techniques, you can find out more at my Paper Craft Tools page.

Stamping and paper crafting is a fun hobby with lots of creative corners you can explore. Take your time and enjoy it!

It really does not matter if you are a professional or a newbie when choosing a crochet pattern. As long as you know the guidelines or some pointers in making crochet patterns, the rest, as they say, will be history.

As you go along with your journey into the world of crocheting, there is always a room for you to discover something new. In addition, the best way to do that is to find more patterns for variations on your work.

Among the many kinds of patterns that are made available in the market to day, free patterns are the best. Why? They are free! After all, it is not everyday that you get to make a crochet pattern that is absolutely, 100% free. Hence, most people really do grab this opportunity.

Consequently, if you are on the look-out for some free crochet patterns, the best thing that you could find are those that pertains to the baby’s garments. In fact, some surveys show that among the different items being sold in the market today, the baby clothes are the most widely held; and to obtain without any charge is an absolute bonus.

There are many ways to acquire a baby crochet pattern. Many books, magazines, or journals are dedicated to give utmost assistance to anyone who loves to make baby crocheted garments. However, with the advent of the information technology, obtaining a free baby crochet pattern over the Internet is relatively easier and more diversified.

Free baby crochet patterns that can be found in the Internet are, generally, made by devoted “crafter” or manufacturers of any kinds of craft supplies. Usually, they create these free patterns to extend help to those who cannot afford to buy the expensive patterns.

There are some free baby crochet patterns that entails instructions that are described in full details, like in very systematic way, and relatively easier to follow. However, not all of these free patterns are created equal.

In fact, it cannot simply be denied that even if there are some free patterns, there are some examples of patterns that do not just have meaning. Some of those free patterns are completely nonsense. These kinds of free patterns could be made by people who are not adept in making crochet patterns.

In turn, they do not know how to make the instructions of the pattern in a more systematic order, hence, they leave out some steps without even becoming conscious of it. There are also instances wherein the pattern maker does not have a clear identification on the kind of instructions that he must project for you to understand his pattern.

Hence, it would be better to evaluate and analyze every free baby crochet pattern first before downloading them from the Internet. Here are some tips that you can make use of:

1. Understand and analyze the pattern first

If, by any chance, you were able to find some free baby crochet patterns in the Internet and you have already downloaded them, it would be better to read and analyze the pattern first before buying the materials already.

Try to analyze if the pattern is logical. You can do this by imagining how it will take place once you have started to make the pattern. Will it be realistic when applied to the actual process of making a baby crochet? Try to assess if the patterns are systematically instructed in details and if there are no “missing links” in order to finish the project.

Try to identify as well, if the free baby crochet pattern is demonstrated well. The best way to recognize that is to see if the steps are illustrated by some clear images and with some clear and understandable set of words. This will guarantee enough that the instructions are clear and not vague.

2. Do your homework

Since you will be looking for free baby crochet patterns over the Internet, it would be better to do your homework first. That is, you should research more on the ideal website that can give you the best free baby crochet pattern that you need.

Finding some good sites in the Internet can ensure you that the patterns that you will obtain are tried and tested, hence, the results will be just the same if applied to your capabilities.

Best of all, finding some reliable free baby crochet patterns through these reliable websites have added bonuses. They provide you with some forums or suggestion box where you can instantly air your concerns regarding the problem.

3. Have a hard copy

If you are already fond of downloading free baby crochet patterns from the Internet, it would be better to have a hard copy of those files. Try to print them out and bind them. This will facilitate the use of these patterns instead of printing them only if you need them.

Given all that, you can be sure that obtaining a free baby crochet pattern is one of the best bonuses that you can have while you are into crochet making.