Getting creative is expensive, right? It doesn't have to be.

You can be forgiven for thinking that one very good reason to NOT start that creative project is because it’s going to be expensive.

I mean, look at the reports you see of art being auctioned for millions. Go to book a ticket for a concert/ballet/musical and I can just see your jaw dropping when you see the ticket prices.

If it costs money to enjoy other people’s creativity, how much must it cost to learn how to express your own?

That’s where Creativity Found is here to help, to show you how you can enjoy other people’s creative endeavours and your own in as inexpensive a way as possible.

Creativity over production

One way to adjust the attitude of believing that getting creative must be expensive, is to understand and appreciate that the enjoyment of creativity is not in the production, but in the creating.

Let me give an example.

Many of my podcast guests have said that, when they were younger, they wanted to be Blue Peter presenters. They would start papier-macheing with the newspaper before it had even been read. They would nag their parents to finish the washing-up liquid so they could use the bottle to make a pencil case. I used to pick the petals off flowers in the garden and put them in an old jam jar of water to make the most delightful perfume!

Those activities cost no money, but brought great pleasure.

Similarly, how often do you send your children/grandchildren/neighbours’ children off to school with flour and salt to make salt dough, or cereal/egg/delivery boxes for the next classroom art project?

And when that art project comes home you love it. You give it pride of place somewhere in the house (at least for a while!) and praise the creator for their ideas/ingenuity/effort.

And that’s the reason you love that piece of art. Not because it is a masterpiece of exceptional beauty, but because it was created by a little human, who had an idea to make something for you, and no doubt had a wonderful, fun time making it, and couldn’t wait to see your face when it was presented to you, because THEY made it!

As you will know – from your own experience or through hearing my podcast guests discuss this – somewhere along the line we lose that absolute joy in showing our artwork to others, replaced by trepidation, lack of self-confidence, fear of rejection. But that doesn’t mean we have to also abandon the sheer joy of creating in the first place.

Now I am not saying that you can make all of your creative dreams come true with just the inner tube of a toilet roll and a YouTube video (although YouTube IS a great resource).

There ARE likely to be costs involved, because you need to buy some equipment or materials, you’d like to have a few lessons because you are not sure what you are doing just yet, or because you want to see how other artists are working by visiting exhibitions or fairs.

But they don’t have to be huge.

This seems like a good time to discuss the very practical ways being a Creatively Curious member can help you save money, and not just on creative pursuits. (Please also refer to more blogs on how Creativity Found memberships can help you get past various barriers to creativity – for example age and guilt.)

Discounts

As you may know, at Creativity Found I have carefully curated a fabulous group of creative small businesses, who are so keen for you to not have financial barriers in your way, they regularly give fellow members discounts on some of their offerings.

Right now, when you join the membership you can find:

• A discount on a six-module self-study crochet course from Crafty Kilner, which will teach you how to crochet from scratch, and how to make five complete projects.
• A special offer on pre-orders of the latest Bargello a GoGo kit.
• Money off any in-person crafting event run by Creatful.

But it’s not just offers from our members I can share with you. Oh no, there’s more.

After all, if you can save money in life in general, you can free up some to spend, guilt free, on your creative pursuits.

Join the membership and right now you can find ways to save on:

• Just about anything, with a money-saving app that I have tested for you, and can help you save locally and nationally.
• Tickets for nationwide craft events. I regularly update the Members’ Chat Group with discount codes for events from Creative Craft Shows, Craft in Focus, National Trust and others.
• Learning how to manage your daily spending with Sarah McCalden’s Money School 30-Day Money Challenge. Not only will this challenge teach you how to manage your money, but you can also save money on the cost of the challenge itself, through Creativity Found.
• Money off at the fabulous, independent, online and bricks-and-mortar clothing store Rainbow and Spoon, whose ethos that 'Life is too short to wear boring clothes' is too good to miss. 

Plus, I am always looking for and sharing money-saving advice and offers in the Members’ Chat Group, and members can do the same.

• Maybe you’ve seen a great deal on art supplies from your favourite local store – share the good news.
• Perhaps you’ve spotted a crafting hack online that will be useful to your fellow creatives – let them know about it.

You can also ask for advice or ideas, in the Chat Group and in real life at our online meetups.

• Perhaps you want to know where the best place to buy acrylic paints is?
• Or whether you can recycle a particular fabric for a specific purpose.

We’ve got members who can help, and really want to. Because together we can ease the financial load with intelligence and sharing.

The value of spending wisely

Before I sign off, there is one more very important point I want to make, about WHERE you spend your money, not just how.

I know that your money is important. You have worked hard to earn it and you probably want the money you do spend to go to artists and crafters that are putting their all into their own small businesses, rather than making unseen contributions to a shareholders’ holiday home in Barbados.

Create a Scene members are sole traders or small businesses who love what they do, work hard at what they do, and have a level of experience that they want to share, because they want you to learn – while also growing their businesses, which as we all know is not easy.

When you buy a kit from/book a workshop with anyone on the Creativity Found website:

• You get a personal service. The kit you buy has been thought about, designed, materials sourced, packed and posted by that person. Equally with an online course or in-person workshop, the artist or crafter teaching you is teaching from their own experience, they will do everything in their power to make sure you feel comfortable, can learn at your own pace, enjoy the activity and go on to love it for years to come.
• It doesn’t end there. The service and support from Creativity Found members does not end when the product or workshop has been delivered. The makers are there to answer your questions and help you to get the best experience with your new creative activity. Many of them have Facebook groups and are on the other end of an email to answer your questions.
• You are helping a real person to earn money and continue doing what they love.
• You will be doing good for the future since our members source sustainably wherever they can.

Thank you

Creativity Found Collective

The Creativity Found Collective is a membership for artists and crafters who share their creative skills with grown-ups through workshops, online courses, products or subscriptions. It is also a membership for business-support enterprises who use their expertise to help those artists and crafters to grow their businesses.

We promote their offerings on the website and connect them with a network of like-minded business owners. 

All of this is backed up by the Creativity Found podcast, in which I chat with grown-ups who have found or re-found their creativity later in life.

You can find out more about the Creativity Found Collective membership here.

And don't forget, you can subscribe to the mailing list here.