FAQ
General
How do I use the Share Tools that appear at the bottom each screen?
Move your mouse over the Share Icon when you are on a page with content you want to bookmark or share. Select a site from the icon options displayed. Log in to your social netoworking or bookmarking site and save.
What do I do if I experience technical problems with the website?
If you encounter any technical problems or broken links, please let us know! E-mail craftplace@craftandhobby.org with any issues you've experienced.
Creators Exchange
Who can join the Creators Exchange?
Anyone ages 14 and up with a valid e-mail address!
How do I join the Creators Exchange craft community?
Visit the homepage (www.craftplace.org) and click on the “Sign Up Now” link toward the center of the page.
How so I set up my profile?
In order to set up a profile, you need to have a valid e-mail address. After you click the “Sign Up Now” link from the homepage, you’ll be directed to area where you can set up your account and create your profile. Required information is noted with a “*”. Any information you choose to fill in on the top section will appear on your profile page. Offline information in the bottom section will not be published to the site.
After you click the “Sign Up” button on the bottom of the page, a confirmation e-mail will be sent to you. After you confirm your e-mail address, you can login and start using the Creators Exchange.
You can edit your profile information at any time after signing up.
How do I connect with other crafters in the Creators Exchange?
To connect with other crafters, start by clicking on the orange “[all crafters]” link in the upper right hand corner of your profile. This will allow you to browse through other users on the site. You can check out their profiles to see who has similar interests. If you know your friends user name, you can enter that into the search box to locate their profile.
You can also find other crafters by looking through posted craft projects. All project have a link back to its crafter at the bottom of the project page.
Once you identify a user you want to connect with, click into their profile. Under their avatar (profile picture) and personal information on the left side of the screen, you’ll see a link to send a “Friend Request.” Click this link and a friend request will be sent to that person. They must accept your request to appear in your Friends listing on your profile page.
How do I send a message to other crafters in the community?
To send a message to another crafter, first visit their profile page. You can do this either by searching or browsing through all crafters (you will see an orange link next to your Friends on your profile page) or by checking out craft projects and seeing who crafted them at the bottom of each project page. Once you are on the user’s profile page, look under their avatar (profile picture) under the gray box. You will see a link to “Send a Message.” If you don’t see this link, that means the users has opted to not receive messages.
For users who have chosen to accept messages, you can go ahead and click on “Send a Message.” A pop up box will appear (make sure your browser is set to allow pop ups from the site) where you can enter your message. Once you hit “Send” you message will be delivered to that user.
By sending a message, you can have a private conversation with another user. Nothing gets published to the site.
How do I respond to a message sent to me by another crafter?
To respond to a message, you must first visit the senders profile page. Do not hit reply on the e-mail containing their message. Follow the instructions above on how to send a message.
How do I leave a comment for other crafters in the community?
To leave a comment for other crafters in the community, first visit their profile page. You can do this either by searching or browsing through all crafters (you will see an orange link next to your Friends on your profile page) or by checking out craft projects and seeing who crafted them at the bottom of each project page. Once you are on the user’s profile page, scroll down to the “Comments” area in the center column of the page. Next to the words “Comments” you will add an orange link to “[add].” When you click this link, a comment entry area will appear where you can write and post your comment. Remember, any comments you make will be published to that users page and other visitors will be able to view them.
How do I remove a comment posted on my profile page?
To remove a comment on your profile page click on the red “x” that appears next to the comment.
Craft Projects
How do I add my step-by-step craft projects to the site?
To add your projects to the site, first go to your profile page. In the upper right hand side of the page, under “Friends” you will see an orange link to “[add craft].” This will allow you to upload crafts to the site.
First you will need to choose the type of project you want to add from the drop down menu. Select from Step-by-step project (step by step instructions, images and materials list to create the finished craft project), Video Project (step by step instructional video to create the finished craft project) or Inspirational Picture Project (share images of your finished craft project).
To add a Step-by-Step Project:
Enter the project name (required) and upload an image of the final project. Please limit the image size to no greater than 2mb. The image will automatically resize to fit on the project page of the site.
Type in each material needed to create the project in the “Craft Materials” field. Place one item on each line (just hit enter after you type in your craft supply) and a bulleted list will post on your project page.
The project overview is a place where you can add any information needed that won’t be covered in the instructional steps. You may want to add things like tips about scoring paper or best ways to mix the paint, etc.
The “Step description/picture” field is where you’ll enter your project instructions. If you have photos of each step, you can add them here (if you don’t have photos of each step, then just add in text). Type in your instructions and click “Add new step” until all steps have been entered.
Choose the project difficulty level and completion time from the menus. You’ll also need to select what kind of craft your project is from the list available. You can select as many craft types as you want that fit your project.
If your project has any additional document needed to complete it (a pdf of a pattern or template) you can upload it in the “Misc. Files” section at the bottom.
Click on the “Upload Project” button to add your project to the site. You can now take a look at your craft. If you want to make any changes, click the “edit” link in the upper right hand side of the screen.
How do I add my Video craft project to the site?
To add your projects to the site, first go to your profile page. In the upper right hand side of the page, under “Friends” you will see an orange link to “[add craft].” This will allow you to upload crafts to the site.
First you will need to choose the type of project you want to add from the drop down menu. Select from Step-by-step project (step by step instructions, images and materials list to create the finished craft project), Video Project (step by step instructional video to create the finished craft project) or Inspirational Picture Project (share images of your finished craft project).
To add a Video Project:
In order to post a video project to the site, the video must first be uploaded to YouTube (www.YouTube.com is a free and easy-to-use website where users can add video content to be published to the web).
To add your video project, enter the project name in the first entry box. Next, type in each material needed to create the project in the “Craft Materials” field. Place one item on each line (just hit enter after you type in your craft supply) and a bulleted list will post on your project page.
Choose the project difficulty level and completion time from the menus. You’ll also need to select what kind of craft your project is from the list available. You can select as many craft types as you want that fit your project.
In the “Upload Videos” section at the bottom, you will need to enter the YouTube url for you video. This can be found on YouTube when you visit your video there. In the upper right side of the screen you will find the URL under the video description. Simply copy and paste this URL into the “Add a Video” entry box.
If you want to add a description for you project video or a link to your blog or website, you can enter that into the entry boxes below.
Click the “Upload Project” to add your video to the site.
How do I add my Inspiration Picture project to the site?
To add your projects to the site, first go to your profile page. In the upper right hand side of the page, under “Friends” you will see an orange link to “[add craft].” This will allow you to upload crafts to the site.
First you will need to choose the type of project you want to add from the drop down menu. Select from Step-by-step project (step by step instructions, images and materials list to create the finished craft project), Video Project (step by step instructional video to create the finished craft project) or Inspirational Picture Project (share images of your finished craft project).
To add an Inspirational Picture Project:
All you need for your Inspirational project is the finished photo. This is your way to show off all your create creations and inspire other users! Simply enter the project name (required), a description (optional) and select what kind of craft your project is from the list available. You can select as many craft types as you want that fit your project.
Next, upload the image of the final project. Please limit the image size to no greater than 2mb. The image will automatically resize to fit on the project page of the site. You can also include a link to your blog or website if you wish. Click “Upload Project” to post your project to the site.
How do I leave a comment on a craft project page?
To leave a comment on a craft project, you first must be logged in to the site. After you’ve logged in, go to the craft project you wish to comment on. Scroll to the bottom of the page. You will see an area for “Comments.” On the right side of the screen you will see an orange link to “[add].” When you click this link, a comment entry area will appear where you can write and post your comment. Remember, any comments you make will be published to that project page and other visitors will be able to view them.
How do I remove a comment that another user posted to my craft project?
To remove a comment from your craft project page click on the red “x” that appears next to the comment.
How do I add crafts to “My Favorites"?
To add a craft to your favorites, go to the craft project page. Under the photo of the craft in the upper left side of the screen click on the link to “Add to Favorites”
Discussion Groups
How do I post a message within a discussion group?
You must be logged in to the site to post on the message board (visit the homepage and click "Sign Up Now" to join).
On the Discussion group page, select the forum that your message would best fit in (or post a message to Craftplace related discussion to let us know that we need new forums). Click in and either select a current topic (by clicking on the post you want to participate in) and add to the discussion, or click on “New Topic” at the top of the page to start a new topic.
How do I use the format tools when posting messages to the discussion groups?
There are a number of editing tools that you can use. They are:
B: If you highlight your text and click on the “B”, you can put the highlighted text in bold.
I: If you highlight your text and click on the “I”, you can put the highlighted text in italics.
U: If you highlight your text and click on the “U”, you can underline the highlighted text.
The icon of the earth next to the “U”: This icon can be used to insert a link. Place your curser where you want to enter the link and click on the icon (be sure your browser is set to allow pop ups). A window will appear where you can enter in the url of the site you wish to link to. Click “ok” Next the window will ask you to enter a description for the URL. Enter the words you want to appear in your post here (if you want the url to show the web address, simply re-enter the url). Click “ok.” The html code for the url will be inserted into your message. To check out how the post will look when published, click the preview button at the bottom of the page.
: You can add smiley faces to both the subject and to the message. By clicking on this icon, you will see all of the different smiley face options. Just click on the smiley face you want to appear in the message. When you look at your message edit area, the smiley face will only appear as other characters, but by clicking on the “Preview” button at the bottom of the page, you can see what it will look like when posting.
What if my message does not fit within one of the pre-defined forums?
Go to the Craftplace Related Discussion to let us know what forums you’d like to see. Or you can use the “Contact Us” link in the footer of the site to message us directly.
Offers and Contests
I'm running a craft contest- can I post it on craftplace.org?
If you'd like your offer or contest posted on craftplace.org, send all details to craftplace@craftandhobby.org. We'll be happy to review your submission and post information if it meets our basic criteria.
