GETTING MY PLANNER SUPPLIES ORGANIZED

My Portable Tote

I purchased a Paper Studio Tote at Hobby Lobby for 40% off, and I'm using it to keep all of my planner, journal, and crush book supplies organized. 

The tote allows me to carry my supplies from my craft room to my bedroom, living room, or kitchen. It really helps me keep on top of appointments, and to-do lists, as well as focused on my business.

I would also highly recommend Frixion pens for journaling, planning, etc. I purchased mine on Amazon.

I hope that the video gives you some inspiration to organize your own supplies.

Let me know if you have a system for keeping your planner supplies handy, especially if it is very different from mine.

Organizing my Crafty Business Space

The Desk

I knew that if I didn't start my organization with the desk area, I would regret it later. I thought about all I need to do at my desk, and how to organize everything in a small space. 

• Planning
• Filing
• Document Printing
• Computer work
•  Photo Printing
• General Paperwork and Bill Paying for CTMH 
• General Paperwork and Bill Paying For Home

My desk is small, as is the location of my desk. Besides being functional in a small space, I need it to be fun and pretty, or I will not want to work.

  As you can see, everything is pretty in pink, and lime green. It really is my happy work space. The chair is padded and grey to match my walls. It, along with the picture throw, was a gift from a dear friend. 

There is room for my laptop, printer, and Selphy printer. I added the bulletin board, and white metal organizer, to get some things off of my desk space. This desk only has one drawer, and two small shelves. I really had to purge, and only keep necessary items in my desk space. I also have a filing cabinet that is close by, but that will be a post all its own.

 One of the few things that sits on my desk is this little organizer from Michaels. These go on sale quite often, and come in lots of different patterns.

 I love these little pink buckets which were a gift from another friend. The little basket holds my Fuji Instimax, and a canvas given to me by one of my daughters. 

I think I purchased this metal organizer at Marshall's. It carries supplies that I really need to have on hand. By getting it up off my desk I am able to fit my label maker, pencil sharpener, and business cards on my desk.

 Yes, I try to keep all of my office supplies in coordinating colors. Doesn't everyone? The desk houses label maker refills, extra tape, staples, paper clips, binder clips, push pins, and zip drives. All of these are things I need to have close by.

 My desk is a great place to spread out my planner, as I look forward to the next week/month. I love to add stickers, different colors, and quotes to my planner. Sometimes I can get lost in planning for hours.

I have come up with a schedule that works for me, unless I have something unavoidable crop up, or a doctor's appointment. Here is how my schedule looks right now:

Monday - create/ social media connections
Tuesday - post to blog and/or Youtube
Wednesday - create/ social media connections
Thursday - post to blog and/or Youtube
Friday - desk day/customer connections/bi-weekly newsletter
Saturday - create/social media connections
Sunday - review/evaluate/plan

If I don't create projects on a regular basis I have nothing to blog, or make a video, about. I'm trying a new schedule next week to see if it will help me get more done. The first week of every month I will post about specials. The second week I will try to create based on holidays, and the Close to My Heart stamp of the month. The third week it is what ever strikes my fancy. The fourth week is series, such as this one on getting organized. 

How do you organize your desk area? Any tips or tricks? I would love to hear them.

5 THINGS I WISH I HAD KNOWN BEFORE I STARTED CRAFTING

Hopefully You Won't Make These Mistakes

I had not done any scrapbooking since the 90's, and had never attempted to make a card, or any other paper crafts, until 2 years ago. I needed a hobby, and a friend who is an avid scrapbooker, got me hooked on  papercrafting by sending me a Cricut.

I made a lot of bad purchases in the beginning, simply because I did not know what I was doing. I hope this list will help you avoid making the same mistakes.

1. All paper is not created equal. 

    When I first started, I went to Wal-Mart and purchased packs of paper in different themes. What I didn't realize is the quality of paper varies wildly. Now that I know better, I only buy a few different brands that I trust, and always purchase printed paper that is double sided. Cardstock is thicker and comes in solid colors, making it great for card and scrapbook bases. My favorite brands of paper are Bo Bunny, Graphic 45,  Close to My Heart, and Core'dinations. I prefer to buy paper collections now. I don't want to have to find embellishments to match my great paper.

Find the Yuletide kit here.

2. There is a reason there are lots of different types of ink.

     I wrote a post explaining all of the different types of ink, and when to use each. If you are like I was in the beginning of my crafty journey, staring at an array of inks, with no clue, check out this post.

This is the Whimsy pigment ink collection.

3. You should not randomly purchase cute stickers, stamps, ribbon, etc.

     You walk into the craft store and it all looks so pretty, and it's on sale! Your eyes glaze over, and you think you need it all.  I know the feeling. I randomly purchased items that were on sale, and a year later had not managed to use any of them. Now I purchase with a project in mind. I know I will be making scrapbook pages, and cards in certain themes, and I'm sure you do also. Why in the world do I have a ton of flowers in such odd colors? Twenty rolls of washi tape? I have no idea.

4. You do not need a large collection of Cricut cartridges. 

     If you own a Cricut you know what I mean when I say that collecting cartridges can become addicting. I have many, but seem to always turn to the same few for my projects. Once I purchased my first Close to My Heart cartridge with 700 images, I realized that these cartridges could take care of most of my scrapbooking, and card making, needs. 

Artbooking Close to My Heart Cartridge

5. Organization is important!

     There is nothing worse than knowing you have pink ribbon that will go perfectly with the card you are making, but you can't find it. Suddenly a card that should have taken you 30 minutes to make, has you spending an hour just finding your supplies. Figure out the type of organizers that work best for you, and get your stuff in order. I need to be able to see my supplies, so very little of it is out of sight in drawers. The drawers I do have are labeled. If you have a system, not only will you be able to find that pink ribbon, but clean up will be much easier. 

My new favorite clear organizers.

Are there some things you wish you had known when you started crafting? Comment below and let us know. Maybe I'm still making mistakes, and you can help me.

 

A CRAFT ROOM OF MY OWN ~ Part 1

THE MAKING OF A CRAFT ROOM

 

CTMH has organizers in 3 sizes with various inserts

THE PLANNING STAGE

I have been  dreaming and planning my ultimate craft space for over a year. I am currently using a room that I just took over without any planning. I have a lot of mismatched items, the walls are still a lavender color I really don't like, and I don't even want to talk about the carpet. Now that I have been crafting awhile I have a pretty good idea of how I work. Here are some of the things I have done while waiting for a larger craft space:

1. I created a pinterest board and pinned everything and anything I thought I might like in my craft/office space. You can view my pinterest craft room and office space board here

2. I arranged and rearranged my current space as I crafted. I soon realized I needed my Cricut and printer near my desk, as I use both with my laptop. I do not like to move machines around as I work. I also discovered I need to view my supplies, so closed storage is not my favorite.

3. I decided that since pink and green were quickly becoming my accent colors, I would use grey and white for my walls and furniture.

4. I purchased some stackable storage cubes from Michael's, clear plastic storage bins from Close to My Heart , a label maker, and a book shelf.

    

   

   Michaels' Recollections cubes  come in lots of styles

THE HARD WORK STAGE

I have been unable to help with most of this stage, and greatly appreciate family members who have put in the work.

1. So far my only participation in this stage has been to scrub the baseboards.

2. My darling husband has removed the sliding closet doors. I'm hoping we can re-purpose them into a large work area. 

3. My daughter purchased a wall color called "Diving Dolphin" and the painting is almost finished (again the work was done by my husband.) 

4. The existing, fourteen year old, carpet has been removed by my darling husband.

5. My husband found some great tile in different shades of grey, and the installation is in progress by . . . guess who? 

6. I will be spray painting an old file cabinet pink, and painting my desk pink also.

7. The really hard part of this stage will be moving and organizing all of my existing supplies. I may even have to *gasp* purge some of my supplies. Thank goodness organizing other peoples' stuff is one of my mother's favorite projects.

 

 Stay tuned as the work progresses. I will be posting pictures as it all comes together. Do you have a craft space of your own? If so, what are your favorite features, or ones you wish you had? Comment below, any suggestions are greatly appreciated.