We are working on beginning to clean up our digital photos, in 15 minute increments of time this month! Don’t keep putting it off, thinking you will do it later. It is never too late to start! I’ve created a FaceBook Group where there will be prompts to help get you started. Some people will be using FOREVER, and others will not. Either way, I would love to help you get started! Invite a friend to join you!
Once your photos are organized and you can find your favorites, it makes it so easy to use them to create something! I hope you will join us.
If you want to find out more about FOREVER.com by using a free 2 GB account, You can watch the first 5 minutes of this video to help you get started. Getting Started with Free 2GB
Every new year, people decide they are going to be more organized, be more productive, and reach new goals. Many of us look for the perfect planner/calendar — every year! I think I have had about every size of planner in too many brands to remember. Have I found the perfect planner for myself? Not really. Each one had its merits, but in the end, none of them every really felt like they fit all my needs.
This year, before the new year started, it seemed like there were even more planners than usual! Along with new planner lines, there seemed to be an abundance of ideas on how to use them, how to decorate them, how to plan better, how to utilize one to better work for your lifestyle. You may be thinking, It’s a planner, how hard can it be? Yet there are those of us who feel like planner failures. I am one.
Why does nothing seem to suit me, or maybe you? It’s because we aren’t the failure, the planners are! Companies design for the masses! They make what they think will benefit the greatest number of people. What may work best for you, may not be right for me, or for my neighbor.
I think the most useful idea I ever had for planning, was to use a monthly calendar on our refrigerator. Everyone had their own colored pencil to use for their activities and appointments. At just a glance, I had an immediate and broad view of what my family was doing. As the “director” of the house, it was important to have that view. Other that than, I would use a planner for a short time, and then let if fade into the obscurity of a drawer, or shelf. And how did my refrigerator calendar info transfer to a useful size, it didn’t. So it wasn’t very convenient anywhere except the kitchen!
Is there hope? YES there is hope!
Cara Vincens
My sweet friend, Cara Vincent from the Hooting Pirate, is the mother to six little ones first and foremost, but to keep calm and not lose herself in the day-to-day crazies of being a mother, she is a mixed media artist, turns to scrapbooking, paper crafting and costume design as her escape. She adores photography, and most times you’ll see those 6 faces that make up her world on her scrapbook pages. She is a planner user from way back. She has tweeked and tweeked planners to find what works for HER life and she has put together a series of lessons to help YOU create your own Practically Perfect Planner!
I have had a chance to go through the class. It truly is amazing to go through the exercises she provides. Who knew some of us needed help figuring out our options, and creating a planner that fits our individual needs? Like most things, it is amazing what some excellent advice and guidance can do. Throw in some Washi tape, and give it a crafty vibe!
I urge you to let Cara help you with some crafty ideas to create your own planning system!
The class starts today, February 9th and runs through March 22nd.
You can find out more HERE.
You may like to listen to Cara discuss the class with another friend of mine, Melissa Shanhun of Digital Scrapbooking HQ, on her podcast.
Chime in with your comments. Do you still need help creating your own ideal planning system?
This was a little different version of Make It Monday, but you should have come here from Lisa at My Kreative Pursuits, where she shared a “love-ly” project in this week’s #MondayMojo post.
Most of us have seen the many little funny quotes about crafty messes, and they ring true for so many of us! I am guilty of running to my craft room, quickly getting something done, and running right back out with the completed item. Did you notice I didn’t say anything about cleaning up? Gasp! I didn’t do anything. I have even been guilty of going back in to find I didn’t even get something closed like it should have been, returning to find it totally ruined! I just hate it when that happens, and I have been trying to be much more careful about that!
Last year, my husband gave up his home office for me. Yes, I’m spoiled! But he is so neat and tidy, and easily keeps my previous area clean! Now I can just close the door and he doesn’t have to look at it! I have worked to get everything organized, but sometimes it’s hard to keep it that way.
My friend, Margareta Carlsson from Organize Your Stash has started a fantastic list of prompts for getting these artsy supplies organized. She is sending out daily prompts to spend just 15 minutes each day working on getting your things in order! That’s right, JUST 15 minutes! Image how many hours that equals in a year. You do the math, I don’t like to! I’m sure it’s more than I usually would spend!
What will your area look like after a year? Hurry on over to her site and sign up to get your marching orders each day! www.organizeyourstash.com
Before we get started using the supplies we have on hand to create fabulous and fun things, I thought it might be a good idea to talk about organization in our creative spaces.
Photo credit: chrissy.farnan @ flickr.com
Whether you only have a corner of a room, a closet, or a whole room, you will get the most from your creative time if you have some organization. Some of us are not that organized by nature. Plus, throw in the fact that many creative people are very visual and like to be able to see what they have available to work with, and you have the potential for a real mess!
Don’t dispare! If you don’t have any idea about where to begin, we’ll offer some help! One of the biggest things to know, is that you should NOT run out and buy a bunch more stuff to put your supplies in — unless you truly have to have some help in sorting through it all. If I’m on a big sorting mission, I find that cardboard file boxes from the office supply store are great. You have to fold them into its box shape, but they have holes for handles, and tops if you want to fold those up as well! That way, you already have some boxes if you decide you need to take some of your stuff to donate!
Use what you have first: baskets, shoe boxes, larger boxes, plastic kitchen boxes, etc.
One of the best ways to organize is to put like items with more of their own kind so they aren’t lonely. That way, all your ribbon is together, buttons, brads, paper, stamps, dies, punches…. you get the idea.
Once you find out how much you have of anything, you can deal with deciding where and what it will live in. Remember, it’s okay to actually purge! If you have a giant bag of yarn and you haven’t used it in the past ten years, you probably don’t need a whole bag of yarn! Keep a couple of skeins on hand and donate to the thrift store or a friend who will use it!
As you decide how to containerize your items, still use what you have for now! Don’t invest a lot of money until you really settle on your space and layout. Think about whether you like to be able to see your supplies or have them hidden away. That will help you determine what kind of storage you should be considering. Also, think about using vertical space, going up can creative a ton of extra storage!
Here is a nifty video from Lain Ehmann showing us around her craftroom, you’ll see how she has grouped her items together for convenience.
Lain has hosted True Scrap which is a virtual online getaway for scrappers/crafters and has had some wonderful classes. Now you can get the classes by Aby Garvey for just $9.99 each! What a great gift for yourself or someone else who may be considering getting their arts and crafts area organized for the new year! Click on the links below for details!
Classes by Aby Garvey, just $9.99!
Scrapbook Organization Your Way, (scroll down to her name)
Solutions for Small Scrapbook Spaces
Audience Participation Time
What is your favorite tip or item that that has worked well for organizing your arts/crafts supplies?
Every new year, people decide they are going to be more organized, be more productive, and reach new goals. Many of us look for the perfect planner/calendar — every year! I think I have had about every size of planner in too many brands to remember. Have I found the perfect planner for myself? Not really. Each one had its merits, but in the end, none of them every really felt like they fit all my needs.
Scrapbook Organization Your Way, (scroll down to her name)