New series: 56 P. Lynne Designs things

Hello, long time, no see, rather no write.  I have been thinking.  They say that if you think too hard, something ugly might come up.  OK, I am the only one who said it, BUUTTT….

I just celebrated my birthday.  Yeah, that one.  July 21 is the date.  I am not one to reveal my age because I do not feel it and I do not think it.  Let’s just say that I am a Gen X, the forgotten generation.  They talk about the Baby Boomers and they talk about the Millennials, and they talk about the older folks (my parent’s age group) but they never talk about mine.  I guess that we are the people that others warn each other about.  So, if you were born between 1964-1979, you know exactly what I am talking about, but this is not that conversation.  Not here, and not on this blog.  I can explain further as I go through “56 My Ambiance Life Things on that blog, or not.  You never know until you read all 4 blogs.  Did I say 4?

So, today and for next couple of week or so, I will have 56 P. Lynne Designs things on this blog,56 Home Prep things on that blog, 56 My Ambiance Life things on that blog, and 56 Miss Froggy Loves Traveling things on that blog.  Each series has no rhyme or reason except that it has to do with what each blog has in store for the reader.  In P. Lynne Designs’ case, it is about crafting, planners, and my business. So here’s a start.

 

Today’s Topic: Supply inventory and other things

As I thought about today topic, I have to realize that I have not written anything since December 2019, and since that time, we as the world had a whole pandemic dumped on us.  I am not here to talk about that.  I am all pandemic out on my other blogs, Home Prep, and My Ambiance Life. I am here to have fun and to talk about hobbies.

But first, there’s supplies and what can I do to turn supplies into a functional product?  There is no doubt, and my bank can confirm it, that I have been shopping, mostly online shopping.  This list of online shopping has been from the physical product to online courses and digital graphics.  In fact, when the year first got started, I had said that I was going to slow down my buying and use what I had. OK, I had to laugh on that one.  The reason that as soon as I said that I got stuck in the house.  I was not bored, I needed supplies.  Okay, enough talk about how much I needed supplies.

During this time, I fell out of the gig ring.  For those of you who make it a living like I do, you know exactly what I mean, and you have to find other means to get money.  Thank God for unemployment funds.  Now, I am slowly getting back into the ring, and it feels good to create again.

So, what is this supply inventory you speakth of?

Good question, and the answer lies in not only craft supplies you have bought between March and July (especially if you live in the United States), but from the moment you announced that you were going to craft for yourself and others.  for me, it has need 25 years, long enough for the person who I made a scrapbook album for to become a grown man and have a kid of his own.  Actually, longer than that.  I used to do needlecraft work, and I switched because of health issues with my hands.  When you use your hands for other things in addition to the normal everyday things, like playing a musical keyboard and typing on the computer, you thank God that you can still use them.

I am going to take you through the simplest way possible to taking inventory and it starts with the stores.  I know that between March and July of 2020, I have shopped at the following stores:

• Amazon
• Scrapbook.com
• Tonic Studios
• Joann’s
• Michaels
• Dollar Tree

I have not ventured into my other two stores (Hobby Lobby and Tuesday Morning) yet.  When I visited the last three (Joann’s, Mikes, and Dollar Tree), I always had a list, a mask, and I do not linger.   Most of my purchases came from Amazon and Scrapbook.com.  Okay, enough of that.

Next is to put everything into categories. Make sure you have like things with like.  You can do this in two ways:  put product in the hobbies you do or adhesives with adhesives, paper with paper, tools with tools, and so on.  For example:  I used to do the following crafts:  candle making, t-shirt decoration, papercrafting, and needle crafting.  I dropped all but the papercrafting.  In the papercrafting line, I created cards, mini albums, and scrapbook albums (8.5 x 11, 9 x 9, and 12 x 12).  I dropped making scrapbook albums unless it is a special request.  The last one I made was for a lady at my church in 2018.  These are the ones where you make pages for a premade album. My reason for this are simple; I am competing with the digital world and very few people want a physical album anymore, so they have moved to the specialty category. 

I exclusively create cards now, and small items like bookmarks and anything that requires me to use a electronic die cutting machine, like a Cricut.  I am also getting into making accessories for planners and home products. This is how I view my inventory.

Where to store it?

Most people have a dedicated room to store their supplies in. Some people do not have that luxury when it comes to space and storage. This is a work in progress for me.  I have mentioned this many times in both the Home Prep and the My Ambiance Life blogs. My second bedroom has always been geared towards a craftroom, but for 4 years it was a junk room.  You know the kind.  Some call it a catch-all room, while others call it a put away room (stuff are put in that room until I can find a place for the item). Experts call it the hoarder room, and if you are not careful, you may find yourself the next client on Peter Welch’s list to organizing hoarders. (Oh, I do not want to be on THAT list).

Around 2017, my nephew and girlfriend moved in, and at first, they were staying in the living room. I gave them a task, and that task was if they can clean out the room, they can stay in there.  One of the reasons for the task was so I could get some work done, instead of turning around in my office chair and finding one or both of them sleeping.  I could not play my music after certain hours, and I had to step over them at night to get to my master bath or got to bed each night.  This also gave them privacy.  They moved out in February of this year and this was when my great niece was born, right before Covid-19 hit the states (she was originally due in March).  Now, they are staying at my parent’s house, and they are supposed to clear out the remanding items out of the room, so I can start setting up my craftroom, finally.

You may have a little corner of your bedroom to put a crafty corner.  It does not matter.  Some even use their garage.  I do not have that luxury since I share the garage with the people in the loft condo. As long as you are happy.

Once you have the room, you need furniture, containers to put your supplies in, and a little space to create on. When you finalize your room, enjoy your new space.

I will let you know what I have in my craftroom once I complete it.

If there is anything that you are working on and you would like to see me cover it, especially during this 56 blog post challenge, let me know in the comments below. This also goes for questions.  You can also send them to: plogan721@att.net.