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.

Part 2 of Holiday Destressing Making Homemade gifts and Craft Shows

(Disclosure:  This post contains links to which I may or may not be affiliated with.  With these links, it allows me to earn a commission.  This allows me to pay for things such as blog fees and other business items.  You are not obligated to make a purchase.  

I love to make things.  It is the reason why I craft, and it is the reason why anyone with a creative bone in their body likes to do.  With prices going up on already items like blankets, clothing, and stationery, a person who is gifted will often make their stuff.  In fact, everyone should at least try to make anything except technology, and even with that, there are people who build their own computers.  All you need are the right tools and parts to basically come up with your own take of products.  Of course, if you ending up selling to the masses, there are certain rule and regs you have to follow, especially for technology and food products you make.  I will get into that later on hopefully in this post.  If not, I will save it for another time.

Today, in Part 2 of destressing your holidays, with Part 1 on my blog My Ambiance Life, I am going to explore the world of the crafter and all things gifts and craft shows.  Before I do that, I want to talk a little bit about my business P. Lynne Designs so you can get to know it a little bit better.

P. Lynne Designs got its start around 2009 as MDN Creates.  In 2012, I changed the name to P. Lynne Designs to refection more on the company and less about why it was named MDN Creates in the first place.  You can read more on the story on my post, Reintroduction to P. Lynne Designs. P. Lynne Designs is a stationery design company, but I design more than just stationery, I freelance writing and freelance graphic design as well.  This list includes greeting and business cards, invitations, documents, and blog posts, logos, “Save the Date” postcards, mailing labels, spreadsheets.  Many come as a package set, custom package set, or Ala Carte.  If you have any questions, email me at plogan721@att.net or you can contact me through social media.  My information will be at the bottom of this post.  Anyway, back to today’s topic.

Gifts

People, in general, are hard to shop for, but there is no reason to not get someone one anything, even if it is a gift card. Making something as simple as a scarf shows that you at least attempted to give from the heart.  What you cannot make, you can buy.  I will cover buying gifts in part 3, which will be on my other blog, At Home with Tricia's Baskets.  For right now, this post will cover gifts that a crafter, a graphic designer, or those who attempt to make something as gifts.

For the paper crafter

If you are a paper crafter, you have a unique position, at least I think I do.  You can make mini books, scrapbook albums, greeting cards, invitations (more on that in a minute), even things like coasters, and office supplies.   My process for making an item is I first plan out what I want to make.  Next, I go based on who the person is, and what they might like.  Do not go by what you might like because everyone’s tastes are different.  This includes colors and themes.  What are themes?  Themes cover a variety of areas from brands (think Disney, Barbie, or Harley Davidson), gender (Boy, girl, male, or female), seasons (which I do not recommend, this can limit the time the recipient uses it), or subject (frogs, unicorns, or their love for Star Wars). Once I have those things in mind, I do a rough sketch of the item.  If I am stuck, I turn to Pinterest, Etsy, and my Facebook groups for inspiration only.  Never copy, especially if you are selling online.  Now it is time to go shopping.

A word on getting supplies:

Sale, sale, sale.  A Michaels coupon here, a Hobby Lobby discount there. Signup to get discounts especially if you are in business.  Every penny counts.  If you are in business, this is a tax write-off, but check to see what you can write-off because every state and country is different.  Even if this is a one-time thing that you are doing, signup to get their mailings. Use the weekly ads and look for specials on craft supplies.  When you shop, search the aisles for clearance items.  I was in Walgreens two days ago getting some allergy medicine, when I spotted a pack of 12 Post-a-Notes.  It was $12.00 down to $2.00.  Score!!! I snatched those pads up in a hurry before someone else spotted them.  I am making notepad holders for the craft fair.  I could have gotten two, but I only saw one.  Also, hit up Dollar Tree and Dollar General (or a dollar store like them) because I am starting to see more and more craft items like them.  Do check for quality in the crafts stores. If there is a material that is highly flammable or toxic to people or the environment, I will not buy, especially if there is a craft fair hosted by a school.  I do not want to get anyone sick.

Graphic Designers

You are in also in a unique position where you do not have to rely on other people’s products (except maybe paper) to make your gift.   I was fortunate enough to learn how to create on Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator and Microsoft Publisher, as well as PicMonkey and know my way around Canva, but it can be any program, either paid or free-based. Some programs like Adobe Photoshop allow you to try them for free for a limited period of time.  I have made my business cards and other items, and what a gift you can give a soon to be graduate with a set of their own business cards and stationery.  Once I made my design, I sent it to Vistaprint and paid $17.00 USD.  The breakdown goes like the this: normally, it would cost me $24 USD, but it was on sale, then I went through Swagbucks to get a discount of $10.01 USD, which brought it to $9.99 or so.  Next, I was given a discount of $.60 because I was a merchant (I did not realize that I was.  This was on 500 cards.  Again, I saved a ton of money.  Shipping is $6.00, which would have normally raised the price to $30 USD or so.  The last part was my tax, which the only way you can lower the tax is lower the price, but the United States usually will tax on the original price and not the sales price (go figure). So, for the State of Ohio where I live, the tax is around 8.0% or so, depending on where you live.  So, those living outside the US, the tax bracket can get pretty pricey.  I just checked, and my cards should be here tomorrow at the end of the day and I ordered them on Tuesday.  If you are designing for a company to print them for you, I would get started now before the rush starts.  Shipping may get worse, especially after December 15th. The closer to Christmas you get, the longer it will take to get to your house.

I only talked about the areas that I create.  For things such as woodworking, textiles (sewing and needlework), pottery, and Jewelry making, it is the same process; plan what you want to make for the people on your list, plan out your materials and start in plenty of time so the gifts can go under the tree.

Now for a Word on Craft Shows ….

Many of the things I talked about in gift creation goes for craft shows as well. The one thing I want to stress out is your income.  I guess I should have addressed this in the gift-giving as well but have a budget.  Nothing says going into debit-like not having a budget.  Lay it out in either paper or digital form.  I did both.  The reason is I can lose the paper, or the power can go out.  I have a backup plan for the digital:  I also can get to the digital through my Ipad. I have a three backup system:  I make and enter information through my desktop, and I can access it through my Ipad and my smartphone. Also, now is a good time to figure out how much you want to charge for your goods.  When I did crafts shows with Longaberger products, I had to choice but to sell them at the price that Longaberger charges for their products in the catalog.  The only time I was allowed to change prices as if I owned a retired product.  I still got my commission, but no one was really interested in the prices in the catalog.

Price items that will at least make you feel like you have got back the cost of the supplies you bought, but at the same time, make the items so people will want to pay the price.  For instance, bookmarkers will be $.75 or 2 for $1.  (meaning the second one will actually cost $.25).  If you have a business, be sure to bring your business cards.  You can also ask for clients while you are there, but make sure you focus on what you have on hand and have plenty.  The fair I will be at next week will be from 10 AM to 2 PM, so I need to make sure I do not run out at noon.

One final tip before I go, make sure if you sell anything you give the state what is due if you have it listed.  I have P. Lynne Designs listed with the state of Ohio, so in January, I have to report it. (bummer).  This means to keep track of my money.  Have plenty of change because most people will not be coming with a credit or debit card.

Be sure to check out parts 1 on My Ambiance Life and 3 on At Home with Tricia's Baskets.  Part 3 will be on decorating, organizing, traveling, and taking care of the family during this time of year.

Until then, Peace on Earth.