Have you ever been Craft Project Stuck?

2014 is starting to become a distant memory. In one month, we will be ushering in 2015, and it is time to put away the old and start with the new. Have you accomplished everything that you need to do in 2014? I know I haven’t for I would not be writing this post on being stuck. I will not tell you my problems, but the problems I had this year, were enough to make me stuck in my craft making. I had ideas on making certain cards, certain scrapbooks, and other projects, but when I had to put them aside for other things in my life, I forgot all about them. That is when I realize the importance of doing the following preparations, in order to not feel stuck for 2015. They are as follows:

·        ·         Forget about what you needed to do in 2014. Experts have found that once a person does not get to a project, they will never be completed. If you really want to complete that particular project, scheduled it in 2015, but treat it as a new project. That brings me to another subject...

·         Plan all projects. When you plan your project, you know exactly what materials you need, how long you plan on creating the project (start date, end date), and any layouts for templates you plan on using with the project. This is your time to think about the project, tweak the project before you get started, and to see what kind of finances you need.

·         Work on one project at a time. Once you start the project, do not stop until completed. This is self-explanatory, but it helps you to focus if you are working on one project at a time.

Ideas

If you have a project you would like to work on, but have no idea of where to start, here are some places for you to look.

o   Pinterest – this is the perfect social media to check out any projects that you think you might want to work on. Use Pinterest for scrapbook layout ideas, mini book ideas, card ideas, and other DIY projects.

o   Blogs – craft blogs often show a project that the blogger has worked on, or is currently working on. They will often show the materials used, and any difficulties they ran into along the way.

o   The library – yes, there are still libraries, and they are free to use. You do not have to go to a bookstore, all you need to do is to go to the craft section of the library, and find a book on scrapbooking.

o   E-books and audio-books – I put them in the same category because Amazon has a new program, where you can read an e-book to their Kindle system, and if it comes with audio, you can also get the audio version through Audible, which is part of the Amazon family. 

As mentioned before, the best way to getting all of your project done in a timely manner is to plan and do one project at a time.  Create folders will help with the organization. You can do this by day, weekly, or monthly, depending on the type of project you are doing.

So in closing, don’t worry about 2014, but embrace 2015 with the idea that you will finally get all of your craft projects done for all to enjoy.

About Organizing pictures

hello-

I am up in the wee hours of the morning.   I have several projects that will keep me busy, busy for the next several days.   first off, I need to complete my mom's cards (will show them when I am finished).   My parent's just returned from a cruise, so I need to work on their cruise trip book.  It is a small scrapbook with a challenge for me:  24 pages-6 x9 format.  I am not saying that I cannot do it.  I have actually worked with less room then that.   When I get the pictures off of my SD card, I need to get the cruise pictures off of my dad's camera.  It is not like he needs help doing it.  I just want to know what pictures I am working with for this little book, and possibly make a hand crafted one in addition to the first one.   Things like this need a plan, and this is the reason why I call this organizing pictures.

You do not have to make a big deal out of organizing.   Back when I was little, and my parents took dozen of pictures, the task was not bad, but it was time consuming.   Between taking the pictures, going to the photo store to get them developed, waiting a week or so to get them back, and finally having them stored in these flimsy envelops, that was enough to bare.  Now with the age of digital, 33mm film is almost a thing of the past.   Now you can develop pictures from a computer, store them on a hard drive, and print them out at home.  If no computer is available there is a store nearby to print them out quickly.   No negatives to worry about (I think I saw my last negative in 1995)  What to do with pictures?

You have three filing choices when dealing with printed pictures.   File them by subject, Chronological, or using the number system.  I will tell you that using the number system is out.  too time consuming.  You have to develop a system and then put the subject under that number.   The best way is subject/chronological .    So your system would look like this :

As you can see, I put what the subject is all about, followed by the year it was taken.   If I find any pictures with anything that has to do with that house being the focal point of the photo, it goes in that envelope, and it has to be from that year.  Now for that extra touch:  do you see the "2" in the left-hand corner of the envelope.  only put it there if you have more than one copy of the photo.  Purging Tip:  The "2" also means that you can give it away to family members who care.  If you are a scrapbooker, it means that you might want to crop it up for layouts.  Another tip about this type of filing, The envelope in the photo is archival safe, which means that the photos can stay in the envelope without it decaying.   It takes about 10 years before it starts doing that.  

There are other ways of organizing your printed photos.  I am just showing you how I do it.  I bought mine at Archiver's, and I love how they mimic those old envelops, and still keep them safe.  If you took them with the 33mm film, negatives can easily store in the front for easy access.  For the other photos, I just store on a CD, or my 2TB hard drive, unless it is the current year, then it is on my regular drive until December of that year, then I archive them on the external drive.  

Well that is it for now.  Have a wonderfully blessed day.

Finally, a new card. About my new folder

I have not created anything new in terms of cards, scrapbook layouts.  NOTHING lately.   Finally this morning, in the wee early hours of this morning, I finally made a card.   This card may not get on my Etsy page, for everything I make does not have to be sold.      I will not have a duplicate of this card on the Card a day blog I am a designer for.This card is for a friend of mine and fellow consultant, Jeanne, who is sick.  so this is the card, and it is a quick card.

This card is what I like to call my stash card.   Stash as in I did not use a new piece of paper.  It was in my scraps of paper accordion folder.   I will explain about the folder in a minute.

The recipe for this card:

Pink cardstock
Pattern paper
1 brad
black ink for edging purpose only (I used CTMH's black ink)
Recollection's blue butterflies
Kraft card blank

First of all, I edged the cardstock with the black ink.   Next, I adhere the pink cardstock to card blank.  I have it off center just a little.   Usually it is like that, because I could not center it, but this time it was intentional.   Set it aside.   I took the pattern paper, which I eyeballed the size, making it more inline with the width, as opposed to having it match both width and lengthwise. I folded up one corner, pierced a hole, so I can put the brad in.  adhere it to the mat.  I pooped up the butterflies, and stuck the "Get Well soon in the corner.   I will write a personal note in the morning.

My new scrap paper folder...

If you are wondering what to do with your scraps of paper,and you have an used accordion folder, you may like this tip.    I am currently in the process of organizing my office to accommodate my scrapbooking projects.  I have been in this town-home for about 10 years next month.  I really do not like it, but at the time, I did not have much choice.   I was making very little money, and my parents were helping out.   My rent in the old place went up from $650 to $750, and this seemed to be the best solution.   The problem was not that I had to move out of a place that I loved, but I thought that I would have a better choice then what was offered.   I wanted a single family home, and my father thought that a condo would be better suited for a person with no kids and husband.

OK, enough of that.  I really did not do anything to this home, except a few things, and now I want to really fix this place up, so if by chance I get to move this year, I could have my stuff paired down, and the place looking like someone really cares about this place, and less about a spoiled brat still wanting her way after 10 years.  Yes, I admit it, a spoiled brat.  This is also about re-purposing items that I previously bought for storing something else and using it in an new way.  In this case, it is a legal accordion folder.   For months, i stored my scraps of paper in an old boot box from a pair of boots bought in 2010.  It was perfect, except, I could not find the colors of paper I wanted, so I recently rearranged some business files to another area, and I had this empty accordion folder.   so I told the scraps out, re-sizing some of the pieces that were not quite full sheets of 12 x 12 paper, and sorting them by color.  So now I can just leaf through and find the color I want, without turning up pieces of paper, and bending the corners.

I also have a You tube video out.   I took a challenge, and it is called my top 20 scrapbooking faves for 2011.   A little late for it, and it was Injoystamping who issued the challenge.   You can find it here:   Well that is it for now.   God bless you all and good night.

Etsy #2 and organizing

I have just went crazy over the past couple of nights, making note card sets, and putting everything that I made on my Etsy store. I have 3 4x3 (2 landscape, 1 portrait) note card sets, and two single note cards. I hope you visit my shop at Etsy. It is www.etsy.com/shop/plogan721. I want to try to change it to my shop name.

Now for today’s article: Organizing a space or a whole room.

First a few acknowledgements: I want to thank the many people who allowed me to visit your scraproom online. You have made have made a girl’s heart flutter, not in envy, but in awe and admiration. You all are brave to show many of us how you keep your rooms so organized, no matter how big or how small they are. You have inspired me to keep my little room better, and I am in the process of getting it better organized. You have encouraged me not in words, but just by showing me how it is done, especially Creations by Christine, the Pink Stamper, and Margret. God Bless You all.

To the rest of us: If you have ever visited You Tube, Halo, Hulu or any other video streaming site, you know what I am talking about. Those rooms, that make you wish you had it all. So you run to different scrapbook stores, getting the latest and the greatest trends in scrapbooking, spending thousands of dollars on stuff you need for that perfect album, or card. One day, as you are cleaning up, you wonder where, when, and how you got so much stuff. Aha, you just got enabled. Oh don’t worry; I do it all the time. Someone emails you about the stamp set they just got for $1, and you have to have it. This article is not about budgeting your scrapbooking stuff. I am not ready to talk about that yet, because I am not ready to tell myself how much I got. I know, but I am not ready to admit it. Two weeks ago, I just had to get my first Cricut Lite Cartridge, Splish Splash. I did not need it until last night. I also have a layaway out for stuff I am getting at Cutter’s Creek. My next payment is Sunday. After that, it is two more payments, and I am done. I am here to talk to you about organizing your stuff. These tips I am about to give you are from my experiences with organizing. There are many people online and locally, who do a heck of better job than me, but I do not charge $40-60 per hour. This is free advice.



How to organize your Crap…Uh stuff.

OK, I admit it, it is crap until I use it, and I use my stuff every day, so it is stuff. That is what I say every time to myself. I love my stuff. I love being able to make something with my stuff, but I would love to find it more. I live in a townhome. It was built in 1973, so by 2010 standards, it is a small, townhome. It has two stories, but there is enough room for the basics: me, one other person, and the basics, clothes, shoes, food, you get the idea. The builders who built the home did not plan for the future: hobbies and a couple of businesses. Enough of that. So the first question you ask yourself, what is the lay of the land (your home), and do you realistically have room for your crafting hobby? If you do, congratulations on a job well done. If you don’t, do not give up on your dream room, find the room. I have found the room. Since it is just me, I am using an office space that is actually meant for my dining area. My computer is in the corner, and a crafting table butts up against it. Where’s my dining table? Right next to my sliding door in my living room, the biggest room in my whole townhome’s downstairs area. I do not have a china cabinet. Right next to my computer table is a 3 tier shelving unit that will be moved next month. Why? To make room for Jetmax cubes that I am going to buy. The shelving unit will be placed behind the couch. The next question you are going to ask, where to place it all:

If you have not done so, do a little shopping spree. I know more shopping, but this time, you are not, repeat, not going to buy one single thing. You are going to shop with your digital camera. Schedule a time to go. If you are working, go on you day off or use vacation time. This does not apply if you are not. If you have a business like I do, find time off. This is an all-day process. Next, if you have cash, take only $10. This $10 in for emergencies ONLY, in case you run out of gas, or need something to eat while out. This is not a “Need to get that piece of paper” $10. If it is less, use what is on hand. Take out all your credit and debit cards. It is just for one day, and I am sure they will be missed. Before you leave the house, take a picture of your room, and take measurements of the walls and anything that is permanently in the room. You will need that. You are ready to go shopping. Hey you, by the door…I see you picking up that extra $20. Put it back.

In a Walmart, The container store, or any store with storage containers. Go window shopping. Take a picture of the following: Item and price. If it is sale, you may be able to get it at the sales price later. It is called negotiation or haggling. We will get to that later. Before you take that picture, look at your room, and picture that item in your room, holding your paper, cartridges, or embellishments. If it looks good, take the picture. If not leave it alone. With your note pad, write it down, if your camera all of a sudden will not take the picture. You will need the picture later when you talk to the manager. Ask questions about the item in question if you have some. It is better to ask now then later. Have a backup container in mind, and take a picture of that as well. When you are finished, go home, or to another store. When you get home, write in a pad or on your computer in a word processing everything that you did. If you can download your pictures from your camera, do so. You need to reference to them from time to time. No use taking out your camera each time.

The real work begins…

The first important rule is to purge. I do not mean get rid of everything. I once read that if you have not used it in a year, toss it. By tossing, I do not mean throw it away. If it is still good, give it to a local senior home or daycare center. It may be that chipboard you thought you were going to use or a friend though you might like the eyelet and brad of the month club. Hey, those eyelets and brads makes a good tax write off, and you feel good in the process. If it is no good, throw it away. Once you purge, decide in what location will you put it all. During this time, document it, and put it in a scrapbook organization book, that way you can reference to it later. I would also document it in pictures, that way, the insurance company can see what you have, especially electronic diecutting machines, in case of thief, fire or natural disasters. Lastly, go back to the store where you found your organizational goodies, and make your real purchases (yes, you can put your charge and debit cards back into your wallet now, and well as that $20 I saw you sneaking into your pocket.)

Next time, we will get down to the nitty-Gritty for when you do not have any money. Did you know you can shop in your own home? (I am not talking about online shopping.)