Thursday, October 23, 2014

Crafty Goals Progress Update - Spending Freeze & Some Ideas

3 weeks ago, I posted some of my crafty musings and goals, so I thought I'd post a little update on how I'm doing - as well as share a few more ideas on how I'm planning on keeping myself on track.

I'm now officially on a spending freeze, and have not made any crafty supplies purchases for a week. A week doesn't sound like very long, but I'm excited because I haven't felt like I wanted to buy anything for an entire week either. This is pretty major for me, as the last few months I've caught myself buying a bunch of stuff and then going back the next day (or next hour!) to fill up the cart with another bunch of things I "needed". So, having a week where I didn't think about or plan a shopping trip is pretty amazing. I'm hoping that I can keep up this momentum and resist rushing to the store when new product releases happen.

I bought a few notepads and pens, as well as a basket to help me stay better organized and on top of my use-everything project.

One of the notepads is my "idea" place. I plan to jot down ideas and concepts for stamps, make quick card layout sketches and write down color and pattern combinations I want to try out. Since I'm avoiding Pintrest, I thought it would be very useful to have something I can look at when I feel like I'm running short on creativity or when I want to try something new.

Another notepad is my "records" place, where I will write down the different cards I need to make or ought to have in my stash -- things like holiday cards, birthday cards, sympathy cards and so on. I'd like to avoid having to make a card quickly 30 minutes before I need to give it to someone, and a good card stash will help with that. I'm also going to write down which stamps and papers I've used already, so I can avoid always using the same things.


The basket is going to hold the material for my next card. Last year, I had toyed with the idea of taking up knitting as a hobby -- didn't quite happen, as I got to paper-crafting first. But one of the things I remember watching at the time is a craft room video. The crafty knitter had a basket out where she kept the yarn she was planning on using next. She mentioned that seeing the basket reminded her of what project she wanted to start next and kept her from only grabbing her newest yarn (because she remembered it best).

I decided to take this idea and turn it into a card project basket. The basket will have the materials I'll need to make my next card, and I will fill it up with new project materials after I've made the card. What I like about this is:
- it eliminates that time I spend just staring at my supplies to try and figure out what to make, or the likelihood I'll feel like I have to sit down and look at Pintrest to get inspired.
- I can go with a concept from my idea notepad, or I can challenge myself by just pulling random supplies.
- I can make the next project a little easier by die-cutting some things ahead of time, or by coloring things in ahead of time.

So, this is where I am right now -- very excited, brimming with ideas and right on-track. :)

6 comments:

  1. I like the idea of pre-planning your card in advance! Sometimes I sit for a while and nothing comes to mind. So it's good to have those ideas jotted in a notebook and have the 'pre-planned' materials at your desk for your cards!

    Maybe you can also consider making your own card kits. In the past, I have done a card kit consisting of my stash ready to use. When I am catching up on TV shows or out crafting with my sister and/or friend, I just whipped something up in that kit. Sometimes I make 3 or 5 cards just from the kit alone and then gift it away as a set.

    Hope that also helps you! Have a great weekend!

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    1. Exactly! It's funny, sometimes it feels like I get all of these fabulous ideas when I'm too busy to craft, and then when I have time to craft, I'm just staring at my supplies to try and figure out what to do. Project basket is really going to help help, I think. And I'm hoping it will make card-making take a little less time too. Especially with the cleanup.

      I love your idea of making our own card kits! I'd like to make a few card sets this year as Christmas gifts, so a kit would definitely be handy. I even have a 6x6 storage box I could use to keep all the materials together.

      Thanks so much for your commend and your awesome ideas! I hope your weekend is fabulous, too. :)

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  2. I also have a little book where I write some skeches and idea's in. I don't know why but somethime it's a challenge to take it when I don't know what to create.
    & woop woop you're doing very good on that spending freeze. I was good this week too :D

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    1. Wohoo! Way to go on the spending freeze!!!

      I put a little paper pad next to the computer and I write down the things I *really* need to get - mainly it's been extra adhesive, Copic refills, and that sort of thing. But I'm going to try and wait to get those after my spending freeze, too. :)

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  3. Loving your update and congratulations on going so well with your freeze. I confess I tend to rule out consumables from my freezes. lol

    I would love to see a photo (or video) of your card basket. It is such a great idea. Kind of reminds me of our challenge re the patterned paper. Limiting what you have frees you to be more creative.

    I have also printed up a monthly calendar where I have highlighted the main things I need to remember (birthdays, etc) so that I can plan for them. I've also highlighted other events which I might like to recognise (eg, Halloween, etc) so that I don't leave things to the last minute - and which might also help me to post on a more regular basis. It's early days though......but you have to start somewhere.

    Thanks for the inspiration. Love hearing your thoughts and processes. Keep up the good work too. :)

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    1. I thought about not including consumables, but then I can see myself sneaking "just one stamp" and ending up going overboard. I think I've got enough back-ups so I shouldn't need any consumables either.

      As soon as I've got the basket filled up again, I'm snapping a picture or two. I think that will make a fabulous update!

      Love your idea of the calendar! I have all of my important dates written down in my work planner. Since I check that several times per day, I'm sure not to miss any. But I think it might be fun to have just a card calendar, where I can write down important card holidays, too. :D

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