Organizing your craft ideas

Like pretty much everyone else in this world, I'm obsessed with Pinterest. That's where I store all of my online crafting to-dos, among other things. I love how easy it is to organize and view ideas, and how easy it is to find ideas later.

Problem, though. I have craft ideas and patterns that aren't online. How do I organize them? Like most other people, I had a huge stack of papers and patterns a few feet high - and I couldn't find a single thing in that stack. I sat down for an hour with some basic supplies and created a system that lets me find the projects I want to make, view them for inspiration, and keep everything neat and tidy!

I started with a simple binder - but make sure you get a big one. Mine is 4 inches, and it's already pretty full! 

Next, you'll want some dividers. I recycled ones that had been given to me in a training binder. I just used my label maker to create new labels! You can see from the picture how I divided my categories, but of course, you can do it any way that makes sense to you.

I bought a giant pack of page protectors from Sam's Club for about $12. Filling this entire binder has only used about half of the package, so I'm in good shape to have many, many more ideas. The page protectors make it easy to flip pages and will help you keep the patterns together.

The right side of each page is the image of the finished product. All of the other relevant parts and information are tucked behind it.

I also tucked full patterns in here, which makes it so much easier to find them later!

A lot of the projects in my binder came from quilting magazines. You just can't forget to rip out the pattern pages too!

This is also a great place to store patterns that come in kits. This is one from Connecting Threads. I made this wall hanging already, but that doesn't mean I couldn't make it again with different fabrics! All of the pattern pieces are tucked in this pocket in case I want to make one for someone else.

Last but not least are applique shapes. When I have to find a shape for an applique, I stick it in here in case I ever need it again. No sense in re-inventing the wheel.

So there you have it - a way to organize the craft ideas and patterns you have that you can't keep on Pinterest! Do you like the cover of my book? You can have it too! Just click here to download it.

Click HERE to see the blog parties where I'm linking!

A present for me

We went to Target this weekend because Zac wanted a new polo shirt. He is insanely picky when it comes to clothes (and most things. But in a good way?) and he loves these - so he now owns eight of them.

Anyway, I digress. While we were there, I picked out a fun new nail polish color (stone grey - so trendy) and also came across this beautiful thing:

It's a notebook. The most beautiful notebook I had ever seen and it was like I immediately knew I'd been missing it for my whole life. And if you know me well, you'll know that I'm (sadly) not exaggerating here.

I've been on the lookout for a notebook that could be my everything. It's separate from my calendar, but where I can keep everything important in once place. Lists, meeting notes, ideas, etc. And this baby might just be it.

It's not moleskin, but it has a similar look. The cover is a really thick cardboard, but it seems pretty sturdy. The pages lie flat for it being so thick.

All the pages are blank and lined. My big dilemma was whether I wanted to divide it into sections for various things (home, work, blog, etc.), but ultimately I decided I'll just go chronologically and see how that goes.

Do you have a notebook or system like this? How do you use it? Is there something awesome that I'm missing that would be awesome? 

And yes, I'm that kid who was beyond excited to go school suppy shopping each fall. But if you read this blog and we're at least online friends, I'm pretty sure you were too!

Simplify: A Challenge

I checked out this book from the library this week on a whim. A total whim, but I am so glad I did.

                                                   

This book is incredible. I pride myself on my organization and productivity, and I'm pretty good at it. But, I'm also a time management junkie, and I love to learn more. It isn't too often that I find a book that really makes me say, "Wow! That would make a big difference for me!" but this one has. Multiple times.

The book is divided into 30 sections, for the 30 days of a month. The author has a habit to change or a suggestion to fix in each one. Not all of them apply to me, but many of them do.

I'm going to take one topic and attack it each week. It isn't the beginning of a year, or even a week, but I'm just going to jump in. Feel free to jump with me!

This week's challenge is:

I'm almost never late. In fact, I'm often even earlier than I need to be. That's not my issue here. My issue is that even though I'm early, I always feel like I'm rushing to get out the door. Ramsland attributes this to not handling small things ahead of time (like getting gas), trying to finish just one more thing before you head out the door (guilty), or you don't schedule enough time to get out the door.

I'm mostly guilty of the first two. It's ridiculous that every time my gas light comes on, it surprises me. I wait to get money to pay someone until the last minute. I almost NEVER put the directions to where I'm going in my calendar so I have them right away, and I even sometimes don't put the name of the person I'm meeting when I get there. And I have a lot to do during the day -- if I can get to a few more things, surely that will be a good thing, right?

Wrong. All of that adds up to me rushing. A lot. Which makes me anxious, which I'm trying to avoid. So... my challenge for this week is not only to show up on time, but to leave myself a cushion so that I'm not worried as I travel. Where it won't matter that I hit every single red light between here and my destination.

In future weeks we'll talk about what to do with your extra time if you arrive a little bit early, but for now, the goal is to get out the door on time and travel stress free.

(I think this post is making me look disorganized, which makes me anxious, but I'm going to focus on the fact that you're my friends and you won't judge me too harshly).

I'd love for you to join me for this challenge series. And get the book from your library or the bookstore. This is one I think I'm going to invest in. Worth. It.