Crafting Tip for the Week: Card Mailing

 Crafting Tip of the Week:

 

Card mailing:

 

I was reading another presenter’s blog and she suggested that you go ahead and get your cards for the next month ready to mail and put the date in pencil on the back of the envelope.  So I thought I would jot down a few other tips:

 

Review your calendar and see how many cards you are going to need for the month:

1.     Birthday

2.     Anniversaries 

3.     Thinking of you, etc.

4.     A couple of Sympathy 

5.     Thank you cards    

 

Create a folder and pre address envelopes especially for birthdays, anniversaries and keep them ready for when you create the card. That way you are not searching for the addresses

 

Make a perpetual calendar for example - Line list in a notebook if you don’t do calendars. Put the month at the top of each page and then number every other line – that will be able to list the names by the dates. For example:

 

            January

            1

            2

            3 John

            4 Kenneth, Kent, Jim

            5

            6 Bryan, Nicole, Mary

    So forth and so on. . . 

 

Another perpetual calendar my friend Nesa made for me: It has the month on the front and on the back are the dates. All I need to do is list people on the back of each of those months and that way I can get my cards ready for the month. 

 

Am I good at keeping up with the cards? To be honest I’m not, but I keep trying and that is all you need to do. Keep trying. You will find a system that works for you.

 

Hugs,

 

SJ

Tip for the week: Destash

 Tip for the week: Sorting your Stash

            

I hope you all have had a great week, This week is a tip on how to de-stash your hoard.  

 

I had a friend who found herself homeless after she suffered the sudden loss of her husband. She was forced to reduce her stash to almost nothing when she moved back into her parents’ home with her children. About 90% of her collection ended up storage or trashed as they were given 2 weeks to move out of their home of many years.  She is now settled and her children are on their own and she is once again attempting to rebuild her collection. 

 

Before a disaster causes you to sort your stash. Take the time to do so on your terms and your timeframe. Set aside one day a week to go through one box, one bag, one drawer, etc.

 

Here are some tips for you:

 

Gather the following items

Post it notes, labels, tags or other identifying markers

TO DO LIST: 

Boxes or baskets

One gallon storage bags (These can be recycled) I also have 2.5 gallon bags too 

Sharpies

 

Make three boxes (I use laundry baskets) and label them

1.     Keep:

a.     Do I have a project in mind for this (Put a note on it)

b.     Does this have a goal or project it needs to go with (Put in a baggie and label it)

c.     I am in love with this paper, jewel, ribbon and cannot part with it.

2.     Donate

a.     Paper you cannot remember why you bought it or is left over from a project. These can go into a baggies.

b.     Ribbons that you cannot remember why you needed them or projects are completed.

c.     Tools or supplies that you don’t use anymore or never did truly liked

3.     Throw away

a.     Partial sticker sheets, especially if they are falling off the carrier sheet.

b.     Adhesive that is over 10 years old and/or lost its stickiness.

c.     Tools that do not work – no reason to keep broken toys.

d.     Partial bottles of solvents that are old (Depose per local regulations)

e.    Pens or markers that don't write or leaking ink everywhere.

 

Once you know what you are going to keep, make a to do list of the WIPs (work in progress) projects that you want to complete. You may be surprised at the number of WIPs you have. Make a deal with yourself. That once you finish a project – you will allow yourself a new project. Keep the list going. Or complete one WIP per week, month. Etc. Any WIPs that you realistically will never get finished: 1.) put in the donate box and 2.) cross off your To Do List. Once a month go through your To Do list of WIPs and make a new list of WIPs so that you always have a fresh view of projects that need to be completed.

 

Donate: 

1.     Churches

2.     Operation Christmas Child crafting centers

3.     Foster care agencies 

4.     Child care facilities

5.     Market place (Free porch pick up)

6.     Goodwill

7.     Salvation army store

8.     Senior Centers

9.    assisted living centers and 

10.    schools/after school programs

 

Trash- is just that Trash – let it go and then award yourself with a pat on the back. 

 

Start working through your WIPs and projects. Allow yourself a treat when you complete something, donate a box, or throw out a bag of trash. Brag on yourself and slowly unshovel your stash to an area you can find things in and be proud of. If you need help give me a DM, text or email. I may not have an answer, but I’ll try and find you one.

 

Happy Shoveling,

 

Stella

 Tip for the Week: 

Know when not to skimp – 

 

As any of you who know and love me will attest to, I am a HUGE fan of the dollar tree and dollar bins.  They draw me like a child to the candy aisle. With an extra $20.00 I would nearly empty a clearance bin. But unfortunately, I learned the hard way that those “great deals” were sometimes just not worth the money even when I paid next to nothing for it. 

 

All that to say, know what items you are ok with skimping on. Adhesives are NOT one of those items that you want to save a nickel on. My friends Carla and Cindy will tell you the heartbreak I felt when after I spent a weekend building an album and it started to disintegrate before our eyes,  I had to redo the whole thing with Cindy’s more expensive tape which luckily she had there with her and was willing to share.   The bargain I got on adhesive ended up being a waste of time and money. 

 

On the items you know you will use all the time, your paper trimmer, scissors, die cutting machine, punches, all-occasion stamps and yes even adhesive – DON’T skimp on these items.

 

Many companies make products for all levels of stores. You have seen some of these brands in the Dollar Tree and other big box stores and even some of the online stores.  Just because they look the same as a name brand items doesn’t mean that they are the same quality. 

 

It is true, you get what you pay for.

 

If this is a hobby that you know you are going to stick with, invest in the tools that will go the distance with you.

 

Hugs,

 

Stella