Christmas Preparation: Theme

On the night before January 25th, all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse, except for this busy blogger prepping for Christmas. 11 months until Santa makes his midnight run and there isn't a minute to spare to bring some Christmas cheer.

Alright, in all seriousness I know Christmas is many months away and most, if not all of my readers, are not even thinking about Christmas preparation for this year. The last few years I have been like my readers and not given much thought about Christmas until October or November. However, last year was so stressful waiting until the last minute that I decided to revert to my old ways and start planning Christmas earlier. Every month, on the 25th, I will post a Christmas preparation idea or tutorial. The tutorials will either be a gift idea for a loved one, a themed decoration, or a party idea (baked good containers, party favors, etc). I hope these posts will allow my readers to get a head start on Christmas.

Every year, even the last two years, I have started my Christmas preparation the same: the theme. I love having a different theme for every Christmas. It allows me to stay focused on ideas for Christmas cards, wrapping paper, and containers for baked goods. This may not be necessary if you only ever have Christmas celebrations with your immediate family, but my family has a Christmas Eve party with relatives and friends every year and a theme is definitely necessary. As I said before, it keeps me focused. Over the last few years my themes have been Sweet Candied Men (Gingerbread men in their candy homes), Frosty's Winter Wonderland (everything snow related),  Santa's Village, and Candy Cane Lane (stripes, lots of stripes). This year my theme is whimsical as A Whoville Christmas, which is essentially a play on How The Grinch Stole Christmas. 

The next thing I always do is design and order my themed Christmas cards. When I actually do this varies every year because I usually wait for "10 cards free" or "$20 off your order" deals on Shutterfly. If you don't use one of these deals then custom photo cards can get really expensive. There are a lot of photo sharing sites with deals of their own so don't be afraid to shop around. I don't always have time to take family pictures that are theme related and sometimes I just don't want to bother with it, which is when I just make the card itself themed, rather than the family photos. Christmas cards are a chance to be creative, a chance to be silly, and a chance to send memories to your loved ones so have fun. 

Boxed In Collage Christmas Card

Bubbles of Snowflakes Address Label

A Whoville Christmas is a really hard theme to order custom photo cards without using themed photos. However, I managed to find Christmas cards and labels that fit my theme. The Boxed in Collage Christmas Card allowed me the space and layout to tell a story. I used silly family photos from this last Christmas and told the story of how the Grinch stole Christmas. A few weeks after purchasing my cards, I received a promotion for free address labels, which I have just ordered. I ended up choosing these Bubbles of Snowflakes Address Labels, which I felt were whimsical and fit the color theme. 

When you are thinking of and planning your theme it is helpful to also specify a color scheme. A Whoville Christmas can be designed in several ways and using several different colors. If I were to use all of the colors that could be used it would end up feeling overwhelming. I actually used two color schemes, but I feel the colors integrate really nicely. The first color scheme is red, green, and white, which is the main color scheme used throughout and the second color scheme is pink, white, blue, and green. The pink, white, blue, and green are accent colors that will be used in gift wrapping. These colors were actually chosen by accident while I was shopping the post Christmas sale. This year I was fortunate enough to find many of the little details, think gift wrap and food containers, after Christmas instead of searching for the perfect items closer to Christmas. I will of course be posting my after Christmas finds at a later time.

There are a lot of pieces that go into Christmas planning from the cards to the food to the presents and it is easy to lose track of your ideas throughout the year. I know there are quite a bit of posts on other blogs about Christmas planners that are available as tutorials or for purchase and I encourage all of my readers to do a Google search for Christmas Planners to find a planner that best fits their needs. Personally, I have never used a Christmas planner and just use a notebook, but I definitely see the need for a planner and have even saved templates over the year to try.

If you want me to make a Christmas planner and show how I use it to organize my Christmas this year please leave a comment below. I look forward to reading your own ideas for organizing Christmas as well as what things you want me to post in future Christmas Preparation posts.

Yarn Storage

"Don't wait for tomorrow what you can do today." Unfortunately, sometimes what you want or could do today often gets put off until tomorrow. This is exactly what happened with the current pattern inventory binder post I am writing. I started writing, with every intent of posting, and then I became busy with the work week. I wish I had the luxury of only working on craft projects and that I was able to support myself on those projects alone, but I am not yet able to do that and so I work. I actually enjoy my work quite a bit, except of course when I am too exhausted to work on my passion, crafting. Anyways, the binder post is coming, but it might take more time than I originally anticipated. However, I am typing it up as a tutorial so my readers can get more use of the post itself. 

I am working on a few other tutorials as well, including patterns for quick baby play mat blankets and basic crochet hats. As I work on these tutorials though I am caught by the massive amount of yarn and other crafting supplies I have, which of course makes me think about the maximum way to store all of my supplies. I am especially fascinated by yarn storage because I am boxes and boxes of yarn whether it is yarn I bought or yarn that was given to me. As I mentioned earlier, I am cleaning out a dresser to turn it into yarn and fabric storage, but this wouldn't be my first choice, largely because I like to be able to see my yarn.

I am addicted to storage and organization solutions, that are both functional and creative, and so I frequently search for craft storage ideas online. I usually use key phrases like "DIY Craft Storage Solutions", "Craft Room Storage Ideas", or "Yarn [specific supply] storage ideas" in a Google image search. Through these I have found some wonderful, creative, and functional storage solutions for my craft space or future craft room. I recommend saving any ideas you like to a folder on your computer for inspiration. You might not be able to implement them right now, but you might be able to at a future time. Through these searches I have saved hundreds of images. Most of these images are similar, but I save them because when I decide to implement these storage solutions I can then implement specific thing I like from each idea. 

Anyways, yarn storage is a particular favorite of mine because I like my yarn displayed, but most of the yarn storage is too small for my needs. However, through these searches I found a few unique storage solutions I just adore. The first is taking a shoe organizer and putting it in a bookcase or stacking it atop of Closetmaid organizers. Once your organizer is in place begin filling the cubbies with all of your balls of yarn. This is great if you have a small to medium amount of yarn. I think the biggest shoe cubbies I have seen hold 36 shoes. If you have seen a larger shoe cubby leave a comment below telling me how many shoes (or balls of yarn) it can hold and a link if you have it. :)

Another idea I love is using a peg board and nails. There was a picture of a lady in front of a wall, lined entirely with peg board. She then spaced nails evenly across the entire wall and inserted each nail in the middle of a ball of yarn. Now if your yarn is multi-fiber you might have to use something else in place of a nail to prevent fraying or snagging of your yarn. This idea is great for any size yarn collection because you can always add more peg board. However, you are limited by the wall space available and your budget because peg board can be expensive. If I were going to use this method I would look for refurbished or used peg board at thrift stores and Habitat for Humanity stores. Another option, if you don't mind poking holes in your walls, is to just put the nails directly in the wall.

If you or someone you know is good with their hands then you can always build your own custom yarn storage. I love this diamond patterned wall cubby to hang above your work desk. While I have not attempted to make this yarn storage, I think the storage would be fairly simple to make, but again, I haven't tried to make this myself. If I do make this storage I will be sure to offer a tutorial for my readers. This storage provides design and function, which in my opinion can't be beat.

The final yarn storage pictured I just stumbled upon today and am captioning it Budget DIY Yarn Storage. While I don't know how much this person spent making this particular yarn storage, I think it could easily be remade on a budget. From the picture it looks like the person made the storage out of milk crates. Depending on where you live, who you know, etc. these milk crates could be free or obtained for very cheap, but if you are unable to get them for free I believe the Dollar Store carries them too. If my calculations are correct, to make this storage would take 28 milk crates. The crates could easily be hung on the walls using nails. As you can see from the picture, this yarn storage would probably hold the most amount of yarn.

There are so many wonderful ideas for yarn storage. I encourage all of my readers to Google yarn storage. Please comment below with your own yarn storage ideas and if you want me to do a yarn storage tutorial on either the diamond wall cubby or the milk crate storage. And hopefully, the next post will be the tutorial for the current pattern inventory binder.

Resolutions for Creative People

 

10 Resolutions for Creative People

I stumbled across this video after I broke resolution #2, "Finish old projects before starting new projects." :-/ Oh well, there is always next year!

Bernat Softee Chunky Yarn

I don't know about you, but if you're like me you can't pass up a sale on materials, whether it is yarn, paper, or fabric. I went into Michael's today, intending only to buy white onesies for my current Valentine's projects, but ended up walking out with 8 balls of yarn too! I didn't need this yarn or necessarily have any plans for it at the moment I bought it, but each ball was on clearance for $1.99. That was a deal I couldn't pass up.

 

Of course, I immediately started working on a project (a baby blanket) as soon as I got home, forsaking all other projects. The yarn is chunky so the blanket is crocheting up quickly, but I recognize my need for resolution #2. For me, two things frequently prevent me from finishing old projects before starting new projects. When I become inspired I immediately start thinking about the inspiration and what I would do differently, and then I want to get the materials, assuming I don't already have the things I need, and get to work. Second, I often forget what projects I was working on after I have been working on a new project(s) for awhile. These are my setbacks as a designer, but I know there are many other reasons people don't maintain projects until they are completed.

 

Sketch of blanket included in project's binder

However, hopefully whatever these reasons are these solutions will work for everyone. The first solution I have for preventing forgetting current projects is to keep a current project inventory binder or notebook. I personally am organizing my project inventory into a binder because page protectors make excellent pockets for storing patterns, project description, sketches, pictures of inspiration, and a list of materials needed to complete the project. A contents list at the beginning of the binder serves as a quick list for me to see what I have and where to find it within the binder. Hopefully, your binder won't be as thick as mine and you won't have to rely on a contents list. As my binder begins to be completed, I will be sure to post pictures so you can clearly see how I organized my ongoing projects.

 

After your current projects are organized, I suggest you resolve not have more than a set number of projects at one time or not to start any more until half of your current projects are finished. I have always wanted to implement this solution, but never set a number for me to keep, which meant I had no accountability to myself. I am now setting my current project number to 7. Until I am caught up on past projects, this number will not include projects I have not worked on for more than a year. I am using another inventory binder for projects I would like to start in the future, but you could always add a section to your project's binder for future projects. Again, I suggest organizing each project with sketches, pictures, patterns, and a list of supplies needed to complete. Organizing all of these things into a single spot makes it easier for you to start your next project and to identify what you need before you start.

Inspired sketch for future project

Taking the time to sketch out your ideas and then planning the completion of a new project satisfies your need to see it completed without actually starting a new project. I implemented this technique when I was working on the baby blanket shown above and was inspired to create another baby blanket using a similar pattern and yarn. Inspired, I immediately stopped working and pulled out my sketch book, and then began to sketch out my design. After I finished sketching I wrote down on a post it note the supplies I thought I would need. This supplies list will become more professional looking when I finish the current blanket and see if my estimate was correct.

 

Taking the time to organize your projects into a binder or notebook, that can then be stored in a prominent location in your workspace, keeps all of your projects at the front of your mind and everything you need easily accessed when you decide to start a project again. But how do you store the actual projects and the supplies necessary for completion?

Ziploc Storage Bags

My projects are temporarily being stored in bins and boxes as I begin to clear out and organize the dresser these projects will be stored in, along with yarn and fabric. In the dresser, I will ultimately store the projects in a Ziploc gallon storage bag, depending upon the size, along with everything I need to complete the project. I suggest labeling each bag, maybe even including the date started as another way of preventing you from keeping a project for too long, and then storing them away. This is a great solution for storing your current projects, but as I mentioned earlier there are some projects that you haven't touched in over a year. There are many reasons you haven't worked on a project for an extended period of time and that reason will determine how you deal with storing those projects.

 

Some projects are left unfinished because you ran out of supplies, but never bothered to get the supplies needed or maybe those supplies were too expensive. For these projects, you need to determine if you want to spend the money to obtain the necessary supplies and complete the project. If you decided to get the supplies then the new supplies and the project itself should be stored with your other current projects. I suggest setting a deadline for yourself to finish the project, otherwise you may end up with it sitting for another year again. If you do not want to buy the necessary supplies, whether the materials are too exensive or you no longer want to complete the project, I suggest taking the project apart, dismantling each material, and then adding the usable materials to your current unused supplies.

 

Other projects are left untouched because you ran out of supplies and then the supplies were discontinued by the manufacturer. This reason is a good example of why you buy all of the supplies you need to complete a project in the first place, but I understand this is not always possible and I have found myself in this same situation before. There are really only two options available to you at this point. You could search for the discontinued materials online and might get lucky or, unfortunately, you have to dismantle the project and find a new use for those discontinued materials.

 

As I said earlier, I have been there, and I currently have left that project unfinished. At the time I bought the yarn, I didn't have any project in mind, and when I did, the yarn was discontinued. I did look online and even in stores for the discontinued yarn, but was unsuccessful in finding the yarn I needed. However, I did have enough yarn to reconstruct the exsisting blanket into a lapghan, but never had the heart to unwind all of my hard work. While I wouldn't encourage anyone to just leave their project in this state, it may actually have worked in my favor because the company ended up introducing a similar yarn. I haven't brought my project, or a small sample of my yarn, into a craft store to confirm the match, but the appearance is similar. If the yarn is a match, then I fortunately have a third option available to me. However, this is very rare.

 

Finally, at least as far as my experience goes, there are projects that you have left unfinished, not because you don't want to finish them, but because you have simply forgotten about them. These projects are the main reason behind the current project binder inventory. If you have these projects, and still want them finished, then I suggest you add them to your inventory binder or notebook, along with a date for when you want this project finished. Again, the date is not a deadline so much as a means of keeping you accountable to yourself, and preventing a pile of unfinished projects.

 

In an upcoming post I will be showing pictures of my binder inventory system, hopefully my project storage, and how I organize my craft bag. For pictures of my completed projects be sure to check out my Facebook page BooBear Designs. In the next few weeks fans of my Facebook page will be eligible to win a free pattern.

 

Go Team!

Chargers

Seahawks

Patriots

Touchdown! NFL playoffs are under way and nothing makes that big win better than a crochet or knit hat in your team's colors! This weekend the New England Patriots, the Indianapolis Colts, the San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Carolina Panthers are playing in playoff games. Hats for 3 of these teams are posted above with links to their listing on my Etsy shop, BooBear Designs.

 I realize that not everyone reading my blog enjoys football, but probably most of my readers know someone who is a huge football fan. These crochet football team hats make great baby gifts for your football loving friends and family. Whether you are just starting to crochet or a seasoned professional these hats are for you. I crocheted each of the above hats in only an hour, which makes these hats great emergency gifts for an unexpected baby shower or first birthday.

The pattern to make these hats can be purchased on my Etsy shop, BooBear Designs, or if you would prefer you can purchase one of the hats  I have already made.  Pattern for Football Team Hat

Please be sure to leave a comment below telling me what you think of these hats, teams you want to see made into football team hats, or anything else you hope to see from BooBear Designs in the future.

Craft Organization

I love this quote. If you are like me then you know how messy your crafting space becomes after creating a masterpiece of any material. This seems to be a common theme among crafters and I am no stranger to a messy, disorganized crafting space. I never intend to leave projects out, yarn in baskets, or fabric in piles, and I never mean to forget to put back my scissors or glue, but somehow or other when I am busy in a project I forget all about organization. I finish what I can for the day and in happy exhaustion I go to sleep, vowing to deal with the mess in the morning, but for most people the morning cleanup never happens. You mean well, but our lives get in the way.

I have often felt like a failure when it comes to being organized in my crafts. I know how to be organized, but the practice always seems to get lost along the way. Finally, after struggling for far too long, I realized I needed a different method. I didn't have a lot of money to spend on containers, fancy storage furniture, and a spacious craft table. This lack of funds for storage always frustrated me and I always reasoned that if I just had the money then my crafting space would be perfect. Unfortunately, well actually fortunately depending on how you look at it, I realized it wouldn't matter how much I spent on organization if I still didn't put thought into what I needed. I needed to sit down, to think about what I had, and what I needed to organize these items. It doesn't matter how much storage you have if your contents are not organized.

For some people this may seem overly obvious, but for me, and I know others too, this was not obvious and realizing this simple truth has been a breakthrough in my organization. I am not anywhere close to being as organized as I should or even as organized as I want to be, but I am making progress. This year, at least this month, I am focusing not only on my business, but on my crafting space as well. I am determined to organize my crafting supplies and finally be at peace with my crafting space.

Alright, now onto the organizing. I haven't done a huge amount of organizing this year, but I have taken a few steps in the long process that is organizing. I recommend thinking about, and maybe even writing down, the crafting supplies and materials you have, products you know you'll b getting soon, and the storage you have on hand. Some people are blessed with a spare room in their house for crafting while other people only have a spare corner in a room to use as crafting space. Personally, I would love a large spare room for crafting, but right now I only have a corner. It is really more than a corner, but not quite a whole room. When I was planning my storage and organization I needed to think about the room as a whole and how much space I was willing to set aside for my crafting supplies. Of course, the actual space set aside was largely determined by my current supplies, materials, and future needs.

After I had a good understanding of what I actually had I began to think of design. This is where creativity can be problematic to progress, but I am constantly being inspired by a new design. If you are like me then I recommend you don't Google craft rooms, unless you absolutely need inspiration, and instead draw the space you would like, being realistic to your abilities and resources. Before you become too attached to your design, you need to remember up be flexible, because you may need to make adjustments along the way as you begin to organize. The inventory you took earlier is helpful when you begin design for this reason. A large craft table seems like a good design, but without any storage underneath it may not be functional depending on your inventory. My own design has changed several times as I start organizing various materials.

I don't recommend purchasing any storage containers until you have done an inventory of your materials. Otherwise you may purchase too many, not enough, or the wrong container for your needs.  I say this from experience. I found these great little baskets, they were only a dollar at Target and I bought several because of course I would use them. I bought the baskets partly for function, but mainly for style, and unfortunately the  function the baskets provided were not ideal for my needs. This has happened more than once and sometimes it worked, but most of the time I end up with more clutter. My advice? Wait, find out what you need, and then buy the containers.

Now, the containers do not need to be expensive, but they do need to be functional to your need, you can always customize their appearance later. I recommend checking out the dollar section at Target and the Dollar Store for affordable storage. Another surprising find for affordable storage was Home Depot. In the nuts and bolts section are great containers for storing buttons, beads, and embellishments for scrap booking. Compare their $4.97 24 compartment container to JoAnn's $9.99 container and the only difference you'll find is the price. I personally have 8 of these containers from The Home Depot. The boxes have a lot of storage and are great for organizing my buttons and beads. I have also used these boxes to organize my small sewing notions, small balls of yarn, and the small details of packaging for my business.

Plano 24 Compartment Organizer

 Initially I only bought 3 of these containers because I originally intended to use these boxes for storing my buttons. These boxes took up more space than the single jar I used before, but provide much more organization. I organized my buttons by color, type, and then stored the matching thread underneath the corresponding buttons. Another way to organize your buttons is to sort them only by color or only by type. The success of these containers led me to buy 4 or 5 more.

Medium Stacking Bin

 During Joann's after Christmas sale I found these medium stacking bins for 40% off, which made them $2.99 each. I wasn't looking for any specific storage when I found these and have been really happy with this find. I thought they would work perfectly as storage underneath my desk. I initially only bought 2, but then ended up buying 6 more. The bins are able to stack 2 high and 2 wide on the shelves, which allows me to have 4 bins on each side of my desk.

I have yet to use all of these bins, but will be filling each of the bins up in the next few weeks. I am using one of these bins for ongoing project supplies. Last month I was painting T-shirt designs regularly, which meant I was constantly pulling out various fabric paint and brushes that I needed. Now that I have these bins I am able to store the fabric paints and brushes in the ongoing project supply bin until I have finished my project(s). Another bin I am using to store drawing supplies, such as pencils, colored pencils, crayons, and markers. I am still going through my supplies inventory for how best to utilize the other bins. 

I am not a stamper, but these bins would work great as storage for sorting ink pads and rubber stamps. I know stamping companies offer special storage, but I think these bins are a good alternative for small stamping collections. Another possible use for these bins is to store children's crafting supplies, such as pom poms and pipe cleaners. These bins are easily labeled, which make them great storage bins for children.

I have many other ideas for organizing crafts and will be posting these ideas, along with pictures of my own crafting space evolving into an organized haven, in future posts. Until then, please post your own storage and organizing ideas. I would love to read how you organize your craft room.

 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Ok, I know it is 8 days into the new year, but nevertheless I am excited do the new year! A new year of new crafting goals and challenges. This year represents new beginnings for BooBear Designs, mainly the addition of this blog and the expansion of online sales. This year I am selling almost exclusively through Etsy and I'm excited for the expansion of my clientele.  Besides the business, BooBear Designs has crafting goals for each month, free patterns, and ideas for how to manage all things crafting.

Here I am rambling on about my goals for this year and it occurs to me that some of you reading this blog are new to BooBear Designs. BooBear Designs is my design company that I established officially in 2010. Originally, I was only selling hand knit items, but since 2010 I have expanded to include hand crocheted items, original patterns, and even the occasional hand sewn item. I am really excited about all of the new projects I have created and even more excited about helping other people realize their own crafting goals through this blog.

Currently, I am working on several projects including a knit afghan, a crochet Green Bay Packers beanie, and an adorable  newborn's Valentines outfit. I will be posting pictures of all of these projects in upcoming posts along with Valentine accessories and decor. 

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