Okay, I am hoping that you have not only read through the posts on decluttering your craft room but that you have taken bold, and I mean BOLD, action!

I want you to have a craft space that is exactly how you picture it. Where you don't feel overwhelmed, where you are excited to create, where you know that everything in that room is something you will use.

Sit back for a second and re-read that part…

Everything in that room is something you will use.

WOW – that's a statement, isn't it? That's exciting! That's fun! That's inspiring!

And, because you are a crafter, you are going to want new stuff. AND that's okay!

New stuff is fun, new colors are exhilarating, new stamps spark creativity – all of it!

So today we are going to talk about when things enter your craft space.

We are going to do a bit of math, we are going to talk about Principle #1, we are going to dive into a lot!

Know Why You Purchased

When you are buying something, know why you are buying it.

If the answer is, because I wanna – super cool! That's great! I want you to have the things you want, there is no shame in that.

I wanted a pizza today, and I went and got a pizza. I wanted a new paint color for my front door last week, I went and got it – it does look amazing!

AND, we live on a strict budget. I actually find budgets freeing, not restrictive!

Let's talk about buying things in sets… If you know you are only buying it because of one part of it, remember it's okay to keep that one part and nothing else.

If you like part of a stamp, but not all of it, cut off the part you don't like. (That normally gives stampers a heart attack, but it's addictive once you start!)

I talk about this with the sentiment, Gee, Thanks. I hate that sentiment. It's a throwaway sentiment. Why would I ever make a card that says, “Gee, Thanks”. It sounds like a pity thank you. Uhhh… thanks, I guess…

But if the font on the Thanks part is spot on, cut off the “Gee,” and just use the thanks!

(Again, if you are selling this later, show that in the images and talk about it in the description.)

Choose your “Craftiversary”

Pick a time to review when you will go back to that stamp set and see what you are using and what you aren't.

On your “Craftiversary”, go through your supplies. After you have done it this year, you will be amazed at how quickly you can do this next year.

Know What Your Lacking

Now that you've gone through your stash, you will know what you want to be on the look out for. If all your birthday sets are old and tired, pick out new ones.

If you realize that you are bored with your certain holiday or events ones, so you pulled them, get new ones.

Fill your gaps! This way you will be mixing old with new.

And my friends, that's where creativity will thrive!

Seasonal Purchases

Let's talk about Halloween, as an example. I like to make a handful of Halloween cards. Not a lot, just some. And trust me, I don't want to use what I had last year. That's boring. I already made what I wanted to with those stamps and coordinating paper and dies. I bought them to use once and be done with them.

And that's what helps keep me creative!

This Halloween, there will be new items I want and new items I will buy. I will make those few cards and be done, again.

If every year I looked at only my stamps from past Halloweens, I would be bored before I even started. Seriously! When I say I get bored easily, I mean it.

When I am bored, I don't feel creative. When I don't feel creative, I don't make anything. When I don't make anything, I get sad.

So I get new Halloween each year and part with it when that season is over.

Just like buying Halloween paper plates for a party. You can get plain Dixie paper plates for much cheaper than you can get cute Halloween paper plates. AND these items are designed to be thrown out. So if you spend more money for something cute that was designed to be thrown out, it's okay to buy stamps/paper/punches/dies that are single season use only and then pass them along, sell them, whatever helps you move them onto their next spot.

I do the same with Valentines. I don't want to use the same stamps year after year after year just because I feel like I have to because I have stamp guilt.

Christmas is when I splurge the most. I don't want to make 85 of the same card with the same stamps. Nope, don't wanna. But I know I don't want to use the same supplies next year.

Because next year there will be new, fun, and trendy items I will want to use instead.

So we talked about seasonal buying, but let's talk about seasonal removing.

When the season is over, pull it from your regular craft area. Have two boxes, give and sell. If it's something for the trash, fling it on into the basket. The faster you can give and/or sell, the better! Get them out of your space.

For me, I have to follow some rules that Stampin' Up! has that I don't agree with, but that's another story. But the second I can, out they go! If you aren't a demonstrator, you don't have any rules to follow. You own them, you can do with them whatever you choose.

Color Coordination

I think one of the most frustrating things in the world is trying to match up colors. It's painful! There are a bazillion shades of navy out there and don't even get me started on reds.

This is where buying colors from multiple companies can send you into a downward spiral. Because they don't match!

And this applies to craft companies and to craft stores.

There is a local craft store that has it's own product line of card stock, patterned paper, markers, ribbon, the works. You would think that their bright red in each of these products is the same. Nope, or should I say, NOPE!

There are very few companies that offer a coordinating product line. VERY few. Some offer great ink pads, but no card stock. Some offer ink pads and card stock, but no markers.

THIS, this very reason, is why I stick with Stampin' Up! for color products. Let's be very real… Stampin' Up! isn't the only product in town, nor do they have the latest trends, and they lack in several areas. I've been a demo since 2004, and I have no problem saying that there are other companies that have phenomenal products.

I know that many demos may read this and gasp quite loudly. I have no guilt in being honest.

When it comes to color coordination, bam – seriously, no one is better.

So if that's something that as you read, you are thinking, “Meg, yes, that is super important to me”, then stick with that one company for your color going forward. It's that simple.

Ink Pads/Re-Inkers

Do you need both? Well, this again comes back to who you are purchasing through and their style of ink pad. How much you stamp often plays into this as well.

If it's a color you know you love and will use (where are my Blueberry Bushel fans?), get the re-inker for sure!

But here's where knowing the pad and what it holds comes into play.

The old woven linen style ink pads were ink absorbing monsters. You could go forever without re-inking those bad boys. BUT… when it was time to ink, you used about 1/4 bottle to re-ink it.

And not all foam pads are the same. I can't speak to all the different types of foam, but there are two that come to mind that I use the most. They were designed to not hold a lot of ink, so that less re-ink liquid would be required.

So with the two that I have, I re-ink more often, but usually only need about 10 drops to re-ink. So having the re-inkers sometimes makes sense.

If you know it's a color you want to use but you don't think it will be one of your go-to colors, unless you leave it open and it dries up, you may get by just fine without buying one.

If you know the release cycle of the company, for example, SU does a color refresh about every 5 years and the In Colors are around for 2 years, then you have some time to see how much you will really use that color you aren't so sure about.

I find it rare that someone doesn't know how much they will use a color when they buy it. They either love it and know they will use it, or they like it and are curious as to how much they will use it.

Since I do a lot of stamping, I buy the re-inker when I buy the stamp pad. The other reason I do this, if you don't know this about me, I am pretty impatient on things like that. If I have cleared time to stamp, I want to stamp. I don't want to be frustrated. And since color is my favorite thing in my crafting, I want to make sure I have the ink when I need it and not wait for an order to arrive. That's just me though.

You have to know you – and I bet you do if you have been stamping over 6 months.

Patterned Paper Buying/Sorting

This section will require some math, but no worries, I will do it for you.

As I said above, buying things that color coordinate is my hard line in the sand. It just has to or else I am grumpy and I won't use it. It's as simple as that.

And buying patterned paper that is meant to coordinate comes in sets. And “sets” is a four letter word in my crafting vocabulary, as I have shared time and time again!

AND there is some ugly paper in those packs. Let's just own it and say it out loud!

“But Meg, it's expensive so I have to keep it!”

It's cheap, even with the ugly paper!

Follow along with me on this one…

Let's say it's a package of 12″ x 12″ patterned paper, there are 12 double sided sheets in a package, and it's $12/package.

That makes it $1/sheet, right?

WRONG!

That's what you've been told in the past, I'm going to do my best to explain it the way I explain it to my stampers.

Now, we've already said there are some ugly papers in those packs, right? And there are some great ones in those packs too! But, inevitably what happens is that you have some double sided ugly ones and some double sided cute ones, it's not always cute on one side and ugly on the other. Sometimes that utopia happens, but not always.

So let's say from that package of 12, there are 4 sheets you won't use. Not even for envelopes or crinkle shred that we talked about here.

That leaves you with 8 sheets. $12/8 sheets means $1.50/sheet. And you might be thinking, wait, hold on a second, that's expensive! I can get it cheaper at my local craft store.

No, you really can't.

#1 – At your local craft store you can't get paper that coordinates, so it sits there and you wasted money on a “bargain”.

#2 – It's super affordable at $1.50/sheet.

How so?

If you go with the largest size piece of patterned paper that you would put on an average card, that would be the size of 4″ x 5-1/4″. From one piece of 12″ x 12″ paper, that gives you 6 pieces of that largest size that you would use.

Which means for $.25, a measly quarter, you will have the coordinating colors in the largest size for your card front. AND that's with getting rid of your ugly 4 sheets of paper from that pack.

The same size piece of solid color card stock (4″ x 5-1/4″) is $.11. We are talking about a $.14 difference WITH getting rid of 4 sheets of patterned paper.

If you find a unicorn pack that you love all the 12 sheets of paper, it's $.17 per 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece.

So to get rid of your ugly sheets only changes your price by $.o8 a panel.

I will JOYFULLY discard $.08 worth to not have a single sheet of patterned paper guilt taking up room in my craft space.

This right here is also why I LOVE my paper shares. You may not know this, but I am the first person to sign up for my paper shares. I spend so much time carefully packaging these up and offering them because I love them!

Why? Because I only have 1/2 the ugly sheets!! I know that patterned paper makes a huge difference in my crafting, so I know I want it.

There are others that duplicate what I do with paper shares, but I promise you that no one puts the love and attention into theirs like I do into mine. I can proudly say that!

And if you find a paper in my paper shares that you love, then you can order an entire package of it. It's like a trial run to see how much you will use going foward.

When you get a new package of patterned paper, do the rapid sort of “I know I will use this for cards”, “It's okay, so I will use this for envelopes”, and “Trash!”

Don't store a single sheet you won't use.

If you seriously struggle with this, start a box. If you haven't used it in 3 months, you know in your knower you won't. Dump the box.

What's left is paper you KNOW you will joyfully use. You will be excited to use that paper and to USE UP that paper. And be honest, that feels amazing, doesn't it?

Buying Mystery Boxes

I feel like I have to address these because I sell them. I already shared that this is my favorite way of selling items to my audience. And you guys love them!

I want you to really read this part though…

I don't price them based on the value of what's inside. I disclose that information because I don't want to be a butthead and it's honest. And to be even more honest, there is way more in the boxes that the minimum value I assign it to. That's value though, let's talk about price…

But I price them based on the knowledge that the person buying it won't keep it all or shouldn't keep it all.

There is no way anyone will ever love everything in their box. It's impossible. Some items may be duplicates, some may be brand new (the items I thought looked better on the hanger), some may contain exactly the items to fill your gaps.

It's a fun gamble!

But I price mine knowing you won't love it all.

Responsible Receiving

We've talked about responsible gifting, but the other side of this coin is the receiving side. When others intend to dump… I mean, gift, boxes of belongings to you, have some possibly tough conversations.

Ask questions, like how much is there? AND, most importantly, what is the expectation?

For example. the story I hear all the time is the one of, “My mother passed away and I know you love to paper craft, so I want you to have her stuff.”

A great response is, “Thank you so much for thinking of me, that means a lot to me. I need to ask though, how much is there? I just finished cleaning out a lot of my own supplies and it's a huge undertaking to whittle down supplies.”

Also ask, “For the things I know I won't use, would you like them back or am I free to do with them what I see fit?”

My favorite thing to say is, “I would love to have a few things that were your mom's. When can I come over to choose a few items?”

Principle #1: Craft Supplies Are Meant to Be Used

This is the wrap up on this series. And it all comes down to this one principle, that craft supplies are meant to be used.

Unloved craft supplies in your space are keeping you from being creative. We have talked about that a LOT in this series. And you can read through the comments to see how many people say they are frustrated by all the stuff in their space to the point that they avoid their craft areas.

No one stays in this hobby because “making cards is cheap”. They may start by thinking that, and the rest of us just laugh and laugh.

I'm not telling you to be careless or irresponsible with your spending, quite the opposite. I'm saying buy with purpose. A purpose for use and a plan for passing those items on rather than collecting dust.

If you have items collecting dust, you've spent money on them, and I know you will keep spending money on more items. Hobbies aren't cheap.

Just do it in a way that feels good and doesn't accumulate guilt! Use what you buy. If you bought something that looks “better on the hanger”, own it and move on. Don't store it for years. If you don't like it now, you probably won't like it later.

Crafting is good for the soul.

One of my closest friends is a psychiatrist, and one of the first things she recommends for her patients dealing with stress or anxiety is to have a hobby. Something that allows you to take time for yourself and do something you enjoy. If you are a creative or crafty person, making something makes sense.

I love card making because my creativity can brighten someone's day. My years of working with this hobby has taught me that no one dislikes getting a card in the mail.

Since 1997, I've been putting smiles on faces with pieces of paper stamped with images. I started this hobby as a way to unwind after a 24 hour shift.

I've kept with it because I LOVE to brighten someone's day.

I chose this as a career because I LOVE to inspire others and help them brighten someone's day.

Enjoy your space. Enjoy your time. Enjoy your hobby.

And make something that means something!

XOXO, Meg