In My Studio: Planning for the Year Ahead

Some of the tools I am using to plan for 2017

With the new year arriving I have been spending some time planning and organizing for the year ahead. I would love to share some of my new favorite tools to get the most productivity and creativity out of the year to come.

1) Many Moons 2017 Calendar from Cynla (top left) I love this calendar from our our Makers on Hudson teammate Cindy. Each month includes a beautiful illustration of the moon and dates of the moon phases are marked on.

2) 17 Actions and Insights for a Prosperous and Profitable 2017 (top right) e-book from The Merriweather Council  This is a really useful book to get you started with some easy actionable steps to help your small handmade business grow and prosper in 2017.It is written in a really straightforward no fluff manner with lots of  space for note taking. 

3) Get to Work Book (bottom left) from Elise Joy This planner is the planner of my dreams! As a prolific list writer this is the place I can corral all my lists and take pleasure as they are crossed off one by one. Full of inspiring quotes, pages for project planning and easy weekly layouts it has been a huge help in getting my work done.

4)  Etsy Seller Spreadsheet (bottom right) from Paper and Spark
I have been getting all my business paperwork in order from 2016 and these spreadsheets from Paper and Spark have helped enormously. They enable you to copy and paste all the relevant information from Etsy into a usable and legible document. Paper and Spark also includes video tutorials to walk you through many of the processes and has many free resources on the website for small handmade businesses.  

Here are some of the tools Patricia van Essche from PVE Design is using for planning her 2017

1) Spiral Organizer by Red Star Ink
Great for organizing your budget, paying bills and planning ahead.

2) Boxwood Maze Notebooks by PVE Design 
This stunning spiral bound notebook is wonderful for jotting down to-do lists, shopping lists or ideas for the new year ahead.

3) Small floral clipboards by Staples

Have a wonderful organized and prosperous 2017!
Good Luck and Good Making!

Sarah
So Handmade
  

"A goal without a plan is just a wish" Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Welcome Spring! FREE Desktop Calendar!

Welcome Spring!

My past few weeks have found me deeply entrenched in Halloween

 and Christmas Art. Working seasons ahead is a bit of

a challenge, since I'm 'not in the mood!' but all a part of this creative life. 

I had plans for so much during this quiet time before the fair 

season gets into full swingand here I find myself not even

 half done with what I anticipated getting finished before

the first of spring weather got here.

Now I'm in the middle of trying to schedule fairs and family 

time and continually trying unlocking the secrets of SEO!

Here for your scheduling pleasure is an April Calendar page, for your personal use to print up 

and hang near your desk.

Click here to download

Happy Spring!

Sue DiGilio

digiliodesigns.etsy.com

Hello January 2016! Free Desktop Calendar

This year for my blog post I will share with you all

a calendar page each month.

You may set it as your desktop background or print it up for your own

personal use.

I hope that 2016 brings us much happiness and success!

Click to download

Happy New Year!

Sue DiGilio

digiliodesigns.etsy.com

In My Studio: Family Calendar Tutorial

Coming from a large family I decided to make a calendar wall hanging to keep track of everyone's birthdays. I had great fun making this and am really pleased with the results. The instructions for making your own are below, feel free to customize to your own specifications. Have fun!

Materials and Tools Required

Wooden Board

Letters F A M I L Y

Small disks  (approx. 50 will be needed depending on how many birthdays you wish to add)

Paint

Small sticky letters J F M A M J J A S O N  AND D

Scrapbooking papers x 6

Jump rings 0.35in/9mm x 85

Small eyelet screws x 12

Spray adhesive

Jewelry pliers

Electric drill

PVA Glue

Paint

Scalpel

Extra fine permanent sharpies

Sandpaper

Ribbon or cord for hanging

Materials

1) Sand down the large wooden board

2) Drill two holes in the top of the large wooden board to enable it to be hung on the wall (as shown left)

3) Drill small holes in the top and bottom of each of the small wooden disks (as shown left)

4) Paint the edges of all the wooden FAMILY  letters in black, remember the inside of the A

5) Paint the large wooden board the desired background color, do a couple of coats.

6) Select the scrapbooking papers you want to use. Spray adhesive on the back side of the paper. Firmly press the right side of the wooden letter onto the paper. Leave to dry. Once dry use a very sharp scalpel to cut the paper around the letter

7) Paint the small wooden disks in 3 or 4 different colors to coordinate with your scrapbooking papers. Paint both sides

8) Use a sharp tool to make 12 holes along the bottom edge of the wooden board equally spaced out. Screw the eyelets into these small holes

9) Glue the FAMILY letters onto the painted wooden board, use a ruler to line them up and space them out equally. Leave to dry

10) Add the sticky letters onto 12 different disks representing the different months of the year: J F M A M J J A S O N and D (as shown left)

11) Write on the other small painted disks the family names and birthdays, use extra fine permanent sharpies in different colors  (as shown left)

12) Using the jewelry pliers open the jump rings and thread the disks onto the rings in lines of each month, order by the date with the month disk at the top.

13) Thread these lines onto the eyelet screws

14) Thread cord or ribbon through the holes at the top of the large wooden board to hang on the wall

"The way I see it, you should live life everyday like its your birthday"  Paris Hilton

Good Luck and Good Making

Sarah Omura

So Handmade

In My Studio: Keeping up with the Calendar

Calendar by Wishbone Letterpress

When I first moved to the US three years ago I kept missing out on opportunities to make and sell holiday and seasonal inspired work. I just didn't get my act together fast enough to keep up with the ever changing seasonal merchandise. I decided I needed a special calendar to help me organize my year of making. It would show all the important holidays, themes and seasons and include when to start making, when to list on Etsy and when to deliver to stores.

                        Hanukkah Cards by Karmabee      Valentines Day Ornaments by Get Tangled

 

When selling on Etsy it's important to make, photograph and list items for various holidays well enough in advance to allow potential customers to view, buy and have items delivered well before the holiday in question. Crafts makers all work at different rates so I thought I would post my schedule and then you are able to change it depending on which holidays you make for and the speed of your work:

Holiday/ Season	Date of Holiday/ Season	List on Etsy/ deliver to stores	When to make and photograph
Spring theme	March- May	In January	Nov, Dec
Valentines Day	14th Feb	Early Jan	December
St Patrick's Day	17th March	In Feb	January
Easter	20th April (2014)	Late March	Jan, Feb
Mothers Day	11th May (2014)	Mid April	March
Summer theme	May-Aug	April	March
Fathers Day	15th June (2014)	Mid May	April
Independence Day	4th July	Early June	May
Autumn theme	Sept- Nov	August	June, July
Halloween	31st October	September	July, August
Thanksgiving	27th Nov (2014)	October	Aug, Sept
Winter theme	Nov- Feb	October	Sept
Hanukkah	16-24th Dec (2014)	November	October
Christmas Day	25th Dec	October	Aug, Sept

 To try and simplify it I made these tables below:

What I should be making/ when:

Jan	Feb	March	April	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
St Pat	Easter	Mother	Father	Ind Day	Autumn	Autumn	Halloween	Thanksgiving	Hanukkah	Spring	Spring
Easter		Summer				Halloween	Thanksgiving	Winter			Val Day
							Christmas	Christmas

What I should be listing on Etsy and delivering to stores/ when:

Jan	Feb	March	April	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
Spring	St Pat	Easter	Mother	Father	Ind Day		Autumn	Halloween	Thanksgiving	Hannukah
Val Day			Summer						Christmas
									Winter

 

 Owl Christmas Tree Skirt by So Handmade

Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each. Henry David Thoreau

Good luck and Good Making!

Sarah Omura, So Handmade

www.etsy.com/shop/SOhandmade1