Hello, welcome to The Craft Room Podcast. I’m so glad you’re joining me as we look at ways we can set ourselves up for Success for a new crafting year. I have ten tips that you might find helpful.
I was live in my card membership group a while back, chatting about this delicious week between Christmas and new year. The festive, yet chaotic energy of Christmas has passed, and it’s my favourite time of the year. I’m in my pjs on the couch in front of the AC and Netflix, living off leftovers and cheese boards and I have no idea what day it is … living the dream! This is the week I use each year to set myself up for success for the following year, both in business and my personal craft projects. I talked about New Years crafting resolutions back in Episode 32, but I thought I’d talk about some of my favourite things to do in the last week of December that will set me up for success in the year to come.
1. Surveying the year ahead
Also known as Calendar (or planner) transfer day. This is the day when I transfer birthdays, anniversaries and regular appointments over to my new planner or calendar for the upcoming year. I also look up the public holidays in my state, and add those as well, and if I still had kids at school, I’d be noting school holidays. This helps me see the bigger picture of the year ahead, making sure I block out regular obligations and see any big birthdays I might need to plan ahead for. It also helps me see where I have gaps in my schedule that I might like to fill with crafting activities.
2. Goal setting
My next move is to grab a notebook, and jot down all the projects I’d like to achieve during the year. To be clear … this is a wish list, and I always add more than I could ever hope to achieve. Some of those goals are things I want to do in my business, and others are crafting projects I want to do just for me, or possibly as gifts. During this time last year I actually started making my mothers Christmas gift for 2024. Don’t hate me … I wasn’t really 12 months ahead … it was more like being 3 months behind. I bought the pattern in late October, but just didn’t have time to get it done for gifting last year. As you might remember from Episode 36, I often pick up a new craft project in the last week of the year, and while it was tempting to keep working on the most recent crochet parasol I started (about 6 months ago), I opted for something that has a deadline instead.
Goals can come in all shapes and sizes, and there’s no one size fits all goal … they’re going to be different for everyone. Maybe you are keen to learn a new craft, kick start a new project, perfect a new technique, deep dive down a rabbit hole or make some changes.
The best way to achieve your goals is to break it down into bite sized pieces. Sometimes I have an idea in my head, and I think it will take a few hours, days or maybe a week, but once I start, I realise that my time estimate is WAY off. Sometimes it comes together faster, but most of the time I seriously underestimate how long it’s going to take to get the job done. If this is a project with a deadline, it’s a good idea to make yourself a visual. I’m a big fan of printed calendar pages on my office door, where I put big red crosses through the days. It’s incredibly motivating as I see that deadline racing closer. Sometimes I’ll set a goal to get a certain amount of the project done each day, or each week, and look at my calendar to see where I have the time available. If I don’t have available time, I look at ways I can stack my time (like crafting in waiting rooms, during a commute or at an event) or what I can sub out to make space to achieve my weekly goal (like volunteering once a month instead of twice).
One of the things I’ve created this year to help my customers & community with goal setting is the Christmas Cards on Time box. If, like me, you find yourself rushing with last minute Christmas cards, you might find this box helpful. It’s packed with tools and resources, like a pre-Christmas box, planning lists, goal setting work book, storage & organising, and most importantly, a 12 month course, three live virtual events and custom emails to help keep you on track to meet those goals. It’s designed to be used over and over again, and it is limited edition. At last count there were 32 left, and they start shipping today. I’ll link to the box in the show notes.
3. Planning
I know I talk about this a lot, but for me, planning is incredibly important and super helpful. I revel in taking time out with a chai latte and eggs benny at my favourite local cafe while I scribble out ideas, timelines and notes in a nice, fat, spiral bound notebook. I’ve also been known to talk to myself while I walk laps at the pool, sorting through ideas mentally, then making notes when I get home. I essentially do the project in my head, and I’m usually able to figure out an easier way to do something, spot a problem or plot a better method before I even start. The time I spend planning saves me loads of time in execution, and clearly I am a big fan.
If you have time during this magical last week of the year to do a little planning, you can work towards those goals more effectively during the year. You’ll know what you want to do, what you need to get it done and the time you have available, and that is an amazing trio that can help set you up for success.
4. Tidying
Because we host Christmas at our place, the week before is a flurry of tidying, resulting in a nice tidy house. Once the Christmas decorations are taken down and packed away, and I haven’t yet created fresh stacks of clutter, I often find myself in the mood to tidy. I tend to craft all over the house, and part of that pre-christmas tidy up includes shoving things into cupboards. It’s not ideal, but at least everything is in the right general area. I usually receive a crafty present or two, and that, combined with beautiful weather and an effective air conditioner, puts me in the mood to clear the decks and prep my craft spaces for the new year.
If you have the energy, this week of wonder is a great time to pick a craft drawer, box, desk, caddy, shelf or table, and whip it into shape. I don’t know about you, but for me, a clear craft desk and tidy coffee table are an invitation to get creative.
5. Organising
While tidying is nice, if that’s not enough, or you feel the need to take it to the next level, there’s always organising. Perhaps your current craft storage system isn’t working for you … this is a great time to assess it. Ask yourself why it’s no longer working, and give it a tweak, or a total overhaul. I’ve talked before about how I went from organising by product, and switched to organising by colour. I have zero regrets about that, as I still craft by colour, so it’s still working for me. Maybe you’ve had an itch to reorganise your space for a while, but not the time to do it … this is a great opportunity to get it done. If you’re thinking to yourself ‘Oh, I’ll do that once I’ve finished listening to this podcast’ … take me with you. I’ll be your craft organising buddy in your earbuds!
That said, if you don’t have the time, energy or budget to reorganise right now, there’s nothing wrong with working on it mentally until the time is right.
6. Treasure Hunting
Maybe you don’t need to reorganise right now, so instead, you can go on a treasure hunt through your perfectly organised stash. Every time I do this, I find an unfinished project, a pattern, some product or a tool that I’ve completely forgotten about. A good treasure hunt through your stash can be inspiring, and I like to make notes when they inspire an idea. I’m excited to hunt through my stamps next week, armed with a fresh Rule of Three notepad! As I get ideas, I’m going to jot them down, and store the page in the packaging. It will be nice to get them in some sort of order as well, making it easier for me to hit my card making goals in 2025.
7. Destashing
Another perk of going through one’s craft stash is finding things that we no longer need, love or use. When that happens, we have a few options. Come up with a new use for those items, sell them or donate them. This is also a PSA for my stamping friends … if you have very old rubber stamps on wooden blocks, test them out. A few months ago, I tried to use a stamp that’s been in my stash for over 25 years, and it was an epic fail. The rubber is rock hard, and it no longer stamps a clear image. I was so sad about that, as it’s one of the first stamps I bought, specifically for my wedding invitations, thank you notes, place cards, etc. However it is now unusable, and I’m bracing myself to go through the others in that drawer, and bid them farewell. If I had used it more often, and therefore used my cleaning & conditioning spray on it, maybe it would still be functional. The same goes for your liquid, paste and gel products. Check that the air hasn’t gotten to them and that they are still usable. There’s no point holding onto dried up bottles of paint, dead stamps or solid lumps of glitter gel.
While it’s often sad to bid farewell to old crafting supplies, most of the time, they find new life with a new owner when you sell or donate them. It can be liberating to let them go, and when they’re not taking up valuable real estate in your crafting space, it makes the items you do use and love much easier to find. It also makes space for new items to inspire your creativity.
8. Research
Another fun activity that I enjoy at this time of year is research. I learned a few new crochet moves this week already, and I’m excited to learn more about brioche knitting. Lazing in bed for an extra 40 minutes so I can watch a video tutorial is a delightful way to spend the morning. Going down the rabbit hole that is foundation paper piecing was one of the highlights of the final week of 2022 for me. Have I done any foundation paper piecing? No. No I have not. But researching it was enough to scratch that itch at the time, and now that I saw the gorgeous puppy designs that my friend Marni made last Christmas, I think it’s time to put that on my list of craft goals again.
9. Rest & Recover
While it is all well and good to want to get lots of things done during this delicious December week, maybe you have had a big year, and you just don’t have the energy for any of it. In this case, one of the best things you can do to set yourself up for success next year is to rest and recover. Take time to rest your body, rest your mind. The 2020’s have been brutal, and if you’ve experienced a year that’s left you completely wrung out on every level, then taking time to rest and recharge is vital. There have been years when I’ve become one with the couch, and as much as I want to be tidying up my paper crafting desk, the best I can manage is watching YouTube tutorials and maybe scribbling down a note or two. There’s no rule that says you have to be productive, so if you need to take a break, do that, with zero guilt about resting.
10. Be realistic
If you’ve gotten this far, and you’re wondering how on earth you’re going to get all of these things done, then this final tip is for you. As much as I get super excited about all the things I want to do in the new year, I’ve been hit with enough curveballs in my lifetime that I know I need to make time for a reality check. I have to remember that I’m not 22 anymore, I have 2 chronic illnesses that can take me out for days at a time with zero notice, and if I think I’m going to achieve any crafting goals when Summit submissions are due, during Stamptember or December, I am 100% fooling myself. I remind myself that it’s ok to send belated birthday cards, give Mum an IOU if I don’t quite finish her gift on time (thankfully she loves an extended birthday), and dial down the insane expectations I like to set for myself. Sometimes we’re thriving and sometimes we’re surviving, and whichever it is for you right now, we know things can change in a moment. So while it’s great to have goals, it’s also good to temper those goals with a generous pinch of realistic expectations.
If you have a favourite activity or ritual that you like to do in the last week of the year, I’d love to hear about it. Meanwhile, I’m off to tackle my end of year list and check to see if I need to do any more Christmas shopping in between appointments this week. Maybe I’ll jot down a few more ideas in my notebook, and here’s hoping 2025 is a wonderful year for us all.
LINKS
Christmas Cards on Time limited edition box