Start your year off with some craft room organization and inspiration!
It’s that time of year again; time to make new resolutions and time to start breaking them. Just kidding… sort of! I love the freedom that comes with a new year, and the possibilities that come with it. I like to do some craft room organization after each season, but sometimes that’s as far as I get on my crafting to do list. Like many people, I don’t always keep my New Year’s resolutions, but that’s no reason not to make them! Sitting down and mindfully figuring out what you want to accomplish or change in the upcoming year is always a good thing.
It’s no surprise that some (All? No, I’m not THAT bad! Haha.) of my resolutions have to do with art and crafting. I’ve created a list of 5 awesome ways to start the new year off on a good foot crafting-wise! The best part is you could implement them right now with just a little bit of time, and reap the benefits all year long. I hope they give you some ideas and help you create some fun resolutions that will give you your best crafting year yet!
Craft room organization
This may seem like a no-brainer to some of you, or overwhelming to others, but I’ve found that re-organizing my craft supplies after the holidays is extremely helpful. Whether you’re selling your creations or making gifts, if your crafting space is anything like mine it looks like a tornado hit it by the time Christmas rolls around! It’s nice to get everything organized at the start of the year; besides feeling like a fresh start, it can remind you of older supplies and projects, and may inspire you to finally get around to finishing them.
Need some help with craft room organization? Give my favorite door organizer a try! It easily hooks on top of the door and has extremely sturdy mesh pockets! I read reviews of more than a dozen door organizers before settling on this one, and it has lived up to all its stellar reviews and is still going strong 2 years later. As you can see in the picture above, I use it to store paint, yarn, vinyl, and so much more. You can fit a substantial amount of items into each pocket!
Links to products that I use and love are through Amazon’s Affilates program; I may earn a small commission from sales that will not cost you more and help support my site so I can keep bringing you amazing content!
Destash
While organizing your craft supplies for the new year it’s also a great idea to figure out if there are some old supplies you don’t need or want anymore. I know, I know, all supplies will come in handy someday! 😉 But just think, if you do find some you can part with right now because you’re unlikely to need them anytime in the next few years, or at all, you can use the money from selling them towards new supplies for projects you’re fired up about right now. You can join a destash site or Faceboook group or sell on Facebook marketplace.
Create a memory collage
Look back at your projects from last year. What projects did you complete? Did you start any projects you feel inspired to work on in the upcoming year? It would be great to make a quick collage of your favorites, either saving them in a physical album that you can add to every year, or hanging them up somewhere where you can see them and be inspired often. It’s fun to see what you accomplished and take pride in it. When you’re having a bad day or are frustrated with a current project, it will be handy to have a reminder of your crafting accomplishments! I find it helps to have a tangible copy, since a digital version often just languishes on your hard drive somewhere. However, creating an album on Facebook or another social media site could be helpful as well!
Create an inspiration board
One of my favorite ways to get inspiration to start a new project is from compiling pictures of projects I’d like to work on into an easy-to-see inspiration board. Sometimes it’s just a big collage of pictures I’ve pasted into a Word document from my boards on Pinterest; other times I’ll leave space by the pictures so I can write notes about how I want to do the project and put my own spin on it. Try brainstorming what new projects you’d love to do this year and create your own version of an inspiration board you can refer to throughout the year! (P.S.- I not only do it for the year but for specific holidays or decorations too. For instance, I will create a spring inspiration collage with projects and decorations I’d love to create this year and in upcoming years for the spring season. Another example would be creating an inspiration board for decorating a tiered tray each month, or decorating your mantle throughout the year.) Want to get some ideas for DIY projects? Check out my home decor & DIY section or my seasonal decor & DIY section!
Learn
I always have more supplies on hand than I’m using, including future crafts that I have yet learned how to do. A new year is the perfect time to take stock of what new arts or crafts you’d like to learn, and to take the steps necessary to actually get started! It can be as basic as joining a card-making Facebook group, saving a new board featuring introductions to crocheting to your Pinterest account, or signing up for a class at your local craft store or community college. I have always loved botanical illustration, so last year I got some Micron sketch pens and pulled out an old sketchbook, and surprised myself with some pretty decent sketches throughout the year. I was very excited to learn a new art skill and get to practice some self-care at the same time, since usually I am so focused on the kids and everything else going on that these things end up on the back burner.
So, what do you think? Is it worth making New Year’s resolutions for your arts and crafts? I’d love to hear in the comments if any of these crafting resolutions inspired you, or some of your own crafting resolutions!
For more crafting, decor, craft room organization, and DIY inspiration come hang out with me on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.com/BirchAndPlumCo/boards/!