Item of the Day 4.16.12

Shabby Chic French Antique enamel canister white -" Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis " storage jars

I Like Furniture

I Like Furniture

Getting a Head Start on the New Year

Now is the perfect time to get started on the new year. It is time to start the "Winter Spring Cleaning" as I like to call it.

The Holidays are close to over and the only party left starts the new year. So why not take advantage of the positive mind power in the air and apply it to your home.

So what is "Winter Spring Cleaning"? It can be as simple as just cleaning up the house to make it feel more a peace. Re-organizing christmas decorations into bins, moving around you accessories in your home, or switching out the towels in the bathroom can just be a few changes you need to make to rejuvenate your home.

The Winter can be a hard time to tackle large projects, but you will be amazed on how big of a change little moves can make in your home. Start with a plan. January has 4 weeks to it. Each week plan out one activity that you want to do in your home. By the end of January you will have a new home(well almost new).

The feeling you get when you have accomplished these tasks and experience a new feeling in you home can greatly affect you mood. Get out of the winter depression and make your home aid you to a happy winter season.

Suggestions of Activities to Tackle This January:

Reorganize Holiday Decorations
Move accessories around, table to table or room to room
Clean out the coat closet
Reorganize the Kitchen cabinets
Move your art work
Try a different lighting plan

Item of the Day 8.5.09

Shabby Chic Photoboard - Blue

Adding Interest with a Custom Ottoman

When helping my clients find the perfect fabric for their sofa's, I have noticed that the majority of my clients shy away from patterns on large pieces. One of the best ways to add a little pattern into your room without committing to a large pattern on your main piece is by adding an ottoman.

Our most popular ottoman at LaZBoy is called the Cory, with a lid that lifts for extra storage and casters to easily move around the room. I have made some visualizations of the Cory in some fun accents fabrics. Ottomans are great for solving your storage problems, adding extra seating and adding a little extra interest to your space.

My New Busy Life

Ever since I started with La-Z-Boy I have been busy busy busy. Part of this is because of my job but part of it too is my own fault. On my days off I have been starting projects around the apartment. I have been on a mission to organize things and get rid of clutter.

I am a huge pack rat and what's even worse is that I have make-shift storage containers. With my addiction to shoes I have gathered a bunch of shoe boxes. Using them as storage boxes are great but they look a little ratty. I have been talking about covering them and putting labels on them but I have yet to get around to it. I am definitely going to put that on my to do list for Wednesday!

My apartment is finally to the point where I can get down to the nitty gritty and really dig into my supplies and sort though everything! I will be pairing down my supply closet this spring and will be selling it in my Etsy shop. I have actually thought about turning my shop into a supply shop because I seem to sell them a lot faster that anything else, but that won't happen anytime soon.

Along with organizing my clutter on my next day off I am going to be backing Amish Friendship Bread. my mom got some from her co-worker and has now given me some to make a share. It starts with a starter bag and there are directions on how to making it over ten days and them split the bags leaving some for yourself to make and some to give to a friend for them to repeat the process. I am going to take pictures on Wednesday to show what I am talking about.

So back to the topic of this blog: my new busy life. I have been keeping myself busy and I love it! I have been finding that when I fill my day with projects I am happier and have an increasing energy day after day! It's like I'm building an energy metabolism, if that makes sense. I will say that I am not too busy though to relax at night and watch some tv with my hunny.

Calendar of Events- What is First on My List?

I have been think about how and when I am going to finish all the projects I have started. I set up a preliminary time table for the leftover projects. I posted some projects that I had finished, having one blanket left that I may end up selling prior to posting it online. NowI have those out of the way I an start concentrating on my unfinished projects.

First on my list are my tiny cakes. I am considering these items as part of Valentines Day as they are going to be marketed for weddings so their completion date is February 1rst. Wedding season is slowly creeping up on us and will be in full swing in April May June and July. They bridal shows have already started meaning newly engaged couples are already planning.

Completion of the tiny cakes includes finishing all details, organizing how and at what price I will sell them and posting them on Etsy and on my blog as well. This will probably be my most complex items to order custom so I will need to get out all the kinks in my descriptions prior to hitting the "add a new item" button.

Soon I will be posting on the blog all the details for young brides and wedding planners to order their party favors or tiny crocheted cakes.

Next I will need to market wisely during this time, concentrating mainly on wedding/ party sites. I also plan on marketing them as party favors for other events, as well as center pieces and name cards. I am sinking a lot into these little guys so hopefully they will be the next big trend!

Revisiting My Goals

This week has been very productive for me so far. I have posted a new item, organized some of my yarn and applied to a bunch of jobs. I have also started a new project that I said I wasn't going to do in my goals. I have a tendency to get distracted by great new projects and when something feels right I can't stop, even when I should.

I think I have gotten the bulk of new creation obsession out of my system and am ready to get back to business.

As far as getting my projects in order and into a calendar, I am a little behind. I have at least identified my projects that need to be finished and when they need to be finished. I have yet to put them into a calendar. My projects include, current granny square blanket, tiny cakes, and purses.

The tiny cakes are my newest obsession. I found a pattern for a large cake and thought, hey why not make it smaller! Blogger is having a problem uploading my pictures unfortunately. They are not completely finished and I hope to have a full blog post about them and how I will be selling them either later tonight or tomorrow morning.

I also plan to have my calendar done by tomorrow as well.

Have a Nice Day!

Forgotten Projects Calendar

Today I added the Forgotten Projects Calendar to my blog. If you scroll down just below my blog posts you will see the Calendar. In this calender there will be start and finish dates to all my projects. It is very empty right now but as I start to get a sense of my time line I will be adding projects.

The calendar is one way for me to keep organized as well as for you to track my progress. In my previous posts, one of my biggest weaknesses is my lack of calendar/ planner use. I am horrible with keeping dates organized and things on schedule. This public calendar is a way to keep track of my work and my progress. It is also meant to be a learning tool for other unorganized crafters and small business entrepreneurs.

Please make comments and let me know how I am doing and whether you are finding this series helpful!