Video #716: There are so many creative planner options available today. Please tell me about yours… in the comment section below.
In this video I will share with you some ideas for setting up a planner for Crafters (or Clayers in our case).
A lot of people use paper planners, daytimers and calendars to organize their work and domestic lives… but now with all of the creative options and accessories that are available in the marketplace, we can also include our creative life into our planner systems.
I will give you a brief overview of how I set up my planner for my Polymer Clay Tutor Business, and hopefully it will give you some ideas on how you could customize your own planner that will be perfect for you.
I will be posting additions planner idea videos in the future as well… about tracking studio supply inventories… managing color swatches… and more!
I have chosen to use a A5 ring binder planner style, because it is a universal size (many companies sell planner pages and accessories in the A5 size, so it gives me lots of options and choices). It is large enough to give me room for detailed planning, and small enough to take shopping.
There are all sorts of plastic pocket pages that will fit into any A5 planner.
The Carpe Diem planner I am currently using, is made by the Simple Stories scrapbooking company. It is very nice quality, not very expensive, well designed and has tons of cute accessories available.
There are many options and styles of planners to choose from. In fact it has become a huge trend, so you can should look around to find the planner that will work best for you.
My planner is divided into four sections…
Section 1: Calendar pages (Monthly, Weekly, Daily pages for scheduling, recording hours, tracking accomplishments, etc.).
Section 2: Tracking and Planning Section (to do lists, business goals, record of tutorials and vlogs, ideas for future videos, inspiration, etc).
Section 3: Scrapbook Pages. These are the fun pocket pages filled with photos, journaling cards and ephemera that give me a creative way to remind myself of my family and why I work so hard. This is my little slice of happy.
Section 4: Supply Inventory Section. Here are the many pages of printed blank color charts of the various products and supplies that I have in my Studio, and purchase on a regular basis. The blank sections are colored in with the pencil, marker, paint, ink or whatever supply that I have, to avoid purchasing colors or products that I already own. I will go into more detail on how to set up this section in another video.
Each person should set up their planner with their own specific needs. Do you need a large or small size? Lots of space for daily planning? Or will weekly planning be more appropriate? Do you want to track business stats or have pages for doodling and inspiration? Do you want to keep the design clean and simple? Or do you want to go over the top playful, with stickers, washi tape, paperclips and fun accessories?
It is your life… plan it beautifully!
- Related Resource: Carpe Diem Planners On Amazon
- Related Resource: Other A5 Planners on Amazon
- Related Video: My 2015 Favorite Polymer Clay Tools And Supplies
- Related Video: Organizing By Zones in My Polymer Clay Studio
- Related Video: Cindy Lietz Studio Tour
- Related Article: Organization Advice for Storing Polymer Clay
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Do you have any suggestions for videos on tips, techniques or products you would like to learn more about? Let me know in the comments section below!
My goal is to help you to learn quicker and easier ways to bring up the professionalism in your polymer clay art.
Oh and don’t forget to give these videos a Thumbs Up click at YouTube if you are enjoying them. The more Likes a video gets, the higher it rises in the searches. And that means even more people will be able to join in on this polymer clay journey of a lifetime.
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Looking forward to hearing from you!
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I have really enjoyed the Studio Cam videos and seeing the metamorphosis of your planner. At first I though a planner would not be for me because it is too much like the drudgery and high presure deadlines at my “day job”.
Like many of us I have a limited amount of time to do creative play and sometimes come to creative block or find myself making similar projects. With a planner I can put a reminder on a future page about starting a new project or technique. For example, I really want to explore bird themed projects but right now I am focused on hearts and Valentines day. It is too easy for me forget about the bird themes until I seem a cute project that reminds me about birds. I think it will also keep me a little ahead of the needs to start earlier on seasonal themes. It will also be a central place to keep track of new ideas and inspiration.
I also love all the print outs you have to keep track of you supplies.
Anna
I know the plan ahead for the season concept is a good one that I have missed the boat on a few times. For example, I have been too caught up with doing Summer projects to think about Christmas projects in the Summer and then realized it is too late to get my tutorial out early enough, so that you guys can get your projects done in time for Christmas. What I should do is use Costco as my reminder of what season I should be working on next. The second I see Christmas stuff in Costco, I should have my Christmas Tutorial out… which was in August this year! Come to think of it, I will put that in my calendar right now, for next Christmas! LOL
Wow I love this. I’m especially amazed by the color sheets. Do you make the blanks yourself or do the companies have them made out somewhere were we can print them? Love collecting colors and of course organizing them haha. The color charts look like a lot of fun to make, but it sure would be handy to have the ready to print option. Thanks for these inspirations!
Hi Kate, I have been using printouts that I have found online. I have tossed around the idea of making them myself so that they would have a consistent look but that would be a big job, that I don’t have the time to tackle right now. In the videos where I go in to more detail, I will give the inks to the ones I have found online. Who knows I may make some of my own in the future too, but that’s a project for another day…
These are fantastic! Once upon a time I made a planner that was full 8 1/2 by 11 inch size. I actually ripped the guts out of a three ring binder and put it inside a different cover that could zip up. I’m notorious for tucking things here and there and they would fall out if it didn’t zip. Anyway, it was really great and I had everything in there including drivers license and debit card. I didn’t use a purse at the time, just that planner. I always got compliments about how organized I was, which was secretly hilarious because I’m not organized at all! People would have known that if they have looked a little deeper into my planner but I generally knew where things were and I did have access to lots of information that I sometimes needed when I was out.
I’m not sure what changed but at some point I switched over to using the planner / calendar on my smartphone. I guess because it had reminders and alarms. I ended up giving up the planner and just getting a small case for my phone to carry the driver’s license and debit card. I am a big fan of the electronic calendar. I can’t tell you how great it is that when I go to goof off on my phone (yes, I was an angry birds and candy crush addict) the first screen I’ll see you when I turn it on is my calendar so I can’t really miss things. Not to mention the alarms of course. But the truth is I miss having a lot of the other information I often want when I’m out and about. I do have a to do list and shopping list on the phone electronically but its that tactile thing you were mentioning that is really lacking when it comes to using any electronic form of organization. I like to write with a pen. I like to feel the papers. And I especially like to customize things and make them look just the way I want, (even if they later get over run with doodles and notes and clutter). I miss that.
I’m really looking forward to the video where you go into more detail on the section with all of your products and colors… Something I’ve been trying to keep track of recently when buying alcohol inks. They’re packaged terribly at Michaels and it’s very difficult to tell what you’re getting, but even when you can tell which color it is you’re buying, it’s hard to remember which colors you already bought! Anyway I might have to consider starting up another planner, at least for crafts if not for my calendar. Really enjoyed this video!
Thanks Katy! Yeah I too have had a variety of planner styles both physical and digital. Each has worked for me well for where I was in my life. I do really like the system I have going now. It is just the right balance of creative and functional. With the way it sounds like you do things, you may just enjoy a system like this as well. Do let us know if you end up going with a planner. I am so curious as to how others get inspired and make things their own!
Love the idea of a creative planner. I have a very mundane one for work; maybe I’ll sneak a little creativity into it too.
I’m really looking forward to the video about the supply section of the planner. I have quite a collection of Prismacolor pencils and haven’t been able to come up with a good way to organize what the colors they produce are.
Thanks Susan! Definitely sneak in some creativity into your work planner. Even if it is just a little washi tape and some cute paper clips. You’ll feel better!
I have used a planner for so many years in one way or another I can’t count them. They are an indispensible tool and I could not get along without one. Once you have conditioned yourself to using one, you won’t look back. In January of each year I don’t make New Years Resolutions. I start planning the projects I want to accomplish that year and any new techiniques I have run across and want to learn. Having raised 3 kids, (4 if you count the Mister) worked full time, ran 2 businesses, you really have to be organized and a Planner is the best way to go. I remember the fun us girls at the office used to have picking them out each year since the Company paid for them. Now that I’m retired it’s time to add the fun into my planners and Cindys video was quite inspiring. At one time my planner was strictly digital but now I realize the worth of having one with you especially when shopping for things when you leave your list on the kitchen table, get to the store and find you don’t have it which I’m sure a lot of us have done.!
I am glad that this video has inspired you to add a little more fun to your planner Dixie Ann! If it hadn’t been for all the cool things I had seen others do with their planners online, I don’t think that I would have thought about it myself. I had always thought of planners as being strict organizing tools, not a creative outlet as well. How fun to be able to mix the two! I think it is good for you to be able to change the way you think about something you do in your everyday life and make it more creative. It makes me think I should be doing this in other parts of my life as well.
Love the video regarding the planner. It is so well organized and pretty. I love pink and anything polka dotted. Regarding the plastic sheet protector/plastic pockets. I just found a wonderful tool where you can create your own size pockets. The We R Memory Keepers -FUSEablesCollection. It is a kit with a wood burning tool and tips made just for that purpose. Check out the video by Penny Duncan below. As I already have a wood burning tool, I just Last night in fact, ordered the Tips (Unfortunately I don’t live near Joanns or Michaels). Its a wonderful video and a wonderful tool. I hope this helps or gives you ideas of your own.
More info at Penny Duncan’s Blog
I have one of those Fuse tools and came to the same conclusion that this Penny came to in regards to the main tool being the same design as a wood burner. In fact I talked about this very thing in some Studio Cam videos that have not gone into the library quite yet. I like her idea for making the embossing folder pages. I should try that out. Thanks so much Karen for passing this info along!
Love the idea of this! Not sure I’d use the diary section as my electronic one is pretty comprehensive (& backed up regularly! :) ) but the sections to list details of products etc is brilliant! Currently I use an A5 notebook for everything – sketches of designs, project ideas etc in the front and useful lists in the back, all of which are handwritten.
I’m curious – do you have a separate journal or notebook for sketching designs? I often find ideas pop into my head when I’m not at home. My notebook is light enough to always have in my bag, so I can use it to rough an idea out right then. I’ve found that if I waited until I got home I will have forgotten half of it! ;) The journal idea has inspired me to think about separating sketching from everything else.
Thanks again for another great video
Hi Indigo Faery, a planner would be the perfect place for sketches of ideas. In fact I have a few pages of sketches and magazine clippings that I haven’t put in this planner yet, because the pages are the wrong size, but I will get to it. A planner like this is meant to be set up in whatever manner suits you best, so if you don’t want a calendar in yours, then don’t put one in. Thanks for commenting!
Many moons ago when I had a little Florist Shop I could not have done without my planner.With so many important dates in the Flower calendar I had to plan at least three months in advance to make sure I had all the acessories for, Valentines, Mothers Day, Easter etc.
Silk flowers were very much in vogue then, so I would make up samples of Wedding bouquets, Baby cradles, special Anniversary baskets etc. etc.
I would spend hours cutting out pictures from Bridal magazines and any other flower or fashion related items. Cut and Paste really meant that, everything was hands-on. No computer, mobile phone. No ready-made wreath frames. If a customer wanted an unusual floral tribute, boat, chair or anchor etc. My wonderful sister and I would sit round my large kitchen table with yards of chicken wire, bags of damp moss and make them from scratch. Picking out the slugs, worms and othe muddyr live creatures. Ug, so different in now.
So I pulled out from the back of the cupboard my old planner from that first year in business. It brought back so many happy memories. Inside was buried treasure. Thank-you letters from happy Brides enclosing their Wedding photos. Other photos of the floral tributes we had made with notes alongside of costs, time taken, best places to purchase pretty packaging (but enough of my memories)
Your enthusiastic videos has spurred me to start a Craft Planner.There are so many beautiful and very useful items out there for the modern-day crafter.
I also liked Penny Duncan’s idea for storing embossing folders, (mine are all stuffed in my Cuttlebug box) in storage. So that will be on my “things to do” pages for Springtime when I get my boxes back from the storage unit.
Now, back to my on-going planner, The Great Australian Adventure…….cheers xx…..
Gosh Elaine you tell the most fabulous stories! I’m right there with you, picking slugs out of moss! :) So glad that you are going to start making craft planners again. You bring up an excellent point… your craft planner is a record of what you have been working on and what you plan to create in the future. It is a wonderful way to track your creativity. As you have found in your old floral planning journals have been. Thanks for the reminder!
My Carpe Diem journal arrived. It comes in a really pretty Polka Dot Box with a clear cover, perfect protection from pain, glue and other chaos on my work table. I have already found our cat sitting in the box, evidently he likes polka dots too. . I bought the journal in Coral and the color is so creamy, I did not realize the cover is leather! The monthly calendar sheets are not dated so they can be used anytime or not at all.
This planner is also going to help me remember prices I have charged for seasonal items. I get burned out making the same thing over and over, it will be easier to be more consistent.
I love the tool to make pockets for embossing folders. I take my larger stamps off the wood block, I may be able to make smaller pockets for them.
Anna
Yeah it is a beauty, especially for the price! Let me know how your planning goes…
Dog gone it! I nearly made it through January without caving in to “planner lust,” which usually causes me to buy, but never use the coolest planner I can find. Thought I skirted the issue this year, but No…here comes Ms Cindy with her fancy craft planner and yummy inventory sheets! I am remaining strong. Must Not Cave… Oooooh, is that washi tape with glitter ???
well , I caved… I’ve never kept a planner in my life…. now here in my mature years, I’ve ordered a planner and some goodies to go with!!!! Oh man, I can’t wait till it gets here…. Hopefully it will help me organize my life a bit :):)
:) You guys are so cute! I am not surprised you caved too Ginny… it is an irresistible pull to pretty things and a practical reason to having this pretty thing. You won’t be able to hold off much longer Sarah… resistance is futile! ;)
Hi there,
Well I have to tell you that I LOVE my planner! I have even placed a pre order for next years planner. And an extra one for my work, I’m going to make a very cute appointment book! Thank you for introducing this fun project . As always Cindy, the amazing things I have learned from you have really brought a lot of joy to my life.I appreciate all the hard work that you are doing to get the new website going, and all the fun mini lessons that we are getting! I hope that you and Doug are enjoying the summer as well:)
Ginny
Yeah I saw that they brought out a new and improved version… Almost the same but a little higher quality… which is really nice. I really like TheResetGirl version. It has a vintage sewing pattern look to it, that brings back very fond memories of my mom and grandma, Also, I like the vertical weekly layout and the new thicker pages and dividers. My planner itself is in great shape so I won’t get a new binder just yet, but it does seem like I better get some of those accessories and inserts… as quickly as possible! ;)