I am trying out something new today, working ahead! Hooray! All the kits Jason and I put together for the shop have been sold (expect two stragglers). So I went to the copy shop today and printed out what I needed to:
- Restock the shop (will start listing things after clm goes out)
- Have a booth at Market Day in Des Moines (I will be selling kits and zines, hooray to that too!)
- Put together the Craft Leftovers Monthly Kits for September’s Subscriptions
The shop I usually procrastinate until the last minute and just do an all day cram session – which is stressful, but it gets done. And when I do craft fairs, I leave it until the last minute and do an all night cram session – also stressful. And with Craft Leftovers Monthly I wait until the night before to get it all finished up and end up staying up all night finishing things- you guessed it, stress city. And the thing is, I actually enjoy all these things. I like putting together kits and the zine and preparing for craft sales. So why do I put it off? Well, several reasons I suppose, but mostly I procrastinate because I always have and so I’m always running behind and never get time to get ahead. And then when I do get time, I crash and sleep, and start the cycle all over again. No more! This past week I had enough, and this week I’ve done well getting things done in a timely fashion and using my free time wisely to start working ahead – for the most part.
I guess it ties into the whole getting my apartment in order and getting fit and eating better and even the core ideals of Craft Leftovers of using what I have on hand to make creative things that make life more enjoyable – or making things that make others’ lives more enjoyable.
Life should be fun and enjoyable. And I know it’s unreasonable to think that things won’t be stressful or really busy, but I think I can make the changes so it happens less often. Working ahead gives me the time to enjoy what I’m doing. I like that. So maybe I’m not a month ahead with the zine, yet, but I am taking the first step by getting the kits finished a full week and a half before it’s due out the door – a good start. And let’s see if next month that can be a full two weeks ahead of schedule, I think I can manage that :)
It was a great day of printing, cutting, and folding. I picked out buttons for kits too – love that! It’s a great reason to dump my whole stash on the table and pick through it. And then tomorrow i’m going to finish my curtains and pick out fabric for said kits. Well, fabric and paper. More book binding kits are in the mix for sure.
I do have a couple more kits up my sleeve and will add the last 2 tomorrow (I think there are two). Craft Leftovers Monthly will be on Sale on Saturday morning and there will be more kits in the shop after it goes out the door.
Happy Crafting and see you tomorrow!
Kristin