Stampin' Up! Independent Demonstrator UK - Tracy May: Hip Hip Hooray I'm Getting Organised!!

Unusually for me, this year, I made a New Year's Resolution to be more organised in both my personal and business lives. Normally I don't make resolutions as I generally don't tend to stick to them, but I'm actually doing ok so far!

Firstly, I got up to date with all my Business admin, diving head first into excel spreadsheets and a free mind mapping software (called Xmind) to organise my classes and parties better. Mind mapping is just a tool to link related topics together using a main topic and then subtopics that are attached to it. I find it easier than trying to keep things in lists as they tend to get all jumbled up and messy. I can now keep all the information about the class/party such as the projects, pictures of the projects and instruction documents linked in one handy document.

Once I was caught up with everything, I wanted to make sure I stayed on top of it all, which requires planning and scheduling things in to fit around family life. When it comes to diary management though I am strictly an old fashioned paper girl.

Firstly I dug out an old A5 Filofax I had stuck in a drawer and, to keep it a bit more lively and interesting, I printed off some colourful month and week planners I found on Pinterest, as well as some blog planning pages. They aren't really designed for A5 though, and there are a few things I want to add, so I will be designing my own in MDS soon. I've added it to my To Do list!

I created some dividers, as well, using the Envelope punch board to create the File Tabs. I decorated them with the Sale-a-bration Petal Parade stamp set and the ABC - 123 Outline Alphabet stamps from the annual catalogue. What do you think? I really like them and it certainly brightens up my Filofax.

stampin up organisation ideas diary inserts envelope punch board petal parade

As well as my Filofax, I bought some spiral bound Kraft notebooks. I prefer spiral bound so you can tear pages out if necessary, without destroying a whole note book. The arrival of the new Hip Hip Hooray Kit was perfect timing to decorate them.

Stampin up card making ideas kit Tracy May

The kit is fantastic and I love it. It contains everything (and I mean everything) you need to make 20 cards. Its got card bases and envelopes, pretty stickers to decorate, a sentiment stamp set with 3 different stamps, an acrylic block for the stamps, a Basic Grey ink spot and some other embellishments too. It is perfect for beginners, but seasoned crafters will love it too, especially for a last minute card required in a hurry.