Planning the Way to My Success | Finding the Perfect Day Planner

This post started out as a way for me to share my frustration obsession with finding the perfect day planner. You see, I created a draft of this post a week or so ago, but never finished it. In the meantime, I not only designed my perfect planner, but found out it would be expensive to print and that Whitney English had already pretty much designed the perfect planner for me. So, yesterday I ordered my 2015 Day Designer from Whitney English's Etsy shop and printed out the free daily planner page she offers on her website so I could get up to speed by the time it arrives. Of course, the dates don't start until January 2015, but that won't stop me from writing in all the important stuff and getting my plans on paper.

For those of you who aren't big into planning or prefer to do it digitally, the big fuss over finding the perfect planner probably seems quite trivial. But for someone like me who has carried a planner for as long as I can remember, it's a big freaking deal. I need to know what is going on every minute of my day and what I have to accomplish, but more importantly I have discovered I need to be able to better plan, or as Whitney English says, design my day.

This is the daily planner page I designed for myself. I added the Social Media box because I have a bad habit of forgetting to write or post my blog posts and other social media updates. The Day Designer doesn't have this, but I think I found a workaround.

And this is the awesome Day Designer free daily planner page I downloaded. The actual planner I ordered will have all the dates filled in and it has a super fabulous floral cover {see below}.

This is the Day Designer cover I chose. Isn't it perfect for me?!

I'll be sharing more about my adventures with the new planner after it arrives, you can count on that. Sometimes I wonder how I manage two established businesses- ALM Photo and Sassy Glass Studio; my creative business mentoring biz; a household complete with a dog, a parrot, six cats and my mom; being co-chair of Fantasy of Trees; being Captain of the Knoxville Creative Hands Street Team; being a wife and friend, teaching fused glass classes and all about social media; and a lover of fitness and biking. I know it's a lot, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Here's my question for you: How do you manage your time and life? How do you create balance between your business/work and personal time? Share with a comment below or tweet me @AllThingsSassy. I'd love to have your suggestions!

Oh and be sure to pop over to the Pinterest board I created to document this planner adventure! I've been pinning some fun accessories and printables that may come in handy as I plan 2015 and beyond!

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ON A SIDE NOTE:
Now is the time to sign up for Fused Glass Classes! The weather is perfect to work in the studio and open the doors to cooler temperatures and the sounds of the birds. Click the links to find out more information on Beginner Fused Glass Class and Intermediate Fused Glass Class!

Mini Classes are here! Give the gift of handmade this holiday season and make your own fused glass goodness! The Holiday Ornament Class has three different ornaments you can choose to create and the Jewelry Class offers your choice of four pieces such as pendants, earrings or rings. Limited spaces, so don't wait to sign up!

Classes are all four hours so you can even schedule them in the early evening during the week. Pack your dinner before work or grab some fast food before class. The first hour or more is class time so you can have a snack or dinner while you learn!

Now booking speaking engagements! I am available to speak to your small or creative business group on the topics of social media and turning your passion into a successful business. Contact me for details on these topics, cost and scheduling.

Creative business mentoring is available one-on-one and in small groups. I will work with you to overcome obstacles, help guide you to reach your small/creative business goals and lead you to success. Let me show you how to unleash your inner superhero!

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Refresh and Reorganize | a mini studio makeover

{ Organized + Refreshed = Increased Productivity + Inspired Creativity }

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of cleaning, moving and tossing stuff in the trash. The glass studio is a work in progress, but I wanted to share a short video {kind of like a moving portrait} of the refresh and reorganization. All that's really left is some painting and then I can hang some shelves, a cork board and some art on the walls and be done with it. For now. Eventually I will paint the floor, but that will involve removing everything from the studio and I don't have time for that now. Maybe next January!

The area I have been reorganizing is my main workspace. We boxed in an area about 10 feet X 10 feet when we started working on the "Great ALM Photo Office|Studio Project" about 6 years ago and outfitted it with items we already had, like shelves, a desk, tables and even the wainscoting and window were things kicking around the garage. Yes, my glass studio is in what was once a boring detached two-car garage/workshop. During the "Project" we built up on top of it and out the sides to add another garage bay and a large porch. What I love most about my entire glass studio space is that I can open the overhead door in the gallery/classroom area and work pretty much outside. I will be sharing photos and updates on that area when I get it finished up. All of my reorg/refresh has to be done in time for the Dogwood Art DeTour on April 12th and 13th when my studio is open to the public. Who wants to see that I usually work in a messy, unorganized space?!

Here is a "before" photo:

Yeah, it was a mess. It's a happier space now!

Here is the short "after" video:

Here are some photos I found of the glass studio being constructed. Wow! Looking back on these photos, I really wish I had painted the walls before moving everything into the space so I could get working. The walls still look like this. Gross!

I'll share more photos and/or video as I work my way through this project. The gallery/classroom area will have a nice comfy couch so my mom can wander down to the glass studio and watch me work. {We moved my mom in almost a year ago and she has a hard time getting around so it will be nice for her to have a place to sit and hang out with me.}

Don't miss out on the fun of  celebrating National Craft Month in Sassy Style! March will be a fun month of crafty awesomeness!

{ON A SIDE NOTE}
There are still a few days left in the Warm up with the Hot Winter Sale going on through February 28, 2014 in the Sassy Glass Studio Etsy shop! Save 20% with coupon code HOTWINTERSALE.

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Winter Warm Up!

Just when you thought it was warming up for Spring, good ole Punxatawney Phil sees his shadow and foretells six more weeks of Old Man Winter's visit. Sheesh! It's been too cold for me to comfortably work in the glass studio, so I've been focusing on what I consider to be the less creative side of my business. You know, exciting things like marketing, updating the Etsy shop and coloring. I might think they aren't creative, but they really are.

Do you need a winter warm up? I know I do!

Warm up with the Hot Winter Sale going on through February 28, 2014 in the Sassy Glass Studio Etsy shop! Save 20% with coupon code HOTWINTERSALE. Also, check out the all the heart pendants and rings available. Perfect for Valentine's Day!

A few of the heart pendants available in the Etsy shop

So, now that you are all warmed up, here's how I make marketing more creative:

1. Part of my marketing involves Pinterest. If you don't know what Pinterest is, you've probably been hanging out in the ground with Punxatawney Phil. Pinterest is a cool tool for anyone who likes to pretend they know how to cook, thinks they can operate a screwdriver or sewing machine, or dreams about winning the lottery so they can afford a fantastic new wardrobe. Some folks think it is a waste of their time. I don't. It's an easy way for me to find creative inspiration, share my artwork, plan my glass studio redesign, grow my business and plan a garden. {Take a peek at my boards if you are interested!}

2. Another important aspect of my marketing is my Etsy shop. I love doing the Dogwood Arts Festival Market Square Art Fair in April as well as the Market Square Farmers' Market from May to December. Thist means I'm fortunate that I only have a couple of months each year I have to rely on my Etsy shop more than usual to attract potential shoppers and turn them into buyers. Keeping the shop fresh and stocked with new items is very important to me. Nobody wants to visit my shop hoping to find something new only to see the same old stuff. So even if it is really cold out there in the glass studio, I have to suck it up and get out there and create. I usually do this when we have a "heat wave" and it's over 30 degrees. I'm not crazy!

3. Two other ways I market my fused glass art are by using Twitter and Instagram. Twitter is a great way for me to share what I am doing in the glass studio or in my personal life. It's how I let you know more about me. Yes, I am on Facebook, but my page there is more about Sassy Glass Studio and less about me. I use Twitter to give you a glimpse behind the scenes. I use Instagram pretty much the same way. But it's more visual since it is all photos and videos. Instagram is perfect for sharing images of what I just put into the kiln and then again when I take it out.

So, there you go. There are three ways I market my business that allow me to be creative. I get to pin cool stuff over on Pinterest, make my Etsy shop look nice and share photos and video of what I am doing. Take a moment and give me a follow on the social media platform{s} of your choice and see what is going on!

Psst! Here's the latest newsletter! If you would like to subscribe, you can do so in the box on the right.

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It's a Sassy New Year! {part 3}

Today it is bitterly cold in Knoxville, TN and I am working from the warmth and comfort of my little old house. When it is this cold it is pretty much impossible to work in the glass studio. It's a misconception that it is warm in my studio because I use a kiln to fire my glass, but most of the time I am not even in the studio when the kiln is on. Plus there isn't any heat out there, just a radiator space heater that, in all honesty, doesn't really warm the space. So, I'm thankful to be sitting in the house with my dog by my side, Netflix playing on my phone and my coloring book and gel pens making for me to take advantage of them. The coloring book is all part of my plan to be more creative as I mentioned in my first blog post of 2014.

Working in my fabulous new coloring book!

Last week I shared my plans for being more active and social and this week is the third and last post of my 2014 goals: being more productive and awesome. I've been spending quite a bit of, shall I say, unproductive time trying to figure out ways to be more productive and what I have discovered is that I just need to stop thinking about doing and just do. So far this year I have completed several tasks that I have been "planning to do" and have several in the works. Most of my projects involve the glass studio and business, but some are for the photography business and the rest are related to my house. This old house needs a lot of attention!

Making the breakfast more productive! Moved this cabinet unit in and just need to add a countertop and paint it. I painted the pantry cabinet on the right last year and it is great for extra storage space.

I've been pinning ideas for my glass studio redesign and how to improve the appearance and functionality of my art show booth on Pinterest. This is the first step. The next step will be to, you guessed it, just do it. Take a look at these two boards and let me know if you have any suggestions. I would love some feedback!

Fused glass class students working on their projects

My plans for being more awesome are not as easy to define, but mainly focus on teaching more fused glass classes and sharing of my creative business experience through my Creative Business Learning Center mentor program and workshops. I also want to find more opportunities to speak to creative business owners and entrepreneurs. Let me know if you can connect me with any creative business owners/entrepreneurs who could use my assistance. Stay tuned for more posts related to being more awesome and let me know how I can help you become more awesome!

By the way, I will be speaking the creative biz owners about Social Media at Arts & Cultural Alliance on February 12th! Come learn and grow!

Stay tuned for more information about upcoming events, classes, workshops, videos and behind-the-scenes goodies!

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It's a Sassy New Year! {part 2}

Can you believe the first month of 2014 is almost over? Time always seems to fly by when we have so many things we want to accomplish, doesn't it. The beginning of the year is always a little quiet business-wise and I've been taking advantage of the slowness of this time of year and working on expanding my creativity both in the glass studio and with my photography. But my creativity is not all that I am focusing on this year. As I mentioned in my first post of the new year, I am also working on being more active and social.

To me, this means spending more time doing physical activities I love like working out, bicycling, and taking hikes, as well as the activities I don't like such as working out really hard and getting better at riding my mountain bike in terrain that makes me a pretty much scared to death. I've decided that I'm not getting any younger and I need to do these things now before it is too late! Even if they scare me.

And I will be more social. {Maybe I will even be more social while doing things that scare me!} And I'm not talking about meeting friends for beers, dinner and a movie. Being more social is important to my business and to my sanity. So, for me, being more social will include spending more time with other creative business owners, preferably with coffee, sharing about our businesses and creating ways to grow our businesses. Although I operate my photography business with my husband, that is not the same social environment as working in a business with several other people. I like to talk with other people and learn about them and what they do. And I already know my husband. At least I think I do. I also want to meet more people in my community and around the world. Increasing my social footprint, so to speak. I love meeting people in person, but some of my socializing may be on-line through the use of social media, podcasts, webinars and meetings/conventions. 

Connect with me if you are in the Knoxville area and want to go for a bicycle ride! I love to ride the greenways on my pink cruiser if that appeals to you more than mountain biking. And if you want to meet for a coffee, give me a jingle! Check back next week for my next post sharing my 2014 plans for being more productive and awesome.

Here's to a Sassy New Year! 2014 is going to be awesome! Stay tuned for more information about upcoming events, classes, workshops, videos and behind-the-scenes goodies!

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It's a Sassy New Year!

Be more creative!

Be more active!

Be more social!

Be more productive!

Be more awesome!

Those were my objectives for 2012. And they are my objectives for 2013 too! I'm excited to embrace my objectives in some different ways this year!

On creativity...

My husband, Allan, and I spent Christmas in Colorado with our two young nieces who create a lot of art seated around their craft table coloring, painting, cutting and pasting. 

Each morning, I would join them at the table to work on a 'project'. I forgot how much fun coloring can be! Sometimes in the afternoon we'd work on something different, like painting and loom potholders. The girls assured me I did a good job. 

Here are a couple of my favorites!

I'll be sharing more about my other objectives over the next few weeks! Let me know how you get your creative juices flowing. I'm always looking for new and fresh ideas!

Here's to a Sassy New Year! 2014 is going to be awesome! Stay tuned for more information about upcoming events, classes, workshops, videos and behind-the-scenes goodies!

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