:books: How I Balance School And Crafting + A Crochet Mermaid Pencil Pouch :books:

:books: Hey Y’all, It’s Mae! :books:

Today, I wanted to share with y’all my tips and tricks on how I balance my responsibilities and my crafting time. This post is for the #KawaiiCrafters); This week’s theme is Back to School, so I thought I would share a small project I made for the BTS season! :smile: So, without further ado...

:books: Lets Get Crafty! :books:

:books: #1) Planning Your Crafting Time :books:

This is one of the most important things when it comes to balancing my responsibilities and my free time.

(My sister took the picture for today; She is a study blogger and takes the BEST study blog photos! :smile: )

Since a lot of my classes tell me when I have work due well in advance, I love to write it down physically in a planner and even digitally.

Recently, I was introduced to this app called TimeTree and it’s a planner app that reminds you when you have an “event” going on in weeks, or even a few days! I really recommend this for people who feel that a physical planner doesn’t help them. Sometimes I feel that the combination of both really help me to school event and even Crafty events. :smile:

Writing it down physically helps me to the assignments I have that are due and then typing them in digitally gives me more reminders if I need time. :grin:

:books: #2) Study First, Craft Later :books:

This rule right here is something I try to follow whenever I am working. I usually like to wake up early, work, and finish earlier in the day. After I finish my work, it gives me the freedom to do whatever I want to afterwards- whether that is time to craft, playing video games, or even trying to hang out with my family! I tend to craft later in the evening so that I don’t have to pause during my free time to do work and go to sleep stressed.

:books: #3) Working With Less Time-Consuming Crafts :books:

Personally, I don’t like to work on crafts that take hours on end during the school year because I feel that free time is pretty precious during this time and I love to do other things as well, such as hang out with my family, relax while watching TV, and play games. Whenever I was working with polymer clay, I felt that it took me hours to complete projects because I wanted them to come out perfectly and I still never got the results I wanted. It felt like it drained all of my time, so I tend to push those projects back to whenever I have breaks from school. I learned how to crochet over a year ago and it has been a wonderful way to be creative, but not give all of my time into it. I can still be as creative and create what I feel is fantastic work, but I am not putting too much of my time into it.

:books: #4) Crafting More On Breaks :books:

I also love to get more crafting time on school breaks, so I always look up the academic calendar for the year and fill out my planners for the year with our holiday breaks! It gives me that pick-me-up I need throughout the year when I get that muggy mid year feeling (I really hope I am not the only one who gets that. :joy: I am a life-long learner and I always love to learn new things, but sometimes it’s good to take a break and not make it your everything. I learned that the hard way. :sweat_smile: )

Now that I have shared with you all of my tips and tricks, I am excited to show y’all the craft I made for the Kawaii Crafters! I used a pattern I found on Pinterest by 5LittleMonsters; If you would like to try it out yourself, check it out here!🙂

:books: Now It’s Time For The Craft! :books:

I love how this turned out! This really shows off the beautiful colors. :heart_eyes: I am excited to use this at home for my art supplies. If you make this, you could always use it for school or even put your crochet hooks in it. :grin:

Before I go, I wanted to say that I know that it is going to be a tough year for some of y’all because of what is happening in the world and that we are all together! I am here for anyone who needs help. :blush: Just comment down below! I hope that everyone who is going back to school has a wonderful school year and I wish everyone the best of luck. :blush: :wave: Have a lovely day and to be yourself and keep crafting- We need more people like you in this world. :two_hearts: :earth_americas:

:books: ~Mae!~ :books: