How to pack light for crafting?

As I type this I am hours away from leaving for my only teaching trip of the year. I am at that phase of the cycle where you want to grab ALL THE THINGS and shove them in the suitcase. “What if I need gold and platinum stickles?”

“… and 4 instead of 2 foam blending tools”

“… and what if 3 bottles of adhesive isn’t enough?”

“…and what if…”

You know that feeling. That “quick! Grab the kitchen sink!” that grabs us whether packing for vacation or a crop. Well today as I keep my fingers busy typing so I don’t “what if” any more paint or ink I will share with you my rules for crafty packing.

1. Whatever you’re thinking… you’ll only accomplish 1/2 or less. I recall the trip where I was going to crop in hotel rooms at night. I did once. For thirty minutes. I did not need 1/2 a suitcase worth of stickers and paper.
2. Anything you can add on later – leave at home. This includes beloved pounds of embellishments, finished/folded cardstock for cards, and yes, even the random colors of stickles/glitter glue.
3. Have a plan, theme, or color scheme to keep your supplies focused.
4. Limit yourself on space, and stick to it.
5. Bring things that multi-task. For example, white acrylic paint can be gesso or mixed with mists or paints to make colored paints and can work with stencils too. Or PPA can be the ‘everything’ liquid adhesive. Pick things that have many uses vs super specialty items.
6. Do all the punching/die cutting ahead and at home! Need special letters or shapes? Save those projects for back home.

I used to be such a heavy packer and what I found was that I spent too much time sorting and less time doing. I’ve also found there is a joy in the creative challenge of simply  working with whatever happens to  be on hand. As I enter my “freeze! no more buying!” phase of the year I will get deeper in my stash (oh there are plenty of new things here… time to use them!!) and instead of visiting the craft store I will make it work.

I will be sure to share more about my classes after this weekend including pictures and details on what I did pack (haha!) when I get back. For now, I’m off to get some rest because it is about to be a wild 48 hours here in my world!