Mini Envelopes

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What Brings Me Joy

The smallest things in life bring me joy;
seeing my husband smile,
hearing my cat greet me at my feet,
the smell of fresh pastries,
and the warmth of a cup of tea.

I love using my hands to create;
beautiful little boxes for tidy drawers,
paper flowers that last forever,
drawing, painting,
crafting, and writing.

I find joy, sometimes bittersweet,
in memories, keepsakes,
and personal treasures that remind me of
a time when I laughed from the heart,
a place where I was filled with wonder,
or a person whom I loved.

dreaming

I wish my words resonated more deeply in others
I wish I was more creative and more talented
I wish to be eternal in my own way. #poetrycommunity #poetry

— Ivy (@CraftedByIvy) March 3, 2021

Daily Journal Spread

For my personal journal, I use one or two pages per day, since I like to leave myself room to write, doodle, and scrapbook. On the left of the daily spread page, each droplet represents one 40 oz bottle of water. B stands for brushing my teeth in the morning and at night, f stands for flossing daily, and s is for morning and night skincare. I use a / to denote morning and \ to denote night, so if it shows an X, I have met my goal.

Let me know what you think by commenting below.

Quarantine Life

I’m just tired
of you treating me
like my father did my mother.

I’m tired
of you slamming doors
and raising your voice at me.

You tell me not to take it personally,
but how can I not,
when I’m the only person around?

Quarantine Life
brought us closer,
so you want to go far
away from me.
Distant.

I love you,
but I’m tired.

My Workspace/Desk Organization

I have come a long way from storing my art/journaling supplies in places I never think about – to where I can always easily access them. I am really happy with my desk setup and wanted to share it with you. 💕

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  Journaling/Art Workspace

• 

  Paper Crafting Workspace

• 

  Gaming/Office Workspace

Template Maker for Boxes

When I first bought my Cricut (it was only last week!) and realized that I would have to either:

1. Create my own designs from scratch, or
2. Have to pay a subscription fee every month for Cricut Access,

I felt pretty hopeless.

I played around in Cricut Design Space and found it very limited. I started creating designs in Photoshop and tweaking them in Design Space, but they ended up, well, not so great.

That’s when I found this amazing resource!

Templatemaker by M. H. van der Velde

I could create any box or basic three-dimensional shape that I wanted! I was overjoyed!

I had bought hundreds of dollars worth of bamboo drawer organizers just last week, and now I didn’t even need them!

I will make another post showing you my workspace later. I am just really happy that I moved all my washi tapes to my desk, where I can access them, instead of storing them in a plastic bin under some other bins (you know how things get buried into oblivion?). I am enjoying having easy access to all my scrapbooking materials at last!

If you cannot make your own and would like to purchase a custom box, please email me at craftedbyivy@gmail.com. I would love to help you organize your space!

About Me

Hello! I’m Ivy, a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) teacher who loves journaling, organization, and paper crafts! I have a manx cat and a loving husband who helps me clean up her kitty messes.

I started this blog to share my journey with you as I strive to organize my life and create beautiful things. I have been journaling since 2016, and I love to share my tips and recommendations with family and friends. I thought blogging would be a nice way to express myself publicly and connect with potential new friends. Thank you for being here!

I recently opened an Etsy shop to sell my craft, but it is heavily under works right now. If you have something in mind that you’d like me to make, please feel free to contact me at craftedbyivy@gmail.com.