This is the third post in the blog planner series that started with how I make tabbed inserts for my folder files. The second was how I made my Jewel Divas Business Folder and this is about how I made my Jewel Divas Collections Folder.

With any designer we need to keep a record of pieces we make and for me, where I bought all the findings and how much it all cost. For some, a Look Book is made, for me, can’t afford that and there’s nowhere to get one made so I made a simple folder with simple pages that I lined up each photo on and wrote out all of the details.

As usual, I bought a pink J Burrows 3D ring insert folder from Officeworks for $5.99 and filled it with 300 plastic insert sheets from Kmart for $4. The Manilla folders were .72 cents but were less when you buy 10 or more.

I added a printout of my old website for the insert cover and cut down a piece of blue scrapbooking paper to fit as a background.

I chose the coloured manilla folders I wanted for tabbed inserts and made them to fit. Details on how I did that here. I chose the names for my inserts and started filling the folder, starting with IDEAS. This is where I write down lists of names for pieces, sketches etc.

Next is WEBSTORES. This will be details and info on the stores I sell through or on.

Next up I wrote down all the jewellery I had made and the years I’d made them, then collated them all into their years so I could find them easily. I also printed out pics of each collection/collections for the cover page for each year so they are easier to identify.

As you can see from 2009 and 2014 I made a few collections/pieces those years, so each collection has its own insert picture page to separate each collection from that year.

I will have to overhaul this folder as well over Christmas as I’ve been lacking in getting the pics done and info sorted. So that will be a job over the holidays.

Also, as you can see, I haven’t made any jewellery for sale since 2014. I’m not sure when I’ll be making jewellery next as my books have taken all of my time. From writing and releasing my How To Be A Jewel Diva book in 2014 to my Closet Confidential book in 2015, my books have taken over my creative time.

I’ve also taken to writing young adult and children’s stories under a pen name, and now have ideas about a series of jewellery mystery stories, so when or if I get back to making and selling jewellery is up in the air.

For all of the jewellery designers out there, have you thought of making a collections folder as a way of keeping your records neat and tidy?