Welcome to the Workshop Planner program with Crafty Collaborations! We run a new workshop planner for each new catalogue release, so here is an overview of the program and expectations. Here’s an overview we filmed in the spring of 2022, some things have changed since then but the same principles still apply…
Sign Up
Signing up is the first step! Because we want to keep a wide variety of planners available, there will be a limit on how many people can choose each stamp set. This will be the stamp set you feature in your planner (you can use others, but read the rest of these guidelines for details), and the earlier you sign up the more choices you will have! If a set you really want to work with is no longer available, we may be able to switch some things around, but we can’t make any promises.
At this point the stamp set is the ONLY product you will have to choose. The rest of the details are simply who you are and how to contact you. You will get a confirmation email once you’ve signed up, if you don’t get it you may want to check your junk mail and reach out to us if you don’t find it. You will also receive an email with your templates and further instructions. If you don’t get this within about 24-48 hours of signing up and it’s not in your junk mail, check in as likely something has gone wrong and we need to make sure we can contact you!
Choosing Product
We HIGHLY recommend choosing your product before you start working on your projects. This will avoid a lot of heart ache down the road by limiting yourself to only the product you are able to include for your planner. You can change as you go, but it’s easier to stay focused when you have the product chosen before you start designing.
Pick one of each:
- Stamp set
- ONE die set, punch, or embossing folder, unless it’s a combo pack
- Designer series paper or other consumable product
- Bolt of ribbon
- Package of embellishment
This will be the product “included” in your planner. The stamp set and dies/punch/folder will NOT be included in your pricing, rather will be an add on that customers can choose to purchase. The rest will be included in your pricing. You CAN use other tools and supplies not on this list or included in your class, but only with careful consideration that we will talk about in the next section.
Here’s a video we recorded in 2022 on how to pick products!
Creating your projects
The easiest way we find to create is to have your product available on your desk and not have lots of extra supplies at hand so you’re not tempted to use them! Be realistic about what your customers will have available.
Here’s a list of what you CAN expect customers to have, and don’t need to be included in your pricing:
- Stampin’ Trimmer
- Stampin’ Cut and Emboss Machine (both regular sized and mini)
- Paper snips
- Take Your Pick Tool
- Bone Folder
- Heat tool
- Stamparatus
- Adhesives including:
- Multipurpose glue
- Stampin’ Seal and Seal +
- Glue dots
- Dimensionals
If you’re including extra products not on this list or included in your planner, you should consider how a class will be prepped if the customer is not completing the projects in person. Limit additional dies/punches/folders to what is reasonable for a demonstrator to pre-cut, ie. no stamped and then cut images, stamped them embossed, or die cut DSP with dies not included in the class. You don’t want to have the customer feel like they need to buy a lot of extra tools or supplies just to complete a class.
Additional stamps should be limited to generic sentiments only. This way a customer can use whatever sentiments they have to complete projects where the included set doesn’t have sentiments. If you’ve chosen a set that is only sentiments, additional images should come from DSP, die cuts, punched shapes, etc rather than other stamp sets that the customer will then feel pressured to buy.
Additional ribbon and/or embellishments should be limited as well, but can be included if their use is minimal and adds to the project.
If you are including a combo pack of ribbon or embellishments with multiple colors/styles, try to incorporate ALL of the types in your class. This will make your customers feel like they’re using what they paid for! Ribbon and embellishments should be a full pack to save on demonstrator prep time and effort.
The same is true for DSP. Try to include a variety of different sheets in your projects as if you only include one or two different patterns the demonstrator will either have to order and keep the extra sheets or the customer will feel like they’ve been made to purchase materials they aren’t really using.
Examples of what not to do
- Stamped then die cut/punched with product not included in the planner
- Stamped then embossed unless the embossing folder is included
- Very specific “extra” sentiments or imagery
- Punched/die cut DSP with product not included
- Embossed DSP unless the embossing folder is included
Have fun and let your creativity run wild! If you run out of ideas, take a look online and don’t be afraid to CASE others’ projects. Remember you can take inspiration from the layout, styles, and techniques from projects using other product as well, so if you can’t find ideas with the product you’re using, that’s OK! A great way to add extra projects is to make a tag or a pre-made box and add some decoration to it.
How Many Projects?
In order to make this process more objective and fair, we’ve established a point system for how many projects to include. Remember that this is not simply a class how YOU would run it, this is a selection of projects that people can pick and choose, mix and match, to create a class that works for them, so more choices are always better!
| Points Assigned | Item | Definition | Example |
| 1 | Tag or Topper | Any single panel piece smaller than a standard card front. Includes ‘product topper’ style packaging where the product is still visible. Can include additional layers or textures, and should include embellishments, ribbon, etc. |  |
| 1 | Basic Card | A folded card with no dies or embossing folder used. Can include additional layers, but not required to. Should include ribbon, embellishments, etc. Inside may or may not be decorated. |  |
| 2 | Regular Card | A folded card with dies and/or embossing folder used. Should have multiple layers and additions such as embellishments, ribbons, etc. Inside should be decorated. |  |
| 2 | Basic 3D item | A pre-purchased or die cut box or other item with decoration added. |  |
| 3 | Fancy Fold Card | A card that features more than one fold, a unique shape, or additional panels. Base must use more than half of a sheet of cardstock. |  |
| 3 | Regular 3D item | A 3D item made ‘from scratch’ using cardstock cut and scored in a specific way. |  |
| 4 | Scrapbook Spread | 2 – 12” x 12” pages is considered a scrapbook spread |  |
| 5 | Sampler | A display project of at least 8” x 8” featuring at least 4 decorated panels. |  |
| 5 | Mini Album | A mini photo album featuring at least 4 decorated pages for photos of any size. |  |
Points System
- 12 pts minimum required per person – more is better! People can always choose to include less projects in their actual class, but having to add more defeats the purpose of this program
- Multiple people can work with the same product on the same planner, but the points are per person not per planner.
- Additional points may be awarded for “over the top” projects, at our discretion, must be requested before submission.
- Same design but with variations only counts once (the highest will count in the case of ‘stepped up’ variations)
- If you’re unsure, check with us! We will let you know what category your project falls in or how many projects you need with your ideas.
Examples of over the top projects
 8×8 album with multiple spreads and highly decorated – could be a class on it’s own |  Mini album with multiple pages and lots of decorating, including complex binding – additional points granted |
 Elaborate fancy fold with lots of embellishment- additional points granted |  Elaborate card with lots of embellishment- not technically a fancy fold, but additional points granted |
Examples of variations on a design
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Photographing your projects
Your photos need to be well lit, composed nicely, and of course show off your photos! We’ve posted lots of resources over the years on how to accomplish this without a lot of work and expense. You can use your phone or a camera of any kind to take them, just make sure they are high enough resolution (usually at least 1800 px on the long edge).
Here’s an example of a good photo of a project:
Common issues we see, all taken with the same set up and camera as the one above, as well as how to fix them!
| Incorrect white balance: Correct white balance in camera before taking photo (search Google for instructions for your device). |   | Too dark/Underexposed: Correct exposure in camera before taking the photo (search Google for instructions for your device). |  |
| Messy background: Pick a different location and/or background for your photos |  | Camera not straight on to project, creates distortion: Back up and zoom in, it may be better to put the project on the floor and stand over it there rather than on a table. |  |
| Doesn’t show whole project, cropped too close: Back up and leave some room around your project |  | Shadow of the camera/photographer on the project or generally uneven lighting: Back up and zoom in to your project, be aware of your light source and your body/the camera |  |
| Too low resolution: Use the file directly from your camera, don’t email them or edit them, avoid digital zoom and cropping. If your photo is low resolution from the camera, change your settings (search Google for instructions for your device). |  |
The easiest set up is to use indirect sunlight or a ring light and set your card on top of a clear block on a neutral background. Make sure that you’re square on to the project, putting them on the floor may be easier than on a table for this, and make sure the lighting is even and you’re not getting your own shadow in it!
To see all the articles on how to take better photos and avoid these issues, take a look here: https://craftymedic.ca//photography-tips-and-support
Creating your preview graphics
You will also be able to create your own preview graphics! These are templates we’ve built in Canva. You will need a Canva account, but it’s free and a great resource to create graphics if you’ve never done so before. You will need to know the name of your planner, and have photos of the projects as well as the product you’re including (these can be taken from the Stampin’ Up! Website). When naming your planner, usually we use the stamp set or bundle name, followed by “card class” or “project class” or similar.
For a full walk through of the templates, see the video in the next section.
Template Link: Canva Graphic Template
Filling out your instruction templates
You will receive a link via email to fill out a template with your instructions. This template will be the final PDF that customers get, so include as much detail as you feel necessary, but don’t overwhelm with minutia.
Each project will have a table to put your measurements into, and then a spot to add step by step instructions. Please don’t copy and paste or download these documents, just open them from the link and work in Google Docs to edit. If you’re having trouble, contact us and we will try to help, but most problems can be resolved by just using your initial link to access the file.
Besides the text instructions, you will also include at least one photo of each project. If you’d like to add more photos to your instructions you can do so, there are several ways you can do this. Watch the video below to see what the file looks like and how to add to it!
Measurements
One part of the requirements that many struggle with is the requirement to provide measurements for both letter sized cardstock in inches/imperial and A4 card stock in centimeters/metric. Here’s some tips and guidance to help you out…
First and foremost you need to understand that North America (Canada and USA) use letter sized card stock which is an entirely different size than the rest of the world where A4 card stock is the standard. Here’s a side by side to illustrate this.
With this in mind, you can now see how creating a standard card base by cutting in half in one direction and scoring in half the other will result in entirely different sized card bases. This will now also affect the layers on the card! Each layer is a specific measurement smaller on each size than the card base, so these will be the measurements.
If you’re measuring for a die cut, punch, or pre cut card base (such as notecards and envelopes) you don’t have to account for this difference in starting card stock size, this only applies to layers that are “related” to your original card stock.
You CAN NOT simply punch a measurement into a converter such as Google! This will result in inaccurate measurements and confusing instructions. For example, when converting to metric, you can’t have measurements that are more than one decimal place, or millimeter, as we do not have the tools to measure that precisely. So for example 4 ¼” would convert to 10.795 cm, which we can’t measure, so it would have to be rounded to 10.8 or 10.7 cm. If you need to measure a piece, remember that your paper trimmer, as well as most rulers or measuring tapes, will have both measurements on them!
Here are some more resources to help clarify this:
I’ve also created a set of templates you can cut yourself to help yourself plan your projects and conversions.
Filling out your submission form
In this form you will also be giving us some more information to complete the prep instructions for demonstrators.
A few key points to remember when filling this form out:
- The demonstrator supplies are ONLY what the demonstrator would need to prepare your projects for a customer
- The customer supplies are ONLY what the customer would need to assemble the projects from those prepared pieces
- Additional notes on how you plan to hold a class with these projects are absolutely welcome!
Once you’ve filled this form out it will go on our tracker to check, modify as needed, and then add to our folder. You will get access to the folder once your files are there, and you can use all of the planners there to hold your own classes!
Using your planners
Now comes the fun part! Set a date or time frame for a class and run it!
Use the pricing template to figure out how much to charge. You can adjust how much your shipping and tax rates are, as well as adding more or less as ‘extra’ for your prep work, or adjusting the product included.
You can take the graphics, put them back in Canva and add your own text to them. Add things like how to register, prices, and lists of what’s included. Share these on social media such as your Facebook pages, Instagram, blogs, and newsletters to promote your class.
Use the demonstrator instructions to prep your class. There should be a list of what needs to be cut and prepared for each customer. If you’re holding in person classes you may prep a little bit less and have the customer do extra die cutting etc, but try to keep the class time fun and productive!
Give your customers a copy of the instructions document either printed or digitally! They can use this to recreate the projects even after they’ve completed the class you’ve prepped, and it includes ideas for items for them to purchase from you. Please don’t use the same link I sent you to send the PDF to customers. You will need to download them and either email them or upload them to your own Google Drive or similar.
Don’t forget that just because a planner isn’t YOUR style doesn’t mean it won’t speak to a few of your customers and since the hard work of designing is already done, it’s not a huge commitment on your part to offer a class based on it!
Happy stamping, and thank you for your participation and support,
Cara & Stefanie
