How I Plan an Entire Season of Crafts Before I Make the First One – Mondays in the Craftroom

It’s true. For my upcoming series, A Handmade Fall, I will plan an entire season of craft projects before you ever see the first one.

In this week’s Mondays in the Craft Room, I’m taking you behind the scenes to share exactly how I do this, from the very first idea to the finished projects you’ll see in A Handmade Fall.

A woman stands in a sewing room with shelves of neatly arranged fabric, rows of thread spools, a sewing machine, and a cutting mat on the table in front of her.
Four images: a decorative glass ornament, a kitchen with flowers on the counter, a living room with white furniture, and a bowl of soup with scattered toppings.
Text reads: "MY 100 YEAR OLD HOME | MONDAYS IN THE CRAFT ROOM" in thin, uppercase gray font on a white background.

How I Plan an Entire Season of Crafts Before I Make the First One

A white and pink tote bag with pink handles hangs on a locker. A sequined fish keychain is attached to one handle.

Last year I started a series for my blog. The first one was titled A Handmade Christmas. I shared twelve weeks of new Christmas crafts and loved every minute of it. I followed up with A Handmade Winter, A Handmade Spring, and A Handmade Summer.

It has been one of my favorite things to do since I started blogging. And it’s hard to believe that in eight weeks I will have created 52 new crafts in the past year.

Planning Each Season of Crafts

Every time I finish one of my seasonal craft series, I take a deep breath, clean up my craft room, and do something that surprises a lot of people.

I stop making crafts.

For about two weeks.

It isn’t because I’ve run out of ideas. It’s actually the opposite. Those two weeks are some of the most important weeks of my creative year because they’re when I plan everything that comes next.

As I write this, A Handmade Summer has just wrapped up, and I’m taking my annual planning break before I begin creating A Handmade Fall. It feels like the perfect time to take you behind the scenes and show you how an entire season of crafts comes together long before you ever see the first project.


On this blog, I may sometimes use affiliate links, which means a small commission is earned if you purchase via the link. The price will be the same whether you use the affiliate link or go directly to the vendor’s website using a non-affiliate link.

White canvas tote bag with pink straps and bottom, featuring a small pocket on the front containing two cotton stems. Accentuate its playful charm by adding beaded bag charms for a personalized touch.

Pink 1-Pack Canvas Tote Bag

A plastic organizer box with 18 compartments, each holding different shapes and shades of pink, purple, orange, and yellow beads. Below are grouped samples of each bead type.

NBEADS Bugle Round Glass Seed Beads

A plastic organizer holds assorted colorful sequins; additional sequins, a decorated cupcake, bow patches, and white thread are shown alongside.

Loose Sequins Bulk Rainbow

It Always Starts With One Big Question

A handmade pumpkin made with a plastic cinderella pumpkin covered with faux eucalyptus leaves.

Before I buy supplies or sketch a single idea, I ask myself one question:

What do I want everyone to make this season?

It’s not what I want to make.

It’s about what will inspire you to pull out your supplies and create something beautiful.

That’s a very different question.

Smiling older woman in a light pink striped shirt holding a large pink paisley-patterned tote bag with the name "LESLIE" on it, standing in a bright hallway.

For A Handmade Summer, I wanted projects that felt colorful, relaxed, and perfect for long afternoons in the craft room. We made clay dishes, embroidered pillows, quilted bandana bags, polymer clay charms, beaded bag tags, and so many other projects that celebrated the season.

Now my thoughts are shifting to fall.

Warmer colors.

Cozy textures.

Natural materials.

Projects that make you excited for cooler days.

Package of Bosal In-R-Form Plus Unique Fusible Foam Stabilizer, 36" x 58", with product details and an image of a tote bag on the front.

Bosal 493-36 in-R-Form Plus Unique Fusible Foam Stabilizer

A metal hoof pick with a straight handle and an angled, hooked end, used for cleaning dirt and debris from horse hooves.

Honbay Quilting Guide Bar for Brother/Singer/Janome

A box labeled "Mr. Pen Washable Fabric Marker" stands next to five blue and white water erasable embroidery pens.

Mr. Pen- Washable Fabric Markers for Sewing

Four beige bandanas with a white and black paisley pattern, arranged overlapping each other, with "The Peacock Crew" printed on one corner.

Premium Soft Cotton Bandanas

A row of twelve neatly folded, light pink bandanas with a white and black paisley pattern.

Rose Soft Thin Handfeel Cotton Bandanna

Six light green bandanas with white paisley patterns are arranged in a diamond-shaped grid on a white background.

Mint 6 Pcs Neon Color Cowboy Bandanas

Then Comes the Brainstorm

A eucalyptus stem used to make my pumpkin craft.

This is probably my favorite part.

I fill pages in my notebook with ideas. Some come from something I spotted in a store. Others come from vintage pieces I’ve collected over the years. Sometimes it’s a fabric, a ribbon, a beautiful paper napkin, or even a walk through the farmers market.

Nothing is off limits during brainstorming.

Most of those ideas never become blog posts, and that’s okay. I would rather start with fifty possibilities and narrow them down than struggle to come up with enough projects later.

Autumn Yellow Eucalyptus

A bouquet of artificial pink leaves with small white flowers, tied with a rubber band at the stems.
20″ Silk Artificial Eucalyptus Stems,
A bouquet of artificial eucalyptus leaves and small white berry-like accents, arranged with several green stems.

Mixed Eucalyptus Leaves Stems

Cluster of artificial branches with orange, round leaves against a white background.
4Pcs Fall Artificial Eucalyptus Leaves Stems
Six decorative fabric pumpkins in various shades of green, gray, orange, yellow, and white, each with a textured surface and a brown stem, arranged in two rows.

Creative Co-Op Bouclé Velvet Pumpkin Holiday Decor

8″ Faux Foam Pumpkins, 2 pcs

Every Season Needs Variety

Fall DIY Cake Stand

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that no one wants twelve versions of the same project.

When I plan a series, I look for balance.

Some crafts should be quick enough to finish in an afternoon. Others can be weekend projects. Some should use supplies many of us already have, while others introduce something completely new.

I also try to include a variety of techniques because not everyone enjoys the same kind of crafting. Some readers love sewing, others enjoy painting, embroidery, clay, paper crafts, or laser projects.

A good season has something for everyone.

Then I Start Shopping

Craft Room Storage
Have you seen my craft supplies storage room?

This is the dangerous part. But I do one thing first that you must do too!

I start gathering and shopping in my craft room first.

I begin gathering supplies months before I actually need them. Ribbon, fabric, felt, paint, wood blanks, clay, beads, embroidery thread, and every little embellishment slowly find their way into my craft room.

I own so many craft items that you would be surprised how little I actually need to buy.

The First Version Is Rarely the Final One

Cinderella Pumpkin
This project did not work. Fortunately, I was able to use the pumpkin for something else!

Here’s a little secret.

Most of the crafts you see on my blog weren’t perfect the first time.

Sometimes the colors are wrong.

Sometimes the proportions don’t work.

And sometimes a technique is too complicated or takes too long.

Occasionally I finish an entire project only to decide it isn’t something I would recommend to you.

So I start over.

I’d much rather discover the mistakes than have you discover them.

Photography Comes Before Writing

A green glass jar, a green vase with orange dried flowers, and a white pumpkin painted with colorful floral patterns sit on a white surface.
A fall themed table with a placemat, copper charger, amber glassware and a fall leaf wood charger cut with a laser cutting machine.
A handmade pumpkin made with a plastic cinderella pumpkin covered with faux eucalyptus leaves.
Fall Wreath

Once a project is finished, it isn’t ready for the blog.

Next comes styling and photography.

I think about where the craft would naturally live in a home. Should it be photographed on a mantel? A kitchen counter? A dining table? Outside on the patio?

I want every project to inspire you, not just teach you.

The photos help tell the story just as much as the instructions do.

A group of seven painted pumpkins in white, each with metallic silver stems, arranged together on a plain background.

7 Artificial Pumpkins

A white vase holds several stems of artificial orange pompom flowers with green leaves, arranged in a bouquet—perfect for pairing with painted pumpkins for a festive touch.

Faux Mums 6pcs

A ceramic vase with a wide mouth, decorated with a light green floral pattern and subtle painted pumpkins on a crackled cream background.

Vintage Floral Chinoiserie Ceramic Vase

Cricut cutting machine set with colored vinyl sheets, transfer tape, blue mat, tools, pen adapter, and sticker sheet arranged above and beside the machine on a white background.
Cricut Maker 4

Soft Rubber Brayer, 3 Pack

6X11.7 Leaf Stencils

Finally, I Write

Only after everything has been made, photographed, and tested do I sit down to write.

That’s why I’m able to include tips, shortcuts, and things I would do differently. I’ve already lived through the project, and I know exactly where someone might have questions.

Writing the post is really the last step in a very long process.

Why I Take a Planning Break

A spacious craft room with large white worktables, shelves filled with supplies, and organized storage units against the walls under pendant lights.

People often ask why I don’t just jump from one series to the next.

The answer is simple.

Creativity needs a little breathing room.

These two weeks give me time to organize my supplies, finish loose ends, clean my craft room, and most importantly, think. Some of my favorite ideas have appeared when I wasn’t actively trying to come up with them.

It’s a pause that makes the next season stronger.

A white cushioned office chair with chrome armrests, adjustable height lever, and five wheels on a chrome base.

JUMMICO Desk Modern Office Chair with

Fiskars 24 x 36-inch self-healing cutting mat with gridlines and a concentric square pattern in the center for precise measuring and cutting.

Fiskars Self Healing Cutting Mat

Two pendant lights with brass fixtures and clear glass dome shades hang from round ceiling mounts, each containing a visible bulb.

Farmhouse Glass Pendant Lights

A metal rack holds three rows of white flowerpots, each containing assorted artificial flowers in various colors including pink, white, yellow, and blue.

Flower Display Stand

Faded vintage-style area rug with a central geometric medallion and floral motifs in muted tones of beige, pink, and brown.

Loloi Heidi Collection HEI-02 Sage/Multi 8′-6″ x 11′-6″ Area Rug

A wall-mounted metal rack, perfect for gift wrapping, organizes various rolls of ribbon on three rods, with two pairs of scissors hanging from hooks below.

ribbon rack

A Handmade Fall Is Almost Here

A white pumpkin with orange decorative patterns sits on top of stacked orange and yellow square papers.

While you may notice a short break in my seasonal crafting posts, don’t worry. Behind the scenes, my craft room is already filling with fabric swatches, ribbon, paint samples, embroidery designs, and pages of notes for A Handmade Fall.

I can’t wait to share what’s coming.

If the ideas filling my notebook are any indication, this may be my favorite season yet.

And now you know the secret. Before I ever make the first craft, I’ve already spent weeks dreaming, planning, testing, and imagining an entire season of creativity. That’s one of my favorite parts of what I do, and I hope knowing a little about the process makes each project feel even more special when it finally arrives.

Three decorative pumpkins made from woven natural fibers in various shades of brown, each with a short twig stem, are arranged side by side against a white background—perfect for adding rustic charm to your fall home decor.

Primitives by Kathy Woven Rattan Pumpkin Set

Sweet Water Decor Cozy Season Soy Candle 

Three orange yarn pumpkins with brown stems are displayed on stacked books against a light textured wall.

Creative Co-Op Wide Wool Pumpkin with Jute Wrapped Stem

Assorted Small Faux Rustic Harvest Velvet Pumpkins

Two cascading branches with numerous small, reddish-orange leaves are pictured against a white background, reminiscent of autumn scenes with painted pumpkins.

Artificial Hanging Willow Leaves

Square beige throw pillow featuring a textured, tufted design of a pumpkin shape on the front.

Creative Co-Op 18′ Square Cotton Slub Tufted Pillow

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