If you're a user of art, craft, or office supplies, and you haven't done it already, create a swatch book to test your materials out in, or simple to keep samples so that you know what they’ll look like when being used.

It doesn't have to stop at a simple set of squares coloured in, although those are absolutely handy. It can include:

• gradient boxes where you test how certain colours and materials mix and blend
• samples of fabrics and tapes that you have
• samples of decorative papers
• samples of lettering and pattern-making styles

It's also a handy way to keep track of the art supplies you own, and a way to keep handwritten notes about the materials and how they work.