Planner Peace in My Midori - Scrappy Stash Busters

Love, love, love planning in my Midori.

I didn't think this was going to happen, but then I found a free printable planner on MyLifeAllInOnePlace.com, and decided to try it.

Inside cover of my Midori planner

Que music. Planner peace!!

The weekly planner layout, 6 months per booklet, gives me plenty of room to write my lists, to-do's, add stickers, and write in appointments.
 

A blank week where I've already added a few planner stickers

Outside cover of my Midori planner

 The most fun thing about making booklets is decorating them with scrapbook paper, washi tape and stickers!

This baby goes everywhere

My Midori always travels in my bag, so why not have a planner in it! What really makes it work for me is the other booklets inside. Next to my planner is my list book. I just made it with a pad of yellow lined paper, and I feel free, because the paper's not fancy, to just scribble all kinds of lists: apps I want, recipes to try from Pinterest, craft shopping, very specific to-do's, household project...you get the idea, no list is off limits!

 My pretty patterned paper stash is getting a workout with my Midori booklets - love that. Next, after my planner and simple lists book is a booklet I made with nice lined paper called Random Notes, Thoughts & Quotes. I'm a quote collector, and too many times I've written these things in my planner on the go, and then they get lost. This is why this book is a perfect companion, but it all stays together and doesn't get dated. 

Next is my booklet dedicated to my Side Hustles. So when I have an idea or thought pertaining to my craft selling, Etsy, or writing projects, it has its own special place and I know where to go back and find it. If I'm planning a due date for something, then it's right here next to my planner. Perfect and peaceful. And by the way, I love this new Post-It tape!

My art journal is the last booklet, and it's made of watercolor paper. I also carry a small palette in my  bag, so I can paint and draw whenever and wherever. I love having an art journal in with my planner, lists, and side hustle booklets because sometimes my art relates to something else, like creating my new logo, or inspired by a quote.

I love this swing-out board I made with a grommet attaching it to my dashboard in my Midori. It has washi tape on the go! I made the board with an old planner cover trimmed up to the size I needed. Talk about upcycling. My dashboard is simply card stock patterned paper with stickers, a clip from a very old Workbasket Magazine from the fifties, and laminated so you can stick blank post-it paper to use on the go. Inside my dashboard is a folder I made as well with six pockets. Love, love, love it all!

 The moral of the story is, I obviously can't operate with just a planner. My planner has to have a lot of buddies that cover all the aspects of my day. The Midori solves all those problems. And bonus, I stitched this Midori myself with matryoshka fabric that I'm crazy about because I'm obsessed with those Russian dolls!

About two months ago, I didn't really know anything about Midori traveler's notebooks, and look at me now! And I'm old! I'm telling you that last bit because I've seen too many who think they have nothing to plan, so why have a planner. To that I say, celebrate your life every day. Plan things to do, watch, read, eat, drink, make, buy, cook...enjoy every minute.

Que music...planner peace!

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch

Simple Scrapbooking--It's Frugal, Artistic, and Fast

I have been scrapbooking for over fifteen years. I started when my daughter turned five and I found a beautiful scrapbook at the Hallmark store...it called out to me from the shelf...and right then and there I became a scrapbooker. Over the years I've gone with the flow and ebb of trends and what's available in the scrapbooking aisles. I got attached to a little independent scrapbook store near my house where I took classes and shopped, which then closed its doors, and I've seen ups and downs in the whole scrapbooking trend ever since. 

After art journaling and Smash books became a trend, I realized I had been art journaling for many years--I just didn't know it. I had always kept a book of thoughts, quotes, drawings, and my little stories and ideas in my bag all the time. I completed three of those little art journals before the term became so popular. Now I realize that the thing to do is to use the art and upcycling I love about art journaling with my scrapbooking. All those old scrapbooking papers I don't plan to use, are perfect backings for my own watercolor pages. I love how my doodling in watercolor goes great with a photo.

You can upcycle so many little pieces of artwork into your scrapbooking. On this patchwork page I have a little cross-stitched heart--the whole page came together quickly when I printed out a sheet of 2X2 photos, cut them up and combined them with 2X2 papers for journaling, and laid it all out on a sheet of pretty scrap paper laid over 12X12 craft paper. I left room on the side for journaling with a white gel pen. It came together pretty quick too.

I did a quick Christmas 2013 page thanks to a great photo offer from Walgreens. You have to watch for those great deals, and one week they offered a free--absolutely free--collage print. I ran with that, and used my collage print on a piece of scrapbook paper I had gotten for half-price at a local independent store after Christmas...added a little diecut with a white paper ribbon (which was part of a prize from Factory Direct Craft) and some white gel pen, and I was done with a nice scrappy update on Christmas. And it was very fast and frugal! Now, I did say a few days ago, that I was done with the old post-bound scrapbooks and want to switch to three-ring. But here I go...off to Michaels to check out some amazing sale on scrapbooks! Hope you enjoy your scrapbooking and use your art, your stash, and clever deals!

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch, Scrap



 

Making My Dollar Cling Stamps Work

I love these little packages of unmounted dollar cling stamps. One dollar for two or three stamps, especially with sentiments, is pretty good! Now, I'm not referring to clear stamps--which I try to buy on sale because they can be pricey, and are to be used interchangeably with a clear stamping block to get the full benefit--I'm talking about these little rubber stamps that have foam glued to the top showing the design, and can be used as they are. But, why not make them better?

It hit me when I was cleaning out a shelf and found this mound of blocks my daughter and nephews used to play with all the time. Wallah! My new stamping blocks available to me in pretty much any size, color or shape!

Suddenly, three one-dollar packages of cling stamps became nine wonderful blocked rubber stamps.

I just pulled the foamy print top off the rubber stamp (very carefully--because I tore one of the foam pieces a little), and there was enough glue already on there that the rubber stamp easily stuck to one side of the block, and the printed foam part easily stuck to the other side. I added a little glue with only one of them.

I may be late to the party on figuring this out because I've since heard of crafters using their Jenga blocks!  But I think this works really great, and I prefer stamping like this rather than with the flatter foamy version, and feel more in control of what the stamp is doing.

I do not remember what we paid for these blocks so long ago, but now they're being upcycled a bit! And there are still plenty of blocks left, it was a huge container of them. Woo hoo! This would be a good yard sale find if you need some so you could pay next to nothing possibly. Happy stamping.

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch, Stamp

Good Material in Old Places - Finding an Art Journal

Once upon a time, somebody wrote a book about making housework simple. I love it! This book was eventually available in the public library. A lot of people wanted some help in how to make their housework simple...so for years and years, this precious housekeeping book was checked out over and over and over. Eventually, the poor thing was just worn out and tired of helping people make their housework simple. Because, after all, housework is housework--it is what it is! So, the worn-out book threw itself in a stack of outcycled library books set to go to the semi-annual Friends of the Library sale. It was looking for a new life.

Later, at the sale, this precious, worn-out housekeeping book saw me wandering around the many tables of beautiful outcycled library books. It called out to me, "Hey Lady! Over here! I like your embroidered shorts and butterfly flipflops! You seem creative! Look at me, I'm a cool old housekeeping book...take me! Make me into something beautiful! Look! I have a hard cover and I'm spiral bound! Paint me! Color me! Glue things on me! I'm only 50 cents!"

So, here I am with the perfect ready-to-repurpose art journal. Since I actually love homemaking, I think this art journal already has its theme in place. I have collected a few very old Homemec Textbooks--starting with my own from eighth grade. Our homec textbooks were so old that year, they decided to outcycle them, and let us buy them for a quarter at the end of the year. After finding my old textbook 20 years later in my mom's attic, I started noticing old homec textbooks at flea markets. I have a precious one from the 1940's! 

Now, I can't really bring myself to repurpose my old homec book--as I just want to keep it the way it is. I like to look at it! But I'm thinking with this old library sale book, I can write my own homec book, my own way, art journal style! I'm kind of excited, and full of ideas. I think I'll get started, one page at a time. Maybe over the next year it will be completed...no rush. I also found this Plantcraft book at the sale.

It has some great pages and illustrations to use in my art journal project!

Here's another little precious book I found--an old "reader" from 1901! I don't quite know what to do with it! I guess I could put it away somewhere, but what's the point? I'm so tempted, instead, to use the pages somehow since it's already falling apart.

Missing its front cover--it's in bad shape.

Love this page in the old reader.

Somebody colored the back cover! What year were crayons invented?

Don't you love library sales? The best place to find your future old art journal! A great way to contribute to the prosperity of your local library! I can't wait to color, create and write in my new old housekeeping book.

 I'm having an Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch theme week! Tomorrow I'll be dreaming.

Summer Dreamin' and Schemin'

 So here we are...approaching mid-August..and what have we done? Every fiber of my being is completely rejecting the back-to-school promotions right now! I've still got summer plans to carry out! While my official summer break is over, and I'm back to the office 40 hours a week--I'm not giving up on my summer dreams and schemes! I actually love my work--and that includes all my work--but I do love and appreciate the actual work I get paid regularly for. I have a lovely office, and work with the most wonderful people. I'm pretty organized, and I get a lot done. Sure, I'd love to be able to just write all the time and create my stuff--but a paycheck and health insurance are true blessings! I live close to my work, so I have several hours even after I get home to get creative, and I have the weekends and a lot of holidays and vacation. Am I ever tired? Sometimes I think I'm always tired! But it's not a sin to be tired. I even walk two miles every morning when I get up, first thing. So I know how to push through tiredness--and even a pinched nerve in my back. I'm pretty good at just acting like I feel wonderful! And sometimes, when I act like that long enough, I do!

So back to my summer dreams and schemes...I'm working on a few things...designing...sketching out plans...finishing up a big writing project...and having fun in the middle of all of it. My little idea book and creative journals are hopping with creative madness and mess. I've simply got more cutting, coloring, gluing, stitching, cooking, gardening, writing and socializing to do before we call it a summer kids!

I'm warning you--it might be late September before I call it another summer-past. If it stays warm, and I'm still picking tomatoes...it's summer!

In the meantime, I think what I like about having plenty of summer dreams and schemes is knowing that I'm cooking up a lot of projects that won't even be through until the middle of winter. When I move in for the winter, and I'm not sitting in the sun and out in the garden, I will need plenty to keep me busy and happy in the house!

Sadly, my big writing project actually involves Christmas--they are Christmas scripts and I need to get them to my publisher by September! The other Christmas item I want to do way ahead of time is make my own cards this year--I think that's a fab idea. Along with that, here are the other schemes I've got going and things I just want to do. I'm sort of rewinding and fast forwarding at the same time.

I want to make more cards--like this one for my daughter's birthday this summer. I love adding tags to cards--and I'm working on acquiring more of those lovely stamps. I think stamping is a lot like when I was little and had a coloring book in my hand all the time. Because you're not drawing--the stamp does that--you're kind of decorating...and that is so fun and relaxing.

Here we go--I had to have an excuse to show my doodle-embroidered cutoffs again! Doodle embroidering is at the top of my list and I have two more pairs of cutoffs to do. I don't know where to fit them in with all of the other things I want to do--and timing is critical so that it's still warm enough to wear them for heaven's sakes! One pair is green, like these, and the other is white--talk about a blank slate with doodle embroidering on white shorts...the possibilities are endless!

I keep wearing these all the time because they make me feel crazy creative!

Okay, do you see this tree? This pitiful little dead cherry tree? It is in the very back of my property, past the garden. It used to be the most gorgeous cherry tree--we enjoyed its harvest, year after year. So did the birds if we didn't pick the cherries soon enough! But sadly, one winter, a horrible ice storm hit, and our sweet little tree didn't recover. I can't bear to have it completely cut down...soooo...I'm going to yarn bomb it! I can't wait! I think it will be really cute. So stay tuned for that--I'm saying no more!

 In other news--I'm going to keep eating more veggies! Fresh, steamed, whatever...I'm going to keep doing this. I had an excellent checkup at the doctor--my bloodwork, blood pressure...all that blood stuff...was EXCELLENT! At my age, I'm very happy and proud of that. (51, by the way). So veggies, let's do this thingie!

Speaking of veggies--I'm going to keep picking and eating cherry tomatoes, every day, until there are no more. I'm not tired of it...no really...I'm thankful. Love these thingies! They are expensive at the store, so glad to have them for free right in my own backyard.

And speaking of tomatoes in my own backyard--I've got tons, including yellow ones. So I've decided to fresh-preserve the yellow ones too! I think they are pretty and unique--you probably can't buy canned yellow tomatoes at the store. Right?

 I'm going to keep planting seeds--especially basil--it goes with my tomatoes and I LOVE fresh pesto.

SAD! But not for long.

We are beautifying this sad little alcove by our outdoor workshop building. It is going to be ahhmazing--we're talking lots of paint...furniture...creative flooring...even beads, hanging things and painted rocks--so fun. I'll share all about it when it's done with all the before and after pics--this will go well with the yarn bombing. Can't wait! (Can you tell I've been watching Worlds Most Extreme Homes?) Of course, my hubby is in on this, doing the heavy lifting. He's the best.

Here's my hubby with some friends--we've had some fun times this summer, and I want to meet up with more friends and have more fun!

I will let sleeping cats lay...even if they're laying in a basket of my fabric!

Reorganize my sewing niche...

Buy more notions...

Open my Etsy store...Teacup & Pebble...

Bake more rosemary and tomato bread...

Glitter more and create more papercrafts...(this project was so fun!)

Work on my mixed-media projects so dear to me...(yay bowls o buttons!)

And one more thing...go to more ballgames! That's me on the left, peeking out from behind our mascot when I sang the National Anthem with a group earlier this summer. I love going to the ballgame with my hubby--having a bratz...sitting outside in a nice breeze. It has been horribly hot this summer--so I'm ready for some nicer evenings and simply more fun. We also go to my little nephew's ballgames...very fun. Family time is important, most of all. And I think my creative life just makes me a better mom, worker, family member and friend.

Keep scheming and dreaming!