FRIDAY FREEBIE - Blog Planner

I am so thrilled to finally have this complete. I had one last year but the binder just didn't feel right and there didn't seem to be enough information or inspiration for me to actually put the planner to use.  As I've been studying planners this past year and finding a day planner that finally fits me and everything I need a planner to do, I realized what was missing from my original blog planner. Here's a picture of one of the planning pages from last year:

Nothing fancy. Just a sheet of notebook paper with the month at the top, the dates down the lefthand side. Monthly tabs were done in the color coordinating with that blog and each blog separated by their Washi Tape color code. Not real inspiring. 

I really like the feel of the new planner and see myself using the system on Sundays when I sit down to plan my week ahead.

I have to give a shout out to Melissa Ringstaff at A Virtuous Woman.org 

Melissa has an amazing array of printables both in her Etsy shop and for Free (such as this blog planner that I used).  If there is ANY type of your life you need a tangible way to keep organized, Melissa probably has the perfect printable. 

Now, here's my slideshow of my blog planner:

Blog Planner - Kizoa Video Editor - Movie Maker

I used a 2" binder with a viewable cover. The Cover, Spine, Filetabs were created from a filefolder set purchased at Hobby Lobby called Multi-Pattern Chevron. I used the same folders for my 43 Folders A5 binder so that everything coordinates. I'll use the same colorscheme in my DayPlanner for next year.

Next Friday I'll walk you through the individual components and why I've chosen to use this particular format.

So tell me, How Do You Plan?
Creative Blessings!
Kelly

WOYWW #382

I tried 3 times to bring this picture up rotated to the left. The picture shows vertically in the files but keeps uploading in horizontal. Thus is my morning. 

As you can see, the desk is quite full. Remnants of a weekend project I'll be showing later in the week on my SU blog. I'll link you to that one next week. 

For now, the Paper Pumpkin box still un-opened. I got caught up in a project and refused to do anything else until that one was finished. The book and CDs from Bill Anderson. I have that interview to transcribe and book review to get posted ASAP and a hodge podge of a little of everything.  Today is all about blog posts and the creating that goes with them. 

Speaking of blog posts, I have the blog binder finished. I need to upload the pictures to Kizoa in a slide show format but that is NOT going to happen right away this morning. My head hurts and I'm still working on my cup of cocoa. But here's a sneak peek at my visual blog board and why the Blog Binder is so important:

A full shot of my blog board. I can see all of my blog posts for 6 weeks. 

The board is made from a 24x36 poster frame that Bob put a sheet of flat metal into, creating a magnetic base. All of my date stickers, the blog post titles and the markers are made from strips of magnetic sheets used for vent covers. 

All of my blogs are color-coded. 

The magnetic markers are placed on a strip when that day's post is done

That's my desk? What's on yours? When you are done visiting me in the Ozarks, please hop on over to Stamping Ground where Miss Julia has a long list of other studios you can peek into. No standing on an up-turned milk pail to look in the window. We open the doors wide and welcome you. We won’t touch.. just look. J  I can't wait to peek but we have a busy weekend ahead so I may be late again getting 'round. Please leave your number and you'll be first on my list.

TECHNIQUE THURSDAY - Criss Cross Chopped!

A couple of weeks ago, I took part in Tickle A Teapotter. This is part of the Teapot Tuesday but on a month with five Tuesdays, we are given the name of a fellow teapotter to send a card to. This month's hostess is a fan of all things FoodNetwork, especially CHOPPED.  I am also a fan of the show. I spent several days with the card in my head, planning everything out so that I could bring the components together.

I knew I wanted to do a Criss Cross card. You can find the tutorial HERE on SplitcoastStampers tutorials.

Since I didn't have any basket weave patterned paper left, I used what is more of a birch bark print from a retired SU DSP - Frosted Lodge. I matted the paper against SU Soft Suede.

One thing that will get a contestant chopped quicker than anything is lack of seasoning. I used the S & P border strip from retired SU DSP - Domestic Goddess. The bowl with the 'adding' ingredients is also from that collection.

For the inside card, I borrowed graphics from the Chopped website.
The front of the mat shows Host, Ted Allen, announcing the basket ingredients to be used in the Entree round of competition. I used the mini curly label punch (Retired SU) as the tab for the card and accented with a timer cut from the Domestic Goddess paper:

As in chopped, once the 30 minutes is over, the Judging begins:

Will you be chopped?

WOYWW #381

My desk hasn't changed a lot since last week as I've been working on my Blog Planner binder. (I'll be showing that in a separate post next month) I should be able to wrap that project up this morning then move on to that orange box that arrived yesterday. That is the September Paper Pumpkin kit from Stampin' Up. I've seen peeks on YouTube and know I have Halloween goodies in there to play with. 

And as promised, here is a better picture of my Girl Scout memorabilia shelf. This is above the East window in my office. In the far upper right you'll see a brown box (there's a little chalkboard propped in front of the box). That contains swamps from a Leader Camp. I finally found a shadow box frame at Dollar General yesterday so I can display those items. 

That's my desk? What's on yours? When you are done visiting me in the Ozarks, please hop on over to Stamping Ground where Miss Julia has a long list of other studios you can peek into. No standing on an up-turned milk pail to look in the window. We open the doors wide and welcome you. We won’t touch.. just look. J  I can't wait to peek but we have a busy weekend ahead so I may be late again getting 'round. Please leave your number and you'll be first on my list.

MIXED MEDIA MONDAY - New toy!

While in Springfield over the weekend, I decided I needed a book fix so a stop at B & N was on the agenda. Aside from the 2017 Writers Market and a New Age book for research, I had to cruise the craft magazines. I have subscribed to one of the UK magazines in the past and have only not renewed simply because I'm trying to budget my spending better. Instead, I'm going to buy one when I go to the city if one catches my attention.

I fell in love with this bicycle build a die and the stamp set for basket fillers was just too cute to pass up.

Here's a close up of the cover to show all the other goodies you'll find in the mag.

The cover shows one of the adorable ways to use the set. Also I just noticed this morning that there is a FREE Digi Download of a Fairy. How did I miss that while looking through the magazine at the hotel the other night.

And here's a close-up of just the stamp/ die set:

Just too cute, right? I hope to have something with this coming up very soon.

A bit about me. If you do not already know I am severely OCD. I can not work on ANYTHING until EVERYTHING around me is in order... even things that do not pertain to the project. If you think it drives you crazy due to lack of posts, imagine being in my head! LOL  

For one thing, I need visuals. I spent all last week working on a magnetic blog board so I could see the big picture. I just need to finish typing up the blog planner binder pages this morning, print them out then I'm ready to start laying out blog posts for the rest of this month and all of next. I'm super busy the first 2 weeks, including being gone to a writers conference I've attended every year for the past 20 years. Then Bob is home the last two weeks of October. National Novel Writing Month starts on the heels of him leaving. 

With all of that coming up, I do not want to leave the blogs behind. I feel I have too  much to share. So, thank you for your patience as I try to reign in my OCD. 

WOYWW #380

Good morning, friends.

Not a lot has changed on my desk over the past week as Bob and I spent his final days at home shopping, eating, watching movies.

Some of you asked about the cards I'd made last week. Those were for my StampinUp blog and hadn't thought to share them with you here as I have something similar coming up this week. But here they are...

         

These were made from the Hello December Project Life kit in the 2016 Holiday catalog.

You can see the details on my Stampin' Up blog HERE.

I had also promised to show a picture of my Girl Scout memorabilia shelf this week but the picture came out blurry. I'm not feeling well this morning so getting back out of the recliner right away to retake didn't excite me. I will take a better one this afternoon and have it for you next week.

That's my desk? What's on yours? When you are done visiting me in the Ozarks, please hop on over to Stamping Ground where Miss Julia has a long list of other studios you can peek into. No standing on an up-turned milk pail to look in the window. We open the doors wide and welcome you. We won’t touch.. just look. Bob left yesterday so you know that means I'll have time to visit all of you in a more timely fashion. Please leave your number and you'll be among the first on my list.

WOYWW #379

Happy Wednesday!  Yep... I have creative space and have been having fun.

I apologize for no post last week. I had one all written up and scheduled but my router crashed on Tuesday night so I could not link up Wednesday morning.

But I'm here now and ready to pay visits. Bob's home so you know that means probably not until the weekend. I am so ready to visit y'all again. I've missed you!

So my desk... I have the ironing pad up so that I had a place to lay finished cards. The supplies are in piles on the sofa-bed to the right (out of frame) so I can turn and grab what I need without taking up precious play space.

That's my desk? What's on yours? When you are done visiting me in the Ozarks, please hop on over to Stamping Ground where Miss Julia has a long list of other studios you can peek into. No standing on an up-turned milk pail to look in the window. We open the doors wide and welcome you. We won’t touch.. just look. J  I can't wait to peek but we have a busy weekend ahead so I may be late again getting 'round. Please leave your number and you'll be first on my list.

Technique Tuesday - Rollin' along!

One of the things I'm striving for now that I have my studio almost done, is to try new techniques. This week I had the perfect opportunity to try Beverly Stewart's Plaid Background technique. You can see the full tutorial on Splitcoast HERE  This is my attempt at reproducing the Faulkner tartan (plaid)

I used the following colors:

Brilliant Blue

Crumb Cake

Real Red

Summer Fun

Blushing Bride

Daffodil Delight (mat)

The sentiment is from Heartfelt Sympathy.

This card is going to my bestie from High School. Karen was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She's had the mass removed but will still undergo chemo and probably radiation. She is not dealing well at all. I ache for what she is going through. She needs lots of encouragement. To this week, she is the featured recipient on our Teapot Tuesday group at Splitcoast Stampers. (See How It Works) If you love making cards and want someplace to send them, I hope you'll become a teapotter. We really do have lots of fun bringing smiles and encouragement to others all over the country.  

One of the things Karen and I enjoyed most was music... specifically,  the Fab Five from Edinburgh - The Bay City Rollers. Her fav member was Eric Faulkner so I did my best to reproduce the Faulkner tartan on the front of the card.  

And since I can't be there for Karen in person right now, I sent our Fab Five in my place - in the form of a Pop Up (another technique I'd not tried).

I hope Karen receives lots of cards and can work through this difficult time in her life - with a little help from her friends. 

Here's a flashback for y'all.  Keep Rolllin'!

FRIDAY FREEBIE - Alphabet Challenge - Letter X

I recently followed a trail of glitter to a challenge thread on SplitcoastStampers called Alphabet Challenge. Every week a new challenge is posted with specific guidelines. Of course, there is a Letter of the Alphabet. But sometimes they through in a double challenge... like this week.

Letter X
Use an Embossing Folder
Make it Masculine

I needed an anniversary card for Bob, who will be home on Wednesday! My 'X' is in the form of a cross-stitch sampler.

I used my scor-pal to make the wainscoting, (hard to see in the picture but there are vertical lines 1/4" apart on the bottom 1/2 of the card), The wallpaper is from DCWV Heirloom pad. Recollections brown CS and the woodgrain EB folder from The Paper Studio make the frame and the chair rail.

I stamped the words in Classic Alphabet (retired - SU) in a ghost print of Bordering Blue then did cross-stitch marks over the letters with a blue perma-pen.

The sentiment is from SU Number of Years.