FRIDAY FREEBIE - New Planner

Tuesday was my birthday. I spent the entire day shopping at my leisure. At one point I was in Hobby Lobby thinking I needed to figure out what I wanted and get out.. then I remembered I wasn't on a time table, no one was waiting for me... I could take as LONG as I WANTED!  So I kept looking... and it cost me LOL

Hobby Lobby has all of their planners 30% off through Saturday September 30th (tomorrow) BUT...

and here's where it gets fun... 

The Petals & Blooms Planners from The Paper Studio are 50% Off because ALL The Paper Studio items are 50% off!

I found this lovely corral.

First, let me say I wasn't shopping for a 'nice' planner. I need a planner strictly for my work with Oghma Creative Media. As the Marketing Director I have to track new releases at least eight months out so that I can work backwards on the marketing campaign for each book. 

Last week while at Hobby Lobby I found a spiral bound of their brand on clearance for $10.97 (originally $29). The planner had Month on 2 Pages plus Week on 2 Pages. For the most part I'm a daily girl but for the publishing thing, the Week on 2 will work best I think. I picked up the planner because it would work great as a Meal Planning vehicle. 

Since I was making the drive back to Poplar Bluff (120 miles round trip) to buy my birthday present, I decided to pick up another one to use for Oghma.. Then I spent time looking at all the new planners! 

As I thought about the difference between the two, I determined that I could spend $10.97 for the spiral that I'd have to pitch at the end of 2018... or spend $20 (normally retails for $39) for this lovely Petals & Blooms that I could REFILL at the end of the year. This one also looks a bit  more professional. 

Now, while this looks lovely in it's own skin, I had to personalize the front just a bit. I thought about the new decals from Carpe Diem but then I walked the bead isle looking for charms and found this lovely from the Poetic Spirit line by Bead Treasures

So Me, fits perfect with Oghma Creative Media because we publish Saddlebag Dispatches magazine - of which I am also Marketing Director. I'm using a thick glue - like E6000 to adhere the charm. If for some reason I am no longer working with Oghma, I will always be working in the music promoting business (which I do and have been for the past 30 years on and off) in Classic Country/ Bluegrass/ Americana/ Texas Swing then this planner will still work for that.. or just ME in general.

This planner comes with the Month on 2 Pages and the Week on 2 Pages:

I like the quality of the pages. They aren't thin or flimsy like copy paper. But they aren't as heavy as the DCWV planner pages either. A nice medium. 

Speaking of DCWV, I purchased a pack of their dailies, thinking I could just insert them in each week. Well... they are too wide for this planner.

 So back to HL they go. I don't recall seeing dailies for this planner.. unless they were just out. Which is a possibility. For now, I'll just insert a daily To Do list when I need to.

I purchased a packet of pockets from The Paper Studio agenda 52 line (I couldn't find these on-line)

I added these magnetic bookmarks until I can make my own.

For a treat, I added this set of stamps:

I have stamps for just about everything in my planner. But this set had some girly girl stuff - reminding me of self-care such as doing my nails and that because I work from home, doesn't mean I shouldn't make myself up once in awhile ;-)

I've already started putting the planner together and using it. We have a lot of amazing books coming out in the next six months and I wanted to get a jump on the game. Also, after taking the whole summer off, my boss isn't happy so when we meet up in October at the Ozark Creative Writers Conference, I want him to see that I am not just getting caught up but ahead of the game as well. 

Are you a Planner? If so, do you have a planner line you like over another? I'd love to hear.

Creative Blessings!

Kelly

WOYWW #434

Wow!  I haven't been here in ages!  But I have good reason. We had our grandgirls (5 & 9) for four months. Keeping the blogs up was not a priority. We were too busy baking, cooking, creating stuff, playing in water and going on adventures. They are back home and in their regular routine and I'm finally finding mine.

So.. the desk:

My new planner is front and center. This is from The Paper Studio line - Petals & Blooms. I like the feel of it and the magnetic closure. I'll have a full review on Friday and how I put it together. This is going to be my 'work' planner for my job as Marketing Director for Oghma Creative Media publishing company.  

Let's see... there are post its and magnetic bookmarks for the planner. On the left you can just make out a ruler that I'm using to tear pages for a new journal. To the back.. the base of that pile is all binder of past Fair ribbons. I brought them up to show the girls. Now not sure what to do with them until I get them put into a quilt. I also want to photograph the ribbons and do a Memory album of some type with photos of the ribbon and the item that won. Ya.. another project. LOL

to the right of that stack are the 10 pages I need to tear today. I'm tearing the edges of 10 pages per day until I have about 350 pages. I am tearing 3 sides (top/ bottom/ right edge) so the journal will have a vintage book appearance. To the right of that is a paint can for a project I have in progress that I hope to finish this week and show you next as well as a jar of gesso for an art journal I've returned to working in and showing on the 4th Monday of each month. In front of that there's a partial bag of cracker jacks I snacked on on the way home from shopping yesterday. 

The stuff in the background isn't part of my desk - just the current disaster that I'm tearing through this weekend. 

That's it for my desk this week. Who's Miss Julia and why am I here?  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.  Please leave your number and you'll be among the first on my list. 

COLOR CHALLENGE #6 - Updated!

I know today is Mixed Media Monday but since this card had issues last week, I wanted to get it up today. I have my Mixed Media project in progress and ready to photograph so will have that up for you next week. 

Okay... the die cutting machine is working again and I'm able to play with my toys. That is a really good feeling. While I was able to fill the time last week with other projects, I hated that the blogs were on delay - yet again.

I got the idea for Bob's birthday card from THIS video by Barb Stamps. The inspiration card comes at about the 7:42 mark. You'll see I did mine a bit different.

I put the sentiment on the cup on the outside then left the inside mostly blank. I'll be adding a Bass Pro gift card with removable glue dots to the inside. 

The sentiment on the cup as well as the small heart on the lid are stamped in Dapper Denim.

Inside, I stamped the sentiment in Tangerine Tango on Very Vanilla then die-cut with the heart from Sealed With Love. This was NOT a perfect match, but worked in a pinch. I raised the heart up on a mini-pop dot.

DIRECTIONS:

Stamps - Merry Cafe (SU Holiday Catalog)/ Coffee Cafe (SU Annual Catalog)/ Sealed With Love 

Cardstock - Dapper Denim/ Early Espresso/ Very Vanilla

Paper - Painted Autumn (SU Holiday catalog)

Ink - Dapper Denim/ Tangerine Tango

From the Dapper Denim, cut a base 4-1/4 x 11 inches.

Turn the base horizontal long-ways and score at the 2" and 7-1/2" mark

Fold these up to meet one another and crease.

Top outside panel - cut 1-3/4" x 4"

Bottom outside panel - 3-1/4" x 4"

Cup panels -

Dapper Denim - 3-1/2" x 2-1/2"

Early Espresso - 2-1/4" x 3"

Knowing what I wanted to do, this card came together in just a few minutes this  morning. I already have October's picked out. Now to get the card made before the Vagabond decides it needs another vacation. ;-)

Creative Blessings!

COLOR CHALLENGE #6

Apologies for no card yesterday! We had storms roll through then Windows 10 did an upgrade and I couldn't get to my sample. Finally had a computer by 4 p.m. but I have a standing rule of finishing up business for the day so that I can shut down by 5. Unfortunately, that meant catching up on the day job instead of popping in here.  

UPDATE!  There will not be any cards posted until next week. In putting this card together this morning, my Vagabond died... with the plates stuck mid-row. Grrrr. I do not have time to dismantle the machine today as I have a project I MUST get done for my boss.

I promise.. things will be back running to my desired standards soon. Thank you for your patience.

As we were driving back from OK last month I realized I'd failed to post the August challenge! Things were a bit hectic getting the girls ready to go back home. I am sorry I missed posting the challenge. I was just busy soaking up love and hugs to sustain me until we see them next year.

My daughter was born in September and she does love her coffee. Pumpkin Spice Latte is her favorite so I thought this was the perfect color combination to make her birthday card. I'm not going to show you her card though. I'm never sure which of my blogs she visits and I don't want to give anything away. Her birthday is the 26th - same as mine. Now that's a birthday present!

from my Pinterest Board - Color Inspiration

I am utilizing the Coffee Cafe and Merry Cafe sets from Stampin' UP! Merry Cafe is part of our Holiday catalog:

 and coordinates with the Coffee Cafe set in the Annual catalog and the matching framelits dies. 

Bob's birthday is in October. Quick funny story. When I first met Bob, he did not drink coffee. The first morning we actually spoke, I offered him a cup of coffee. He accepted and he's been a coffee drinker ever since... to the point of buying an Espresso machine! LOL Here's the card I made for him:

That's mine.. let's see yours! Just add the link to your blog post (not your blog URL but the url to the actual blog post) and Mr. Linky will add you to the list so we may stop by to check out your creation!

RULES:

There aren't any rules. You may use any company product you like. My only request is if you use a stamp or something special, link to the company so we may add to our stash, too :-D

KEYWORD: KCC6 

And remember to grab the Color Challenge button on my sidebar to link your followers here. I'd love to have them playing along!

NEEDLE & THREAD THURSDAY - Autumn Rug

I'm still crocheting away on the autumn rug I introduced you to HERE. 

I didn't work on it while the girls were here but have been back at it almost every evening since they left.  Here's the progress:

According to my original post I have three balls to work with. This is what's left of the second ball. I'll have to see if I can locate the third ball. And possibly buy another skein of each color this weekend.

I've not decided where this rug is going to go. I keep thinking on my side of the bed. I'm also thinking I may shorten the fringe almost down to the knot.

I will say this started getting a bit of an arc to it. I won't make the next one quite as long so that isn't an issue again.

Next week, I have an embroidery project to show you. Kitchen towels I've been wanting to do for years for both Halloween and Christmas.

Creative Blessings!

MIXED MEDIA MONDAY - Christmas Notebook Time! & a GIVEAWAY! (closed)

Yes, it's that time of year again. Time to be planning for the Holidays. I had this laid out last year then got the job offer and in trying to get settled into the new position, Bob with his new job ... well, I was just very unhappy. 

The first thing we do at the beginning of the new Christmas Notebook (CNB) season is to evaluate last year and figure out what, if anything, we hope to improve upon.

Well, my evaluation was that my holidays were very unorganized, very non-decorative and depressing. I know that seems small compared to larger problems in the world.. but my house is my world most of the time and I love the Holiday season. Just 2016  season, not so much. During my evaluation I vowed that I WOULD enjoy the holiday season this year, doing the things Bob and I like to do for others and being able to absorb what should be the warmest part of the year. 

CNB begins September 1 with weekly assignments to help get us to our holiday goal of warmth & cheer. But we really begin in August putting our notebook in order.

I loved the Traveler's Notebook style that I showed you last year. I've been doing CNB long enough and it's only Bob and I so I don't need the big 3-ring binder with all the planning. This works for me.

NOTE: This post is picture-heavy. 

Because each require a small description, I opted not to do a video flip-through.

I've changed things a bit this year. Starting with a couple of extra signatures. Last year I combined Monthly/ Weekly pages in one signature as well as Room Pages/ Decorating in one. This year I decided to make each one separate. Here's a view from the top showing the signatures in place.

Four Signatures

Tabs

I used a retired SU tab punch, Recollections cardstock and my label maker - small print.

I used all Martha Stewart Christmas Papers from my stash. I've had this paper pad (okay, I bought 4 on an after-Christmas sale at Walmart 11 years ago)

The Monthly signature is the bulkiest because I printed the monthly calendar from Scattered Squirrel (I think) and glued them to the designer papers so they'd be a bit heavier and pretty. Down the middle of the signature of each month, I taped in a Shopping List so I could keep a list in that month as things came to me in my planning:

Cover

Sun - Wed plus shopping list

Thur - Sat with notes column

My next section is the Weekly

Cover 

(for both weekly & room pages as they co hand-in-hand)

Two - weekly Spread.

Each one has a note at the top as to what the assignment is about for that week.

I use a hair clip as a page marker.

Room Pages

I trimmed notebook paper down to fit

(I bought a case for .10 a ream last year after back to school)

Here, I will make note of what I need to do in each room to get it ready for decorating.

This includes cleaning/ removal of anything that will be replaced by a Christmas item.

Decorating Cover

I chose plain copy paper for this signature. I can make notes or I can paste in pictures of decorating ideas I want to try.

Cookie Tray Cover

Each year (with the exception of last year) I bake and we deliver nearly 100 cookie/ treat trays to businesses whom have served us in some way over the past year.

We live in a small community of  625 people give or take. Most of the surrounding communities with the exception of West Plains and Springfield are about the same size.

We get real hometown service from the business we frequent.

This is our way of saying Thank You!

I used three strips of the 1/2" wide super sticky tape, to add a notepad to the inside back cover of the final signature. ( the same one as used in the Monthly signature) 

And there you have my CNB 2017.  I'm a couple of weeks behind already in the planning but now that I have the new signatures in place, I can sit and get things rolling again.

Have you started your Christmas planning?

What if anything would you change from last year?

I'll pick one comment from the list to send a special Heidi Swapp Christmas Countdown Calendar!

You have until October 1st to Comment!

Merry Christmas!