a peek at my planner

I love calendars and planners.  I'm a list maker, a list checker, a measurer of productivity.  I'm a planner, a mapper of my day, and I like to know what I accomplished at day's end.

So today, I though I'd share a little peek into the planner that I use.

I purchased this cute floral binder at Target last fall.  It measures approx 7"x9" and is the perfect size to fit in my large purse and holds 5.5"x8.5" pages (a half sheet of paper).  I used to have separate notebooks and calendars for each of these: a to-do notebook, a calendar book, a blog idea binder, etc.  But this little binder keeps everything organized in one place, and lets me remove pages each month or year, and refill as needed.

I divided my binder into 6 sections:

1. big picture (monthly calendars)

2. days gone by (weekly calendars)

3. list maker (to do's, house projects, grocery lists, wish lists...you get the picture)

4. blog (blog post ideas, schedules, posts to write, etc)

5. make stuff (crafty projects to make, crochet patterns I'm writing or using, crochet projects with hooks and yarns)

6. design ideas (sketches, drawings, color schemes, etc)

I created my pocket dividers using this file from the Silhouette online store

I resized the scalloped border and slash pocket ones to fit the binder and cut them from double-sided Bella Blvd paper.  I then mixed and matched the pockets and trimmed the scallops off to create binder tabs.

The first section contains a monthly calendar printed from here.  I am choosing to focus on my One Little Word in this section of my planner.  I have color-coded the different areas of my life that I am working to Nourish this year, and making a point to document how I nourished them each day.

This section ends with a monthly page where I will log each book I read.

For the weekly calendar pages, I created a printable customized to my week:  Mon, Thurs, Fri are my work days, so I can't plan a lot for those days.  The rest of the days are segmented out by the hour.  I have found that this is the best way for me to manage my time--it's not for everyone but it works for me.  I also have space to joy some notes, a quote or some sort of inspiration I came across that day, notes about my mood for my blanket, things I definitely need to accomplish that day.

Next up is the "list maker" section:

I'm a list addict.  Sometimes it's daily, sometimes it covers the span of a few days.  But I love the feeling of accomplishment I get when I can check things off.  Also, I have a terrible memory and will certainly forget it if I don't write it down.  Making a list helps me get it out of my head and onto paper.  This section also holds any long-term projects I want to work on and break-down lists of how I will accomplish them.  

The "blog" section contains more lists and general blog planning ideas.

The "make stuff" section helps me keep track of projects I'm working on.  Crochet patterns, crochet projects with yarn and hook sizes, hand-made gift ideas, things I want to make, brainstorms anything that centers on making stuff.

And finally, I filled the "design ideas" section with grid and lined paper.

Here's where I can sketch out design ideas, chalk art, layout and card sketches, blog design ideas (want to do my blog over this year), and any other design ideas.  This is also where I would keep my Project Life design pages (but not this year).

So there it is, a look at my planner and how I organize it.
Do you keep a planner, or are you a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of girl?

granny coffee cozy

made with the Rhonna Designs and Snapeee Apps

I have decided to designate Wednesday's here on the blog to crochet.  I'm very excited to share whatever bit of crochet I am working on and to hear about what you might be hooking up as well.

I work with a fantastic teacher with an ice coffee and hot soup addiction, so for Christmas I hooked her up a granny square coffee mug cozy.

I used a traditional granny square pattern to create two granny squares.  I joined the two squares on one side with a series of single crochet (long enough so that the 2 squares and the band would fit around the mug).  I framed the whole piece with a row of single crochet.  Next, I made three bands to connect the handle side (again in sc), and stitched on some buttons.  The buttons simply fasten in the spaces on the granny square design.

I wish I had more of a precise pattern to share with you, but it really isn't too difficult to make.

Now it's your turn: What's on your hook?

mood blanket monday weeks 1&2

Happy Monday to you!

I have jumped hook first into a Crochet-Along project for 2014: the Crochet Mood Blanket.

It was started by a little Instagrammer named mummy_stacey.  She posted a modest little idea she had: to crochet a square a day in a color to match your mood, and it took off like CRAZY.

There are now thousands of hooking participants and a Facebook page with nearly 2500 members!  Don't you love it?!

Anyway I'm in, and have been loving tracking my moods, being mindful of my emotions and what makes them so.  This project has also helped me to focus on the positive (who wants an all grey and black blanket?).

Here's my blanket so far

I'm using Priscilla Hewitt's Simple Square pattern and her Flat Braid Join method to hook up my blanket.  The tutorial for the join is here; scroll to the end for the square pattern. 

And here's a look at each of my squares and moods for the first two weeks:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Want to join in?  We're not too far into the new year that you couldn't catch up pretty easily.  Choose a square pattern and a yarn color for today and getting hooking!

top dog dies: 2 bottles, 3 ways

Hello!

I have a couple of cards to share with you today.  I once read on a crafty girl's blog that she doesn't buy anything unless she can think of three different ways to use it.

So in case you have a little holiday money burning a hole in your crafty little pocket, I wanted to show you three different ways to use this cute little die set from Top Dog Dies:

Bottles #2

When I looked at that bottle on the left, I immediately saw a flower petal (I know.  I'm crazy.  I see things, and don't even get me started on the voices I hear).  Anyway, do you see it?  Just trim off the base and continue the curve on the top and you've got a perfect little petal shape.  

And then it was all very serendipitous when they fit perfectly around the little hexie punch from Fiskars.  I created two layers of petals just to be able to use all the pretty colored petals I had cut (did you catch that they are in rainbow order?)

The hello is cut on my Silhouette Cameo and the friend tag is cut from the Cherish Doilies & Tags set.  I mounted the whole piece onto an embossed Circle Mini Album die.

Next up, I used the bottle on the right as a vase and filled it with a cut from the Wildflower Die.

I also snuck in a little doily from the Cherish set.

A couple of Wednesdays ago, I shared this nail polish gift:

Yup, you guessed it!  That nail polish bottle was made with the Bottles #2 die, too.

Just cut off the top, add a strip, and a little tip for the brush.  These would also make the perfect embellishment for a card that contains a gift certificate for a mani or pedi.

Here are the die sets I used in these projects (click on the photo to go to the Top Dog Dies shop):

  

 

Next week I'll be back with a collection of mini embellished doilies.

Thanks so much for stopping in for a visit!

one little word: nourish

Happy New Year!

I think I've said it before on this little blog, but I love a New Year!

There's just something about the energy of a new year and

an empty calendar.

A new year holds so much hope and possibility.  It's energizing and inspiring.  

It tells us that we can do more, be more.  It's a new beginning, a chance to be better than we were the year before.

This year, my One Little Word {#olw2014} is

A quick look in the dictionary confirmed that this is the perfect word for me in 2014

2014 is my year to nourish: my mind, my body, my soul, my relationships, my creativity

It's my year to nourish my whole being.