Howdy, and good morning. One of my new years resolutions, is to be more organized. Can someone be 'more' organized? or is it simply 'organized'? Well, I feel that I am pretty organized, per say. But, I also believe that there is always room for improvement. So, I am working on being 'more' organized. And to help me conquer this task, I purchased a planner to keep everything together at my finger tips. {smile}
If you do a search for 'planner' on the internet, you will be bombarded with images, tutorials, and various manufacturers products. A lot of eye candy! So, during the last week of December, I headed to a local craft store, and picked up a few items. And I finally did a little bit of crafting, and decorated the cover of my planner, and the inside cover of my planner. {smile}
My planner is striped in a rose gold metallic and cream. I really liked how these two colors looked together. I started with a paper lace doily from Stampin' Up!. I layered a scrap piece of cream and gold metallic lace, towards the bottom of the doily. Then I added a piece of pink polka dot washi tape. I purchased that big beautiful fabric blossom in the clearance isle of a craft store. So, I hot glued the blossom, to the cover. I die cut two leaf pieces and my initials from a scrap piece of glitter paper, that is pretty similar in 'gold' color on the cover. I adhered the two leaf pieces to the upper left of the blossom, and adhered my initials to the right of the blossom. I adhered the rose gold and rhinestone charm just under the blossom. And the final touch was adding a trio of blush sequins, and a trio of flat-back 'pearls'.
I am pretty happy with how the cover is decorated. I didn't want too much on the cover, as I use my planner daily. It's kind of a ritual now a days. I open it, and look at my various sections each morning, while I am drinking my coffee. It helps me stay on track for projects, and I get to review my calendar, and make notes of different items of interest. I am truly loving this whole process! {smile} I also wanted to make a few additions for my planner, and to make the inside just as pretty!
I trimmed a Project Life card and re-rounded the corners to this beautiful metallic card: 'By being YOURSELF you put something WONDERFUL into the world that was not there before'. I think all of us need reminders how special each of us are. And that we should celebrate not being carbon copies of each other.
I made 4 different but equally beautiful 'clips'. I took large paper clips and simply added things I love! Three are made out of paper, and one is another beautiful blossom. {smile} The sign, coffee cup, and mason jar are made from paper. I added a little foam adhesive between the front and back piece of heavy card stock. And hot glued the paper clip in place. For the blossom, I simple tied a double bow to the paper clip and hot glued the pink paper blossom to the bow. I backed it with a scrap piece of pink felt. I added some small gold accent post-its, and two magnetic closures: a tiffany blue flag, and a gold metallic diamond shape. I printed a calendar year onto heavy card stock and slipped that in the large pocket. So, I can see the whole year in one view. I also made a few notes for each month. That is where I jot down large projects.
Well, thank you for looking, and spending a little time with me, to see what I have been doing. I hope you are still on track with your new years resolution(s), too. Changing how you do things, and creating 'good' habits are hard. It does take work, and discipline. But, I know that I am happy with the changes I have made this year. I am still exercising 3 times a week. Running 2 days a week. Making better, healthier choices of food. And having time on my calendar to craft, really takes the stress away. I don't fret about deadlines anymore, and I can get so many more things done in the day. It makes me believe that my stress is reduced, which is good for my heart, and my family. {smile} And I continue to work on my 'problem' areas each day. So there are strides there. And feeling like I am in control of those areas, is empowering! Have a great day!
