Tag: Planner

December Daily Already?

Tis the season to be busy fa la la la la la la la la.

It’s that totally mad time of year again when in fact I’ve already celebrated Christmas and New Year believe it or not, way back in the summer after planning, creating and writing for Craft Stamper and  Paper Pen and Plan and here I am again planning and creating again like a crazy woman for an art and craft fair and my December Daily.

After a few false starts here (I just could not make up my mind which style of DD I wanted to go for this year) and a few abandoned choices I settled on using a travelers notebook style this year. Actually thinking about it I’m pretty sure it was the choice for last years too but that’s only because I totally love the style and format plus the idea of having it tucked in my Websters Pages TN cover appealed very much.

For my cover I’ve used papers and embellishments from both my November Sweet Treat Box from Paper Pen and Plan and some of the bits from the special bargain box which were available way back in the summer. There are still some bits left in the clearance section of the store if you’re quick.

To make my book I decided on a junk journal style for the inside pages. A few randomly chosen papers from magazines, music paper, a brown paper bag and ledger paper were put together and sewn simply down the middle with a long stitch.

Not terribly complicated stuff but non the less effective. I can’t wait to glue, paint and sketch inside it.

Quite by chance or maybe not, this month in Craft Stamper magazine I’ve an article featuring some planner pages using products also from Paper Pen and Plan and showing off their Sweet Treat Boxes.

It was a little bit bonkers writing up a planner page for the New Year when it was July but maybe just maybe it’s a little insight into how I hoped to see my New Year panning out. Anyway if you can get hold of a copy in your local newsagents or here online it’s a great read not just for my article but all of the other fab projects inside.

Have a wonderful weekend and I’ll see you next week.

Jaine xx

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The Word Of The Week – FOCUS

Focus, it’s a good word. One I use often but totally ignore. I’m one of the worlds worst procrastinators so my to do list just gets longer and longer. I’ve been trying to get through the list this week before I go away at the end of the month but I think I’m finally there.

I’ve been so good that today I actually had some time to do a bit of art journaling. Oh I have missed it. I can’t remember the last time I got the paints out and just created something. The starting point was the feather picked up on a walk this week. I used the Dylusions paints from the shop for my background and glued in the feather. A bit of collage and journaling finished it off and I think I’m a happy bunny again.

Here’s a closer look at it.

We’ve had some pretty sad weather this week, for August anyway. Not as bad as some folk in the UK but still cooler and at times wet, so an afternoon of lovely warm sunshine was very welcome and provided the perfect opportunity to get outside to do some sketching.

I made a start on this weeks planner pages laying down some watercolour and marking out my grids and days.

This is how it looks today, friday and almost finished. I’m loving this sort of layout and for the moment I don’t see myself changing it at all.

After the success of last weekends felt TN launch in the Etsy shop, I added to that family some pen holders also in felt. I’m very proud of them all and I’m hoping they’ll be as popular as my notebook covers. To find yours you can follow the link here.

Well that’s it for today. Have a good one where ever you are and stay creative.

Jaine x

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Bikes, Mushrooms And Christmas In July

I missed blogging for a couple of weeks and I feel really bad about it. I’ve no idea where the time went except to say I wasn’t slacking off at all. Far from it, this week has been a little bit bonkers in the basement as at one time I’d actually got projects for Halloween, Christmas and New Year on the go all at the same time.  I suppose that’s a result of doing what I do in the industry I do and having to work ahead most of the time.  I also go away on holiday at the end of August so I needed to catch up quite a bit.

Well since I last wrote, the Summer holidays have kicked in and all those annual activities which make living here in Luxembourg a joy began, such as the day the main road through our village was closed to traffic except for bicycles. All 15km of it I think it is. As we live directly on this road we always invite friends over to join us and share our BBQ later on. It’s always a wonderful day and we love it. I do confess to have felt a bit sad though as I couldn’t take part with the others and had to watch them go off on their bikes. Instead Cooper and I took the opportunity to walk down the road and see the valley from a different angle.

The weather changed a bit too and after the intensly hot weather of June and early July the cloud and rain which arrived was very welcome. Strangly enough though it brought with it an abundance of mushrooms in the fields and forests which I do think is a bit early, for here anyway. My morning walks with Cooper have been combined with mushroom foraging and one walk turned up this beauty.

This morning my friend Kate who’s a brilliant forager went with me on a walk and we came back with this lot. Some of it I’m not too sure about but she tells me they’re delicious and if she’s still here to tell me that then it must be true.

This week I received  several packages of happy mail each one exciting for different reasons.

As it’s time for Christmas In July, I received a Special Edition Sweet Treat Box from Paper Pen and Plan with their Christmas goodies in it. It’s packed full of stuff and my Christmas Planner is all ready to go.

I’m going to be using this gorgeous rose gold notebook my sister in law gave me for my birthday. It’s perfect and I have to thank her and my nephew lots and lots for buying it.

My first page is decorated with my Christmas Elf.  I’ll show you how I use it in a later post.

Meanwhile also in the post I received a sketchbook which I’m particularly excited about. It’s from The Brooklyn Art Library as part of The Sketchbook Project.

The idea is you fill a notebook with anything you like, send it back and it’s archived in the huge sketchbook library in Brooklyn and taken on tour around the States. I’ve also taken out the option to have it digitized so my book will be scanned and each page can be viewed online. How cool is that? I’ll post here what I do with it so look out for sketchbook tours.

Well that’s it for this Friday catch up. Have a good weekend and I’ll speak to you soon.

Jaine x

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A July Update And A Look In The Sketchbook

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks here. I went into hospital for a small, quick operation by laparoscopy and came home feeling sore, more than a bit tired and as bloated as a whale but spending time in my pj’s with my feet up had some advantages.  I had lots of time to sketch and catch up with my planners and journals.

As it’s July already I even made a start on my Christmas designs too. You can never be too early!!

Here’s one which needed finishing off.

Just as I arrived home my parcel from PaperPenandPlan was waiting for me. This months box is all about Quotes and the colours are beautiful and soft with mint greens and soft pinks. As the box contains a tube of paint and a brush I’ve ended up watercolouring everything which doesn’t move, including the pages of my Carpe Diem. The paint is very highly pigmented and to be honest it could have done with being watered down a bit more but once I’ve added more to my calendar I’m sure it won’t be so ‘in your face’ so to speak.  I love the ephemera pack which contains some gorgeous die cut fairies.

The box always contains a small kit and this month it’s a tube of watercolour paint, brush and some tags for a bit of fun.  I adore watercolours so couldn’t wait to get my brush wet.  A full tutorial for this tag is on their web site at Paperpenandplan

I didn’t get to show you my pages for the June Traveling Art Journal with Canvas Corp Brands. I think this is my favourite to date.

Have a good weekend all and I’ll catch up again next week.

Jaine x

 

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