Tag: planner setup

Hello February

I was totally ready for February but unfortunately my computer was involved in a little accident (something heavy landed on it) and doing anything on my phone or tablet was a pain. That includes photos which when I see them now on my computer they’re out of focus which is really annoying.  It’s back now which is great but I’m off on a little trip to UK visiting family and friends so it’s back to the tablet for a few days.

In the meantime I can show you what’s been happening since I last spoke and what I’ve been working on.

This year I really want to create my own planner inserts by hand which means drawing and painting the monthly calendar pages in my Carpe Diem and Bullet journal. It’s truly very satisfying to see a layout which I can say is totally me and not off the shelf. Of course I’ve still used stickers and papers as embellishments but on the whole it’s all me.

These stickers are from Paper Pen and Plan on Etsy and I just love the quote at the bottom of the page.

The Paper Pen and Plan group on Facebook have started a monthly sketch challenge and I’ve drawn up the first sketch. I created a dashboard layout also in my Carpe Diem to go with it using papers and embellishments from the February Sweet Treat box with Paper Pen and Plan.

I’ve also started a little journal in my Travelers Notebook. The pages are very thin but with a bit of gesso on the page I can add what ever I like on top. This page uses Tattered Angels sprays from Canvas Corp like paints with some scraps of paper collaged on top.

What do you do when you run out of letter stickers? Use the negatives of course.

I was absolutely thrilled this month to have my stamp design on the front of the new Craft Stamper. I’m hoping to spot it in the news agents when I’m back home so I can scoff.

This is a little close up of the projects I made using the stamp.

Well that’s all for now. Have a very good weekend and I hope the weather isn’t too horrid where you are.

Jaine xx

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New Projects – Friday In The Studio

Hello there and welcome to the first Friday in the studio of 2018.

Outside its stormy, wet and fairly miserable so I’m happy to be here in the basement with paints and glue.

This has to be my motto for the year  “you can do it”.  I just need reminding from time to time so here it is on the first monthly spread in my planner.

I think this year I really want to take up more mixed media and journaling again. I didn’t do so much last year instead focussing most of my attentions to making books and planners. I need to add more mixed media into my planners to bring the two worlds together and my sketchbook has been neglected a bit since the beginning of the year when I was adding to it almost daily. I’m really happy that Paper Pen and Plan are running a challenge this month to doodle every day so I’m taking this as an excuse to go a bit further and challenge myself to a small sketch each day. If you want to join in they’re running the challenge via their facebook group. You can find them here https://www.facebook.com/groups/paperpenandplan/ to join the group and join in the challenge.

It’s funny though but since participating in the open atelier just before Christmas and hearing what other people had to say about my work made me think about what it was I was doing and where I was going. I think I’d stopped believing in myself and had given up trying to produce anything in my art journal. For the atelier I’d made lots of mini books for scrapbookers and right at the very end – literally a couple of days before, I decided to make a few blank sketchbook/journal type albums with mixed media covers just to see how they went. Blow me if they weren’t the first books to sell and the response I got was amazing. So just from those few little books I’m now all fired up again to get out the paints and mediums.

Tomorrow is my first blog post for WOW and here’s a little sneaky peek at what’s coming up. I loved playing with texture and adding layers to this project. I’ll show you the full project tomorrow.

Happy Friday everyone, have a good one.

Jaine xx

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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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Meet My Latest Obsession

Meet my latest obsession, this little passport sized travelers notebook. It’s become my handbag companion containing my mini agenda, notebook plus two other blank books which I’ve yet to decide what to use for. I always had a little notebook in my bag for list writing and jotting down notes on the go but everything else was in my personal size agenda. Since buying this gorgeous turquoise and green planner from Paperchase recently and filling it with owl pretties from Paperpenandplan I didn’t really want to have it thrown into the bottom of my bag to get dirty and beaten up like the old one had been so I thought I’d have a go at making my own travelers notebook style from felt.

I also made a dashboard insert with a pocket using the digital papers from the March Sweet Treat box from Paperpenandplan. 

I wrapped it around one of my notebooks and the pockets are perfect for page markers and stickers.

It’s super easy to make your own so here’s how I did it.

I have a digital image manipulating program so I was able to put the two spotty papers on one A4 sheet and drag the owl journal card on the top right hand side. If you aren’t able to do that on your computer, don’t worry, just print all of the pieces out separately and cut them to size.

Without cutting the two halves apart, I folded them in half and glued them together. I find doing this is more accurate than trying to glue one piece on top of another separately.

Fold your dashboard in half again widthways and trim off any overhang from the top or bottom.

For the next step, I was going to laminate my dashboard but this is what happens when laminating goes bad!!

So without a laminator I resorted to using sticky plastic to cover my dashboard. I’ve also cut a strip from another piece of green paper to become my pocket.

With the both sides covered with plastic I used my sewing machine to attach the pocket to the dashboard plus it just gives it a decorative finish. You could use hand stitches with embroidery thread in the same way, just pierce the holes with a paper piercer.

When I use my sewing machine I always use a jeans needle and go very slowly. I also rounded the corners for a neater finish.

So here it is.

On the original I added a small tab with some spare green dot paper which I ended up covering too with plastic to protect it.

If you love my owl themed bits you can find these and goodies just like them at Paperpenandplan and if you quote JAINE10 at checkout you’ll get 10% off your order.

Happy Sunday

Jaine xx

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