DIY Planner and Journal

It's that time of year again... time to start thinking about new planners and calendars to keep yourself organized for the new year. I have tried so many different planners over the years, I've just about given up trying to find the perfect one. I have to have a paper planner as well as my Calendar app on my phone. In fact, I use both my phone's calendar app and Cozi, which helps me keep the kids' schedules in check (and Big Sis can enter and edit her own activities). 

I was browsing Pinterest (as I tend to do), looking for ideas for the new Smash Books I found on clearance at Michael's, and started seeing the Smash Books being used as day planners. I really want to use mine as scrapbooks, so I searched for other planner ideas. I found one I thought was really cute and simple from Entering Dreamland. She took a regular journal and turned it into her own day planner and journal. 

I got this journal on Sunday at the Single Moms' Holiday Party. I love it. I love the color scheme, and the quote is awesome: "a woman should be two things: Classy and Fabulous." (Coco Chanel, if you couldn't see.)

It has 120 pages, so I counted out 52 pages for the weekly calendar pages. I decided that I was going to break up the remaining pages into two sections: Notes and 1000 Things I Am Thankful For.












Here is how I organized my week on the page. I have one week per set of pages. I want the calendar on one side (the right) and a place for journaling or other things I may need to write down (notes for meetings or my classes, for example).

Little Sis gave me a glitter gel pen that I used to write the dates. I have added a set of those pens to my wish list on Amazon.













Here is the first page of journaling I have done. I know New Year's Resolutions are cliche. But I always like the idea of starting new and making choices to make myself a better person. I have found in recent weeks that journaling has a calming effect when I'm feeling stressed. I searched Google for quotes on New Year's Resolutions and found these. Notice I have more room for a doodle or two when I actually start using the planner.

Here is the view of both pages. On the following pages, I did the day first, then the date. I thought it looked neater that way.

Here is the page that starts  my 1000 Things I Am Thankful For. I started on the back page at number 1000 and counted backward. I like that I had enough room at the top for my title. I don't intend to just write a list, but this gives me a launchpad for it. I figured I could continue to draw or use creative lettering to fill in these pages. I could also add pictures.

To separate my sections, I used colored paperclips. I don't like things sticking out from my books, especially if I have them in my purse or tote. I also figured the paper clips won't lose stickiness (like flags) and the likelihood of losing them is low (and if I do, they are easily replaced). The journal has a ribbon marker I will use to mark the week.

I am very excited to start using this planner.

What kind of planner do you like to use? Electronic? Paper? Do you make your own? What are the must-have sections that you cannot live without?

Homemade Coffee Creamer

I've been on a label-reading kick lately. I've been trying to cut down significantly on the amount of artifical sugars and high fructose corn syrup the girls and I consume.

I made the "mistake" of looking at the label of the one thing I have to have in the house - my coffee creamer. I love my coffee, and while I can drink it with plain half and half, I much prefer a flavored coffee. Even at Starbucks, I get cinnamon dolce in my iced coffee (cheaper than an iced latte and I get free refills).

I was browsing Pinterest today (like I do every day), and saw a pin about homemade coffee creamer. The pin lead to Mrs. Happy Homemaker's post on Homemade Coffee Creamer. It seemed easy enough, and she has recipes on how to make different flavors (because while I like Vanilla, I like variety).

Tonight, I made the vanilla flavor. I mixed the 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk and 1 3/4 cup half-and-half. I then used a little over 1 tablespoon of vanilla (I like strong flavors). I started to put everything in a mason jar, but my jar was going to be too small. I had finished the last of the creamer I had (CoffeeMate Peppermint Mocha found at Grocery Outlet) this morning and washed out the container, so I put everthing into that and shook it like a Polaroid picture (not really, but I sang that song and Little Sis got a kick out of that).

Of course, after making the creamer I had to test it. So I made a cup of Starbucks Veranda Blend in my Keurig. The creamer smelled good (I could smell the sweetened condensed milk, though), and it actually tastes pretty good! I can't wait to try some other flavors.

I need to get into the habit of taking more pictures when I do my Pinterest finds. The only picture I have is the one of my coffee in my hand-painted mug.

Customized Starbucks Cup -- Glitterfied!

This is a "I saw it on Pinterest" DIY project! The original tutorial I followed can be found here.

I have a Venti Customizable Starbucks cup. I had already customized it a little, with Sharpies, my special drink (on a Post-It folded in half, taped to the inside), and even a piece of a disposable Starbucks cup from Disneyland.

When I saw the glitterfied Starbucks cup on Pinterest, I knew I needed to do it. I had spray glue already from making my flag for Royal Family Kids Camp, and I knew I would be able to keep my Disney Parks piece as well.

First, I glued in the Disney Parks piece. Before this, it had only been taped in. I get so many compliments on it, and Starbucks and Disney would probably make a fortune if they collaborated and sold them like this at California Adventure.

I followed the tutorial and ended up with my pink, glittery, cup. The hardest part was waiting for the glue and glitter to set so I could put it back together. One thing I would do, though, is use painters tape to tape the threads. I fear that I've lost the insulated seal because there is glitter in the threads.

I have gotten so many compliments on my cup. I even had to wait a little longer for my iced coffee the other day because the lady baristas were ooh'ing and ahh'ing over it. The guy barista thought it was hilarious.

I bet you're waiting to see the finished product, aren't you?

If you decide to give this a try, please comment here as well as at the original blog post linked above. Feel free to pin and share!

DIY Duck Tape Book Cover!

So I have a great planner from Day-Timer. It's the "Family Plus" model, where it has columns for my activities as well as extra columns for my kids. I love it. It fits perfectly into my purse, but man, was it boring. It also didn't have a pocket or anyplace to put a pen (where it wouldn't fall out) and the stickers I use to color code activities.

So I went on a Google Search. I found a WikiHow on How to Make a Duct Tape Book Cover. I figured it wouldn't be too hard. I went with the option to use a paper bag first then to cover it with the Duck Tape (yes, I'm saying that right. I used the Duck Tape brand). I bought two sheets of the pink zebra print and a roll of the white zebra print (shown). I also used a Starbucks paper bag, since it was closer to the size of my planner, and it was already getting beat up from being used so much.

First, I opened up the bag and cut off the handles. I traced my planner onto the bag, adding about an eighth of an inch on top and bottom. Then I placed the pink zebra print sheets (these are awesome -- no more making duct tape "cloth" to start a project!) to cover what would be the front and back covers. Then I added the white zebra print around the edges. I pretty much followed the WikiHow, except I used a bigger piece to make the pocket flap (step 6). Make sure you do this, though, otherwise, when you close that flap, you'll have exposed tape against your book.

This was fun. I should have used more space, like a table, instead of a clipboard on my bed. I would like to have the girls make a couple of covers for their Bibles, although Big Sis' Bible has a magnetic closure, so we would have to figure out how to make that work (I already have an idea in my head and it includes my X-Acto knife).

Hmm...I wonder if the Duck Tape sheets would work in a Cricut? I could customize the front even more!