DIY Planner Redux

You may remember this DIY planner I made last summer.

 

Well, as you can see, it's gotten a little beat up over the year, not to mention getting close to running out of months, so I decided it was time to refill it. And while I was at it, I gave it a little makeover, too.

I had a stroke of genius this time. One of my problems the first time around was that the paper didn't always lay flat, even with the use of excessive double-sided tape. This time, I purchased full sheet mailing labels and printed a pattern into what basically came out as a full sheet sticker.

Word to the wise: the 8.5x11 sheet was just slightly too small, so I ended up using two different full sheet patterns. Next time, I think I'll cut some contact paper into 11x17 and take it to Kinkos to print.

Anyway, even with the two different patterns, I think it turned out really nice.

I also bought these little alphabet stamps in the dollar section at Target and personalized my planner with my name.

And, if you want a little gloss, you can throw on a coat of Mod Podge (one of my favorite things ever).

Woohoo!

Self Portrait

One of my goals for 2013 is to learn photography properly. I took a class back in high school using a manual film camera, but though I've had my Nikon D70 for about 4 years, I've barely used M mode. For shame. I know.

Another goal is to learn cool tricks with Photoshop beyond the basic layer masks I use for work.

I'm going to periodically be posting photography samples throughout the year to see my progress. Here's a self-portrait I took today after reading about how bubbles freeze below 32 °F. I decided to experiment and, sadly, my bubbles did not freeze, but I did get some cool pictures, including one with my reflection in it.

What do you think?

One of a Kind Show - Chicago 2012

I had the pleasure of attending the One of a Kind Show in Chicago today with my mom and two of her lovely girlfriends. It took us about 6.5 hours to make our way through all of the venders and, though I was the only one in the group who did not make a purchase, I got a lot of lovely ideas. I thought I would just devote a post to sharing some of my favorite items from venders and, if they have one, a link to their websites. 

Look at all those business cards!

Mirabelle Studio is a paper goods shop from Indiana. I loved her woven notebooks. Kind of regret not purchasing one on the spot. Especially since she was so kind and complemented me on my necklace (image to the right) which is now for sale at my own shop).

I loved this arrowhead shirt and similar shirts from Garbella (available at Etsy).

And I really loved this Illinois shirt from Megan Lee Designs, as well as the cute "Midwest is Best" shirt.

Riggo Designs made me really want to move out of my parents house and get my own place, just so I could decorate it with his amazing metalwork. Like this "Tree of Light" lamp. (Ooh shiny).

Earth Cadets had this arrow pillow that I've already lusted over on Pinterest and now got to hold it in my hands. Why didn't I buy it? I really don't know. Probably because my feet were killing me.

I'm not sure I saw this particular print from Laura George, but I really liked everything she had and this is my favorite from her Etsy shop.

Jill K Davis had these amazing rings and necklaces with little houses, but I also really liked these skeleton key stacking rings.

Chomp Textiles produced some awesome bags. There was a green one pictured here that I loved, but I couldn't think of a practical use for it, so I didn't buy it. I will be returning to their shop, however, as soon as they make ordering online available. (I'm not displaying pics here because they've got them set up on their site as unsharable and, even though I could work around it, I won't because they obviously don't want me to.) 

Red Raven Shop had a ton of arrowhead stuff, which I am drawn to, like these lovely earrings.

From Virginie Millefiori, I really loved this lightbulb necklace. At the show, she had one in silver, but only the gold is currently available on Etsy.

This Sri Lankan Lemongrass body oil from Green Envie Organics smells just like Pez. And if you know me at all, you know how much I love my Pez.

And finally, for the gentlemen, these watches by Mistura were particularly appealing.

Giveaway!

At some point in the hopefully near future, I'm going to be opening up a shop on Storenvy, where I will be selling handmade bottlecap necklaces and keychains. I made a promise on Twitter that when I reached 226 followers, I would host a giveaway. Now I shall make good on that promise.

The bottle caps up for grabs are these:

Row 1: Big Ben, Always Doe, California Map, Marauder's Map, Yellow NES Controller, Sherlock Holmes's Hound of the Baskervilles, Giraffe
Row 2: Peeta's Real or Not Real, Hulk, Birds, Gryffindor, Rosie the Riveter, Jane Austen
Row 3: Tolkien's Hobbit, Twain's Huckleberry Finn, France Map, Ceci N'est Pas Une Pipe, Deathly Hallows, Blue NES Controller
Row 4: Peeta's Nightmare, The Boy Who Lived, Thor, Ship Wheel, Ship
Row 5: Archer, Streetlights, Mockingjay Pin, Books, White NES Controller, Bird, Bikini

To see each bottle cap, check out the images on Flickr (note: I'm not a very good product photographer yet).

To enter, use the Rafflecopter options below (also, make sure you put your email address in your comment if you don't use Twitter or have contact info on your blog):
a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Time I Decided to Make My Own Planner

So, I decided that the planners I buy in stores just don't really suit my needs. For one, I never use the day schedules, so it's just a waste of paper. Secondly, I like to write To-Do lists every week and cross stuff off when I get it done. Thus, I decided to create my own planner with the month, followed by blank pages for To-Do lists.

The trouble started when I decided I wanted to make it in a ring-binder so I could replace the inserts and use it over again. Why such trouble? Well, finding the right size binder (or a small binder in general) proved to be a hefty task, at least in searching for an affordable one that I wouldn't feel guilty about destroying (always a possibility when I try to get crafty).

Anyway, I started by tracing the calendar portion from my existing planner, then copying it to card stock.


Next, I cut the pages down to the "right size" (I had to redo this.)


Here's the "right size."


I spent an entire day looking for a 1/8" hole puncher, and of course every store was out. Apparently everyone and their mother needed an 1/8" hold punch on this particular day. I bought a random hole punch and it was EXACTLY the same size as the rings, which means that the paper is a little tight in the binder. Then, I covered the binder with this awesome scrapbook paper I bought at the craft store. I attached it on the spine and covers using double-sided tape. (Best. Invention. Ever.)

Here's the finished product. (Outside view)


(Inside view).


So there you have it. Now you know how to make your own planner. You also know that I have a Gyno appointment on the 31st, which I'm sure is information you couldn't do without.

I have to say, though, the best part of my planner is that now I get to try on these sweet mustaches everyday.

(Disclaimer: I'm neither related to Hitler nor Charlie Chaplin, so don't even ask.)
 

Penelope Room Project

So, I'm 24 and I live with my parents. But I'm okay with that. Because they have hooked me up with a sweet basement pad. I call it the Woman Cave. In the Woman Cave, I finally have abundant space to display my large collection of books. But, as the basement is newly finished - well, sort of, it was finished almost a year ago - there are still areas that require some finishing touches.

My bedroom, for instance, is quite bare since I had originally put my bookshelves in it and then later decided to move them to the den. All I have on my walls are one piece of painted metal that I picked up at Pottery Barn and calendar featuring historical covers from Rolling Stone.

(I've always wondered, did the band come first or the magazine? I should look that up.)

Anyways, recently I re-watched the movie Penelope (starring Christina Ricci and James McAvoy) and was completely blown away by the production design. The colors are gorgeous and are repeated everywhere throughout the film, making it extremely aesthetically pleasing and unifying the story. My favorite part, I have to say though, was the set design of Penelope's room/nursery. The first thing I noticed was that the color of her walls is similar to the color of my own bedroom walls. Thus, it gave me some great inspiration for decorating my room. My new project is going to be converting my room into something that emulates the same magical and ethereal quality that Penelope's room evokes.

Here are some images I grabbed from the film:

 This green is really similar to the green in my room. I really love the burnt orange cushions here and I'm thinking about finding a bedspread that matches that color.

Her bedroom, which is off the nursery, is a reversal of the dominant colors. Here the bedspread is the same green as the nursery walls and the bedroom walls are kind of a rusty, burnt red. I love the large "windows."

Here is another view of the nursery. I'm going to have to copy the butterflies on the wall, except I will probably go for birds. I also really love the swing and would like to mimic the look possibly with a wall-mounted bookshelf. My room is not large enough for those beautiful metal room dividers, but I might be able to find a smaller wall ornament. The one thing that I really love but am not sure where I could fit any are the ornate terrariums you see all over the nursery.

 I love this tree, but there's no way I have the time or resources to duplicate it. I'm considering creating a wall decal using ConTact paper, but I haven't quite decided if I want to keep the orange. Thoughts?

It's going to be a hefty project, but extremely satisfying, I imagine.

Sometimes its not about what's on the bookshelf...

It's about the bookself itself.

The past couple of weeks have been my DIY crafty weeks. I rearranged my room and realized, well, I just didn't have enough space for the massive amount of books and DVDs I've collected throughout college.

(I shipped 12 boxes from California, if that tells you anything.)

So, I bought some wood boards, sanded them down, and pasted some movie posters around them. Then I mounted them to my wall. They look pretty freakin sweet if I do say so myself. I will post some pictures eventually, you know, when I take some.

In the meantime, I thought I'd show some of these awesome shelves I discovered while searching for ideas.

 I still want to get this one and put it on my dresser.

And I love this. It would go really well with the colors in my room, but I don't really know where I would put it.

Same with this one, it's cool too, but no place to put it.

This one is just...pretty.

This, I will totally do. Someday.

And this. Which just makes my heart sing.

I'll try and get some pics up of my shelves.