reading is fun


Every other Tuesday, our little town library has an after-school program for kiddos up to grade 5. The girls have both loved going, even though Isabella is too old now, for the stories, the crafts and fun with their friends. Plus, we think reading is fun and we all get to check out some new books!

I scored these three books for $5.00 at the mini book sale they were having. They're all new authors to me, but Zach has been reading Lee Child for as long as I can remember. We just saw the Jack Reacher movie, the one with Chris Pine, which made me want to begin reading the Jack Reacher series as I did quite enjoy it. I always thought that it was very heavy on the military aspect so I never even gave the Lee Child novels a try.

I generally read mystery and light hearted chick lit, with some Southern literature and a few classics thrown in as well. Sadly, I rarely read non-fiction or for learning, per say, focusing more on escape. Not that I couldn't use a little self-improvement, though.

I'd love to hear your book recommendations.

And have you seen these library cards in the I Love It All shop? What a fun way to keep track of who you've loaned books to, or what you've read this year, or what's on your reading list or even add to your Project Life album. I have them in my Filofax to jot down titles and authors so that when we're at the library, I don't have to recall from {my poor} memory what it was I wanted to hunt down.

Here's where you can find this To Read Filofax instant download set to keep track of your reading list! 

simplify | my one little word

Simplify.
My one little word.


Since even before the end of 2014, I had been working to find ways to simplify my processes.
Simplify my daily life.
Simplify the way I go about taking care of tasks for my business.
And mostly, just simplify and rid myself of things I've been holding on to because I thought that I needed to.

I'm not a hoarder on any level, but I look at those things and feel clutter. And it's taking up space in my head where new ideas and good memories need to be, not the knowledge that there's clutter all around.

In all honesty, our home is not cluttered. We are neat. Yes, I could be better at cleaning the bathrooms, but we are a tidy family with plenty of room to move around and live. But, just the idea that I have things that need to be weeded out and organized is taking up space, physical space and mental space, and I mean to change that.

I usually create one piece of art each year to keep in my Studio, after all I'm there most of the day, to celebrate my word of the year. A few times, I've even bought charms to go on a necklace to wear. I noticed that I did not have one for every year I've chosen a word. Which made a lightbulb go off in my head!

THE AHA MOMENT

I remember ordering a necklace for my BFF from high school, but I mistakenly ordered two charms with the same name. So I kept it {part of the clutter I was talking about earlier}. I found it and drug out the metal stamping kits Papa let me use years ago, but I never did {also part of the clutter} and practiced on a piece of cardboard to see if I could actually do it. It worked!

#onelittleword #olw #simplify

My first attempt at stamping is not perfect as you might have seen on Instagram. I share a lot of in progress projects there, if you ever have the time to browse. Nor was my second attempt perfect, but I did it anyway. After all it's just for me, not a gift, and I kind of love that it's imperfect...allowing me to strive for perfection, or not, my choice.

SOURCES

If you're interested, I have a few sources for you:


BE - from an group deal site, but I've seen tons of Etsy shops that do the same. It was just supposed to be the first initial, but the shop owner kindly agreed to have it say BE, instead of just B
DREAM - from a lovely Etsy shop owner, too! I received the small locket, the vintage key, and the pearl charms as a complete design from KraftyKash.
JOY - this is actually the charm that started it all, and it was a gift from a crafty, charming, lovely blog reader, and blogger, Vicki. And she's a super, duper Mom, too!
SIMPLIFY - I did it! I actually followed through on my plan and did not let the supplies gather dust as I waited for the moment I had time to do it. I just did it! Now that I look at it again, I like that it's kind of rounded and wonky, it adds some charm and life, don't you think?
EMBRACE - I did that one, too! It's my second attempt at metal stamping and for this charm I used a smaller set Papa had given me to add the word to the lower part of the key, to the left of the heart. On both charms I made, I used a Sharpie marker to fill in the word to make it stand out and be noticed.

WORDS OF THE YEAR at a glance

Read more about my move to simplify and clear my mind.
First five commenters will receive their own "key" charm {no word stamped on it though} as a special little gift from me!

Why not create a piece of art documenting your One Little Word? Need help with creating yours? Visit with me in my shop at www.iloveitall.etsy.com where I create custom art, journals and graphic typography prints.

making a list

I'm not going to lie, December kicked my butt. I caught a really bad cold, maybe the flu, just before Christmas. I didn't even get around to baking and creating annual Christmas ornaments with the kids as we have done for years and years. And I missed it. I missed the tradition and memories that could have been made. 


But during the haze of trying to feel better for weeks and weeks because the cold just hung around, I did some thinking. 

Quite a bit of thinking about different areas of my life, personal and professional, and it has me confused. Confused, but it's clear to me that I need a vision and a plan and it's time to treat what has been a fun "little" thing that I do while the kids are at school more seriously. 

I have to take me more seriously. I am a business owner. There, I said it. I am really terrific at building others up, but am not good about building myself up. Sure, I believe in myself and have a pretty good sense of self worth, but I don't like to market myself. 

I always knew this. I always knew that I should do the right thing, but shied away from it thinking that a day-to-day plan would suffice. From the beginning of the idea of I Love It All. I've always had the nagging feeling pecking at me, time and time again, that that's exactly what I needed to do. 

There's been that little finger jabbing me on the shoulder telling me what was right, but I ignored it, I resisted because I wanted this thing I do {playing with paper} to be free of stress and worry. Not a job. Something fun.

It's been some time since I graduated from college, I have a BBA in Marketing and have been schooled in the right way to conduct a business, so I know what the right thing to do is. I am not proud of myself for flying by the seat of my pants for years and years and not using my skills to do what I know is the right thing.

So, I'm making a list, you know I love lists, and I'm going to do the right things. I'm going to kick it up a notch, I'm going to learn, I'm going to thrive, I'm going to organize and reshuffle, I'm going to feel uncomfortable doing things that I don't really like to do because they're things I need to do and I'm going to hold myself accountable.

And along the way I'm going to love it all, because it's a good thing. And the right things can still be fun things, right?

30 days of lists | days 19 - 30

#lists #mixed media #journal #scrapbook #minialbum

I usually share my daily lists on Instagram, but fell a bit behind for a few unforeseen reasons, and ended not finishing my shares until January. Here's the last of the lists for the December, the March class will be here before we know it.


I'm already on the prowl for new lists to journal in the interim. I have realized that I really enjoy stopping, thinking, writing and creating in little spurts. It's invigorating and satisfying to be finished with a list and have a feeling of accomplishing something that made me feel good that day. 

I'm trying to decide if I'll make a separate list journal and just journal when I feel like it or adding the lists to my Filofax planner. Are you a lister?

30 DAYS OF LISTS | December Edition

Day 19 | Things I Will Never Forget
#washitape #officesupplies #scrapbook #stickers #journal #lists

This is the day my Father passed away, so I jotted down a few memories I had of him.

Day 20 | Favorite Moments From This Week
#30daysoflists #30lists

Day 21 | My Version of Fancy Involves
30 Days of Lists with I Love It All

Day 22 | On My To Do List Today
30 Days of Lists with I Love It All
 find mini manila shipping tags {and other sizes}

Day 23 | I Find Magic In
mixed media scrapbook journal embellished with washi tape, letter stickers and various office supplies
find the metal rimmed tags here

Day 24 | Ways to Express Joy
mixed media scrapbook journal embellished with washi tape, letter stickers and various office supplies

Day 25 | I Would Like To Remember

Day 26 | Today I Am Grateful For
#minialbum #scrapbook #stickers #lists

 Day 27 | Things That Happened Yesterday

Day 28 | Today I Choose To

Day 29 | My Daily Routine

Day 30 | Skills To Work On Next Year

Find Days 1 - 8 here.  |  Days 9 - 18 here.  |  Days 19 - 30 lists here
Read more of my 30 Days of Lists posts, including past classes I've taken.

using your scrapbooking supplies to decorate your planner

Who's ready to start 2015 with a renewed vision of where we're going and what we want to do?
I am!

Here's hoping you've all had a wonderful holiday season and my wish for us all is that we find peace, contentment, health, happiness, hugs, laughter, love, giggles and lots of time to be crafty!

Hi, I'm Monika and I'm a paper planner addict from way back. You know, before there was such a thing as a Google calendar or smart phone apps to keep you organized. And today, I'd love to share with you how you can trick out your paper planner with items from your scrapbook stash...why should layouts and mini albums have all the fun?

That's right, why not use your chipboard elements, enamel dots, decorative tape and cute scrapbook papers to personalize your planner to show your creative side. I began personalizing my planner by choosing my favorite papers and tracing the tab divider page onto the back side of patterned cardstock and trimming to size.

#planner #filofax #organization #scrapbooking #mymindseye

I recommend punching your holes now, before embellishing them with chipboard, especially if you are using something other than a hand held hole punch.

#planner #filofax #organization #scrapbooking #mymindseye

And who says we can't embellish our divider tabs? I love opening up my Filofax and seeing all that gold glitter! And the floral deer head just makes me smile!

#planner #filofax #organization #scrapbooking #mymindseye

Rub Ons are a perfect embellishment for those of us that don't like a lot of bulk on our planner pages. You can still write on each side of the page without obstruction. And how do you like the way I added the colorful enamel dots to the Bike paper?

It always seems that I need to do forward planning when planning vacations and appointments, so I use a vertical pull-out calendar for the following year and made a top tab page so I can easily flip to this pages when I need to jot a quick reminder.

#planner #filofax #organization #scrapbooking #mymindseye

Sometimes, a girl just needs to jot a quick list on a sticky note and not actually write it in her planner, right? I love that MME has designed some super cute options for adding journaling to a layout or mini album, but the sticky notes are so, so perfect for your planner or calendar, too!

#planner #filofax #organization #scrapbooking #mymindseye

And because I do use sticky notes, I've found that the transparent frames, trimmed down, are great to add between my weekly pages. I can still see the notes for the whole week, but I'm greet with an upbeat message and awesome design each time I review my day. Plus, the transparent frame is the perfect spot to hold my sticky note collection...yes, there may just be more than one note on here at one time!

#planner #filofax #organization #scrapbooking #mymindseye

I like to embellish the edges of my weekly pages with Decorative Tape to add a bright outlook and it doesn't add any extra bulk. By trimming an envelope, and reinforcing it with tape for strength along the cut edge, I am able to store my coupons here, thereby reducing the bulk in my wallet.

NOTES
Follow along with me on Instagram, where I share more photos of how I've decorated my Filofax planner.
Find more Filofax planner posts here.
To find the free perpetual calendar you see above, click here.