Planners and Planner Supplies

I decided to take a break with making things for the home and share a post about my planners. This is a new hobby (so to say) of mine. I've been an inconsistent planner before, jotting down what I needed and all that jazz but lately, I've been really into decorating them. I have yet to find planner peace but I'm still tinkering around. One of my goals is to make a balanced schedule and it's helping me along with that nicely.

So, let me start off by showing off some of the items that I use*. 

*Please note: Everything I use might not be for you. This is just my own opinion.

These are my two planners. I have a personal/everyday/goes-with-me-almost-everywhere planner. That is the A5 planner. A5 is one of my favorite size for notebooks and for planners. It keeps me from overloading my days with tasks I know I won't finish.

The A4 planner is my business planner/binder of sorts. I'm trying to bring out my Etsy shop and get ready for possibly publishing soon (you can find more on the publishing on my other blog - here). I'm just trying to get on track with everything. Currently, I'm focusing more on my novels and writing side more than my Etsy shop. At least for now.

Pens are always a love of mine. I'm really picky about what I write with an tend to lean toward certain pens for different writing tasks. My favorite planning pens are the Papermate Flair Pens. There is a large variety of colors and write smoothly. I generally write with the black pens but will use other colors for other things that I need to pop out at me. 

Stickers are fun in planners. I use them for decorating or for tasks that I want to mark out on my week-at-a-glance pages. A lot of people sell task stickers on Etsy. In the pictures above, I separated the stickers that I have for a reason. They basically have different uses other than my daily task stickers but they came from two different places.

1. These stickers are from a shop called OneOrangeSnowflake on Etsy. I'm hoping I caught the shop on a bad time because it took nearly a month for my order to get to me. The shop does have good stickers though and I really do love my teepee stickers. If I ever run out of those, I'll repurchase them from her shop.

2. The Korean Diary stickers I order from an Etsy shop called JaliceArt. I love these stickers. I do find that I'm reluctant to use them but I know I can buy more. I'm just strange like that. These ship from China so for some people, it will take much longer to get to your mailbox but they are worth it. They are cute and there are a lot of stickers on the 6 sheets.

3. Sticko brand stickers are probably the easiest things to find in my area. They are usually pretty cheap if you look in the right places.

4. In the last box, are some of the stickers my sister made. She is opening her shop on May 8th, 2015 and is selling lots of awesome stuff. She made these stickers herself and she made the typewriter stickers for me. I've already started using them. There is a huge variety of stickers. Her shop can be found here and her website can be found here.

Washi tape is another item I use often. These are just little samples of the washi I use. I wrapped them around spools and put them in a little organizer on my desk. Washi Tape can but used for several kinds of projects and they aren't usually over priced. 

Paper clips are something I use more frequently than I realize. I use them to mark important pages and such. I definitely love the fun ones. My sister made me the superhero ones because - well, they are superheros. Who doesn't love a good superhero every now and then?

They don't have to be fancy or cute paper clips. They just need to be functional.

I have a serious love for sticky notes. It's a terrible thing to love but I can't help it. My use of sticky notes goes way beyond planners. I use it for novel writing or reminders. They are just nice to have around. They are a huge part of Brynna's learning games that I make for her.

Anyway, sticky notes - they can be cheap. Some note so much but the cheap ones work just as well as the strangely overpriced ones.

I don't use these as frequently as other items but they are good to have on hand. I use certain stamps to indicate something I have to do. This frees up space in the planner for other things and embellishes the page while doing so. These can run a little expensive but they are reusable which is better than stickers. At least they won't have to be repurchased...unless something happens to them.

Notepads are those things where I think I need a lot of them but I only ever used them occasionally. I do tend to purchase a lot of them but I try to use them for certain things. Writing lists is the main one. I'm sure I have more uses for these things that I'm not thinking of but that's all that really comes to mind.

There are a lot of other supplies I use that aren't listed. These are just the ones I find myself gravitating to the most. The items in the picture above are also very handy products to have.

Repositionable glue is something I use often and lasts forever. The adhesive tape is awesome for when those sticky notes don't want to stay put. Though, it is more permanent than the glue. It's good to have on hand anyway. And scissors because you never know when you need to cut something. I use scissors a lot for when I decorate a week.

That is all for my planner supplies. There are a lot of things that I use but I never use all of them at the same time. Well, if I do, I don't use a lot. That would be a bit overwhelming. 

Hopefully, next week I'll have a DIY project to post.

No-Sew Snowman

I remember making these in elementary school for our holiday party craft one year. They are cute and easy to make. The girls love them and it's made out of things that you can normally find around the house. If not then the most expensive thing is probably the pack of socks. The items can be substituted with other things as well so don't feel like you have to use everything I used.

The Items I Used:

• tube socks (white)
• scrap fabric (2- 1ft strips per snowman)
• poms
• hot glue gun
• eyes (normally used to for crocheting/doll making)
• rice
• a measuring cup or a scoop of some sort for the rice
• Elmer's/white (water-based/non-toxic) glue - Optional (if making the nose out of fabric)
• rubber bands
• A nose (I used fabric)

Making the Nose (Optional Step)

This isn't a necessary step if you use something else. All I did was take a small piece of orange fabric and roll it into a shape of cone or if that isn't something that is easy, roll it into a tight tube-like shape and let it dry. 

If you used a tube shape, you'll need to trim the nose when it's done and shape it into a carrot. You'll need more glue to keep the fabric still. (Picture below for an example of how it can look after trimming.)

When you are done with that, cut the carrot nose into the size you desire. This step can happen at the end if you aren't sure how you want to have your nose.

Cutting the Sock

Left: Hat side. Right: Body

Cutting the sock is what you need to do next. The bottom of the sock (the rounded/closed-off end) is the body of the snowman. How you figure out where you need to cut on the sock, is by finding an inch or so above the halfway mark on the actual sock, not the elastic band (cuff? What is that part of a sock called?). You won't need the elastic part. The other end is for the hat. That needs to be slightly smaller than the body. (Check the next photo if you are confused.)

Now take the elastic part of it and you can throw it away or use it for something else. I'm sure you can find another craft for it. Set the part you need for a hat aside. That won't be needed until later.

Adding the Eyes

If you use doll eyes like I did, you'll want to do this part before you start filling your snowman. If you are gluing buttons, you get to skip this part.

The bottom half of the sock is going to be the bottom of the snowman. So that leaves the middle to almost the top part of the sock for you to figure out where you need to put the eyes. 1 inch, or a little more, from the opening needs to be free to tie off later. I'd say about 2.5 inches (maybe 3 inches) from the top should be a good place for the eyes.

Fill the Sock

This is the easy and sometimes messy part of the project. If you are working with little kids, I would suggest letting them work over a bin or a tray that will catch the rice (or whatever it is you are using) to keep clean up a little easier.

So, now, you fill the sock. Not all the way to the top.

Stop when you reach just below the eyes or maybe exactly where the eyes are placed. It depends on how heavy you want it.

Tie It Off

Take a rubber band to close off the top of the sock. This will keep the rice secure and won't spill  for the next step.

Separate the Head From the Body

I don't mean separate it literally. Just distinguish where you think you need to tie off the head from the body. You want to make sure you have a very elastic rubber band for this because you'll have to stretch it around the head at least twice to keep it secure.

That's how you separate it. I bent the head back so you can see it. The head will wobble a bit but that's okay. Just don't let the kids throw it around. It will either loosen the top rubber band or rip the sock. Either way it will be a mess.

In the end of this step, you'll have this cute sock creature but s/he need to have a hat. You'll need that hot glue gun ready.

Add the Hat

Now take the other part of the sock that you set aside and put it on top of the head. It will curl up a bit which is good. You'll need to fold it back a little, like the picture shown above. 

Then glue it down with the hot glue gun. I do a dot on the forehead, both sides of the head and the back of the head. It will keep it on.

Get Your Fabric And Cut It

Pick your fabric or whatever material you're using. We need to make the scarf and the bow or the tie-off to the top of the hat. as well.

You need two long strips of fabric. These should be about 1 foot long so you can have creative freedom with it. I had to tie bows several times for the girls. The extra length is good for that.

Tie On the Scarf

Wrap the scarf around the snowman's neck as you desire. Trim whatever excess fabric off the end and keep it in place with a little bit of hot glue. I always glue down the part of the scarf by where I tied it to keep it from flying everywhere. It's a preference thing.

 Tie Off the Top

Tie the top whatever way you desire. I did a bow because it looks cute and they are simple. Don't forget to trim the fabric. Add some glue if you need to keep it in place and then we have the final stages.

*Note: If the fabric is fraying too much, trim off the fray and add clear nail polish or Elmer's/white glue to the edges. It should stop it from fraying too much. There are a lot of ways to go about doing it.

Add the Details

Add the nose, the buttons, and if you decided to glue the eyes on, add those as well.

Enjoy!

 

Alternatives

Here is another way to make them. Turn the sock inside-out to give it a fuzzy look.

There are a lot of things that can be substituted in this craft with whatever it is you have at home.