New Hobonichi Cousin

I'm really feeling the relief of a brand new year and a fresh start! 

My main goal is to spend as much time as possible outdoors and with my camera. In November I started walking each morning and I've really been enjoying it. I have coffee with friends at Starbucks almost every day and it's a nice way to get some fresh air AND exercise. These photos obviously aren't from my walks but they are my favorite winter colors. 

I finished my 2017 Hobonichi Techo pretty strong! I didn't miss a single day since August, when things got busy, I was away from home or felt stressful I made a note in my phone of what I might want to write about and when I had time, I went back and filled in the days. That approach worked really well for me. It became something I genuinely looked forward to working on each day! I'm using the monthly page to write a seasonal quote about the month and track the weather and moon cycles.

For 2018 I went with the larger Cousin because I wanted more space to include photographs, practice hand lettering and use lots of stamps + washi. I realized I can walk to Rite Aid and have photos printed really inexpensively on nice quality paper. I have a Canon Selphy printer but I don't love it. Walking for photos = fresh air and encourages me to get the photos off the camera! I  have a 64GB card with close to 15,000 photos from just 2017. I don't know why I don't share or do more with them so that's definitely a big goal!

I recently took advantage of the Makerist sale and picked up a few hoodie patterns. My goal is to eventually make this one. I'd like to sew a bit more but I'm just not sure what. I definitely find fabric shopping more fun sometimes than actually sewing. ;)

I did recently make Pattydoo's Lynn out of some hilarious Christmas fleece from Joann Fabrics and *loved it*. It's currently in the washing machine but I'm going to do a blog post about it soon. I lined the pockets and hood with some bamboo fabric and it is SO soft. A total snuggle fest. I'd like to make it again but I haven't quite figured out how to lengthen it and take in a sides a tiny bit. 

I hope you had a Happy New Year!

Hobonichi Techo 2017

In August I began using my Hobonichi again. Life slowed down a bit and I didn't need the agenda/planner layout of the Happy Planner! I also wanted a bit more space to collage, stamp and write more. I like to work on it before bed or first thing in the morning with a hot cup of coffee. I got my first fountain pen, a Lamy Safari in Petrol, then Eric surprised me with a rose gold Lamy LX for our anniversary which I absolutely adore. 

I've really enjoyed journaling so much that I decided to go big in 2018 with the Hobonichi Cousin. I was so excited when it arrived, it feels more like a big squishy notebook! But I think I will miss the compact fat size of the techo a tiny bit. I am looking forward to having all the space, especially to practice my lettering! I've been really obsessing over some of the traveler's notebooks on Instagram and have pinned a lot of inspiration here. I love all the unique stamps, washi and ink options out there. I especially love the very full and layered pages of some journals!

I haven't had any time to sew lately but I picked up fabric to hopefully make a few gifts. And maybe a hoodie for myself! :)

CHA/Creativation 2017!

Today I thought I'd share with you some photos from CHA and some products I'm looking forward to trying this year!

One of my main creative goals in 2017 is to do more paper crafting. It's a craft that doesn't aggravate my arm like knitting & sewing does and it's a craft that I've always wanted to explore more! Being able to attend CHA/Creativation was super inspiring! I couldn't wait to get back to the hotel at night and write stuff down.

Admittedly I wasn't able to get as much out of the show as I'd hoped. Pneumonia seriously kicked my butt, I was living on cough drops and caffeine which is never pleasant. Luckily most people I met were super understanding and friendly!

We went to Creativation to meet Nina of Waffle Flower Crafts! She had a beautiful sunshine-y booth that was so fresh looking! Ashleigh & I walked around all day on Saturday and met so many people!

It was really fun seeing so many demos and talking to designers. I was excited to see that American Crafts will be carrying customizable 1Canoe2 globes! I think they are so cute- especially the constellation one! 

I spent wayyyyy too much time at The Happy Planner booth! The gal we chatted with was such a sweetheart and they had *amazing* planners on display! I really loved being able to flip through them and see how other people use their happy planners. They had 2017/2018 planners on display and some had lavender rings. I want those rings SO BAD because it was such a pretty purple! I brought my planner with me and it was fun to show them how much I love it. #fangirl. ;)

Heidi Swapp had a really pretty booth with very friendly people. We did a demo of the Minc machine which as a magpie, I absolutely loved!  Essentially foil adheres to toner parts of your image after you run it through a cute little machine. It's really shiny and wonderful. 

Pinkfresh Studio was a really nice booth to visit, it felt very calm and sweet. They pick amazing artists to design for them. The first thing I did when I got back to the hotel was pick up this reading themed stamp. 

One thing I didn't get to try but I think I'm going to want so badly is the Tim Holtz Stamp Platform. I am AWFUL at precision stamping and I really loved watching him interact with people. He seemed really friendly and genuine. Also, tons of energy which I really love!

It was a really nice time and I'm glad we got to attend! :D

The Happy Planner: Stuff I love, how I use it and more!

We have made it home from CHA/Creativation! Ashleigh & I had such a nice time! We met so many nice peeps and learned a ton about the craft industry. I only have a few photos from the show, both my camera & my phone were having some sort of meltdown which was super bad timing! But I do have a blog post planned with some of the neat products I tried and things I want to try in the future. I came down with pneumonia on Christmas and it has worn me out. I kept losing my voice which was embarrassing! I plan on catching up on a lot of sleep this weekend!

In November I went to Michael's and came across The Happy Planner. I saw them all over Instagram and thought they were pretty cute! But I was using a really nice Kikki.K for personal planning and a Rifle Paper planner for work planning. Michael's had a ton of cute planners, accessories, etc but I wasn't sure about the ring system. I'm notoriously hard on things and thought for sure I'd be losing pages! I ended up holding off until December when I scored a 60% off coupon + 20% off your total purchase. I picked up the Classic Minty Fresh because I really liked the dividers and the page colors. Since purchasing it, I've become totally obsessed! I thought I'd share it with you today along with some of my favorite supplies.

I use my Happy Planner as a combo of a personal daily planner + daily memory keeper. I use a lot of stickers, stamps, pens, scrapbook supplies and washi in my pages. It's a big mishmash of thoughts and journaling is something I really look forward to working on each day. I like to either spread everything out on my living room floor or just grab a few pens and curl up in my chair, writing away. It's cozy and a nice way to spend a little quiet time.

I totally admit that my personal life isn't all that exciting or busy and this is exactly what I struggled with when first using Hobonichi. It's easy to see journals and planners online and think your life doesn't quite compare. I've felt those thoughts. Trust me. But I've learned that for me, embracing the quiet makes me appreciate what I have so much more. I write about what books I'm reading, the weather, coffee with friends, shows Eric & I have watched, birds we've seen, outfit combos that I liked wearing along with practical things like grocery shopping, hair appointments, doctor's visits, etc. It's a collection of a lot of little moments that make up each day! Also: colorful! 

Some of my pages have a ton of stuff on them and some don't have much at all. Blank spots are fine and I don't mind if things run into each other or off the page. I don't stress about it! It seems against the rules to be unhappy while working in a happy planner. ;) The above page was from last weekend, I had so much to share that it's just all over the place! I tested out inks from different manufacturers, stamps and pens at CHA on this page, stamped the Saguaro National Park Passport and printed a photo of Ashleigh's first roadrunner sighting, and more! It's all over the place and I like that. 

The best part of The Happy Planner for me is how fast and easy it is to customize. I've made a bunch of covers by laminating pretty scrapbook paper, I've switched out the rings, I've made folders and dividers. I really like this aspect because I *adore* holiday things. I like that I can use a million Valentine's Day things and totally indulge in all the seasonal goodness!

I like to buy clip art from Creative Market for stickers and printables from Etsy. A few shops I've tried and have gotten really nice sets from are: ElysianPrintsCo, ilove2print and DesignLovelyStudio. I do have a Cricuit Explire Air 2 that I occasionally use for shaped stickers or cutting out folders (I use this cut file!) but mostly I print stickers and kiss cut them by hand with an exact-o knife. I find it relaxing in the evenings. 

I've also purchased some stickers from Etsy that have been super cute! I really love the quality of CleverGirlCraft's foiled stickers, Honeyinked clear stickers, Virgoandpaper kits and Paperandmilk!

In 2015 Ashleigh & I fell down the rabbit hole of stamps. We spent so much time sending flurries of texts back and forth with wish lists of stamps. There are SO many cute stamps out there! Obviously I'm going to mention Waffle Flower Crafts first because Ashleigh designed stamps for them and they are super cute! ;) I'm not the best stamper but on my pages they are the cross stitch cactus and unicorn! I bought an ink set from them last weekend and I've really enjoyed stamping with it! It comes in a cute box which I like, I don't have a ton of room left in my craft cart so I appreciate self contained things. ;) I also really like Pinkfresh, Mama Elephant, and Lawn Fawn! This moon phase stamp is super high on my wishlist right now along with this Bear and Bird stamp set!

And I love fine pens! On JetPens website you can search gel pens and then tip size. I prefer .38 if possible. I have very messy handwriting and fine tip pens make it so I can fit more of it in a small space. ;) One thing I've recently become obsessed with are pens that have tinted black inks! Like Bordeaux Black! It's black but also super deep and rich wine color. They are based in California and I usually get my order within a day or two. I've also had great experiences with The Goulet Pen Company. 

I found this cute little clear envelope at Staples! It's from the Martha Stewart discbound collection and I think it was around $4. I kept business cards and our business license in it last weekend and it was SUPER handy. 

I am forever forgetting to use promo codes and coupons. I made this little folder and tucked all the things that expire next month right with the February divider so if I decide to buy something, I have everything all in one place! 

And finally, a bit of happy mail. I've had my eye on this set of Field Notes for ages and finally bit the bullet! I have no idea what I'll write in them but sheesh, they are so beautiful! 

This post contains affiliate links to amazon.com. That means if you click the link and purchase something, I earn a tiny percentage of your purchase without any additional cost to you. All items I talk about are things I've purchased myself with my own money. :) 

Reading, Baking & Stamps!

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I totally got sucked into Seanan McGuire's Toby Dane series. I finished up the fifth book yesterday and instantly downloaded the next. Binge reading a series is one of my favorite things ever, especially if there are a lot of the books already released! The first one is currently $1.99 and I admit, I struggled with it. It has a lot of world building, slow moving, characters with similar names and fae hierarchy that was a little tricky for me to get into. Everyone said the series gets stronger and I agree! I'm now totally hooked. My favorite part is Spike, he's a creature called a Rose Goblin and I won't spoil what it is but if you are interested, the author has a cute illustration on her website. I sometimes struggle with books when the main character just goes through SO MUCH that you want them to just catch a break, I feel that way with this but the lighthearted bits keep me coming back! Also, there is a complicated relationship between two of the characters that I'm enjoying watching progress.

I've gone a really, really, really long time without baking! I think it's mostly because I have a love/hate relationship with my kitchen. It's very dark and has a small counter. But my stove is wonderful! So...love/hate. I made Nestle Toll House cookies today! I added chopped pecans and Guittard White Chocolate chips. I was thrilled that I had everything in the freezer to make them and they go together so fast. I'm in charge of snacks for a trip we are taking tomorrow. ;)

My husband, Ashleigh & I are heading to Arizona for the Creativation Show. Ashleigh designed a collection of super cute Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery stamps for Waffle Flower! We are super excited to work with them, it's really awesome to take something Ashleigh & I both love as a hobby (journaling, planners, etc!) and be able to create products for it with a special company. I've been playing around with the cactus stamps in my Happy Planner. I'm going to do a whole post on my planner because I *love* this thing a ton! I don't love the ink pads I have so I'm hoping to pick some new ones up while we are in Arizona or at least learn about different options!

If I can take some photos while we are there I'm sure I'll do a blog post about the show once I get home. :)

This post contains affiliate links to amazon.com. That means if you click the link and purchase something, I earn a tiny percentage of your purchase without any additional cost to you. All items I talk about are things I've purchased myself with my own money. :)  

Tombow Irojiten & Hobonichi Techo

It is a seriously gloomy day here! Our power has been flickering, it's pouring out and super windy. The perfect day to journal, read and nest! ;)

Yesterday I received some happy mail- Tombow Irojiten colored pencils in the Woodland set. Last night I swatched them in my hobonichi techo and today I'm playing around with them, I thought I'd share my initial thoughts! 

I want to try colored pencils more this year as opposed to brush pens, markers and ink because while I love my hobonichi, I really get frustrated with ghosting. Ghosting is when the image shows through onto the back side of the paper. It's not physically bleeding through the paper, it's just a hint of the previous image. Tomoe River paper is truly wonderful. It's smooth, feels so nice to draw and write on. But it's incredibly thin so ghosting can happen. 

I had a set of prismacolor pencils that I played with a tiny bit towards the end last year and I enjoyed them. My set was from college and has lived a full life, including many drops and sharpening issues so the lead isn't in the best shape. ;)

I was drawn to this set of colored pencils because the packaging is beautiful, the colors are really unique and the swatches from other artists looked interesting. 

You can see the ghosting from January 7th on January 8th- I had used some rain cloud stamps because: rain. I'm never quite sure what to do when ghosting happens. Do I cover the images? Do I just ignore them? Add washi? It's something so small, I don't know why it throws me off! :D 

I ended up tracing the clouds and filling them in with one of the pencils and swatching all the colors. The pale and light grayish tone sets are so, so, so subtle. I didn't really press down, I just started a little firm and gradually lightened the pressure to create a gradient. I'm not sure if the pencils aren't super pigmented, if I need to use more pressure or if i should layer them more!? 

I have a feeling I'm going to like using them but will have to build up layers. It'll be fun to experiment through out the year with these! I found this review which is really comprehensive about these pencils in case you'd also like to know about them. Mostly I'm looking to do some sketches and filling in stamped images. Previously I used Kuretake ZIG Clean Color brushes and they are SO GOOD. They do take forever to dry and sometimes I smudge things or over mix the colors. Also they can wrinkle the pages which doesn't bother me but towards the end of last year my hobonichi was so fat and hard to close!

The right hand side under the paper cut was done with the brush pens and it was really fun! I like watching people on youtube do galaxy paintings so it was my inspiration. 

In case you'd like to know my favorite comfort food from my entry and poor penmanship. ;) Cranberry Mustard Chicken Tenderloins! My mom made this when I was a kid, I found the recipe last night after thinking about it all the time lately! It turns out it's super fast and easy to make. My mods were tapioca starch instead of flour and I halved the butter/oil because I cooked the chicken in one batch. I like that the first comment says they've been making it since 1998! :D

This post contains affiliate links to amazon.com. That means if you click the link and purchase something, I earn a tiny percentage of your purchase without any additional cost to you. All items I talk about are things I've purchased myself with my own money. :)