#cloggers Archives - Page 2 of 3

In Blogging/ Life in General/ Planner Love

Planner Review – Episode 2.

Hello again, last week I looked at the Filfox, MAMBI, Erin Condren and Kate Spade planners. Today I have four more, you might not have heard of them all, but I thought they had enough good points to review them.

This first one is called the Ban.do Classic Agenda. Nope, I hadn’t heard of it either but it is a whole world of colour, positivity and fun!

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I will say I have discounted this from my search for being ( I can’t believe i’m going to say this, i’m so old!!) too young. However, it would be a perfect gift for a teenager. It comes in two sizes, the medium measures 6 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ which costs $28 and large which measures 8 x 10″ which costs $32.

As you can see it has a month on two pages layout with note space. Laminated tabs, a ribbon page marker and elastic closure. It again is a 17 month agenda, so perfect for the school year. Whats really nice for teens are the little compliments that adorn the pages, there are doodles to colour & loads of stickers. You could go a bit mad on the accessories too!

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Ban.do offer loads of different covers (which can be personalized with your name for an extra $5) but its the shipping that makes it a big purchase. The medium planner would cost $38 to ship from Kentucky and again there is import duty. But guess what? Those lovely people at My Shining Armour have a selection of them on their site. You won’t get to personalize them but how bad? for between €27 – €37 and minimal shipping you have a perfect gift for any teenage girl in your life.

Plum Paper Planner.

This one is my favourite so far – but of course its shipping from America so it makes it a big purchase.

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It’s very Erin Condren like in layout and has a multitude of customizing choices. It measures 7 1/2″ x 9″ for the medium size, the larger one is 8 1/2″ x 11″. Whats really nice about this one is that you can choose to have anywhere between 6 to 18 months in it and you can choose when it starts! It has all the usual things like a strong spiral binding, laminated tabs and pocket folders, there are also a huge amount of add ons to choose from.

Of course these push up the cost but if you’re going to get it you may as well do it right! The list of add ons include, a fitness tracker, budget planner, meal planner, home and blog planning to name a few, they cost $4.50 each.

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It does say that the national holidays are on an information page, so I think you can opt not to have them included on the calendar. (Again, American holidays aren’t much use to me). The paper weight is 120gsm so its pretty good quality, so far I like it all.

The postage to Ireland would cost $19.75 , which with 2 add ons makes a total of $58.50.

Plum Paper also have an Etsy shop, you can still choose all the options for add ons, layout, add your name etc but you don’t get as many covers to choose from. The costs on Etsy are in Euro, so it would be €52.17 (that’s a medium planner, 2 add ons and shipping).

♥ PLUM PAPER HAVE VERY KINDLY OFFERED A DISCOUNT CODE TO ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE A PLANNER! ♥ leave a comment if you would like me to send it to you.

Mrs Brimbles Printables.

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So what if you want to make your own planner? well, there are lots of options available online to print your own inserts. You just need to have either a Filofax style cover or an A5 binder. Then you choose your calendar, dividers, to – do lists, checklists and anything else you can think of from and Etsy seller and print away!

One of my absolute favourites is Anna Brim, also known as Mrs Brimbles. Everything on her site is hand drawn, some are coloured already and some just outlines so that you can colour them. She has a particular love of rabbits… and bees…. and owls. You can get a beautiful set of bumble bee decorated planner inserts for €8.49 which contains all of this:

About Me / Personal information
Address sheets
Birthdays / Anniversaries
Chore Chart
Diary pages (week per two pages)
Dinner Plan
Housework Chart
Lists
Meal Plan
Medication Chart
Notes
Quotes pages
Reminder pages
Sites and Passwords tracker
Spending Money tracker
To Do checklist
Wish list

That’s a complete planner right there! of course you do have the expense of printing it yourself but that is still a really good deal. This way you get to choose the paper you use, I have purchased a few printables from Anna and found lightweight card to be perfect.

There are designs for all seasons and occasions, the best bit is once you have purchased them you can print them as many times as you want, so you never run out of pages. The calendar is not date specific so you can print a new one for each year (but i’d want to have another design by then!)

Finally, Paperchase.

Paperchase stock planners, inserts and every kind of stationery you can think of. I was in the Covent Garden shop over the weekend and had a good look at what was there. The paper is really good quality and what really surprised me was the size of the large planners. They measure about 8 x 9 1/4″, which doesn’t look so big on a ruler but when its in your hands it’s huge! It would definitely be something that would be left on your desk rather than be carried around in your bag. The standard size is 5 1/2 x 7 1/2″ which is the same as Filofax.

I of course did the same thing I have done in the past. I stood surrounded by planners and couldn’t decide which one I liked. Then the voice of reason said, “what about your Filofax?” so I bought a calendar for 2017 (the holes are punched to fit Filofax or their own planners) just in case I decide to use it again next year….

If you look at there online shop they have a sale on some planner right now. The personal size is £11 and would cost £6 for postage. There are also Paperchase departments in Dundrum shopping centre and Arnotts in Dublin. They have a great range but don’t ship (even within Ireland) however, well worth a look if you’re in Dublin.

So, that is the round up of Planners for 2017. I’m not sure if I’ve helped you make your minds up or just confused the issue more! I can’t choose between the Plum Paper, Kate Spade or my Filofax…… I know, it’s only September, there is no rush, I’ve had a feast of stationery shops this weekend and am now addled. On the great scale of things this doesn’t matter at all, but its such fun choosing. As any other planner lovers will agree I’m sure!

Please let me know what you’ve chosen. I had a message from a friend to tell me Prima had a new planner out so there are more choices all the time.

By the way, I was in this shop yesterday but didn’t have much time to look around as I was heading back to the airport…. probably just as well!

Felicia xx

13/09/2016 By felicia

In Blogging/ Life in General/ Planner Love

Planner Review – Episode 1.

As I said in the last post, choosing a planner is a big deal. They can be pretty expensive, so you need to know you’ll use it. My first planner was in 1990, just as the Yuppy period was coming to an end I finally saved enough to buy a black leather Filofax. It is a personal sized Buckingham – they probably haven’t made that style since then.

I still have it, last year I bought all the new inserts. I thought I would resurrect my vintage Filo, but the paper (even though expensive) is really thin and I find the personal size just a bit too small. So, back on the shelf it went, it’ll probably be worth a fortune one day!

Then I moved onto Dodo Pads. Anyone heard of them? I had at least four of these, they had very nice paper and lots of doodles to colour.

Way back then they were spiral bound, now they are punched for rings- but they are still around i’m glad to see!

So, what are the choices today? I have looked eight different planners, I will give you as much information as I could find on each. i’ll just do four today and four next week. Go and make a cup of coffee and settle in, this could take a while!

Filofax –

These come in A4, A5, Personal, Pocket and Mini sizes. There are so many different styles with prices that range from about €40 for a denim cover to € 179 for a top of the range leather cover. They are available in Easons, so you can have a good look at the layout before purchasing or at Filofax.com . Since you replace the calendar each year it is obviously reusable, and you can buy different add ons such as budget sheets, address book and note pages.

They are very smart looking planners, they have pockets for bits and pieces, a pen loop and card slots. I’m starting to wonder if my one deserves another chance?

MAMBI , The Happy Planner.

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“The what?” I hear you ask. If you are someone who loves to decorate your planner then this might interest you.

MAMBI stands for’Me and My Big Ideas’ , there Create 365 ‘Happy planner’ has a lot going for it.

You can order either horizontal or vertical layout. It has a month at a view followed by a week on two page layout. The dividers are decorated and the tabs laminated. It measures approximately 10 x 8″ and the basic cost is $29.99. It also has ’12 month kits’ with different themes to allow you to have coordinated decorations, so sticking to the basic planner could be tricky! This planner covers 18 months which is ideal if you are a teacher or student, but it’s not for everyone. There aren’t any customizing options but there are quite a few designs to choose from.

The good things about this planner are really good, but here are the cons…

My big dislike of this planner is the binding. It uses a disc binding system, little plastic rounds that grip onto the pages. They may be fine, but I definitely wouldn’t trust this planner in my bag.

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It ships from California, the shipping cost is $46.50 (yes, you read that right) which is crazy! Bare in mind the dreaded import duty that we get charged on a lot of orders from America.

However, there is another way. While I was searching around I found a fabulous site in Surrey, UK. called’ The Homemakery’ they have a selection of Happy Planners priced at £29.99 with a shipping price to Ireland of just £8.00. No import duty, I would imagine the post would take a week at the most, so if you like this planner its a better option.

The Erin Condren Life Planner.

You knew it had to make the list somewhere! I think this is the most talked about planner of all, if you have a love of planners then you’ve heard this name. There are thousands of ‘unboxing’ videos on Youtube, it really is a craze that seems to be lasting. Okay, where do I start?

There are loads of cover designs to choose from. You can customize your cover with your name or even a photo (which I like) It measures 9×7″ and is coil bound (not spiral bound) this year the size of the coil has been increased to give more room for ‘stuff’! You can have horizontal or vertical layout, you can add and take out sections, its colourful, the tabs are laminated, and it has matching accessories. It would take a while to put your order together simply because there is so much choice. Things like changing the colour of the coil to match your cover, or even using your own unique design for a cover are options but beware, the cost of the changes add up quickly!

The presentation when it arrives to you is really nice. It’s wrapped in tissue and has notecards and stickers in the box. It’s the little things that make it special.

I looked at a basic planner with no accessories and it was $55.00 and the shipping is $19.95 for 8-12 day delivery. The cost isn’t actually as bad as I thought it would be, but don’t forget the import duty. I could go on and on about this one, but there is no need – hundreds of Youtubers have done it for me!

Kate Spade Planner.

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Forgive me while I swoon a little over this one! It measures 73/4″ x 6″ . It is spiral bound within the cover,horizontal layout, the tabs are laminated, there are note pages (very important) and the public holidays are listed on a page and not printed onto the planner (excellent idea if you live in a different country). This one covers 17 months from August 2016 to December 2017.

I have a planner that last until this December, so is this a bit of a waste? Also, I think its very sensible, no colour, this one has a good chance of being next years planner, but is it a bit too grown up? (I may be an adult, but i’m not a grown up!) I’m also a little worried about the weight of the paper, the reviews of the 2016 edition claim the paper was too thin (the same problem as the Filofax).

Already i’m thinking, “you could change the paper”, but that is why i’m searching for the perfect planner. Something out there must tick all the boxes right? Then the part of me that is in love with the cover is saying,” you write in pencil, whats the problem?” –

Kate Spade = quality = expensive but Guess what? I found an Irish source! Nicki Hoyne from ‘My Shining Armour’ has this for €38.00 and since it ships from Kilkenny postage is only €5.50! (or €10 if you’re in real hurry). It’s also available in a larger 91/4″ x 71/2″ size that costs €46.00.

Actually, this site has some amazing goodies – if you sign up for the email list you get a 10% discount that you can use for jewellery or their pouches. I always say shopping online isn’t really my thing… I may change my mind!

Right, that’s the first four. I will be back on Tuesday with the rest – and hopefully a decision on which one to order!

Felicia xx

09/09/2016 By felicia

In Blogging/ Life in General/ Planner Love

Back to school means..

Back to school means….

Okay, it means the kids go back to school. But, what about all the things that go with that? like new school bags, new notebooks, new folders and my all time favourite new pencil cases!

It also means new starts to me,like a new years day all over again. No matter what that might be it’s a fresh beginning. A great time start something new, or give up something that you don’t need.

I am a stationery geek. I get ridiculously excited at this time of year when I go into Easons ,all those pens and Hello Kitty erasers!

We haven’t had any ‘going back to school’ kids for a while now, my son is going back to college tomorrow for his second year. (He chose a Spiderman pencil case, because apparently, ‘You’re never too old for Spiderman’). That doesn’t stop me buying new stationery for myself.

(My current stack of notebooks)

Now, my absolute favourite and most used item is my diary/ planner. I literally do not know what i’m doing or what I’ve done unless I write it down in there. Because there is a hint of neat freak about me, I write in pencil so I can rub out any changes and not have scribbles ( I told you I was a geek!)

Around now I start to think about next years planner, start watching all the Youtube videos on different brands and say, “next year i’ll actually use those stickers I ordered..” I love those planner videos with the colour coded pens and the stickers, but realistically it’s not me. How do they have time to fill it in like that?

How do you choose a planner?

All of this got me thinking, I’m not the only one who uses a diary/ planner. I know there are many different criteria for finding the right one for you. Is it spiral bound? Is it a horizontal or vertical layout? What size suits best? Can you customize it? What’s the cost? These are important questions!

So, I am going to write a series of blog posts on the subject – I know some people who just fell off their chairs with excitement and some that don’t get this at all. (In which case, sorry and please come back soon x)

I’ll be back on Friday with my first look at whats out there for my fellow paper lovers.

Bye!

Felicia xx

06/09/2016 By felicia

In Hungry?

Sugar Free Flapjacks.

Sugar free flapjacks.

We are all more aware of the sugar we eat these days. Not just in the form of sweets and chocolate but the hidden sugars that seem to be absolutely everything!

There are loads of fabulous cookbooks full of healthy living recipes, Deliciously Ella, Fearne Cotton, and Davina are some of my favourites. Now, don’t go thinking I live a fully sugar free life – I don’t. But I do feel better when I cut it down to a minimum. For years I’ve had dark circles under my eyes, ridiculous amounts of money have been spent on concealers, none of which worked. But when I cut down on sugar they got visibly better – that alone is worth resisting the cake!

When I am trying to be good this is the recipe I reach for, its really easy and keeps well.

Apple and Date Flapjacks

100g butter *

100g honey

150g Oats

1 apple, peeled and chopped

A handful of dates, chopped.

* you can use coconut oil instead of butter if you are cutting out dairy. I only use 50g though otherwise I find the flavour too strong.

Preheat the oven t0 175° and line a 1LB loaf tin.

Melt the butter and honey in a saucepan, then add the oats. Mix well.

Put half of this mixture into the tin. Press it down with a spoon, layer the chopped apple and dates on top then add the rest of the mixture. Press it down again and bake for 25 minutes.

Leave it in the tin to cool but cut it into slices while it’s still hot.

Delicious with a cup of coffee and surprisingly filling.

Enjoy!

Felicia xx

26/08/2016 By felicia

In Blogging/ Life in General

The Joys of getting Older.

The joys of getting older.

When I write my odd ramblings on this blog I don’t really consider who might read it. I used to, and do you know what? It really held me back because I worried about what those people might think.

That sentence has a lot to answer for.

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I hadn’t really noticed that this had changed until today. I was talking to a friend who was trying hard to ignore her fortieth birthday. She was really sad that her thirties had passed and wanted to know what was so good about being in your forties.

That’s a really good question. What is so good about getting older?

There are many things, but the one that cheered her up the most was, ‘The older I get, the less I care what people think of me.’ To be honest I surprised myself with this answer, but its true!

A big part of this comes from the support and friendship of other women. When I think back to my teenage years, I shudder! There were always the cool girls who decided who was in and who was not. I was always way too ‘out there’ to be in, I hated most of secondary school. In fairness, if I hadn’t been so shy I would have stood up for myself a bit more and it wouldn’t have been as bad. That’s another good thing about being over forty- you can look back and realise things weren’t as bad as you thought. Whats done is done, if I knew then what I know now etc!

I am blessed with good friends both in ‘real life’ (as in, women I know) and online. I have been encouraged by their words and inspired by their stories-

And here’s why I don’t mind getting older:

I think the older we get the more confident we are in ourselves, we become emotionally stronger and more aware of who we surround ourselves with.

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So, thank you to all my women friends, those of you I know and those of you who I know through the power of the internet. There is a little voice in my head saying, ” are you really going to post this, what will people think of you?” but, yes, I’m going to. I trust that my tribe won’t judge me and might even agree.

Here’s to being over forty and loving every minute of it!

Felicia xx

23/08/2016 By felicia

In Craft/ House Love

Home is the Nicest Word.

According to the dictionary it means, ‘House or other dwelling’. To me it means love, family, comfort, safety, coziness.

I am a home bird. My favourite place to be is home. Going on holiday is fabulous, but the day we’re returning i’m frantic to get back . It’s where my kids are (sometimes) & my dogs are. The word ‘home’ makes me happy.

It comes out a lot in things I make. There seem to be wonky roofed houses popping up everywhere- cards, paintings, notebooks, even necklaces. They make me smile, so I keep making them in the hope that they make someone else smile aswell! The obsession extends to real houses too, but until I get to build my dream home (a four bedroom bungalow , sounds fairly ordinary right? wrong- It’s going to freakin amazing!!!) I’m just making imaginary ones.

So, after making notebooks and painting pictures I moved on to wood. These houses are beyond quirky, they have been personalised with house numbers, family names, initials, but each one is made to bring a little magic into your home.

This one stands on the hearth in my sitting room, its 22″ tall and is nothing if not a conversation starter!

This one is available at The Beach House gallery in Dungarvan.

And you can find this one in Craft Makers, Tralee.

(Here is Miss Boo photobombing my house picture!)

I hope to have them on my Etsy shop soon, so if you want the perfect ‘new home’ gift for a friend or something made just for you and yours, you know where to come!

Felicia xx

16/08/2016 By felicia

In Book Love

Quirky? Me? Surely Not!

I do like a bit of quirky. Quirky fashion sense, yes. Quirky home decor ? (there are big polka dots painted on the kitchen walls) so yes. Quirky books… LOVE!!!!

I belong to a book club, we have been meeting for eleven years now so we have read a huge amount of books.

Some of them have been scary, some adventurous, a few romantic and some sad. But I have a particular love for the odd ones. Here are my top five – i’m sure there are more , but these five stick out in my memory.

In no particular order

(As Dermot O’Leary might say!)

Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson.

I have seen at least seven different cover designs for this book – why so many?

The next book is: Going Loco by Lynn Truss

Fantastically and superbly weird! That would be my review of this one. I highly recommend it. Actually I think I might have been the only one in Book Club who liked it, but give it a go anyway. I found four different cover designs for this one.

Then we have The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George.

All book shops should be renamed ‘Literary Apothecaries’ in my opinion. A book to cure every ailment, isn’t that a beautiful idea?

We also have, A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

I was so fond of this character, he reminded me very much of another grumpy old man I know…

The last one is a bit different, it is The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern

It is the first novel by this author and I am really looking forward to the next one. It conjures up the most amazingly colourful images. It’s one of those books that you don’t just read, you climb into it and live there for a while.

If you read one or two (or five) of these suggestions and like them, then we might just be the same kind of quirky.

It would make me very happy to know there are others out there – think of all the book titles we could swap!

Felicia xx

12/08/2016 By felicia

In Craft

Knit one, Purl one.

Knit one, Purl one..

Do you knit? Do you like cosy fires and winter days and knitting away the winter?

In theory so do I, but for some reason whenever I get bitten by the knitting bug its summer time.

You could argue the summer part, officially its Autumn, but the days are still fairly warm (20°C today).

Also, this knitting bug only bites once in a blue moon. To call myself a knitter is stretching the truth a little.

The last time it struck was four years ago, I was knitting a shawl in a beautiful Debbie Bliss wool. Cashmerino Aran in Blackberry to be exact.

Now, as you may or may not know, my knitting was seriously hampered by this. It has taken a while to get back to it, I did make a rabbit for a friend, but as it happens I had knitted all the pieces before T.F.D. (That fateful day) so all I had to do was stuff it and sew the legs on.

But then,

I was scrolling through Pinterest as I do (the most enjoyable time waster ever!) and came across this:

(You can get it here)

And then I remembered my promise. About nine years ago Tim asked me to knit him an Aran jumper. He rarely asks for anything, and so I said, “Of course, you can have it for Christmas”. I promptly got the most amazing pattern and spent about a week knitting, then unpicking the stitches. That very complicated pattern was made for a better knitter than I!

Eventually I gave up and told him, “Next Christmas for sure”, which turned into, “You’ll have it before you retire”.

Well, the fifth anniversary of his retirement has just passed. Yes, I am a terrible person.

I even contemplated buying a jumper and cutting out the labels but my conscience got the better of that plan.

Although this doesn’t have any cable stitches its fairly close to what he wants, so I bought it, got the wool and here it is!

TA DAH!

You thought it was going to be finished didn’t you?

There are precisely five inches on the needles, but look at the pattern, isn’t it fab?! Because of the pattern changes it’s holding my interest, who knows, I might even finish it in time for Christmas!

Felicia xx

09/08/2016 By felicia

In Craft

Summer Art Class

Despite the wind and rain in Kerry (cats and dogs I tell you!) it’s time for summer art class.

There was nothing else for it today, it lashed rain all day. Not what you expect for the first of August, but it was a perfect day for staying inside and getting the paints out.

This morning’s class was fun, Eva and Megan love art and are very sure of their colour choices. They were in the first kids class I taught four years ago, they still have the aprons we made!

We used 20 x 5″ stretched canvases, and introduced some new products such as heavy body acrylics, Mod Podge and Gelatos. If you’ve used these you know that the Mod Podge acts as a sealant .When you add Gelato on top you can move it with your fingers or a wet brush, so you can shade and blend colours.

Here are the paint layers.

Time for some detail.

The girls used Gelatos to shade the features of the faces and to add tone to the hair.

The finished pieces.

I love how they turned out! It was a pleasure as always to spend the morning with these two.

Thanks for coming girls.

Felicia xx

02/08/2016 By felicia

In Craft

The Perfect Gift.

The perfect gift.

Last week I went to the Craft Makers gallery to drop off some artwork. I am wrong to call it a gallery, it’s more than that. As their website says, it’s a craft store, gallery, workshop and studio. Their ethos is wonderful, make, learn , buy.

“At Craft Makers we follow a Make Learn Buy philosophy… we encourage you to make craft as we believe it is good for the soul; we offer you an opportunity to learn about craft making in our workshops and courses; we offer our customers a wonderful store and gallery in which you can browse, buy or commission work by craft makers from all over Kerry and beyond.”

If you’re looking for the perfect gift you will find it in the beautiful corner building on Ashe Street, Tralee, Kerry.

Deirdre Enright is the very welcoming manager. It was extremely busy the day I visited so whilst Deirdre dealt with the customers it gave me a chance to have a good look around. These were only a few of the photos I took…