#craftblogger Archives - Felicia Thomas

In Blogging/ Craft

How to sew a Goose.

How to sew a goose.

We’ll get to the goose soon….

Once upon a time I started a blog. This blog was called Scrapzville and I had it for many years.

Looking back at the first year or two I see that I wrote long, rambling posts, as if you (the reader) and I were sitting at the kitchen table having a chat. Not only did I post long rambling blogs, I posted often. So what changed?

Well, two things. Firstly, I started to get ‘followers’. People, some of whom I knew and some I didn’t, started to read it, and I got an unmerciful dose of the ‘What will they think of me?’ bug. I got shy and bothered and started to write what I thought it would be OK for people to read, instead of what I wanted to write. So, I wrote less and less and eventually I decided on a big change in the hope of a fresh start.

The second thing, after I changed from Blogger to WordPress was the bloody SEO scores! I like long sentences, the SEO does not. There are these little spots of colour at the top of the page, it starts off red, orange is ‘needs improvement’ and green is good. I’m at the mercy of these spots, shortening sentences all over the place for the elusive green!

(I bet you’re wondering about the goose?)

All this to say that I want to go back to rambling. I’ve been gone for so long that I doubt anyone will read this, I will though. Sometimes I go back and read really old posts, it’s like an online diary, it’s cosy, I like it.

So, if you are still here, well done. Make some tea or coffee and we’ll get to the goose!

Last weekend I took a notion to sew something, and for some reason I decided on a goose. Now, I don’t have a pattern for it so I looked on Pinterest (where else?!) but none of them were the right shape. Apparently there is a quilting pattern called ‘Silly Goose’ so that came up a lot, but very few soft toy types.

Eventually, I drew out my own. This is a very ‘make it up as you go’ kind of thing, so this could be a very odd looking creature.

I cut out the pieces ( I could’ve ironed the fabric first…) and started sewing.

I was doing so well until I turned the neck the right side out. This is what comes from making it up as you go, I forgot to turn the beak the right way before I sewed it in. This meant battling that long skinny neck with a knitting needle to turn it seam side out, unpicking the beak and starting again.

(Just so you know, the little spot has gone orange, it didn’t like that last sentence!)

Eventually I had a shape that looked fairly good. I used toy stuffing, sewed her up added a bow and Ta da… a Goose!!

Now, the only thing that I would change is the position of the legs. They are quite far forward which makes her look a bit like the Loch Ness monster, but for a first attempt at pattern making I think it’s pretty good.

So there you have it. There is a goose, loose about this hoose!

It’s a lovely day here, I hope it’s nice where you are too.

Thank you for stopping by,

F xx

26/07/2017 By felicia

In Blogging/ Craft

Super Easy Quilt Making.

‘Super easy quilt making’ is probably the wrong title for this post.

It should actually read, ‘ Make it up as you go ‘.

This morning I was doing my favourite Sunday morning activity. That would be drinking coffee in my p.j’s whilst browsing Pinterest – when I came across this:

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I love fabric, I love making things but i’m not very precise with them. My seams don’t line up and my sewing is only straight-ish. So I clicked into the post, read it all (it is a really good read) and decided that I would make a start on a quilt.

At the knit & Stitch show 2015 (yes, it was that long ago) I got some gorgeous Tilda fabric from The Crafty Fox stand.

Then last year I bought some pale pink velvet to make a backing for said fabric.

The tutorial said that she had used fabric of all sizes. Since I had bought fat quarters I thought i’d cut them a little more evenly to get the best layout from them.

The ‘How To’ bit…

First of all I ironed them (being folded for a year and a half really sets those creases!) Then marked them every 4 1/2 inches and drew a pencil line.

I do have a rotary cutter but I just can’t get along with it, so I used scissors.

Once I had cut up all five fat quarters into the 4 1/2″ strips, I cut those strips into random sized pieces. I cut some lengths into two sections and some into four or five. There was some pretty fabric with buttons on it in my stash so I added a little of that as well as a few pieces of the darker green stripe (top left in the picture).

I had bought a full metre of the green stripe so I thought I’d use that for the binding. It’s a bit of a contrast to the main colours but by adding a few little bits into the quilt top it will all blend in. Remember the ‘make it up as you go ‘ theme? yep, that’s where the binding that doesn’t match came from.

To make the top I just sewed pieces from each pile together in a long strip. There was no pattern to it, just randomly choosing a piece and sewing to the last. It didn’t take very long – in no time at all I had this:

That’s a long strip of fabric!

Five fat quarters cut into 4 1/2 inch strips (with a little of the two other fabrics thrown in) came to an amazing 40 foot long strip!

Next I decided how wide I wanted my quilt to be (you can see how well I thought this out before I started can’t you?) which was 36 inches. By the time I had cut up the whole thing I had thirteen strips. The last one was slightly short so I just added an extra piece of button fabric.

You can see how the order you sew them together in doesn’t really matter. The different sized blocks make it less precise and you can move the strips around until you like the layout. Of course, then it all has to sewn together, but that is really easy especially if you’re not too precious about sewing straight. I do try, I line up my edges and keep the sewing machine foot on the edge but the straight line just alludes me. Real quilters are amazing, they make it look so easy!

(I should have ironed this before I took the photo……)

It took two and a half hours to go from Pinterest to having the quilt top sewn together, much faster then piecing squares! I have to get wadding tomorrow (if you live in a place where there is a fabric shop nearby that is open seven days a week then you are a very lucky person!) and then decide how to quilt the layers together. I would love to try some free motion quilting but i’m not brave enough yet.

Tune in next week to see if I’ve made any progress…… hopefully I will have a finished quilt to show off!

Felicia xx

29/01/2017 By felicia

In Painting

First Birthday Present.

When I dear friend asked me to make her Granddaughters first birthday present, I was quite chuffed!

Purple hair, don’t care!

She chose the Polly Mermaid print, of all of the Polly Dollies I think this is her favourite.

Originally she wanted a purple frame. But having looked at lots of different shades, she chose a pale green. So, tomorrow I will go the Killarney Framer to pick out the frame. John who owns the business is really helpful. I’m hoping he can make the frame but let me put the image in myself – that way I can paint the frame just the right shade.

A painting for a first birthday is a lovely idea. She will always have it, she won’t outgrow it, it will always remind her of her Grandma. That’s kind of sweet don’t you think?

Felicia xx

p.s. How is this year going for you so far?

Mine of is full of learning new things and taking cider vinegar everyday….. i’ll let you know how it goes!

15/01/2017 By felicia

In Blogging/ House Love

Christmas 2016.

Suddenly it is 2017. 2016 has passed by in a blur.

In four days the decorations will come down. December just vanished, we were all busy, but it went by so fast.

Just in case this year passes as quickly I want to document our decorations. I had great intentions of doing this as soon as they went up. The blogging world was full of ‘Christmas decor tours’ in November!

Traditionally we put the tree up sometime around the 10th December. That was my Dads birthday, so it has always been that way. I wanted to put hem up earlier but I lost that battle. I wish I had though because they will be down so soon.

Without further ado, here is our tree:

I’m really glad I bought this last year. It was so much easier to take it out of the attic then go to get a real tree.

I got it from The White Room in Kenmare. There is never really a ‘theme’ but the colours this year were silver , white and a little red.

These white baubles also came from The White Room – in fact I have started a lovely collection from there!

These snowflakes were added this year.

A little bit of gold was added by these Scottie dogs. They are the cards my Mum gave us, but I liked them so much that they will come out again next year to sit in the tree branches.

The Fireplace.

Right next to the tree is our stove. The mantle was decorated with real fir branches and holly. These candles are battery operated but look very real. Real flames and greenery are a dodgy combination! The star garland is made of twigs and I’ve had it for ages, and I made the stockings a few years ago. There is only one here this year, the rest are on the banisters.

I couldn’t find any holly with berries on this year, so I added some red baubles.

The fireplace in the kitchen got a garland and two Christmas wooden houses. The large one lights up (as you can see) because Tim is a genius! You push down on the chimney pot and the windows light up.. too clever for his own good.

We had a lovely time, it rained and we didn’t leave the house all day. Since I’ve given up chocolate, I didn’t over indulge in goodies – unless you count roast potatoes?

We had good fun, good food and most importantly lovely company. I hope you also had a beautiful day.

Felicia xx

02/01/2017 By felicia

In Craft

Tweed Tote Bag.

Tweed Tote Bag.

The Knitting and Stitching show was on in Dublin last week. There is no place like it for stocking up on crafting materials, especially the ones you didn’t know you needed!

I should take a list, write down all the projects i’d like to do and what I will need to make them. That would be sensible. However, by the time it comes around I’m a bit lacking in enthusiasm. The inspiration of last years show has worn off. What happens then is I go in thinking, “well, I need glue…. and maybe some Bondaweb”. But then you get freshly inspired by all of the products.

All the things you could make!

That leads from a hundred project ideas to getting totally overwhelmed, and being back to just getting glue.

So what did I buy?

This year I came home with fabric – lots of fabric! Some of it was for my Mum, but the rest was all mine.

Usually, I get lots of cotton fat quarters for quilting. I’m not very good at quilting, my seams never meet neatly. But they’re fun to make. Last year I got some gorgeous Tilda fabrics from The Crafty Fox stand. I have yet to cut into them so I’m on a self imposed ban – no more until I use what I have.

This year I was tempted by this grey heavy flannel and a tweed. What will I make with it?, I asked myself, A tote bag? Why not? Experience has taught me that if I don’t make it in the week after the show it won’t get made (which explains the quilt) so believe it or not, here it is!

(Finished bag size is 18″ x 15″ x 7″)

There are endless Youtube tutorials on how to do this, I used this one (without the patchwork bits obviously). My measurements were different to hers, but the process is the same.

If you are going to make this then here is a word of advice. Make your handles the same fabric on both sides. I wanted grey on the inside and tweed facing out. Seems simple enough doesn’t it?

It’s not!

When you make it the whole thing is inside out. For the life of me I couldn’t work out which way round the lay the handles. As you sew over the handles to secure them in place you’re sewing six layers of fabric. Only then, after turning the whole thing through a tiny gap in the seam did I discover my mistake.

No problem, I thought. Just stuff it all back through the gap in the seam, unpick all the sewing and re position the handles. I turned them around and started to re sew the top and broke not one but two sewing machine needles!

There may have been some unpolite expletives muttered……

But I do have a gorgeous bag to show for it. It is fully lined with the flannel which makes it cosy enough for Toby to sleep in. He looks most indignant when I take him out.

If and when I get the quilt finished i’ll post it here. A lovely pale pink velvet came home with me for the backing. I have all I need to make it now, so there is really no excuse……

Have a lovely Halloween weekend,

Felicia xx

28/10/2016 By felicia

In Blogging/ Life in General/ Painting

That Friday Feeling!

For some reason I am filled with Fridayosity today. This is odd since I don’t have a Monday to Friday job, but lets go with it anyway!

What do I have to show you today? well, I finished the painting of the little creatures that weren’t pigs. They are in fact ‘Spoonlings’ ( I told you my head was a bit strange). I’m not sure where they live yet, but I have some other little illustrations of them in the making. I’m very fond of them indeed.

What else?

As tomorrow is the first of October, I decided it was time to put out some Autumn decorations. Last year I had a lovely table decoration (as you can see here) so I used the same again. I added some oak leaves , acorns and leaves from the Virginia Creeper which turn a beautiful red colour at this time of year.

This is a very subtle lead up to the Halloween decorations…. As there are no kiddos at home anymore I cannot pretend to be putting them up for them, but they’re gong up anyway!

(Source)

I like this, we’ll see how close I get to it. There are so many Halloween decor ideas on Pinterest I could get completely carried away, all I need is a local pumpkin patch and a black cat (surprisingly hard to find!)

I will be working like a mad woman to put the finishing touches to all the bits and pieces i’m bringing to Meath. I am now the proud owner of a travelling display wall (another ingenious invention from Tim) so I can display the paintings I may or may not get finished. My Christmas cards arrived from the printers today so that’s another thing ready to go. Its coming together and my aim is to be packed and ready a full 24 hours before I leave, not racing around at the last minute….. We can but hope.

Wishing you all lots of that Fridayosity feeling, have a great weekend.

Felicia xx

30/09/2016 By felicia

In Craft/ Life in General/ Painting

The Paint Bug.

The last few weeks have been a bit crazy. A lot crazy actually. We were away on holiday, then Zac went back to college. Tim had an minor surgery and then we had a family wedding. The holiday and wedding were fantastic and the surgery and college move went smoothly. I’m not complaining at all, it was a great month, but I am totally wrecked!

This week I have had the luxury of mostly staying at home. Of course, as soon as I stopped racing around I caught a cold (doesn’t that always happen?) so I’m really making the most of it. Being at home doesn’t mean nothing to do though, I have taken a stall at the Women’s Inspire network event which is on the 5th October. This is a bit of a leap of faith, but nothing ventured and all that. I will need stock to sell, the cards are ready. The fauxdori’s are ready, the aprons arrived today, but I don’t have any paintings.

This was my desk today.

Fortunately, today was the day the paint bug hit! which means I don’t want to do anything else but paint pictures.

I set a task of finishing six 5″x 5″ paintings which of course I didn’t! Although I finished and framed two and drew out some outline ideas for the others I got stuck on the last one.

I love to paint houses, so I drew out some of those. After that I drew some floral outlines, and then while I was doodling these little characters appeared. I love it when that happens, I’m just painting away minding my own business and suddenly these little creatures turn up saying, “paint us, paint us!”

Because I have a very strange imagination (I’ve always said my head is a lovely place to live) they suddenly developed names and hobbies and a bit of a story…… and now I’ll never get the other paintings finished!

This is what they look like so far. Meet Doris and Hector! They look a bit like pigs but they won’t be when they’re finished, I really hope I can make them look like they do in my head.

I wonder if you can set up a stall with just two finished paintings?

If you are going to the Women’s Inspire event in Meath then please come and say hello, then you’ll see how many paintings I actually got finished!

Felicia xx

23/09/2016 By felicia

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.

(Source)

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

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