Personal Planner Fiesta

Alias monthly undated design - personal size

I am not much of a planner nerd at all. But I do love to watch those videos on YouTube. Erin Condren, Filofax, you name it, I am there. Funny thing is, I don't really have a lot to plan. My life is just work, home, worship team here and there, work again.

Undated Mint Ice Cream Shoppe design - personal size

But I do enjoy designing planners for the few types of planner devices I have. I have a 1995 Day Runner in the personal size. This was the address book I used when I was in college. But it has a nice 6 ring binder and it makes a perfect filofax dupe. I have made a couple of monthly designs and some week on two pages designs.

I thought since this is my blog about being creative that I would show you how I am creative in my personal sized planner.

My first attempt at planner designs was what I called Mint Ice Cream Shoppe. It was a mint green and coral undated calendar. I know how I am about planning and I thought if I went to the trouble of dating this thing, I would sabotage myself. So, I went undated. And now I can print out the design and put it into my planner at my own whim.

Fox Orange week on 2 pages - personal size

The next design was called Fox Orange. I thought these foxes were just adorable. I mean, how can you resist them? I really want to make a hedgehog design but I haven't quite gotten there yet.

Next I spied this sweet grid design on an Etsy shop and thought "i can do that." So I did. I made myself a grid-like undated monthly planner. Originally I was going for a green color since green is my favorite but I ended up with pink. Not sure why since I am not that crazy about pink. I found these little owls and thought they set the design off nicely.

Then there was this Alias undated monthly personal sized planner. I was watching the tv show, Alias, during my Thanksgiving day off and I made a whole marathon out of it. Before I got through season one I was creating my own Alias calendar. I am such a dork. lol

Pink Owl Grid Undated Monthly - personal size

There is a whole community surrounding this Erin Condren Life Planner. You can find her website here: www.erincondren.com. I mean, this gal's planners are just H-U-G-E! Not huge as in a big product but huge as in her influence is far reaching. She gets the YouTubers of the world to use her products and then have them talk about her calenders on each of their channels. I mean, I can appreciate how she does it. This is just genius. Marketing at its best. And considering each of her planners is a sweet $50 bucks, she must be good at what she does if people shell out that kind of dough.

I made my own version of her planner for myself. I mean, that is what is great about being a graphic designer, I can create my own stuff and use it in any way I want.

Undated Erin Condren Look-alike with design 7x9
cut down and placed in a Studio C Notebook

Undated Erin Condren Look-alike without design 7x9
printed on 8.5x11

What do you think about these planners I have created? Like them? Yeah or nay? Let me know. I am always about fixing what needs to be fixed. I hope you're having a creatively blessed day.

Plan on!

~Toni

Messages from the Drive In

Have you ever caught yourself really paying attention to something you've seen on your drive into work, or driving to the store? Today I paid attention to these signs and I tried to look up symbolism and came up with the message the world around me was trying to send me today.

Try it for yourself.

Today I ...

• Saw a squirrel - Squirrels mean: have more fun, don't take life so seriously
• Thought of a bear - Bears mean: protection, nurturing
• Heard the radio say: "write the story" three times in a row over and over.
• I was reminded of my brother's words in a private message about my writing
• Heard the radio say: no man is an island

My Take ...

So, I need to nurture myself and not take life so seriously because they really want me to "write the story". They reminded me of my brother's encouragement about how a published author wanted my help and that makes me awesome. And then I was again reminded that I am not alone and I always have the support of family, friends and God.

Woah. Quite a drive in, eh?

Creative Tip-Bit

Here is a cool way to secure those attractive jumbo notebook/journals. I got my jumbo journal at Walmart and I was able to secure it with a headband I got in the hair care isle. I think it is a Goody headband. I had bought it originally to hold my hair back but I guess my head is just too big... no comment. :)

Now I have a new use for these hair head bands. Notebook securer doo-hickey-ies.

Let me know how you creatively use things for other uses.

What Inspires You?

Being creative is all about being inspired. 

I have seen such a blossoming of creative abundance lately. I like to cross stitch. And back in the day the only place you could find patterns was in magazines specifically dedicated to cross stitch. Now people have embraced this new thing called the Internet and have created their own businesses selling cross stitch designs. Anything is available from wacky to goofy and girly to spooky. You can get a pattern featuring your favorite character from a multitude of series, everything from Sherlock Holmes to Dr. Who to Game of Thrones. People are just plum excited and inspired by what they are excited and inspired by. 

What inspires you?

Do you have a tv show you love? Do you fantasize about writing episodes for a particular series?  Haven't you ever heard the axiom: what you can create in your mind, you can achieve?

 Do you love helping people at your church but you think you're too shy? Sometimes you need to break out of your comfort zone to chase your dreams. And you never know. That dream may lead you to a bigger dream you never dared imagine before. 

Being inspired is a pretty cool thing that can open more doors than you realize. Many of them are inside your own heart. Dare to dream a bigger dream than the one you already have your sights set on. Maybe god is dreaming a bigger dream for you and this is why you have become inspired by something. 

Maybe you don't label what you do "creativity" or "inspiring" and that's okay. We all have something special that we know is our "thing". And when you finally find that "thing", you find a sense of peace in your life.

Take time today to discover what inspires you and maybe one day you will be the one inspiring others. 

Blessings. 

In times of trouble, God is with you

It has been one of those days. Has something like this ever happened to you?

I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the rudeness of people. But I always am. When you work hard doing things, you expect people to respect your space, respect you. 

But they don't. 

Here is what happened to me.

Someone, I don't know who, walked by my desk at a fast clip and caused a small whirlwind making the papers on my copy holder to go flying around haphazardly landing in my chair and on the floor.  

Did anyone notice this occurrence? No, no one noticed. The culprit is oblivious to what has taken place. Why, you ask? It was probably a cell phone call, one of many they receive in a day. Then they ran past my desk to go find some privacy to answer their call. 

To them it is as if they didn't do anything at all. They don't pick up the papers they have caused to fly around. I mean, isn't it only polite to say "oops" and help clean up the mess you've made? Are they really that much in their own heads that they don't see the chaos they cause in their own wakes? 

If it was me, I would at least say I was sorry and place the papers back on the copy holder. 

I pick up the mess someone else has made and I put the pages back in order. I wondering yet again why I am even here if no one even respects me enough to pick something up when they blow it over.

It is very frustrating.

In Genesis 21:22 the scripture says: 

"God is with you in everything you do."

I try to remember this scripture when dealing with things in my life. Then I ask myself how do I want to react?

Do I scream and say, "What is wrong with you crazy people?" No. I just pick up the mess and move on with my day. It is just one of a million little digs I feel is thrown at me. But I still maintain my positive attitude as much as I can. It can be very tough when you are around so much negativity in a day. But I try to remember this one thing: God is with me in everything I do.

News Flash: Your Day Has Been Interrupted For This Blog Post

I just had the weirdest thing happen to me. I'm sure it has happened to many others before.

I came in to work this morning and wanted to relate my experience of the night before. I had received a phone call from a co-worker who wasn't in the office a the moment. I begin to tell my boss about the call and SHE interrupts ME to interject her experience of the same issue the night before and she goes on to tell me how a certain person needs to really answer their phone and yadda, yadda. I try to finish what I was saying to complete the original thought I was expressing and my boss, I kid you not, does her impression of a 4 year old shaking her fists up and down saying I need to stop interrupting her.

Excuse me?

Wasn't I interrupted in the first place?

Did I react negatively as you interrupted me? No.

So, I have a feeling I will get an email today telling me how rude I am. This would be the second such email in two weeks if it occurs. Which it has not at this point.

I always thought communication, which is what my boss said that the person she was complaining that never answered their phone lacked, the ability to communicate, was supposed to be. It is a give and take. You talk. I talk. And that is communication.

You don't interrupt people and go on and on so you can get your own point across. That is not communication. That is a need to be seen. A need to be heard. And not necessarily by me, but by someone she is not currently being heard by.

I understand this.

I just hope this issue doesn't get me fired since I am basically a workaholic and they all know it. I work dang hard, and being stressed just comes with the grind of daily deadlines. But I somehow manage to not go insane.

I read. I cross-stitch. I watch tv just to zone out. And this interrupts the flow of all the negative vibes that are thrown at me each day.

We all go through this sort of give and take.

So, remember to clear yourself. Shield yourself with the white light of the divine. Imagine it all around you. Imagine that all the negativity that is a constant flow around you just bounces off that divine white shield and does not effect you. Feel the peace this knowledge brings.

I hope today brings you a day of peace and un-interruption.

Blessings.

The Next One Thing

When I was still in high school I was introduced to what soon became a love and then obsession: counted cross stitch.

As I was stitching the other day I realized, or maybe I was made to realize by God, about how Crosstitch is like life.

I Remember when I started how overwhelming it all was. What fabric do I use? Aida or linen? Do I buy floss and find a chart or buy a kit with everything included, even a needle? Isn't life sometimes confusing and confounding like that?

My first project was a beginner's kit of a mouse sliding on a candy cane. I have such fond memories of it. When you tackle a counted cross stitch you need a chart, a Bible, if you will. Something you use to point your way to your goal, completion.

The entire process is about working on certain areas of color and creating the project one stitch at a time. Life is like that. We live one minute at a time and as we advance we create a beautiful life. One moment adds onto the next moment until you can't believe how far you've come. 

The same goes with cross stitch. I am creating a green doorway design. And in the beginning it looked like a whole bunch of nothing. But as each stitch is added the bigger picture is revealed: the entrance to a building. 

Have you been wondering why your life isn't evolving fast enough or why you can't see your goal from here?  

It's all about baby steps, baby. Just like my cross stitch doorway Buildings weren't created in a day either. First you have to pour a firm foundation. And then the structure of the framing has to be created so the building won't fall over. And it all happens one step at a time. One phase at a time. One stitch at a time. You can't rush the process or you risk ruining the end result. 

So don't be overwhelmed by all you have to accomplish. Just focus on the next one thing. And then when that is accomplished focus on the next one thing. And then focus on the next one thing  And before you know it you have met your goal. It will be a surprise, believe me. When you come to the end of a project that took an entire year you look at what you accomplished and think I DID THAT!

That is the only way any cross stitch is completed, by focusing on one stitch at a time. One day at a time until the work is completed. 

I hope this helps you with your next big project. 

Blessings. 

Cross Stitch Projects - To Do Someday

Here are the kits that I have on my "Will Do These Someday" list.

Cross Stitch Tag

Gathering Eggs by Mirabila

Cross Stitch Tag!

I love Cross Stitch and have been doing it off and on for years. I started in the early 80s. Yes, I'm "that" old. lol  I came across this tag on YouTube and thought I'd add it to my blog

Feel free to consider yourself tagged if you love to cross stitch too.

1. How did you start or who introduced you to cross stitch?

Santa Claus introduced me to cross stitch. He left a little beginner cross stitch kit of a mouse sledding on a candy cane in my stocking. After that, I was hooked.

2. Do you have a favorite theme or designer?

Not really. I like to do all sorts of themes.

3. What floss brand do you use?

DMC

4. What is your fabric of choice?

I like 18 ct. Adia but I have used Evenweave and did an over two threads stitch before.

5. Do you use a needle threader or are you a "floss licker"?

I have this nice LoRan needle threader that is just a must have for me.

6. What kind of stitching frame do you use?

Plastic hoop. I have many colors of them around the house.

7. How many projects have you finished?

I have never counted. There are many I have given away and forgot about.

But there are quite a few.

8. How many completed works do you have currently displayed in your home?

One. It is a Mirabila design called Gathering Eggs. It's a vintage little girl with a big skirt holding an easter egg basket.

9. Do you do more stitching for gifts or keep them for yourself?

I just stitch to stitch. I am doing one project specifically for someone but usually I just stitch for myself.

10. What is your favorite project or finish you are most proud of?

I would have to say it's the Gathering Eggs project. I had stopped that for 5 years and put it aside because it was my first two threads up, two threads over project and I thought I had gotten myself off the design. Other than that, my Friedrich the Cat is pretty special to me.

11. What has been your least favorite or worst exp while stitching?

That would have to be working on that Gathering Eggs project. I was teaching myself to stitch by reading magazines and just learning by doing. And I think I messed up this poor little girl's skirt but you really can't tell I had any trouble by looking at the finished cross stitch. The counting of two threads up, two threads over got a bit daunting after awhile. This is why I like stitching on just basic Adia. It's easier on my mind. I like to stitch just to get my mind off the stresses of the day

12. What do you love and what do you hate about cross stitch?

I hate that I don't have more DMC floss colors. But I did win the entire line of floss back in the 90's. I subscribed to a new cross stitch magazine and I guess I won the big prize. I found this huge box on my door step and it was filled with floss. I was SO surprised!

Friedrich the Cat

13. Have you introduced anyone else to cross stitch?

Not really. People know I do it. At least, the people in my family know. But I don't go out of my way to show it to them. I have been posting stuff on Facebook about it lately.

14. What was your first project and did you finish it, if not what was your first finish?

First project was in my stocking in the 80's. It was a little christmas ornament of a mouse on a candy cane sledding. I think of it fondly. I remember thinking how much I really enjoyed it when I was doing it. I wanted to get a new kit immediately when I finished.

15. How do you store your cross stitch floss?

I have little cardboard bobbins that I wind my floss around. I have plastic cases where i keep the floss in order. But I only put floss on a bobbin when I'm actually using it. If it is new, I put it in plastic bags and store them in my cross stitch sewing case. For example, all the 400's in the color line are in one plastic baggie.

I hope you enjoyed my little jaunt down memory lane. Let me know what lovely things you are creating. They don't have to be cross stitch related.

Blessings. 

Here is a link to the Friedrich the Cat (Frederick the Literate) cross stitch kit:
http://www.amazon.com/Dimensions-Needlecrafts-Counted-Frederick-Literate/dp/B000U2Y13K/ref=pd_ys_sf_s_2617941011_a2_2_p?ie=UTF8&refRID=1FHCP08D73K9FQ1FBTZ3

Toni

One of those days

Have you ever had one? One of those days? You know, the ones I'm talking about. The ones where you are frustrated and you lash out at a perfectly nice person. And usually it is not for no reason, but for a justified reason in your own mind. Whatever it might have been, it has caused hard feelings and now said person on the receiving end of the tongue lashing is now avoiding you like the plague?

Yeah, well, that is me today.

I am not unjustified in my ranting, but I see myself in this younger person. This person, the nice one, is SO nice that they go overboard pleasing people. And the more they give, the more others take, and even that is not enough. Now they want perfection... no, they demand it of this person.

I have been there. I know. And this attitude almost caused me so much stress that I nearly gave myself an early heart attack.

So, when people, no matter how nice they are, want to pull me back into that world of stress, that world of perfection, that world of people pleasing, I do NOT want to journey any more forward in that direction. That means that my instinct is to resist. And resist I did today. I should have thought first, but I was in a mood, we all have them. I had to navigate yet another snow storm this morning, had to do the same the night before and I was just plain pooped by life.

Even though I feel justified in my actions, I am sorry I hurt this person's feelings. But it makes me think about all the things we do each day that we really do not want to do. Why do we do these things? Are we a secret people pleaser underneath all the attitude we show the world?

I want to escape this attitude but am constantly challenged by it nearly every day. I try to be the good Samaritan, but I am human and not perfect, I remind myself. But I want to do good, be good, act good. But there are just some days, those days, when perfection just misses the mark.

Psalm 119:96

To all perfection I see a limit, but your commands are boundless.