planner . organizer . mini album | the details

You saw the sneak peek, now for the details! A mini album like this one has so many uses, you may just find yourself making quite a few of these throughout the coming years. Yes, they're that easy. If you'd like the supply list and a quick tutorial on how to fold the pages, click here.

THE MINI ALBUM
Let's squeeze in project to last-minute project to satisfy our need to be organized and get ready for the new year with this Mini Album feature first seen on the My Mind's Eye blog. 
THE DETAILS
It could be...
+  a perpetual calendar - you'll finally have one place to jot down all your birthdays and anniversaries. 
+  a gift guide - write down your awesome ideas while you think of them so you won't be wondering what that great idea you had a few months ago was and now you can't think of it!
+  a Brag book for the  grandparents with photos of their precious grandchildren - separated out by month so they have a time capsule of how they've grown. 

I've used a planner similar to this one in the past, with just 3 pockets, and I used it for my Christmas lists, added my grocery lists and recipe cards in two pockets and receipts went inside an envelope in the 3rd pocket. See, such a versatile little planner.
The pocket pages can be designed to be as large or small as you wish. Play around with some scraps to decide if you'd like a shorter page, a deeper pocket, a narrower mini book. The graph papers are held together with decorative brads and are a stylish way to write a few notes and reminders.

If you decide to use the planner as a brag book, make your pages a bit smaller and it will hold your 4x6 snapshots and fit into Grandma's purse!
THE TUTORIAL

TUTORIAL
And here's a short tutorial for you...

  1. Gather 14 of your favorite My Mind's Eye patterned papers {I'll have a month-by-month supply list in a download at the end of the post} - 2 will be for front and back covers and 12 will be for the monthly pocket pages.
  2. Trim your 12 monthly papers to 12x12 - by removing the border strip on each page. 
  3. Score all 12 monthly pocket pages at 6", flip the paper and then score again at 9". Fold the narrow side up first, then flip and fold over the wider side next. NOTE | You'll want to fold up your favorite side of the paper,which forms your pocket, as the inside pattern will not be as visible.
  4. Trim your graph paper, if you decide to include those inside your and attach with a coordinating My Mind's Eye brad. Mine are sized to 5" wide x 8" tall.
  5. I punched my holes at 1.50" from the top edge and 1.50" from the bottom edge. Punching your holes before embellishing the pages is a good idea, especially if you like to add layers. If it's too chunky, you won't be able to punch your holes to bind your mini album.
  6. Embellish your front  and back covers.
  7. Embellish monthly pocket pages.
  8. Pat yourself on the back for being one organized, crafty Mama!
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top 10 projects blog hop | my favorites from 2012

I'm joining in with a great crew of crafty bloggers as we all share our Top 10 projects of 2012. You may have arrived from the blog of the awesome Marcia Dehn Nix, but if not, start here with Liz Chidester and hop along!

one

two
so happy together | free download

three

four
month-in-review | an annual mini album project

five
where i work | page map sketch

six

seven

eight

nine
5 on the 5th | a new 2012 project

ten

and a bonus!
thankful for mini album | free download

Your next stop on the hop is with the talented Ivanka Lentl.
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right now | my mind's eye

It's good to be back after a little break. Our Christmas was simply lovely...all five of us were together this year and it made me so happy to have Zach home for the holidays.

For my Mini Albums with Monika feature for My Mind's Eye, I've taken the idea that you've probably seen all over the web and made it work for me. Most crafters are using the theme Currently, but I've dubbed mine Right Now and thought that this chipboard element from MME's The Sweetest Thing Ruby collection the perfect embellishment for my cover.


I've designed a free download so that you, too, can create a Right Now collection of thoughts and ideas. I've printed off enough to record my Right Now thoughts for two years and recorded my thoughts for December just before I wrote this post last night. Be sure to click over for your printable and supply list!


We'd love if you shared how you used this printable, post your project to the My Mind's Eye Facebook page so we can all ooh and aaah! Download your file and begin documenting your life.
right now archives
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shimmer is here! | the twinery

SHIMMER baker's twine is here!

It's in stock and ready to ship in plenty of time for it to arrive to...craft some homemade Christmas ornaments with the kids, so let's get started. Who doesn't love a little Pinterest browsing for inspiration, I know I do, but I found an ornament project in the current issue of Family Fun magazine for today's craft activity.

Yes, you might say that I just adore the two new additions to The Twinery family...I'll share our ornaments with you later today!
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just another monday

Just another Monday, but not any ordinary Monday. How could it be? I am thankful, grateful, humbled and so blessed to have my two babies with me to take to school today. Walking in the doors this morning with my girls, not something I do everyday, was a solemn reminder of the tragedy of Sandy Hook Elementary. The 4th grade students were having their Pajama Party with treats and gift exchange today. Angels were dropping off gifts for the students they were sponsoring whose families needed a little extra help this season. And there were beautiful handcrafted holiday art hanging in the hallways outside the classrooms. 

But underneath all the hustle and bustle, there seemed to be a hush in the air.


I had these cuties to hug on all weekend. And, okay, I probably reminded them fifty times or so to clean up their rooms, clear off the art table, brush their teeth...well, you know the rest. But I had the privilege of doing so. Life is precious, and they are precious, and I need to remind myself that they're just little girls. 
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twelve

What are you doing on this once in a lifetime day | date | event?


Drag the graphic to your Desktop and print. It's sized to 3x4 and perfect for a Project Life pocket insert.




one.
good morning once in a lifetime phenomenon.

two.
came in for cat food and left with more.

three.
hello.

four.
coffee-stained desktop shipping area.

five.
cures a growling tummy.

six.
at 12:12 on 12.12.12. | on the phone with the man who makes my life beautiful & amazing.

seven.
pandemonium set to enter the car in 3.5 seconds

eight.
excited to tell me about 12.12.12 today at school.

nine.
math homework. and she did it all by herself.

ten.
my baby is swooshing tonight!

eleven.
it's what's for dinner when mr. wRight is out of town. mocha java chiller...yum.

twelve.
love me some Mayfield milk. and our fridge.

I lost count of just how many photos I had taken for 12.12.12, so here are some bonus shots.

she asked. and she posed with the gifts she made for Mommy and DaDa.

advent calendar bedtime storybooks.



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this is how they do it

I so wanted to retire the tired looking fake evergreen wreath on our kitchen door for something more fun and with more color. Enter inspiration from the internet. And the bonus is that it looks good from both sides of the door!, unlike the evergreen wreath where all we saw was the wire form. This project couldn't be easier and I encourage you to give it a try with your own kids, I think you'll love watching your kids have fun and your kids will love you even more for letting them do the project all by themselves.


Now on to the tutorial, courtesy my project-loving precious little elves. FYI...all photos snapped with my iPhone so they're not awesome, but that's okay.


Little did I know that this would be the most perfectly fun Sunday evening advent calendar activity. The girls absolutely loved it and soon realized that they could spin the ornaments onto the hanger, which made the process that much "funner." Notice the concentration on Victoria's face. 


And Smoky had even more fun than the girls did with the empty ornament containers and multitude of balls scattered about. Just like a kid, the most unexpected things bring the greatest joy.


Our ornaments are from Hobby Lobby, on sale, and are left over from our Pottery Barn lantern inspiration project. You might say that we have a lot of red in our home decor plan this year. Love it!

 FYI - I'll be looking for some fun pink and blue ornaments to go on sale after Christmas so I can make one of these to use when we celebrate the girl's birthday's next year, much like the inspiration wreath.

 One of my girls loves pink, one loves blue and Mommy loves them both!


It's times like these that I am reminded by the saying that it's not how much you spend on them, it's how much time you spend with them that counts. This hour together, just me and my girls, was a truly joyful and memory-filled time for me. And I couldn't help but think of the times when Zach and I crafted together, wondering if he was having fun or not. I'm going to believe that he did.

NOTES  |  No need to worry if your hanger doesn't bend into a perfect circle, ours didn't and it ended up just perfect. We used a heavier weight wire hanger and Gordon suggested we use a wimpy hanger next time just to make the joining of the ends of the hanger together at the end a bit easier. I couldn't do it, so Mr. wRight had to step in with his huge musskells. 

 Also, our balls are all the same size, just 3 different patterns of red with just a few mini balls thrown in because I already had them.  Oh, and we didn't hot glue our ornament tops on as suggested. These are shatterproof ornaments anyway, so I deleted that step since the girls were doing this project themselves.
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5onthe5th | december 2012




1 |  it's always so much fun to watch the kids open gifts. any gifts. it doesn't have to be big. or extra special. just the joy of something to unwrap makes their day. of our three kidlets, victoria is the most over-the-top in expressing her joy. isabella is somewhat more on the "normal" level of surprise and zach has always been a low-key, understated, keep-it-all-inside kind of kid. he did express extreme joy and surprise one Christmas with his gift from Papa and I've seen nothing like that from him before or since.

2 | can I just tell you how much fun the girls had making this wreath? who knew that an advent calendar activity could have been so entertaining? every single time I walk through our kitchen door, I smile just thinking of that hour of giggling girls and crazy kitten antics.

3 |  each and every day of december brings a new day and a new door to open. sometimes it's an activity, sometimes a small sweet treat, sometimes something bigger. now that they both can read, I usually don't slip the day's card behind the door until just before it's time to open the door. these girls keep me on my toes, that's for sure. we always had advent calendars growing up, usually just the picture kind, but sometimes they had chocolate treats hidden behind the doors, and it's nice that we carry on this tradition now, even if I am adding my own spin with craft projects and activities.

4 |  nutty nut slippery melts. crazy goodness. we love them more than we should. and I'll forewarn you now...you will not be able to stop eating them. 

5 |  this little angel was made by Zach so very long ago. it's hard to see in this photo, but the angel's wings are actually his handprints. oma and zach crafted this gift for me and it remains one of my treasures. it is packaged with care each Christmas as it goes back into the bin until it reappears again the next year. the cute little woodland santa was a gift from zach as well. reminds me that I need to take a better photo to include in our album.


5 on the 5th 2012 Archives
January | February | March | April |  May  | June | July | August | September | October | November | December 


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