top ten of 2014 blog hop

This is one of my favorite blog hops. It's interesting to take the time to go through a year's worth of projects and choose my top ten faves from the year. By doing so, I am reminded of projects I had forgotten about and of projects I'd like to revisit again. 


 You might have arrived here from the blog of Melissa Eisner, if not, there's a complete list at the end of the post so that you don't miss inspiring, crafty projects and maybe even a giveaway, or two...or ten!


Project One
I've been doing the Right Now project for three years and each month it's fun to flip through my mini album and read what I was thinking at that moment in time. Click here to download the page template and here's a tutorial sharing how I created my mini album.


Project Two
My friend Francine and I have been sharing our favorite tips and suggestions all year in a joint project we call Filofax Friday. I've you're a paper planner addict, I encourage you to browse through the posts for ways to use your scrapbooking stash in your planner, free downloads and {hopefully} fun and inspiring ways to help you organize your life.


Follow me on Instagram, where I share loads more Filofax tips, tricks, hacks, ideas and DIY's that never make it here to the blog. Oh, and there's an occasional giveaway there as well. 
Here are more Filofax ideas, tips and photos to browse through.
Follow my to filofax board on Pinterest.

Project Three
I just adore mini albums, it's my favorite way to document our story. I also find listing is a great way to sneak in some journaling and makes me pause and be still and think about something I wouldn't have thought of otherwise. The 30 Days of Lists classes are so fun, be sure to check them out!

read more »
Comments (64) Tags: , ,

30 days of lists | days 9 - 18

My little 30 Days of Lists book is chunking up with all the bits and baubles I'm using to create my daily entries. And it's not so little anymore.

30 Days of Lists December 2014 | I Love It All

Sometimes, I list just for that day. Sometimes, I list ahead a day or two. And sometimes I play catch up. I've even been known to change a list up a little bit if I'm not particularly fond of it...or if I'm not "feeling" it.

I'm adding this because I want you to know, if you ever decide to take a class, that there's no right or wrong way to do this. Don't let preconceived ideas hold you back. From anything. Just do it for the fun of it.
30 DAYS OF LISTS | December Edition
Day 8 | Things That Put Me In A Good Mood

find the manila envelopes here

Day 9 | People Who Influence Me


Day 10 | Favorite Recipes

find glassine envelopes and shipping tags here

Day 11 | Parts of My Life I Wish I Could Outsource

For this list, I used pop dots behind the chipboard element so that there was a space for me to tuck mu journaling inside.


Day 12 | Traditions I Love


Day 13 | Current Soundtrack


Day 14 | On My Nightstand

find the library cards here

Day 15 | Out My Window


Day 16 | Today I 


Day 17 | On My Desk Today


Day 18 | Things to Cross of My List


Read more of my 30 Days of Lists posts, including past classes I've taken.
Find Days 1 - 8 of the December 30 Lists journaling here.
Find Days 9 - 18 of my 30 Lists journal here.
Find Days 19 - 30 lists here. 
Comments (0) Tags: , , ,

ornament mini album | from the archives

This post originally appeared on I Love It All in December 2010, when I had been blogging for less than six months but obviously already a huge fan of mini books. To update our little album, I've been taking photos and adding new stories and memories. There's a link at the end of the post to download your page template.

 DOCUMENT THE MEMORIES
While the ornaments are out and you're in family memory capture mode, snap some photos of your ornaments and holiday decorations. Each year, I think to myself, "Will the kids remember why this ornament is special or who gave it to us?" Probably not and one day, I won't either.


Ornaments and Their Stories | Monika Wright
photo album {Target} felt sticker {SEI} rub-ons {American Crafts} 

This project is my spin on an original idea from Stacy Julian, and you can find her version of it here. Stacy and her family recorded their advent season memories and when I read about it last year, I had planned to use the same premise to record the memories behind all the ornaments on our Christmas tree.

This year, I won't be outdone by time! I have the album I purchased last year and am using journaling cards I designed to place beside each photo with the story/memory associated with it. I could have made my journaling card more colorful, but decided against that so that the colors of the ornaments take center stage. I will probably spice it up just a bit by adding patterned paper and flat embellishments, but I'll see how all that works out as I go along. 

Ornaments and Their Stories | Monika Wright
Ornaments and Their Stories | Monika Wright

There's no right or wrong way about this project, you do what feels most like you. After all, if you capture a story and a memory, does it really matter what paper or album you chose? Not really. What matters is that you have captured pieces of your family history.

And don't be stressed. Didn't get all the ornaments photographed this year? Don't worry. Just continue with your stories next year when you pull it all out again. They'll be there waiting on you!

You can download the journaling cards here, there are three different versions and there are trim marks sized to 4x6 for you to trim them down.

FIND MORE GOODIES
Find more mini books here.
Find more free downloads here.
Comments (5) Tags: , ,

tassel necklace tutorial

Never worry about having the perfect accessory for your outfit again! Today I'm going to share an extra easy DIY craft that takes just minutes and will be sure to get you some oohs + aaahs at your next get together.


THE TUTORIAL

The look of your tassel all depends upon the length of cardboard that you're wrapping and the number of times you wrap.  For the gold choker above, I wrapped my card on the short end and wrapped it twenty times, trimming the two Pink Sorbet tassels shorter than the Cappuccino tassel.

For the tutorial below, I opted for a longer tassel and again wrapped it twenty times.

  1. Choose your desired length of heavyweight cardstock to wrap. Begin with the loose end hanging down.
  2. Wrap until your desired fullness is reached. 
  3. Trim a longish piece of baker's twine before easing the tassel off your cardstock, holding onto  the tassel in one hand.
  4. Wrap the tassel with the longish piece of baker's twine several times and knot on the back side. Trim the tails from your knot
  5. Pull your choker or chain through the opening and trim your tassel to length.

I purchased my gold choker and silver ball chain {with the longer, single tassel} at a craft + hobby store, with a coupon of course, so it makes this project a great holiday gift giving idea as well.

DESIGN TIP 
How fun would it be to make these in school colors. Or as a pair of earrings? Or as embellishments on your gift bags and packages? Let your imagination run wild with the possibilities.
Comments (3) Tags: ,

love you more than the first cup of coffee

Welcome coffee lovers! If you haven't heard, there's a blog hop going on and you're invited. Find out more here and read all about the awesome prizes to be won just for commenting.

download your print in three colorways here


FREE ART PRINT DOWNLOAD
Because it's super busy in the shop, but I do love me some coffee and wanted to participate in the hop, I thought you wouldn't mind if I designed a free art print download instead of making a card.

 I loved using these dark, coffee-ish shades, but there's a latte color included in the file, too. I popped mine in a cream colored frame and it looks fabulous. I would have included a photo in the post, but I never imagined it would be so hard to take a photo of a frame with glass and NOT get reflections.

 Now, be sure to enter to win the giveaway below and have fun being inspired today while you hop away!

MORE GOODIES
You can download your print here.
Looking for more free downloads?


ENTER TO WIN
Enter the giveaway below...
...then visit I Love It All to shop and enter COFFEELOVER  at checkout for your 20% discount

Comments (76) Tags: ,

december 30 days of lists | days 1 - 8

Another round, another class, so you know I'm in for the December 30 Days of Lists adventure. Again.
30 DAYS OF LISTS | December Edition
To keep my journals somewhat similar, I created a holiday themed list journal and am having fun using it and seeing some fun holiday colors and cheerful paper inside as I journal each day. I've included some office inspired pages, like the library cards, manila coin envelopes and kraft bags from the shop, and added in some index cards, message notepad paper and an envelope like #30lists journals past.

Day 1 | It's the One Season


Day 2 | It's Never Too Early For


Day 3 | Photos To Take This Month


Day 4 | Friends and Family I'll See This Month


Day 5 | Changes I Made in 2014


Day 6 | Favorite Words to Write


Day 7 | What I Think About In the Shower


Day 8 | Things That Put Me In A Good Mood


Find Days 9 - 18 of my 30 Lists journal here.
Find Days 19 - 30 lists here. 
Read more of my 30 Days of Lists posts, including past classes I've taken.
Comments (2) Tags: , , ,

december daily joy mini album | mini albums with monika

Who's ready for some daily story documenting this December?  I'm tickled to share with you my largest "mini" album to date. Well, size wise anyway! Sit back and let me share my approach with this Holiday Memories mini album.

head over to my Mini Albums with Monika post for My Mind's Eye for the supply list

THE PROCESS
I've done December mini books in the past:
  1. ranging in size from 3" thick, starting on the day after Thanksgiving when we decorated the tree all the way to December 31st
  2. just jotting notes into a smallish embellished spiral bound notebook and not even including a story for each day
  3. that aren't finished...and it's been years since I began them...but that's okay because I was able to capture stories and photos for at least part of our December and something is better than nothing

If you're thinking, "Who has the time for that?" then how about this...choose a few activities this month that have meaning for you. Take some photos. Jot down the story about why these photos have significance for you and voila, you now have a snapshot in time of some lovely memories.

So this year, I'm giving myself permission to document our December story just on days that I want to. Or have time to. Because as you all know, December is so very busy and full of joy.

I'm not sticking to a rigid schedule, but we do have some annual activities that we do as a family and I've included pre-made pages into my mini album to help me document those events.

THE PAGES


THE DETAILS
I'm making the glittered advent tags work for me and pre-designing pages for activities that I know are going to happen. 

  • 14 is for the year 2014
  • 8 is glued on a Polaroid Frame chipboard element that has foam dots on the back allowing me slip a small photo behind...we'll be attending our town's Christmas tree lighting on this evening
  • 5 is part of a two page design and has been embellished with a Gem and a Decorative Tag...I'll add in our #5onthe5th photos {a monthly project I do} and we're going to document our favorite ornament
  • 2 is for the "2" of us - this page is just before my December 24th page and might appear to be out of order, but...my husband proposed to me on Christmas Eve and I'm going to try to get him to write a little note to tuck inside the Treat Bag along with mine

I love little surprises!


REPETITION FOR THE WIN
How gorgeous is that Dear Santa paper? 


I adore it and actually used it for three pages in my mini album. 

Yes, three times! 

I have three kids, aged 9, 11 and 23 so I've inserted those Santa pages for the 9th, 11th and 23rd of December.  The Glittered Advent Tags were added to glassine bags {for the 9 and 11 year-olds} and then I added the 23 tag right on top of the 25 next to Santa for something a little different. 

I can't wait to look back on these pages years from now, seeing their handwriting and their thoughts. And the glassine bags are perfect for holding pages from circular ads showing what they've circled to be added to their Wish Lists.

DESIGN TIP | adding pages to a spiral bound mini album
How about a quick + easy tutorial showing how to add photos, ephemera and more pages to an already bound album. Because we all know that if you give a girl a mini album, she's going to have tons more stuff to add!
Comments (0) Tags:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)