2015 Planner

I am obsessed with lists and writing things down. I have been eyeing up the Erin Condren planner for about a year but I just can't justify spending the money. Now that I am staying home with my kids, I am trying to get into a more organized routine and thought a planner would help. I tend to be more productive when I have a lot of stuff to do. For example, while my hubs was away I worked full time, took care of 2 kids, trained for a half marathon, taught AWANA, attended small group and maintained my house and cooked meals (sort of!). Now that I'm staying home I can't even seem to get the laundry done or make a simple meal. What is up with that??? So in an attempt to be more productive I needed a planner :) I wanted something specific for my daily needs but that wasn't just a day planner. I wanted something more fun. So with the help of my computer handy husband, I created my own using free prinatbles I found online and creating some myself. I got the idea from the busy budgeter but I was able to customize it to fit my life and needs for this upcoming year! It cost me roughly $15 dollars, but was fairly time consuming to ensure I had the pages exactly the way I wanted them. I LOVE the final product, so much so, that I already started using it! Here is it: (the cover before it was bound at Staples)

I used a free cover print from this blog (Handmade Home)

I'm a big goal setter so I had to include the goal page found here (Living Locurto)

I added 31 days of prayer for your children as a daily reminder of things I need to clothe my children in prayer of that I can re-use for each month. (To show them Jesus)

And even though I'm expecting a new bundle of joy this year, I wanted to maintain a certain level of fitness and stick to a routine. I found a get fit goals printable that you can keep track of workouts in 12 week increments so I added 4 of those to the planner. I'm hoping between my planner, my fitbit and a future half marathon I will stay motivated throughout the year! (Design Finch)

Next comes a dates to remember page for all those important dates that I forget every year! Well not this year, I already have it filled out and ready to go! (DIY home sweet home)

Now on to the nitty gritty planner. Each month gets a 2 page monthly calendar spread. (Scattered Squirl)

The each month is followed by a weekly 2 page spread divided by Morning, Day and Evening with a notes column and space for meals in each box. My hubs designed this as I told him what I wanted. Isn't he AWESOME?!?!

• I had a blank page at the end of the calendar, so I added a Freezer Inventory. (DIY home sweet home)
• Next I printed 12 TO DO lists (front and back so its only 6 pages). This will be a master monthly list of things that need to get done that month but don't necessarily have a time frame. (ie: renew my OT license) (DIY home sweet home)
• Because I love to write things down and plan things out, I also included enough blank home school planning sheets for the rest of our preschool year. I did not include the fall since I'm not sure what we will be doing school wise. (Handmade Home)
• The back cover I had laminated and is printed with my weekly cleaning schedule so I can use a dry erase marker on it to check of my weekly cleaning list and not have to print a million copies. (Happy Money Saver)
• I had the 1st and last pages laminated and the whole thing spiral bound at Staples for about $8. I needed to buy thicker paper for this project with brought my cost up but I have plenty left to make more for many years to come. If you are wanting to make your own, I would recommend InkJet 98 Bright and 24# so the pages don't bleed or become see through when you print on both sides. I also had to buy a new ink cartridge but I was planning on it anyways since I print so many things for preschool. 

I love the way it turned out and I'm so excited for this upcoming year! Happy Planning!

Homemade Christmas Part 2

This post is all things homemade! To start out, my SIL asked me to make towel backpacks for her kiddos. I scoured Pinterest but couldn't find something exactly like what I wanted so I created my own design! Go Me! I bought beach towels and a coordinating hand towel and a washcloth in an accent color to make the pouch, straps, and outer pocket. now each kid can carry their own towel to the beach! I  had to kind of trial and error on this to get it the way I wanted it, but I love the final product! I plan to make a few more for my own kids and I when I do, I hope to write a more in depth tutorial on how to make one! But for now, here are some photos of the finished product!

This is a pic of the back including the straps

A side view, (you can sorta see the pocket in the blue color-perfect for sunscreen, waterbottle, book etc)

And here is the towel all laid out with a sunbather on it!

For  my next project, I wanted to make a sensory board for my son. So I headed to Lowes and purchased some fun locks, switches, mirrors, etc that I thought he would enjoy. I got the board at Michael's (with a coupon of course!). I painted it construction yellow and asked my hubby to attach everything in place.What boy wouldn't love a board like this?!

My niece was also having a birthday in December, so I saw these cute wooden peg dolls on Pinterest and knew she would LOVE them. Actually, both my children loved playing with them until I had to mail them out! They come in packages of two (1 boy/1girl) so I only made 4 princesses and came up with 4 male characters. There are tons of ideas on Pinterest as they are all the rage it seems! So you can be as creative as you want. I freehand painted these gems so I am SUPER proud of myself. I hope that my Niece really enjoys them!

I made Snow White. Rapunzel, Aurora, Belle, a Pirate, Doctor, Fireman, and Policeman

I chose princesses who were more moderately dressed since this gift was for a 2 y/o.

I also made each of my niece and nephews a wallet from this tutorial here. I added buttons to the outside after I took this photo. The picture is terrible but the I used a coordinating fabric for an inside pocket as well that I was able to use from my scrap fabric stash. 

And of course every little girl needs a purse to hold her wallet. So I made some of those too. I used the tutorial from here.

And I couldn't make a purse without adding a felt makeup compact! I pretty much made this pattern up as I went along but it's so darn cute!

And now for the adults, I found some super cute tea towels at Target for less then $2 a piece! Shhhhh! Don't tell. So I scooped up a whole bunch and turned them into aprons. Since when  I'm cooking, I always wipe my hands on the dishtowel, I though I just need an apron made from a dishtowel then I can throw it in the wash when I'm done! So all I did was add a ribbon to the top and viola! I have a cute apron, that also made for a great gift for my SIL's and friends! I unfortunately gave them all away as gifts before I could get a good photo. :(

And last but not least, I saw this idea for a busy bag felt pizza. I made a menu that was personalized to the kiddos I was giving it to. It was a little time consuming to cut out all the pieces, but it was very inexpensive and keeps the kids busy! And I made a coordinating bag to keep all the pieces together.

I hope you enjoyed all of my homemade gifts! If you like any of these or are interested in any of these items, please let me know! I'm thinking of starting an Etsy shop and need some encouragement to do so! :) Enjoy the last days of 2014!!

Homemade Christmas

So this year has been a little different. We are living temporarily in a different state, with only the bare necessities. We did not bring hardly ANY Christmas decorations and our budget did not allow for us to go buy new so this year has been mostly homemade. From gifts, to ornaments, to decorations on the house and mantle. It's been fun to come up with ways to make this place feel Christmasy without spending alot! So here's what we came up with: Our Christmas tree

It's starting to die and has lost its luster, I should have taken a photo when we first decorated it but alas I didn't. But here is one to prove that it was once green and lively and has been decorated by Mia using everyday things!

Consists of lights (I did bring those from home), a real Christmas tree (from Lowe's), homemade salt dough ornaments created and painted by Mia, additional ornaments including a homemade nativity and 3 wise men made out of Popsicle sticks, Dollar Tree Candy canes and a Star from the Dollar Tree. Grand total: $4 (excluding the tree-given as a gift!)
Here's an up close of Mia's Manger scene and three wise men (I can't get it to rotate, so you'll have to turn your head!)

Our Mantle:

Homemade Cinnamon gingerbread men attached to a Dollar Tree garland, homemade sparkle twine balls (I love how they turned out!)  and a music sheet wreath that I made at a craft and chat outing! Oh and a strand of lights from the Dollar Tree! I brought the stockings and PEACE blocks with us! Grand total: $2 Please excuse the giant Antenna! (That ugly thing makes it so we can get 2 channels! ugh! and the spots on the wall are where the owners need to paint. Funny you can only really see it in the picture!)

Outside:

I asked the person at Lowe's who cut our tree if I could take some of the Tree scraps. They said to take as much as I wanted! Score! So I made little swags out of the branches and added a bow! Grand total: $2 for bows!

This homemade Christmas has actually been fun, and on a side note: if I had brought my real ornaments, my son would have destroyed them considering he has tried to eat, remove, or break most of the ornaments we have on the tree. I will leave you with a cute picture of him 'helping' make the ornaments. He has no shirt on in the second one because he kept putting the dough down his shirt! Stay tuned for some fun homemade Christmas gifts!