DIY Planner Stickers

I'm know I've discussed my love for planners on my blog before, but in case you weren't already aware, I'm a paper planner kind of girl. Yes, I'm basically still back in the dinosaur ages with my paper planner that you actually have to write in. The thought of not having a real tangible planner to physically write in, color code and cover in stickers makes me sad. I simply cannot make the switch to the electronic calendar. I'm sure it's much more convenient and efficient, but it's the same reason I can't switch from real books to a tablet or Kindle. I just like paper. There's something about having real paper I can touch that makes me enjoy it more. I basically look at my planner as a year-long project, almost like a scrapbook. I spend all year long decorating it, doodling in it, making lists, writing goals and accomplishments, planning meals and exercise, keeping up with events and special occasions...that planner is like my entire year in one little book. And at the end of the year, I can look back at this little masterpiece that I spent all year creating.

Not only does my planner keep me organized, but it's a fun project that I seem to really enjoy for some reason. I get super excited when someone gives me a date for something because then I get to write it in my planner! And if it's a really special occasion (like a wedding for instance) then I decorate the whole day with different colored pens and stickers. I just love it. I'm basically an overgrown kindergartner. And don't even get me started on my to-do lists. I make to-do lists for myself every single day in my planner and then check each item off as a do it throughout the day. It makes me feel so accomplished getting to check the little box in my planner next to each item. Even if it's something that I will probably remember to do whether I put it on my list or not, I write it down anyways. For example, I could look back in my planner from last year and tell you exactly how many times I went to Publix throughout the entire year. Because every time I needed to go to the grocery store, I would put it on my to do list for that day. I realize that this may sound insane to some of you, but if you are a list person or a planner person like me, you get it. 

I know what you're thinking...someone as crazy and obsessed with planners as me probably knows what the best planner out there is right? Well, I've tried a lot of different ones and it just depends on what you are looking for in a planner. My personal favorite is the Life Planner by Erin Condren. The name itself is exactly what makes this one the best for me. It truly is a life planner, not just a calendar. I don't need "just a calendar". I need something that I can record my entire life in everyday. This planner offers me that and I love it. I am currently on my 3rd Erin Condren Life Planner and it is still my favorite thing ever. My sister-in-law and I buy them for each other every year as a tradition and its always my favorite gift of the year. I get mine on Christmas morning every year and when I go to start opening my presents, my planner is always the one that I look forward to opening the most. 

These past couple of days have been so fun for me because I have been setting up my new planner for this upcoming year. My dining room table has been covered in stickers and pens and highlighters and markers. I've been having way too much fun. Which brings me to the actual purpose of this post...my DIY Planner Stickers. 

The EC Life Planner comes with stickers in it and in the past I've always just used those and that's it. Well those stickers are kind of small for my big handwriting (and they are just basic rectangles) so I wanted some bigger stickers possibly in fun shapes. Well, I didn't want to spend a bunch of money and it was hard to find exactly what I wanted, so I decided to make my own! 

My stickers obviously work best with an Erin Condren Life Planner, but you could always alter the size and shape of the sticker to fit whatever space you have available in your planner. Here are step-by-step instructions as to how I made them!

Here is what you will need...

2x4 inch White Mailing Labels

Craft Punch (any size less than 2") 

Computer and Printer

Your Planner!

Step 1: Design the background for your stickers on your computer. I used a template on Microsoft Word for 2x4 inch mailing labels. All I did was color the background of each label a solid color. You could use patterns too if you want, but I just did solid colors so that it would be easy to read whatever I end up writing on the sticker.

Step 2: Print out your labels and cut the pages in half so that it's easier to reach both sides of each label with your craft punch.

Step 3: Use a craft punch to cut out your stickers. You can use any shape that you would like, as long as you get a size that will fit on the label. I used the 1 1/2 inch scalloped circle and the 1 3/4 inch quatrefoil shapes. I wanted to use as big of a shape as possible (because I have large handwriting) without being too big for the spaces in my planner. I happened to already own these craft punches, but if you are going to the craft store to buy one just for this purpose you might want to measure the spaces available in your planner before you choose a size.

Step 4: Use a sharpie pen to write on your sticker, peel the back off and stick it into your planner!

If you turn using your planner into a fun, craft project, then you will enjoy it much more. I find that the more effort I put into making my planner fun, the more I want to use it and the better organized I stay all year long! If you are looking for a great planner to get you organized this year, check out Erin Condren's Life Planner. 

Here is my new Life Planner for 2015...

Hope you have fun getting organized for 2015!

Due Date Predictions

With only one week until Peyton's due date, we have been placing our bets around here as to when she will actually make her debut. A few months ago, I got this idea to have people guess her arrival date on a calendar. I'll be honest, I stole the idea from my husband's baby book. I was looking through his baby book one day and saw how my mother-in-law had put a regular calendar in there that she had people sign guessing his arrival date. I thought this was a super cute idea, so I started searching Pinterest to see if other people had samples of something similar. Rather than just using a regular monthly calendar, I decided to jazz it up a bit and create my own calendar on my computer. I only wanted to include certain weeks of each month surrounding her estimated due date, plus I wanted to be able to make the squares extra large so that people would have plenty of room to write their names. Here is what I created...

I printed out one calendar with the last two weeks of May on it and another one with the first two weeks in June, figuring that people would only guess within that radius of her actual due date. I decided that the easiest way to get people to guess on my calendars was to make them a part of my baby showers. I printed separate calendars for each shower, which is why there are multiple copies pictured below, so that everyone would have plenty of room to write. I can't wait to see whose guess ends up being correct!

May Calendars: 

June Calendars: 

For the record, Jared and I did not discuss our date choices prior to writing them down. We just happened to pick the same day by sheer coincidence. Let's see if our parental intuition ends up being accurate. I know a lot of people probably picked early dates because we are predicting that Peyton is probably going to be pretty big based on her measurements thus far along with Jared and I's own large birth weights. However, I have been told that 1st babies are typically late. If genetics has anything to do with it, Jared was 4 days early and I was 3 days late, so I'll be interested to see what happens!

Feel free to play along and leave a comment with your own prediction for the calendar! There is no prize for guessing correctly, just infinite glory here on my blog and in Peyton's baby book :)

Pregnancy Scrapbook

Even though I have been documenting my entire pregnancy here on my blog, I wanted to make something tangible that I could keep some mementos from my pregnancy in. Of course, all of the pregnancy "journals" and "scrapbooks" that I saw in the stores didn't suit my needs. I'm super picky about these kinds of things, so let's just say that Peyton's baby book will probably not be a store bought one either. Alas, I have decided to make my own pregnancy scrapbook from scratch.  

I recently purchased the scrapbook that I am going to use for this project. Once I mapped out all of the pages that I wanted to include in this scrapbook, I realized that a traditional post-bound style scrapbook was not going to fit my needs. I hate trying to expand those post-bound scrapbooks to add additional pages and I feel like if I try to expand it too big then it won't hold up over time. Therefore, I decided to go with this 3-ring binder style scrapbook instead. It has more than enough space and it is super durable.

I also went ahead and made an outline of all the pages I wanted for this scrapbook to see what I was going to need. It looks like I'm probably going to end up with about 80-100 pages in this scrapbook (hence the necessity for the 3-ring binder style book). I'm planning on working on a few pages at a time and I can only imagine that a book of this magnitude is going to take me a little longer than a hot minute.

I'm planning on including a page for each week of my pregnancy that incorporates my weekly bump photos, any ultrasound photos (using the actual printouts from the doctor's office) and the corresponding week-by-week prayer cards shown below...

My sister-in-law, Melissa, gave me this set of prayer cards at the beginning of my pregnancy and I love them. My inspiration for this scrapbook actually came from these cards. I have them displayed on my kitchen counter currently, but I wanted to figure out a way to enjoy them even after I'm pregnant. Melissa actually gave me the idea of scrapbooking these cards with my bump photos. Perfect! Each week, the card gives a fun fact about that week of pregnancy and then gives a corresponding bible verse that goes along with it so that you can pray over your baby as he/she grows. I love flipping to the next card every Wednesday and reading about what awaits me in that upcoming week of pregnancy. You can view or purchase these Pregnancy Prayer Cards here.

In addition to creating scrapbook pages featuring my weekly bumpdates, I also want to include pages featuring my 3 baby showers, our gender reveal, the nursery, etc. I will be sure to upload photos of the finished pages as I complete them so that y'all can see the fruits of my labor. Wish me luck, I think that this is going to be a huge undertaking, but I love scrapbooking so it should still be fun!

Wishes for Baby

I do not do registries. I know that people put stuff on a bridal or baby registry for a reason, but I like to do something different and creative. So when it came to picking out a baby gift for my cousin's wife's shower, I wanted to do something unique. Yes, this might have something to do with the fact that I don't know what to buy for a baby because I know absolutely nothing about what babies need...except cute outfits :) Since I was also one of the hostesses of the shower, I seized the opportunity to enlist the help of everyone at the shower in creating my gift.

I decided to make a scrapbook for Kristin and the baby to remember the shower and all the people who were there. Part of the scrapbook was created by me and the rest had to be finished at the actual shower.

The first page included the baby shower invitation

The next page had pre-matted areas to place photos from the shower

This page was the beginning of the "Wishes for Baby" section of the scrapbook. I reserved the first "wish for baby" for Kristin to write herself.

Disclaimer: I absolutely stole this idea off of Pinterest.

Every one at the shower filled out one of these cards for the baby with well wishes and good advice. Below is the template that I used.

I filled out my card first so that everyone could see what they were supposed to do. Modeling the process...yep, that's the teacher in me coming out. 

We had a little station set up at the baby shower where everyone could fill out their cards and place them into the scrapbook. I loved reading the advice and wishes that everyone wrote down. I thought that this would be a fun way for everyone to feel like an important part of the baby's life and a way for Kristin to remember the shower. Plus, I think it would be cool for the baby to be able to go back and read these when she is older.

This idea is also something that you could do at a shower in lieu of games. We didn't play any games at the shower, so this was an activity that everyone got to participate in. You can also send one of the cards to anyone who is unable to attend the shower and they can mail it back to the mom so that they are able to be included in the scrapbook even though they couldn't be there in person.

Honeymoon Scrapbook

My honeymoon scrapbook is officially complete! I still can't believe that I finished two whole scrapbooks this summer. I'm so proud of myself. As promised, here is my honeymoon scrapbook in order and in it's entirety for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy :)

Ta-da! I just feel so accomplished. I can't believe that I set a goal for myself and actually accomplished it, yay Jacki. I'm notorious for starting a project and never finishing it. In fact, I completed this project in less time than I set out for myself. Pat on the back for me :)

In case you missed out on my other scrapbook that I created this summer, click here: Wedding Festivities Scrapbook. Last night, I made my husband actually sit down and look at my scrapbooks...I wanted to show off all my hard work. After looking at both scrapbooks, he goes..."so where are the pictures from the actual wedding?" In the wedding album from the photographer, duh. Men are so clueless.

Scrapbooking {Vol. 10}

I am a scrapbooking machine! Seriously. Last night and this morning I finished the last of the honeymoon pages. Here they are...

Fun fact: The airport in Punta Cana does not have walls...that's right, no walls. The terminal is simply a concrete slab with a thatched roof. They do have ladies wearing fruit hats and coconut bras that greet you when you enter the airport though. Very festive :)

Sorry that the photos from our honeymoon are so crappy. May is the rainy season in the Dominican Republic so it was cloudy the entire time we were there.

Below: the bottom right picture on this page is the view from the back patio of our room. We could just walk out our back door and into the pool. From that spot we could swim about 20 yards to the right to the swim up bar :)

In case you are noticing a trend in all these pictures...yes, I did wear my hair up the entire time we were there. The humidity in the Dominican Republic is 98% all day everyday. My hair would not cooperate at all, straight or curly, it was just a giant frizz ball. Hence the bun.

When you stay at an all-inclusive resort there should be a cocktail in your hand at all times...otherwise you aren't getting your money's worth :)

Being a honeymooner is amazing because everyone gives you free stuff. They delivered wine, champagne, fresh fruit and dessert to our room every night after dinner.

 
Once I get my actual scrapbook today, I'll put all my pages in the correct order and then re-post the scrapbook in its entirety. Now, I've got to get all this scrapbook stuff put away and my house cleaned up for our visitors this weekend! So excited :)

Scrapbooking {Vol. 9}

I seriously need to get a scrapbook to put all of my honeymoon pages in. I'm thinking about just getting a cheap, solid color one...I can always paint something pretty on it later. Not that I'm in a hurry, but I have quite a few finished pages for this scrapbook and they are just lying on my dining room table unprotected. I need to put them in a book before all my hard work gets destroyed. Between my clumsy self and my crazy dogs, nothing is safe in my house.

Anyways, last night I finished a few more pages...here they are!

My husband loves cigars so of course we had to visit the local cigar factory while we were in the Dominican Republic. They give you a free cigar to smoke while you tour the factory and you get to learn about the entire process. My favorite part was watching all the guys rolling the cigars...one guy can roll hundreds of them in a single day!

We also went on a really cool all-day excursion through the Dominican countryside. 

We went horseback riding which was my favorite part of the excursion. I know we look super cool in those bright blue helmets, but it was required that you wear one if you wanted to ride. Once I saw how not-so-skilled some of our tour group was on horseback, I was glad they had a helmet on.

The theme of the excursion was the "Dominican Way of Life" which I found very interesting because I love learning about new things. We visited authentic Dominican homes and schools. We also visited the farms and fields where the locals work harvesting sugarcane, fruit, tobacco, and coffee. And we had an awesome view of all the scenery on our travels from our means of transportation...that giant green military truck.

 
While at one of the farms, we got to learn how the Dominicans make coffee...straight from the tree to your cup.

First, you have to pick the fruit off the tree which has the coffee beans inside it. Then you lay out the beans on the ground...yes, on the cement...and let them dry out in the sun. Some people have hand grinders to grind the coffee beans, but most people just use a bowl and a tree branch to crush their coffee beans.

Once you have the coffee grounds, you boil water and your coffee grounds over a fire pit. Using a little contraption that looks like a net with a stocking attached to it (that works like a coffee filter), you pour the mixture of grounds and water into the stocking and it catches all the chunks of coffee grounds and your fresh brewed coffee sifts through it. Yes, it is a lot of work but they don't have instant coffee makers like we do. I didn't taste any of the coffee because I hate coffee, but Jared was definitely in heaven.

That's all for now! More pages will be coming soon.