Planner Inside Pages and Illustrated Calendar

On one of my shopping expeditions I found these adorable die cuts by Jillybean Soup and decided to doodle on them and they turned out so cute that I chose to add them to my planner dividers.  I think they were a great addition.  I colored them with Gel Pens, Acrylic Markers, and Tombow Markers, cut each die cut in half and glued them onto the pages.  So fun and such a great project to work on in the evenings when I am watching TV.  You can see the one above and the one below.  The light reflects a bit on the surface but I think you can get the idea. 

This divider is a Mary Engelbreit Card which my daughter and her husband gave me for Valentines Day.  I loved it and thought that it would be great added to my planner so I cut it down, added Washi Tape and inserted it front and center.  I also did the card which my husband gave me but haven't inserted it into the planner yet.  What a great way to re-purpose expensive cards. 

Originally I wasn't planning to add a calendar, I have a calendar which I keep in my purse and of course always have my phone on me.  In the past I have done calendars which I have illustrated and used in my planner, I did that last year in a Moleskine planner which I did with the Documented Life Project.  I thought about ordering a calendar to use in the planner but being a DIY kind of person decided to make my own again this year.  This is the August version.  It has changed slightly as I opted to paint around the edges using my Tombow Markers.  I'm currently working on October, which I love and will share that one when I get it finished. 

I think this is going to be a great planner which I can use as I see fit and add new pages as I use it more and more.  If you like the idea of doing a Life Planner but can't seem to keep up with the daily habit think about something which will suit your purpose more and this seems to work for me. 

How about some comments????  Do you use a planner????

Journal/Planner Re-design Inside pages Part 1

I am fascinated with the work that folks are doing with their planners, so fun and such a great descriptive visual opportunity to record your life on a daily basis.  I on the other hand have a hard time keeping up with anything which requires me to "keep" up with something.  I'm a huge fan of the gals over at the Documented Life journaling program and have participated during the past few years and start out with a bang and then just get overwhelmed with everything else that I want to do and end up only doing portions of the project.  I'm fine with this, it doesn't bother me at all because I believe that you need to do the sections which speak to you.  But..... I considered this when I started looking at the planner pages that folks were doing and decided to do something which was realistic for me only. 

I really wanted to do something which was "realistic" for me given my time and interest so decided to turn this planner into a journaling/sketching book which can be carried with me at all times.  This gives me the chance to sketch when I have time and the opportunity.  Because this planner is so small, approximately 5"X7.5", I can carry it in my purse and it packs really well when I am gone for the day or even longer periods of time. 

I cut down to size 90# watercolor paper, Bristol paper, and sketch paper, punched the holes in them and added them to the planner.  For my dividers I decided to use some of my Gelli Prints, Washi tape and laminated them.  In the photos above you can see that I used a variety of materials for the borders and included some scrap pieces of  projects completed by some of my students.  I decided that if the student didn't want the scrap material they would look great around my dividers and remind me of my students as long as I use these dividers.  What a great way to re-purpose something which was going to be thrown away. 

So far I am loving this planner.  What do you think? 

Journal/Planner Redesign

In my last post you saw the planner I was working on to re-design as I disliked the color of the Day Planner and opted to paint it using Deco Art So-Soft Paints and really felt that it was toooo busy!   I will admit that I tend to go overboard when I am stenciling, then thought why not paint around a design to tone down most of the front. leaving the areas of the stenciled layer that I loved.   I had a new stencil from Stencil Girl Products that I was  looking forward to using of a daisy mask and thought it would be perfect for this planner.  HMMMM!!!!  I used Black So-Soft paints to paint around the design leaving the previous stenciled image and loved it although it took days for it to dry because I had added sooooo much paint over neoprene.  I was actually a little nervous that it was never going to dry completely but it did.  HURRAY!!! 

Now I love it and have something which is completely of my own design and idea.  I would suggest doing this if you have a paintable planner, I don't know how well you can paint over leather but the neoprene seemed to take the paint well but you do have to be patient and allow the paint to cure.  It is still a little sticky but over time I'm sure it will dry perfectly.  If you look carefully you can see the glitter paint starting to show through the black and little snippets of paint colors which I love. 

In my next few posts I am going to share with you some of the inside sections of this planner which were also completed entirely by myself.  Having a blast with this project. 

BTW the stencil I used for the flower is one by Stencil Girl and is called Doodle It Daisy Stencil by Maria McGuire.  Love it.  Go to their site and view all of the fantastic stencils by the amazing artists at Stencil Girl!

Day Planner Re-Design with Deco Art So-Soft Paints

I went a little overboard on adding paint to this.  LOL.  I was starting to make a mess but wanted to try calming it all down and added the pink and turquoise dots to try to bring the entire design together.  Not sure if I accomplished what I had in mind, I may decide to paint around some of the elements that I like but will decide what my next step is after I let it dry.  It is a little busy, maybe fresh eyes will give me a needed perspective.  

What do you think?  Is it a hot mess or interesting?  

Journal Re-design using Deco Art So-Soft Paints

Here is the second step in my re-design of my Day Planner.  You can see that I've begun layering additional paint colors onto the planner but you can still see quite a bit of the red, which I do not care for.  I will have to take care of that.  My problem with this planner has always been its color, not the size or inside design, which I really like.  So what to do now?  Suggestions?  

I hope the So-Soft Paints start to dry because this is still a sticky mess.  I will keep you posted.  This might become a hot mess and will go to Good Will.  LOL.  

Have you ever tried this?  

Designing a Planner

I've had this Day Planner for 15 years or so and used it, until I got my I-Phone, as an address book and a general planner.  It was great and kept me organized between home, work, and my business.  Once I got my phone I decided to train myself to use my phone instead of a physical calendar and love my phone but had this planner taking up dust.  Being a teacher/artist I hate to throw things out, you never know when you will need something. LOL.  My husband on the other hand would really like me to get rid of a few things, I decided that I should  use this planner again or get rid of it, but really hated the color.  It is a red neoprene, which I've never really liked but when I purchased it the colors which were available were limited.  So being a can do kind of person decided to paint it and got out my Deco Art So Soft paints. 

I made the decision that if I didn't like it once it was painted I would get rid of it for good.  HMMM????  Is that a challenge to myself.  

I wasn't really sure that I wanted to paint the entire planner and chose to stencil and sponge reds, orange, turquoise blue, and white onto the planner.  Still wasn't overly sure I was crazy about it but was beginning to like it better.   Check back after I let this dry to see the next incarnation of re-purposing this planner.  It is a great size 6"X 7", I'm planning to use it as a travel sketchbook so it doesn't really have to be gorgeous but I would like to enjoy the color of it.  

Do any of you use planners?  For what purpose?  I'm kind of missing having a planner and have been reading about the planners that individuals are developing.  It sounds like fun.  Maybe this should be a full fledged planner instead of just a travel sketchbook.  Time will tell.  

More Hand Painted Bottles using the Deco Art Glass Paint Markers.

I just completed these two bottles.  No, I'm not a heavy drinker, my niece's husband works at a local restaurant which has a bar and he is nice enough to rescue the bottles for me.  I've had an amazing assortment of bottle for inspiration.  Certainly good for the environment as well as my liver!  These re-purposed bottles now have a new life.  I am developing a pretty decent inventory and am thinking about selling off some of my stock.

I think these would be great for vinegar, oils, and decanters for home-made liquors.  Any other ideas?

  Every time I complete a bottle it becomes my newest favorite and these are two of my faves.

Guiness Bottle

I am happy to post the final photo of my Guiness bottle, I actually did a second bottle as well and am posting both bottles. I stayed with the gold and silver color scheme.  Lighter colors did not show up on the dark glass.  The second bottle actually reminded me of a combination of a mosaic and a sweater material.   Lol.

What do you think?  Would you want to try these.  

Guiness Bottle

I am back online now, thankfully I have my computer back up and running.  I had to re-install software and reconfigure my contacts in my email, still working on those, but at least I am back in the techno world.

As I promised a few weeks ago here is the second photo showing the Guiness bottle that I started working on.  This photo shows where I have added the vertical lines and don't be concerned about the bleed from the white lines, that will disappear once I add the remainder of the gold paint.  I am using White and Gold on this bottle and it is turning out really lovely.

I will post the finished bottle in my next post.  I just received a number of new bottles that are calling for me to begin the design process and I have 4 finished bottles that need to be heat set in the oven.

I'm seriously considering adding these bottles to my website for sale.  What are your thoughts?