Moving in to the Foxy Notebook System

Hi everyone! This is Jes. Kris mentioned last week that she and I have joined theFoxy Fix design team.  I'm over on their blog showing how I use the Foxy Notebook system. We have received several comments on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube asking about our setups, and I wanted to share with you all as well.

Be sure to check out the Foxy website as well! http://foxy-fix.myshopify.com/

I'll first do a quick walk through, showing how I set up my Foxy Notebook and inserts. I'll also show you how I've incorporated the new Bujo Foundation and Elements stamp sets into my bullet journal system. My notebook of choice is the new Rowena 2.0, in the Grand 8 (A5) size. (I actually changed my cords out to the gorgeous mint straps, but I forgot to take a photograph before sitting down to write this up, so you'll have to wait to see those next time!)

 My Foxy Notebook currently holds two Notebook Inserts, two other previously purchased journals that contain information I need on hand, and a dashboard insert. I love the dashboard because it lets me change out the covers as the mood strikes. I decorated this one with the lovely Floral stamps (design 1).

The first page in my first insert is my bujo key, and following that is my June monthly spread.

I used several stamp sets in this layout.  For the large boxes at the top, I used one of the columns from Column Set 1. The squares are stamped with the Square Set.  A trick to lining them up (which I actually thought of AFTER I finished this entire page!) is to use a t-square ruler and lightly trace a frame work in pencil.  I ended up just eyeballing it. 

The days of the week and June header all come from the Bujo Basics Part 1 set, while the banner around June and the numbers are all from Bujo Basics Part 2. Finally, I used Bujo Dividers and Borders Set 2 to separate my days from my notes section.  To stamp the borders, I used my long block from Fiskars, but it was hard to hold, and the bottom part of the border was difficult to align. I recommend getting a block with a good grip like this one from My Sentiments Exactly. 

After my monthly calendar, the next few pages are my weekly spreads for June. Many people plan day by day in their bujo's, but that doesn't work for me.  I stamp out a basic weekly layout, and if I end up needing more room for to-do items, I create a master to-do list on the next available page.  For June, I chose to make several weekly spread layouts to give you an idea of all the different things you can do with the Foxy Fix stamp sets. I haven't listed every individual set, but you can find all the sets I used here: http://www.foxyfix.com/collections/clear-stamp.   

This tracker was created using the mini calendar stamp found in the Tracker Set. You can only track seven things at a time, but that's perfect for me.

Here is a close up of my weekly spread. The boxes are not all lined up perfectly, so this is where that t-square I mentioned would be helpful again.

Kristine Bryant, one of the other two designers, challenged me to do a layout using only the new elements sets. Challenge accepted!  Can you believe this entire spread is made with only three stamp sets? All the framework is done with the Floral Page Layout Design 1 set, and the days, dates, and banners are all from Bujo Basics Part 1 and 2. 

To get the florals in the right place, I drew a line down the center of the page and stamped out all the corners on either side of that line, then lined up the other half of my box with the first set of corners. So much easier than how I did my monthly spread! 

If your area is too small to allow you to have four corners, you can cheat a corner using one of the straight vines, like I did here.

Finally we have my favorite spread so far!  This layout features the Hexagon Set and the Bujo Dividers and Borders Set 2. (It's a bit difficult to see the left side well in this shot, because I used yellow, but you'll see it up close in a moment.) 

This week is extremely busy, so I knew I was going to need a lot of room for my to do list. But for such a busy week, there weren't very many things that needed a specific day.

The boxes at the top will be perfect for things that have a deadline, while the checklist below will help me keep my to do list straight. 

The weekend days share a box so that I could fit all 7 days on one page and because there is very little happening those days.  The four large hexagons on the lower part of the page will hold my notes for the following week, menu plan, daily activities with my daughter, and any bills that need to be paid. 

Some of you might be experienced stampers, and many of you probably aren't - regardless, you're probably all wondering how various ink brands work in the Foxy inserts. (Yes, you see Memento dye ink in these photos!)  I'll post a video in a week or two showing the different kinds of ink and how they work on Foxy's paper.  

I absolutely loved putting these layouts together, and I hope you enjoyed this walk through of the first month in my Foxy Notebook.  If you have any questions or comments, please be sure to comment below!  I'd love to know what you think. 

Make sure you subscribe to the Foxy Fix blog so you don't miss a post!

Find us on Facebook, and follow The Foxy Fix and the design team members on Instagram for more inspiration:

The official Foxy Fix account: @thefoxyfix

Jes Brandon (that's me!): @jes_planning

Cheryl Reiter: @cherylreiter

Kristine Bryant: @teachplancraft

So, Here's What's New...

Hey, everyone!  It's Kristine with you today, and I've got kind of an atypical (for us) blog post for you.  Normally, Jes and I post twice a week, and we aim to always have some kind of planner or craft to show you.  We've been pretty good about sticking to our self-imposed schedule, but this week I fell down on the job.  These last couple of months, things have really picked up for us - and these last few weeks have been REALLY nuts, but in the best possible way.

So, many of you probably know that for 3 months now, Jes and I have been creative contributors for Sweet Stamp Shop.  We have both used Sweet stamps for almost a year now to make projects - cards, planner layouts, bookmarks, you name it - for our own personal use (many of them showcased here on the blog), and now we get to make those things for Sweet to use in their marketing.  It's something that we've both wanted to do for a long time, as we've been Sweet fans for awhile now, and in March we were asked to join the Sweet family as monthly contributors.  We're proud and honored to be affiliated with Nicole Rixon and her amazing company. 

We didn't think life could get better...and then a couple of weeks ago, it did!  We've also both been selected to be on the first ever Foxy Fix design team.  If you've never heard of Foxy Fix, go take a look - they're an American company (as is Sweet Stamp Shop) that makes the most amazing leather notebooks and totes, and they've recently launched a line of clear stamps designed specifically for bullet journaling.  If you follow Jes and I on any of our social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube), you know that we both have recently converted from traditional planning to bullet journaling - the timing was perfect, and we caught the eye of the lovely Wan Chin Lim (@wansplansandexplorations) and Kelly, the owner of Foxy Fix.  As experienced stampers, she thought we'd be perfect (along with Cheryl Cooke Reiter) to lead the way into bullet journal stamping, and we're thrilled to have been chosen.

So with all this going on, we've both had a lot more creative deadlines to meet - and that's why you're getting this wordy post on Thursday instead of the cute card or craft you should have gotten yesterday, lol.  We hope you stick with us, because there will be lots more bullet journal eye candy coming, as well as some really super new products from Sweet Stamp Shop (seriously - you're going to flip when you see what's coming in July!!).  If you don't already, consider following both companies so you can see all their yummy products and the cool stuff we're making for them.  Thanks, and we'll see you again with more crafts soon!

Sweet Stamp Shop

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SweetStampShop/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetstampshop/

Foxy Fix
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/401187463379995/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefoxyfix/

Hey, everyone, and happy June! (Can you believe it's June already??  Where on earth has this year gone?!) I've got a short video for you today showing the last week in my bullet journal. After 3 weeks, I'm still enjoying the system and figuring out how it's going to best work for me. This week, I used a column layout, where each day took up half a page. My running to-do list is at the top, and a couple of daily chores and important tasks are at the bottom. The very bottom contains my "days of school" countdown - we're getting so close to the end of the year now!

I hope you enjoy this quick, 4-minute video. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments! Are you using a bullet journal? Let me know what's working for you!

Embroidery Project with Veggin Stamp Set

Hi everyone, Jes today. I'm over on the Sweet Stamp Shop blog with this fun embroidery project, and I thought I'd share here with you as well. When Sweet released the new VersaCraft ink, I saw an excellent opportunity to combine two of my favorite crafting hobbies: embroidery and stamping. 

The hardest part was deciding which set to use.  I ended up ordering the Veggin set when I ordered the VersaCraft ink pad. I like to have decorated dish towels on hand to give out as gifts. The adorable veggies were perfect for a set of dish towels. 

When using a new ink I like to test it several times on scrap paper, or in this case fabric scraps, to get a feel for how it works.  With my smaller blocks I tended to smudge it quite a bit as I pulled up, but with the Fiskars Stamp Press I was able to get a clean impression.

The ink was still a bit light in some places, but I just traced over it very lightly with a pencil since it was going to be hidden with thread anyway. I made the mistake of not ironing out the crease from being folded when I did my project. It didn’t hinder the stamping or the embroidering, but it did annoy me a bit. 

Before I start stitching a project, I like to pick out all the thread colors and have them in a little basket that can also hold my project when I’m not working on it. It makes it easier to have everything on hand.  It’s also a habit of mine to finish all of one color before moving on to another.  It can be tedious when working on larger projects, but with this design it moved very quickly.

I zoomed in on this to show you the stitching in more detail. I used a simple stem stitch to outline each of the veggies. I considered filling them all in, but was afraid the cute little faces would not show up as well. So, I chose to just fill in accents on each veggie. The faces were a bit too small for me to stitch in and have it look right, so I traced them with a marker instead. 

Here is a close up of the finished project.  My best friend has already laid claim to this towel, and asked for a complete set.  Dish towels are just the first item on my list of things to make now that I have this new ink.  Some other projects I have in mind are: aprons, t-shirts, bags, wall art, wash cloths, bibs, pillowcases, handkerchiefs, baby blanket, pot holders, tea cozy, placemats, napkins, and various clothing items for my daughter.  I hope that this post inspires you to explore outside the world of paper crafting. If you use Sweet stamps be sure to tag us on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. We love to see what you create.

Fifteen Minute Dragon Bookmark

Hello friends! It's Jes today.  If you didn't know, Kris and I are co-admins for the Sweet Stamp Shop Fan Club on Facebook. We recently started a book club for our members, and we're reading the Harry Potter series together.  Everyone is making adorable bookmarks, and I was inspired to make a set of my own.

I started out by watercoloring a sheet of Canson Watercolor paper. I taped it down to my desk to minimize warping so I could get it good and wet.  I used a few distress inks that I had on hand.  Then once it dried, (I was impatient and heat set it with my heat tool) I stamped out a few Dragons from one of my favorite sets from Sweet Stamp Shop. I used Memento Ink in Tuxedo Black, because I wasn't sure if I was going to water color the dragons, and Memento doesn't bleed.

Once I had them all stamped out I used a T-Square Ruler and a fine tipped Sharpie to draw in the shape of my bookmarks. I liked how it looked right under the wings best, but when I do this again, I'll bring the lines out to the tips of the wings. I think that will make cutting and popping the image to clip in the books easier, and more attractive. 

Next, I tried to be all fancy and cut the whole thing out with my Gyro-Cut tool. Don't do this. It takes forever with this paper. Cut it all out with scissors and then you can use the gyro for the detail cutting later on. 

I chose to color them after they were cut out, you can color before or after, it doesn't make any difference.  Isn't he so cute? I colored him in with a couple of Tombow markers, but you could use any coloring medium. I also outlined the whole thing with black markers just to give a clean edge.  *Note, the backside looks pretty gnarly, but by adding the long rectangle on the bottom it makes these easy to line up, so you could have the dragon dude on the front and the back.  I'm going to play around with it a bit, and I might update this later if I come up with an idea I like.

Here is the hard part.  To make the little dragon hold your page like this, you have to cut in pretty close.  I used my gyro for this, and then cut all the way up to his shoulder and his neck to give him as much room as possible to hook on the page.

I used the tip of the gyro tool to push the arms out after cutting them, and then bent them back a bit so that they would stay popped out and I wouldn't have to do it again every time I wanted to mark a page.

His arms are very tiny and he doesn't hold the page well when he was cut like this, so I experimented really quick and decided to cut out his body. This works well, but the tail was so close to the edge of the frame that I nearly cut through it, and it's still very fragile. I mentioned above that it might be a good idea to have the frame for the bookmark start at the tips of the dragon's wings. This is why. It would give room to cut around the tail without risking the integrity of the bookmark.

Both look adorable, and I'll definitely use both. Just play around a bit and see what you like best.  They will also work well as regular bookmarks. 

If you liked these let me know in the comments. We're also taking requests for projects.  If you have something you'd like to learn to do, let us know in the comment section and we'll do our very best to post a tutorial soon.  Also, don't forget to follow us on IG: @teachplancraft and @jes_planning.  Drop us a comment and let us know you're coming from the blog! Thanks for reading! 

Fast and Easy Corner Bookmark

Hey, everyone!  It's Kristine with you again today, and I've got a quick craft for all the book lovers out there.  I'm sure you've probably seen that video going around Facebook of the bookmark made from the corner of an envelope and washi tape?  Well, I wanted to make one that was a little more sturdy and a little more "me" than that.  So armed with a few tools and an unlined 4x6 index card, I came up with this!  What do you think?

The whole thing came together in about 20 minutes.  Now that's my kind of craft!

First up, turn your 4x6 unlined index card (or piece of cardstock, whichever you prefer) on its corner and draw a 45 degree angle so that the diagonal part is about 3 inches long.

Next, draw horizontal and vertical lines to create a square.  Extend them to the edges of the card. (The pencil lines are pretty light in this photo, but you should be able to see them if you click and expand.)

Now, cut off the diagonal part and the large rectangle to the upper right. 

Score very lightly along the two sides of the square that still have pencil marks.  Then fold the two rectangles backward away from the triangle.

Once all the pieces are folded up flat, carefully trim off everything hanging below the bottom of the triangle.  I used my craft knife and a metal ruler, but you could use scissors, too.

Turn the triangle over so that the flaps are facing up.  Fold one flap down and put adhesive on it (I used a roller adhesive and went all around the edges.  Then stick the top flap down on top of it. 

You should have a 3-layer triangle now that has an opening between the front and the first flap.

All that's left to do now is decorate it and start using it!  I stamped the Book Club set from Sweet Stamp Shop with Memento ink and colored the images with Spectrum Noir alcohol markers.  And boom, that's it!  20 minutes, start to finish, and I have a really cute bookmark.  These would be super easy to make as gifts or party favors!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Please feel free to leave a comment or question down below and I'll be sure to get back to you!  Happy reading!

Hey, everyone! It's Kristine with you today, and I've got a quick post for you about my bullet journal. As you know, I abandoned my traditional planner (an Inkwell Press flex) for a DIY version in late April, then two weeks later, started a bullet journal. I've been using it for 3 weeks, and I absolutely love it! It's given me the flexibility to experiment with layouts, which is why I moved into a DIY planner in the first place.

Many people who use a bullet journal set up weekly layouts in advance, but I like mine to go day by day - the ability to change it up and make each day however long it needs to be is what really drew me to the system in the first place. It's just so happened that this past week was able to fit on a 2-page spread, but if that didn't happen on another week, it would be a-ok with me. I've got a new plan for next week's days which incorporates a sort of Dutch door set-up, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it works out.

One of the things I loved about my old Erin Condren and Inkwell Press planners was stamping, and I'm starting to figure out how to incorporate that into my bullet journal now, too. This week's stamping was mainly decorative, but I'm looking forward to trying some more functional stamping next week. Stay tuned!

Following is the link to a very short 4-minute time lapse video showing how this week's days came together. I hope you like it!

I hope you all have a great week ahead! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below - I'd love to chat with you about the bujo system!

Watercolor Divider for Personal Sized Planner

Hello! It's Jes, back again with another fun craft.  I woke up with a nasty headache, that has lingered all day. I needed a simple craft that I could do on the couch and didn't have to think about too hard.  Sure, I could have pushed this post off till tomorrow, but I've been working hard to meet my posting goals, and I wasn't going to let a headache ruin my solid streak.  I decided to make a simple but fun dashboard for my new personal sized planner.  Here is a look at one a did a few days ago, just for fun.

I used Count Down and College Plans from Sweet Stamp Shop to create that divider.  I just stamped, colored, cut, and glued. Then added the sentiments from Count Down. The tab is from the Labels and Tabs set from Studio L2E.

For today's project I decided to do a simple watercolor dashboard and spruce it up with a single sunflower.

Supplies needed:
Watercolor Paper
Markers or watercolor paints (I used Tombows)
A hole punch
Water Brushes (or a brush and cup of water)
Stamps and ink

I have this Canson Mixed Media notebook, that I used to pre-stamp all of my favorite stamps. I can toss it in a bag with a few markers or colored pencils and color on the go, or while watching TV.  So, I just tore the sunflower page out to work with today.  The sunflower stamp is from the Our Friendship Grows set by Lawn Fawn.

I absolutely hate to measure. I don't know why, but I do. So I just traced the last divider I made, and slid it down the page a bit to put the tab where I wanted it.

 Next, I laid down a solid foundation of color in an ombre pattern. Then, I spritzed it well with a little mini mister bottle I picked up from Walmart ages ago. I wanted it good and wet. Using an old dry rag, I soaked up all the excess water, and lifted a bit of the color off, because it was too dark for what I wanted.
While my divider was sitting to the side drying, I colored in my sunflower and pot.

I wasn't thrilled with the way the pot turned out, and ended up coloring over it again with my tombows before I attached it to my divider. I cut these out using my amazing Gyro-Cut tool (seriously if you don't have one GET IT! Then come back and tell me I was right and you adore it :D ). I love that I can fussy cut detailed images in such a short time, and get such clean lines. 

 

See? It's awesome, right? When you're finished admiring how neatly that cuts, we'll move on. I'll wait. 

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Ready? Next up, I attached the flowers and flowerpot to my divider.  I ended up sketching in a stem and leaves, because I wanted smaller leaves and a smaller stem than what are provided in the set. 

So, glue them down nice and snug, and you're ready to hole punch.  This was actually a bit flimsy for my tastes, so I went ahead and traced it on a piece of heavy card stock and then adhered it to the thicker piece to give it the sturdy feel I prefer.  Finally, I grabbed an insert from my planner to line up the holes (my six hole punch doesn't work and I need a new one) and punched out my holes.  Then, I just popped it in my planner and I was ready to go.  From start to finish, including drying time this took about 35 minutes.

Do you love this? Hate it? Do you have any questions, or thoughts, or tips? Leave me a comment below and let me know what you think.  I love comments, and will respond to all of them!

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram @jes_planning. 

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15 Minute Summer Activity Sticks

Hi everyone, it's Jes again. I'm back with another 15 minute (ish) craft. Have you ever heard "I'm bored! There's nothing to do around here!" from your kids over the summers? I remember annoying my mom with it constantly. My daughter is getting to that age, and I decided to head off the boredom with some pre-determined activities we can do together. I considered just writing it in my planner and choosing something for each day, but that wouldn't be much fun for her.  Then, at a recent wedding, the couple put popsicle sticks out on the tables and asked people to write down date ideas.  It was perfect for what I needed, and I stopped by the craft store on the way home to grab some sticks for myself.

What you'll need:

     Popsicle sticks (tip: get the colored ones, they're more fun)
     Markers (tip: sharpies bleed really bad, so test your makers before using them)

     VersaCraft Ink 

     Stamps that go with what you want to write. 

          I used - Just Icons, Plan Craft, Little Cooler, Plan Summer, Game Night, Bacon Break, Plan To Eat, Plan Television, and Plan Everyday

The next part is super simple.  Write your activity on the stick, choose a coordinating stamp, and stamp it on the top of your stick. You will want to let the ink from your stamping dry for a few minutes before coloring or it will smear.  I had the most success with the ones that sat about five minutes.  

As always, at the end of the project, there are a few things I wish I would have done differently.  I think it would have looked really pretty to write a bit bigger, and fill the stick, maybe even add a bit of fancy lettering. I definitely wish I would have found a marker that didn't bleed.  I also wish I would have tried my spectrum noir markers out on it for the coloring. Using the colored sticks instead of the plain ones would be more fun, but then coloring might not look right.

I've included a short how-to video below.  If you like it, be sure to hit like and subscribe.  If you do this craft, be sure to tag me on Instagram @jes_planning and let me know. :)