Introducing...Pimp Up Your Filofax! - Filofax Friday

Hello Filofaxing Friday Friends, all the F's lol! This week I wanted to catch up with you and let you know some exciting things that are going on, have gone on and will go on. I know crazy!

Firstly I wanted to say thank you to everyone who gave me the push to get over myself and just release the elephant dashboard! I listened. As I explained in my Q&A it is hard sometimes when you don't feel your art is good enough. Anyways you voted for the pastel elephant so I am pleased to say that Ellie is now available as a dashboard over in my Etsy shop in pocket, personal and A5 size.

Secondly I wanted to say that I have some new inserts in the development stage so further down the line on Filofax Friday I will be sharing those with you. As you know FF takes place in all manner of ways; vlog, show and tell's, tutorials etc so I will continue to mix it up. I do have some ideas in the pipeline that I am looking forward to sharing with you all. If there is anything in particular that you would like to see though please do let me know, I am always open to suggestions.

And very lastly but by no means leastly, in fact this is the most exciting part...this is happening....

You may have already guessed as I have been posting snippets on instagram and Twitter using the hashtags #pimpmyfilofax and #filofaxbloggerchallenge. Well I am excited to formally announce that I am taking part in the lastest Filofax Blogger Challenge. Whoooo hooooo!

From time to time Filofax run blogger challenges so you can imagine my delight, surprise and excitement when I had an email from Filofax asking if I would like to take part! Oh my goodness yes! I didn't care what it was or what I had to do I just wanted to take part. So excited!!

So I was very kindly sent a Filofax from errr Filofax and my challenge is to Pimp it Up! What did I get? Well I got the very lovely Filofax Cover Story Personal Organiser (Floral Burst)...

I will probably do a review further down the line on this little beauty but I really wanted to introduce you to the Filofax and to the challenge. How am I going to pimp it up? At this stage I go from having no idea to some pretty radical ones! I don't know, I really don't lol! I will keep it hush hush though until Filofax release all the entries. I have until 4th August to pimp it up and then I have to submit the photographs to Filofax who will then choose their favourite images to put on the Filofax Facebook page and then it goes out to public vote. Yep that is right, you guys get to choose your favourite!

Here is the really exciting part, if I win I get given 6 Filofaxes to give away to you guys, that is super cool so I so want to win so that I can give them away. If I come second or third then I get 3 Filofaxes to giveaway and if I don't place at all, no Filofaxes :(

Anyway I am really up for the challenge. I am scared and daunted but I am up for it indeedy. I only know one other blogger taking part and that is Loretta from the University project. I would love to know who else is taking part, not to steal ideas but because I am really interested to know so let me know if it is you so I can say hi!

Everything is explained in more detail in todays video...

Anyways I will keep you updated with my Pimping with photos and more once it has all gone live and public. Until next week, happy planning :D

Art journal flip through

I am half way through my current art journal and I have been sharing snippets on instagram and on the Journal Gypsies blog and some of you have asked to see more. Of course I am always happy to share my art journal (or the non private parts of it of course!) but it would be a while before it was completely finished so I thought I would do a half journal flip for you so you can see how this is coming along. I will do a full journal flip so you can see what it is like when it is fully completed.

Hope you enjoy...

How to sew a zip pouch / purse / pencil case to use on the rings of your planner - Filofax Friday

 Following on from last week where by I showed you how I was using my pocket Saffiano as a purse / wallet, this week I am sharing with you how I made the zipped pouch.

I am using mine to keep my loose change as well as a hair band and hair clip as you can see! However I am also going to be making one in a larger size for my personal and A5 to use as pencil cases. I might even buy a cheap pencil case and cut open the bottom and then re-sew it up as I think this might end up being cheaper and easier to do than buying fabric and a zip!

I recorded the making of the purse so that I could share it with you too but I also took photos as I thought you might want to be able to refer back to this easier and sometimes it is easier to see in picture form.

What you will need:

• A pair of good sharp scissors for cutting fabric.
• Fabric in your choice of colours / patterns
• A co-ordinating cotton
• Needle
• Pins / Clips
• A 4inch zipper (for the pocket size, please measure for larger sizes)
• The acetate / flyleaf that came with your planner, failing that a piece of card hole punched will do (acetate / plastic will be more durable though!)

How to:

Firstly you will need to start by measuring your fabric and cutting it out. You will need two pieces of fabric cut to 13cm by 8cm.

Next take one piece of your fabric and place it 'good side' up facing you, then place your zipper 'ggod side' facing down making sure to line up the two outer edges (see photo 1). Pin or clip your zipper to your fabric and then sew approximately 5mm in from the edge in a running stitch.

When you have finished you will be able to flap your zip back over the way to see that both 'good sides' are facing you so you know you will have done this correctly (see photo 2).

Next you will need to line up your other piece of fabric to your zipper. Start by lying the other piece of fabric out 'good side' up along side your already stitched together fabric, then flip your pieces over so that your two 'good sides' are facing each other (see photo 3). You then need to pin the zip in place and sew along the edge in the same way you did for the first piece.

Now you have the zip sewn in it is time to sew up the sides. Keep you 'good sides' of fabric together, you will want to sew on the reverse so that when we turn it back the edges will be all neat and tidy. When you come to fold your fabric over to sew you may find that you need to crease your zip and push is down (see photo 4) so that you can line your side edges up better. Again pin in place and sew each of the two side edges together.

Once you have sewn your sides together you MUST now reach in and unzip the zipper. It is important that you do this otherwise you won't be able to do the rest and your pouch will be ruined. You have been warned!

Now take your hole punched acetate and trim off alongside the edge that has not been hole punched. You will need to trim off most of it just leaving a couple of centimetres from where the holes have been punched. It is better to leave too much than not enough as you can always trim this down again at a later stage.

Once trimmed, insert your acetate into the unsewn hole (the bottom) of your pouch. Ensure that it is straight and I use a clip to hold it in place because it can slip around a bit. You want to make sure that the side with the holes in is on the outside of the pouch and that you have the rest inside the pouch. (See photo 5).

Now go ahead and sew approximately 5mm in from the edge. Give the acetate a tug to make sure that it is nice and securely sewn into your pouch. You will have to use a bit more pressure to get the needle through the acetate and the fabric at the same time so just watch you don't prick yourself.

Once you have sewn up and tied / cut off your thread you can now turn the poouch outside in! You may have to tease and work the acetate through but it does come through fine. Poke out the corners and flatten it out.

You now have a zippered pouch that you can put into the rings of your planner and take along wherever you go!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and have lots of fun making pouches! I think they are a little on the addictive side and know I will be making more!

My thoughts on Midori Travellers Notebook.

I have for some time, had a curiosity over a Midori Travellers Notebook. I have watched videos on YouTube from Poketfullofvintage, Rhomany's Realm, MissVickyBee and Raven Ink and have enjoyed looking at their set ups but always thought that I didn't need one in my life. I know a lot of people love them but here are my reasons for not getting one myself:

1. The size. From looking at other peoples to me they just looked too narrow. I am so used to an A5 size or larger. I knew that I could make a larger fauxdori if I bought the materials and followed a tutorial but I don't feel that I am ready for that yet.
2.  I don't feel like I need a journal to be transportable. I don't take my journal out of the house, if I do it is on holiday and a larger journal is fine to take with me. That being said I don't journal that much on holidays as I find that I am too busy doing holiday type things!
3. What do you do with the notebooks when you have finished with them, they look really small, do you bind them together at the end? I just feel that the journals inside are so small and not very substantial, call me silly but I feel like I would want something 'more'.
4. I like changing covers and journals, I find this motivates me. I don't know why but it does, I love the feeling of starting a new journal.
5. Price! I just can't justify the price of it at the moment.
6. Everybody already has one. I don't like following the herd especially when I am this late to the party, I don't want to 'copy'.

I explain all of things in my video this week:

OK so at the very start of this post I mentioned that I have always had a curiosity for them. So after a lot of thinking and researchI now have one. I have been thinking about getting one for a while, I love to journal, I love journals, I like trying new things but all of my reasons above kept on coming to me. Do I want one, do I? I ummmed and ahhhhed for a while. Something kept on pulling me towards them, maybe it is all those people on YouTube selling it to me, I don't know. So anyway I decided to feed my curiosity and take the plunge just to see for myself what it is all about and put my mind at rest. So introducing you to my new Fauxdori...

I bought a Fauxdori from Ebay and I have to say the photos of the item that the seller put up do not do it justice (if you are interersted in purchasing one yourself, she has lots not just this one so go to their ebay here). I decided on a Fauxdori as I just couldn't justify the spend on something I wasn't sure as to whether I was going to like it or not so I thought a Fauxdori would suit me just fine. Who knows, maybe if I love it I will treat myself further down the line. I had also thought about making one myself but when I looked into the cost of the materials it came to about the same as just buying one so I thought I would let someone else make it for me!

I am still having a play with it and getting used to how it works and everything. I currently have two concerns that I want to iron out. Firstly the elastics seem very strong or tight and have cut into my notebook a little bit. I don't know if I have too much in there or not. I currently have three in there. I see so many people have really stuffed ones and I am not sure if mine will be able to take it or if I am just being silly. I don't know if the elastic will continue to cut into the paper and also the leather is also alot smaller so you can see the edges of the notebooks peeking through Is that how it is supposed to be? I am not sure if I am just being fussy or not! Anyway as I said it is all things that I need to play and work with and sort out. Any tips and advice would be gratefully received!

So I went with the travellers notebook size and I have been journalling in there already. So far the size hasn't been an issue for me and it is actually a lot wider than how it appeared in other peoples photos. It is not the A5 size that I know and love but I do like it. A few more days and I will probably be well and truly there. I have journalled, stuck snaps in, doodled and it is working OK so far!

I haven't put my elastic on properly that holds the books round the middle as I want to find a nice charm to go on there. I have seen other people put charms on theirs and so now I want one! 

I decided to make myself a folder. I remember seeing other people on YouTube show theirs and after a day or two I realised that this is something that I would really like to do too. I didn't actually watch any tutorials I just sat at my desk looking at my fauxdori and scrapbook paper and the idea came to me. It was really quick and easy to make and it just has a little tuck where I am storing cards with washi tape and some instagram snaps ready for adding to my journal. I even punched a teddy bear in it which I think looks really cute as you can see the paper design underneath, I love it!

So there we are folks, there is an introduction to my new fauxdori and why until now I haven't bought one. I am not sure if I love it yet but I do like it. I am going to continue to use it and see how I go. I am sure I spotted Mr B covetting it himself and I am thinking of buying him one for Christmas, he too is a journaller and I am sure he would like one. If you missed his video on what he journals about you can catch it here.

Do you have a Midori? Let me know what you think about it and if you have any blog posts or videos on it I would love to see as I am soaking up anything midori at the moment! Until next time, happy journalling!

Book Review - Tiger Lily

Well it has been a while since I read the read the story of or watched the film Peter Pan which was a good thing because whilst it is a famously well known story, the nitty gritty details I had forgotten. That is a good thing, believe me as I was able to go into this book very open without any formulated ideas about what this should be like. What was it like?

Well it took me a while to really get into it, it was a bit of a slow start and whilst I enjoyed it and was wanting to read it I wasn't hooked like I gotta read this in one day hooked, it actually took me about a week and a half maybe two weeks to read. It did speed up though, the more I read and the more I got into the book, the characters and the plot the more I wanted to read and so I sped up.

I perhaps should have started by saying that this is a reworking or a retelling of Peter Pan but with a difference. Tiger Lily is narrated and told by Tinker Bell and is the story of what happened in Neverland before there was ever a Wendy.

This book will make you think in a totally different way about all the characters, each and everyone of them in a good way but also in a way that might make you wonder if you still like them so be warned that if you hold Peter Pan very dear to your heart you might not want to read this book as it will change the way you know it.

The book is tragic and beautiful and enchanting and all manner of things in between. It is beautiful yet sad. Peter and Tiger Lily are two very different people from very different backgrounds, two lost souls who find comfort in each other and want to be together but they can't or at least they shouldn't. They try and they do love each other but is it true love? Is it just a case of finding comfort in each other when they are so lonely? I am not quite sure if I have figured that one out for myself or not yet!

One thing I do know for sure is that I have fallen in love with Tinker Bell. She is so lovely and we learn alot more about her character from her telling of this story too.

I would definitely reccommend this read but not if as I said you couldn't bear to see Neverland in a different way!

Cuppa Tea Pet? - Tea VLOG & Reviews - June & July 2014

It has been a little while since I did my last 'cuppa tea pet?' where I talk about the tea that I have veen drinking in the last month. So the last one I did was in April and that was a post tea special and so since then I have been mainly drinking that lot as there was quite a lot there. It has warmed up here in the UK and I just don't really feel like drinking that much tea in the warmer weather, instead I tend to drink more water. I am still drinking tea though but not quite as much as I was. I am also drinking a good old builders brew quite a lot at the moment too, it is funny how I often come round to that.

So other than the post tea what have I been drinking? Well I have gone back to two old faithfuls of mine, firstly Twinings Camomile. This has and always will be my all time favourite tea to drink. I just love it and it is one that I pretty much always have in my cupboards, I just don't think I could do without it! Secondly a good favourite of mine is the chai tea latte. I really like this in the evening when you fancy something sweet and need to hit that craving, this does the job rather nicely. I really like to take my time with this one and savour the indulgence. Again I don't think there will ever be a time when this isn't in my cupboard!

The past couple of months I have also been drinking a couple of Yogi Teas. Now Yogi Tea are one of my favourite brands and you can find them here in the UK in most health food shops and also online and I know they are also available in the States. Now one of them I really enjoyed and the other one I didn't. I really didn't like the Fennel with Rose! I like fennel but couple with the rose...bleugh....it just wasn't for me. To me I felt like the two flavours were competing with each other rather than complementing and it wasn't just me, my Mum thought the same. I have also tried to offer the remaing tea to friends and no one seems to want to give it a try so all round this doesn't seem to be a winner, no one fancies even trying it. Or well I tried and now I can tick it off my list as having done so. On the other hand I really liked the Women's Energy, the blend of hibiscus and ginger really worked for me and complimented each other well. If you read the reviews online of this tea, everyone raves about the health benefits in terms of helping with cycle issues as well as with acne. Now I didn't notice any benefits myself although I only drank the one box and that was intermingled with other teas during two months. Maybe I should buy this again and drink it regularly to see if it does have any effect as everyone claims that it does!

Lastly I have been drinking the Sweet Chai by Higher Living. I still haven't fully made up my mind as to what I think about this tea, I seem to have a love hate relationship with it! On the one hand I love chai so love that aspect but then on the other hand it is quite strong, and almost tastes or feels heavy and sticky as well as being quite on the spicy side. I am not sure about it at all so that says to me that if I am not loving it that maybe I should give it a miss!

So that is everything that I have been drinking this past couple of months I am not sure when I will be back with another tea post whether it will be in one month or two, I suppose that depends on how much tea I have been drinking! I do have some lovely teas to try out though! When I went to London recently I popped into Fortnum & Masons and made a purchase of one of their tea collection boxes. I am looking forward to trying this however I was a little disappointed when I got home and looked at the box to discover that I had bought the 'green tea with...' rather than the actual teas, I think I picked up the wrong box as I know I was looking at the right one! Oh well, I am not a massive green tea lover but I am certainly willing to give it a try so I will let you know.

Until next time, happy tea drinking lovies x

My Pocket Filofax set up as a Purse / Wallet - Filofax Friday

Happy Filofax Friday! This week I thought I would share with you what I am doing with the most beautiful perfect little pocket Saffiano in aqua.

For those of you who aren't aware, I was gven this free by a local supermarket (I explain all in this weeks video, well a short version or if you want the longer version you can watch my vlog here). I fell in love with it instantly but wasn't sure what to do with it, I mean I have two pocket sizes already that I am not doing anything with but I love this little beauty so much that I knew I had to do something with it. I just had to!

I had seen quite a few people who had turned their Filofaxes into purses / wallets and as the purse that I was using was on it's way out I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to try doing the very same thing. So here it is, here is how I have set him up as my everyday purse...

Isn't he just stunning, beautiful in every way. I don't know why I am calling him a him but I am lol!

So moving on to the inside, on the left hand side there are two business card slots which I am using to house my bank cards. I really like these slots as they are nice and deep which means your cards fit in nice and snuggly so they don't fall out but not too snug so that you can't get them out when you need to pay! I also like that they cover your card details up so not everyone can see them when you have your purse open. Behind the card slots in a nice open pocket,  just perfect for tucking your receipts into quickly after you have made your purchase.

On the right hand side you will see that I have made my own zippered pouch which is where I am keeping my coins. I don't carry that many, most places I use my cards but now and then I need a few coins so they are kept in there. Next week I will be sharing a tutorial with you on how I made this pouch which you can also upscale for using in your personal or A5 sizes as a pencil case!

On the left here you can see the reverse of my coin pouch and on the right I have a much smaller pouch that I made, this one I made first and not quite the right size but I am still using it to house my notes (not that I have many lol!)

Next up I have one of my bunny dashboards for something cute to look at and also to protect some of the items behind it. If you were interested in any of my dasboards they are for sale in my Etsy Shop: www.etsy.com/shop/mrsbrimbles

Moving on I have a plastic sleeve which came with the Filofax and in there I am just keeping any coupons that I have so that they are on hand when I am out shopping in case I want to use them!

Next you will see on the left I have a mint acetate / flyleaf with pink hearts on which was very kindly sent to me by Becks of Just Keep Pinning and these are available to purchase in her Etsy store. The on the right I printed out a picture of Mr B and I, laminated it and hole punched it. I love having a picture or two to take around with me and this gives me the opportunity to have a larger one rather than a passport size one like I used to have in my old purse. The photo is double sided and at some point I will also add some pictures of the bunnies and piggies!

Here you can see the other side of the photograph and also on the right hand side I have a zip plastic pouch that I purchased. I purchased this from ebay although it is a Filofax brand and I think it cost me £1.50. I originally purchased it with the view of using it to keep my coins in, however I am really disappointed with the quality of the zip. It is very loose and it looks like with a couple of uses it will break so not at all good for coins. I thought I might be able to keep it for receipts, coupons that sort of thing. We will see, I may just take it out if it is not surving any purpose!

Moving on I have two sets of plastic business card sleeves. Again I purchased these from ebay and they are the Filofax brand and they cost me £2. I am really very disappointed with these but I am hoping that they might get better with use. The holes are really tight and it is hard to turn them over on the rings, it is like they haven't quite been punched in the right place. I am hoping that the more I use them they might loosen up a bit or I will see if I can make them wider. I really don't want to damage my rings by keep trying to get them to turn over! Also the top slot is great, cards fit in well and are easy to take out but not slip out, however the ones on the bottom it is a real tight job to get them out. I will see how I go with it but I may look at a different alternative, maybe use another zip pouch or something.

And lastly at the back I have the notepad that it came with. A little pointless at the moment as I don't have a pen in my pen loop lol!

So there we go folks, there is my current set up. I will run with it for a while and see how I like it and see if I want to make any changes. If you don't try these things then you don't know! If it bugs they hell out of me then I can always change it and then go back to an actually person if I really need to. I just think it is fun experimenting and seeing what you like.

Do you use a Filofax / planner as a purse? I would love to see yours if you would like to show me :D