This weeks pages - Clouds

Well as you know from my post on Friday, I am now in my cloud planner (or the Sky Blue Websters Pages Color Crush as it is better known). Well it makes perfect sense to go with a cloud and weather theme I did be thunking! You know I love clouds so why not...

Products Used
Planner: Websters Pages Color Crush Planner in Sky Blue with matching folio
Planner Inserts: Websters Pages week on two pages
Washi Tape: Unknown but the MT brand.
Stickers: From the April Brimbles Box & black chalkboard cloud sticker from Caroline South on Etsy
Paperclips: Its Fluffy Stuff on Etsy
Cloud Planner charm from my Etsy Shop
Cloud Pen from a past Linkys Box (no longer running)

I think my Bunny, Florence Tinkerbell, is happy with the layout for this week as she decided to photo bomb me and check out my pages...

I wrote on the chalkboard cloud with a white Uniball signo pen.

My New Kawaii Cloud Planner!

I love my Blue or Sky as it is known, Color Crush Planner from Websters Pages. There is nothing wrong with it at all, in fact it is beautiful with a beautiful blue colour that you would just want to dive straight into with a splash. The thing is I kept on looking at it and just wondering. You see my mind was ticking over with an idea and inspiration to customise it and make it mine.

I love clouds and the sky and they are a regular source of inspiration for me. I have my head in the clouds for sure! Well I just kept on wondering what this planner would look like with big fluffy kawaii clouds on it. In my mind it looked absolutely amazing and I just knew that if I didn't just go for it I would always be wondering what it would look like. They only way for me to rest was to go ahead and customise my planner. The result...

I photographed it in both a warm and cool light so you could get a better feel for it. I love it, it makes me so happy. I wish I hadn't smudged the matt medium that I used to seal it right at the very end but other than that I love it. When I made that smudge I felt like crying, "why oh why" / "what have I done" but I managed to salvage it a bit with some splatters. It is not perfect and that is OK because I am not perfect either. I still love it and it still makes me happy and makes me smile so that is a good thing!

I am pretty sure that this is going to have mixed reactions. Some people are probably gonna think I ruined it and how could I, some may think it is cool but wouldn't have the guts to do it themselves. This is one of the things I love about the Websters Pages Color Crush Planner. Something about this planner unleashes more of the creative side in me. I have never been so creative with a planner as I have with the Color Crushes. You can go to town with it or leave it as is but I for one have been going to town with it.

I filmed the painting of this if you would like to watch and learn more about the mediums that I used...


Ok them so come on tell me the truth, what do you think of my new cloud planner and would you ever do something like this yourself?

Thoughts on planner page decoration

My desk is a big old heap of a mess right now but I really felt urged to jump on and blog. I was sitting at my desk flipping through my planner when I decided to decorate next weeks pages. I was in my own little zone just flipping through my (dwindling) stash of stickers, choosing which ones to use and sticking them done. I had music playing from my Spotify and I was just calm, peaceful and relaxed in my own little zone.

Now you know I like to journal and create art and I often get asked why I don't draw and paint in my planners like I do in my journals. There is no specific answer to this really, it just kind of happened that way and that is how it has stayed so far. I am not saying that I never will, just that it doesn't always occur to me to paint or draw. I know from an outsider point of view that may seem odd considering all my journals that I share. I can't put my finger on it either so it is really hard to articulate.

I think the really short, easy answer is that I just like stickers. I find it so therapeutic to flick through my stickers and choose ones that I want to use and then just apply them to my pages. You don't really have to think too hard about it you can just stick 'em down and I really like that. It is a form of escapism for me and a bit of inward reflection and meditation time. I am not saying that drawing or painting is stressful or anything, not at all, but for some reason I am just a sticker person when it comes to my planner pages. But then I see photos of people who have drawn on their pages and I start to think why didn't I do that. I think it is very hard to not compare your life to others, even things like planner page aestheticness because we are programmed by society to do that in a lot of ways. We, me included, need to stop comparing ourselves to others and just think about that enjoyment we had in decorating our pages, not how they look compared to someone elses.

I took this snap on my phone of some of my stickers that I am flicking through. I just thought it would be fun to share. My desk really is a big mess and I just felt like jumping on and writing this blog!

I keep seeing photos popping up on social media of people who are incorporating journalling alongside their planners and that is both appealing and interesting to me. At the moment they are two totally seperate things for me. My planner is for tasks and appointments and what I need to do where as my journal is for what I have done as well as thoughts and feelings. I do like the look of the ones I have seen where there is a mix going on. Similarly I love to look at people's weeks they share once they are all completed with their writing and notes on the pages. I love to see how they look when they are all complete, yet I don't feel comfortable sharing my pages in that way. It is probably naughty of me when I look at others but I don't know, I feel awkward about it really. It's not that I have loads to hide or anything, it is just, dunno, again hard to explain. 

What are your thoughts on page decoration? I would love to know!

This week's incoming and outgoing Pocket Letter Swaps

It's Pocket Letter sharing time again. I am still in full swing with my swaps that were arranged a few weeks ago. People are taking their time in getting letters to me which I am totally fine with as it gives me time to work on theirs. They are very addicting and I love them!

So here are my two incoming PL's for this...

And here are my out going PL's...As a reminder...I like to make all of my pockets look pretty before I add any nice goodies. I like to treat each space as a mini ATC in some ways. The reason I do this is so that when you have taken the goodies out (which I usually put in the back) you are still left with something that looks really nice! This is just my way of pocket lettering!

How to draw Creepy Cute Doll like Characters

As you know I have been obsessed with pocket letters of late. One of the ways in which I like to customise my letters is with some of my hand drawn characters. I have been sharing photos of my letters on social media and it has been requested several times for a tutorial on how to draw these. So here I am with my first drawing tutorial...How to draw my Creepy Cute Doll characters...You can use these on your pocket letters or in your journals. Whever you feel like doodling!

Sweet, Sweet Bunnies! - This Weeks Pages

I hope as you are reading this that you are not too stuffed from all your Chocolate Easter Eggies! I am actually writing this on Good Friday whilst Mr B busies himself making hot cross buns for our afternoon tea. Whilst he was busy in the kitchen I was having a bit of a planning session and creative play. I love bunnies, you probably already know that by now, it doesn't have to be Easter for me to use bunnies everywhere in everything that I do so whilst this week is bunny themed it is not neccessarily for Easter if you see what I mean. I am a bit ignorant about the rest of the World but here in the UK we have a four day bank holiday weekend so we will be chillaxing and going for nice walks (if the weather stays nice) and visiting friends.

I am still in my white Websters Pages Color Crush planner which I am loving, it goes with everything! I haven't felt that it gets dirty. I did get pen on it but a bit of spit and a vigorous rub with my thumb pretty much sorted that out lol! Next week I will be moving into my Sky Blue and I have something pretty cool to show you but it may have a bit of a 'marmite' reaction he he! Stay tuned for that.

I posted a photo on instagram of a package that I had received from Hey Charlie Shop on Etsy. It was packaged really really cutely and she had used the cutest little bunny stickers on the packaging. I fell in love with them instantly and knew that I had to salvage them and use them in something creative, so you guessed it...I carefully peeled them off and added them to my pages this week...

Products Used
Planner: Websters Pages Color Crush Planner in White with matching folio
Planner Inserts: Websters Pages week on two pages
Washi Tape: Sprinkles and polka dots from Hey Charlie Shop on Etsy, Thin pink tape is the MT brand but I can't remember where I got it from. The Stripe tape is from Websters Pages and the bow tape I received in a swap from a friend in the States so not sure where it is from.
Stickers: Hey Charlie Shop
Journal Cards: Websters Pages - These are the days collection
Paperclips: Ribbon Bow - Hey Charlie,
Sticky Notes: Target $1 spot

It is a totally explosion of pink and sickly cuteness and I love it he he!! I used a sticky note and cute it down for the space as the top of the page. I never really use this part of my pages other than for decoration and just thought this was a cute way to use the space.

I have used loads of bits from Hey Charlie this week. You should so go and check out her Etsy shop because she has such cute things!

April Brimbles Box Reveal

I am changing things up a bit this month. As you know I normally release 'officially' on the blog contents of the Brimbles Box around the middle of the month. This is to make sure that people have definitely received theirs as I don't want to spoil the surprise. I have been asked by many people if I can share an unboxing of my own box on YouTube and give more explanation as to the contents of the box and what the intended purpose of it is / what people can do with the items.

So of course I am very happy to do that. If you haven't received yours yet and you don't want to know then I suggest you stop reading lol! 

OK you are still here so you want to know! Right so here is my own personal unboxing. Keep reading for photos! If you would like to watch videos of unboxings from genuine customers as well as honest reviews from blogger you can watch the YouTube Brimbles Box playlist As I say they are all very honest so you can get a better feel for what was inside.



So what was in the box this month? Well it is April and here in the UK that usually means lots of April showers and all kinds of crazy weather!

So of course as always we start with a postcard from me:

“When it’s pouring rain and people complain, And things aren’t worth the shucks, Don’t you yell, just say Well Lovely weather for ducks” Rosemary Clooney.

Someone once said if it wasn’t for the weather the British wouldn’t have anything to talk about! Well there is nothing us Brits love more than to talk about the weather it seems. When it is cold it is too cold and when it is hot, well it is too hot. We are never happy are we! I know a lot of people don’t but I quite like the rain. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, like the smell after it has rained, or the way the road looks, all glistening with puddles ready to go splashing in. One of my favourite past times as a child was putting my wellies on and jumping in puddles. Hey who am I kidding I still do that now! I am a massive cloud gazer too I could watch the clouds go by for hours. I love it.

So let’s celebrate those April showers, because without them there would be no May flowers!

Much Love

Anna

OK so down to the individual items then…All boxes received the following:

• Duck pen
• Duck Paperclip
• Schedule stamp set - weather icons!
• Rainbow washi tape set
• A little rubber ducky!
• A pocket notebook*
• To do list pad
• Set of 5 notecards with envelopes*
• Pack of weather stickers*

*Actual design may have varied from the image shown but will be in keeping with the theme of the month (Ducks / weather / blue) 

Those that ordered a planner box will have received an art (painted by me) dashboard as well as a cloud planner charm. One of the following dashboards will have been received (randomly chosen by me) as either Personal or A5 size depending on which box size you signed up for.

For the Stationery box people they received:

• Pack of 5 stickers
• Set of postcards

Please do watch the above video as you can see all the products much more clearly and appreciate them better and of course you can learn more about the products and what to do with them.

I hope you like it, it was a lot of hard work sourcing a collection and putting it all together! At the time of writing I have some excess boxes available to purchase as a whole as well as some individual items so check out my online shop and my Etsy shop for those!

See you next month for May’s box. Remember if you would like to order a subscription or a one off box and you would like that box to be the May one you can order up to and on 30th April from: www.mrsbrimbles.co.uk/shop