Cuppa Tea Pet? - What I have been drinking in February & March 2014

Pop the kettle on lovies as it is Tea Time! Well time for me to talk about tea anyway.

It is no secret that I loves me a cuppa tea. If you follow me on instagram you will often find piccies of tea, tea hauls, tea mugs, where I am drinking my tea photos etc etc. A little bit tea obsessed is what I be. In fact I have really ramped up my tea drinking of late, I don't know why for sure but I am thinking that it could be something to do with the season. During the winter months I was opting for a good 'ol builders brew and now Spring has sprung here, I am going back over to my herbals more and I am really loving them.

So I am back with my 'cuppa tea pet?' series, the series in which I talk about and review the teas that I have been drinking. Love them or hate them I tell you all. I have combined February & March into one but I may do another one in April as I have so much to talk about.

If tea is not your thing or you don't like talk about tea then this video is not for you. It is serious tea overload and I loves it!

So on the menu were the following:

 

1. Chocolate Flake Tea - Tea Pigs

2. Three Tulsi - Pukka Herbs

3. Blackcurrant Burst - Twinings

4. Happy Me - English Tea Shop

5. Sensual Me - English Tea Shop

6. Calming Fennel - Twinings

It was certainly a couple of months of very pleasant drinking indeed. I mentioned in the video that I needed to find a stockist of the English Tea shop and well, lo and behold they have their own e-commerce website. Yippeeee! I am off to have a browse and see what lovely teas I can sample over the next coming months. Oh happy days.

See you soon for another cuppa tea pet x

March 2014's Craft Space Envy

March's craft space envy is well A-MA-ZING! I am going to send you over to the website of Studio Calico becuase there is a whole wonderous blog post all about her room and it is lovely and the photography is wonderful too. Here is a sneaky peak and you will have to toodle over there to see the rest ; )

Just click on the image to be transported

http://studiocalico.typepad.com/studio_calico/2013/02/workspace-.html

Filofax Tour / Set Up - Filofax Friday - Week 12

I thought this week I would share with you my best friend in the whole wide world. Ok second best after Mr B, no wait then there is the bunnies and piggies. OK well so suffice it to say that my daily filofax is pretty high up there for me. Basically what I am trying to say is that without this beast I would be lost. I wouldn't be able to function simple as that.

I call it a beast as it is the A5 size and when you compare it to the personal it does seem rather large at times. It is also quite heaving when it it stuffed to the max. I very rarely take my beat out of the house though because I really don't have a need. I say NEED because I would love to but I couldn't justify the backache of carrying it around. I work from home and if I do go somewhere like say the hairdressers when you might need to make a follow up appointment I usually check the diary before I go and then when I get home just check again. So far this way has not caused me any problems. I do like the A5 size though for a couple of reasons, firstly because I have large handwriting or at least I get quite scruffy / sloppy when I am jotting stuff down and secondly I often have alot I need to get in there and last but not least, because you can put A4 pieces of paper in really easily and as we are on the 'A' scale of paper sizes here in the UK that is a major plus point for me!

This particular filofax is an A5 Apex in black with orange elastic. This will make you so so mad but I bought it for just £15 (with free postage) from Amazon.co.uk I think they are nearly double that now though unfortunately. I do like it a lot I have to say, it has worn so well and the elastic is fine, in fact I can put loads in it, it lays flat and it is just a really nice good all rounder in my opinion. I think it is an under rated and over looked Filofax!

I have shown my daily filofax several times, sometimes quite fleeting glimpses but this week I thought I would give you a proper tour of how I set it up. This has changed some what since the last time that I showed you all back in October of 2013. Some sections were really not working for me and some I had totally over complicated it so I did a bit of tweaking and not we are running like a well oiled machine. I know at some point it will change again but that is a good thing. Change is a good thing and we are constantly evolving, embrace it!

Homework
Remember it is not compulosry, no one will know if you have done it or not. I am just setting prompts / tasks for you to help and motivate you in this series. Pick and choose each week whether you would like to do the homework or not it is entirely up to you! If you ever need to ask or clarify anything with me please do get in touch through any of the social media platforms. Sometimes it takes a while but I do reply to each and every message that is left for me.

I want you to really think about the way in which you are using your planner. Is it working for you? If yes then great but if not then why not? Be honest with yourself and ditch the sections or items in there that just aint doing it for you! I know it is a bold and somewhat brave step but go on try it. If you miss it then it was something that you needed after all and if you don't miss it, well there you go that just proves that it really was a worthwhile exercise! Also please remember that just because one way works for someone else, this does not mean that it will work for you too. Yes, please do look at other people's set ups for ideas and inspiration but please don't think that it has to be this way. Don't be afraid to try new things and have fun experimenting!

Next Week
Next week...well I have a couple of ideas in the pipeline so I am not sure which one I am going to share but there definitely will be a next week! If there is ever anything you would like to know or see then do get in touch, I am very happy to accommodate if and where I can!

Finally...

Clear up the clutter. It diverts your attention, hampers your thinking, dilutes your efforts and hinders your progress ~ Merrill Douglass

 Thank you for watching / reading folks and enjoy your planning.


Remember your planner will only work for you and help keep you organised and on track if you use it.

Liebster Blog Award

The lovely Loretta from The University Project kindly nominated me for a Liebster blog award The idea of the Liebster blog awards is to help get smaller blogs like mine and Loretta's more awareness!

RULES

• Answer the 11 questions asked by the person that nominated you. 

• Pick an additional 11 people to nominate with under 200 followers. 

• Create a list of 11 new questions to ask your nominees. 

• Inform your nominees of the award.

My responses to the Questions posed:

So here are the questions that Loretta gave me and my answers to them:

1. What do you love the most about blogging?

For me it is all about the social interaction with others, I love to enter into a dialogue with other people about our mutual love of Art or Filofaxes! 

2. If you only had one meal left on Earth what would it be?

Pizza, everytime!

3. What is your day job? (I'm nosey)

Photographer and Graphic Designer / Artist

4. Have you ever been in love?

Yes and I still am!  

5. How do you stay organised?

It is all about the Filofax, writing it down and staying on top of it. I am a naturally scatty person so without that I am literally all over the place!

6. What is your vice when it comes to shopping?

Stationery & art supplies. I can take or leave clothes to the point where I then desperately have to go shoppping but I can't pass up a notebook! 

7. If you could have any job at all, what would it be?

The job that I am doing now. I love it!

8. Do you think you make a good first impression?

I have no idea. I am actually quite a shy person and have to really force myself sometimes to talk to people so depending on how much courage I have that day, I could either be over the top bubbly or stand offish. I don't mean to be though!

 

9. You have a free weekend... what do you do with it?

I am a massive home bunny and a snuggler. I love just pottering around the house with Mr B, the bunnies and piggies. So I would probably throw in a bit of gardening, some arting and maybe some reading. The settle down to afternoon tea that Mr B has made - he is the best at that, he makes the lightest scones ever!

10. Do you have any pets?

We have two Bunnies, both came to us 3 1/2 years ago, Splodge is on the left with the black ears and we think she is 7 possibly 8. She is Mummy to Nibbles on the right with the brown ears who we think is 6 possibly 7. They were adopted bunnies and we don't know their history. Splodge is getting old bless her and has a growth on her chest which is being monitored by the vets. We didn't name them, they came with those names although Nibbles is a very accurate description of her personality!

We also have two guinea pigs. Betty Bobbins Boop is on the left (fondly known as Bet Badette or Bet Bet). She is three years old and has cataracts so is partially sighted. Bay Cupcake Bumble Bee is on the left with the big white stripe and gingery bits. She is one year old and we bought her as a mate for Betty in July 2013 when Betty lost her husband Bertie Bassett to old age.

11. Who is the last person you spoke to?

My Dad, he phoned as I was writing this, before that it was the lady at the post office, before that it was the Vet as Betty is poorly and before that it was Mr B.

Pay it Forward...

I had never heard of this before so of course I looked into it, why wouldn't I! And on this site there is a little bit of a debate about the rules as it has morphed over time! So I am actually going to manipulate the rules a little bit because I have to say, I don't read all that many blogs so I don't have 11 that I could nominate and I have no idea about their readership either soooooo..... I am just going to nominate these people and if and when I think of more I will add them in too!: 

Gin and Cake - Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle

Georgie@Home - Filofax, Stationery and General crafts

Adult ADHD Diary  

The Cazz Bar - Bespoke handmade greetings cards
The Desk of Adam - Filofax & Stationery
Helen Lindop - Business e-courses 
The Queen of Collage 

Please do go and check out their lovely blogs and show them some love! 

If I didn't tag you, it is because I don't know you blog so please don't be offended. If you would like to answer these questions please do.

And here are your questions to answer:

1. Why did you start blogging?

2. What do you blog abut?

3. Why do you blog about that?  

4. Is blogging for business or for a hobby? Why?

5. How often do you blog? Do you have a routine / set blogging schedule that you stick to?

6. How do you organise your blog posts / what to blog about?

7. Where do you get your blog inspiration from?

8. What do you see as your blogging future?

9. Any tips for bloggers starting out? Or if you are just starting out what would you like to know?

10. Your favourite social media platform and why?
11. A random, quirky, fun fact about you?

I hope that you guys have as much fun writing this post as I did! Please make sure to link me your posts when they're done- I can't  wait to read them all!

And if you are new to my blog and would like to know more about how I schedule my blog posts in etc you can watch this video and refer here to the corresponding blog post.

Spring Journal Tag {Original}

Spring is here in the UK and flowers are bursting into bloom everywhere. We had been lucky with the weather warming up although it has turned a bit cold again this week. That being said, I am really into the Spring frame of mind and I have found that this has had an impact on my journal and what I am journalling about and I wondered if any of you have found that too?

I thought it might be fun to create a tag so that I can share some Spring journalling with you and also because I want to know if Spring has brought about a change with you too! I tag any of you who would like to do this tag too. Here are the questions if you fancy doing this either in video or blog form but let me know so I can come and see yours!

1. Does the season or weather have an impact on your journaling? How?
2. Do you journal outside in the warmer weather?
3. What do you take with you when you journal outside?
4. Do you draw on any Spring inspiration in your journal?
5. It is Spring cleaning time, what do you do with all those old journals?
6. What journal will you be using this Spring? Do you change with the seasons?
7. Please (if you can / want to) share some recent Spring journaling / Art journal pages / smashbook pages
8. Spring is a good time to try something new, what would you fancy trying?
9. What habits would you like to change / get rid of / introduce now that Spring is here?
10. What music are you journaling to this Spring?

A Spring in my step this week! - Filofax Decoration

As you will know if you follow me on instagram, I have been getting really into the spirit of Spring this past couple of weeks. I have been loving the warmer weather and all the flowers starting to bloom. So for this week's decoration I decided to draw on that inspiration and decorate with a pastel-y spring theme. Only now the weather has turned colder and as I type this I am watching the hail come down on the window. Oh well, it may still be early in the year, and I am just impatient for the warmer weather, but for this week I can just look at my pages and pretend!

Re-evaluating your goals - Filofax Friday - Week 11

Well hello there Filofax Friends! Do you realise that it has been nearly three months since we first looked at setting ourselves some goals! I know crazy, where has the time gone.

Have you even looked at your goals since you set them? Have you achieved your goals? Well either way it is time to look at those goals again. I don't have much to write today in way of an introduction here on the blog as it is all pretty much in this weeks video. Keep reading for your homework though!  

Homework
Remember it is not compulosry, no one will know if you have done it or not. I am just setting prompts / tasks for you to help and motivate you in this series. Pick and choose each week whether you would like to do the homework or not it is entirely up to you! If you ever need to ask or clarify anything with me please do get in touch through any of the social media platforms. Sometimes it takes a while but I do reply to each and every message that is left for me.

Please watch the video first as it will make more sense than just going into these cold. 

1. Right then folks, this week I want you to go back to the original goals that you set yourself in week one. Dust off the cobwebs if you haven't looked at them in three months and now I want you to honestly ask yourself these questions. Remember to be honest with yourself, after all it is only you that you are cheating!

•  What barriers are in the way of achieving your goal? Are they real barriers or are they barriers you have put in place because you are scared? How can you remove those barriers? Can you?
• What actions have you taken in the last week / month to move your goal forward? If the answer to this is non then I suggest you take a look at your goals and ask yourself if this is a goal you still want to pursue!
• Do you need to re-work you original goal? Have things surrounding this changed or moved on?
• Do you struggle with the execution of your goal?
• Have you needed to use any resources to work towards your goal?
• Does your original goal still excite you? Do you still have the passion for it?

2. So now you have done that, I want you to use your answers and do one or more of the following:

• Tick the goals off your list
• Chunk your goals down into more managable pieces
• Diarise action steps, time when you are going to actually work on or at your goal(s)
• Remove your goal(s)
• Set new goal(s)

You may want to print off a new goal setting sheet so that it looks neater and you can see your goals and action points more clearly rather than looking at crossings out. Remember to save the sheet though as you may want to refer back to it at a later date.

If you feel you need to, you may want to look at week one again for a refresher on setting goals and you can do that by clicking here.

3. If you are a journaller, maybe you would like to journal about how it felt to accomplish your goals and the sense of achievement it gave you. Or about what you are going to do to achieve those goals. There is nothing like having a dream to focus on and when you accomplish that, you can look at all the journalling you did and see how much it meant to you.

Download
There isn't a new download for this week but I am referring you back to week one which is the goal setting sheet that I refer to in this video along with bonus diary pages with the to do list section on them. The download comes in both personal and A5 size. You will need software that can 'unzip' the folder to release the files as both pdf and jpeg.  To download the files  week 1 please click here. Please note that the inserts that I am offering as freebies as part of this series are different to the ones that I sell, so if you have already purchased a set of my inserts these are in addition for you. If you haven't purchased any of my inserts and would like to or just have a nose at them you can view them in my Etsy shop here. Please note: These inserts are entirely free and a gift from me and only the inserts provided are free, I say this because I know some people might prefer one of the other designs that I offer but it is only the ones in the freebie set on offer at this time.

Next Week
Next week...well I have a couple of ideas in the pipeline so I am not sure which one I am going to share but there definitely will be a next week!

Finally...

When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.
~ Confucius

Thank you for watching / reading folks and enjoy your planning.

Remember your planner will only work for you and help keep you organised and on track if you use it.

Answers to your questions - Journal / Art Journal & Business related!

I am back with a video response to some of the questions that I have been asked over the past month. From time to time you guys post questions to me. Some of them are easy to respond to in a typed format and other ones need a bit more of an indepth answer and the best way is to just talk to you guys.

So the answers in this video are all journal / art journal related. Also some aspects of business in there too. Some of you have mentioned that you would like to know more about running your own (creative) business and self employment. I am happy to share more of what I know about that (I am by no means a guru ok!) but what I need to know from you is, what do you want to know? It is such a vast area that I want to make sure that I am actually covering the stuff you want to know about. So do please let me know.

If you have any questions at any time please do ask, I am very happy to answer your questions and if you have any video requests, if I can I will make them.

Time to grab a cuppa....

Upcycling into your Filofax - Filofax Friday - Week 10

This week I wanted to introduce to you the concept of upcycling in your Filofax or Day Planner. This is something that I did over Christmas in 2013. I received a large chocolate santa in an acetate box with cute snowflakes all over. I sat there looking at the box after having ripped the head off the santa thinking, that would be a really cool book mark / flyleaf for my Filofax. So that is what I turned it into. You can see the vlog I did on that day below if you are interested in that. (I will put it right at the bottom of this blog post as it is not the video for today's Filofax Friday!). I got a box of chocolates the other day and I really liked the pattern on the box and thought it too would make a great bookmark. So that is what I thought I would share with you this week for Filofax Friday - A bit of upcycling into your Filofax!

)

Homework
Again this week there is home for you to complete if you would like to do so. Remember it is not compulsory, no one will know if you have done it or not. I am just setting prompts / tasks for you to help and motivate you in this series. Pick and choose each week whether you would like to do the homework or not it is entirely up to you! If you ever need to ask or clarify anything with me please do get in touch through any of the social media platforms.

1. Start looking at your rubbish in a whole new light - save anything that you like and you think you could turn into something!

2. Make something, just one thing for your Filofax out of a piece of rubbish you have saved.

Download
There is no download this week.

Next Week
See you next week for a tour / set up of my A5 Apex that I use for all my daily life, personal and work related. I know you want a nosey!

Finally...
Thank you for watching / reading folks and enjoy your planning.

Remember your planner will only work for you and help keep you organised and on track if you use it. 

So here is the Vlog video I mentioned at the very beginning of this blog post. You are welcome to watch the whole thing but if you want to see the specific dashboard section in the video you will want to start watching at 4:46 until 10:44!

 )

Jon's Journals.

I talk quite a bit in my videos on both channels and also here on the blog about my husband Jon. As you know he keeps journals too. It is really nice to have someone who understands the importance of keeping journals and who makes time to keep one as well.

Quite a few people now have asked to know more about Jon's journals, things like; why does he journal, when, what about, his views on journal keeping and such like. For a while now he has been hesitant on being on camera to talk about his journals. He is very happy to be in vlogs, very happy indeed but he just couldn't understand why people would want to watch a video about his journals. I had to show him all the comments that you lovely people had left for him and then he was like "ah ok". It was like the penny had dropped!

I think a lot of you were interested for a couple of different reasons. Some of you were interested from a male perspective as lots of the videos on youtube on journal keeping are by women. Do men even journal? Well yes quite a lot do. What do they journal about? Who knows! And because I journal and share my journals with you, I think some of you wanted to know what the other side is like.

Jon has a bit of a different personality than me. Jon is very analytical and methodical. He is a very intelligent person, he did a degree in Computer Science and works in a technical job. The way his mind thinks and responds is totally different to mine. Give him the children's toy with different peg shapes and the corresponding holes and he will go through and sort them all out first where as I just delve in and start trying to shove a round peg in a square hole! My head and subsequently my journals, is a big old mess of colour and swirls and candy floss. Jon's is regimented with lines and neatness.

So I finally convinced him to talk to you all about his journals. He didn't know what to say or what to talk about so I decided to 'interview' him. Hopefully we covered everything that you wanted to know but if you would like to know more or would like him to do any more videos on this or any other subject he would be very happy to, just say the word. Please give him a thumbs up - he was shy!

So totally in LOVE with next week's Filofax pages!

So I am getting more and more into this whole decorating your Filofax pages thing. I am not doing it every week but I am starting to add more and more into my pages as and when the mood or inspiration takes me.

There are a couple of reasons that I am not really going to town on the decorating thing. Firstly I don't want to use my stickers. I know it is silly but I love them so much that I just want to hoard them and look at them and not use them. Totally nuts I know but I am working on it and slowly but surely I am peeling them off the backing and sticking them in. Secondly, some weeks I have a lot going on and I just don't think I can spare the space for decoration. I realise that does make me sound a bit pompous but it is true, some weeks every spare millimeter of white is taken up with either to do's or appointments. I really do enjoy looking at other people's fabulous creations and am truly envious of how pretty they look but part of me really does wonder where on earth do they write?

Well anyway my way is working just right for me and that is all that matters. You have to find what is right for you and go with it. Have fun with it is what I say. Oh and partly in my head, I still feel like my journal is for my creative outlet. Being in a corporate mindset with your diary is quite hard to break you know, even though I have been out of it for a while!

So what do you think?

My Saffiano Set Up for Diet & Weight Loss - Filofax Friday - Week 9

A fortnight ago I shared with you my Saffiano unboxing and first impressions. Now that I have had time to play and get comfortable and used to her, I thought I would give you a little tour.

I am using her as a tool to aid me in my health eating and weight loss journey and nothing else. Weight has always been a tremendous struggle for me, one that my hormones also don't help me with but that is a whole other story for another time, I don't want to bore you just yet! I really feel like I am ready to knuckle down and get it under control again before it starts to control me!

I am kind of practicing what I preached back in week 4 and am using something pretty and visually stimulating to keep me on track and to help me to get on that track (haven't I said this before in week 3? I fear I am repeating myself). You know what, it is working! So far I have stuck to it every single day since I have started using it and it is really helping me take control and to understand a bit more about what I am eating, when and why.

In this Filofax I have incorporated a very small amount of daily journalling in which I will show you in the video below. I do this every morning for the previous day and it helps me to identify the times when I do reach for that piece of cake and what I can do to stop that. If like me you are struggling, I do urge you to give that a try it is really helping me and it might help you too. What have you got to loose other than a couple of extra pounds that you didn't want anyway right?

 So I hope you enjoyed a nosey at my Filofax and how I am using it. If you have a set up tour I would love to see yours. I love to see how other people use their planners, I am nosey like that!

In the video I mentioned a collaboration with the lovely Maria from Filolove to bring you a giveaway so here are all the details for that...

There are four prizes up for grabs and there will be two winners (two prizes each person). The two winners will be able to choose their choice of planner inserts to print at home from my etsy shop and also a charm of their choice from Maria's shop.

All you need to do to enter is go over to Maria's shop at: www.etsy.com/shop/filolove to take a look at her charms. You then need to come back and leave a comment on the video letting us know if you were to win which charm you would like. This way if you do win, we will already know which charm you would like.

The giveaway will be open until 10pm GMT on Sunday 16th March 2014. I will choose a winner entirely at random and will upload the random drawing to my YouTube channel on Monday 17th March. If you have entered the giveaway YOU MUST watch the results video to see if it is you. You will then need to message me with you address both email and postal. I won't go chasing you, you need to contact me!

The giveaway is open internationally. You will need to be over 18 or have a guardian permission due to the exchange of a postal address.

Thank you once again to all you lovely subscribers and followers who have supported me, I really do appreciate it and good luck!

How to Paint a Galaxy Girl - Part 2 of 2

I am back with part two in the two part series on how to paint a girl with galaxy hair...

Book Review - The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society

A friend and I thought it might be fun to team up and choose a book each month and review it. Kind of like a mini book club. Neither of us are in a club and both of us love books and would like a chance to discuss books. The concept is that each month we both read the same book. One month I choose and the next month she chooses and so on. I am 33 and she is 50. I live in England and she lives in Australia. So it is really interesting to hear how two people think about the same book.

So for March we read and reviewed: The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society.

Have you read this book? I would love to know what you thought of it too!

Following my obsession! - Journal Gypsies

As you know I am now blogging on Journal Gypsies but I also want to share on my blog what I have posted over there too. So I am going to post that post on here too but only a little later that it appear over there. Confused? Yep me too!

I find that when I look through past journals, I have had obsessions, or influences if you will, that follow me pretty much throughout my journal. Sometimes they are a big influence or inspiration and they make it into other journals, sometimes it is a small stage of my life and they just stay in the one. Does that happen to anyone else?

I was looking back through my current journal and it suddenly became rather obvious to me that I was being heavily inspired by stars, the night sky and galaxies. Every other page has some sort of star symbol in it! I need to look into symbology and find out whether my inner self is trying to tell me something. After all I don’t always intentionally set out to create stars, many times I am idly drawing whilst watching the TV and then I look down and a star has emerged and I very much do paint and draw intuitively. Something for me to look into for sure. Why are all these stars popping up?

I have also moved from just stars to whole galaxies and have been totally obsessed with creating girls who have galaxies as their hair. I just love it. It is so therapeutic to create, just watching all the watercolours swirl into each other and at the end you are left with something really mysterious and magical. Well to me they are anyway.

I am a massive dreamer and believer in magick!

I am really enjoying my star gazing journey. I have no idea where it will take me next in this journal or if it will follow me int the next but for now I am enjoying traveling with the stars.