October Daily is back for 2018!

So for 4 years, I think it is 4 it could be 5 lol! I have run an daily photo challenge. I have decided to bring it back again this year BUT this year I don't want you to stress about it! In previous years there has been a competition attached to it but I have found that it stresses too many people out and if they have skipped a day they give up even though they can carry on. Anyhooooo I still like sharing and would like people to take part if they want to for fun so I am removing the stressful element. 

How does it work?

This year you still need to register via the widget below as usual because this randomly generates someone at the end which makes it fair and square.

You choose a set of prompts that you would like to work with or you can do both or you can mix and match depending on which day speaks to you. It really is very flexible.

You take that prompt and do something with it! You can literally just take the prompt and get your creative photography juices flowing taking pictures of your planner / journal etc supplies or you can use it as a prompt for your memory keeping project / album. Use it as a prompt for your written / creative / art journal. Whatever you choose you need to take a photo of it and post it using the hashtags.

Remember as with all of my daily photo challenges I have designed the prompts to be interpreted in a way that suits you, loosely based on the things that I love: Planners (and planner decoration), Stationery, Journals, Books, food, the season etc. You interpret them however you like but most importantly have fun with it. They are just prompts to help you. Take them literally if you like or be imaginative. For example 'Book' could be a book you are reading or it could be something that you need to book. 

You do not need to do all of the prompts! I just want to make that clear. If you miss a day that is totally fine. This is supposed to be for fun ok! All I ask is that you do at least 5. I think one a week is pretty manageable. As long as you do 5 you stand a chance of winning the prize. The main thing with this though is that it is a fun thing to do, bringing the community together to chat and to oggle beautiful photos.

If you want to play along for fun then start posting your photos from 1st October. Remember to use the hashtag: #mrsbrimblesoctdaily or  #mrsbrimblesboodaily so that we can find your photos and see what you are up to. You can post anywhere on social media but if you want to be in with a chance of winning the prize it needs to be on instagram or in the Mrs Brimbles Happy Place group on Facebook (or both of course). If you are playing along with this in order win the prize please do make sure that you read all guidelines on how to enter and the rules below oh and if you want to be in with winning the prize you will need to register on the giveaway widget below too! 

What is the prize? £25 store credit for www.mrsbrimbles.co.uk/shop

The Prompts

Please do feel free to share the photos on instagram, Pinterest, your blog etc or print out to put into your planner or journal.

I have made a few tweaks from last year but largely they are the same because they work lol!

The Rules

I know, so boring that there needs to be rules but there does so that everyone is clear on what they need to do and to keep it fair to everyone participating!

• You must post 5 photos from any of the prompts that are inspiring you on instagram or Mrs Brimbles Happy Place Facebook group (or both) using the hashtag for the challenge you are taking part in. 

• You need to be following me on instagram: @mrsbrimbles please do not tag me in your photos as I will get lots of notifications. I will see your photos on the hashtag!

• The prompts are just that, prompts, interpret them as you will, or if you are stuck for inspiration just post a photo anyway! You just need to post 5 photos in the time frame given to be in with a chance of winning the prize. If you are playing for fun you can do what you like!

• You have until 7am GMT on 5th November 2018 to register for the giveaway on the widget below AND to complete the photo challenge on instagram / Facebook.

• If you haven't registered on the widget you won't be elligible to win the prize so you will just be doing the challenge for fun which is totally fine with me if it is with you.You can register at any time from now but photo posting on instagram and in the Facebook group starts on 1st October 2018.

• You DO NOT have to post everyday but you do have to post 5 photos by 7am GMT on 5th October 2018. You DO NOT have to post in numerical order, you can post any prompt on any day and any number of photos on any day.

• Once the competition has closed a winner will be drawn by random using the giveaway widget, and emailed. I will ask you to confirm / prove that you have posted 5 photos in the time frame 1st October - 5th November 2018, if not another winner will be chosen. The winners name will appear on the giveaway widget once closed.

• The winner will be emailed by me to arrange receipt of the prize. 

• Your email address will be added to my newsletter database - I will not sell this to anyone else nor will I constantly be spamming you and you can unsubscribe at any time! 

• Open internationally

• You must be over eighteen years of age or have parental / guardian permission.

• The prizes stated above are the only prize(s) - no cash alternative.

• One winner will be chosen at random and notified by email. Winner(s) will be announced on this page on the rafflecopter widget after the closing date.

• If the winner(s) do not respond to my email within 48 hours a new winner(s) will be chosen

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Motivational Layout

Hello, planner friends!

This week I wanted to go back and create a layout that was inspiring and that reaffirmed a positive outlook. This time of year can be quite chaotic and it's easy to fall back onto negative outlooks and feel like everything is happening at once, so it's nice to take a step back and have something positive staring at my (in planner form) during the week. This layout features some older stickers and Brimbles box items - but they're super versatile and can be used any time during the year, which I really appreciate.

Marble Sticky Notes // Marble and Gold Planner Stickers

Along with some stamping, I've revisited an old favourite technique of mine - washi tape layering. The awesome thing about washi tape is how it can be torn into all sorts of shapes and layered to create interesting effects. Because of the gold foiling on the stickers, I wanted a hint of gold in the washi tapes (so as not to overpower the layout itself) so I just tore the strip in half and added it on opposite sides of the page!
 





I hope you've enjoyed this layout. As always, if you want more planner inspiration, I post planner videos every Sunday (AEST) on my Youtube channel, Noveltea Corner. Until next time, happy planning! Stef

SMART Productive Planner

“Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.” "You've Got Mail" - Nora Ephron

You've Got Mail is one of my favourite films. I just love cheesy chick flicks, that are usually so predictable you just know that the girl and guy who hate each other at the beginning will fall in love along with some kind of misunderstanding along the way. But there's something about it too. I think it feeds into my love of New York but also the fact that it starts with "Fall" well Autumn here in England. I love this quote because it makes me think of "Back to School" season. As I write this Jaxon is on his third day at school. After the first day, he said he wasn't going back. Then yesterday morning he was a bit more for going to school. Today the debate was which side of the road we had to walk and then where to cross outside the school (there's a pelican crossing but about five metres away there's also a small traffic island in the middle of the road so you can wait for the lights to change and then still cross the road further along - if that makes sense!) So what have I been up to with my days so far of "freedom"? Well, lots actually. I'm almost up to date on the washing and have managed to clear some other bits of clutter that have been gathering around the house. I even got the bedding and towels back into the airing cupboard instead of them migrating across the landing.

 
I may have got distracted by pretty highlighters too. Interesting colourful spreads make you more productive right? Well I'm sure it might but not 100% I was as productive as I could have been! Then I got onto longer-term goals. What did I want to achieve next week and in the rest of September? Well, I might have got to a "Before Christmas" stage as well but decided to pause that one. SMART Goals. So I don't know about you but when it comes to making goals that aren't just a "cross of a to do" kind of goal I often end up back at SMART goals. (For daily goals I sometimes try the 1-3-5 method that my friend Rickie introduced me to. 5 little tasks, 3 medium tasks and 1 big task each day rather than a long to-do list like I normally do. You can read more here). Back to SMART goals, so let's go back to the beginning. What does SMART stand for? Specific - Make sure the goal is well defined. What do I want to accomplish? Why is the goal important? Who is involved? Where is it located? What do I need to achieve it? Measurable -  Make sure the goal is obtainable - think about how will I know when it is accomplished? (For instance, rather than ride my bike more, I might set a goal like ride my bike 10 miles a week) Achievable - how I accomplish this goal? How realistic is the goal? Relevant - is the goal relevant? Does this seem worthwhile? But also is this the right time? Time-Bound - Every goal needs an end day so that you have a deadline to focus on. Maybe it's the day of a big race (like London Marathon is always around the 25th April - actually it's nearly always the weekend before my birthday!)

 

My planner is definitely more of the appointments along with daily to do list kind of goals. I've decided to try and start a new insert in my standard TN for the longer goals. With Jaxon now being at school on weekdays, I'm trying to be more proactive and try and achieve some of those goals that I kept putting off because I couldn't do them with Jaxon in tow. September started with a lot of decoration, I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and even if Anna's September stickers weren't technically HP and Hogwarts themed they did work perfectly (with some additions) to decorate the week leading up to what is the day everyone catches the Hogwarts Express to school. I paired the stickers with red and yellow washi. They were the closest I had to the Gryffindor colours (although I did discover at last year's Jingle and Mingle that technically I'm a Hufflepuff. Have you booked your tickets for this year's Jingle and Mingle? They are available here)

 

Hannah