it's that C word....

Yeeehah!

Hard to believe I know... but it's almost time for the C word to be mentioned...

*gasps all round!!*

Keep it to yourself but I 've already mumbled it a few times today... And no, I haven't taken to profanity (well, no more than usual anyway) but over on IACW we're getting ready for the Christmas season by offering up a month of creative inspiration, hoping to get everyone crafting in plenty of time this year :-)

Somehow I got to be the one to kick it off, and my post went up this morning, but check in everyday to see what the other creative girls are coming up with - there's some gorgeous projects on the cards and we've got ourselves all whipped up with Christmassy excitement lol - Like a bunch of kids we are, and we wanna share it with you!

This is was the lil project I made to start us off. Very simple, really quick, and made with stuff you almost certainly have lying around, it's cute, might make a nice pressie - and cost pennies. I'm really getting into this thrifty 'use your stash idea' now and lovin it! Initially it started off because I was too poor to buy anything, but now it's fun seeing what I can make with ancient papers and embellies :-) I actually get a kick out of seeing what I can do with it. So....

My Christmas Planner :



This year I’ve managed to get ahead of myself and I’m keen to stay that way! So I thought I'd make a Christmas planner so I can scribble notes, write lists and jot down ideas as they come to me. I've got a date stamp and a calendar stamp for December and I deliberately chose a square booklet to alter so that if I get an idea for a Christmas layout it’s the perfect shape for quickly sketching it out while the idea’s still fresh in my mind.

If you're making one you might want to include some or all of the things I have here:

Recipes/menu,
Buying/decorating the tree
Card listsGift lists,
Posting dates for friends/family around the globe,
Countdown of days for jobs to be done,
Ideas for teachers/tutors gifts,
Shopping lists for fresh foods from various suppliers
Card making ideas/colours/papers
Photos of things you’ve made
Ideas for xmas entertainments, games and family get togethers
Putting up the decs

Oh...and… your own wish list of course!! ;-)
(then leave it open on the coffee table.....)

Coz I'm always so pushed for time I didn't have time to make my planner from scratch, but those of you with a spare half hour and a BIA could make this in any size or shape you wanted. Personally, I picked up a cheap chipboard notebook from the poundshop mainly because it was square - and therefore handy for sketching layouts and cards.


First remove the binding wires carefully - you have to put them back afterwards so take care not to bend them out of shape!

Then cover the outside and inside of the chipboard covers. I used my cropodile to punch holes where the wires go. Cover one side and punch - this will give you a guide once you've covered the other side.

Once you've covered it, dress up the front with your chosen embellies and carefully reassemble the book.

I added a cute festive peg which came on some flowers I got last year, so I could safely save Christmas tokens, vouchers and offers - why not have a hunt around and see what you can find or make which will suit the same purpose?
Thanks for popping by the blog and hope you enjoyed this simple sweet tutorial :-) You wouldn't believe how quick and easy this planner was to make so if you're a list maker like me - get crackin - Christamas is coming!! ... oh and my friend bekka has another planner on her blog - it's gorgeous and perfect if you love pockets and lists... like me!

hugz - jakexxx