Project Thursday: Holiday Planner

The past few years I have made a very simple version of a Holiday Planner to keep myself (and our family) organized.

 

They were made from store bought spiral notebooks divided into sections with a tabs and a few embellishments. 

This year I wanted to make something that better suited our needs.  

Not only a place to keep everything noted and organized, but also a way to document our lives and activities throughout the Holidays.    

 I used the Bella BLVD Christmas Cheer Line of papers and embellishments.   

I started with lined notebook filler paper (5 1/2" X 8 1/2") since I wanted to have lots of plain paper pages for notes and planning.  

I cut off the punched holes (so I could bind the finished book myself).  Each of the section dividers were cut from double sided paper to a matching size (5 1/4" X 8 1/2").  The back cover is made from chip board covered with paper.  

The front cover is made of several layers stitched together with ribbon, string and button embellishments.  Because I will carry this book around with me everywhere for the next 6 weeks, I was sure to use lots of adhesive to keep everything in place. 

 

The inside of the front cover has a pocket stitched in place.  

My favorite things about this planner are all the different tabs, although I may regret that decision in a few weeks if they end up getting torn and tattered (from being carried around).

I added 9 sections to our Holiday Planner each one with a different Tab:

 SECTION #1:  GIFTS

An envelope added to this section will keep Gift Receipts together.  I'll probably add a closure and a label to dress up the envelope a bit. 

In addition to the lined paper behind each section - I created some colorful graphic pages.

Keeping track of Gift Ideas and Gifts Received (OOPS - just noticed a spelling error).

 

SECTION #2:  CARDS

Another graphic page I created to organize all the details of getting Holiday Cards mailed. 

I'm hoping this will actually help me get ours out and mailed on time this year. 

The back of the Cards section includes a glassine envelope.  I added washi tape to the edge to make it more durable when bound into the book.  This is where I will tuck those torn corners of envelopes with return addresses that need updated in our master list.  

SECTION #3:  DECORATE 

(it was supposed to read DECORATING but I ran out of space)

SECTION #4:  FUN

The envelopes work well to hold small items - I added one in this section for tickets and invitations.

Another graphic page with our Holiday Bucket List.  We can add stickers (or sequins) to notate what we do instead of "crossing" them off the list.  

SECTION #5:  GIVING

Somehow this tabbed page didn't make it into the wire binding (another OOPS).   I thought a 3/4" size binding wire would be big enough, but since I'll be adding things into the book - it looks like I need a bigger size.  I'll fix this tab when I replace the binding, so there is plenty of room to for pictures and memento.

 

SECTION #6:  ENTERTAINING

SECTION #7:  TO DO

I'm a big list maker, so this section has lots of lined paper for grocery lists, shopping lists and all the other Holiday To Do's.

SECTION #8:  SANTA

There is another envelope - this one is for the letter to Santa (you are never too old to believe).  

I included plain white cardstock pages throughout the book.  Perfect for drawings and pictures.  

SECTION #9:  NEXT YEAR NOTES

This is the place to write reminders of what needs done for next year.  Things to buy.  Gift ideas.  What worked.  What didn't.   
 

Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words...so I include a few pictures to remind me how my favorite decorations were arranged.  Slipped inside another glassine envelope.  

I am so excited to have finished our Holiday Planner and can't wait to start using it.

Thanks for reading along...

Project Thursday: Sweet Chocolate Mice

This is the time of year that visions of Sugar Plums dance in the heads of ballerinas everywhere.

Today's post is inspired by one of my favorite Nutcracker Roles - The Baby Mice.

We made these sweet little mice as a gift for my daughters fellow dancers when she performed as a Mouse in the Nutcracker. 

Not many ingredients are needed, and they are fairly easy to find (especially around the holidays when those boxes of chocolates magically appear):

~ Chocolate Covered Cherries (body)

~ Crispy Lo Mein Noodles  (tail)

~ Sliced Almonds (ears)

~ Hersheys Kiss candies (head)

~ Chocolate Candy Melts or chocolate chips (melted)

~ Confectioners' Sugar Icing

Be selective when you choose the Chocolate Covered Cherries.

I prefer this brand - because of the pretty round dome shape (some brands are more angular) and the nice chocolate swirl on the top (others are molded and have a pressed circular design on the top).

 

   They almost look hand dipped.  All the better if you are inclined to make your own Cherry Cordials.

First, cover the chow mein noodle in melted chocolate (leaving just the tip uncovered).  That end will be inserted into the mouse body.  Set aside until firm.  Assemble all the pieces (head, body, ears) using melted chocolate.  Use a tooth pick to make a hole for the tail to be inserted.  Add a bit more chocolate to the uncovered tip of the tail and insert it into the body.

Don't worry if there are globs of chocolate where there shouldn't be - they can be shaved off with a sharp knife once everything is cooled/firm.

The eye and nose details are made from confectioner sugar icing.  White for the eyes and black for the nose and pupils.  I used a toothpick to scoop up a tiny amount of icing for this detail work. 

Each of the delicate mice were packed away in a paper box filled with shred to keep them safe. 

Red Bakers Twine and a Holly Berry Tag were the final touches for these Nutcracker Mice.

The Mouse King was given a golden crown made from Fruit Chews (Starburst).  A few seconds in the microwave softens them up so they can easily be molded into the desired shape.

For the crown, I rolled out a thin flat portion and cut pointy tips with a paring knife - then rolled it into a crown shape and adhered to the Kings head with some more confectioners icing. 

The Mouse King was delivered in a special package befitting a King. 

Thanks for reading along.

Christmas Tags at The Pink Elephant

Happy 7 Days 'til Christmas!!

Since Christmas is just around the corner we thought it would be nice to make a 

few tags and hopefully inspire you to make some of your own!!

We have a Special Guest Designer with us today.
Please Welcome a super talented and oh so Sweet friend of mine.

Vera Rhuhay

Thanks so much Vera for sharing your amazing talent with us!!
Vera used digital stamps from By LORi Designs...they can be found HERE!
Hugs!!

Here are the fabulous creations designed by the TPE Girls:

Bea Guzman

Kimmy Jaster

Arielle Gordon

Jennifer Hagfeldt

Lori Boyd

Joni Wilson

Thanks so much for stopping by today to see our tags!!

You can find the Winter Wonderland December Challenge HERE

See you on Wednesday, December 22nd for one last Treat Post before Christmas!!

________________________________

We would LOVE to see your Tags.
If you want to inspire others...feel free to add them in Mr. Linky