planning – Page 6 – Keeping it creative

Monday Matters: Over 60 self care ideas and activities to keep you busy and mentally well when self isolating or social distancing

Posted on Mar 23, 2020 by Laura

Photo credit: Samantha Gades, for Unsplash

The current UK government advice is to practise social distancing in order to minimise the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19). With this in mind, I present over 60 ideas and activities to help you make the most of your social distancing or isolation time if you are still feeling fit and well. Hopefully, these activities will keep you safe but productive at the same time and encourage you to support yourself in staying mentally as well as physically well. Of course, some of the suggestions will be more suited to your lifestyle than others and some may just be completely inapplicable but hopefully you can use at least half of them so that’s over 30!

Paint your nails or give yourself a manicure or pedicure
Give positive feedback to someone (e.g. thank someone at the supermarket for doing a good job or write an email to someone who has shared a great article online)
Wash your car (or get your husband to do it – that’ll be me then lol)
Send a loved one a card through the mail telling them how much you care about them
Organise your wardrobe
Put some food out for the birds and watch them feed through the window
Have a video call with a family member or friend
Light a scented candle and meditate whilst watching the flame
Research a topic of interest online – maybe make notes in your BuJo or other notebook
Enjoy a long soak in the bath
Do a jigsaw puzzle
Start a craft project that you’ve been meaning to do for a while
Peruse Amazon and download a new book for your Kindle
Practise calligraphy
Wash your hair and spend ages styling it to perfection
Create an upbeat playlist of songs you love
Take a free online class
Watch a YouTube video that teaches you a new skill
Walk barefoot on your lawn
Listen to an audiobook
Get out your photo albums and revisit happy times (or flick through old digital images on your mobile phone
Snuggle up under a soft blanket and watch a movie
Have a home pampering session e.g. put on a face mask
Do some colouring in
Shine your shoes
Practise Yoga or Pilates (there are lots of videos on YouTube that show you how)
Re-arrange the furniture in your house
Do an observational drawing of something in your house
Enjoy a cup of coffee or tea whilst reading this list and make plans for your day
Write a nice comment on a website or blog
Find a new recipe and try it out
Write in your journal about how your day has been
Play cards or a board game with a family member (or plan an online game whilst being in isolation from others)
Join an online community on Facebook and start a discussion about one of your interests
Buy yourself something nice online for home delivery
Try out some new hairstyles
Find some online journal prompts and do some writing
Make up a poem about how your day has changed for the better since practising social distancing
Learn about your family tree
Savour a bar of chocolate
Do a wordsearch, crossword or other word puzzle
Make a gift for a family member or friend which you can leave on their doorstep
Do some origami
Visit Etsy and support a handmade business by choosing and buying a little treat for yourself or a loved one
Make homemade pizza
Sing in the shower
Massage hand cream into your hands (particularly good if your hands are dry from all the handwashing)
Play games on your tablet or phone (my current favourites are Angry Birds 2 and Candy Crush Saga)
Share a photograph online of something new you’ve tried whilst self isolating
Buy some new stationery from an online shop
Spend an hour reading your favourite magazine with a hot or cold drink
Make homemade bread
Sit in your back garden tonight and do some stargazing
Learn to juggle
Give your muscles a good stretch
Send a text message to a friend checking that they are safe and well
Write a list of all the things that you are grateful for right now
Make a list of reasons why you love your friend / partner and share it with them
Spend time engaging in one of your long forgotten hobbies
Watch a favourite movie and munch on some popcorn
Do some embroidery or cross stitching
Cuddle your pet and show them some love
Enter an online competition
Repair something in your house that you’ve been meaning to get around to fixing for months
Have an indoor picnic in your house (put out a picnic mat or blanket and sit on the floor in your living room)
Make some (virgin) cocktails (don’t forget to drink responsibly)
Do a Sudoku
Close your eyes and do 5 minutes of soothing breathing

I hope you’ve found at least some of these ideas useful. Let me know if you have other suggestions which I could add to the list.

Stay safe everyone and remember, just because you’re practising social distancing, doesn’t mean you need to isolate yourself from the world completely. As best as you can, and in a way that is safe, keep in touch with loved ones and most importantly, look after you!

Business branding, creativity, Planning and journaling, Selling on Etsy

I made a vision board for my Etsy shop: my brand and its core values in photographs

Posted on Sep 2, 2019May 13, 2021 by Laura

I don’t know about you, but I love looking at inspirational images and spend many hours each week perusing Pinterest, Google Images and pretty pictures in magazines. I also love using glossy photographs to create my vision board for the year. You can see my board for 2019 which I shared in a previous post here.

A while ago, I spent several days considering brand identity and core values for my Etsy business. My shop has been open for over two and a half years now but I wanted to make sure that my products reflected what my brand was all about. I worked on developing a list of adjectives which describe what I want to be at the core of my business. Then, alongside this, I chose a range of images which reflected my beliefs about what LJ Designs NE is all about. Below is a list of what I came up with (in no particular order of importance!) and a photo story of how I went about making my vision board some weeks later.

nature inspired
fun
fresh
creative
reflective
organised
delightful
peaceful
colourful
productive
playful
simple
compassionate
efficient
friendly

Over 40 images printed on photograph paper. Colour themes, ideas and inspirational messages included.

After spending a good while cutting the above out I had a very sore wrist and a big pile of gorgeous images.

When I’d finished cutting out all of my images, I laid them all out on the floor to see how much room they would need to be displayed. I then popped to The Range and bought an A1 piece of mounting board in a lovely charcoal grey colour and a large Perspex clip frame. I chose a Perspex frame as I’ve had issues with clip frames getting broken in the past and didn’t want a recurrence of this.

To ensure I was happy with the placement of the pics, I started by placing them onto the board with small pieces of Blu-Tak so I could play with the arrangement a little.

I did have the intention of using double sided tape to adhere the images permanently but in the end, I glued them on with Pritt Stick so that if I put them on a little wonky I could sort them out!

The finished board with all of the images glued on and the Perspex frame clipped in place.

I’m so pleased with how my brand vision board turned out and can’t wait to put it on display in my craft room / office. I hope you find it visually appealing too and agree that it reflects my key ideas about my little Etsy shop.

Have you ever tried a similar process for your handmade business? If not, I thoroughly recommend it. I had great fun and I now have a board full of beautiful pictures to remind me of what’s at the heart of my brand and to inspire me when I’m working in my craft room each day.

Planning and journaling

A little update from me…

Posted on Nov 21, 2018Jul 7, 2020 by Laura

Hi all, I know, it’s been ages since I did a new blog post but what can I say, I’ve been super busy with my growing Etsy Shop. I’ve been getting creative (mainly with my shop photos) and I’m still very much a bujo and creative journaling addict but, I’ve let my blogging slide. What can I say, something had to give and unfortunately, this was it… sorry!

But, I’m back and I would so love to hear from each and every one of you with a mini update of your creative / plannery life and what your priorities are right now.

new supplies for November — Treat to myself for being a good girl (you can still be a girl when you’re in your 40s right?)

So, here’s some of my (best) reasons for being AWOL, AKA what I have been dedicating my precious time to:

Planning and having a creative Monday – two or 3 hours, most Mondays when I shift focus from my shop to getting messy. I’m talking brush lettering (I’m a leftie so I always get covered in ink!), colouring in, drawing (I’m getting better, slowly), painting, cutting and sticking (AKA collage) and anything else which takes my fancy and can be crammed in to my time.
Making daily plans. I’ve discovered I work best if I sit and create a daily timetable each and every day. This is drawn up in my bujo during my quiet, focused time that I dedicate to planning and preparation before I start work on my Etsy shop.
Putting into place ideas from my two favourite (and newly discovered) books on productivity. (see below – one is on my Kindle so I’m making notes in my bulging bujo as I like to record most of my learning so I don’t forget!)
Reaching out to other planning and journaling addicts both IRL (Bev, that’s you my lovely!) and virtually (UKPA you are an amazing, wonderous group – where would I be without you!).

That’s it for now, but I (pinkie) promise, I will be back with another post very shortly (you can berate me in the comments if I don’t!).

Much love and best wishes to you and your loved ones for the Christmassy period.

bullet journal, Bullet journaling, creativity, Planning and journaling

Bullet Journal Beginner (How I’m setting up my new planner system)

Posted on Apr 25, 2018Jul 7, 2020 by Laura

As many of you who follow me on social media know, I got a gorgeous Webster’s Pages TN in fuchsia for my last birthday and have been using my handmade inserts to design my own planner layouts. I also add my habit trackers, shopping lists and meal plans in there as well as a notes section at the back. As I hand stitch my notebooks, and use premium paper, I was finding that the maximum thickness I could make, without the booklet looking too bulky, was about 24 pages. So, as I needed a WO4P (week on four pages) I was getting through a lot (and I mean a lot!!!) of notebooks throughout the months and kept having to transfer key information from one to another. I also had about 5 other notebooks on the go all at the same time and, unsurprisingly, I was becoming a bit overwhelmed by my system. Don’t get me wrong – I love notebooks, the prettier the better, but I was craving a set up where everything was all in one place.

So, fast forward a few months, to when I ordered a gorgeous Scribbles That Matter notebook from Amazon and became obsessed with watching YouTube videos and their related blogs on BuJo systems. I also started searching out creative bullet journal peeps on Instagram to follow for inspiration (there are so many amazing set ups out there). My favourite and most informative YouTube channel and blog has to be Kara’s at Boho Berry and you’ll see why when you check it out.

My A5 Scribbles notebook is amazing. Here’s a list of its main features:

A bullet grid for all of your amazing layouts
A page to write your key, including any colour coding you might have decided to use.
3 index pages
Page numbers so, with the index, you can find all of your collections easily
A space at the back for testing all of your pens (well, maybe not all of them, but the ones you intend to use!)
A fantastic pocket at the back for keeping stickers, receipts or whatever you want to keep with your planner / journal.
Two ribbon bookmarks (I’ve got mine marking my index and what will be my weekly page when May comes)

For my first bujo, I decided to keep it simple with some highlighting (using my fab new Mildliners – also from Amazon), some brush lettering (using my Tombow Fudenosuke hard for smaller text and Tombow Dual Tips for larger titles) and a few stickers (from Pebbles). I might also add some washi as the months go on (after all, I have plenty of it in my stash!).

Here’s my set up for May. It’s not perfect, but I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out.

BujoKey — My key makes use of the original rapid logging bullets and signifiers invented by Ryder Carroll click here for more info. I’ve also added a little one of my own at the very end.

I started colour coding in my Traveler’s Notebook system a few months ago and loved how effective it was and how colourful it made my planner. I’ve stuck with the same 5 colours and I’m continuing to combine personal and business goals and tasks. As well as running my Etsy Shop I also volunteer for the RSPB once a fortnight by going into schools to deliver sessions to primary aged children with a focus on giving nature a home in the school grounds. I get bookings and have to keep in touch with my line manager regularly so I gave my tasks their own colour.

BuJoIndexPage — My index entries so far. Who knows how many pages May is going to take up, I’m on page 10 already!

I hand wrote my calendars for my future log but I messed up with the numbering (and I didn’t use a Frixion pen!) so I had to create little stickers to cover up my mistake. For this, I worked on Microsoft Publisher, creating tables for each month for the rest of the year.

BuJoFutureLog — I used my Mildliners to add a pop of colour. I got my inspiration for this layout from a wonderful blog by Christina over at Christina77star

I deviated from the original Bullet Journal monthly set up, preferring to use a grid format:

BujoMayMonthly — A simple set up using my Tombow Dual Tips and a few accent stickers.

BujoMayGoals&Meals.jpg — Goals for the month and a meal plan for the first week of May.

And finally, my first weekly plan, which is now on just two pages. I’m hoping the rapid logging system means that I need much less space for each day but I can always change my layout if it doesn’t work. I have, however, swapped over to a 0.7 pen so my writing might not be small enough. If anyone knows of a decent fine pen which you can use Tombows or Mildliners over the top of, let me know in the comments!

If you’re new to bullet journaling and have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below. And, if you have a must see blog, YouTube channel or Insta account which you want to share, I would love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading,

Much love,

Laura xx

p.s. If you are worried that my gorgeous Webster’s Pages TN is going to sit unloved on a shelf collecting dust, don’t be – it’s now full of my creative journals!