Make a Planner/Binder bookmark... Tutorial and Instant Download

I have this big green drafting desk in my office. I found it one happy day on Craig's List :)  We refer to it simply as the "green desk", since I have 3 desks in my office and naturally we need a means to distinguish between them all :)

This desk... is my home base during the day.  I like it because it tall and I don't need to sit down to utilize it.  I'm always moving from one spot to another during the day, hopping from one child's need to the next.  This desk always has an open 3 ring binder laying on it. ... it's where my daily to-do list is, my calendar, my meal plan (you can see what I use to stay organized here)... my random creative ideas get scribbled down there too.  I'm always drawn back to this spot, where I flip from one page of my binder to another... going about the business of my day.    So... lately I've realized it would be super handy to have a bookmark that clips into the binder to mark my place.   And it couldn't just be a paper bookmark.  I would destroy that too quickly.  No, it needed to be durable!  And thus, this project was born :)

So! Let me explain what I did... so you can make one too if you'd like :)

SUPPLIES:
*printed design pages (you can download these at the end of the post...)
*scissors
*glue stick
*clear contact paper
*craft knife, cutting mat, and straight edge ruler (these are optional, but handy)
*single hole punch
*paper clips

(forgot to include the hole punch and the paper clips in the photo... I'm tired. )

THE PROCESS:

1. Glue the two design pages together with the glue stick... backside to backside.  Use a generous amount of glue, covering the entire sheet. Then smooth out to make sure you have a good bond.

2. Cut a large rectangle of contact paper.  You are going to use one piece to cover the front and the back of your glued design sheets... so make sure it's plenty big. 

3. With your glued design sheet near by, peel back the paper backing on half of your rectangle of contact paper.

4. Carefully place the glued design on the sticky surface of the contact paper.  Smooth down with your hands to make sure all the bubbles are out.

5. Peel the remaining section of the paper backing off of the contact paper and fold it over your design page.  Smooth it out on both sides, making sure there are no air bubbles.

6. Now it's time to cut!  I like to use a craft knife, straightedge and cutting mat to cut the long straight edges.  It gives a straighter and cleaner cut than scissors.  But scissors would work as well.

7. After the straight edges are cut, trim off the remaining round edges with your scissor.  

8. To punch the holes in the bookmark, you need use a page from your binder as a template for where the holes are to go...  Line up your template page against your bookmark so that the "today" tab hangs over the top edge.

9. Once you know where the holes need to go, top to bottom, scoot the bookmark to the edge of the template page (so the edges are flush) and secure with paper clips.

10. Use your single hole punch to punch out the holes in the correct spots, and ta-da! ... you're done!! 

Yay! Wasn't that easy!?

Now you go make one too! I designed two sizes.. the full sheet size, like you saw in the pictures, and also a smaller half sheet size.  

Click on the links to download... the files are hosted in Google Drive, so you probably need to be signed into you Google account to access the files...  and remember... please... files are for personal use only.  Files may not be used for profit of any kind.  Files may not be distributed.  Enjoy!!

Oh, and leave a cheery Hello! if you download :)

FULL SIZE Planner/Binder Bookmark file 

HALF SIZE Planner/Binder Bookmark file

To see more of my designs, head on over to my Etsy Shop!  There are always new things to see :)

Blessings,

Meal Planning for a Year from Raising Up Rubies...with printables from Yours Truly!

Okay, today I'm sending you over to Raising up Rubies once again for another Jaime/Amy collaboration!  Jaime put together an absolutely amazing post about how to meal plan for an entire year... and you'll notice that it's all done using my Meal Planning kit!  So no more talking... just go read her post :)  ...oh, and be sure to leave her a cheery hello on her blog... she loves that :)

Blessings,

A Woodland Party over at Raising Up Rubies... and Lucy Lou is 11 months old!

Hey Y'all! Do you notice it looks a bit different around here?!  I had the amazing Heather from Life Made Lovely perk up my blog...  She was so amazing.  She was so gracious to work with me and use my illustrations to come up with the perfect look that just screams "AMY J!"  love. it.

Okay, and you MUST hop on over to my best girl Jaime's blog, where I'm guest posting about a really fun Woodland Party idea (and there are some free printables, by the way...wink, wink).

And now, Miss Lucy... my sweet baby girl... These baby days are slipping away. boo.  But I managed to capture a few pieces of my heart  in digital form to share with you... and tear up over for years to come. ha, ha :)

Blessings,

Vintage Airlines Themed Baby Shower Ideas...

Back in September, I helped host a baby shower at our church for a good friend of mine.  She told me she was decorating the nursery in vintage planes... naturally, since her husband is a pilot!  So of course my job was the paper goods... invites and anything else I could come up with that I could make my printer create!  I had a blast... 

I ended up creating boarding pass invites, baggage claim tags (to go on vintage suitcases that we used as decoration), Customs forms for guest to write words of wisdom to the mom-to-be on, cargo labels, flag cupcake toppers, stickers, and water bottle wraps.... all below.

If you'd like to see the boarding pass in more detail click on this image of it below...

We set up the shower like an airplane... with chairs in rows with a center aisle.  We put the snacks and beverages on a cart that ladies wheeled down the aisle, and served them just like flight attendants!  It was so much fun :) 

Hope this inspires you for your next baby boy shower!

Blessings,

Homemade Doll House... a Gift Idea so that I feel cool.

So last year I made almost all of my family and extended family's Christmas gifts.  It was fun, but exhausting.  Last Christmas I just bit off far more than I could chew...  I had Christmas cards in my my Etsy store, was doing freelance graphic design jobs, making gifts, homeschooling, and participating in all the regular Christmas festivities...all with 4 kiddos!  Yeah.

Not this year.  I just can't do all that!  I'm trying really hard to know my limits.  For one thing, I'm preggers and am just plain old tired most of the time.  Secondly, I tend to let the really important things slip to the back when I'm busy.  This year I want... am trying to... enjoy the season, slow down, and talk more about our Savior.  I'm trying to focus less on milking the Christmas selling season and more on staying sane!  Less on an ideal creative Christmas atmosphere and more on keeping up with the laundry and meals! ... So there are no Christmas items in my store, just prints.  I'm not doing any real freelance work during December.  And I'm not making all those fun homemade gifts.

It's kinda sad and hard though...  I'm a creative person!  I'm a business-minded person!  It's hard to turn that side of me off.  I feel like the rest of the people in the world (which is the blog/internet world...a somewhat misleading niche of people who are unlike many others!... you creative Pinterest and Blog people! ) are going on without me.  They are making gifts, sharing creative gift ideas, making fancy holiday treats, decorating out the wazoo!  I know there are so many people who are taking it easy like me... but it doesn't feel like it!   

So to appease my need to be part of the fancy creative people... I'm sharing a gift idea from last year!  I happen to take these pics last year as well, so it didn't really require much of my time :)  I found this simple wooden doll house on Pinterest and asked the hubs to make it for some of my nieces.  We made 2 small ones and a big one for Barbie sized dolls.  They were quite easy to make and turned out really cute...  They just slide together and come apart... stacking in two flat pieces, not taking up much space at all. 

I used scrapbook paper on the small ones and thick wrapping paper to cover the walls on the large one.  I adhered it with spray glue and then sealed it with Mod Podge.   So...  If you are feeling ambitious this year... or next year,  have at it!! 

I made so many other cute gifts last year... and really had wanted to show you those ideas as well.  But I think it's safe to say, I'm just not going to find time to get out my camera and all the stuff I used to make the items and take pictures.  sorry.   Maybe during the year, I'll get around to it...  or maybe not :) 

Blessings on whatever your December holds.  Regardless of the level of your ambitions, may it be focused on God's love and his indescribable gift of his Son... our Savior!

Blessings,

Bingo Birthday Card

Hello Friends! 
I have a quick and easy, yet clever Birthday card idea for  you... 

Find an old Bingo card with the right number for how old the person is turning....  circle it with a Sharpie, and attach the corresponding marker with hot glue to a string.  I wrote a message on the back and enclosed it with my gift....like I said, EASY!

Blessings,

Make stickers out of vintage papers....

Hello Friends!  Sorry that I've been MIA...  that's how summer is, you know?
I've been wanting to show you another idea I have for using vintage catalogs, magazines, books, papers, etc... 

You'll Need:
•vintage paper (anything you like!)
•sticker paper sheets (you can buy these lots of places... I got mine at Staples.)
•3M Super 77 Spray Adhesive
•scissors

All you do is spray the backside of your vintage paper and the front side of your sticker paper... and smooth together!  Then just cut out your shapes... Easy Peasy!

Blessings,

HAPPY THING :) Vanilla Milk...

The other day when we were out as a family in OKC, the girls were thirsty and J.J. and I needed a boost as well, so we stopped at Starbucks.  We usually get the girls regular milk there, but they were out.  So we opted for their vanilla milk (rather than chocolate, because I don't like stains!).  Whoah.  That stuff was good.  The girls were licking there lips and rubbing there tummies acting like it was the best thing they had ever tasted! ... It reminded me of something I used to drink when I couldn't sleep.  I would heat a mug a milk in the microwave, add a teaspoonful of sugar and a drop of vanilla.  So... I offered that sometime I would make them vanilla milk at home.  Let's just say they take me up on that offer as frequently as they can :)  It's become a special "tea time" of sorts... we always use the special little flowered glasses, as they call them.  It's fun to see them get all excited.  It's definitely a Happy Thing :)

In case you'd like to try it as well...
I just warm 4 cups of milk and add 6-8 Tablespoons of sugar (depending on how sweet you want it) and a teaspoon of vanilla.  Chill and serve!  Yum.

Blessings,

A Pretty Little Gift

I wanted to show you the goodies I whipped up for the special moms in my life the other weekend...
Enjoy :)


First off, I filled some glassine bags with pretty colored treats...

I decorated the bags with fabric scrap flags, meaningful verses, little labels, and sewed it all together with a zig-zag stitch.

I made fabric covered little envelopes... to hold simple little Mother's Day notes.

I wrapped Hershey's Nuggets with Avery address labels... which I had printed vintage floral patterns and polka dots on.

And finally, I wrapped  little boxes in vintage sewing pattern paper and vintage Montgomery Ward catalog pages... (I don't have a pic of the one in the catalog pages :(  )  to hold all the goodies!  I used plenty of double stick tape to secure the brittle paper onto the box... that worked much better than regular tape or glue. 

I liked the wrapped boxes so much, I think I'm going to have to make some for myself... they'd look great on my office shelves :)

Blessings,