KELLY PURKEY JULY REVEAL

I'm still patiently awaiting the arrival of the new Kelly Purkey July stamps, but I can tell you, the release is something you don't want to miss. If you thought last month was great, this month will blow your mind out of the water! Here's a look at some of the new stamps and kits that are available at the Kelly Purkey shop now!

(All pictures taken from Kelly Purkey Shop)

You can click here to head straight to her shop. And remember, be quick because once they're gone, it most likely won't be coming back (and you'll have to live with buyer's regret!)

BPC: TRAVELER'S NOTEBOOK | DOCUMENTING EVERYDAY

Guess what guys? I'm teaching a class over at Big Picture Classes on Monday and it's going to be filled with all things Traveler's Notebook! It's going to be super exciting, and you'll finally be able to access full length tutorials on how I create all my spreads! Here are a few sneak photos that will be in the class:

Make sure you sign up for a two week trials so you can check my class (and all the others) out! Looking forward to seeing you there!

PIPSTICKS

The lovely Carissa from Pipsticks contacted me recently asking whether I wanted to try out their ah-maazing sticker pack a few weeks back, and being a lover of stickers, of course I said yes! I had to wait patiently for my pack though as it was flying all the way from the great USA, but when it arrived, it was well worth it.

A little background on Pipsticks: Pipsticks is a subscription sticker club. They design and source stickers from the best supplies all over the world in order to give members a gorgeously packaged (just look at the picture below to understand that this is not an over statement!), affordable, unique stash of special stickers when they need them (because who doesn't need stickers in their life?!). The sticker club was started by Maureen, and have subscribers from over 50 countries!

Here's a look at the pack when it arrived:

The sticker pack attracts you from the get go, because of the unique little packaging it comes in, and I'm actually amazed no one in the post office has taken it for themselves (hah!). But now to the insides:

As you can see, their pack is FULL of super cute stickers. I've already started using them in my MTN weekly diary posts, as they're just so versatile. And the best part is: they're coming up on their second birthday this September, and they'll be celebrating it with a MEGA pack of stickers, stuffed even more than usual. If you don't want to miss out on this mega pack coming in a few months, Pipsticks and I have teamed up to give you 15% off the first month of any subscription using the code: NOV15. Yay! You don't want to miss out!

(You can check out their website for more information by clicking here)

MTN DIARY #1

I'm thoroughly enjoying documenting in a vertical format in my Midori diary, and if you follow me on my Instagram (@lettersinnovember), you'll probably know that's old news. I've included the last three spreads I've done for the month of July and can't wait to document more in the next following weeks!

I love that each week holds its own story through the decorations I put in and ephemera I document. It's also quite amazing how much you can fit in each of the columns there despite it looking so small! I'm definitely looking forward to completing a notebook to see the uniqueness of each spread

PROJECT LIFE 2016: WEEK 27

Because I'm running out of my favourite Project Life page protectors and I had pictures I wanted to print, I decided to go full scale with a 6x12":

I've yet to put the journaling in, but I'm focussing on putting labels and stickers into this one, with journaling kept to a minimum. You can get the stamps pictured from Kelly Purkey's shop here. The great thing about 6x12" photos like these are the colours. I admit, it would've been better if taken from an actual camera, rather than my iPhone, but it does the trick. Pick a picture you like for the week, blow it up and you've got all you need. Experiment with different photo sizes in your Project Life and it will give some variety to your spreads.

CURRENTLY #18

TIME: 7:45PM

LOCATION: Bedroom / studio / office

FEELING: Cold. So so cold.

LOVING: My new Silhoutte Cameo!

READING: Donna Tart - The Goldfinch (yep, I'm trying to finish it again a year later)

DRINKING:  Honey & lemon to fight off the last of my cold

ANTICIPATING: The end of my work contract with one of the best RAD team I've been with :(

LISTENING:Charlie Puth - Superman (new fav!)

WATCHING: Pretty Little Liars

PLANNING: To catch them all (anyone else hooked with Pokemon Go?)

LOOKING FORWARD TO: Weekend outing with friends

CREATING: MTN spreads for the week

NEED TO FINISH: 2016 Project Life spreads!

WISHING: I had more time

PROJECT LIFE 2016: WEEK 26

So I might have skipped a quarter of the year and went straight to the halfway mark... To be fair, I just haven't been blogging about them. The photos are well documented and in their rightful place, I just haven't spruced them up with journaling and embellishments. I made a note to actually do them last weekend after printing out some new pictures though, so here are the results:

The layouts are made purely from Kelly Purkey shop items found here. They're absolutely versatile and if you check out her instagram page, you'll see an abundance of ideas for her kits. There isn't much to Project Life-ing but it's always the little things that makes your layout complete. Don't be afraid to add staples, washi tape and stamps to your photos. It will give your pages some life you never thought possible!

MTN WEEKLY 2.0

I've been experimenting a little with my newest project for the second half of the year (!!) since the start of July, and I think it's coming up great (for now). I'm on track for it, and although there is still that pressure to get it perfect like all the other posts I see out there, I think I'll loosen up once I get into the groove of things. But what is this project, I'm mentioning? Well, this:

I managed to get my hands on the undated MTN weekly diary spread onto two pages from Bookbinders Online on the first day of July and got straight into it. I never seemed to like this format until I saw their use on some of my fav Instagram accounts. Now I see why it's another great way of documentation.

This may very well be the next 'MTN Weekly' post that will be featured on my blog, so there are definitely exciting times ahead! Stay tuned!

NOTEMAKER WAREHOUSE SALE

Notemaker is having a Warehouse Sale in the great city of Melbourne, and it is ah-mazing! I was able to drop by before I started work at 12 on the day of their opening and grabbed as much as I could (though I wish I had grabbed more!) as everything were at absolute bargain prices. I got everything above for $52. I mean, the diary alone from Rifle Paper Co would have cost that much! The Warehouse Sale is happening at 361 Little Lonsdale St and is open till Saturday. I highly recommend dropping by if you're in town as you definitely won't regret it! Here's a look at some of the pictures I snapped while there:

Happy shopping!

KELLY PURKEY JUNE REVEAL

Kelly Purkey seems to be releasing better and better stamp sets as the months go by. I love every single one that comes out, and this month is no exception. The June release saw two new kits (one by Kelly Purkey called 'My Day' and another called 'Get It' by Jamaica Edgell), and three new stamp sets (alpha, 'Great Outdoors' and 'Best Friends'). They're all aimed for different events, but intermixable if you tried.

Here's a look at a project I created using the 'Great Outdoors' stamp and Journaling Card from the 'My Day' kit:

I'll be creating a whole lot more from these stamps because I'm just bursting with ideas for them. Make sure you get yours from the Kelly Purkey shop before they all sell out!

JULY GOALS

Another month has zoomed by and I'm left looking at my goals and wondering what exactly I've been doing in the past 30 days. Here's a look at how I went with my June Goals:

• x    Read two books
• ü Keep a habits tracking list
• x     Exercise!
• ü Donate, donate, donate!
• x    Keep up with the blogging
• ü No Less spending

So what's in store for July? The usual, I guess:

• Read two books
• Spend less
• Catch up with Project Life 2016
• Keep up with Weekly MTN

It's crazy to think that it's already July, and how much has happened collectively, changing in its own little subtle way to bring us to this very moment. Sigh.

LITTLE SUMMER JOY 2016

Even though it's rainy and freezing cold here in Australia currently, I'm happy to announce that I'm contributing to Little Paper Projects' 2016 #LittleSummerJoy class! And the best part is: if you sign up before June 30 using this link using the promo code of 'SAVE5', you'll get $5 off the cost of the class!

This class will be jam packed with ideas from a bunch of talented ladies who will be teaching you ways to document your summer life by celebrating the little things in your daily life. Friends, it is not something you want to miss! Make sure you sign up now before you miss the opportunity to have some great fun this summer!

EVERY DAY IN MY MTN

To make up for the ceasing of my MTN weekly posts, I've decided to pick up a new blog post trend for my Bullet Journaling. This form of documenting has been the most practical and easiest to keep up with for a few weeks, and may very well be the only method that works for me right now. I've wrote a number of Bullet Journaling posts in the past, so this post will really be just an overview of the pages I've done and hopefully give you some ideas of how to set up your spreads:

I've been focusing on creating simple spreads in my MTN, with pages not taking longer than an hour to put together. Embellishments are kept to a minimum and supplies include the use of stickers, journaling cards, and stamps from a variety of sources (Kelly Purkey, Kaisercraft, Amy Tangerine. etc).

Till the next MTN post!

NOTEMAKER x OCHECK

O-Check Notebooks

I love vintage looking things, and the new O-Check notebooks sold by Notemaker currently fit the bill. Notemaker recently sent me a big box of new O-Check notebooks and I've been psyched to write up a post for you guys.

The first set of new notebooks from O-Check are called the Utility notebooks and comes in a variety of sizes and colours, with two being squared and perfect for field drawings. They're made from recycled paper so they're well made for drier mediums like pencil, ballpoints and gel pens. I've yet to try the paper out with my fountain pens, but as I plan to use them primarily for sketches, I'm not too fussed.

The cover is made of sturdy cardboard, and the one feature I absolutely love about these notebooks is the fabric spine:

Not to mention, these notebooks are able to lie absolutely flat when opened due to these fabric spines:

The next set of notebooks from the new O-Check range are these old-school cahiers:

They're ruled on the inside and reminds me of my primary days when I used to use these notebooks:

They come in five different designs, each featuring a different animal on the front. I have a thing for foxes currently, so had to have one of them for my collection! And because I've reached 20k on my Instagram, Notemaker and I have teamed up to give away these cahier notebooks to FIVE lucky winners. Check my Instagram out for more details!

You can find all of these notebooks at Notemaker (click here to be redirected to their site). I've been a long time shopper of Notemaker, and have always been provided with great service and fast shipping. And once you've purchased from them at least ten times, you'll be a lifetime member getting 10% off EVERY order from them! So if you're looking for your next stationery fix, don't forget to pop by Notemaker - you won't be disappointed!

CURRENTLY #17

TIME: 8:34PM

LOCATION: Bedroom / studio / office

FEELING: Cold

LOVING: My new gold iPad Pro & iPhone SE

READING: Is it bad that I haven't touched a book in 2 months?

EATING: Cadbury Mini Eggs (yes, I still have them from Easter)

ANTICIPATING: The end of one job and the start in one month!

LISTENING: Aaron Carter - Let Go (don't judge)

WATCHING: Pretty Little Liars

PLANNING: Sunday's tasks

LOOKING FORWARD TO: I don't think there really is much to look forward at this time of the year...

CREATING: MTN spreads for upcoming classes (stay tuned!)

NEED TO FINISH: Class lessons, Project Life spreads, 

WISHING: I had more time

MTN WEEKLY 2016 #12

I've been doing a lot of trialling this year, and none of them have really stuck; unfortunately this has included my MTN weekly. So until I pick something up again (and don't worry, it will be very soon), this will be my last MTN weekly post. I've included all the weeks of MTN spreads that I have done but haven't posted on my blog yet, though, so savour it while it lasts!

WEEK 12:

WEEK 13:

WEEK 14:

WEEK 15:

As usual, I've used everything and anything that fitted my spreads, from watercolour to stamps, to cool napkins found at work. There is no shortage of supplies when it comes to building up my MTN spreads.

Hope you've enjoyed my MTN weekly posts in the last few weeks and they've somewhat given you ideas in starting your own. Even though this is the end of my MTN weekly, be sure to stay tuned for upcoming projects!

TUTORIAL: CREATING A TRAVELER'S NOTEBOOK

Ok, before we start, to make things clear, this tutorial is mostly about stringing an already made notebook / passport / boarding pass holder. In this tutorial, I'm using a passport / boarding pass holder from a brand called Labrador and converting it into a MTN just because I know I wouldn't use it either wise. But before I get to it, here's a little background of the items used etc:

If you're like me, you like using original items. And when I mean original, I mean a Midori Traveler's Notebook and not a 'fauxdori'. I hate copies, and I have a strong dislike of handmade items (including my own). So when I got myself a leather boarding pass holder from Stickerrific, I had no plans to covert it to a traveler's notebook - not until I started playing with it today.

This boarding pass / passport holder is made from a brand called Labrador. I got it on the Malaysian Stickerrific site, and after coversion, it turned out to be around AU$80 - which is around the same price as a MTN kit. The only difference was - it has pockets. I wanted it in tan. but unfortunately, as they didn't have it in stock, I settled for a grey - which turned out to be a great choice.

Fast forward to a Sunday afternoon: I love my camel MTN, I really do, but the lure of pockets and the grey of the Labrador passport holder was enough to put me into my DIY mode. I had the strings and hardware needed to create a new TN, and all I really needed was to poke holes into the leather, so I thought why not? What could go wrong, after all?

So off to work I went. There really isn't much you need to create a TN style notebook if you already have one premade to size. If you have an extra MTN lying around (and chances are, you do), I'd recommend you using the holes already made as a template. Because that's basically the easiest thing you can do. Of course you need to measure it out eventually to make sure you're centered, but trust me, you'll take a whole load off if you just copy.

Anyway, here's a step-by-step method of how I went through making one (with pictures, of course!):
1- Get your stuff together: ruler, pencil, poker, needle, elastic, TN hardware

2- Measure / trace out the holes onto your new TN:

3- Poke holes through your marked areas. You'll need 4 holes, two at the top and two at the bottom

4- Thread through your elastic (probably the most difficult stage!):

5- Insert your hardware:

6- Tie a knot at the end:

That's really all you need to do. Here's a look at the end product (with two notebooks inserted):

The only fault I have with this is the weird placement of the pen holder. I am highly tempted to cut it off if only to reduce the bulk, but I think I'll just live with it for now. Apart from that, I'm currently obsessed with it. I never thought I'd replace my MTN with another - especially a home made one - but I love it to the nth degree. You should give it a go if you have the chance. I promise, you wont regret it!