Meet: Minnie the Pug!

Hello everyone! If you follow me on Instagram you will know that I recently got a cute pug called Minnie. She is 2 years old and snores for England, and she gets on well with the cats. We got her only 4 days ago so she is still finding her feet and settling in. Here are some more photos of her, enjoy :)

And seeing as it's Christmas tomorrow, here are some festive photos:

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year!
Love from Abby, Minnie and the cats

Life Updated (Turning 20 + 2015)

Wow, I have really missed blogging. I've been neglecting this blog for so long and there are various reasons for this but I just want to apologize and let you know how much I've missed you all!! I cannot believe I'm 20 years old in 2 days, that's just insane and to tell you the truth I'm absolutely terrified of being classed as an adult not a teenager anymore *cringes* But it's not the end of the world.

Basically in a nutshell this year has been completely awful for me. I don't want to go into detail (a lot of it I can't remember anyway, which is probably a good thing) but it involved me becoming mentally ill with depression and psychosis, a break up, finishing college, starting nights, volunteering at two places, trying to pass my theory test (failed the first time), and just a lot of stress. It might not sound as bad, but being mentally ill for roughly 6 months and still recovering made it extremely hard to cope. I am so glad it's nearly the end of the year, ready to start fresh so I can say all of the crap happened last year and I can move on. The breakup was short lived and we're back together, but still struggling with the years events.

You may of noticed (especially if you follow me on Instagram) that I've rarely posted about my planners or anything to do with planning. It was something else I neglected most of this year and lost interest in (depression does that). I missed it but I just didn't have the energy to do it, which sounds kind of silly as it's just a planner, but it made me feel so out of control with life and I was forgetting appointments, birthdays, not keeping my finances up to date etc. But I haven't given up completely with planning, I've bought a personal size Kikki-K planner ready for 2015. I've never used a personal size planner before and in all honesty I really dislike most things by Filofax these days, so I knew I wanted a Kikki K planner as well as their simple yet adorable inserts (which are so much easier to write on than Filofax). So I will be setting it up for the new year soon, I'm quite nervous to see whether it works out or not, but A5 is just too big for me now and I'm rarely using it.

On a positive note, I now have internet at home!! Before I was having to go to my boyfriends house or use my phone internet to do anything on the web, so blogging was definitely put on hold for that reason too. So I hope in the new year to start blogging more often. I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who still follows me on bloglovin, I still get emails telling me that so-and-so has started following me and it always surprises me ^_^ But thank you :D
 
Lets hope 2015 is a better and brighter year for me as well as everyone else. If anyone else has had a similar experience to me, or just a crap year in general too, I want to give you a huge hug because we can get through this and things will get better :)

Love, Abby

 

Washi Tape Tag!

It's been too long since I've posted on here, it's been a crazy year with a lot of ups and downs but I've deeply missed making blog posts and seeing you all enjoy them and leaving me sweet comments. I reached 150 followers which may not seem a lot but is a big achievement! Everyone starts somewhere :)

So today I am doing the Washi Tape tag. I wasn't tagged by anyone, but it seemed super fun and a great way to show my small but growing washi collection for all you washi lovers! There are 7 questions in total, and I will go through each question and include photos *because who doesn't love drooling over other peoples washi collections*

So... HERE WE GO! ^o^

❤ Show us your washi tape collection! ❤

I'm including my deco tapes with my collection, and overall I have around 120 washi tapes and deco tapes. I've collected them mainly from eBay sellers such as Dragonchant and lycheebuy. It took over a year to collect them, but it's pretty small compared to a lot of other washi enthusiasts :) I bought some from Sainsbury's (a store in the UK), Paperchase, Wilkinsons and The Works. Paperchase is by far my favourite stationery store!

 ❤ What are your ultimate favorite washi(s) of all time? ❤

 These are pretty much my favourite washi tapes. I got the cat tape from Lychee Craft (lycheebuy on eBay), with love tape from Paperchase, pink and teal triangle tapes from etsy, floral tape from Sainsburys, pink polkadot tape from eBay, and multicoloured tape from Wilkinsons.

❤ What are your most recent favorite washi(s)? ❤

These are my most recent purchases which are also my recent favourite washi's too. The first two are from Tiger, and the last three are a pack of four from Paperchase. The ones from Tiger are deco tapes, and the black one says "Don't grow up, it's a trap".

❤ What are you least favorite washi(s)? ❤

I don't have any I really dislike otherwise I would give them to someone who I think would like them, but the one on the left is the first washi I ever had and was given to me buy a lovely lady from Facebook who was also my first RAK (Random Act of Kindness)! I don't use it often but I still love it for the pure kindness on receiving it. The last four came in a pack of 10 deco tapes from eBay for 99p.. They were mixed which put me off but I got a few cute ones so it wasn't too bad for the price. I'm still on the hunt for cute rilakkuma and hello kitty deco tapes.

❤ What are the most expensive washi you have or the most you ever paid for washi? ❤

I don't really spend much for washi tape, but this pack of 8 washi from Paperchase cost me around £8 and I bought it when I went to Sunderland a few months ago for the Color Run. I couldn't pass it up, I thought the two big washi's and the two white rolls would be perfect for decorating snail mail with!

❤ How do you store your washi tapes? ❤

This is how I store all my washi and deco tapes (of course in colour code order!). These are clear acrylic storage boxes from The Range for £3.99 each. I bought one and realized I soon needed a new one when I bought 10 washi tapes from Lychee Craft and Paperchase opened up where I live. It's nice to see them all neatly laid out, it makes it easy to pick which ones you want for decorating your Filofax pages or snail mail letters/envelopes.

❤ Show us your favorite project/craft/layout you've made using washi tape ❤

I only use washi tape for decorating my planner pages, penpal letters and envelopes, birthday cards etc. Here is a planner layout I did for a guest post blog tutorial :) Funnily enough it includes two of my favourite tapes!

So that's my washi tape collection and tag answers. I tag... ALL OF YOU! Feel free to leave me a comment below if you have done the washi tape tag and I will check it out!

Love, Abby x

The Liebster Award‏!

Firstly I must apologize for my absence in blogging; life has become incredibly busy with some ups and downs. But do not worry! I checked my email just over a week ago to find I have been nominated for the Liebster award by the lovely Joanny, so thank you! I've really enjoyed blogging over these past few months, and I do have future blog posts lined up! I've seen this award button on a few blogs I read regularly, and I wasn't quite sure what it was. But the word 'liebster' is German for 'beloved', and so the award is nominated to up-and-coming bloggers by other bloggers in recognition of their efforts. 

Rules of accepting the nomination: 

❤ Acknowledge the blogger who nominated you by linking back to them. You can also display the Liebster Award button on your blog if you want to. The button can be found in this post.
❤ Answer the eleven questions that have been given to you by the blogger.
❤ Nominate eleven blogs you think are deserving of the award (They need to have less than 200 followers)
❤ Give nominees eleven questions of your choice to answer.
❤ Let the bloggers know you have nominated them and leave a link to your nomination post.
❤ You cannot nominate the person who nominated you.

11 Questions from Joanny

1. What is your favourite music genre? I probably listen to rock and occasional pop the most. I love Queen, Blondie, Pink, Paramore, Foxes, Foo Fighters etc
2. If you had to choose one food to eat everyday, for the rest of your life, what would it be? Pizza!
3. What is the one place you definitely would like to visit if you had the chance? Probably New York or Canada
4. What is your all time favourite movie/film? Matilda and Finding Nemo
5. Summer or Winter? Winter
6. Do you like flowers? Of course :)
7. Do you have a favourite quote? If so, what is it? A quote that my best friend told me: "A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor"
8. What was your motivation to start blogging? Reading some of my favourite bloggers such as filocuteness (who sadly no longer blogs), dimpletodimple (my best friend!), and paperlovestory.
9. What is your favourite snack/drink? I love fruit especially grapes and strawberries, and I love banana milkshake or a nice cup of tea
10. What's your favourite sport? Gymnastics, ice skating and horse riding
11. What would be your dream job? A paramedic (which I'm currently aiming to become!)

My nominations

♡ Shannon - dimpletodimple

♡ Harri - vanillacraftblog

♡ Chloe - alittlebirdyblog

♡ Love lee - xo-lovelee

♡ Kait - cafeetpapier

♡ Anna Sofia Rose - little-miss-anna

♡ Kelly - littleredmoose

♡ Alondra - sweetandcalm

♡ Doris - thestoragestudio

NOTE: I hope it's okay I nominated 9 blogs instead of 11. To my nominees you do not have to accept the nomination if you do not want to or have already been nominated. 

11 Questions for my nominees

1. Whats your biggest motivation to blog?
2. What is your current favourite piece of clothing? 
3. What was your last dream that you can remember about?
4. Do you have any hobbies?
5. Your favourite animal?
6. Are you a tidy or messy person?
7. Are you more of a morning or night person?
8. What is your favourite meal?
9. Name your favourite movie of all time?
10. Would you rather read the book or see the movie?
11. Where have you travelled to and what was your favourite place?

Have fun!

Love, Abby x

Guest Post: Little Panda Crafts // Just My Planner

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello! My name is MJ and I blog over at Little Panda Crafts. I'm a girl crafter who loves stationary, sewing plushies, paper planning, pandas, and all things kawaii. Thanks so much to Abby for letting me take over her lovely blog for this post! :)

Today I'm going to be showing you all a few tips or just what's my planner like. I don't own a Filofax, but there are many other things that you could use as one--other planners, or notebooks. I have my own planner, but it has day-on-one pages. I don't like the big space, as I find it hard to fill in a page just for one day. So although I may keep a few decorating supplies in my planner, I don't fancy it up like someone would do with their planner. I just pencil in what I find important in my schedule, and refer to it later.

However, I do have another planner..it's basically a notebook I use as one. (Both my day-on-one paged planner and this notebook are roughly the size of a compact Filofax). I sewed up a felt cover for the notebook's metal one. You should probably do this if you don't have a Filofax, yet you still want to customize your planner. Felt is available in many colors and designs, both online and in stores, such as craft stores and even Walmart. 

If you are interested in how I made my cover, know that I cut a sheet of felt large enough that when I folded it over, it was approximately the same size as the cover. Then I sewed the top and bottom with blanket stitches. Afterwards, I just pulled the felt cover onto the notebook's cover from the side. 

This is the planner where I do my week-on-two pages. Whether you make your own pages as I do, or you find printable inserts for your planner, you may want to use the week-on-two pages. I use these because I have spots for Sunday through Saturday, and I have an extra space for writing down notes of the week. 

You can tell by the photo of my planner pages below that they are lined. Since I make the spots for each day, I have to draw my own lines. I do so using an ink pen (it doesn't bleed through). However, I don't trace the lines already printed on the paper. The lines wouldn't turn out as straight. So, I tend to use a ruler right over the lines.

Sometimes when I want to flip right to a page, I use tabs, which I remove later. These tabs are available online, and you can find ones like these--or even other kinds of tabs--at stores like Target or Daiso. If you want to purchase these cheaply, you can get them from a trusted seller on Ebay.

But--if you don't have stores like those near you, and you don't like ordering online, you can print out these cuties. Just look up "kawaii sticky note memo" or any animal, and you can print, cut, and use them as your tabs.

I like gluing down sticky notes or even pretty paper to doodle or pencil in important events. You don't need any fancy kind of glue--a regular glue stick will do just fine. I use an Elmer's glue stick and it works well for me--none of the papers have been turning up at the edges or anything like that.

 Just know that in the photo below, I actually glued the cupcake on the cap--the glue stick doesn't come like that! Ha ha, I like to make my supplies cute ;)

One last tip I have for you is more of a planner photographing tip. You will notice the kawaii bubble tea plushie I used in the photos. When photographing your planner for an Instagram or blog post, you may want to add in small things, such as plushies, to add in a burst of color. It also makes a very cute photo! :) Since I like to sew, I am always making plushies to share in my photos. 

Little things can make a big difference! 

So that was my guest post on a few planning tips ;) I hope you find these useful if you own a planner, and if you don't, here's to hoping that you found my planner interesting! ;)

Thanks so much to Abby again for having me over! She is such a great blogger and I love reading her posts. ^_^

For more inspiration, you can visit me at www.littlepandacrafts.blogspot.com.

love love love! MJ

   

Using Your Planner For College (+tips and advice)

Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing well, and that the heat isn't getting to you this summer ^-^ This post is inspired from someone's comment on a Facebook group for Filofaxes, they were wondering if anyone used their planners for college (keeping track of assignments, dates, schedules etc) and it gave me an idea to do a whole blog post about it seeing as I've just finished college altogether, and I've definitely learned a lot about organizing and planning whilst in education. So I thought I would share my experiences with you! These may not help you, or you may not agree on some parts, but remember this is what helped me and what I learned. If it helps you, that's awesome :)

I realized I needed a consistent and dedicated planning system about half way through the first year of my course in order to stay on top of assignments and meet deadlines. I thought about what to put in my planner, and wrote a list of things that I would need and what would be useful too:

• Timetable of all my classes (I will post a photo below of my template)
• Class information such as place and tutor (this will help especially when you're beginning the course)
• Unit name and assignments (my course had 10 units each year with either 4 or 6 pass assignments, so I made a list of them all and highlighted them as I completed them)
• College information such as address and phone number (you could also put in directions or a map if you think it would be helpful)
• Tutor information (names, email addresses and phone numbers)
• Class/assignment grades (I didn't do this but you could keep a note of what grades you get for your classes or assignments)
• Dates of all the terms 
• Colour coding for each class (I didn't do this but it is a great idea! I would've done it but I kept forgetting to change the pen colours)
• Attendance recording (you could print off your own record sheet, or you could just write a note of any days you had off for college and the reason in your monthly or weekly planner pages)
• Finances (this wasn't relevant to me but if you have to pay for your courses and want to keep a log of it for whatever reason, you could set up a sheet especially for your college finances so it is separate from your other finances)

Those are all the things I could think of which you could include in your own planner, all of them I included besides the ones I said otherwise. It took a while to find the right way of setting this up, whether to use normal lined Filofax paper or to print out my own sheets and templates. You will learn what system and layouts suit you and your courses, what works and what doesn't for you. 

This timetable template was designed because my classes were on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursday; and they were from 9am to 4pm. So I then filled in each time slot with the class I had (I put the times next to the classes because my times were odd, such as 10:15am to 11:15am)

This is a weekly timetable template which would suit someone who had classes from Monday to Friday. You can edit it online or print it out and fill it in, whichever you prefer. It's also very easy to create on Microsoft Word by going in Insert > Table. To make the edges of the table fit nearer to the edge of the page, go on Page Layout > Margins > Narrow.

I made this timetable template for more of a weekly planner for college as well as other commitments such as work times. You could use it to plan study days or times to suit you. If you would like any of the three templates I have just shown, please email me with the template you would like and I will send it to you at abbysterry@hotmail.com

I printed all of my unit assignments on A5 size paper, so each unit was on a separate page. You can do this however you want, as it will depend on your course (whether it's coursework, exams, or both). You could also add each assignments deadline if they are handed out, which only two of my units were, but a lot of them changed so it was easier and more reliable for me to write down in my daily planner pages what day an assignment was issued (for example June 11th) and when that assignment is due in (for example June 18th). If it's on another week where you may forget when it's due, you could always write it somewhere where you will remember to do it before then (especially if you typically leave everything to the last minute!!). You could also use to-do sheets for each unit/classes and your assignments, with the hand out and due in dates on them so it's all in one place - it all depends whether it helps you or not :)

Class information can be added onto the back of the timetable (written or printed out) as a quick reference. I didn't do this, but for when you're starting college this will be a big help! Another thing you could do is include a map of your college layout, especially if it is a big or confusing layout, so you know where each of your classes are.





With colour coding, the way I would do it is I would pick a colour for each unit/class. I had 10 units so that would mean 10 colours (which is why I didn't use a colour coding scheme as it was too many colours to carry around and remember to use), so this would be easier if you have less units/classes (you can carry pens around in a pencil case or a clear zip pouch which can go inside your planner, or you can get a multi-coloured pen with the colours you want in them). Another way you could colour code for college is using a different colour for notes, assignments, term starting/ending dates, finances related to college, important information/reminders, class/assignment changes and so on.

My term dates were on the college website so I wrote them down (my college was split into four terms as well specific days off/college training dates etc). This was so I knew how many weeks were left until each half term and I knew how long I had left until I got a week or two break (which was pretty motivating to get work done sooner rather than later!). With dates, you could also add anything else which fits.

Any college information I kept on a blank lined page in my planner under the Info section. It included my college name, address, telephone number, absence number, email address, library times, and so on. I also kept a note of each of my tutors names, phone numbers, and email addresses. You could keep the term dates sheets in here too, but I kept mine in the calendar section at the front. I also had a list of my bus times to and from college on a separate page in case I needed to get a later/earlier bus. 

Attendance recording is easier than it sounds. What I did was write each day I had college, and either ticked when I attended or crossed when I didn't (I tried to put down the reason for not attending as much as possible, as I tend to get sick a lot). You could also highlight the days you don't attend so it stands out more, or keep a separate sheet and write down each day you don't attend so you can easily keep a check on how many days you've attended. 




Finances may or may not be relevant for you. It wasn't for me so I didn't keep this, but I know that a lot of people need to pay for their courses, books and other equipment, travel (petrol/bus/train etc) and so on. It's important to make sure you're all up to date with any expenses coming in and going out. I had some money coming in to help with college each term but that went into my regular finance sheets. But if you want to create your own finance sheets, here is what my own finance sheets look like (again, they are really simple to create using Microsoft Word):

DOs and DON'Ts!

• DO keep all of your college notes in folders so you can reference back later, even if you think it won't be relevant. Keep all notes until each assignment or class is completed and you won't need them again.
• DO write the dates on all of your college notes that you write them, as well as the class/unit which they are relevant for.
• DON'T rely on others if you miss a class. Talk to your tutor as soon as possible to ask what you missed and whether there are any notes/handouts and assignments you need to know about. That way you won't be missing anything important (I often thought maybe someone would let me know if an assignment had been given out, but I was let down a lot of times).
• DO keep a copy of all your class/unit assignment in two places. I kept mine on the college computer (where I did practically all of my assignments) and I also took them home and put them on my computer. College's or tutors will usually advise this in case something happens to the college computer systems, so it's important to back it up somewhere just for peace of mind.
• DON'T hide away if you are struggling. Your tutors are there to help and support you, so please confide in someone and let them know as soon as possible. Keeping it to yourself will only add to stress and make things worse (I've been through this and my tutors were amazing). Some colleges will have student support where you can talk about college work, personal problems and worries, health, financial troubles, housing issues, relationship issues, and so on. 
• DO use post it notes to write down things in your weekly planner pages. This is because things will change and you don't want to write something down, only to have to cross it out and change it (unless you use a pencil or an erasable pen). I keep a business card insert in the front of my planner with small to medium sized post its so I can easily grab one and make a note. Then when it comes to the day, if it happens I can write it down and throw the note away, or move the note onto another day or change the note.

So I hope this post has helped or inspired you in some way, especially if you're getting ready to start college. It will be a trial and error process, some things will work better than others, but it's good to give them all a go and see what works best for you. I really wanted to use a colour coding system for college, but when it came to it, it really didn't work for me as I would forget to use the specific colours, or bring them with me, or to even colour code at all (especially if you're in a hurry).

I would love to hear about what you do whilst in college or even university (as I plan to go in the next 1-2 years). Do you have anything which I've not mentioned in your planner? Has anything I've mentioned worked for you? Would you recommend anything else to others who are starting college? We all love some advice as I feel we all learn from each other, so I'm more than happy to hear feedback :)

Thanks for reading!
Abby x

My Health And Fitness Journal Set-up 2014

Hello everyone! I hope you're all having a lovely day (or night). Firstly I apologize for the lack of posts... I have a lot of ideas for future posts, but I just need time to create them and photograph, but don't worry I am still alive and well and ready for planning!

Okay so this post is all about my NEW health and fitness journal for 2014. I know half of the year has flown by already, but it's never too late to start looking after your health. I have been struggling for the past few months to look after my health and weight, not being able to find a system that works for me. I knew I wanted it to be written down, that way I can remind myself and carry it with me. So I was in The Works one day looking for washi tape (which they didn't have... boo!) and found this beautiful thick A5 owl designed notebook for something like £3.99! It was originally £12.99 (or something around that, my memory is awful) and I had to get it. It has plain white lined paper, which is actually quite good quality, and it also has a strap which is super useful when you're carrying it around with you. The only thing I wish it did have is a pen loop, but you can either keep one with you, or clip one to the spiral. I bought two pink floral pens from The Works too as they were two for £1 and I couldn't resist!

 Isn't it gorgeous?! The pen is lovely too, however sometimes the ink doesn't come out and I have to turn the pen around a few times and get it going again, and the cap sometimes get stuck when I push it down, but besides that for the price and design of them I would definitely recommend them! Now I'll show you through each page of my setup so far, I've only been using this for the past few days so I am still adjusting and adding/changing things.

When you first open up the notebook, this is what you see on the right-hand page. I've used the idea from the bullet journal system of having an index at the very front in order to know what each page contains (and whether there is more than one, you simply add the extra page numbers next to it). I really love this idea and I've used it in another notebook besides this and my bullet journal, I'd definitely recommend it! The tabs I am using are the Martha Stewart note tabs which I got from a seller on Amazon US. I had been searching for them for months as nowhere in the UK seemed to have them, and I couldn't find them online who would ship to the UK either. But I searched on Amazon and emailed a US seller to see if they would ship a pack to me as a one off (as they shipped to the US only) and they agreed! I was so thrilled as they were such great price, and even though this is the first time I've used them, I love them!!

If you're unfamiliar with the bullet journal system, I will briefly explain what I have done for the index so you get the idea :) Basically I have numbered each page (excluding the index page) and given each page a title such as 'weight tracker' or 'exercise tracker', that way I can easily flip to the page knowing what I want and where to find it. I added on the tabs as it just made it easier to flip to the pages quicker as they sometimes got a little stuck as it's such a thick notebook (and I wanted a reason to use them ^-^). I can add page titles and their page numbers as I create them to the index, and add on the page numbers if there is more than one.

My first two pages included my daily food diary (the current day is marked by the 'today' tab) which I didn't really want to show you guys, it's nothing special right now, just trying to cut down and make better choices, so I've skipped ahead and gone to the next page title which is my weight tracker. Being completely honest, I was very nervous about posting this... I knew I could easily blur the number out, but I thought "No, come on Ab you need to face it, you are this weight right now, your highest ever weight, and the reason why you've made this journal is to become healthier and lose the weight! Inspire and motivate yourself, and hopefully in time you can inspire and motivate others as they have done for you!" - so yeah, I am currently 204lbs. I have certain goals but I won't go into those as I've not written them down yet, and of course your goals are going to differ from mine. I will weigh myself at least once a week, and write it down as shown.

Next up is my measurements chart. Again I was hesitant to show this to you, but I knew being honest would motivate me to make that change and become healthier, so there is nothing to hide from you guys :) I will be measuring my chest, waist, hips, and thigh (I usually measure my left thigh...) at least once a month to track progress.

Next I have written a bunch of inspirational quotes I have found from around the internet (you can easily find them on Pinterest or Google by searching fitness quotes). For me I think these will be a nice reminder of what I am working towards especially if I am having a rough day.

On page 11 we have my exercise tracker. It's basically just the date and time I exercised, and what I did. Like I said I've only just started this a few days ago, my main focus being on writing everything I consume down and making better food choices, but I aim to work out 4-5 times a week so this will start to fill up soon!

I decided to write down all the work out DVDs I have so I can see which ones I may want to do, it helps with planning out and mixing things up so you don't get bored. They are all the Beach Body work outs (my current favourites are Insanity and Turbo fire).

And lastly/most recently, I've just written down a few of my own personal motivators such as being able to fit into a UK size 12/14 jeans without having the horrible muffin top showing through all my t-shirts, and my mom is a smaller size than me and has a whole room full of clothes which I would easily like to wear each day but sadly can't fit into them right now (especially the jeans), so that's a big motivation for me.

And that is all I have so far. It's working out better than expected so far, I am remembering to use it each day as I keep it open on the today page and I make it a priority as soon as I eat/drink something that I write it down with the time (I'm not fussed with calories, fat percentage etc but that's completely up to you if you want to do that). I hope this will really help in my weight loss journey, and I will do an update post of how it is working out for me (as well as some *fingers crossed* results with my weight/measurements!). 

If you have a health and/or fitness journal, please leave a comment as I would love to check it out! I'm always looking for ideas and motivation :) I hope this has helped you if you were looking for ideas on keeping a health/fitness journal.

Thanks for reading,
Abby x