Papercrafts and Planners

Crafting a beautiful balance of creativity and productivity

Club EP Day in the Life Card Kit

· Leave a Comment

Monthly Club EP Subscriptions

Echo Park Paper Company is one of my favorite sources for beautiful paper kits. I love their warehouse sales for sourcing inexpensive, good quality printed paper.

December’s kit, a smaller card kit, was called Day in the Life. The kit contained a 6 x 6, 24 double-sided sheet paper pack, a coordinating stamp set, and matching ephemera pack. January’s kit contains a 12 x 12 printed paper pack, 6 x 6 paper pad, a stamp set, chipboard pieces, stickers, brads, tags, and ephemera pieces. The theme for January is “Gather”, and has beautiful, muted neutrals, blues and greens.

I have subscribed to the company’s Club EP monthly subscription kits. The kits rotate between the smaller card making kits, and large scrapbook/memory keeping kits. If you subscribe to Club EP you will be between the 1st and 10th of each month, depending on the payment method you selected. Kits begin shipping on the 20th of each month. The card kits are currently $19.99 US, and the larger, scrapbook type kits are $29.99.

What I Made with a Day in the Life

I made mini slimline cards, mini gift tag cards, and a year in the life memory book with this great cardmaking kit. If you want to see what I made, and how I made them check out my video unboxing and tutorial.

Day in The Life Kit Video

https://youtu.be/v8c-LkqOpyw

As you can see I was able to use up most of the kit with very few scraps left over. I love using the majority of a kit and feeling like I really received my money’s worth.

Products I Used

I used a few products in addition to the card kit. The items I used with this kit are things I use almost every time I am making cards. Some of the product links are affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission on purchases, at no additional cost to you.

Lawn Fawn Watercolor 6 x 6 Paper Pad

One inch circle punch

Two inch circle punch

Scalloped circle punch

Bearly Art liquid adhesive

Thank you for crafting along with me. Club EP is one of my favorite subscription boxes and I love sharing the kits with others.

Do you have a favorite company for beautiful kits? Let me know as I’m always open to trying new companies.

Happy Crafting!

Dedra

Cut Above Card Kit

· Leave a Comment

Close to My Heart January – April 2022 Card Kit

Every four months I receive an adorable, simple to complete card kit from Close to My Heart. Each kit contains a full size stamp set, black ink cube, stamp block, card bases, cut apart pieces, and envelopes.

Each box is $49.95 with $7.95 shipping if purchased individually. If you sign up for a one year subscription, which is my favorite, you will be billed $131.85 yearly, which is a 20% discount and shipping is free. You can find all of the information, including FAQ here.

The current kit makes 22 cards, 2 each of 11 adorable designs. Once completed you will have thank you, birthday, just a note, sympathy and a few love cards to keep on hand for just the right occasion.

Unboxing and Cardmaking

If you would like to see a video of the contents of the current Cut Above kit and a tutorial of how to put together the cards, check out the video below.

https://youtu.be/M8xGMjuKd_w

I love card kits, and this is a great one for quick and easy card making. The Cut Above kits can be done with children who love to craft, with just a little guidance.

The only supplies I used that weren’t included in the kit were Bearly Art Glue, and small detail scissors.

Thanks for stopping by!

Dedra

New Lettering System from Melissa Esplin

· Leave a Comment

Confession: My Handwriting is Horrible!

I’ve always wanted beautiful handwriting, and used the fact that I’m left handed as an excuse for my chicken scratching.

When Close to My Heart partnered with Melissa Esplin to create a lettering system, I decided it was time to actually try to improve my handwriting.

I Need a Plan

I ordered the lettering system and brush pens as soon as they became available. The instruction book has five chapters, so I have decided to take my time and work through each chapter slowly.

The first chapter focuses on upper case print which I thought would be easy. It turns out I have even been holding my pen/pencil all wrong.

It’s taking a lot of focus for me to break some bad habits!

Flip Through of the System

I hope you enjoy the video I made of the new system, and the discussion of my plans to improve my lettering.

Improving Little by Little

I have really tried to use uppercase print this entire month, even if I’m just writing a short note. The hardest part has been slowing down and taking my time.

I’m loving the brush pens and instructions so far! I’m looking forward to seeing my handwriting improve over the next several months, and sharing my progress with you all.

Do You Want Lovely Lettering?

If you have always wanted to improve your handwriting, learn brush lettering, or need some great new brush pens, check out the links below.

Penmanship with Melissa Esplin Instruction Book

Melissa Esplin Brush Pens

Melissa Esplin Penmanship System Bundle

I hope you will check in and follow along on my new journey to have that lovely lettering I have always wanted.

Close to My Heart Seasonal Expression II – 2019

· Leave a Comment

May 2019 Through August 2019

This year marks the 35th year that Close to My Heart has been supplying crafters with lovely stamps, inks, and more.

CTMH has some of the best printed paper in the industry! The patterns and colors are always gorgeous, and the new papers are no exception.

Video Flip Through

Below is a video showing all of the beautiful items offered in the 2019 Seasonal Expression II. I hope you enjoy seeing everything.

Need Your Own Catalog?

You can find the Seasonal Expressions II, and have one sent directly to you here.

Of course, you can see all of the lovely items directly on the CTMH site also.

What is Your Favorite Collection?

As mentioned in the video, my favorite new collection is Sweet Girl. The colors, prints, and matching paper are gorgeous. You can see that collection here.

Let me know your favorite collection or item in this new catalog.

Dedra

Back to the Basics Planner Series #1 Systems

· Leave a Comment

Systems

Even though I know the systems that really work for me, sometimes I fall off track.  I decided that August was my month to get it together, so that my life would run more smoothly, after a rocky July.

GTD

One of the systems that really works to keep my life organized is the GTD, or Getting Things Done, System. Getting Things Done was created by David Allen, and explained in the book by the same name. 

I believe in this system so much that I own the paperback, kindle, and audio versions.  I will often listen to the book in the car for a refresher/reminder. 

If I perform the GTD weekly review while planning out the upcoming week, I know things will go more smoothly. 

Besides the book, there are podcasts, videos, etc on the system. If you have heard of this system and thought it wasn’t for you because you aren’t a CEO of a big company, you should give it a try. This system would be helpful for anyone. 

12 Week Year

The 12 Week Year, by Brian Moran, was an eye opener for me. Mr. Moran believes that setting yearly goals makes it all too easy for people to think they have lots of time to reach those goals. However, he explains if you set goals for a 12 week completion date, there is a sense of urgency, and you are more likely to reach those goals.

Because of this book I took a hard look at my big visions for my life. I decided how I wanted my life to look in five years, three years, and one year. From there I decided what I could do in the next 12 weeks to move me towards those big visions.

I checked Amazon and found that there is a workbook/field guide being released in late September 2018. I’m not sure I need it, but I sure do want a copy. 

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

My biggest take away from Stephen Covey’s book was the quadrant method of assigning priorities to the things that are on my to do list. 

The method really helps me see what is important for me to do, can be delegated to someone else, or doesn’t need to be done at all.

Tying it All Together

I created a video showing how these three systems work together for me.

I hope you will follow along with me as I get back on track in my planner. My planner is something I use everyday to keep my life in order, but without good systems in place the planner alone is not very effective.

I would love to hear about the planner(s) and systems that keep your life running smoothly.

[contact-form][contact-field label=”Name” type=”name” required=”true” /][contact-field label=”Email” type=”email” required=”true” /][contact-field label=”Website” type=”url” /][contact-field label=”Message” type=”textarea” /][/contact-form]

Thanks for Visiting!

Thank you for visiting Papercrafts and Planners. Hope you come back soon.

I’m Social