As many of you may already know, I'm not the kind of person to decorate my planner all that much. I like it fairly clear of decorations, stickers, washi etc. So it might seem surprising for me to be doing a post on washi tape.
I actually have huge numbers of rolls of washi tape! Some of it is patterned and could well be used to decorate a planner, but what I want to focus on today are the kinds of tapes that make up the majority of my collection and what I use them for. In the pictures below, there are some of my new purchases and some that I've had for a while.
Showing posts with label washi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label washi. Show all posts
Sunday, 5 February 2017
Sunday, 1 May 2016
Bullet journalling update: A5 for long-term goals
Just before I went away on holiday, I was experimenting with two bullet journalling things:
Long-term planning:
A while back, I won a turquoise A5 Leuchtturm notebook, a turquoise pen-holder and a pencil as a set from Bureau Direct, and this was the set I chose to use.
The first thing I did was to set up the first few pages for goals relating to my life-areas. I wanted to make the pages of the book a little bit prettier but I'm not very artistic, so I used pennant washi for headers and wrote the life-area on top of it. I put year plans on the LHS and quarterly plans on the RHS; one double spread for each life-area. I shall be referring back to these pages over the year. The only one not too personal to show you, is the house/garden one.
I then drew up a list of things to get done in the remainder of April, again using the pennant washi for the title of the page. The contents are too personal to share, but here's a picture of the washi!
I try to do monthly reviews, so the RHS will be for reviewing how the end of April went (and may continue over the next pages too). I used more washi, but some small hearts rather than the pennant, and labelled it 'review'
The list of stuff to be done is partly drawn from the life-area lists and also just a dump of things in my head that I think I should be doing, following my bullet-journalling system of a dot for a task (crossed through when accomplished). A dot converted to an arrow will mean the task has been carried forward and rewritten on the next month's list, but I'm showing you the set up before I do my monthly review.
This isn't 'pure' bullet journalling (if there even is such a thing), but my way of trying to keep track of the bigger picture. It's a list of goals and is essentially the 'goals to projects to next actions' of my planning system, relocated to a book. By breaking things down into life areas, I'm hoping it will help me to balance everything a bit better (and not just focus on writing, writing and a bit more writing...). I will (since I bought the pens...) use different coloured Staedtler Triplus fineliners for the different life areas, to give me a visual breakdown of the balance (but I only took a pencil away with me! May will be more colour-coded than April was...).
A more 'traditional' use of bullet journalling with a combination of tasks, notes, waiting on etc. is going on in the A6! More on that in the next post.
It's still a work in progress but has surely got to be better than no real system at all (which is how 2016 has been so far!). In time, I may move all of what's currently in the A5 and what's in the A6 into one book, but the A6 is working too well for me at the moment (in an 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' kind of way!).
What do people think? Hints and tips from anyone? Is anyone using a bullet journalling type system to deal with long-term plans? Let me know in the comments?
- long-term planning in an A5 Leuchtturm
- day to day planning in an A6 Clairefontaine grid book
Long-term planning:
A while back, I won a turquoise A5 Leuchtturm notebook, a turquoise pen-holder and a pencil as a set from Bureau Direct, and this was the set I chose to use.
The first thing I did was to set up the first few pages for goals relating to my life-areas. I wanted to make the pages of the book a little bit prettier but I'm not very artistic, so I used pennant washi for headers and wrote the life-area on top of it. I put year plans on the LHS and quarterly plans on the RHS; one double spread for each life-area. I shall be referring back to these pages over the year. The only one not too personal to show you, is the house/garden one.
I then drew up a list of things to get done in the remainder of April, again using the pennant washi for the title of the page. The contents are too personal to share, but here's a picture of the washi!
I try to do monthly reviews, so the RHS will be for reviewing how the end of April went (and may continue over the next pages too). I used more washi, but some small hearts rather than the pennant, and labelled it 'review'
The list of stuff to be done is partly drawn from the life-area lists and also just a dump of things in my head that I think I should be doing, following my bullet-journalling system of a dot for a task (crossed through when accomplished). A dot converted to an arrow will mean the task has been carried forward and rewritten on the next month's list, but I'm showing you the set up before I do my monthly review.
This isn't 'pure' bullet journalling (if there even is such a thing), but my way of trying to keep track of the bigger picture. It's a list of goals and is essentially the 'goals to projects to next actions' of my planning system, relocated to a book. By breaking things down into life areas, I'm hoping it will help me to balance everything a bit better (and not just focus on writing, writing and a bit more writing...). I will (since I bought the pens...) use different coloured Staedtler Triplus fineliners for the different life areas, to give me a visual breakdown of the balance (but I only took a pencil away with me! May will be more colour-coded than April was...).
A more 'traditional' use of bullet journalling with a combination of tasks, notes, waiting on etc. is going on in the A6! More on that in the next post.
It's still a work in progress but has surely got to be better than no real system at all (which is how 2016 has been so far!). In time, I may move all of what's currently in the A5 and what's in the A6 into one book, but the A6 is working too well for me at the moment (in an 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' kind of way!).
What do people think? Hints and tips from anyone? Is anyone using a bullet journalling type system to deal with long-term plans? Let me know in the comments?
Sunday, 19 April 2015
New washi
As part of my "buying stationery because I feel miserable" splurge, I bought 3 rolls of washi from Fox and Star.
Fox and Star is a site that reminds me of The Lovely Desk and they sell similar items, though I think Fox and Star sell more types of washi than The Lovely Desk.
Anyway, the three rolls that I bought are:
1. 'Noar' Animal Shinzi Katoh washi tape
This is the washi tape version of the die-cut tape I got from The Lovely Desk (which the observant amongst you will have seen decorating the memo section of my diary). There is a selection of very sweet animals on the tape, although my favourites are still the giraffe, the elephants and the donkey. I'm sad that the tape is narrower than the pattern and that the lions and elephants are cropped at the top. Compare it with the die-cut version:
Also, both chickens face the same way, as do both of the elephants (although the lions don't, which they did in the die-cut version). Overall, I prefer the die-cut tape.
2. 'Pandasan' Shinzi Katoh washi tape
The Pandas look a bit like they've just slipped on the ice and fallen over, but are very sweet.
3. 'A wash' Elephant Shinzi Katoh washi tape
Not sure they look all that much like elephants, but it's quite sweet.
I've been using them to decorate the memo part of my WO2P diary and they do cheer the otherwise somewhat severe-looking pages!
Delivery was both very reasonable (£1.65 for all of the tapes together) and prompt - they arrived by first class post - and the tapes came in a little, stripy paper bag inside the Jiffy-bag.
All in all I'm pleased with them and with the company. Go check them out - they have some really nice stuff!
[I am in no way affiliated with Fox and Star - I'm just a happy customer]
Fox and Star is a site that reminds me of The Lovely Desk and they sell similar items, though I think Fox and Star sell more types of washi than The Lovely Desk.
Anyway, the three rolls that I bought are:
1. 'Noar' Animal Shinzi Katoh washi tape
This is the washi tape version of the die-cut tape I got from The Lovely Desk (which the observant amongst you will have seen decorating the memo section of my diary). There is a selection of very sweet animals on the tape, although my favourites are still the giraffe, the elephants and the donkey. I'm sad that the tape is narrower than the pattern and that the lions and elephants are cropped at the top. Compare it with the die-cut version:
Also, both chickens face the same way, as do both of the elephants (although the lions don't, which they did in the die-cut version). Overall, I prefer the die-cut tape.
2. 'Pandasan' Shinzi Katoh washi tape
The Pandas look a bit like they've just slipped on the ice and fallen over, but are very sweet.
3. 'A wash' Elephant Shinzi Katoh washi tape
Not sure they look all that much like elephants, but it's quite sweet.
I've been using them to decorate the memo part of my WO2P diary and they do cheer the otherwise somewhat severe-looking pages!
Delivery was both very reasonable (£1.65 for all of the tapes together) and prompt - they arrived by first class post - and the tapes came in a little, stripy paper bag inside the Jiffy-bag.
All in all I'm pleased with them and with the company. Go check them out - they have some really nice stuff!
[I am in no way affiliated with Fox and Star - I'm just a happy customer]
Wednesday, 25 February 2015
Lovely things from The Lovely Desk
[no affiliation - just wanting to share a great company and their lovely products!]
Last week I posted about getting some gorgeous washi tape from The Lovely Desk and said that I may (i.e. HAD) put in another order from them.
Well, it arrived yesterday morning, beautifully wrapped in tissue paper and with a little note saying thank you. It couldn't have arrived on a better day as I had a bit of a shocker of a day on Monday, so some new stationery was definitely what the doctor ordered!
So, what did I order?
Some small diary stickers, with largely a food/tea/cakes theme; some decoration tape (again with a cake and tea and biscuits theme); some wide washi (28mm) with a variety of things on it, but again a bit of a tea theme and some washi tape with some cute cartoon animals on.
[pictures from The Lovely Desk website are all reproduced with permission; click on any image to enlarge]
So, here they are in detail:
1. The diary stickers
I have difficulty over decorating my diary in that I love to see decorated pages but when I do them myself they look too cluttered/messy and I can't see the wood for the trees. However, these little stickers are lovely and very small (most of them are less than 1cm in even the longest dimension). There are several of each design and quite a few different designs. I'm not sure how I will use 5 frying pan stickers (or 6 sauce bottles for that matter) but most of them will be useful and small enough to add a little bit of decoration to the diary without being bigger than the writing for the event.
2.The decoration tape
As you'll see in the post on washi tape, I have used narrow washi tape to separate off the memo space on my diary pages from the days. The decoration tape will do something very similar (as depicted below) or could be used to note meeting a friend for a tea/coffee in the diary (instead of using a sticker). The tape comes on a roller, like the roll-on correction tape (Tippex on a tape). There is a covering cap and it takes a bit of bravery to bend it back on itself to reveal the tape and pop the cover into the space in the casing for the cover but it does fold back okay (without snapping off) and does slot into the space!
3. Tea time washi tape
This washi tape is absolutely delightful! I will use it to decorate letters to friends (it's a bit big for my filofax pages...). The designs are fabulous!
4. The cartoon animals washi tape
Again, these designs are just gorgeous and again, they will probably get used in letters to friends (we all know that I am in that rare breed of people who send hand-written letters!). Here is a picture of all of the designs on the tape:
I'm not sure if my favourite is the giraffe or the cat. They are all wonderful! The donkey reminds me a bit of a tiny embroidery of a donkey on the Bayeaux Tapestry!
Anyway, that was my haul from The Lovely Desk. Jessica also popped a couple of other things in the parcel (as you can see in the picture at the top) - a couple of post-it note samples and some other washi tape samples on small labels.
As I say, no affiliation - I bought all of these for myself and have not been asked to do this blog post - but I always like to share new finds and excellent companies! If you have not yet checked them out, go and have a look now. You can find them at: The Lovely Desk.
Anyone else got some good finds to share?
 |
| Lovely haul from The Lovely Desk |
Last week I posted about getting some gorgeous washi tape from The Lovely Desk and said that I may (i.e. HAD) put in another order from them.
Well, it arrived yesterday morning, beautifully wrapped in tissue paper and with a little note saying thank you. It couldn't have arrived on a better day as I had a bit of a shocker of a day on Monday, so some new stationery was definitely what the doctor ordered!
So, what did I order?
Some small diary stickers, with largely a food/tea/cakes theme; some decoration tape (again with a cake and tea and biscuits theme); some wide washi (28mm) with a variety of things on it, but again a bit of a tea theme and some washi tape with some cute cartoon animals on.
[pictures from The Lovely Desk website are all reproduced with permission; click on any image to enlarge]
So, here they are in detail:
1. The diary stickers
 |
| Image from The Lovely Desk, with permission |
2.The decoration tape
 |
| Image from The Lovely Desk, with permission |
 |
| Image from The Lovely Desk, with permission |
As you'll see in the post on washi tape, I have used narrow washi tape to separate off the memo space on my diary pages from the days. The decoration tape will do something very similar (as depicted below) or could be used to note meeting a friend for a tea/coffee in the diary (instead of using a sticker). The tape comes on a roller, like the roll-on correction tape (Tippex on a tape). There is a covering cap and it takes a bit of bravery to bend it back on itself to reveal the tape and pop the cover into the space in the casing for the cover but it does fold back okay (without snapping off) and does slot into the space!
 |
| Decoration tape used to separate off a section in my filofax |
 |
| Plastic cover protecting the tape |
 |
| Plastic cover folded back into its space |
3. Tea time washi tape
 |
| Image from The Lovely Desk, with permission |
This washi tape is absolutely delightful! I will use it to decorate letters to friends (it's a bit big for my filofax pages...). The designs are fabulous!
 |
| All of the designs on the tape |
4. The cartoon animals washi tape
 | ||
| Image from The Lovely Desk, with permission |
Again, these designs are just gorgeous and again, they will probably get used in letters to friends (we all know that I am in that rare breed of people who send hand-written letters!). Here is a picture of all of the designs on the tape:
|
| Fantastic little animals on the tape |
I'm not sure if my favourite is the giraffe or the cat. They are all wonderful! The donkey reminds me a bit of a tiny embroidery of a donkey on the Bayeaux Tapestry!
Anyway, that was my haul from The Lovely Desk. Jessica also popped a couple of other things in the parcel (as you can see in the picture at the top) - a couple of post-it note samples and some other washi tape samples on small labels.
As I say, no affiliation - I bought all of these for myself and have not been asked to do this blog post - but I always like to share new finds and excellent companies! If you have not yet checked them out, go and have a look now. You can find them at: The Lovely Desk.
Anyone else got some good finds to share?
Saturday, 21 February 2015
Washi!
I have a problem.
Well, I have LOTS of problems, but the one I'm wittering on about today is this: I love washi tape but, I find decorating my diary pages with it troublesome because it clutters the page up too much for me.
I love seeing pictures of other people's highly decorated diary pages and have thought in the past how great it would be to do the same and then after a week of it I think, "I can't see the wood for the trees" and stop.
I solved the dilemma a bit with the diary inserts I used last year, by putting just a bit of washi tape on the top corner to indicate different months - it was enough to make the pages a bit more colourful but it was tucked away enough for me to see the diary. However, this year's diary inserts don't have the same kind of space at the top (I'm using the Davinci Tomoe River ones... see here for details) so they have stayed undecorated.
Until now...
I spotted some really skinny washi tape on eBay at thelovelydesk (no affiliation, just letting you know where I got it all from; also check out their website - link in the list of places to shop on the right here).
[click to enlarge the pictures]
Why did I want such skinny tape? Well, the diary pages I'm using have eight equally-sized spaces - Monday to Sunday and then a box labelled 'memo' which doesn't stand out enough, so I am using the skinny washi tape to put a patterned line between the end of the Sunday space and the memo space, both to emphasise the memo box and to add just a touch of pattern. Much wider than 6mm and it would have taken up too much space.
Ta da!!
What do you think??
[Oh, I also bought some humongously wide tape with recipes on, but that's not for the diary, that's just to put on letters to friends but I thought I would share anyway.
And having discovered their website, I may possibly have just ordered a load more stuff.
Moving along...]
Well, I have LOTS of problems, but the one I'm wittering on about today is this: I love washi tape but, I find decorating my diary pages with it troublesome because it clutters the page up too much for me.
I love seeing pictures of other people's highly decorated diary pages and have thought in the past how great it would be to do the same and then after a week of it I think, "I can't see the wood for the trees" and stop.
I solved the dilemma a bit with the diary inserts I used last year, by putting just a bit of washi tape on the top corner to indicate different months - it was enough to make the pages a bit more colourful but it was tucked away enough for me to see the diary. However, this year's diary inserts don't have the same kind of space at the top (I'm using the Davinci Tomoe River ones... see here for details) so they have stayed undecorated.
Until now...
I spotted some really skinny washi tape on eBay at thelovelydesk (no affiliation, just letting you know where I got it all from; also check out their website - link in the list of places to shop on the right here).
[click to enlarge the pictures]
 |
| Two sets of skinny washi (6mm width) Both of these sets are metallic |
Why did I want such skinny tape? Well, the diary pages I'm using have eight equally-sized spaces - Monday to Sunday and then a box labelled 'memo' which doesn't stand out enough, so I am using the skinny washi tape to put a patterned line between the end of the Sunday space and the memo space, both to emphasise the memo box and to add just a touch of pattern. Much wider than 6mm and it would have taken up too much space.
Ta da!!
 |
| Three examples with the washi tape separating off the memo box |
What do you think??
[Oh, I also bought some humongously wide tape with recipes on, but that's not for the diary, that's just to put on letters to friends but I thought I would share anyway.
 |
| recipe washi! (the width is the width of one recipe) |
And having discovered their website, I may possibly have just ordered a load more stuff.
Moving along...]
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