Holy COW!!!

How is it already the end of May??? I apologize for my absence, life has become wonderfully busy!!! So many mail things, so many crafty projects. I even got an order for SIX journals for a team of High School Dance Squad girls!!! Which all turned out fantastic.

 This weekend the family and I went away on a little teeny tiny mini vacation!!! "camping" (in a trailer) To Jalama Beach in Santa Barbara county!

 Jalama Beach is super teeny tiny and cut of from the rest of the world. You have to drive up through the mountains and back down to get to the beach and there is NO cell service or internet service. So I was CUT OFF from civilization for 48 hours! It was very relaxing and fun though.

 Nothing better then getting up super early and having a nice cup of tea in the chill sea morning air!!! Here are just a few of the things that have kept me away...

 I made little Moleskine Postable Letter booklets!!! The actual Moleskine ones are a bit over priced for what they are so in true Sara Jean style I made my own instead... I have been working on filling a journal for a friend to swap!!! She is also filling a journal to send to me, how neat! We are filling the whole thing up but leaving pages here and there blank to be added to. I have so far included, journal entries, song lyrics, doodles, photos, poetry!

 I also have been writing a TON of letters! In the last 30 days I have sent and received over 30 pieces of mail!!! I have about 10 regular pen friends now?

 It has been sooooo wonderful making new friends! And of course I have been VERY active on the LEP Facebook page!!! I have made some true friends and it has been sooooo fun chatting with them daily. Well that is just some of the fun I have been having!!!

 I guess I should pull out my lovely Filofax and schedule Blog Writing time so I remember to be here!!! LOL CHEERS!

Filofax Setup Video!!!

Hope anyone who actually reads my silly little Blog enjoys!!!

Filofax? What the Heck is a Filofax?!

It is amazing that's what it is!!!  Sooooo, I am a Day Planner kind of girl and over the years I have bought many different types and styles and I can never seem to find the right one!  I like pretty one time use ones until I realize that I cant really add anything of my own...  I like binder ringed ones but never really had much inspiration to adapt it to my needs.  I always want a planner/address book/mail log/journal/smashbook...  Yes, I am needy, LOL.  Thanks to friendly LEPer's I have now discovered Filofax!!!  I couldn't possibly list all of the wonderful YouTube videos and Blogs that celebrate these planners but trust me just Google it!!  These binders become works of art!  So, here is the video I made of the un-boxing of mine!!!  A follow up video to follow in a few days once I have started my set up.  Cheers for organization that is pretty!!!

Coffee Sleeve Mini Kinda Sorta Tutorial!

Hello!  Ok so here it is sort of...  This is how I go through and make my little coffee sleeve min albums!  Ugh, I only wish I hadn't been working on this last night with no natural light...  Any ways we shall persevere!

So first I hire about a half dozen minions to grab coffee sleeves from everywhere for me.  This method worked really well!  I now have enough to make like a dozen of these little beauties.

Then I paint or ink the edges so when I apply my pretty scrapbook paper (when of course it doesn't line up properly because I am not a robot cutting machine) it looks pretty and finished!  (Finishing touches make a HUGE difference in over all presentation!)

Next I attach little 1 inch circles (I have a punch) with staples to the edge for the binder rings!  I find that this gives you more stability and doesn't take up any of the little decorative space a coffee sleeve allows.  Then I whole punch them, heehee.

*I do this before I start decorating because then you can use the paper to cover the staples!

Then I trace the outlines of the sleeves onto pretty paper and trim them down a bit smaller to intentionally leave a framed edge and adhere them with a tape runner!  You might have to play around with the adhesives you like since cardboard can be tricky...  I like the small little pink tape runners!

Next if for some reason there are some staples showing (eeeeek) I use ribbons or lace to cover them up!  I also wrap lace around the bottom of usually two sleeves to create a little lace pocket for holding tags.

Then I add little photos mats and embellishments!

And Paper bands also for holding tags!

These ones are really fun because I cut two of the sleeves open so that they fold out like a gate!

Then I embellish the heck out of the cover!  My favorite glue to use for this part is Alleene's Fast Grab, it comes in a purple bottle, works wonders!

And attach a piece of ribbon or lace to the back cover to tie a binder clip too for a closure!  These things end up pretty chunky so closures rock!

Last step is to tie lace, ribbon and seam binding around the binder rings!  It hides them and I like the wild pretty look.

All through out this I am also making little tags and booklets from scraps that are trimmed from papers used! The more tags, and fibers and colors the better I say!  Hope this helped someone!  Anyone...  Haha