Goodbye Mystery Filofax

Well!  It has been an adventure.  After spending more hours than I would like to admit, I have no new findings regarding this GORGEOUS planner.  She is an Enigma it seems who will guard her past for the remainder of her days.

I sadly never heard back from either of the companies I sent inquiries to.  Also the owner of the Desert Inn in Las Vegas at the time this beauty was made in 1996 never contacted me back either...  Sheesh!  Haha.  So she will be hopefully going to a new home soon.  I would love to keep her but I am a one planner kind of gal and would hate the idea of her sitting in a box somewhere where she most assuredly spent her last 17 years not in use.  Hopefully she will go to someone who will use her or at least be added to a collection of other stunning binders.  Perhaps the new owner may even find more information on her!!!  If anyone is interested in giving this mystery binder a wonderful home I have it listed on Ebay.

Lovely Mystery Binder!

Cheers!!!

My Mystery Filofax!!!

So. Yesterday I had the genius idea to go on a treasure hunt. Mostly in thanks to Kent From Oz's newest YouTube video about Filofax finds at thrift or second hand shops. I thought hey!  It's a beautiful day for a nice walk and some treasure hunting. I didn't have too high of hopes but hey, you never know!  And really we could use the exercise right?!

So my little one and I started off on our trek. Right away at our first stop we had a find!!!  We happened across a used but well loved Franklin Covey 365 in red. It had some wear. But not so much that I didn't think the right person would love to give it a second life.

Then we found two amazingly chic unbranded  black binders that are straight out of the 80's!  Giant cell phone pockets and all. Huge wallet sections at the back.  They are BEASTS!  Both seem to have never been used and had their inserts.

We then went to another shop and nothing. Then a third. And that's where this beauty was!!!

I knew I had to grab it. What was it even doing here in this thrift store bin of miscellania???  It was gorgeous and purple. Purple!  Instantly I knew it was leather, soft and supple.  It smelled wonderful, rich. I quickly popped the clasp to behind gold hardware and gold rings.

Sigh. I snatched it up quick looking about me for fear that someone would recognize it for the treasure it was and steal it away from my tight grasp!!!  I clutched it to me and made way for the cashier, keeping an eye out for possible thieves and half expecting the cashier to tell me it was there by mistake and wrench it away!

When we made it home safe without anyone running and shouting after me I sat down and really looked at it. The leather is comparable to a Finsbury I would say. Squishy with a slight pebbled grain. The color is a sort of bluish royal purple. It smelled divine which is especially amazing because when I popped that clasp again I realized that the diary inserts were from 1997! This 17 year old binder looked as new as it did it's first day and still smelled of lovely leather. How is that even possible?!  Had it been resting in a time capsule all these years, untouched?  Or perhaps in a basement somewhere resting in it's box?  Or maybe even in a vault?

So I sat down to start my research. And then here is where the mystery really begins. This binder doesn't exist. There isn't a whisper or a picture of it anywhere online as far as I can tell. I spent a good six? hours pouring through photos and articles. I started with the company who made it. Minobossi. In Italy.

 They only now make very expensive leather handbags. I couldn't find any information regarding the company at one time making planners.  Then I noticed that the binder had a gold embossed logo that said The Desert Inn. So I researched it and found out that the Desert Inn was a Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The plot thickens. It opened in April of 1950 and in its hay day was a very popular spot for Hollywood royalty. The likes of Liberace. Frank Sinatra. Dean Martin. Cher. Tina Turner and Barry Manilow all performed there. At one point in the late sixties Howard Hughes lived in and owned it!!!

At the time of the date in the binder. 1997. The hotel had just gone through a 200 million dollar renovation. Now the guess work begins. I can only figure out that this binder must have been some sort of custom order by the Desert Inn through Minobossi. Judging from the material and craftsmanship I can only surmise that perhaps it was made in a very small run for either VIP's of the Casino or High Rollers or possibly the CEO's? Who knows!  For all I know a mob boss was running the joint and it was a gift to one of his many girlfriends!!!  Also the hotel had been featured in quite a few movies but none lined up specifically with the time frame and I patiently searched through screen shots and came up empty handed.  I thought perhaps it could maybe have been a movie prop!  But alas it seems it was not.

For now my search for more info on this amazing and mystery binder is at a stand still. I have emailed the company who made it but no response yet. And i'm not entirely sure if they would even have any info on this enigma 17 years later. But my fingers are crossed!!!

P.S.!!!  The wonderful Janet over at This Bug's Life has joined the hunt with me!  So check out her blog for more photos and info!

I hope this looooong post didn't bore you to tears!!!  I love a good mystery. And I love research. I think this binder and I are meant to be. So stay tuned!!!  Hopefully this isn't the end if the line for my mystery binder!!! 

Cheers!

Filofax Finds!!!

Hey everyone!!!  So I just thought I would share a list of all of the wonderful Filo/Planner related Blogs and Shops and Outlets for Printables and Inspiration that I have discovered over the last few weeks. ENJOY!!!

Goodies!  Blogs, Photos and Printables OH MY!

Philofaxy
My Life all in One Place
Yayee For Fridays
Jagged Little Thoughts
Filo Cuteness
It's My Life
Thoughts and Exploration
Paper Crafts and Sprinkles
Coffee and Stationery
Little Red Moose
DIY Fish
Paper Glitter
iMOM
My Owl Barn
Vintage Glam Studio
Organize for Free
Super Sweet Life
Spoonful
Living Locurto
The Polka Dot Posie
World Label
Organized Jen
Printable Planners
My Organized Mayhem

ETSY!

The Polka Dot Posie
Mrs. Brimbles
Kiddy Qualia
Cute Organizing

I hope some of these were new to you all!!!

See yah soon with a video share of my little ones Filo and what she has done with it!  Haha

Malden Personal Filofax Setup A-Z Tabs!

Personal Purple Malden Unboxing!!!

It's Almost 2014!!!

Hi!  Wow. Is anyone else as surprised how quickly the New Year is approaching?!  I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. I have been super busy with making presents this year.  I've discovered shopping for presents is much easier!  But this has been a lean year. And anyways. Handmade stuff is sooo much more personal!

Just popping in to say that 2014 should be a really productive, fun year!  Thanks to my new Finsbury Filofax I am hoping to have a very successful well planned year. What are your plans for 2014?  Any resolutions?  This next year I will be blogging a lot more, at least twice a week. Crafting a TON!!!  So look for new things in my SHOP.  And I will be focusing on health!  I mean, I'm a girl in my 30's now!

Hope everyone has a wonderful New Year. Oh. And there is still time to grab a journal from my shop to use for 2014!!!!  And if you don't see exactly what you want. Let me know!  I love making custom times.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

It's ALMOST my 30th Birthday!!!

SO, here is what I have been up to!!!  I opened my Birthday presents that I bought for myself.  It was a VERY happy mail week.  I had a box full of memo pads from Kawaii Ya and a box full from Shop Kawaii.com.  I did a silly low quality iPhone video of the Shop Kawaii opening if anyone is interested.  I still want to do a full on stationery share video so stay tuned!

***Stationery***

I am still having planer indecisiveness!!!  I LOVE my Fluoro Pink FF but can't seem to use it...  Why oh why do I always do this with planners?  Should have known, silly Sara Jean, tricks are for kids.  I have had a few binder system planners over the years and after set up I seem to not be able to use them!!!  Is it the rings?  I don't know...  Is it the dividers?  IS IT TOO structured???  I think that may be it...  The wonderful beauty of it's structure panics me...  And with my Filo the possibility of ruining its beauty, well, that is a BIG fear.  Silly, I know.

So currently I am switching things up!  Trying something new that I have never used before.  A Midori Traveler's Notebook!!!  Behold the beauty in it's simplicity.  A piece of thick leather which holds paper books.  The fact that my handling it will actually improve it's physical appeal makes me feel calm.  It reminds me of my love for adventure and is very Indiana Jones-esque. The elastic band method of keeping and adding notebooks of my choosing is fantastic and so straightforward. It is still SUPER customize-able which I adore and need.  I plan to collage the covers of the inserts, add an Owl charm to the unobtrusive hanging thread book mark and maybe even add a bead to the elastic band that keeps it closed.  Simple but personable!  Is it weird that I find it more warm and inviting than binder rings? Anyways, I wont bore you with silliness but here is the Un-Boxing video!  And I will keep you (yes the one of you who reads this) updated!!!  And if you haven't seen a MTN is action Google it and look through the Flickr group feed!!!  There are some absolutely beautiful photos of this little gem in action.

***Un-Boxing Goodness!!!***

P.S. I deleted at least 30 exclamation points and 5 all cap words from this post while editing!!!  HAHA

Filo Fun and Broken Collar Bones!

No! I didn't break my collar bone...  But the DH did!  Skateboarding at 7 am to the corner store...  I was woken up to a ready to pass out hubby saying he had possibly dislocated his shoulder and needed to be taken to the ER. At first I thought he was going to make me try to put it back in socket!!!  Eeeep. But alas he did not which is good because it wasn't dislocated but broken...  Sooo that was fun!

So far this week (it's only Tuesday) has been filled with playing in my Filofax and getting everything set up juuuuust right. Which is so fun!  I decided I really loved next years vertical and lined week on two pages. So much so that I disliked this years horizontal unlined ones...  Sooo I sort of made my own for the remainder of the year!  Not toooo shabby. I scanned the first week of next years. Popped it into Word. Printed it front and back on regular printer paper. Washi taped over the incorrect dates and VOILA!!!  Happy camper. 

I also revamped my Mail Log!  Writing the same info on two pages (incoming and outgoing) was getting tedious and ridiculous! So, I took advantage of the wonderful roomy pages in my A5 Chloe and made new ones!  LOVE! (Yes that is a Unicorn paperclip and yes it is awesome).

Then I FINALLY made a log for keeping track of Shop sales and crafty purchases!  When the big bag "Tax Collector" comes round this year Sara Jean will be prepared! Don't mess with a girl and her Filo...  LOL

I was good and also finally made a Food Log to keep track of things. Because, well, this girl is turning 30 in three weeks and wants to live until shes 90!!!

This picture is simply here because I love the fly leaf I made and the tree.. The TREE!  Oh, how I love trees...

I finally started Smashing and Journaling in my Filofax! The little miss bought her very first "Luvie" with her own munnies from her piggy bank so I kept the receipt , snapped a shot and voila!

There, um, may have also been a stationery purchase delivered last week from Janet Store...  It wasn't me, I swear!!!  Ok, yeah you caught me, it was me...  But it is all so awesome!

And I mean really, all of my stationery fits in two shoe boxes!!!  So I don't think that I have a problem so nee ner nee ner neeeeeee ner! LOL

Well I suppose this post should end!  Some things to look forward to in future posts are:

*A Stationery Stash share video? Would anyone watch that? I mean besides me...
*ZINES!!!  I really, really, really, wanna make a Zine
*A new Video update on my life in my Filofax Chloe!
*Stationery!!!  I am going to be designing some collage stationery to sell! MY DREAM!
*Lots of Postcards and Beeswax, intrigued?
*Oh and there will be many cups of iced coffee and possibly a baby... (Figure that one out)!

New Discoveries!

Mornin'!!!  Just thought I would pop in for a quick second and list all of my new favorite Filofax related BLOGS!!!  These are FILLED with wonderful, beautiful inspiration, tips, tricks, Filo love stories and colorful goodness, so ENJOY!!!  and Happy Filofaxing!

(in no particular order)

Friday, I'm in Love
Jagged Little Thoughts
Hello, I'm a Paper Addict
DIYfish
Filo Cuteness
It's My Life!
Philofaxy
Thoughts and Exploration
Donna Ridgeway
Coffee and Stationery
My Perfectly, Imperfect Everyday Life
My Purpley Life

Hello Friends!

Look!  It's only been a week and here is another post!!!  This week of vacation has been fun and lazy and wonderful. I always feel like my little brother always lives on my couch when he is here for a week. I will be sad this afternoon when we start off for the airport...

But we had a fun week!!!  We went to the LA Zoo. Which. Was. Disappointing...  We chose it because it appears to be larger than the Santa Barbara Zoo which is the only zoo I have ever been too. But it was not...  It's just more spread out. And it was too hot and too sunny...

 So we left early and went to DAISO!!!  Which. Was also kind of a let down...  Only one little section of stationery and no other cool crafty supplies. But I did get a few things sooooo...

The rest of the week was spent shopping. Walking downtown. Eating out. Yesterday was Pirate Day at the harbor and it was so much fun!  Arrrgggh!!!  Lol

I started a new craft!  Collaging with Beeswax, it is so fun and easy and gives you a really neat Vintage effect.  I intend to make postcards!  I also found an old Atlas at the thrift store, NO paper is safe from my Envelope Punch Board!  Muahahahahahahahaha

I also bought myself some birthday presents!  Even though it isn't until August. I upgraded my Filofax!  "Already"? Some will ask puzzled.  Well. I needed something bigger!  BIGGER!!!  I wasn't able to do the journaling and Smash Booking in the little personal sized one. So, off it went to a good home and hello a5!!!  She is still a work in progress. I have only had her for a day. But I will post a video soon!!!  

What has your summer been like so far???  Any amazing crafty things???  Cheers!

Hello Lovelies!!!

Gosh I have been wonderfully busy!!!  Soooo much crafting and mail swapping. Oh and Filofaxing of course!  I have no idea where the time has gone. Here are some photos of just some of the crafty things I have been up to!  And also TWO new videos!!!

My Filofax Setup Revisited!



My Oz Album Share!



 Outgoing MAIL!!!

I was bored at work so I colored a rainbow envie, but it looked better insideout!!!

Dividers!!!  I went crazy and made a "few" sets of Filofax dividers!  No clue what to use them for, lol

]
THEN! I turned little notebooks into Filofax inserts!  Cool huh?

Here was last weeks finished Filofax pages, rainbows!

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!!!