Homeschool Bullet Journals, Part 2

I thought I had already posted a follow-up about our homeschool bullet journals. Then I found these pictures, searched through my blog archive, and realized I had never written up this post. So today I'm going to give you some more details about them.

The first thing I did was create a spread in my own bullet journal to plan out the basics of what I wanted to include in each of the kids' individual bullet journals. If you notice those blue "smudges" at the bottom, I just blurred some personal information.

Today I'll show you the bare bones of my son's bullet journal. I picked two marker colors to use in his journal, and I chose browns.

To start with, I created a printable calendar on sticker paper and adhered it to the front cover. We'll be highlighting each day that we do school work. (Obviously I took these pictures several months ago, before we ever started our schoolwork for the year.) Since we have to do schoolwork for 180 days in Pennsylvania, this is an easy way to do keep track of that.

Since my son has a bank account, I figured it was a good idea to teach him to keep track of it. I think it's much easier to track in a big spread like this, versus the tiny checkbook register that comes with your checks. Bonus: If you make more electronic transactions and deposits than you write checks, this helps a lot!

One of the other requirements for homeschooling in Pennsylvania is keeping a running book list. My kids are both avid readers, and I suspect we'll need several of these spreads before the year is out.

Lastly, I created a spread like this for each of his school subjects. It's like a teacher's grade book, but obviously just for him.

I didn't get any pictures of his daily logs, since they were begun after I took the pictures. They consist of a simple date and a listing of what all he did that day. It's very much like the original bullet journal concept. No surprises there, since Ryder Carroll (the inventor of the bullet journal concept) is also a guy. As much as I enjoy decorating my own bullet journal, I have to admit that I enjoyed the minimalistic approach in this one.

I also enjoyed working with the dot grid paper in his journal. I've been using graph paper in my journals since I began bullet journaling. After working with his, I picked a dot grid book for my next journal. We'll see which I prefer after I use it for a few months.

I hope you've enjoyed this peek into our homeschool bullet journals. I'll show you my daughter's next time. If you keep a homeschool bullet journal, I'd love to hear about it or see it (via a link) in the comments.

Altered Composition Book with Tabs

You may have noticed that I've been papercrafting again lately. I've especially been enjoying altering composition books. As I looked at other people's ideas online, I noticed that some of them were adding sections to theirs. I like the idea, since I always liked 3-subject notebooks. So I decided to take a book I had already altered and add some tabs and sections to it.

This is the book I started with:

I gathered my supplies, mostly from the same paper pad that I originally used to make this one. It was a Hot Buy paper pad from Michaels.

I added in a few sheets of plain white cardstock, as well as a Spellbinders file folder tab die.

I used almost every scrap of the two decorative papers. I tried a few methods of making these sections and liked this one the best, since it only uses two of the fancy papers from the paper pad (which makes it stretch further).

This is the first section. I backed it with a piece of plain white cardstock to hide the lines on the back of the page, as well as giving it more stability.

For this divider, I used the rest of the decorative paper that I cut off when I made the first divider page. Then I added in a decorative strip from the paper pad that looks like a ribbon. That still left some room along the side, so I filled it in with some plain cream cardstock.

This is the third tab. The paper is foiled, so it's very pretty.

This is the fourth and last tab. I designed it the same as the second tab, just with a different paper (cut from the second sheet of patterned paper).

And this is what the tabs look like when the book is closed.

I've done several this way, and I really like the result. I hope this helps someone else. Let me know if you try it. I'd love to see yours!

Home Tour: Fall 2018

Today I thought I'd share my fall home decor before the season is over.

I mostly decorate seasonally in my living room and dining room. We'll start in the living room, since that's the first room you see when you walk in my front door.

This is an end table arrangement. The sign and mini pumpkins came from Dollar Tree this year.

I made the sunflower balls last year with Dollar Tree supplies. Last year, they hung on my porch. This year, I decided to bring them inside instead.

The glass vase/jar was a $1 yard sale find, the doily was a yard sale find ages ago, and the candle was from last year's fall clearance at Dollar General.

As a side note, I've been pretty happy with the throw of the three-wick Dollar General candles. The one-wick versions have been disappointing, but these candles smell amazing.

This is the other end table arrangement with a different Dollar Tree sign and a different yard sale doily underneath. The end tables are on either side of my sofa.

Next up is my coffee table arrangement. I made the "lantern" from Dollar Tree frames and some black foamboard (also from Dollar Tree). The top of it isn't as convincing as the bottom of it, so I'd leave it off if I were to make it again. But the loop of flowers helps to hide the worst of it.

I made the pumpkin jar (far right) last year for a ladies' meeting craft. After we did it, I found the idea on Pinterest, too. Apparently I wasn't the only one that thought of a pumpkin when I saw that jar!

My coasters are made to hold pictures (behind glass), but I prefer to swap out appropriately-colored scrapbook paper for the seasons.

The tassels came in a Michaels $4 grab bag a month or so ago. They were supposed to be summer-themed, but I thought they worked quite well with my fall decor.

Everything else was a yard sale find.

We have a bay window in the living room, and I like to put something pretty there. This was made entirely with yard sale finds. I added a few florals to the cornucopia, since it really needed more fullness. It's not perfect, but it works!

I'm pretty sure this crocheted runner is from my great-grandmother. If not, it looks exactly like hers (which I may have tucked away in my hope chest if this isn't hers). I tend to pick up crocheted doilies when I find them cheap at yard sales. I do crochet and love a good doily now and then, but old ones have a lot of character.

You've seen a tiny bit of my mantel already, but here's the full arrangement.

I did switch out the wreath, since I liked the colors of this one better with my arrangement. My daughter wanted a fall wreath for her bedroom door, so she got the one I originally had here. I made this wreath last year with two yard sale leaf swags attached to a wire wreath form (Dollar Tree) and three mini pumpkins from Dollar Tree.

I made the faux window frame from Dollar Tree mirrors. You can read more about it here.

I found the little truck framed print a few months ago at Dollar Tree and just had to have it. I really do like the "little red truck" items. There's something about the shape of the truck that I really like. Anyway, this was a way to bring it into my fall decor.

I made the pumpkin apothecary jars from old Home Interior candle jars and candlesticks (all yard sale finds - a whole box for $1). You can read more about those here. I filled them with miscellaneous jar filler that I picked up at Dollar Tree last year.

The candlesticks, crocheted runner, and swag were all yard sale finds. (Yes, there is a theme here. It's called, "I'm cheap frugal.")

I have a combination buffet/china cabinet next to our dining room table, and I've started to switch out the display seasonally. I've never owned a matching table and buffet before, so I'm enjoying this set. I know this wood stain and style are out of vogue. Most people would have painted it white and distressed it. However, I'm 41 and don't follow all the home decorating fads out there. I know what I like, and I keep it that way until I no longer like it. My home is about pleasing my family, not Pinterest.

Anyway ... The signs were all from Dollar Tree. They had some nice ones this year, but they sold out fast. I happened to be in the store when they unpacked these or I wouldn't have gotten them. They were gone when I went back a day or so later.

The lanterns were yard sale finds. One was $1 (on the left - flameless candle inside), one was $0.75 (on the right).

I have no idea where I got the pumpkins and sunflowers. I don't remember buying them, but they appeared with the rest of my fall decor when my husband and son brought my decorations down from the attic. One of us must have picked them up at a yard sale or thrift store last year. They're quite realistic, and I like them a lot.

Lastly, this is our dining table. In our previous house, I had a formal cherry dining table with intricate carving (a gift from our last church family). My kids were very young then, so I mostly protected it with a tablecloth. I wish now that I had enjoyed the look of the table and pulled the cloth off now and then. Oh well, it was pretty, even with a cloth on it.

Maybe that's why I've resisted adding a tablecloth to this table. I like the wood finish, and I like that the grain is decorative. I may add a runner at some point - maybe next year, if I can make or find one after the season is over this year.

My husband picked up these elegant placemats at the thrift store, along with a bunch of other nice ones that I'll be switching out seasonally. Up to this point, I've not been much of a placemat person. We rarely used them growing up. However, my sister-in-law really likes them, and I learned from her that they can add a lot to the look of a table, even when you're not eating.

I bought these gold chargers from Dollar Tree this year. They stay at the table to make it look a bit more polished between meals, and then we just add our regular dining plates on top of them at mealtime.

I don't remember where the big pumpkin in the middle came from. It was in the same bag as the other mystery fall decorations. However, I do know about the knitted white pumpkins because I made them. I thought I had posted about them on the blog, but apparently I didn't. If you knit, they're fast and easy. I used this free pattern from Ravelry and tweaked it just a bit after reading how others had modified theirs. You can read my notes on Ravelry here, if you'd like to make one yourself.

Well, that wraps up my fall decorations. I hope you enjoyed looking at them as much as I enjoyed creating them!

November 2018 Bullet Journal Setup

I searched high and low for a Thanksgiving theme for my November bullet journal layout, but I couldn't find any that clicked with me. So I hit up all the craft stores and dollar stores in search of fall-looking embellishments that I could use. This is what I ended up with - $4 worth of new supplies from JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts. (Also pictured: markers, a pen and a washi tape roll that I already had on hand.)

I laughed out loud when I saw several YouTubers choosing a woodland theme the week after I had designed this. (I designed it early, since I knew this week would be busy.) It would have saved me a lot of time if they had released their videos sooner - or I had simply waited a few more days. Oh well, this is now my original design, which is just fine since a bullet journal is a design-your-own planner anyway.

I used the (6x6") woodland animals paper for my cover page and then simply lettered the month into the middle. It's tricky to get just the right size of letters for me and my Tombows. This was a bit large for me, probably because I have child-sized hands. I'll file that away in my memory bank for the future.

I changed up my monthly layout because I'm working on getting back in shape starting this month, and I have more that I need to track as a result. It was just a little too much for my previous monthly design. I really like the fact that the calendar doesn't split over the two pages, since that makes it hard to write neatly.

As you can see, I already started filling in a few trackers. I didn't get a chance to take pictures before I needed to start using it. As a side note for those of you who know me and are concerned that I'm tracking my weight, let me assure you that I'm not anorexic and will not be starving myself. I'm just curious how getting back in shape will affect my weight. I'm only recording the results once a week, so I listed the dates to help me remember.

The top header is paper from the fox and mushroom paper. (I used the foxes elsewhere.) The bottom washi tape is one that I already had on hand from a washi tape color-themed tube.

This is my first weekly spread. I love Dutch doors, although I accidentally cut them a bit narrow this month. I should have paid more attention. I just cut them at the half-page mark, completely forgetting that I didn't need that much space for my to-do list and menu.

I added brown gingham washi (from JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts) to the cut edge of the Dutch doors. This helps me to see it better when I need to flip it over. Otherwise, it blends in so well that I'm constantly fiddling with it to get it to turn.

The leaf washi tape was also from JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts. It came in a pack with the brown gingham and coordinated with the paper pad I bought. The sticker was a freebie I found online (from Victoria Thatcher) and printed as an experiment to see how my printer works with printable stickers. Notice that I ended up buying a paper pad and washi tape instead. My printer doesn't produce stickers with the vibrancy that I want.

I'm staggering the Dutch doors again this month, in the hopes that this will reduce the "valley" effect created by cutting Dutch doors in the same place every week.

The fox border is cut from the paper pad. The mushrooms from my monthly spread came from the same paper.

This is very similar to the last, just with the Dutch door at the top instead of the bottom.

Lastly, this is very similar to the previous side-Dutch-door layout, with the exception of a different free printable sticker (also from Victoria Thatcher).

So, what are my thoughts about using decorative paper and stickers in my bullet journal? At first, I was conflicted. I doodled last month because of the bulk that washi tape tends to create. However, I like my planner to be pretty, and I really like how this turned out. After seeing several YouTubers' bullet journals that are nearly bursting their bindings, mine seems downright thin. So I decided I'm not going to obsess about it. I'll just do what I feel like doing from month to month and enjoy the process.