Here are the filofax printables that I laid out in InDesign. You can download them by clicking here.

I like to plan out the main things that need to be done each week. I try to space them out so I don’t feel like I have to do everything on Monday or leave it all to Friday.

Usually, there are a bunch of little things I need to get done each day, so I start out my morning by making a list of all those. Things like packing orders, making kits, finishing a post, cleaning the cat box out, taking chicken out of the freezer to thaw by noon so it’s ready for dinner, returning library books, etc.

For each big project I have, I like to write down the main deadlines and then next steps I need to work on towards getting it done.

I tend to scribble meeting notes on whatever scrap of paper is around and promptly loose them. By giving them their own little sheet, I can fill out the main points and then file it under the project or in a folder in my filing cabinet with that project/organization information.

I actually have these filled out before hand because they stay the same each week. Each monday I clean the cat litter, do laundry; tuesday I clean the ferret cage and mop; and so on through the week. I check them off each week and it gives me an extreme sense of satisfaction. I use the fly lady system, so it’s based off her weekly routine plan.

Just like the weekly routine, these are the things I do each day. Do the dishes, drink loads of water, take Jak for a walk, feed and water all pets, let the chickens on the hen house, put the chickens into the hen house (they are still too young to know that’s where they should be at night).

And that’s that. Combined with some blank card stock, graph paper, and my blog planning pages, my little organizer is very well stocked.

Oh and I just started using the mayo clinic “healthy weight” food log, so I’m going to lay those out onto  little pages too and fill my organizer with that as well. But I’ll respect their copyright and won’t be posting that here. You can, however, get loads of great info on their website. More on the health and fitness thing over on Kristinmroach if you are into that kind of thing.

Until Next Time!
Kristin

I saw these sweet little filofax planner pages for free on MyGirlThursday and just had to have my own filofax planner. But, being me, didn’t want to pay much for one.

My sister gave me the notebook on the right, a very nice leather journal filled with graph paper (love!).

On the left is an old planner I picked up from the salvation army for $1.75 (it was half price day). I used a seam ripper to remove the binder rings.

Sweet. So easy!

Now, how to bring it together? First I cut it down to size so it fit into the leather journal (graph paper removed). Then I tried the old stand-by: hot glue. That actually didn’t work at all and peeled right off. Then I tried super glue (also didn’t work). And then I stopped being so “quick and easy” and just sewed it into place using a leather needle, needle nose pliers, and a metal thimble. Sure it took a little longer, but it looks nice and it will hold up over time.

I used a piece of hard plastic to make a hole punch template. It was a fun time cutting and punching a bunch of graph paper, plain card stock, and fun little organizational pages.

Like this project mapping page I made. I love the little elastic band that holds my pencil.

And those sweet filofax planner pages that got this whole project started in the first place.

I used mis-printed cl zine covers to make the dividers.

And a little masking tape so the names popped out a little more.

Tomorrow I’ll package up my planner pages and make them available as a download. It’s only fair since freebie print outs where how this whole obsession was started!

Until Next Time!
Happy Crafting!
Kristin

Oh no, no, no! Since my last stash bust post my little tile room full of crafting supplies has become the dumping ground for a million different piles of things from my studio, office, and around the house. We were having company and needed the living areas to look more tidy.

Get out of here you stuff!

Well, that’s a little better, but there is still a long way to go. Here’s a new pile of yarn in the shop to help get this room cleared out:

And, just to show you I’m making progress purging in general. I released 1 bag of old clothes to Goodwill, donated an old miter saw to a rummage sale since we got a new one, recycled a box of cardboard boxes, and filled a garbage bag with trash. Whew. I feel like more room should be cleared out than there is. Ah well.

Oh and I’m in the process of making some new pillows for our *hooray* new couch from scrap of fabric and a ton of stuffing.

I’ll be posting a tutorial on these in a few weeks. I took pictures. I just haven’t written it up yet.

How’s your stash busting going?

Until next time!
Kristin Roach

C.L. Tice is a writer, poet, crafter, and mom.  Her writing and creating adventures are inspired by the world around her.  She can be found at her blog, Mused.

Recently, my workplace changed to having swipe card access rather than the punch codes we had been using. We’ve never required ID badges for employees and I’ve never worked anywhere where we had badges or cards. So this is a new experience for me.

If it was only the door to get into the building, it wouldn’t be much of a problem and I would leave my card in my work bag. But, to get to the restrooms and common area, there is another locked door. I can see myself forgetting my card and getting locked out. It’s not like I can put the card in my phone like I did the numbers.

I thought a good solution might be a lanyard that everyone else seems to like so well. They give them out everywhere – parades, fairs, promotional tables. But wouldn’t you know, the only one I had in my house when I went looking was the one my son uses for his key.

What is a crafter supposed to do?

Make one!

My sister came over earlier in the day and went through my stash of fabric so I had a pile of scraps right on top. With the sewing machine already threaded from an ealier project, piecing them together didn’t take much time at all. The most time consuming part was picking out the fabrics – and at one point I decided it didn’t matter if they really matched. It is patchwork after all and should

I cut the strips to 3” wide and between 1” and 2.5” long based on what I had for scrap. I cut three pieces of each fabric and ironed them.

Once they were sewn together, I ironed the seams flat and folded the long piece in half. Then, I opened it up and folded each side in to the middle point and ironed again. Folding it back up, I sewed along both edges.

I didn’t have any D rings in my house but I did find a key ring and re-purposed it for my lanyard. Putting the ends of the length together, I slipped the ring onto the fabric. I folded up the end about half an inch and then another inch, settling the ring into place and sewing the fabric to itself.

Tadaa! I now have a nifty, and one of a kind, work accessory.

Happy Crafting!

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I snatched up this dress at the Salvation Army a couple months ago while picking out things for my book’s photo shoot. It was plain, a little frumpy, an awesome neckline, and an excellent candidate for redressing!

Here’s what I did to make this frumpy dress into a cute little summer top.

Measure up from the bottom and cut off 11 inches.

Oh and make sure to not just cut straight across, the back is usually slightly longer than the front to accommodate your our behinds.

Press the edge under and straight stitch to finish off.

Sew together 3″ wide pieces of the scraps to make a fabric band.

Tie it off and enjoy OR pin and stitch it to the front so it stays put while wearing and then tie in the back.

I love it when I get to take something I wouldn’t be caught in and convert it into my new favorite piece to wear around town!

What have you refashioned into a summery piece lately?

Happy crafting!
Kristin

I had been hearing rumors of “sample sunday” for the last few months. Just a half hour away, a mini herb farm, Prairieland Herbs, hosted a monthly event where local makers and producers came and gave samples to those who came by.

And just up the road, another lovely local farm, a dairy farm called Picket Fence Creamery, did the same AND another little shop on the same road did the same. The idea was that by lining up their events on the same Sunday, people could make the drive and hit up all three at the same time. We are talking about the middle of no-where Iowa after all.

This month Jason and I finally took the drive out to Woodward, IA and explored this local phenomena. It was everything we had hoped for and more. Not only did we get to see cats, puppies, mini ponies, 2 mini farms, dairy cows about to give birth, eat tasty homemade ice cream from fresh milk, sample herbs and breads and soaps and elk snack sticks but two friends were participating as samplers!

Lynn from my herbalist apprenticeship was selling and sampling her Herbal Bliss herbal teas. The Kaotic Krafter (Kristina) who I know from Ames C.art was selling and sampling her wares that are made from recycled/thrifted things.

Both women are definitely embodying two of the things I love the most: self healing with herbs and making with things that might otherwise end up in the trash heap. It was a delight.

We both had a really good time. The mix of craft, herbs, food, and animals was perfect. Now’s a good time to mention that Jason loves just about all animals, but LOVES cats, he was so adorably happy when this old calico let him pick her up.

And then we got to pet some really friendly minis, which was, well, also adorable.

Then it was time to head over to the Picket Fence Creamery. We asked about the cows we saw on the drive in and they said the ones in front of the house were the ones with calves were just about ready to give birth. They said that often times, the customers let them know when one is giving birth, and it goes something like this:

“So, I think one of your cows is about to give birth.” … “Well, what did you see?” … “Feet!”… “Well, good, that means it’s going okay then, we can leave her to it.”

I think it’s pretty amazing that their cows are so healthy that they can give birth naturally, about 90% of the time unassisted.They said Jenny was “reallly” close and could go into labor any minute. I also think it’s awesome they name every one of their dairy cows.

She spotted us and took a look, it was funny to see her turn her head that way.

We bought some fresh milk and locally grown popcorn. Did you know that since it’s so fresh, it will actually stay good until the end of June? When I buy milk from the store, it usually only keeps for 7 days once open. I love Picket Fence milk, it just tastes good. And the ice cream is intoxicating! We had samples of Key Lime Pie homemade ice cream and breads and crackers and other tasty treats.

They have a little country store where they sell their milk products along with a whole host of locally produced goods–bison, elk, venison, grass fed beef, chicken, turkey, baked goods, cooking mixes, coffee, popcorn, and the like. Absolutely wonderful.

We took a fun detour on our trip to find a new couch and buy dog food for Jak. We made a nice loop around central Iowa. Even though we weren’t gone that long, I was exhausted by the end. This cold/sinus whatever it is I have has really taken it out of me. I’m happily feeling better today finally. Hopefully this is the end of it.

Happy crafting and summer enjoyment!

Kristin Roach

I actually planted my peas according to my planting schedule for the first time ever and they have done great. So great that they are in some need of support before they turn into a tangle and smother each other right out of production.

I thought about using bamboo canes or getting a cage for them, but it just seemed so silly to pay 50 cents for what’s really just a stick. I opted to forage around my “little woods” and I found these perfect young branches on a weedy sumac that’s slated to be cut down next week. Most excellent!

In a timely fashion, we received a package in the mail that had some sturdy bailing twine. It was just what I was looking for to tie these teepees together.

I made four in all and here’s how I did it.

Build a Pea Teepee (or four)

Materials Needed

• 4 young branches, no more than 1″ in diameter, 36″ long
• Bailing twine, garden twine, or jute string; acrylic pound of love yarn would work well too
• Some rustic looking yarn if you are using bright orange construction style bailing twine and don’t like the look (like me)
• Twist ties or little scraps of yarn for tying the peas to the teepee

Directions

Step One: Push the sticks into the ground at the four corners of the peas. I am trying out square foot gardening, so I placed mine so each stick is 1 foot apart from the others and each teepee takes care of a square foot worth of peas.

Step Two: Tie the ends of the sticks together with the strong twine.

Step Three: Wrap the yarn over the utilitarian twine if desired to give it a rustic cleaned up look.

Step Four: Use the twist ties or yarn scraps to tie the peas to the teepee and help train them to climb up it. They just need a little help since they like to grow straight up and not at an angle.

Other options:

We have a few dead trees, so I trimmed a few branches that had all their twigs still attached and stuck a single one into the ground for each pair of my bean sprouts. You could try something similar for your peas.

You could also criss cross twine back and forth between the sticks to give them plenty to grab onto.

Until next time!
Kristin Roach

We have, I kid you not, 18 baby chicks in our basement. They are Jason and I’s + our friend’s egg investment plan. We each get 9 each–4 of mine are broilers. So for Jason and I, we will have our own little flock of 5 layers. I wrote about them in the April/May issue of the Craft Leftovers Zine.

I’m looking forward to having 3-5 fresh eggs daily in just 3 months time, which has me thinking about all the wonderful things I can do with homestead fresh eggs!

Two weeks ago I went to the Cafe with my friend and we had a dish I had never dreamed existed: Baked Eggs!

Their amazingness is a combo of their simplicity to make and deliciousness to eat. Because I have my herb garden going and a few first delicious tomatoes, this dish is almost 100% out of the garden – just the milk and eggs are from the local co-op. Here’s how I make mine.

Little Woods Homestead Baked Eggs

Ingredients

• 2 fresh eggs
• 1 Tablespoon fresh herbs of choice – I like thyme and chives. Pick your favorite.
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Tablespoon crumbled feta cheese
• 1 Tablespoon ricotta cheese
• 2 Tablespoons whole milk (or half and half will work)
• Spinach or other green that’s tasty sautéed – even some chopped asparagus would work well
• Optional – diced red onions and bacon

Directions

Step one: Chop up your spinach or greens of your choice and place them in the bottom of a little cassorolette and pour the milk over the green. A mini bread pan could work well too.

Step two: Crack the two eggs and put them side by side over the greens.

Step three: Sprinkle the herbs over the eggs along with the salt and pepper. Sprinkle the cheese on top.

Step four: Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Let it cool a little bit, crack the cheese and enjoy!

Until next time!
Kristin Roach

I designed my “Save the Date” cards for our fall wedding this week and I think they turned out pretty well. My sister and I were inspired by old vintage train ticket, circus tickets, and etsy. I would be a jerk not to point you to the great items on etsy that strongly influenced my own design.

Invitealicious Save the Date Cards.

Jamie Konet Save the Date Cards

Punch Card Wedding Invites by Letter Box Ink.

Nelly Bean Save the Date Cards.

Looking back, my only regret is not making them into postcards by increasing their size to 3 1/2x 4 1/4 and printing them on slightly thicker card stock. Because they were smaller than the envelopes, they are a little awkward in the envelope. Ah well, still super cute. I’m going to go ahead and stuff them in the invitations so people can hang them on the fridge.

I used InDesign to lay them out and printed them on a cottonwood card stock at my local print shop, 8 per sheet. So I was able to print off 80 for under $5. The copy shop will cut them in a stack cutter all at once for you too for just $1 per cut.

Fiskars 3-in-1 Corner Punch added the decorative accents. It took about 2 hours to punch them all once I got the hang of using the punch. I used one of those sweet 40% off coupons to get it for just $6 (like the Michael’s coupons that have been popping up in the sidebar/header ad here on the blog).

Single Circle Stamps were hard to find, so I purchased This Alphabet Stamp Set that had a little circle in it. It was on sale for 40% off, so like $6. Plus theteal ink pad, another $3.

The envelopes are from Action Envelope for $10.95 + shipping (50 count), they are the same ones that I use for Craft Leftovers, I love that grocery bag look so much!

I am glad that we went with a little stamp vs. a punch as it’s much easier to tell what the date is supposed to be.

The wedding invitations are going to be a much bigger production. I was inspired by old vintage train ticket booklets from France. We are going to matchbook bind a little book of tickets: the invite, the map, the rsvp card, etc. More on that later.

Until next time!

Kristin

I’m currently out of detergent. My options are, go spend $15 on a thing of it at Sam’s or make my own with this junk I have laying around for free. (I did have to buy the bucket because I used the old one for other things long ago.) Hmm, I’ll go with free. Plus it only takes about 10 minutes of hands on time to make! Easy choice!

It’s been years now since I made my first (and last) batch of laundry detergent. Honestly, I’m a little disappointed in myself. I feel like I’ve actually wasted $100+ on detergent from Sam’s Club because the same amount of detergent would have cost me like $20 to make. Sigh. I got lazy. Meh. I got overwhelmed.

I’m start to stretch my DIY wings again and I’m excited to make batch #2 and share it with you. I’m also happy to have some better pictures to make the process look a little more sexy than the last time. Well, would you look at that, my photo skills have improved over the last two years. Go me.

I want to thank Trent of the Simple Dollar for blowing my mind with this simple process over two years ago. I’m still in awe of it’s simple money saving power.

DIY Laundry Detergent

the best way to spend 10 minutes of your month

What you need:

• 1/2 Cup Borax (100 Mule Team)
• 1/2 Cup Washing Soda
• 1 Bar of Dove Soap
• 32 Cups water
• 2 gallon bucket
• Large sauce pan
• Big Spoon or wisk

Here’s how to:

Grate the bar of soap into your sauce pan. Add 6 cups hot water and bring to a simmer on the stove over a medium high heat. Stir occasionally until the soap is completely melted.

Add Borax and soda ash to soap mixture and stir until dissolved – remove from heat.

Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket, add the soap mixture, and stir well.

Add 22 cups hot water to the mixture (1 gallon + 6 cups is what the recipe says officially)
Stir well, cover, and let sit for about 24 hours. If you are adding essential oils to you, you mix those in once it’s cooled down.
I used a hand blender (like the old fashion crank kind) to blend up the lot of it. It seems to be staying separated well enough to put into an old detergent jug or you can use straight from the bucket. Either way will work well.
Use 1/2 cup per load.

Happy Laundry Cleaning to all of you, I’m off to do a load :)

Kristin Roach