Why a Traveller's Notebook will change your life.

I know, you are a doubter right?  Change your life is a pretty big claim but I assure you once you set up your first travellers notebook you will never look back.

If you follow my blogs you likely know that I struggle with severe depression, anxiety and panic disorder and now have been diagnosed with diabetes and PTSD. That is allot to keep track of. One of the side effects of these issues is that I often forget things, conversations, things I said I would do, times of appointments, even to pick up milk.

It was sq uggested by a couple of members of my team that I always carry a notebook and record  everything I am asked to do, my schedule in detail, detailed lists and even phone numbers to call when I have a totally blank moment.

I immediately thought planner as I am a longtime planner girl.  I adjusted the contents of my A5 Webster Pages ring bound planner but honestly it was just too bulky to carry all day. Then I discovered travellers notebooks. You can customise the inserts to suit your needs. There are so many ways to personalize the set up with dashboards, paperclips, ephemera etc.

The more you adapt your TN to your needs and interests the more you will find yourself immersed in its pages. The trick to planner success is actually making it a place you love. If you want to learn more about Travellers Notebooks jump over to my YouTube channel and check out my planner perfection playlist.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuX6pRTVyrsAdbGvmH-M_9Q



Here are a couple of my videos showing my TNS.

Perfect Alternative to Pin Curls and Hair Torture

April 1994

This is a sponsored post. That means I may receive compensation for sharing my opinion with you. It baffles my husband as I share my opinions with him constantly and he definitely would not pay me 😅.

Luckily this is a topic that has solved a very real issue with me as of late. I know it will come as no surprise to many of you that I am a bit obsessed with all things vintage. My friend Sylvie recently got me hooked on youtube tutorials of pin up hairstyles. I adore the charm of the suicide roll, pin curls and the infamous victory rolls. Spending the time rolling, teasing, curling, spraying.....not so much. Honestly I have no idea how women used to pull this look off. Interestingly enough the solution came in an email just the other day. The answer is lace fronts wigs.

April 1994

When I was in my final year of high school I wanted a more mature look so a week before graduation pictures I went to a salon and had my long ringlets hacked off and the surviving hair dyed the most ghastly shade of brown. After I did it I immediately regretted it but it was too late. I was distraught as I had prom, graduation, my friends wedding and my own wedding coming at a rapid rate.

May 1994

Through tearful eyes I listened as the stylist explained that there was no way my hair could grow out in time. Then as though some miraculous intervention occurred. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed several "falls" in the display case. My miracle had happened. Emptying my meagre bank account and maxing my shiny new credit card I left the salon with two wigs costing over $500. That's allot of tables to wait on.

I loved my faux hair and felt so glamorous in my new locks. I could roll out of bed, shower and be out the door in 30 minutes or less. Everyone commented on how beautiful my hair looked every day. I wore those two wigs until they were barely usable. By the time they gave out I was married with a mortgage and there was no money for frivolous purchases.

July 1994

I forgot how much fun it is to transform myself to whatever look I want in a moments notice. Enter my new secret weapon. Instead of messing with rollers and irons I can purchase vintage styles for less than $50. Seriously, less than $50. I like that they have have the vintage feel without the stiff styling. They are vintage with a modern twist.

Here are a few of my favourite lace fronts wigs

Pretty cool right!  So who do you want to be today? Be sure to check out these and hundreds of other styles of lace front wigs at our sponsor #divatress

Celebrating Canada's 150th Birthday with presents for You!

Do you ever just sit back and think about how lucky we are to live in a beautiful country like Canada? In many areas of the world people struggle daily just to provide food and clean water for their families. Some are persecuted for their beliefs, their gender or even their race. That is why it is so important for us to take time to be grateful for our lives. We need to celebrate the opportunities we have living in Canada.

In celebration of Canada's 150th birthday My Grandma's Teacups,  Southern Ridge Trading Company and Emerald Creek will be hosting a blog hop featuring their designers tribute pieces to Canada. Join us June 29th and 30th as we visit each of their blogs and spread Happy Birthday wishes across the country.

Be sure to check out the rafflecopter at each stop and see how to collect entries to win the grand prize of a Spellbinders Platinum 6. We will also be giving away goodies from Southern Ridge Trading Company Canada 150 line. Be sure to mark your calendars for a virtual cross country celebration.

Cathy Potosky 's Junk Journal Mini Album.

Hi everyone, my name is Cathy and I'm am very excited and honoured to be sharing a project here at My Grandma's Teacups, thank you so much for having me Tracy!

For this mixed media project I put my own twist on a Tim Holtz Worn Cover book. I had grabbed it up for a steal of a deal, even though I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it at first. Then when this opportunity came up, I thought....I know exactly what I want to do and then came across my SRTC Life chipboard piece and thing started to fall into place. I turned it into a kind of "junk journal", but for myself and pics of my kids. 

My kids are adults, my oldest lives with her boyfriend and my son is busy with work, his girlfriend and his car. So my "Life" book is going to be for pics I take when we are all actually at home at the same time. And they might not be pretty LOL The pics going in here are going to be selfies and they could very well be of all of us right when we wake up, hair a mess etc. It's rare that we are all in this house at the same time so now it's Mom imposed selfie time when we are and each pic will get printed and put into my "Life" junk journal! :)

I started with Distress Oxides on the inside cover, splashed some water to get those wonderful splotches and let it dry. I then stencilled over that using the Walnut Stain for a hint of the wildflowers on the inside.

I used some old paper from my stash because I liked the little sentiments in the corners and got my Distress Oxides ready to ink the front and back covers of my junk journal.

Once the ink was dry I used the wildflower stencil (it is one of my faves) and translucent texture paste on the front cover so it adds texture but no colour. On the back cover I added a touch of shimmery paint to jazz it up a bit.

I then went to work on embellishments. So many embellishments so little time!! I love flowers of all kinds and had the leaves in my stash. Dyed the flowers using Distress Spray, Distress Oxides and some Finnabair Spark paint.

I got out my Distress Paint and the gorgeous Fractured Ice Embossing Powder and my "Life" chipboard. Painted the word and then embossed it. I love the texture from this ep and loved it with the paint. The top pics are just close ups of how the Distress Oxide looks on the worn cover and paper. I love how it looks like an old water stained book.

For my inside pages, It was very simple. I used brown packing paper (Amazon used it in their shipments, I may or may not have a lot of it in my house) and for half of the sheets I crumpled them up tight, flattened them back out and ran my Distress Vintage Photo (another fave that seems to end up on every project!) You can get the binder clips to attached to the worn cover, I just used purple hemp twine and a piece of natural twine I had to tie in my pages. 

Details on the front cover include gemstones for the butterfly body and the flower centre and you can see the clear texture paste on the cover too.

For the back cover I used another piece from SRTC. I just love this chipboard, it can be front and center like on the front and it also makes it a great anchor piece for embellishments like seen here on the back. Added gemstones for the butterfly and the flower centers and a little silver rose charm from Emerald Creek.

And last but not least the spine of the book. I added beads from my stash, charms from EC and a zipper pull I found in a basket of stuff (everyone has a basket of random stuff in their craft space right?)

Be sure to check with Tracy of My Grandma's Teacups and ask her which Southern Ridge Trading Company chipboard pieces she has.....you are going to want to play with these!  Thank you so much for stopping by everyone and I hope you have a great day!