The Bullet Journal - My First Month

Hey, it's E and today and I'm going to be talking about a recent thing I've started - my bullet journal.
So, previously I've had a Filofax and I just started to decide it didn't really work very well for me. I'm very creative and so it was just too structured and I didn't have that freedom that I wanted. I couldn't just doodle in the margin or really easily add in a sleep tracker. I'd heard about the bullet journal system before and I started to look into it in a little more depth that I already had. The more I discovered about it the more I realised I really like the system. It was coming up to then start of May so I thought it would be a great time to start. I found a notebook with plain pages that I already had (I bought it from The Range) and got started with the first few pages.

The First Pages
I started off with a very important spread - the future log for the year. I started it at May and just drew out little calendars. I put this in so I could quickly coordinate dates with days and have a log of all the birthdays I needed to remember.

Next I have my reading pages. I am an avid reader so it's really important to me to be able keep a track of all the books I want to read and have read. It's very simple but extremely functional and easy to use.

The final one of these pages is a levels record. In England we get levelled on subjects and we are always doing little assessments and it helps me to just keep a record so I can see if I'm progressing.

The First Month

To start May off I just did a little title page with some washi tape to tab it so I could easily refer back to it.

Then I stuck some nice paper onto the pages to create a noticeboard type thing so I could just easily use post it notes to put quick notes and events that are going to happen. For example, I have a post it note with the two tests I have in May.

After this I have my monthly calendar so I have space to write events that are coming up. This also gives me a easy way to view my month. I also have the goals page after this for my monthly goals. This includes things like 'use my bullet journal every day' and 'finish No Stars at the Circus'.

The final two pages before my weekly spreads are my habit tracker and my blog ideas page. The habit is really helpful for trying to instil new habits in my daily routing and the blog ideas page is great to brainstorm blog posts and design ideas.

Now we move on to my weekly spreads. So far I have three and I've already learnt a lot about what I like in the spread. So my first spread was very simple but it didn't really work me because the sections were horizontal and there wasn't much space to write tasks downwards. There was also a big gap at the bottom and I wasn't really sure how to fill this so I just wrote a quote. I feel like it wasn't a very good use of the space and was not helpful for me.

In the next spread I changed it a lot. I'd found lots of inspiration and I decided to do the days vertically. This gave me space to write more tasks which I often have a lot of. I also had more space generally so I was able to put a sleep tracker into it. I also got some great inspiration for the decoration and I was really happy with how it turned out.

My spread for this week didn't change much. All I did was change the headings slightly and moved the sleep tracker simply for a bit of a change because I don't want all the spreads to be exactly the same.

That's all I've got so far but I know I'm going to be using my bullet journal a lot since I love it already. I can be so creative and can change anything I want. If something doesn't work I don't have to include the next month and you don't get this flexibility with other planning systems. I will definitely update you with my progress and I have some good ideas for other bullet journal posts. If you want a bit more inspiration, please check out my Pinterest board (profile is TangleOfThread) for bullet journals.

Party planning: The basics

Hi, it's M today and I would like to share with you one of my favourite things to do: plan parties. I though it would be nice to give you an idea of the basics of party planning for children. I've given ideas for younger and older children but it's up to you to customise it and make it your own.

Theme

When planning a party, having a theme can really help to pull the party together. It's not essential but can be very helpful.

Age

When thinking about age you want something appropriate. If its a toddler's party don't get them doing craft or cake making because they won't be able to do it properly and it won't work. Also you don't want teenagers doing what they did when they were 5. Just bare it in mind when planning.

Activitys

For a party to be fun and engaging, you really need to think about the hobbies of the child and their friends. For example, if the child really loves ice-skating then it might be a could idea to take everybody ice-skating and have a cake that is themed on ice-skating. Or, if you don't want to go anywhere, if the child loves dancing, throw a dance battle between different teams.

Budget
Although it may seem slightly annoying budget is one the most important factors to consider. If your budget is large, you may be able to go somewhere or hire a hall and a bouncy castle. But if you have a smaller budget then this may not be possible. You can still keep the party fun though and have a really nice setup at home. Instead of buying food, consider making it yourself and maybe even have a barbecue if the weather is nice.

Now you have an idea of what sort of things you could do, you need to actually make it happen. I would suggest planning a few weeks in advance and sending invitations at least 2 weeks in advance so people have time to get back to you.

Invitations

The first thing you need to actually do is create or buy invitations. For this you can go and buy them, paperchase and hobbycraft have some really nice ones, or you can make them. If your making them, a really easy way to do it is to get some small card stock and simply write invention on them. There's so many ways to do this so be creative. If you are making them, it's really easy to tie them into your theme. For my birthday, I went for a rustic autumnal theme. So I used light pinks and blues which I used in my thank you cards. Thank you cards are another thing to think about. I would advise sorting them out at the same time as inventions because they are very similar. If you really want to save money, you could text invitations or thank yous.

Structure

Next you need to sort out some kind of structure to what your doing; this is the bit where you decide exactly what you are doing. If you have younger kids you will probably want a more structured plan but if the kids are older you may be able to be a bit more relaxed. Also, if you have something booked like a restaurant or cinema tickets you will need to have a more structured plan. So, first of all, where are you meeting. If you are going somewhere are meeting there first or are you doing something else. If you are going to a specific venue then meeting there is probably a bit easier considering you may have to be there a bit early to get things ready. So, you are at the venue. What next? Well, if you have younger kids, you'll what to get them doing something straight away so I would suggest as a structure, doing activites then having food and then doing some more relaxed activity. For example, playing outside if you're​ at home and have a garden. If you have older this structure still works. For example, doing an activity like watching a film then having some food then just letting the kids relax and chat. 

Food

Now you have got everyone doing something, you need to feed everyone. Of course you have the classic party food of samwhiches and crisps which a great if you have lots of people who have lots of different preferences. However if you have a smaller group of people, you could buy plain pizzas had toppings and people can put what they want on their own pizzas. Or if there's not many people you can ask them what they want and buy certain food. Now, the most important food at a party is sugary food. Of course, there's birthday cake but there's more than just cake. If you like baking you could​ bake something however, popcorn and other sweets are great for older kids, especially at sleepovers. For interactive desserts, you could create make your own knicker-boker-glories or add your own icecream topping. These are great for younger kids but a change to get a bit messy for younger children. Remember, food is a great chance to include your theme a bit more. For example  the birthday cake could tie into a theme or plates and table wear if you are using table wear.

Since you have your party all planned out, all you need to do is add extra details like decoration and party bags.

Decoration

Decoration is where you can really pull your theme in. Things like birthday banners with your chosen colour of theme. Ballons in certain colours. Be creative. I think if you have time making your own decorations makes it much easier to pull in your design. Go to your local craft shop and inspired.

Party bags

Party bags aren't necessary but if you have a layer budget then they are a good option. If you have younger kids then all you need is a plastic bag and some cheap little toys to keep them entertained. However older kids still don't mind silly things. Boncey balls, blow and realise ballons and lots of chocolate and sweets make a fun party bags for most children. If you want something more sepfisticated, then you can really get creative. I made custom flower crowns to match my theme. There's no limit to what you can make.

Well that is the basics of having a functining party. If you want to see more things like this then leave a comment. I would love to do some more detailed and sepcific party's. As summer is approaching, I was thinking about doing a summer party planning post. Well I will speech to you another time, bye for now and have a good party!