GelWriter Tekwriter Pen Writing Sample!

Hello Friend!

     Our family went on a little Costco run today, and while perusing the toy aisle, I caught sight of this GelWriter 100 Count Pens pack!  I tried not to look at it too hard, but my husband took notice of what caught my eye.  He said he thought it looked cool, and that it would be fun to use when I smashbook.  He actually saw my smashbook this morning (I'll do a little video of my progress this week) and really liked it.  So, this made it home with us along with a bunch of other stuff we happened upon and figured we could not leave without.  Costco, you will only be visited once a month, pinky swear.  

     Instead of doing a pen review on every color this pack had to offer, I decided to use the darkest sparkle purple color to show how strong the ink was on the following planners' pages.  This pen and the few others I tried wrote on first write.  There was minimal skipping,  and with the purple pen shown below, the more I wrote, the stronger and smoother it became.  Without further ado, let's get started!  

Arial shot of how the pens are packaged.  They come on a rotating stand.  So fun!  

$19.99 at Costco.

Above is the Day Designer, front and back views.  I am using my husband's birthday as the event I am recording in each of the following planners since his special day will be recorded anyway.  

Above is the Simplified Planner, front and back views.

Front and back views of the 

Plum Paper Family Planner

Front and back views of the Lifeplanner.

     Overall, I am happy with my purchase.  Although it is obvious that these gel pens can bleed, I am not too concerned about that.  I love vibrant colors that write smoothly,  and these pens do the job!  

Happy writing, friend! 

Until next write,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee

Hello Friend!

     Here is a picture of how a purple papermate flair pen looks on the Day Designer (left) and Simplified Planner (right).  The instructions in the Day Designer do say that the G2 pens are the best on their paper.  I believe that their paper is thinner, but there is an entire section that helps you focus on developing your brand and goals for the year, so I think it was a must on their part.  I love both, I really do.  I can't wait to show you all how I use them come 2015!  Have a beautiful day! 

Until Next Write,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee

My Plum Paper Family Planner!

Hello Friend!

     My Plum Paper Family Planner has finally arrived!  If you have been wondering about what this lovely planner looks like on the inside, please scroll on over to my YouTube channel.  As always, if you have any specific questions, please do not hesitate to ask!  Have a wonderful Sunday!

Until Next Write,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee 

Citrus Lane September Box Unboxing Video!

Hello Friend!
     I am on a roll today!  Here is a quick unboxing video of our September Citrus Lane Box for our toddler son.  We are very pleased with all the items we received this month.
     As always, if you have any questions, please ask me!  Thank you!

Until next write,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee

My Kikki-K Stationery Haul!

Hello Again Friend!

     Here is a YouTube video that gives you a closer look at the Kikki-K stationery I bought a couple weeks ago.  If you want to see anything in more detail, please let me know!  Thank you!
     Happy viewing!

Until next write,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee

My Erin Condren Lifeplanner As A Memory Book!

Hello Friend!

     Please check out my new YouTube video which explains how I use my Erin Condren Lifeplanner as a memory book for my family.   

     Please let me know if you have any questions! 

     Happy viewing!

Until next write,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee 

My Kikki-K Stationery Haul!

Hello Friend!
     Here are pictures of my awesome stationery haul from Kikki-K! Enjoy! 

This is the Daily Notes Pad - Live Bright. $12.95
It is a large size; it does not fit in my A5 planners. That's fine though because I will use it in place of my Day Designer and Simplified Planner until 2015 rolls in. 

This is the Mini Daily Planner Pad - Cute. $7.95
This fits in the top loading back cover pockets of my A5 planners.

This is the 3am Notepad which has 40 different quotes. On sale for $9.07. Each quote repeats 3 times.  The following are 3 of my favorite quotes.  How fun!

This is the Printed Note Pad - Cute.
$12.95
There are 40 different designs which repeat 3 times. This is the same size as the 3am notepad. 

This shows 9 of the 40 designs that come in the notepad shown above.

I do hope that you enjoyed my little tour of my Kikki-K stationery haul.  Look out for future blogs posts that will feature how I use them!

Until next write,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee

A Peak Inside My Kikki-K Lilac and Gold Large Planner!

Hello Friend!

     It has been a few days since I have posted.  I apologize for the lull in activity.  However, I hope you find today's post to be helpful and fun!  I purchased this large Kikki-K Lilac and Gold planner over a month ago.  After a few weeks of not knowing how I was going to use this beauty, I finally had a moment during Church this past Sunday where her purpose in my life finally hit me.  Call it divine inspiration or just a plain "aha moment", but as I was sitting in the pew with my family, I had a sudden urge to write down what our priest was speaking about during his Homily.  I had my beautiful Traveler's Notebook with me, and I started to write down all the key points that just tugged at my heart strings.  That rush of knowing you are doing something that you will thank yourself for later just came over me like a tidal wave.  I know that in other churches (because I had been to quite a few different churches throughout my college years) it is common to take notes during a sermon and to follow along with the readings in your own Bible. For some reason, I have not seen that practiced too often in a Catholic church.  Well, to make a long story short, I have always been the type of person who needed to write things down to either commit it to memory or to really understand it.  What better way to use my planner than to have it assist me in my faith journey.  I will be taking notes during mass on the weekends I am off, and then on the weekends that I work, I will be referring to this website for the week's readings.  Any inspirational books that I am reading will also have it's own place in my planner.  By the way, I do name my planners, and I have named this one Faith.

Front view of Faith.  I love the snap-closure look!

I do not keep too much in the front left cover pockets yet, but what I do have are the Today list pad that comes with the planner, a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and a Project Life card that happens to match the Saint's color scheme.

This is a little odd at first glance because it's basically a bunch of cupcakes.  What does that have to do with my faith journey?  Well, I am big on symbolism, so the "Twelve" reminds me of the 12 Disciples, the cupcakes remind me that life is sweet, and the stickers I have behind the cupcakes (as well as the cupcake card) are from a dear pen pal friend of mine who also shares the same Catholic background as I do.

I have yet to re-write my notes from this past Sunday's homily, but this is how I am going to start each entry.

Tabs can be labeled with the sheets of stickers that come with the Planner.

I absolutely enjoy The Long Island Medium, and when I saw her book at Target, I had to get it.  I have seen all of her episodes, but the things she talks about in her book are mind blowing.  I highly recommend it.  It seems like an odd inspirational book, but if you did not know, Theresa is a practicing Catholic as well, and her take on her faith and her calling is very inspirational indeed.

Look at how much paper comes with this planner!  Everything is undated, so when I finally figured out what I was going to use her for, it felt very much like a match made in heaven.

And if all that paper is not enough for you, an entire notepad is included as well!

I do hope that you enjoyed this little tour of my Kikki-K Planner, Faith.  I find that moments of inspiration come and go, so when it hits, you have to have some place to write it all down.  I do plan to bind my loose leaf paper together in some way once I get to the point where I need to start moving paper out.  I will probably have that done at Office Depot or some main stream office supply store. I feel good knowing that I will have something beautiful to reflect on for many years to come.

 Thank you for scrolling along with me!

Until next write,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee

Custom Leather Traveler's Notebook by Jonel Imutan!

Hello Friend!

     First of all, I would like to point out that I am purely a pleased customer of Jonel Imutan.  This post is to share how happy I am with her product!  

     Jonel creates beautiful custom leather Traveler's Notebooks.  The one I purchased from her is featured in the pictures below. What I love about her shop is that you can pick your color scheme.  I chose distressed purple on the outside and a mix of yellow and orange on the inside.  Purple, orange, and yellow are the colors of the bird of paradise which is my Blog's symbol.  I chose the passport size, but Jonel makes other sizes as well.  The price is $20 which is very fair considering the customization and lovely leather.  An extra $5.80 for tracked shipping and handling will get your Notebook to your door within 2 to 3 days.  

This is how my notebook arrived excluding the bubble wrap!

I requested distressed purple with elastic originating from mid spine, and 4 elastics on the inside to add notebooks or pockets.

Spine view.  Lots of elastic to add charms, etc.!

My notebook does not lie flat just yet, but that is to be expected since it is brand new.  The Sharpie Pen is holding it down, and it shows the 4 inner elastic bands.  The inner leather is a mix of yellow and orange.

This is a look at the back inner cover.

Another look at the distressed purple when it is open.

A closer look at Jonel's awesome business card!

     Overall I am very happy with my custom leather Traveler's Notebook from Jonel.  I love to support small businesses, and I am very pleased to have chosen her shop as the origination of my very first Traveler's Notebook.  Thank you for such a beautiful product Jonel!

Until Next Write,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee

Simplified Planner and Day Designer Comparison Video

Hello friend!

     Thank you so much for your patience!  My YouTube video featuring the new Emily Ley Simplified Planner and the Whitney English Day Designer is finally published!  This is the original "First Flip Through" video which I was thought was lost.  It is lengthy, but I hope you enjoy it!  I will also post another shorter version of this video once I get my other camera up and running again.  The shorter version will hit the main differences of these wonderful planners in a more straight forward way.  Again, thank you for your patience!

Until Next Write,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee

Simplified Planner and Day Designer Comparison!

Hello Friend!

     As promised, here are quite a few comparison pictures of my Emily Ley Simplified Planner (SP) and Whitney English Day Designer (DD).  A lengthy video will be on my YouTube channel soon.  Enjoy!

The gorgeous covers.  Both are sturdy and thick. I don't feel like I need to baby them, although the DD instructions say to handle it with care to prevent deep scratches and excessive wear. 

The spirals are comparable.  They are almost the same tan/bronze color.  The DD has more pages due to the worksheets in the front of the planner as well as the thick monthly page tabs reserved for notes.

The corners are reinforced with gold colored plates.  The SP's plates are larger while the DD's plates come wrapped in plastic.

The SP's monthly tabs are different colors while the DD's tabs are gold.
Both are laminated.

A closer look at their spirals.

The inside front pockets of the SP (left) and DD (right). The SP pocket is larger and sturdier.

Another view of the tabs.

Daily layouts of the SP (left) and DD (right).

The weekend layouts of the SP (L) and DD (R).

Where the tabs are located in the planners. Note that the SP does not have a divider like the DD. 

Month on 2 pages, left side. SP on the left, DD on the right. 

Month on 2 pages, right side.

Introduction pages.

     Overall, I see myself using both planners in their entirety.   The SP will be my family's daily planner, and the DD will be for my blog and aspiring entrepreneurial goals.  The only disappointment I have in both of them is the fact that both clump the traditional weekend onto one page.  I hope they will consider separating Saturday and Sunday in future editions, at the very least for the DD.

     That is all for now!  If you have any questions, I would love to answer them!

Until next write,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Hello Friend,

     It has been a crazy hectic week for our family.  Right when things were coming to a head last night, my three year old came bouncing up to me with all of his toddler wonder and excitement and started singing the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" song.  Grandiose hand motions and all.  I was stuffing food into my mouth since I had just finished a ten hour shift at the hospital.  Honestly, I was not paying attention to him at first.  But, with his innocent insistence, I started singing and dancing with him.  He was so into the song that I started to think "There's something more to this...I need to pay attention.".  

The itsy bitsy spider 

Climbed up the water spout.

Down came the rain 

And washed the spider out.

Out came the sun 

And dried up all the rain

And the itsy bitsy spider 

Went up the spout again.

     I knew at an instant that this was one of those moments when my son was teaching me.  I never thought twice about the lyrics before.  Heck, I do not like spiders in the least bit.  That fact alone made me not like the song at all when I was younger.  However, I was so preoccupied with the craziness of  our family life as of late that something told me to stop and listen to my son and the song he was  joyfully bringing to me.  After reflecting on the lyrics, I knew why my gut was telling me to listen.  Lately, I have been feeling like the poor spider, working so hard to get to the top of the proverbial house.  Then the rain of emotions and life in general came and knocked me back to square one.  But then, out came the son in all of his toddler innocence, and I somehow found the courage to get back up and climb again.  

Until Next Write Friend,

Teresa

@sentimentalitee

Week 37 is going to be an excellent Happy Mail Parcel week!

Please stay tuned!

Until Next Write,
Teresa
@sentimentalitee

Coming Soon!

Hello everyone!

I have decided to create a new blog now that I have a better idea of what I am doing.  Thank you to those who have visited my prior blog, "Presents of Harmony".  I loved the way my old  blog started out, but after 3 weeks of trying to get into the swing of things, I came to the realization that I just was not "gelling" with the name.  You will find out soon enough that I am big on names.  When a name (or decision, for that matter) does not ring well with me anymore, there is a reason for it, and I have no qualms with moving on.  So, I do hope that you enjoy my new blog.  The premise is the same as my first blog.  I aim to create a balanced life, one letter at a time.  I sincerely hope that I can inspire you to do the same.  

Until Next Write!
Teresa
@sentimentalitee