My Filofax Week #35

Another week in my Kikki.K large time planner!

Disclaimer: my pictures will be a little off  in this post - because our weather has been dreadful - cloudy but hot & humid. Wow. This week passed so quickly!  It was a pretty low-key week here, but I'm learning to enjoy those. Another month is coming to a close, and I'm excited to see what September brings. 

Mara-Mi kraft paper notepad + neon stickers = insta-fun!

I went with a neon-ish theme this week, just because it made me oh-so happy!

My favorite bits of the week were the heart sticky notes and the little "don't forget" note.

One of my friends from the Netherlands helped me purchase a lot of lovely bright items from a store called HEMA. The shaped sticky notes, binder inserts, printed sticky notes, and both washi tapes seen here are from there. These bits are just so bright and cheery!

Other items used: Pilot FriXion pen, black ink, jetpens.com; Pilot Hi Tec C Coleto, sweet mode, jetpens.com; Avery neon color-coding dots, amazon.com; kraft paper notepad, Mara-Mi, Marshalls.

I hope you had a happy week. I'll leave you with one of my all-time favorite quotes, by J.R.R. Tolkien:

From rain to shine

Don't forget, my giveaway is open for a few more days & Happy (almost) September!

Free Printable "I Heart My Blog" Filofax Insert - Personal & A5

A preview of the "i heart my blog" planner.

Hello lovelies and happy Friday! As a treat for all you Filofax-using Bloggers, I've uploaded a printable page for your enjoyment! You may click on each to preview and download to your heart's content. And don't worry if you can't find one you love, there will be more.

A5 Size  i heart my blog planner*

Personal size i heart my blog planner

* if printing on A4 or US letter size paper, please print two per page.

I hope you like them! What other printables would you like to see on cafe et papier?

Psst...have you entered my giveaway? One week left...

My Filofax week #34

I had quite the strange week this week. It was supposed to be the first week back to college, but I ended up taking the semester off because of things beyond my control. Interesting, to say the least. 

It turned out to be a great week (after Wednesday was over) and I did a lot of lovely crafty things like starting project life and writing many letters. 

Products loved this week: magnetic typewriter pagemarker, HEMA, gifted to me; left side blue sticky notes, Michaels, $1.50 for 25 sheets; "Not all those who wander are lost" sticker, Kikki.K, $19.95 for a book; Pink dot washi tape, Target; A7 notepaper, Kikki.K, 4.95 for a notepad; Light blue mini sticky note, Girl of All Work, gifted. 

Left side of the spread

And the right side.

Here's a fun little view of 2 of my top tabs, both by Martha Stewart and embellished with Kikki K stickers.

This week's inspiration: Live in the moment.

Psst... Have you entered my giveaway? 

Starting Project Life (oh yes I did!)

I took the plunge this week and started Project Life, though not without much deliberation. I was really hesitant to start in the middle of August - over halfway through 2013, but I read a ton of blogs that were super encouraging to me. Most of them said something along the lines of: your book is your book - there are no rules. After seeing this over and over, (oh, and after getting wind of a 5th & Frolic kit - love me some Dear Lizzy!) I decided to go for it. 

This is the first layout I made - centered on a trip to Las Vegas we took earlier this month. 

Products used: Design A page protector, Becky Higgins, $29.99 for a 60-pack; Kraft Edition core kit cards, Project Life, $29.99 for 616 cards; Dear Lizzy camera stamp (don't remember where!); Studio Calico wood veneers, $1.99, TJ Maxx; Amy Tangerine Thickers, $1.49, Marshalls.

Project Life Essentials: Cards & Canon Selphy printer

Photos, cards, and page protectors: these are the only products you need to get started on Project Life. Take it from me, I've seen all the really lovely project life layouts (I stalk #projectlife on Instagram like it's my job!) and sort of get intimidated. But in reality, everyone can start with just a few simple things. I, of course, had bits and pieces here and there from other crafty pursuits, so I added them in. And did I mention the major haulage I've been doing in order to get started? Yeah. Sorry bank account. I really recommend the Selphy because it is so simple to setup and use with the iPhone - which is my primary camera these days. 

Products used:  Design A page protector, Becky Higgins, $29.99 for a 60-pack; 5th & Frolic core kit cards, Michaels stores, $29.99 for 616 cards; Blush edition core kit cards, Project Life, $29.99 for 616 cards; American Crafts DIY Thickers, $1.49, Marshalls; Freckled Fawn wood veneers, $5.00, Paper Tales Shop, San Diego.

Overall, I'm really enjoying my new project and trying to make it my own. I like putting in personal touches like a penpal letter from the lovely Rin, or a parking pass from my college along with pictures and of course the gorgeous journaling cards. 

I have a feeling this will be a really fun hobby.

Psst... have you entered my giveaway? x

It's giveaway time!

Hello fellow color lovers and stationery addicts! Today I have something very exciting to share with you. That's right. It's A JETPENS GIVEAWAY! I hope you're all excited as I am to be a part of this partnership. JetPens is the top of the line when it comes to your stationery purchases. Not to mention their unheard of customer service. But enough of the gushing, here's the great part:

Frixion highlighters, $10 for 6 color set, jetpens.com.

Hi-tec-C Coleto multipen 4-color body in pink, $3.30;  Ink cartridges, 0.3mm, $16.50 for a 10-pack.

The winner will receive a very special JetPens prize pack, including:

The full set of Pilot Frixion Erasable highlighters. 

Three Frixion Ball Knock Erasable Pens - 0.5mm, one each of red, black, & blue.

and finally,

A Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto 4-color multi pen body in the color pink

+ 10 ink cartridges in 0.3mm to customize your own pen!

There are many ways you can enter. Good luck to all of you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A special thank-you goes out to the JetPens marketing team for sponsoring this giveaway.

Comment below and tell me what you'd use this prize for if you won. Is it your Filofax? Art Journal? A special snail mail? Taking notes at school? 

Thanks for stopping by and as always, happy planning! 

my week aug 12-18

Summer is coming to a close and the Fall 2013 semester is beginning. Hard to believe, but it's true. This was the first full week I used my A5 Kikki.K large time planner.  I have to say, I'm completely in awe of how large the rings are! I had it set up very simply - with the inserts that I had, the thing wasn't even half full.  As for the content, school hadn't started yet and I had a few errands to do here and there, as well as lots of fun things to work on involving this blog. Anyway, I kept it really simple on decorations this week - no stickers to speak of - and stuck more to writing. (By the way, this week may look very familiar if you've already seen this post. I promise it's different. Keep reading!) 

Here's a picture of some very photogenic stationery - the Kikki K large time planner, A7 notebook, and of course, the queen of all yummyness, Martha Stewart x Avery tabs. I used these a lot this week as setting up my planner takes many, many sections. See more on that in a later blog post. 

This week's details:  Blue journal card, Project Life Blush edition core kit, $29.99, twopeasinabucket.com; Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto multi-pen (3 barrels- I used the color "baby pink" 0.4mm above.) Sweet Mode, $2.50 for body, $2.20 for each ink cartridge, jetpens.com; Uni StyleFit multi-pen (5 barrels- I only used the color black 0.5mm above.) Black dot (currently out of stock), $4.75 for body, $1.65 for each ink cartridge, jetpens.com; Kikki.K A7 notepad in Celebrate Today- Stripe, $4.95, kikki-k.com; Bicycle paper clip and pink triangle washi tape pictured in first photo, gifted to me by xoylee; grey thin washi tape, $7.99 for rainbow pack, Michaels stores; Heart & cloud washi tape, currently out of stock, twopeasinabucket.com.

I'm very happy with how my week turned out, aesthetically. It's hard to say if the coming weeks will be so pretty with school starting. Very soon I'll upload a post about my A5 binder setup, but first I have to do a few little tweaks to make it perfect. I'll leave you with these words of encouragement for the week ahead:

via blinksoflife.tumblr.com

Do you find that your weeks are prettier when there's less to do? Or do your pages thrive on productivity?

Thanks for reading, and cheers to a new week!

monami essenti-soft highlighter review

First, let me start off by saying that Asian stationery companies have it right. Many different brands have released their ranges of pastel highlighters, one of which I'm featuring today - the Monami Essenti-Softs. These, among other easy-on-the-eyes highlighter pens can be purchased at JetPens.com. I have to admit, I first stumbled upon these when searching for a one dollar item that would boost me into the free shipping bracket. So I picked out one, the purple, which still is one of my favorites out of the whole bunch. On my next JetPens order, I splurged (for me) and got the rest of the set. They really are beautiful and I think the concept of lighter highlighters is genius, half because I'm obsessed with anything pastel, and half because I like the idea of less-vibrant shades to soothe me during finals week.

Monami Essenti-Soft Highlighters, $1.05 per pen, available at Jetpens.com.

 You may be thinking, hey! These don't look very pastel to me. And you would be correct. The other brand I've tried, the Zebra Mildliners, really do have that light, dreamy color. These Monami brand on the other hand are brighter and more vibrant, while still retaining a more subtle tone than mass-marketed American highlighter pens.  As far as the colors go, I think the orange and yellow are too bright and the blue is slightly generic, whereas my three favorites are the pink, green, and purple.

I've tested them here on the notoriously tissue-thin Filofax paper (back view). They are considerably more liquidy than their Zebra counterparts. I actually prefer the liquid content of the Monamis, though not with my Filofax. In reality I don't do much highlighting there anyway - it gets a little hectic if I do. There is considerable show-through on the end of each line, where I press my pen down before picking it up. Does everyone do this, or am I crazy? 

Overall, I really enjoy the performance and color payoff these markers give. I will most definitely be using them in my textbooks this semester, in reports, and possibly even to decorate some outgoing mail. I suggest you throw one in your cart next time you're on JetPens.com. They're only about a dollar, sold separately, so there isn't much to lose. I bet you'll find a color that makes you oh-so happy!

a look at my brand new personal finchley filofax

There is nothing quite like finding something you've been desperately searching for...It's like the perfect cookie dough recipe. (I finally found mine here. Just don't tell my mother I use the plastic baggy method.) Such is my experience with this particular Filofax. The Finchley model was discontinued a few years ago, much before I was a fan of the Filofax brand. I've tried a few Filofaxes-and cookie recipes- and I liked them all, but now I know that they weren't perfect. It wasn't until I had seen a few photos here and there of the Vintage Rose Finchely that I knew I had to have it. The whimsical color yet polished design absolutely made me swoon. It wasn't until my good friend made me aware of one for sale on Facebook that I really thought it was possible for it to be mine. And as I sit here, indulging in my edible, baggy-made cookie dough, I can safely say I'm a very happy girl!

These are some close-ups to show the lush "deluxe" leather. It is notably squishier and floppier than my Finsburys ever were. I absolutely adore the fact that the leather is not stiff, and the organizer lies flat straight out of the box. I've never had a Personal size Filofax do that. 

I moved in as soon as I got it! 

You didn't think I'd get through this whole lovely blog post without some polka dots, did you? My new Finchley is pictured here with one of my Kikki.K dividers from the Dreaming collection. 

 Of course I couldn't resist another polka dot shot. I think pink Filofaxes and polka dots are meant to be together. It's pictured here with my Uni Style+Fit 5-barrel pen from JetPens.com.  Looks like it's a  match made in planner heaven.

Finally, my two (and only) planners. I love them both to bits and couldn't be happier with any other system. Safe to say I'm really happy with the purchase of my new Finchley. It might just be the best Filofax I've ever owned! I feel good about downsizing my collection, as I'm trying this new thing called minimalism. Ha! Remind me of that next time I go on TwoPeasInABucket and buy all the things! 

Stick around for the setup of my A5 planner which I use for school. 

For more shameless Filoflashing, check out my Instagram account here. Oh, and I have also opened a Twitter account- you can follow my tweets here.

Thanks for reading! What's your favorite Filofax? Do you own it, or are you just dreaming of it?

Five on Friday

This is the first installment in a series I'll call "Five on Friday" - Each Friday I'll post a  random assortment of things I'm loving from around my apartment. Just because I can.

1. Trader Joe's Creamed Honey $4.99 for 16 oz.

2. Kikki-K notepad - $4.95

3. Bumble & Bumble Deeep - $27.00 for 5 fl. oz.

4. Instax Mini photos from Vegas Vacation (ft. Beyonce)

5. Yogi Honey Lavender Stress Relief Tea - $3.31 for 16 bags

The week after a vacation often feels like "recovery" to me. It's kind of depressing being home after having such a fun trip, so I usually need a few days to assimilate back into the real world. I included a few instax photos I took while in Vegas. Staying at the MGM, we saw a bunch of posters for upcoming concerts. Naturally, I had my boyfriend pose next to Queen B for me. He loves it.

This week, I've surprised even myself by opting for herbal tea over coffee on many an occasion. I've discovered just the right ratio of vanilla soy milk to tea steeped-ness, and I even embarrassed myself (well, almost) when I brought in my own bag to Starbucks. "You want a tea misto...with your own tea?" Yup. It was awesome. I've always loved lavender, and this tea is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Beyond that, I've also been playing around with my Kikki.K stationery a lot this week. (and for the record, I'm not even getting a kick-back for mentioning them. Though I'm not opposed to the idea! I'm looking at you, Kikki.K corporate!) In addition, my hair has been really confused. I came back from a roadtrip where I completely neglected it, so I've given it some much-needed TLC with Bb Deeep. It really mellows out and softens my frizz-prone curls. It smells like banana bubblegum, too. What's not to love?

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

moving in (& adjusting to) my A5 Kikki.K planner

Hello lovelies,

As many of you might realize, I've recently become obsessed with Kikki.K. I bought a new A5 Time Planner from their website about a week ago. When it arrived I was ecstatic. Just look at it! It's so lush. 

 Of course I had to show you all my recent layouts inside it - because I love it so! The only "problem" - if you can call it that - is the size. I adore how big the rings are and how much room I have to write as opposed to my Personal Filofax Finsbury(s), but it is a bit large to carry around on a daily basis. Instead of an everyday planner, I'll most likely use this one as a school notebook (complete with class schedules, space for notes, and a diary dedicated to my college courses. But more on that later!) I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Have you splurged on anything new lately? Do you know what setup you'll be using for 2014? 

xo, Kait.

on my mind: mint & rose

On my mind lately: Pink & mint,  polka dots, and lush stationery

If you haven't already heard of it, you simply must check out Kikki.K, the most fabulous stationery store on the planet. All of their items are so delicious and well-designed, plus their customer service is top-notch. I've already placed... ahem, a few... orders with them, and I even have a lovely friend in Australia who absolutely spoils me with so many of their  treats. 

What's on your mind, lately? 

xo, kait