a place to write

Even though I have online blogs, I will never stop writing in my diary, or using my filofax. I would always choose pen and paper over screen and keyboard.

There is something so calming about sitting down to write thoughts about the day, scribbling down things To Do, dates to remember. I try to make sitting down to write a part of each day. For me, writing down my thoughts is vital. Keeps me sane, helps me work out any problems. It's a slice of time that's all mine, something just for me and nobody else. Quiet time.

My place to do this used to be the kitchen, but now it's the craft room. My little haven, somewhere I love to spend time.

I get all of my daily chores out of the way, make a cup of tea, and up to the craft room I go.
If time slips away from me, and I haven't written in my diary, then I will throw it in my handbag, find a bench in the playground and write as I wait for school to end. It's not so much about where I write, it's about writing at some point during the day.

The diary I am using is a three year personalised one from [Prometheus Bound Books]. A Christmas pressie from the husband, and something I treasure. It's perfect, because the space for writing is small. Large enough to write thoughts or an account of the day, too small to feel overwhelmed. I can't recommend it enough.

I also have a little obsession with calendars. The kitchen wouldn't be the same without a Susan Branch calendar hanging on pantry door.

The calendar that came with Mollie Makes hangs on the side of cupboard, and smaller calendars printed from the internet live on the side of the fridge. I always have this many calendars in the kitchen.

And yet, last summer, when school hols were approaching, I wanted an extra calendar! Something that showed the end of July, all of August,and the beginning of September on one page, so The Girl could see exactly how much time she had off school.
I hoped to find something to print from the internet, but all I could find were the normal monthly printables. I ended up creating my own on the computer.

By the end of the hols, all the boxes had something written in them. Even if we were doing nothing more than spending time in the garden or baking cakes, I wrote it down. I've kept it, it's a nice record of how we spent our summer. I want to do the same again this year.

On Pinterest (where else?!) I saw a calendar idea using paint sample cards. What a great idea! I thought it would work well as my Summer Hols calendar this year, so, trying to get organised, I've made one already (made a few mistakes though, so I will probably end up making another one). The school website had the dates of school hols up already, seems I'm not alone in thinking ahead!
Not only is this amazingly easy, but it's another cost free project, and it's quite fun to do.

Select your sample cards.

Cut to size, and glue to card.

Write dates, days, months.

I've seen several variations on this idea, but the fact is you just work it to suit you, and make it how you want it. Mine starts on a Wednesday because the first day of summer hols is a Wednesday this year, and it goes straight through to the start of September.

I've put mine in a clear plastic folder so it can dry off and keep the cards flat. I've seen one version where it was put in a frame to become a wipeable calendar, which is a great idea. But I want to write on mine, and keep it light enough to be held to the fridge with a few magnets.

Paint swatch calendar idea brought to you by the brilliance of Pinterest, tracked back to [this] website.