Christmas Preparation: Christmas Planner

She's making a list and checking it twice. She is going to find out what's been done and what is still left on her list. Not a detail will she miss in her Christmas planning. Yes, it is February 25th, which means it is once again time for a Christmas preparation post. This month I decided to make a Christmas planner with templates for my readers. I intended on posting a tutorial of my Christmas planner as well, but I have not had time to get all of the necessary materials. As soon as I am able to finish my Christmas planner I will post a tutorial as well.

This planner is a lot of fun and could save you a lot of work in the coming months. There are many templates, but you don't have to use all of the pages I used. While I filled out many of my pages you don't have to as I will showcase various pages throughout the year. There are various tutorials out there including turning your Christmas planner into a journal for a treasured family heirloom, but these templates and this method is what works best for my needs.

Christmas Planner 

Materials needed are a binder or notebook, printer, ink, printer paper, templates, scrapbook paper, and other embellishments. Also envelopes in various sizes.
Look through the templates provided and print the pages you need. You may need multiple copies of some pages like gift ideas and menu planning.
The page with the calendar should be printed 12 times for each month in the year.

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When I was printing out the template pages to make my own Christmas planner I accidentally printed the templates 2 sided, which is fine for some of the pages, but not all. Since I was unwilling to reprint the entire planner I put the pages in sheet protectors and am using a white board pen to write in the various items. This makes the planner reusable for next year, which is an added bonus to my mistake.

Baking and Holiday Bucket List

As you can see I have started filling out the pages of the planner that are the same every year. Every year I bake the same sweets with only the quantity changing so I wrote in the things I was planning on making, the quantity, and the shopping list. Then I filled out the holiday bucket list on the next page with the things I want to do every year like make a snowman and drink hot coco. If there is something you want to do every year and want to make it a family tradition then make sure to record it on the family tradition page.

Handmade Gifts

The final page I filled out was the homemade gift page. Next month's Christmas Preparation post will be about filling out the handmade gifts template. As you can see I started filling out the page with the two gifts I know I am making: a crochet sweater and a zebra pajama set. I have an idea of the materials I need to complete the gifts and have most of the materials I need already purchased, which is what I recommend doing, as well as a time estimate of how long it will take to complete each gift.

There are 22 pages in the Christmas Planner template and you may need multiple copies of one or more of the pages. Print as many pages as you need. Glue the pages into a notebook, embellish with scrapbook paper and stickers, or put into sheet protectors in a binder. Take pictures of your Christmas planner and be sure to upload the pictures below or share on Instagram using #BooBear'sChristmasPlanner.

Gift Planning Tutorial

February is almost over, which means it is almost the start of my gift giving season. Between my family and friends I have many birthdays from March through November, which usually leaves me feeling a bit frazzled thinking of gift planning. I have never implemented an organizational system for gift planning throughout the year, but as I was working on the next Christmas Preparation post I thought it would be a good idea. Of course I immediately sat down at my computer and started typing a template for monthly gift organization and another template for gift ideas, both of which are crucial for gift planning organization. The link to view and download these templates will be posted under the pictures below.

Gift Planning Template

Monthly Gift Template

I designed the Gift Planning Template to organize your gift recipients' favorite colors, scents, and activities as well as their shoe, pant, and shirt sizes. Depending on the person this gift planning page can be used over and over again. I have only printed 2 of these gift planning pages for use with my immediate family. Eventually I will be using more of these pages, but for this tutorial only 1 page is needed. I designed the Monthly Gift Template to record all of the birthdays for a given month, the gift you plan on giving, whether it is completed if you are making the gift, and whether you wrapped the present. If I ever create my own personal planner I will definitely be incorporating this template page every month and of course I will be sure to post the templates and pictures here.

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As a reminder the promo code FOOTBALL50, to be used in my Etsy store BooBear Designs, expires in 4 days on February 28th, so be sure to check out the football team hats before then. There are ONLY 3 team hats left: San Diego Chargers, New England Patriots, and Seattle Seahawks. Be sure to enter the promo code shown above for 50% off these hats.

Happy President's Day!

Busy...Busy...Busy. This is my life Monday through Sunday, which is why I love 4 day weekends. Even on 4 day weekends I am busy, but I have much more time to get things done. This weekend, besides the usual errand running, I finished projects and made significant progress on organizing my craft space. I spent most of last week finishing up projects, including an A's baseball cap, an A's beanie, and a Liverpool soccer diaper cover. I also spent the week working on an A's cowl that just needs to be lined, a pink blanket, a blue scarf, and another diaper cover. Below are the pictures of my latest finished projects. 

A's Baseball Cap

Liverpool Diaper Cover

A's Baseball Beanie

Then this weekend I spent most of my time organizing my craft supplies and projects. I used a technique I learned from a post on Craftgawker to rewind my scrapped balls of yarn with an end coming out of the middle. I will post a review of the post and a tutorial of my own on this method in a future post. The rest of the time I emptied out boxes left over from Christmas and organized my craft supplies using the 27 compartment boxes I purchased at Home Depot. I also spent some time organizing all of my Christmas decorations, baked good containers, and other assorted Christmas items into a single red plastic bin. While the bin isn't that attractive it is highly functional and will serve my needs perfectly this year as I work on a post each month for Christmas. 

My favorite part of organizing, besides being able to find my things, is discovering the supplies I had forgot about or thought I had used. Saturday I found photos I had planned on using as business cards, but had put away and truthfully forgotten about. Since ordering these photos I have made different business cards, but now I have more cards to choose from. After organizing all of my current projects I realize I have a lot of projects in various stages of completion, more than I realized, and a lot of yarn. I spent half of the day creating an inventory for my projects and the other half spinning the yarn into neat balls. I had hoped to get through more this weekend, but apparently organizing old projects is slower than I had anticipated. 

I am going to continue organizing my craft space and hopefully I will be finished by the end of this month. I am already starting to take pictures of my craft organization and am excited to show my readers the transformation. 

Comment below with your favorite activities for long weekends and how many projects you currently have in progress. I would love to know I am not the only one with a box of unfinished projects. :)

Is it baseball season yet?

This weekend was the Oakland Athletic's Fan Fest and I had an amazing time. The event was completely sold out with 20,000 in attendance. It was packed and raining, but one of the best experiences of my life. Going into Fan Fest I had four things I wanted to accomplish: 1)Autographs, 2)Player photos, 3)Photos with the World Series trophies, and 4)Clubhouse tour. Unfortunately because it was packed I was only able to accomplish two of these things. I was only able to attend one autograph session and one player photo session, but that is where it gets amazing. 

On Sunday I finally posted my Take Me Out To The Ball Game post with my idea for the Sonny Gray t-shirt, although it has been written since mid-January. I made the shirt since I wrote the post and was wearing it at Fan Fest on Saturday. The only autograph session I was able to attend just so happened to be with Sonny Gray and Stephen Vogt. The shirt was a success and without gushing too much it was a wonderful experience and opportunity as both a designer and a fan. I don't believe I have ever felt my work appreciated as much as it was on Saturday. The pictures of my shirt are shown here. Don't forget to notice the autograph on the front of the shirt.

 I love my shirt and my autograph, but it made me think what are some ways to protect an autograph on a t-shirt without just putting it on display? I usually just take my autographed clothing and put it in frames or some other display, but I would really like to keep wearing this shirt. Someone suggested Woolite and cold water, but does anyone know if that works?

Still on the buzz of the excitement of this weekend I am dreaming about more projects for baseball games and baseball players. I already have a few more player t-shirts in mind and am resisting the urge to go out and purchase more materials. After all I still have plenty of projects to finish before I start any more. That said I am anxious to get started so my fingers will be in overdrive to finish my projects this week and of course I will post lots of pictures, either on here or on my Facebook page BooBear Designs.

Remember to use promo code FOOTBALL50 on my Etsy shop, BooBear Designs, for 50% off football team hats until February 28th. 

Charity of the Month: Valentine's for Seniors

It is the 7th, which means it is time to introduce this month's charity, Valentine's for Seniors. 

DoSomething has paired with Meals on Wheels to deliver Valentine's cards to seniors. Individuals make one or more cards, using card stock, and then mail these cards to their local Meals on Wheels or another location of their choice. Meals on Wheels then delivers the cards to seniors in the area. DoSomething is offering an entry to a $4,000 scholarship for every card mailed to Meals on Wheels as an extra incentive to participate in this campaign. For every card you make, take a picture, and then submit these pictures to DoSomething for your entries into the scholarship contest.

The Supplies

DoSomething provides a few guidelines and ideas for making Valentine's cards in pdf form, but I also have made a tutorial of the cards I have made and donated to Meals on Wheels. When I first started this project I had a grand plan and thought of many wonderful ideas, but very quickly I ran out of time. Plus I didn't have all of the supplies I thought I had like cardstock, doilies, and good markers. The Dollar Store has been very good about having a large variety of seasonal craft supplies, which is where I ended up going to to get doilies, foam stickers, and ribbon. However, I forgot to buy cardstock and new markers so I ended up using the supplies I had, construction paper and dried up markers.

Recommended supplies:
Cardstock in red, white, and pink. Construction paper works too.
Markers, bright vivid colors, in red, pink, and gold or silver
Doilies in red, white, or pink
Heart Stickers or stamps
Glitter, optional
Glue, I used a glue stick


For card designs 1 & 2:
Take cardstock or construction paper and fold it in fourths. Unfold once and cut along the fold line to make 2 cards.
Card 1: Paste doily to front of card. Write LOVE in pretty letters across the inside of the card. In upper right corner write a Valentine's message. DoSomething recommends you include 3 things in the message:
1. Location, but only your state, 2. Hobby or interest, and 3. Future plans

Card Design 1 & 2

Card 2: Adhere 3 heart stickers to card front. Using a gold or silver marker draw lines from heart point to card bottom to look like balloon strings. With a red or pink marker write "YOU BLOW ME AWAY
 in lower left corner. Left inside of card, write a quote or saying and decorate with scrolls. I wrote, "Live, Laugh, Love". Right inside of card, write your valentine message.

For card designs 3 & 4:
Fold cardstock in half and turn to make a vertical card. Paste a doily on the bottom of the card, cut around the doily to create a heart shape. DO NOT DISCARD SCRAPS.
Card 3: Cut ribbon and tie a bow. Glue bow to front of card on doily. Open card. On left side write a quote. I used "Spread the love everywhere you go." On the right side write the valentine message.

Card Design 3

Card Design 4

Card 4: Cut a folded strip out of cardstock scraps. Write LOVE in pretty letters, but omit O and replace with a heart sticker or stamp. Open card, write SPREAD THE LOVE across the inside of card. In upper right corner write a valentine message.

Refold all cards and put in a manila envelope addressed to the Meals On Wheels location of your choice. DoSomething recommends not including a return address to protect your identity. Remember to take a picture of your cards if you want to enter DoSomething's contest. If I have more time then I will make more cards using cardstock and more creative ideas so stay tuned. In the mean time be sure to leave your own ideas in the comments below.

Quick Gifts: Basic Crochet Hat

It is February 3rd, which means it is time for a quick gift idea. While each item I will post makes an excellent gift for a loved one, all of the gifts also make wonderful donations for local charities. I personally love to collect patterns or ideas for items that can be made in a day or a weekend. I usually make a portion of these patterns and store the items away to use as last minute gifts. This month's gift is one of those patterns I encourage my readers to make in advance and store. This pattern is a great gift for the little one in your life,  but also is an adorable donation to local charities. 

Since it is February and freezing in every state except California, this month I will be sharing my pattern for a simple crochet baby hat using Red Heart Super Saver Yarn. The pattern is super basic for beginners, but easily customized for advanced crocheters. I currently have a dozen of these hats made in various stages of customization for each season this year and have made countless others for gifts or donations.

Basic Crochet Hat

Pattern instructions written for newborn, toddler, and adult sizes (small/woman's and large/man's). Read instructions carefully to see where the increase stops for the size you are making. Ending stitch count for all hat sizes is in parentheses at the end of each round for instructions for all hat sizes.

Estimated time to complete is a few hours, depending on embellishments used.

Materials Needed:
1 skein of yarn in color of choice
Crochet hook size G
Yarn Needle, optional
Embellishments, optional

Directions
Round 1. 
Make a slip knot on crochet hook, chain (ch) 6, slip stitch (sl) to join, being careful not to twist.
Round 2.
Ch 1, 2 single crochet (sc) in each stitch (st), sl to join first st (12 st)
Round 3.
Ch 1, *2 sc in next st, sc in following st, repeat from * around, sl to join. (18 st)
Round 4.
Ch 1, *2 sc in next st, sc in next 2 st, repeat from * around, sl to join. (24 st)
Round 5.
Ch 1, *2 sc in next st, sc in next 3 st, repeat from * around, sl to join. (30 st)

For newborn size only stop increasing and sc in each st for 10 rounds.
For all other sizes continue to  increase.

Round 6.
Ch 1, *2 sc in next st, sc in next 4 st, repeat from * around, sl to join. (36 st)
Round 7.
Ch 1, *2 sc in next st, sc in next 5 st, repeat from * around, sl to join. (42 st)

For toddler size only stop increasing and sc in in each st for 8 rounds.
For adult sizes continue to increase.

Round 8.
Ch 1, *2 sc in next st, sc in next 6 st, repeat from * around, sl to join. (48 st)
Round 9.
Ch 1, *2 sc in next st, sc in next 7 st, repeat from * around, sl to join. (54 st)
Round 10.
Ch 1, *2 sc in next st, sc in next 8 st, repeat from * around, sl to join. (60 st)

For adult small (woman's) size only stop increasing and sc in each st for 5 rounds.
For adult large (men's) size continue to increase.

Round 11.
Ch 1, *2 sc in next st, sc in next 9 st, repeat from * around, sl to join. (66 st)
Round 12.
Ch 1, *2 sc in next st, sc in next 10 st, repeat from * around, sl to join. ( 72 st)
Round 13.
Ch 1, *2 sc in next st, sc in next 11 st, repeat from * around, sl to join. (78 st)
Round 14.
Ch 1, *2 sc in next st, sc in next 12 st, repeat from * around, sl to join. (84 st)
Round 15.
Ch 1, *2 sc in next st, sc in next 13 st, repeat from * around, sl to join. (90 st)

ALL SIZES
Round 15-17
Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl to join (30, 42, 60, 90 st).
For newborn size only, cut yarn and bind off after round 17.
Round 18-20
Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl to join (42, 60, 90 st).
For toddler size only, cut yarn and bind off after round 20.
Round 20-24
Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl to join (60, 90 st).
For small adult (woman's) size only, cut yarn and bind off after round 24.
Round 25-28
Ch 1, sc in each st around, sl to join (90 st).
For large adult (man's) size only, cut yarn and bind off after round 28.

For all sizes weave in lose ends and embellish hat as you wish.

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These are some of the hats I have made using this pattern. As you can see adding embellishments can really transform these hats into something adorably cute and a priceless gift for the children in your life. If the pattern or hat is listed for sale on my Etsy Shop, BooBear Designs, then a link is posted as a caption under the photo.

Chargers Football Hat

Mike Monster Hat

Take Me Out To The Ball Game...

Last Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday, which means football is over.
The end to football means the start of baseball season. My New England Patriots lost in the AFL Championship Game and since then I have looked forward to opening day for the Oakland Athletics. As part of my excitement my crafting focus has transitioned from football team hats to baseball hats and team shirts. I am currently working on 4 projects for the Oakland A's season and they are all in various stages of completion. Some will be gifts and others will be sold on Etsy, either in pattern or product form. I don't know which product I am most excited to see completed, but I do know I am ready for all of the projects to be completed. As I write this I am already thinking of more project ideas, which I will probably be sketching soon.

The first project I am working on I thought of during a playoff game in October 2013. After Game 2 of the series, which I was fortunate to watch in person, I was compelled to have a Sonny Gray t-shirt, but when I looked for a shirt online I was unable to find one. Joking with my cousin I came up with the idea for my own Sonny Gray t-shirt. The design is based on a song from the 1970's. I was able to paint my design on a gray t-shirt using fabric paint and freezer paper as a stencil.

The next project was born shortly after this game, after a season's worth of lugging my things around in various bags, without ever being able to store everything. I had a rough idea of what I wanted the bag to look like, but I still needed specifics to make the tote bag truly functional. I started with an inventory list of everything I wanted or needed and then began to sketch out my ideas. I am really pleased with the layout of the bag. I began cutting and sewing the pieces last November, but never finished due to a plumbing emergency. Due to another's human error my toilet ended up broke and my room flooded, which postponed everything and put my craft corner in disarray.

The last two projects are inspired by this month's Fan Fest and the birth of my adorable little cousin. The crochet baseball cap is nearly finished and the yarn is embroidered felt logo is so adorable. I have a rough idea of the baseball hat, but haven't sketched anything or started on this project, beyond actually purchasing the yarn. As always, this and all of my finished projects will be posted on my Facebook design page.

When my craft corner is finally put back together I will definitely be creating more and of course posting more project ideas as well as tutorials. Until then I will post when I can and only projects I can create in my limited space. Be sure to comment below with your own ideas for baseball themed craft projects or projects you want to see in future posts.


Use coupon code FOOTBALL50 at my Etsy Store BooBear Designs for 50% off of my Football Team Hats. This coupon expires February 28th.