Brewing...Brewing...Brewed!

Remember I mentioned in my last, last post that I had been brewing something new for N Studio? Something to do with planning, scheduling and pretty embellishments? Well, It is now completely brewed and I am so excited to do the full reveal!

So what is it?

It is a monthly kit for planner décor!

I have been bitten by the planner bug and I do find myself making better use of my time and remembering things more since I am writing them down :) I also love decorating my planner, a carry over from scrapbooking! What I plan to do is to incorporate my planner pages into my Project Life album by putting each month's worth of planner pages into the appropriate section. Thus I will not feel that the décor is "wasted" , 2 birds with 1 stone :P

After I embark on decorating my planner and started to buy things like post-it notes, stickers etc, I quickly discover that the local market do not have many relevant ones for planner use. Another problem will be that it tends to be sold at high quantity like for example, I get 50 pieces of the same boring post-it notes and it is too much as I don't need a post-it note like everyday and it does get boring looking at the same design month after month! I like variety in my planner, so that it looks different month to month, day to day.

 

An idea then started to brew. I am sure there will be planner addicts in the same predicament. Wanting more variety but end up with many leftovers and feeling guilty! I wanted to make a kit that gives variety, not too much of each item that it becomes white elephants but definitely enough for a month's worth of décor! As this idea take root, I found myself getting more excited, wanting to see if it can fly :)

November is a super special month for me. Many "firsts" in my life occurred in November. I was super psyched to have this announcement and reveal in this month too! It had been some time since I got so excited about a new idea, a new project. Even the planning stage felt awesome as I immersed myself. Oh! The pretty and adorable items I buy definitely up the awesome quotient!

My monthly kit is called PEP.

 

Some FAQs :)

 

What does PEP stands for?

PEP is Planner Embellishment Pack. It will be a monthly kit and there will be sufficient items inside for a month's worth of décor. There will be more usage, less leftovers and therefore less guilt!

 

When will PEP be launch?

PEP will be launched 20th of each month, while stock lasts. Currently there is no intention for a subscription system until further down the road. This will allow trying without any commitment and as a subber myself to some scrapbook kits, I totally appreciate a non-committal kit :)

 

How can one purchase a PEP kit?

All PEP kits will be available for purchase on my bigcartel at www.nianstudio.bigcartel.com every month on the 20th (Singapore time). There will also be add-on items available for purchase that are relevant for planners as well.

 

What can I get in PEP kit?

There may be post-it notes, index stickers, décor stickers, bookmarks, paper clips, Washi tapes, pen, ink pads, handmade items and more! It will all be relevant for planner use and there will be about 12 different items in each kit. 

 

How much will shipping be and will the kit be shipped worldwide?

Yes! It will be shipped worldwide :)

 

Shipping charges are as below:
 

Local (Singapore): USD$1  for the kit.
 

Foreign: exact shipping charges based on weight as the weight of the kit may vary from month to month. Exact shipping charge will be available at the point of purchase when you purchase the kit at bigcartel.

 

The most important question... How much does a kit cost?

 

My belief for pricing things had always been selling it at a price that I myself will purchase. I do not believe in charging at such exorbitant prices that I can't even bring myself to buy it!

 

So.... the kit will only cost USD$9.99!

 

Yes! Its less than USD$10 but the total retail price of the items in the kit definitely exceeds that :) There will also be handmade items that are exclusive to the kit only.

 

I am very very excited for this kit and can't wait to launch it! I will be adding more items for sale to my bigcartel this week so do go in to have a look :) All purchases can be combined shipping with the kit. The kit is on first come first served basis, while stock lasts :)

Here's a photo of the full reveal and more details can be found in www.nianstudio.bigcartel.com

 

Awwww.....I am so so SO excited! PIease take a look and I would love to get any feedback!Oh! Do follow me Instagram too for any new items for sale and sneak peeks of future kits!

 

 

Still Brewing...

I promised details of my "brew" this week but as things got delayed here and there plus me coming under the flu bug, I wasn't able to totally tie up all loose ends :( Thus, yes, it is STILL brewing.....

 

But, I do have some news on N Studio which are in some ways tied to this new "brew". N Studio had ventured into Instagram and BigCartel!!!

 

Instagram had been the craze for quite some time and yeah while personally I have tried it for awhile, it didn't quite take hold of me. When I first saw how others were using Instagram as a marketing tool, I was intrigued. I wanted to try it out but hesitated due to some other reasons which I will tell you in a minute.

 

Why the hesitation when so many had already jumped on the Instagram bandwagon? Actually I was concerned about where I am directing my Instagram viewers to and how do I make it as seamless as possible? I explored several online selling options, Facebook Page, OwnAShop etc. But it all did not quite gave me what I wanted.

 

Facebook was great for the network and connections but one can't complete a sale per se on Facebook. Some form of communications is needed like for example me replying if its in stock, how much postage will be etc. While most people are happy to do these communications, I know of some who would very much prefer to complete the deal online including payment etc. with minimum communications.

 

OwnAShop gave me the chance to do that, to put things online, have stock inventory, postage costs etc. I would have been very happy with OwnAShop if only it do not require one to register an account before they could do any purchases. That turned a few off. I know because I had received these feedback.

 

Back to the drawing board.....

 

I knew I need to do more than Facebook Page selling. While majority of people do have a Facebook account, some aren't comfortable doing transactions via Facebook, some do not go in regularly and some just simply do not have a Facebook account! I need an actual website that allows me to sell online without any sort of registration.

 

There were quite a number out in the market - Shopify, BigCartel or host your own domain. Hosting my own domain is out, at least for now. Not only my html is just not up to mark, the cost of that is a tad too high for me. I then spoke to a few seasoned online business owners on their views on Shoplift and BigCartel. The impressions were mostly good for BigCartel and I like that they do not have a commitment period. You are allowed to change your plan from month to month. I totally appreciates this type of flexibility!

 

So, I am happy to announce that N Studio has both of these now!

 

Instagram - user: nian_studio or #nian_studio

 

BigCartel - www.nianstudio.bigcartel.com

 

Both of these will also feature strongly in my new "brew" :) Sneak peeks will be posted on Instagram and new items for sale will too be up on Instagram. I will be boosting my items for sale in BigCartel throughout the week leading up to the reveal of the "brew".

 

This is a HUGE step for N Studio. While I am totally excited about it, I am too very worried and wary about the responses and if it will actually reap something.

 

I would have to wait and see :) Don't forget to come back next week for the full reveal and also some general FAQs.

 

Have an awesome weekend!

 

 

 

 

DIY Planner (Part III) - The "Decoration"

The last installment of my DIY Planner - the decorations :)

 

There are so many videos and Instagram on this that it is a tad overwhelming! Then again there are so much inspiration that its really very motivating and creative! Having just embark on a planner myself, the creative juices just flow and I am so glad for having all my scrapbook embellishments on hand. Makes me less guilty too cos I AM using them :P

 

I decorate only the monthly calendar as I use that as an important reference point for the month. It allows me a good overview of how busy my month will be and also for planning purposes. Also, decorating the weekly pages seems abit frivolous to me as I use that only for one week and moreover I do write down loads there as my to-do list, reminders, important events, appointments etc are all there. Already pretty full without any decoration!

 

Let's take a look at my October and November monthly calendars. For privacy purpose, the contents are blurred out but you can still see the decoration :)

 

 

 

 

 

 



There are tons, seriously TONS of such inspiration on YouTube, Instagram, pinterest etc. Absolutely no short of motivation! I am still exploring different styles and frankly, different styles makes for an interesting planner!

 

Next on the post will be some changes to the blog schedule, yes, again.

 

I have been *brewing* something for N Studio and it had been taking up quite abit of my time, Coupled with orders coming in for my lanyards which thankfully is selling pretty ok at the retail shop :) With Christmas coming up, I do anticipate more orders and also maybe some goody bag orders if I am lucky :P

 

So, I will be cutting back on my posts, making it once a week, probably Tuesday or Wednesday. This will allow me more time to spend on N Studio and if the newly brewed opportunity flies then I will be even busier!

 

I will be posting about the freshly brewed idea next week, tying up loose ends now and firming up the details. A hint on what it will be, it's something to do with planning & scheduling combined with pretty embellishments.... Curious? I am too, super excited about this idea and I am crossing my fingers, toes (eyes too!) that it will fly :)

 

Have a great week ahead!

DIY Planner (Part II) - the "software"

First of all, let me apologize for this late post. Hadn't been feeling 100% since Tuesday and had to rest so that I could handle the upcoming weekend.

Without any further ado, let's get into the very delayed post of DIY Planner Part II :)

This post will share how I structure my planner, where I get my inserts (free printable, of course!) and more :) The main reason for building my own planner will be to customize the planner to how I use it. I know that if its not the way I like to use it, I will probably let it become a white elephant. Thus it is important that I can tweak it to what I like to ensure the planner's "longevity".

First let's look at the dividers...

 

I have 4 main dividers as seen from above, namely

1) Events/Appointments & To-Do List

2) Blog Schedule

3) Stock Price & Invoice

4) Projects & Brainstorm

As the dividers came with the file, you can imagine that I am not over the moon with its designs (or rather the lack of it). As a faithful scrapbooker, out comes my trusty Washi tapes, patterned papers and stamps! I proceed to customize the dividers to better reflect the category that they are demarcating. My favourite? It would have to be the one for my Stock Price & Invoice divider, with the bar graphs :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did mention that I intend to insert motivational or inspirational Project Life cards and these fitted in nicely with a piece of background paper into the hard cases that I have gotten. I use the file seal to create the filing holes so that I need not punch the hard cases. It can then be easily recycled to be used somewhere else if need be.

 

 

 

 

Next up will be the cases that I have gotten to keep all these barangs. I picked up another new pouch the other day at Daiso. Its the one with the red, blue & white stripes. A nice nautical feel :) This one is used to keep all my stickers and another small pouch.

 

 

 

So what's in the small owl pouch? This pouch was a birthday gift from a dear friend who totally encourages my "olwism religion"! It holds all the Washi tapes that I use. Not the actual roll itself of course but strips of it so that I could bring alot more and not feel the weight. I adhere these strips to either shipping tags or small plastic sheet, whichever is on hand then.

 

 

 

Last but not least, the trusty pencil case with an elastic band. In there is a blue and a black pen each, my faithful Kikki K multi-colored pen and an old school changeable coloring pencil.

 

 

Now, for the innards or the inserts rather :P I searched many and finally found a blog where they generously share their creation and not only that, they allow you to customize the inserts too by downloading their doc. version! How utterly magnanimous!

The website is www.philofaxy.com

The inserts I used are as follows:

Month on 2-page

 http://philofaxy.com/inserts/MonthView/2014_Merged_A5Monthon2page.docx

Week on 2-page

http://philofaxy.com/inserts/Enhanced_TM_Week_View/2014_merged_Enhanced_TM_Week_per_view_4line.docx

 

Stock (customized to my needs)

 http://www.philofaxy.com/files/PhotoExposureRecord.doc

 

Project & Brainstorm

http://www.philofaxy.com/files/idea.

 

All the above links lead you to the docx or doc versions of the files. This will allow you to save and makes changes and customizations to your needs. If you need other inserts or the 2015 calendar/weeks, you can visit the following links for them :)

 

http://philofaxy.blogspot.com/p/files.

http://philofaxy.blogspot.com/p/diary-inserts.html

 

I will be sharing how I use, update and decorate my planner in my next post. Meanwhile have an awesome weekend ahead!

 

 

DIY Planner (Part I) - The "Hardware"

I shared previously on my planner system and how I use stickers and Washi etc to both decorate and annotate my planner. However, upon longer usage, find that this system just isn't working for me. As it was a weekly planner, I was unable to see the month in a glance and that made me nervous as I can't get an overall picture on how busy the month will be. Moreover, despite it being a weekly planner, I consistently find myself running out of place to write what I need to. I know I need a new system that wouldn't cost a bomb and yet works the way I want it. What better way than to "build" a planner of my own?

 

I researched online on planners and found many ready made ones that looks super good apart from the price tag that is. Paying a lump of minimum $70 for a nice looking professional planner is just not something that I can afford. Moreover, the inserts may not be what I want and I still have to either print on my own or buy again. I was more determined to try and build my own.

 

Where does one go when you need cheap yet useable stationeries? Daiso of course! I have some idea of how I want my planner to be. So away I go shopping, Daiso style :) 

 

I want a decently sized planner, one that I can bring along when I go out yet not too small till I need a magnifying glass just to write or read it! I also wanted a size that I could easily find inserts on. Most free-to-print inserts are A4 or A5. I know that A4 will be too big, bulky and heavy to lug around while A5 seems like a good size. I also know that I wanted a normal 2-ringed file so that I could use the regular hole puncher to file my inserts and not have to get a special puncher for the usual 6-hole of a planner.

 

 

This bright and cheery colored 2-holed A5 file was what I wanted :) Its bright colors makes it happy. A bonus, it comes with 4 dividers and some papers which are lined on one side and graph paper on the other side.

 

Next I bought some colorful reinforcement rings and a pack of filing seal. I was actually quite intrigued by the filing seal and wanted to try and see if it works.

 

 

Filing seal is a 2-row sticker with punched holes. You could adhere this on both sides of the item that you want to file and it instantly creates the holes that you use for filing. This is particularly useful for items like folders which you may like to include in your planner. An example is as shown below...

 

 

If you could see in the left side of the folder is a row of punched holes. This is how the filing seal works - by creating the holes needed for filing. With this, you can then simply slip the folder into the file.

 

Next I needed a pencil case to hold my writing stationeries. I then chanced upon a real find - a small pencil case that comes attached with a elastic band that helps me keep the pencil case close by and also helps to ensure the planner stays shut when I wrap the pencil case around it, Killing two birds with one stone :)

 

 

I also bought a pack of A6 hard cases for me to slot in inspirational cards/quotes. Here again I made use of the filing seal to create the filing holes. A pack of these A6 hard cases give you 2 cases, just what I wanted.

 

 

 

Last but not least, I wanted a catch-all bag for all the planner barangs like Washi tapes, stickers etch, including the planners itself. I wanted to be able to grab and go :) Since my planner is A5 sized, I grabbed a A4 sized bag to make sure I have sufficient space. Selection there wasn't too great but I did end up with a decent albeit a more kid-ish one :P

 



 

All in all, I spent less than $20 building my own planner. Its definitely more satisfying than just buying one off the shelf and I get to save money on top of getting real self-satisfaction! Now, that's what I call a GOOD DEAL! :P

 

This concludes the hardware part of my planner :) In my next post, I shall go into details of the "software" like how I structure my planner, where do I download the free printable etc.  

 

How I Organise My Photos For Archiving & Project Life

First and foremost I must apologise :(

I prepped Tuesday's post and published it on time schedule or so I thought! I then did not give it another thought till Wednesday when I was prepping Thursday post. Upon coming into my account, I realized that I had a draft saved and was wondering what was that. Imagine my utter horror when I saw that it was Tuesday's post!!! Apparently I had forgot to hit the Publish button! I am so so so very sorry :(

So instead of cramping two posts into a day, I have decided to go with the flow and just come in to add these paragraphs so that you know what happened. So without further ado, here's Tuesday's thoughts published on a Thursday :P

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Being a Project Lifer means tons of tons of photos. Not only that but I need to have a coherent yet simple to use archival system so that I know where to look when I dig through my digital photo albums.

I have used this system for over 3 years and found it to be effective yet simple. It doesn't involve any fancy programs or apps, just spend 20mins at the beginning of the year and its done! I am still currently using this system just that I have refined it to save me more time. Interested? Read on.... ...

At the beginning of a year or ideally the end of last year, I would spend 20mins readying the folders to keep the photos. Do note that I am referring to digital folders and not the physical ones. These photos will be labeled as "Week X, Date of period." For example, Week 1, 01-07 January 2014. I will do this for each and every 52 weeks in a year. Photos will then be dropped into the correct folder as they are taken.

 

 

 

 

This system works great for Project Life (PL) and personally as well. Why? Well you will be able to understand if you have a hubby like mine. He is oh-so-trigger happy when it comes to photo taking. He can take TONS of shots for just ONE pose/place etc. To worsen the situation, he believes in taking but NOT deleting!!! Can you just about imagine the numbers of photos I have to archive? If it is still in the age of film camera, I would be literally drowning in film strips!!!

Another hubby related reason will be that he loves to just give me a date or a range of dates and ask me to go dig for a certain photo! If its photos of big events like vacation or birthday, 

I can probably remember when and where. Imagine he ask you to find a photo of the one taken when we were at XXX Restaurant about 2 months ago.....!??! Yes I know... weird hubby I have there..

 

With the purchase of a tablet a year ago, I found myself working and using the tablet more than my netbook. For one, its lighter to carry around. Its fast startup and shutdown was another deciding factor as mummy to young kids will tell you - no matter what you were doing, you heard him cry, you drop EVERYTHING and RUN. I most definitely DO NOT  have the time to wait for a normal laptop to shutdown.

 

 Acer Ionia W3-810

Since Ionia W3 is on a Windows based operating system, its easy to start using. With this. I was also introduced to a new cloud-like data storage called "OneDrive". This is available as an app as well and I totally love it!!! Since 99.9% of my photos were taken on my iPhone, the app version was godsend. I was able to set such that it automatically updates my OneDrive whenever I take a photo with my iPhone. It does the same with videos as well. This then saves me so much time instead of having to upload from iPhone to tablet/netbook regularly. So now by having OneDrive in both iPhone and app, I can access my photos easily.

 

 

 

All in all, it is a system that works awesomely, for me. So, what is your system?

My Toddler's Menu

As my boy started on semi solid food, I was quite floored with what to give him. You may wonder, he is my No. 3, I should have it down pat, no problems whatsoever. Well, apart from the fact that each child is different, a more important reason is the point that all my previous kiddos were taken care of by my mum. Yea, so call her and ask. Ermmmm...you see, my mum can't remember either! It is rather long ago and seriously, it can be hard to recall!

My mum do have the basics, like pork, veggies, carrots, fish etc. However, I find that my boy can be rather aware of the food taken, not only when taking it - includes spitting out food with textures that he dislike, to his actual bodily reaction - constipation etc. I remember the first time we tried fish and within the very first spoonful, he made us all very aware that he hated the texture - I was wiping the whole spoonful off his face, neck, clothes, chair etc. It was everywhere else except where it should be, his mouth! He made his point, loud and clear!

We trialed and error several menus and finally found these that are palatable to him.

Menu A

Porridge stewed in slow cooker with the following:

1) grated potatoes

2) lean pork pieces

3) grated carrots

4) veggies like Chye Sim

5) half an egg

Menu B

Porridge stewed in slow cooker with the following

1) grated sweet potatoes

2) lean pork pieces

3) veggies like Chye Sim

Menu C

Porridge stewed in slow cooker with the following

1) pumpkin

2) lean pork pieces

3) cabbage

The above menu are alternated through the week, with sweet potato menu given only twice a week. The reason for this is because sweet potato gives you softer motion and eating too much may result in looser than wanted motions. I know, been there, done that.

So what are the reason for such a combination?

The basics of lean pork pieces are mainly for the protein and of course the sweetness of the pork. Cooking the porridge with soup stewed from the bones of pig gives even better natural sweetness. The porridge given to my boy is without any additional condiments. It is all natural taste of the food and because it was stewed in a slow cooker, the natural taste of all the ingredients are actually very flavorful!

 

 

Another staple will be Chye Sim or Mustard Green. It is one of the most nutritious leafy vegetable as it is high in Vitamin A and K, flavonoid, carotene and anti-oxidant. It also helps to lower cholesterol level and encourage motion movement. It softens easily thus making it easy for toddlers to eat. Cabbage is a great source of Vitamins K & C, fiber, folate and Vitamin B6. It also has a "cooling" effect so excessive diet of this may not be good. Too much cabbage may also give u bloating *burrrp*

 

 

 

 

Potatoes are added for its source of Vitamin C, iron, riboflavin and carbohydrates. It makes one fuller by taking potatoes along with porridge. Sweet potatoes are packed with calcium, potassium, Vitamins A & C. It is also naturally sweet and is a hit with most toddlers. It also has fiber, beta carotene and Vitamin B6. As mentioned before, it also helps with easier motion movements :) I tend to choose sweet potatoes that are with darker orange flesh as they are said to be packed with more nutrients than their lighter flesh partners. Alternatively, I will buy the Japanese sweet potatoes that has a purple skin. I find that they are sweeter and does not turn the porridge that orange which can look abit funny.

 

 

 

 

 

Carrots are packed with beta carotene, calcium, potassium, Vitamins A, B and C. Vitamin A in carrots is important for vision especially prevention of night blindness. It is however a hardier vegetable thus it is grated and stewed for easier eating. However eating too much carrots may cause Carotenemia - a yellowish discoloration of the skin which will typically disappear when on a lower carotene diet :)

 

 

 

Pumpkin is a great source of beta-carotene, carotenoids luetin and zeaxanthin, Vitamins A & C, alpha-hydroxy acids and potassium. It is also naturally sweet and nice smelling, all the more to entice your little one. It cooks easily and its soft smooth texture is easy on the palate as well.

 

 

 

Last but not least, the humble egg. It is high in protein and if you are concern about the fat content, you can choose to leave out some of the yolk. However, I give only half an egg every time so I reckon that should be fine. It also makes for a smoother porridge and more fragrant too!

 

 

 

It's time for some new menus as my boy has been eating these for about 3 months. I intend to re-introduce fish again and hopefully he takes it better. Also plan to introduce some corn, tofu, spinach and chicken. Am cracking my brain (actual both my mum's and mine) on how to combine these foods so that it is balanced and great tasting without adding any condiments. I have always believed that toddlers should not take any condiments and should be left to enjoy the natural good taste of the food itself.

 

Will update on how the new menus works out :) Bon appetit!