New Coleto Pen *insert smiley face*

The postie has just popped a packet through the letterbox .... *squeal*!! I was too excited to take photos of the actual opening, it was a delivery from Cult Pens ...!

A Pilot High-Tec C Coleto clear barrel, four ink thingys to go in it (pink, violet, light blue and orange), two pink markers, and a free pen! Yay! Actually the freebie pen is triangular so is perfect for my little boy to try and improve his handwriting skills ... I absolutely adore the Coleto and that you choose which colours to put in the pen, and theres a choice of 0.4 and 0.5 thickness. This time I chose a clear plastic barrel but there are other colour barrels available. Its truly a customisable pen! I might have to invest in lots more colours (inks AND barrels!!) in my next order ...!

A Filofax Search Begins!

I've been trawling through Filofax blogs and images on the web and discovered some amazing filofaxes I didn't know existed! One of which is the Baroque in Pocket size, and in pink. Its all I can think about (Obsessed? Probably ...)... and I can't find one anywhere!! The attraction is the gorgeousness of the texture hidden on the inside of the binder, and the layout is exactly what I'm looking for ... card slots the ”right” way round and a zippy pocket on the left (where it should be, in my opinion!), notepad pocket on the right. Perfection! I have a pocket Malden but I can't get on with the slots on the inside left - for me they are the wrong way round which is such a shame as its a lovely binder. As for the colour ... only pink will do!

What will I use it for? My Finsbury Mini Zip I use as my day-to-day organiser is very snug and can't fit much more in it so I really need to upgrade to pocket size. But not until I've found what I'm looking for ...!

Half the fun is the search, so wish me luck as I have never seen one of these for sale ....

Its Still Snowing ...

... Not that I'm complaining as I LOVE the snow! So does my dog Is ... Here she is thinking about planning her attack ...

She dove straight in! Here she is snow swimming ...

Ah ... Bless!

My Weight-o-Fax

I have been trying to lose a bit of weight for a while and get generally fitter. I find its a lot easier when I write everything down and can keep a track of why I did (or didn't) lose weight in a particular week.

This is the pocket Songbird ... Its very pretty but may possibly be replaced by a pink BCC Pocket (mock croc version) when it arrives ... (any day now ... whoop!)

Inside the front cover is a calculator (for totting up all those pesky calories ...) and some sparkly star stickers, cos I like them :)  Behind the flysheet is a picture of some scrummy chocs. I can't eat any but I can still look!

I'm using numbered tabs and couldn't be bothered sticking labels on, so scribbled an index ...

The diary section is where I log my weight every Monday morning (and my friend's weight too ...) and make a note of any exercise done as the week progresses... I do not include all the usual day-to-day running around or walking the dog.

Then comes the monthly summaries ...

... and the dreaded chart ...

... food diary. Actually more useful than trying to remember and accidentally forgetting stuff ... I was going to order the day-a-page diary but I can't justify it when I have so much notepaper to use up (Tesco had it on clearance £1.25 a pack ...)

... and some inspiration, including a weight loss class leaflet ...

No filo is complete without Martha Stewart Mini Tabs ...! And a pink Frixion pen ...!

I have been using this system since the beginning of the year and so far it is working well for me :)

A change of name ...

Just a quick post to explain that I've changed from 'Ilovepippa' to 'emmasblogofstuff'' ... Mainly 'cos I blog about anything not just Pippa dolls any more. At the moment it tends to be about Filofaxes and stationery items ...  :o)

Cute Zippy Envelope for my Mini Filofax!

Zipped envelopes are always useful in Filofaxes, but aren't made in mini size ... So I had to improvise. I found this cute vinyl pass holder/coin purse in Paperchase. It was the perfect size and just needed some holes punching. (There is also a credit card size slot on the back, but I forgot to take a photo of it - sorry!)

Cute ...

And fits perfectly in my Finsbury Mini Zip!

It started with one Filofax ...

My obsession with Filofaxes started in September. The idea was simple: purchase a Filofax, use the diary, fill the 'fax with all the useful information I need, get organised. I really did set out to use a single binder, really I did ...

The first one was a personal size Finsbury in black that looked very boring and is far too big for my bag. A couple of weeks later I went to Staples and found a pink pocket size Metropol for a fiver ... The size was sooo much better, but the binder was oh so very pink ... I didn't keep that one long. Then along came a pocket size Malden in Vintage Pink. This is my main binder with everything in and can easily double up as a wallet. Love it love it love it! I love the zippy pocket, the colour, the size, yummy leathery smell ... And my mini size diary fits in my Malden whenever I want to have a change from my mini ...

Do you see where this is going ...?

... Oops TKMaxx had loads of Filofaxes in ... Oh dear! I accidentally acquired a black mini Amazona and my current love, the red mini Finsbury Zip I mentioned in my previous post. And just the other day I found a personal Graphic in Staples for a fiver - Well I couldn't leave it there could I ...!  

 (and I forgot to mention the personal size Metropol in Kingfisher Blue thats on order ... Shhhh! Don't tell anyone!!)

This is not good and really must stop. My bank balance is suffering and my friends think I'm a nutter ...

Here are my 'filos ...  (yes they do all have a use!)

And then I see photos of other people's Filofax collections and realise my obsession is quite mild after all!! Heehee. :o)

My Lovely New Filofax Finsbury Mini Zip!

Gosh has it really been six months since my last post? Eek! And to make matters worse this post isn't even about dolls, or anything crafty ... Its about my lovely new Filofax! And theres plenty of photos of it too lol! I will however be posting about the dolls I had for Christmas sometime in the near future.

Anyhow, lets get straight to the point ... My lovely red Finsbury Mini Zip!

My beloved Frixion pen won't fit inside, so I picked up a Filofax Flex cheap from TKMaxx and trimmed down the pen loop just enough to fit in the rather tight external pocket. The loop itself is elasticated so will fit most of my pens.

The inside left has some useful pockets where I keep my most useful business cards (handyman, pet sitter, local taxi) and also my doctor details in case of emergency. The clear flysheet has small post-its with reminders on. Behind the flysheet you can see my current food shopping list ...

Then I have a full 2013 week on two pages diary. The front of the diary has a 2013 calendar and I've highlighted important dates like birthdays and anniversaries so I can see at a glance. Details are written in the diary. I also have Notes, To Dos, and Addresses. These are marked with Martha Stewart Mini Tabs, which I luuuurve!

Finally, tucked in the back pocket is a Moleskine Volant Extra Small which fits in beautifully, avoiding the ring mechanism, and a Filofax pen!

So there you have it! I am really pleased with the size (rather the lack of it lol!), the set up, the colour, and the stiffness of the binder allowing me to write without having to find a flat surface. The price was good too, good ol' TKMaxx ...! I hope you enjoyed reading about my new diary ... Here's one last photo ...

New members of the family. :o)

Our new additions, Peter and Godzilla ....

This is Peter in his fave place, guarding the millet.

And heres Godzilla, cleaning himself and generally not cooperating ...

Their previous owners think they're about five years old, and they were living in a teeny tiny cage with no room to stretch their wings out ... They can't fly which suggests they were never let out ... And they stank of cigarettes. :o(  Of course they are now living the good life and being totally spoiled! They are too scared to come out the (large, new) cage yet ... They will build up to that at their own pace, they've only been with us a couple of weeks and are still learning to trust us.

Pippa Convo 2012

The Pippa Convention this year was held in Manchester on 26 May. I was part of the convo doll design team again this year ... Everyone who attends sends a Pippa doll in to be customised. This year Pippa was customised in the style of Dita Von Tease as this year is Pippas 40th birthday, so we wanted to do something special!

Heres some photos ...

On the left is my convo doll, on the right is a custom Pippa by Suey Gaythorpe that I won!

A Pippa doll army!

Some more of my dolls. Here we have Patriotic Pippa for show and tell, Birthday Party Rosemary, Pippa as a fairy, and I bought the Pippa in the purple dress.