DIY Fish giveaway winners

Following my interview with Sheng Chen of DIY Fish, many of you will have entered the giveaway contest. To see if you are one of the winners, visit the DIY Fish blog and view the announcement.

Interview and giveaway - Sheng Chen of DIY Fish.

I have watched the phenomenon that is DIY Fish sweep through the planner community in recent months. I'm delighted to have had the opportunity to talk to Sheng Chen, the woman behind it. Here is my interview with Chen. Read to the end for your opportunity to win a free set of inserts.

1. Who is Sheng Chen and what’s the whole Fish thing about? Show us a picture of you with your favourite fish.

I was born in Shanghai and currently live in Singapore for more than 10 years with my husband. We have 2 boys, 3 and 9.  Fish is my cyber name behind my planner related designs which started from 2012.

This is me and my treasured Life Mapping(™) Special Edition 2014 - The Singapore Rare Butterflies Set which I have spent almost a year to prepare, study, and paint these beautiful butterflies and their host plants.

2. Tell me about your DIY Fish Life Mapping(™) Filofax and Midori inserts. What gave you the idea and how did you develop it?

Life Mapping(™) methods includes color coding, time-managing and journal writing.

It is not an idea that came into my mind suddenly but it can be a long story.

I have been using bonded notebooks to write my “little secrets” since I was in primary school. In primary 6, I started to mark the edges of my school books like a dictionary because I have to study so many text books and I need to locate the information efficiently. I realized that this is a useful and beautiful method so I started to decorate and mark the edges of my notebooks too.

Below is an old address book that I used in year 2000 which is remarkable because it’s my last address book before I transferred all my contacts into phone.

In 2011, I joined many Filofax, notebook, scrapbook groups and forums. From there, I start to know Filofax, Davinci, Franklin Covey, Hobonichi, Dodo Pad and many experienced notebook/paper binder users. After I got my first Filofax in 2012, my desire to create my own pages became stronger and stronger. I have read many articles about time management, how to take notes and how to write journals and came across to Peiling Lin* (林珮玲 ) ‘s method of how she marks her notebooks to be searchable. This is a sparkle, which encouraged me to continue my way to mark the notebook edge. But loose leaves are different from bond notebooks which do not have a flattened edge and that’s why I created the Index Page Marker to go with the color coding system.

Life Mapping(™) Inserts version 1 are traditional inserts which I have concentrated more on the color and illustrations. But very fast I realized that they can not satisfy me. Base on my own needs and after many rounds of redesign, I launched my Life Mapping(™) Inserts version 2 series which have monthly calendar, weekly calendar and daily pages all in one glance.

Now, Life Mapping(™) System has more than 6 series which include 2 kinds of Midori style notebooks that base on the need of different users. And there are more coming soon.

LM MTN v2.2

LM MTN Classic

*Peiling Lin is a famous author/speaker in Taiwan who has published many books about note taking.

3. You are very visible on the planning-related social media. How did that come about?

A big thank you to Carie Harling who 1st reviewed my Life Mapping(™) Small Projects Management Inserts. She translated my complicated and techie thoughts into a very professional but easy understood language. Because of her, people started to know me and understand my Life Mapping(™) System. .

Another big thank you to Danielle Paulson who set up the Life Mapping(™) Community FB Group. This group has successfully attracted many great souls from all over the world to share and exchange their knowledge and experiences of using planners and Life Mapping(™) System.

Last but not least is to thank the Philofaxy community. Without that community’s knowledge, guide, help and support, I wouldn’t be here.

4. You take a lot of time and care to provide detailed support for people as they start to use your system. How do you find the time?

Squeeze. Less sleep and play with my kids but work.I am adjusting myself recently to have more time to rest and stay with my family.

5. The Life Mapping(™) system works brilliantly and looks beautiful. Which of those two objectives do you have to work hardest on?

The flow. Once the structure and the flow is right, the beauty of the system will come out naturally with the user’s personality.  

6. Where do the ideas for new features come from? How about some hints on what we can expect in coming releases?

The ideas are from my everyday using experience, all kind of Filofax, notebook, time management, scrapbooking related videos and blog posts, and the most important from the feedbacks of my users.

I am planning to convert Life Mapping(™) Version 3 style into MTN style booklets for users who prefer weekly pages. There will be 2-3 styles.  

There’s another exciting development under way too. I’m working with another designer to bring a new time visualisation tool to Life Mapping(™). It’s going to change the way people think about their days.

7. At the moment Life Mapping(™) exists as inserts people download and print at home. What plans do you have for changing that model? Will there be a standalone DIY Fish planner book in the stores one day soon?

I have been thinking about this and searching for good quality paper. I am not sure yet if they will appear in stores but they will be available to purchase online one day.

8. What are some of the things you use your own planner for? What do people say when they see you using it?

Work schedule, family members schedules, journaling, doodling etc.

In office, many times, when people see I have a big book to write in, they will borrow paper and sometime even my pen. In public places, unless it's in a library or cafe where I will have my own table, I don't normally take out my binder.

9. How can people reading this get on board and try the system for themselves?  What are the main options?

People can visit my Etsy store. Here is an overview of what’s available there.

Life Mapping(™) is a kind of color coding,  time-managing and/or journal writing method. All Life Mapping Inserts have side index bar for color coding and searching.  Life Mapping Inserts/notebooks use grids and it’s quite well known that you can use smaller size binder to achieve bigger writing space.

The most popular Life Mapping(™) Inserts (LMI) is LMI v2.2 which you can have month, week, day all in one glance. This is good for people who like to put everything, combine work and life into one binder.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/DIYfish/search?search_query=trial+v02.2&order=date_desc&view_type=gallery&ref=shop_search

LM MTN v2.2 is similar as above but has month, week and/or month, daily page at one glance. https://www.etsy.com/shop/DIYfish/search?search_query=MTN+v2.2&order=date_desc&view_type=gallery&ref=shop_search

LMI MTN Classic is an on the go Midori style booklet. It has horizontal format with month at a glance, monthly checklist, week at a glance, to do pages, note pages.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/DIYfish/search?search_query=MTN+CLassic&order=date_desc&view_type=gallery&ref=shop_search

LMI version 3 is for users who prefer their binder to be light and stick to weekly pages to write and plan. Monthly calendar pages can be unfolded to work with weekly pages. https://www.etsy.com/shop/DIYfish/search?search_query=Trial+v3&order=date_desc&view_type=gallery&ref=shop_search

There are 4 kind of weekly pages, 

Life Mapping(™) Planner is for small projects management. Warning: Please do not purchase unless you tried and know how to use it. http://www.wondereland.com/diyfish/planning-can-be-easy-life-mapping-planner/

Life Mapping(™) system has tradition inserts too. And I am still expanding the designs https://www.etsy.com/shop/DIYfish?section_id=14079725&ref=shopsection_leftnav_9&ga_search_query=Trial%2Bv3

You can always check the Product Catalogue for more information and new products.

10. And finally, Chen, please tell us about your special giveaway offer.

THREE readers will get the Life Mapping(™) inserts or booklets of their choice FREE. Here’s what you have to do to be in with a chance.

Join the Life Mapping(™) Community Group on Facebook if you’re not there already; like the DIYFish Facebook page and answer one or more of these questions in a post:

• What inserts/booklets are you using now (whether DIYFish or not)?
• What do you like and dislike about your current using inserts/booklets?
• Why would you like to try Life Mapping(™) Inserts/booklets?
• Which Life Mapping(™) Inserts/booklet would you like to win and why?
• How do you plan to use it?

If you want your post to qualify for the giveaway, start it with the letters “GA” and then type your answer. Make sure you post it on the DIYFish Facebook page. You can answer more than one question if you like, but you’ll only qualify for one entry in the giveaway draw. The draw will be made after one week, so make sure you post by the end of next Monday, 13 October.

LimeTreeFruits Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Antonika Tillman who wins the 2014 planner set.

Raine will be in touch shortly and we both hope you enjoy your prize.

LimeTreeFruits 2014 Planners Giveaway

It seems there's a thing called a Blog Hop. Who knew? And I've agreed to kick one off today, for the wonderful Raine of LimeTreeFruits. Never heard of her? I don't believe you. But just in case, here's a link to my interview with her in October.

She is launching her range of 2014 planners this month and I am one of the bloggers to get a sneak peak (lots of pictures below.) If you like the look of these, you can find out more and order here. But, you could be lucky and win a set in this giveaway competition. This giveaway is part of the LimeTreeFruits Pre-Order Planner Party (say it fast 5 times!). You can find out more here.

If you want to win a set of these luscious inserts to print at home, then please comment on this post within the next week. I'll draw a winner at random after 10 December. Good luck!

If you want further chances to win, you can follow this Blog Hop around the web. Dates and sites are listed below.

·  Dec. 3rd - My Life All in One Place (you're already here!)

·  Dec. 4th - Artsyville

·  Dec. 5th - Philofaxy

·  Dec. 6th - Jani Franck

·  Dec. 9th - Plannerisms

·  Dec. 10th - I Love It All

·  Dec. 11th - We Really Didn't Need Another Filofax Blog

·  Dec. 12th - The MomWrites

Print your own diary - Excel hack for international (non-English) users

I received an email from Pedro Peres that might be of interest to users of non-English versions of Excel. Here's what Pedro says:

As a big thanks for your great work i attach here an update to you wonderful xls version of DatesSourceFilo.xlsx (from http://mylifeallinoneplace.blogspot.pt/2012/01/download-your-free-page-per-day-2012-a4.html).
 As i am portuguese i was struggling to make it work with my language. When i open in excel it reads the Windows local region settings and the formulas do not work correctly.If my "Region And Language"
settings are set to Portugal the year is aaaa for "ano", the portuguese word for year.
 So I found an Italian solution that gets the current local in excel with defined names.
(from https://sites.google.com/site/e90e50fx/home/funzioni-excel-con-argomenti-costituiti-da-valori-di-testo-seconda-parte/excel-functions-with-text-value-arguments-second-part)
 e.g.: year_symbol is a name defined for =REPT(INDEX(GET.WORKSPACE(37);19);4)
 So now i think it works in every language, you must accept macros for defined names (it has no macros besides that).
 The only update it needs is the ordering column. In portuguese you dont have "st" , "nd", "rd" or "th". So i had it removed. In Portuguese we have "de" like "1 de Janeiro de 2014". I also have put the name of the week in the calendar.

I hope you like it and put it online to help the non english users.
 How to use it*:
1st - open "DatesSourceFilo2.xls"
2nd - go to Region and Language
3rd - change to a different language and see the excel updated 4th - open "Base diary 1 day per page2.docx"
5th - go to Region and Language
6th - change to a different language and see the word updated when you change the record  (next or previous)
 *works in office 2013 version and windows 7
 Best Regards
Ciao
Obrigado a todos
 Pedro Peres from Portugal

Here are the links for Pedro's files: Base diary (2 PPD) in Word    Excel data source

Interview with Raine Boyd: Tiny Creative Chefs

Something special today. You might know Raine as the woman behind limetreefruits.com. I love her work, in particular the beautiful printables that she passes on to the Filofax and planner community for free. When I learned that she was launching a new product combining cookery and crafts for kids, I signed up immediately. I asked her if I could interview her and help more people find out about it. (By the way, this isn't code for "She asked me to publicise her stuff for a kickback" - I really did approach her and asked if I could do this. And no kickbacks are involved, I just really want to help her succeed and for my readers to know about this cool product.) Read to the end for a discount code.

So here's the interview.

1. Who is Raine Boyd? Please seize the opportunity to use the third person unashamedly and let people see what you look like.

Raine Boyd is a reawakened artist + illustrator transforming humdrum day-to-day routines into enjoyable, fun, exciting and nurturing activities. Currently living in the Caribbean, over the weekends she has been sipping coconut water by the beach in search of the perfect “flat” wave to start surfing lessons with her cats. {the odds!}. During the week she has been making functional eye-candy art and releasing it to the world. You can find her musings, artwork and Filofax printable planners, calendars, desktop wallpapers, and all around helpful tools at limetreefruits.com.

2.  Tell me about Tiny Creative Chefs. What gave you the idea and how did you
develop it?

Since I was a kid I wanted to illustrate children’s books and children’s cookbooks because I grew up surrounded by them. The recipes in the cookbooks were all so easy and yummy to make (I always loved food too!) and the illustrations were the icing on the cake. About a year ago before TCC’s release I realized that I could really start illustrating recipes on my own. I didn’t need to wait for a special “something” to happen to get started. I illustrated the first recipe and even gave a sneak peak to my subscribers at that time. :) Then my husband and I decided to move out of the country and the project got delayed but never forgotten. :D I have a Filofax specifically for “Projects & Ideas”. In it I have specific tabs for each project where I break down each stage of development into sections (and more tabs!) where I write notes, questions, procedures and such. Since we decided to move out of the country I had to delay TCC’s release by A LOT! We moved into a temporary place before reaching the Caribbean and so I didn’t have my studio all set up and things were messy. I was not able to paint much but during that time I learnt a lot about all the technicalities of making a project like this come to life completely online and TCC’s designated section of my Filofax got filled quickly. The timing worked out perfectly at the end. As soon as we settled into the new place and my studio *ahem* dining area/studio was functional, I started illustrating and implementing it all. A few more months of intensive labor and love and Tiny Creative Chefs was released to the world! :)

3. What did cooking mean to you when you were growing up?

It mostly meant fun times with my mom. :D She wasn’t a big fan of cooking and during the week she would cook mostly on her own. So I knew it was “us girls” time for fun when she would ask me to grab one of my books and bring it to the kitchen. ;)

4. Is the chef character you? Is it based on someone in particular?

That’s an awesome question that I didn’t think about! :D The chef from the website itself came to me as I was sketching it. He appeared also on an earlier version of a printable menu planner and kept showing up again when I was drafting the main buttons and layouts. In the recipes, there is a character that shows up twice and she is such a doll! ♥ She is the same sweetheart that popped into my pages the very first time I attempted to illustrate a children’s book many years ago. I guess those little guys are insistent. They wanted to be heard and come to life. :)

5. Where do the recipes come from? How about some hints on what we can expect in the coming weeks?

All of them were recipes I used to make with my mom. Some of them I adapted and twisted over the years, others are exactly the same. I have such a sweet tooth and if it was up to me the recipes would all be desserts. :D I selected the recipes on my best behavior adding salty snacks and sweets into the mix! ;) 

6. What about art? When did you learn you could draw these fabulous creations? 

I had drawn/painted most of my life. You see, doodling is what kids do naturally, especially in a household with TWO fulltime artists! :D My parents were very good at supporting and encouraging me to polish those skills throughout my entire childhood and early teens. However they – unfortunately – excelled at incorporating and being a personification of the “starving artist” myth. In an effort to avoid that “curse” in my life {as I saw it at the time}, I took a break from art for almost 15 years. A little over a year ago, I finally allowed myself to explore and experiment with art again. And it has been A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.! {of course, right? How wouldn’t it be? ;) } I have been working hard not only to perfect my skills but especially to overcome internal challenges and change my expectations of what an artist is supposed to be and how he/she is supposed to live a creative life. Today I am on a mission to clear out those old beliefs and step into a free and empowered Artist Life. Art can bring me abundance or not. It all depends on me. :)

7. How challenging is it to draw/paint specifically for kids? 

I LOVE illustrating for kids! It is my favorite style and it comes so naturally and fluent to me! That is probably because I spent most of my childhood devouring comics and children’s illustrated books. I could be dragged anywhere and everywhere without a complaint as long as I had my stash of comics handy. :D They worked like a babysitter for me. Sometimes I see stories as a comic strip. If I only could draw/paint as fast the events unfold in my mind. :)))

8. My nearly-11-year-old is planning to use one of the kits for a special night at his Scouts group. Some of the Scouts will work on making the food, while others make the decorations and prepare the table. I think they'll have a great time. How do you hope people will use the sets? 

My goal is the interaction between parents and children. It was such an important experience of my upbringing that I dearly want more families to experience moments like this away from the TV/computer; just having fun creating without concerns about the end product. The process is the fun and important part, you know? :)  

And I LOVE that idea of a huge group effort as well! TCC can definitely be used as a way to empower children to cater and host their own parties. As a group, they can cook and decorate the whole thing on their own! Such a blast!  

They can even create a guest-book and have friends and family sign it, taking pictures throughout the process and afterwards creating an album and adding stories of each recipe in it or even journaling about the party. SO many possibilities to work with those recipes and create lifelong memories! 

9. What are your plans to extend the project? Can we expect themed one-off packs for Halloween, Christmas and so on? Further seasons? A book? 

Ray you totally read my mind! I am definitely planning on creating seasonal and holiday themed ones, hopefully next year! And for future development….. My mind is always bubbling with ideas. I can’t spill all the beans just yet because most of them are in the very early stages and depend greatly on how this first round develops. :) 

10. How can people reading this get on board? 

Anyone that follows my blog knows I am a talker and I am always giving hints here and there about next steps and that I always make a huge splash when something new and exciting is about to happen. So definitely stay tuned to my blog! ;) For more info about Tiny Creative Chefs you can hop over to tinycreativechefs.com and get to know me better, my blog is limetreefruits.com.

I'm a fan of everything Raine does, and Tiny Creative Chefs is such a wonderful project. I hope you'll look into it further, sign up (use the code "mylifeallinoneplace"  in the shopping cart to get 30% off) and enjoy some quality kitchen time with your kids.

An interview with me

I've been featured this week on Femke's "What I wanna know Wednesday" spot on her blog, Deligted. If you want to read what I had to say, you can read it here.

All Stars Guest Post by Judith: Today, I touched all of these Filofaxes!

This is a real treat. The wonderful Judith has written me e guest post on using her Filofaxes. You're going to love it. When you've read this post, be sure to check out Judith's fantastic blog, We Really Didn't Need Another Filofax Blog. 

Okay, weird title, I bet all the leather fetishists out there are now clicking the link to this post ….

Last night, when I tried to reclaim the space we call our living room after our precious kids went to bed, my eye fell on that pile of Filofaxes sitting on the table. My first thought – getting a bit annoyed with myself – why would I have so many Filofaxes on my table?! Then at a closer look I realized I had actually not only touched, but USED every single one of them during the day.

Let me give you a tour!

8.30 h:

Just dropped the kids off at school. On my way back home, I’m stopping at the supermarket to pick up a few things for dinner. Out goes my (new!) Filofax wallet: the Red Compact Chameleon (many thanks to Sandra, who sent this baby to me from the US!):

9.00 h:

Back home at my office desk: start of work day. First thing thing to do, is flip open my A5 Vintage Pink Malden to check my day!

14.00 h:

Have to send out a letter and need to look up the address. Which is in my A5 pink Finsbury!

15.30 h:

Short meeting with son’s speech therapist to discuss the latest test results. All notes go in the designated A5 Bronze Domino, my Kids-School-Record keeping book (one tab per kid):

17.00 h:

While dinner is cooking, I’m updating my A5 Malden for the next days.

20.00 h:

Kids are all in bed, BF is working, I have the house and time to myself. Wonderful time to dive into my Creative Goddess e-Course. I have printed all ebooks on A5 paper and put them in my A5 raspberry Chameleon.

21.00 h:

End of day. I am writing a bit in my daily logbook (Moleskine Color a month volants), which is stuck in my Slimline Cuban. I’m also updating the kids’ logbooks (weekly cotton cream inserts in the Cuban).

And that – dear people – is how I came to use 6 different Filofaxes on one day!

So, how many Filofaxes have you handled today …?

(Huge THANK YOU to Ray for letting me write this All Stars Guest Post!)

And thank you Judith for choosing to share this post with my readers.

All Stars Guest Post by Helen: The Flex - One Month On

I'm delighted to be hosting Helen's post about using the Filofax Flex. When you've read this post, be sure to check out Helen's fantastic blog, Fennell Books. 

Many thanks to Ray for letting me post my Flex update on his blog. I am a great fan of My Life All In  One Place, so it is lovely to be a part of it!

Over on Philofaxy, you might have seen my guest post about my new Flex. That was written about a month ago, when I first took delivery of it. I have now been using it in anger in the office, and thought an update would be useful.

The cover is purple leather and I was surprised to see that the layout differs from my Husband’s original flex which he has had for some time.

Before I had the Flex, I used an A4 bound notebook in the office. I find a bound notebook much easier to use, than a binder system for my work. However, there are loose bits of paper I need to carry around with me, which often used to fall out of my book, so the pockets in the Flex looked like they might work for me.

I was a little worried about bulk once I had loaded it up, but as you can see it is really very thin still, and much lighter than an A5 Filofax binder.

On opening it up, I have a Moleskine notebook slotted into the left hand inner pocket, and a pen holder in the right hand outer pocket. The pen is a 4 colour Lamy. As an engineer I need to be able to mark up drawings in different colours, so having one pen to do all four colours is really helpful.

In the front cover I have my Blackberry slotted in. The pocket also takes an iPhone.  This change in layout from the first edition Flex is a real positive. I have to carry my Blackberry with me everywhere, and as my team are spread across three buildings in the town in which I work I spend a lot of time away from my desk.  Carrying my phone around with a bound book meant I kept dropping it, or leaving it behind. Now it lives in my Flex, so I always know where it is.

My note book is a lined Moleskine soft cover. The hardcover notebooks do fit, but it is really tight, and I was worried that I would damage the leather, so opted for softcover. Each morning I make a to-do list in my book with items carried over from the previous day if I haven’t closed them. Closed items get a tick in the margin, and items that I carry over get a horizontal line in the margin.  I use my book to make notes throughout the day, whilst I am in meetings, talking to my team and to develop ideas.

So far, so good. Now, for the reason I bought a Flex in the first place… the pockets. Each Monday I have to plan what my team are doing, and so I have lists and spreadsheets with workload histograms and reports which have to be completed.  These are the bits of paper which I kept loose in my A4 book previously.  They are now tucked into the inside right hand pocket. I only use them for the week, and they are then thrown away, so if they get a little dog-eared it doesn’t matter.  If I wanted to keep something permanently in there I would be tempted to laminate it.  This works really well. If I am away from my desk, I can instantly look up the availability of any of my team to complete urgent or ad hoc work.  Everything is safe, there no risk of losing it, and I know exactly where it is.

Also in the back is the list pad that was provided with the Flex. I wasn’t very sure I would use it, but now I have it I really like it. It is great for scribbles, thoughts, random shopping lists! I use it for both work and non-work related things which pass through my head and I need to capture. The non-work items then get transferred to my Filo for action later.

Finally I have a few stickies as I find it handy to have some with me for leaving notes on people’s desks if they are not there.

I have to say that I am really pleased with the Flex. It gets a hard time at work, and the leather is holding up really well. The colour is lovely and it looks professional. The pocket layout, particularly with a place for my Blackberry, is really good. I know a traditional Filofax doesn’t work for me as I prefer bound books at work, so this is a great compromise.

So, if you are a bound book sort of person, who needs some pockets for extraneous bits of paper, then a Flex could well be the answer. Go on, you know you want to!

My thanks to Helen for this insight into the Flex and how it works in practice.