For a long time now I have been searching for a good planner to use to organize my blogging. Since there is nothing on the market designed specifically to meet the needs of bloggers, I’ve tried all sorts of things. First I attempted to cobble together different combinations of pre-printed planner pages, but I found I had to purchase a bunch of stuff I’d never use to get the pages I wanted. Then I tried using an online calendar but that didn’t work very well for capturing ideas and taking notes. I even modified a notebook by adding calendar print-outs, but it was too small and I did a kind of sloppy job so I hated using it.

Then one night last week, I was cruising around Pinterest after the kids went to bed when I stumbled upon an absolutely brilliant blog calendar from Beckie at Infarrantly Creative. Beckie has solved the problem of the blog planner/calendar in a ridiculously clever way and she’s provided free printables too!

I was so excited to solve my planner problem that I immediately downloaded Beckie’s printables and got to work on a calendar of my own. I knew I wanted to change a few of the boxes on her planner pages to better suit my needs so I pulled it in to Photoshop Elements and started goofing around with it.

Beckie’s design is divided into two basic sections: a monthly calendar and weekly planner sheets. I started by working on the weekly planner page. I removed the “weekly statistics” and “blogger to encourage” titles in the bottom two boxes and changed them to say “One thing to try” and “One thing that worked”. I’m hoping that setting and tracking a weekly goal will encourage me to keep making improvements to my blog. Next I added an orange chevron background pattern. Then I turned into a crazy person and decided to re-do all the titles on the page using my favorite font (Avenir). Once I crossed that line, I figured I may as well go all the way, so I swapped in a grid in place of a numbered list for the “to do” and “notes” areas. Since you are not crazy, you should just download Beckie’s perfectly lovely and already-done-for-you pages and use those if you want to make your own planner.

I kept the monthly pages basically the same as they were originally designed. I took an extra few minutes to change the fonts (crazy!) and I also typed the name of the month and changed the color of the background design on each sheet before I printed it out (more crazy!). Finally, I added “The Week in Bentos” to every Friday so I didn’t have to hand write it on the calendar 52 times.

I printed out a year’s worth of calendar pages and planner pages and then I put it all together based on the directions in Beckie’s post (mine is assembled for a right-handed person). My favorite part is the way the calendar pages are mounted on a file folder that’s bound into the book. This allows me to tuck each weekly planner page behind the monthly calendar as I complete it. I love having my monthly and weekly pages visible simultaneously because then I don’t have to keep flipping back and forth.

Becky recommends having your planner bound at an office supply store, but since I have a Bind-It-All (a spiral binding machine) I did it myself at home. (I kind of smooshed the wire though so I think I need to redo it.) I even turned the monthly pages into a tear-off pad using padding compound. I love that stuff.

I decorated the front cover of the planner with some cute typewriter paper because I thought it fit with the writing theme and because I’m obsessed with typewriters. I had already cut one of the typewriters out to use on another project, so I typed “Wendolonia Planner” on a scrap of paper, cut it into a circle and used that to cover the hole.

The inside of the back cover is covered with some sweet camera paper.

And the back cover has paper with typewriters, cameras and sewing stuff on it — perfect for my crafty blog!

Wanna make your own blog planner? Be sure to head to Beckie’s tutorial where you can find the printables and view a video where she shows how the binder is put together.

I’ve started to notice some backlash against my beloved Pinterest lately. There is no doubt that the site if filled with tons of creative inspiration but lots of people have begun to question how many people are spending their free time completing projects they’ve pinned on Pinterest and how many are frittering that time away by sitting in front of their laptops pinning and pinning some more. I’m a very active pinner (you can follow me here) and I’d like to speak up as the voice of someone who does act on the inspiration she gets from Pinterest! I’m not saying I’ve done something with all of the 800+ images I’ve got saved, but I have made use of dozens of the ideas I’ve pinned to my boards.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Home-made Naan by Budget Bytes — I came across this recipe a few weeks ago and I’ve made it twice in the last two weeks. I’ve made yeast breads a few times before — and loved eating them — but I’m still pretty intimidated by them. This recipe was fast and didn’t require much skill. Also, if you read my bento posts you may have noticed that my kids kind of love naan! I’m hoping that at some point I’ll be able to add this bread to their lunch boxes, but so far they’ve eaten all this bread before I had a chance to give it to them.

Brassy Apple’s Star Wars Valentines — I loved this idea to use a glow stick as a light saber so these were Wyatt’s valentines last week. The Brassy Apple offers a free download, but I ended up making my own version because Wyatt wanted a different light saber handle and I wanted to fit more valentines on a page. These were super cool and Wyatt’s classmates loved them.

Made by Joel’s Paperclip Dinosaurs — This project is one of those simple, brilliant ones that I never would have thought of on my own. Print images from the web, cut them out and then tape bent paper clips to the back so they’ll stand up. If you’re feeling fancy, draw a background on a piece of paper. It’s awesome because you can apply the basic concept to just about any theme. We ended up printing out dinosaur pictures like Joel did in his original blog post, but you could make a farm scene, a safari, robot war, paper dolls — anything!

Ice with Toys Frozen Into it from Counting Coconuts — We did this one last summer. I spent a week or so adding layers of water (sometimes colored with food coloring) and plastic toys to a large Tupperware container, then I pulled it out and let the kids excavate the toys. They used squirt guns, hammers (wearing safety glasses), the garden hose and also just left it sitting in the sun for awhile to get everything out.

Warby Parker Glasses — This is my most recent Pinterest discovery. Warby Parker sells vintage-inspired glasses for $95 per pair lenses included. You select up to five pairs of frames you’re interested in trying, then they mail them to your house and you can try them out for up to five days. When you decide on a pair you like, you send the glasses back, upload your prescription and they mail a complete pair of glasses back to you. The best part is that they donate a pair of glasses to someone in need for every pair you purchase! I got my sample box yesterday and I’m trying to decide which ones I like best right now. Augie has settled on three pairs for himself.

How are you using Pinterest? Do you pin and pin and pin some more? Or do you take the ideas and run with them? I’d love it if you shared your favorite pins in the comments. Also, if you need a Pinterest invite, leave your email and I’ll send you an invite!

Happy New Year! I love this time of year for looking back at what’s passed and looking forward to what’s to come.

As I did last year, I’m kicking the year off with a look back at the year that has passed on Wendolonia. Here are the 10 most popular posts of 2011:

10. Chocolate No-Bake Cookies — A recipe for a gooey, chocolatey recipe my family has been making for years.

9. Behind the Scenes of a Bento Photo — This post gives a quick overview of how I set up my bento photos in the mornings but the tips I share can be used for most still photographs.

8. Bento Box Basics: Tools and Accessories — A basic overview of the tools and accessories I use to put together bento boxes for my family.

7. The Week in Bentos: August 23-26, 2011 — Back to School! — This was the only week in bentos post to make the list this year, probably because of that Angry Bird Babybel cheese!

6. Adventures in School Lunch — This post chronicles my experience eating school lunch with my first grader. It was shockingly different from the school lunches I ate as a kid and generated a lot of discussion on the post itself and on Facebook.

5. Summer Fun List — Our big list of fun activities to do over the summer. We crossed a ton off the list but didn’t get to all of them. I’m hoping to make up a fresh list for the rest of winter in the next few weeks.

4. Bento Box Basics: All About Boxes — A thorough overview of the various kinds of bento boxes available. If you’re looking to get started making bentos, this is where I suggest you start.

3. Summer Fun (for Mom): Homemade Smash Book — My homemade version of the super popular Smash Folio. I filled it with my favorite papers from my stash and bound it at home.

2. Star Wars Birthday Party — A summary of the activities, crafts and food that were part of Wyatt’s seventh birthday party.

And finally, the #1 most popular post on Wendolonia last year was…

Microwaved Ivory Soap! And when I say it was popular, I’m not kidding. People went crazy for this activity and visited this page more than any other page on my site (including the home page) by far last year. Had I known then what I know now, I would have scrubbed my microwave until it was sparkling clean before taking these photos!

A few of my personal favorite posts that didn’t make the top ten were:

• Portrait of the Artist with Pneumonia — I challenged myself to take one self-portrait for a week and then immediately contracted pneumonia. I was surprised that I loved the results.
• My Strawberry Shortcake Collection — When we moved I dug my childhood collection of Strawberry Shortcake dolls out of the basement and photographed them. I also posted photos of the playsets
• Goodbye, Foxy Fox — My goodbye letter to my faithful (and horrible) VW Fox.
• My 40th Year Project — The kick-off post for the big autobiographical scrapbook project I’m doing throughout the year leading up to my 40th birthday.
• Bento Tip: Just Do ONE Thing — My favorite piece of lunch-packing advice I’ve shared this year!

I have been thrilled to see the Wendolonia community grow much larger over the past 12 months and I want take a minute to thank each and every one of you for reading and commenting here on the blog and for chatting over on the Wendolonia Facebook page. You are awesome and I like having you around. Thanks for hanging out with me!

What have you enjoyed seeing on Wendolonia this year? What would you like to see in the coming months?

Have you ever stopped to think about how awesome blogs can be?

How many times have you read a blog post and come away inspired, amused, or better informed? Have you ever cooked a delicious recipe you found on a blog? Tried a fun activity with your family? Have you ever read something that made you feel connected to the writer and a little less alone?

I read blogs almost every day and I can say, without any doubt, that my world is better and richer for it. If you’re here reading this on my blog, I bet it’s a safe bet that you read and enjoy blogs too. But how often do we take the time to thank bloggers for all the work they do for us? Tuesday was Pay a Blogger Day, an event that started by a company called Flattr. Flattr provides a service that helps you to make small monetary donations to bloggers whose sites you enjoy. Though I don’t use Flattr myself, I’m behind this idea 100%. Because I maintain my own blog, I have a pretty realistic idea about how much time and energy goes into a typical blog post. Sure, it’s often fun work, but it still takes a lot of time to sit down and write a post, think a project through and sometimes photograph it too.

When I start thinking about what I get from blogs — almost always for free — I want very much to give a little bit back to the people who inspire me. Most often, I do this by beginning my Amazon shopping using the affiliate links on the blogs I love. It doesn’t matter what items the blog links to — anything I buy on Amazon using an affiliate link goes toward the blogger’s account. This puts a little money in their pockets for very little effort on my part. I also shop the bloggers’ stores if they have them. Sometimes, I send them a note to let them know how much I appreciate their blogs. And at the very least, I try to leave comments on the posts I most enjoy.

And today I’m going to write just a bit about my very favorite blogs so I can spread the love a little farther and  you can check them out if you want too!

Rookie Moms

Rookie Moms was one of the first blogs I read regularly. Whitney and Heather live in my area and their children are close in age to mine so their blog about activities to do with babies in tow was a good fit with my life when Wyatt was little. As the years have gone by, Rookie Moms has expanded to include activities for older children so I still read it daily. And as an extra bonus, Whitney and Heather have become my good friends in real life. If you’re looking for a place to start on Rookie Moms, check out my all time most favorite post: Write a “did do” list.

The Bloggess

Whenever I’m sitting at my computer laughing hysterically my husband knows I’m looking at one of three sites: Damn You Autocorrect, Cake Wrecks  or The Bloggess. If you’ve never heard of The Bloggess, she writes long, rambling, insanely funny posts about her adventures. (And I mean all that in the best possible way!) If you need a place to start on her blog, her current feud with Stephen Colbert is pretty good, but my very favorite is the time she brought her husband a giant metal chicken for their 15th anniversary.

Another Lunch

Another Lunch is one of the few bento blogs I read regularly. Melissa’s lunches are adorable, but they’re not so complex that I’d never bother to attempt them. She puts in just enough more effort to give me something to aspire to when I’m making my own kids’ lunches. And again, I think of her as a real life friend (even though we’ve never met!). You can dive into this blog anywhere and get some great inspiration, but one of my favorite posts is this one featuring a circus-themed muffin tin lunch. So cute!

Ali Edwards

I’ve been blogging on and off for many years, but Ali Edwards’ blog is the one that inspired me to take the leap into blogging about myself and my family regularly. Ali has inspired me to focus less on the big events in my family’s lives (though those are important) and more on the day to day stuff that adds up to the big picture of who we are and what our lives are like. Her primary focus is on scrapbooking and memory keeping, but I think there is a lot on her blog for people who are just looking to be mindful about the ups and downs in a typical day.

The Happiest Mom

Meagan Francis, aka The Happiest Mom writes about being…well…happy as a mom. She addresses a lot of the issues with parenting that make me feel guilty, martyred, or angry and she has an incredible ability to write about them in a way that turns my thinking around. I think her blog name is a bit of a misnomer because she doesn’t pretend to be perfect,  but rather she aspires to be more satisfied in a role that feels like it should bring only joy but often sucks. And best of all, she never inspires any guilt.  Meagan has collected some of her best articles here: How to be a happier mom.

elsie marley

Oh elsie marley! How you inspire me! Run by a woman named Meg (not Elsie), this blog is pure eye candy. And project candy. And sewing candy. And baking candy. I get so excited when I see one of Meg’s posts pop up in my Google reader because I always know it’s going to be good. Her beautiful projects are the perfect mix of modern and classic and they make me want to immediately drop what I’m doing and make something cool. I also love that Meg is funny and that she shares what was frustrating or went wrong with her projects. Her post today is a list of advent activities that I’ll be printing out to have on hand in case I need to swap out one of the things I’ve come up with. She is probably best known for running the Kids Clothes Week Challenge a few times per year.

So tell me: Which blogs are your favorites? How do you support your favorite bloggers?

I have a ton of things I’ve been wanting to talk about lately, but I’ve been having a lot of trouble finding the time to sit down and write. I have a few minutes right now, so I thought I’d talk about a few of the little things that have been sticking in my brain the past two weeks.

Today is Augie’s third birthday! It’s not exactly a ground-breaking sentiment, but I swear it seems like he was just born yesterday. He is such a happy, funny, stubborn, independent boy and I’m so glad he’s a part of our family. We’re keeping things low-key this year with a family party and some treats at preschool but I did get up a little early to hang some streamers in the kitchen.

I love seeing all the school supplies and back to school stuff in the stores and it got me thinking about the things I used to take to school. I specifically am remembering octagonal shaped crayons and Trapper Keeper folders. I even went so far as to look up a vintage Trapper Keeper Commercial on YouTube. My favorite part is how they stress that the binder closes with that hot new invention, velcro. Ooooooh!

I know I’ve talked about Pinterest before, but my obsession with it has only grown in the last few months. Here are some of the things I’ve found on there that I want to try myself:

• Homemade Lego table from an IKEA Lack table.
• Pumpkin Spice Syrup for homemade pumpkin spice lattes
• Notebook paper t-shirt tutorial – I want to make myself one of these!
• I love this Perry the Platypus sandwich that Susan Yuen made as part of her recent Phineus and Ferb series of bentos. I can’t wait to try it myself!

I wrote an article about making lunches more fun for Williams-Sonoma a few weeks ago. Not a lot of new techniques there, but I made a special rainbow bento box for it that might just be my new favorite lunch of all time.

Today is the last day to enter to win a $500 shopping spree on the Horizon Back to School Community. All you have to do is comment on my post about saving money on lunches to be entered to win. While you’re there, you should check out some of the other conversations. People are sharing lots of good tips!

What have you been up to lately? Are you a Pinterest addict too?

Disclosure: I am compensated for my time as a community leader for the Horizon Back-to-School Community. All views and opinions are my own.

• Have you seen the trailer for Sarah Vowell’s new book Unfamiliar Fishes? Go! Right now! Check it out! Even if you’re not a big Vowell fan (like me!) it’s worth watching to see the fantastic foodscapes created by one of my all time favorite bento artists, Sakurako Kitsa.

• Hey Jen Renee! is auctioning off an incredibly beautiful hand-knit scarf/wrap with all proceeds going to Japan relief.

• What I Made — I just discovered this blog filled with cool DIY projects (via Craftypod). Scott Bedford features excellent craft projects but his blog — filled with hand drawn illustrations — is a delight in and of itself.

• Have you heard of Pinterest? It’s my new social media addiction. I was storing my visual inspiration on Tumblr, but I’ve abandoned that site in favor of my new prettier trophy wife, Pinterest. The interface is much more intuitive to me and I find that I’m better able to organize my links and images into categories. I’ve also found that the community there is a bit of a better fit for me. Here are my pins (link/image combos). Pinterest is in beta right now and you need an invitation to join. I have a few invites at my disposal, so if you need an invitation send me your email and I’ll send one your way. You can also request an invite on the homepage of the site.

• I’m newly addicted to the Stuff Mom Never Told You podcast! This show is produced by the How Stuff Works people and focuses on female-centric topics. I’ve been working my way through the archives for the past few weeks and this show has risen to my #2 most favorite podcast spot (after The Paperclipping Roundtable which is probably only of interest to scrapbook geeks like myself). Some of the most interesting shows I’ve listened to so far have been on topics as diverse as nuns, lady pirates, sexy Halloween costumes and female superheroes.

• I’ve been working my way through The Essential New York Times Cookbook, reading it more like I would a novel than a cookbook. Amanda Hesser has collected 100+ years of recipes from the New York Times to create a history of American food trends. Nearly all of the 1400 recipes in the book are introduced with a paragraph or two about its place in history and this creates a fascinating read. I’ve yet to make anything from it yet, but I’ll be sure to report back when I do!

• My friend Whitney recently introduced me to the blog Mommy Coddle and I can’t stop reading it. Molly lives on a farm in Maryland and blogs about her day to day life. Her life is very different from mine, but I also feel like I can relate to her experiences. It doesn’t hurt that she’s a fantastic writer.

• Like practically everyone else with a smart phone, I’m completely hooked on Plants vs. Zombies. That is all.

• The Bento4Japan fundraiser is still going strong! In addition to the bento starter set I put together, there are lots of other great items up for auction with all benefits going to Japan earthquake/tsunami relief. Some other people have also recently listed starter sets that are a great deal.

I just wanted to take a quick second to point you to a few of the articles I’ve written for Parentella lately:

Lunch Box Notes
Lunch box notes to download and print. There is one blank set and one set with corny jokes on them. (Certified as hi-larious by the six-year-old who lives in my house!)

Snack Ideas – Part 1
The first of a two part series listing out some easy, kid-friendly snack ideas. Part 2 will be going up later this week, I think.

Lunch Box Safety Tips
Basic rules for keeping your child’s lunch safe and free of food-borne illnesses!

A few weeks ago I started writing for the blog at Parentella. Parentella is a site that connects parents and educators and their blog is chock full of interesting articles about schools and education. I’m mostly writing  about packing school lunches (surprise) but you’ll also be seeing more general articles from me about kid-friendly foods and maybe even an occasional craft project.

This week’s article about Spooky Halloween Lunch Box Ideas went up this morning and I’m particularly excited to share it with you because I had so much fun putting it together. So far I’ve also written a series of articles on bento box basics and shared an easy school night dinner of bbq chicken, mashed yams and peas.

So come check me out on Parentella and let me know what you think!

It’s back to school week here on Wendolonia! I’m going to be bringing you a new article focused on lunch-packing every day this week.

Today’s topic: Kid-centric Food Blogs!

Photo courtesy of Another Lunch

Another Lunch

Melissa from Another Lunch is one of my favorite bloggy buddies and her site always offers up something fun and inspirational. She puts together themed bentos and muffin tin lunches for her kiddos that are super-creative, but simple to execute (once she’s passed on her clever ideas).

Cooking with My Kid

Cooking with My Kid is one of those wonderful 365 projects — a mom cooks a new dish with her young son every day for a year. The dishes are usually pretty simple but they’re chosen to introduce her boy to new flavors and ingredients. She helpfully lists out which steps her son helped with for each recipe. The site is new to me, but I can’t wait to try some of them out with my kids.

Nurture Baby

Though Augie is well out of the baby food stage, I still check in with Nurture Baby from time to time for ideas for toddler-friendly dishes. I particularly liked the Bebe Bolognese — as did my boy — and I loved having small portions in the freezer to pop into his lunch box on day care days.

Meal Makeover Moms

I discovered the Meal Makeover Moms via their weekly podcast, but their website is a source of great family-friendly recipes too. The difference between these woman and many other food bloggers though is that they test the heck out of their original recipes before they release them out into the wild. As a result, every recipe of theirs that I’ve tried has been top-notch — and my kids have eaten (almost) all of them too!

Gourmet Mom on the Go

The Gourmet Mom on the Go isn’t a bento site per se, but it offers up some insanely cute serving ideas. A sandwich shaped like a lion with a grated carrot mane? How freaking cute is that? The recipe archive on this site is enormous, so no matter where your tastes lie, you’re bound to find something your family will enjoy.

Hungry for some more inspiration? Check out my list of favorite bento blogs!

What are your favorite blogs with ideas for feeding the kiddos?

More from this series:

• Monday: Lunch Box Ideas (with a free downloadable list for your fridge!)
• Tuesday: Lunch Packing Gear
• Wednesday: Sandwich Adventures
• Thurdsay: Kid-centric Food Blogs
  

I think I’m probably late to the party on this one, but have you all heard of One Pretty Thing? Rachel Klein runs this amazingly comprehensive site where she posts multiple round-ups of links to craft projects and tutorials she finds on the internet. I first heard of the site earlier this week when Rachel was interviewed on the CraftyPod podcast (which I also discovered earlier this week).

Rachel posts a daily round-up of between 8-16 general links to craft projects every day and she also posts one or more themed round-ups per day. Some of the incredible round-ups she’s posted in just the few days I’ve been subscribed include:

• Felt Food Round-up — This one rocked my world. I’ve been wanting to make some felt food for Augie for Christmas but I had no idea so many free tutorials existed. I can’t wait to dive into this list!
• Birthday Party Round-up — I was thrilled to see that Rachel included my Robot Party on this list, but humbled by the beautiful parties I was surrounded by. Do not miss the Construction Site party if you have a little boy who likes heavy equipment.
• Edible Gifts Round-up — These ideas and recipes also have my head spinning with ideas.

In fact, Rachel’s whole site has me so inspired and ready to create that I don’t know quite where to start! I have been working my way through some of her older posts but I have to go slowly because, honestly, my brain can’t soak in so many ideas at once. Please go check  out One Pretty Thing if you haven’t already seen it!

Some of my other favorite crafty blogs:

• Craft Zine — Another site that showcases the best of the crafty web.
• Sew Mama, Sew — They’re in the midst of a holiday gift idea series that’s pretty great. Last month the theme was using your scraps, which was also inspiring.
• Made in Brooklyn — This one is different from some of the other blogs I’ve highlighted here. Robyn is a one-woman show who shows daily photos of her baking, sewing and paper craft projects while blogging about family life.
• The Crafty Crow — Daily round-ups of kids crafts.

What are your favorite crafty blogs? Please enable me!