Tried & Tested: MFM Series #3

m.studio Products
 *Quick Note: Yes, I know it is Wednesday and not Monday (insert unhappy face here). Last week and this week have just been beyond manic work wise. Yesterday, I had a stressful and rather big presentation and I had high hopes on Monday for posting MFM, but I had to focus on what lay ahead. I'm really trying to get round to more blogging - doesn't seem like it is working. Anyway... here is MFM on Wednesday! 

I'm having such fun testing out lovely stationery to share with you. Each and every brand that is part of the MFM  planning and organising series are awesome (obviously). I'm not bias or anything, but it is so great to have local creatives making wonderful things so we can get even more organised. There are some particularly delightful options available for SA stationery lovers or as gifts in preparation for the festive season ahead. I mentioned on Facebook last week, that I will share a review every second week so that I can make sure I actually get a gap to use the products for a week.

m.studio is a personal favourite - who is always creating and making beautiful stationery / useful crafty goodies. It's pretty difficult not to be tempted right! I have been fortunate enough to meet Mariaan several times and I've experienced her incredible stand at Kamers . She is a kind, happy soul who is always ready to help and of course a brilliant local business woman too. 

I tested out the Magnetic Checklist Notepad, Magnetic Groceries Notepad, Magnetic Things to Do Notepad and the Sunshine Tote Bag. I also got a sneak peek of a few other items that will be launched online - one of them being the colourful and useful heart stickers you might spot in the photos.

Overall Review:
Awesome, lovely, affordable products! It's that simple. I particularly liked the Things to Do and the Groceries notepads. Both have lived on my desk for the past week and have been well used to capture many a scribble and fleeting thought. I usually make shopping lists on my phone, but much prefer a papery option to take along on my aisle travels. The perfectly sized pages (90 mm x 200mm) are a perfect accompaniment to my planner, as I could slide in the to do pages and deal with extra tasks as needed. The bag was ideal as a holdall for meetings to carry my planner and iPad (and all the other paraphernalia I seem to require in order to function). I also loved using the tote to hold my packages to post on errand days . It would be ideal to use as a gift bag too - filled with beautiful presents.

Best Feature:
The prices! Useful, pretty stationery at low prices means you can get double as much (I'm not enabling you - I'm just saying btw). 

Useful For:
All your organising needs. I find the m.studio paper products, like the notebooks great to use for snail mail gifts. They are flat and lightweight, plus South African - so they are just lovely to share with faraway friends. 

Prices:
Groceries Notepad (Magnetic) - R32 (50 pages)
Checklist Notepad (Magnetic) - R32 (50 pages)

Where to Buy:
You can shop online on the m.studio shop or lookout for these lovely products at the next Kamers event (take plenty of money to spend - it's irresistible).






m.studio is giving away a R500 goodie pack of products to one lucky (damn lucky if you ask me) blog reader! How awesome is that.
You can enter below via Rafflecopter:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Note: Sometimes Rafflecopter experiences technical difficulties like all modern technology. If you can’t enter for some reason, try again later and it should work.
This is a local South African giveaway which closes on the 3rd December.

Seven Things via Instagram

Wow! I haven't done a Seven Things post in like seven months! Ridiculous... it suddenly dawned on me the other day... so here I am sharing seven things of late. I did share a few of these snippets on Instagram and I also saved some for this post. I now have two accounts - one for business, stationery and creative updates. The second account is for more personal out and about photos. Follow along here... nadiavdmescht and hellonadiavdm.

1 > Movember: I've been waiting all year to bust these out. Finally, I can wear them and be part of the coolest man month. I got these little earrings as a gift and love wearing them for a touch of quirk.

2 > Stationery Packs: My creative escape time is spent getting crafty. I made this one for a pen pal. Now, if only the strike backlog would ease up so I can actually post it. I would be heartbroken if it got lost on its merry travels.

3 > Christmas Time: There is no more denying it... the festive season is upon us. I recently wrote my first card and used a very pretty tag from La Cartoleria.

4 > Night Out: About two weeks ago it was a close friend's thirtieth birthday celebrations. We had a fun day and night, which ended with dancing and sore feet. As I was unpacking my bag the next day these remnants stood out. My darling friend also gave me the sweetest gift topped with a Nifty250 strip - how kind considering it was her birthday.

5 > Smashing Colours: On Tuesday night I headed out with Sabrina from Fashion Nanny for a Smashbox event. We were spoilt and tried loads of beautiful products. We also caught up with a few other Durban creatives.

6 > Housewarming: Taryn from Smith's Bakeshop always outdoes herself. This delicious and beautiful creation was part of some recent housewarming celebrations for two lovely friends.

7 > Boiler Room Cafe: Finally, I am cool too. It was exciting to visit this awesome Durban space with a few of my fav creative friends. Worth a visit for sure - especially to see the art by Resoborg.

DIY Snail Mail Jar for Consol


Consol recently reached out to me and asked that I put together a little something using their new jars with coloured chalkboard labels. I decided to get creative and share a gift that could also lead to more  giving or sharing down the line and that's how I came up with a Snail Mail Kit in a jar. The idea is really simple and easy to replicate as a special DIY gift for a friend. I included a pen, washi tape, envelopes, a few cards, a stamp and scissors. You can fill it with anything stationery related to get them started on their snail mail journey. I made use of  other crafty bits and pieces too like buttons, glitter paper and tape, as well as small bells to decorate and add to the Olive Finch Christmas tag around the bottle's neck. It is so easy and fun to create - I hope it inspires you to get making this Christmas.

I bought my supplies mostly from Typo and one or two elements like the envelopes and glitter paper from a general craft shop. The MT washi tape is from Washi Bug. My Motex label maker from Love Letters Stationery also came in handy. As mentioned you can include anything creative so it's an easy DIY to shop for.

Poster Fun with Recite This

On my recent Pinterest adventures I came across Recite This, a really fun site which allows you to create posters with quotes. I had a ball making a batch of my own and it was so easy! Here is some creative business food for thought. Visit the site to get making yourself!



Tried & Tested: MFM Series #2

Elephantshoe Products
Hooray... finally it's time for the next MFM Review Series post featuring one of my favourite local stationery brands - Elephantshoe. Those in Durban will know that the weather has been all over the show which has made photo taking so difficult. Luckily there were a few gaps of fairly okay light to use for snapping these beauties. 

As the year wraps up and we look towards 2015 - it's the ideal time to get organised and ready for a productive new year! I reviewed three items from Elephantshoe and made good use of them! I sampled the following: 'My Weekly Planner' (a firm favourite), Let's Do This Notepad and the Meal Planner. 
Overall Review:
It's no secret... I already love the brand, but I really stress tested the products and they proved not only useful, but durable too. The monochrome designs offer a neutral look and feel to suit varying tastes. My personal favourite is 'My Weekly Planner' and I really got stuck into using it. The other products are lovely too and helped me in organising my work and personal life even further. The Meal Planner is ideal for working out weekly meals and creating a shopping list. It helped me to stay creative with my dinner meals and it allowed me to plan ahead and freeze certain meals for future (quick) dinners. The finely dotted lines on all the items are great for keeping my thoughts straight and I particularly like how the pages are bound to the pads. I have used items in the past that separate as you flip or turn pages. That's not the case with any of the Elephantshoe products - they stayed put until I was ready to tear off the top page. (Stationery nerds can relate - I'm sure!)

Best Feature:
It is difficult to select only one as the products are really wonderful. I would say that the clearly thought out design is possibly the best feature. I can feel and see the love poured into the design by the Elephantshoe team. There are ample lines to write on and it definitely seems as if the products where tried and tested before they were made available to buy. Good job Ellieshoe team!

Useful For:
Getting organised all round. I particularly recommend the 'My Weekly Planner' for business owners who want to get going on setting up an editorial calendar for their blog and social media. The layout is perfect for keeping track of posts.

Price:
My Weekly Planner - R95 (60 pages)
Let's Do This Notepad - R55 (50 pages)
Meal Planner - R95 (60 pages)

Where to Buy:
You can shop for all the featured products on the Elephantshoe site. I have bought from them and their delivery time is particularly good! I highly recommend stocking up or buying gifts from this beautiful brand!

You can also take a look at their lovely freebies - check out the Naughty or Nice Christmas printable.

Elephantshoe want to help you get organised and have very kindly offered THREE 'My Weekly Planner' giveaways. That means three of you can stand a chance of winning! To enter is really simple via Rafflecopter below...
a Rafflecopter giveaway


*Note: 
Sometimes Rafflecopter experiences technical difficulties like all modern technology. If you can’t enter for some reason, try again later and it should work.
This is a local South African giveaway which closes on the 17th November.

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