All the Essentials at My Fingertips

Oh my goodness! Have you SEEN the new American Crafts Desktop Essentials collection??? Clipboards, designers prints, pencils, adhesive, ribbon, fun little erasers, clothespins, and even more fabulous goodies.  

I have so many ideas for this new line but for today's post, I went with something a little more functional in my day to day life. Of course, now I need more of these babies for things I want to do in my bathroom, my kids’ rooms, my craft room. Sigh…

I’ve been on-the-go a lot this summer so I wanted to make something that would  be easy to grab and go at a moment’s notice. From the clipboard to the journals to the essentials needed to make lists, take lots of notes, and document my family’s adventures, this has everything I need bundled as one.

How to:

1. Select your favorite designer print, paper, journals, books, mini albums, etc. and stack them all together on your favorite Desktop Essentials clipboard. 
2. Select coordinating ribbon and 1 1/2 - 2" wide elastic. 
3. Wrap the elastic around the books and clipboard nice and tight. Subtract approximately 1 - 2" and cut the elastic.  Wrap it around again to make sure it will be nice and secure when stitched together. If it's too loose, the books will slide right out.
4. Stitch the ends together from the inside so you don't see the seam.
5. Measure your ribbon while the elastic is stretched to determine how much ribbon to use.  I wanted to see the gold elastic on each side so I cut mine shorter.  
6. Stitch the ribbon to the stretched band.  I did this by putting the elastic back on the clipboard over the books and marking each side where I wanted the ribbon to end.
7. Tip: it will look loose when you are stitching it because the elastic won't be stretched out.
8. Next, add stitching for pens, erasers, etc.
9. Once you have stitched the ribbon to the elastic band and created your spots to hold the items, wrap it around your books and/or journals.
10. Secure all the elements together on the clipboard and in your custom band.

I want to be able to journal, I want to scrap in the 52 week journal, and I want to have items for my kids to draw on so I included glue, scissors, pens and pencils, funky erasers, even confetti!

You can add additional embellishments to the clipboard to customize it even more to your liking. Now I have everything I need, along with my portable printer for all my on-the-go documenting needs.

Supplies: Desktop Essentials collection:  (340007) foil and printed erasers, (340009) boxed erasers, (340020) 7x10 journal, (340263) double-sided super sticky red tape – ¼ in, (340264) double-sided super sticky red tape – ½ in, (340268) 2-way glue pen, (340276) sticky dots 0.5 in raised, (340282) splat mat, (340440-1) premium ribbon .375in x 4 yd., (340445-1) premium ribbon .625in x 4 yd., (340454-1) premium ribbon 1.5in x 3 yd., (340532) washi tape, (370795) designer prints, (370800) craft scissors (gold), (370807) gold and mint clipboard, (370818) patterned clothespins, (370824) jumbo hearts paper clips, (370836) pattern pencils, (370837) pattern pencils, (370838) pattern pencils; Fine & Dandy collection: (370134) – Spiral Bound 52 Week Journal, (370097) – Colorful Confetti, (370096) – Plastic Bows, (370099) – Die Cut Cardstock Shapes, (370070) – Pretty Packages Paper