I was chatting with my friend Layle about today’s Studio 5 segment. She’s a fellow planner nerd, so we were discussing the television producer’s request for three tips one could apply to planning that would be considered my go-to ideas. There are so many things about planning that I do, so narrowing it down to three tips was a fun challenge. I shared my ideas with Layle, and she quickly came up with a common thread—my must-dos all add the fun to the functional. Yes! Love it! (Thanks, Layle!) These are ways you can put the creative fun into a functional planner!
FUN-ctional Planner Tip #1: Reinforce those holes
Planner pages get turned. It helps to have them reinforced with either hole reinforcement stickers or washi tape. Both can be fun. Even the little white reinforcement stickers can be dressed up with paint or stamping or doodling. And washi! Well, it doesn’t get much more fun than that.
FUN-ctional Planner Tip #2: Create a clip
Decorative clips serve as bookmarks, which is an honorable function, indeed. From a fun standpoint, you can create your own, giving your planner unique personality and charisma. A few of my favorite clips ideas include:
A bow—either die cut a bow from felt or simply remove a store-bought hairbow from its clip and string it on. Either way, it’s a sweet way to doll up a planner page.
A flower—I’ve had a longstanding love affair with the rolled rosette, and they sure look sweet atop a paper clip. Simply sandwich the clip between the rosette and a piece of felt for the backing.
Shrink plastic—yup! We’re going old school with some Shrinky Dinks. Stamp a design, color it with Sharpies, and bake to shrink. Once done, you can use the fab e6000 glue to attach the plastic to your clip.
FUN-ctional Planner Tip #3: Add inserts
In my monthly planner classes, I often refer to these in a very technical fashion as “flippy things.” lol They’re pieces to put in between the pages of your paper planner’s calendar. They can be anything really. Some of my favorite flippy things include:
photos
journaling cards
printed quotes (seen in the pic above)
clear plastic page protectors
notebook paper
small treat bags
memorabilia (party invites, school announcements, etc.)
shipping tags
mini calendar pages
INSERTING TIPS AND TIDBITS
An easy way to add flippy things is to use a punch designed to fit your specific planner. This ensures the holes will line up as they need to. Below, you’ll find a pic of the Carpe Diem planner punch in all its punch-y glory!
Of course, we don’t all have such equipment on hand. If you fall under this category, there’s a simply trick you can do to align your inserts. Simply remove a page from your planner and use its holes as a template. Place the page and your flippy together, trace the holes on your flippy, and use a single hole punch to make your mark.
I often add hole reinforcement stickers to my DIY flippies. I feel this gives them a more finished feel, and I appreciate the added oomph the stickers give. Hole reinforcement stickers are just white circle stickers that go around holes to… well… reinforce them. Go figure. ;) You can get them at office supply stores, in the office section of your big box hops (Target, Wal-mart, etc.), and even at the dollar store (on a good day).
FREE PRINTABLES
As part of today’s episode of Studio 5, I shared a few free printable downloads that you can use to enhance your planner and planning.
Printable #1: A clean and simple calendar by Dear Chrissy
Printed at full size, this calendar makes an awesome wall calendar for your family to use. Printed at a smaller percentage (I printed at 65%), it can be sized down to go in your planner as a place to track specifics of more mundane items that may not live in your planner permanently (doc appointments, library book returns, etc.). I use one to track my project due dates and blog post schedules for work. I also have a full-sized version hanging in our kitchen for family use. Thanks, Dear Chrissy!
Printable #2: Lifestyle trackers by Simply Stacie
These cute themed printables are great for getting your goals in motion. There are fitness trackers, home and organization trackers, and more. And the designs are so cute, which is an added bonus!
Printable #3: Inspirational messaging by Clementine Creative
I love to include uplifting messages in my planner. The help keep me inspired and focused. Printed at a smaller percentage (around 65%), and they’re the perfect size to be punched and added to your planner. Clementine Creative has many heartwarming and encouraging notes to choose from. Have fun finding your perfect pairing!
ABOUT PRINTING
To size your print down for your planner, you will adjust in the print preview just before you hit “print” on your computer. For my computer, it’s file/print/scale X%.
This is where you adjust to meet your needs. You should be giving a print preview in this same screen, so you can see how the size adjusts as you scale it up and down. If nothing else, print from page 1 to 1 on a multi page document to test the waters on a particular size before printing the entire file. Just in case you don’t love the size, this will keep you from wasting as much paper and ink until you find that Goldi Locks sweet spot. (You know, where it’s “just right.”)
AS SEEN ON TV
You can check out my Studio 5 segment detailing these tricks and ideas today at 11 AM MST on channel 5. Or you can view it online here.
TAKE A CLASS
If you love the idea of creatively tracking your life in a paper planner, I’d love for you to join our monthly planner workshops. They’re $50 for three hours of hands-on crafting and inspiration. The prince includes a class kit each month. I also have planners available for purchase, should you need one. We used to meet in a darling store, but it, sadly, closed its doors last year (sob!), so we now meet at a lovely student’s lovely home in Lehi, Utah. Class is typically the third Friday of the month, from 6:30-9:30
NEW THIS YEAR, the class will take more of a focus on bullet journaling. We will still discuss planners, but we’ll also learn about the creative ideas behind tracking life and goals in a creative journal. The two approaches to living are both fun and creative and work hand in hand to offer a more fulfilled and on-track life. For more info, please email me at meghoeppner@gmail.com.