Little Planner Book

Hi Bloggers

Have been looking at planners lately - they are very popular & look like fun to make.

But how can they fit every life?

I do not plan meals;  have no kids to taxi to sports & culture events;   also do not need to plan my day by the hours.  So I decided to do a planner just for me to see how it goes.

It was difficult to define what I needed.  

I found that I had huge scraps of papers with thoughts, words that would be good on ephemera pages, things needed to be reordered, names for collections of papers - these were stapled together & were quite a fat bundle.  

1.  I set up a small spiral bound book for orders & reorders only - 11x17cm - once the order/reorder is done, I just tear out the page & toss - no need for a planner.

2.  I left my scraps of paper which have been bundled together & ignored for the moment - so easy!

3.  What was left were major projects:

• an advertising campaign in AU Simply Cards  is driven be things to do by date.  This, therefore needs its own 'Planner'

• next paper collections for the year - this is driven somewhat by date but by almost going backwards from when it will be published to when it needs to be printed allowing for their queue; in order to get it to the DT Ladies to have their projects ready for the blog.  Then it gets very messy doing files for download, files & pics to website & etsy etc.  I have a whole program for all of this so no 'Planner' needed.

I then really had no choice but to go back to my scraps of paper:

A decision was made to sort the scraps into categories - I defined 3 kinds - this led me to creating a mini planner book that could grow with more categories & have paper tidied/added/tossed as it was used & also deep pockets for keeping things tidy

Paper used in this one is is French Chic

Front cover has a flap with a ribbon wrap to close. It also has an extension on the flap & edge of front to allow the planner to hold more paper & signatures as needed.

Opening the flap 

Inside the cover there is a deep pocket for stuffing with contents before filing into a signature

Back of 1st signature & front of 2nd

 Inside each signature there is another deep pocket & pages of lined paper - these came from a cheap A4 exercise book & are not attached to the signature but kept in place with 3mm ribbon. You could also use thin string, hair pony tail elastic or hat elastic

2nd & 3rd signature

Back of 3rd signature & inside back cover of planner. I have added a monthly calendar in order to track dates - this is printed from Outlook Calendar in Folio size.  The calendar can be placed anywhere you want.

The second planner is similar to the first in size & uses clips to hold the 3 signatures & their contents.

The papers used are from the Slightly Grunge Collection with Dark Brown Cardstock with a vintage trinket cut in half as a deco

The calendar, which is magnetic, is attached by a magnet on the inside of the cover - can be moved wherever it is needed. Very handy

A monthly calendar printed from Outlook - folio size or you could print A4 & fold in half

The paper attached here is created in Excel with gridlines chosen.  This is a great method to jot down 'to dos'

Inside each signature is lined paper using a rubber band.  I started  each with 3 double sheets

Back of planner has a deep pocket for 'whatever' is needed.  It could be a recipe torn from a magazine, a picture of a project that looks exciting or a schedule of 'whatever'

I hope this gives you some ideas for your own planner.

Dimensions:  Cover 15 x 23cm

Signature cardstock: 14 x 22cm

Lined Paper:  Use the centre of the exercise book  13.5 x 20.5cm

The book can be made larger or small as you wish - it will be further defined by whether it is on a counter or your purse.  Make it in any colour, any size, add plain paper for doodling or creating an idea for a terrific card or future project.

You could also use it as a craft art book - 'Ideas'

Bye for now

Meg

Two Simple Journals by Margaret Mifsud - Part #1

Hello lovely visitors and welcome to Megs Garden!  Thank you for dropping by today.

As you would have guessed by the Title, I am here to share two Journals with you.  Both have been created with some wonderful papers from Megs Garden.

I have used the A4 digital versions of two Collections ..  In the Watercolour Garden and Slightly Grunge, and I have also used papers from the Mini Book printed version of the Sherlock II Mini Book Kit.

These are the two books I created.

The journal on the left will be used for sketching and Mixed Media work and the one on the right I will use to practice my hand writing.  Believe me, I need lots of practice (LOL!!).  I used to have a reasonably neat hand but, over the years, it has degenerated quite badly so this little book will help  me to get it back in shape.  I hope!!!
Now, originally, I was going to show both books in the same post but found it would be way too big (lots of photos) so I have decided to do this in two parts.

In this post I will show you the Art Journal.
The idea and basic design of this Journal came from a You Tube video by Jen of Eve Designs.  It is a very easy book to make and Jen explains it very well so, if you would like to take a look, HERE is the link

I made my book from cardstock (it measures 5.5" x 8") and then decorated the cover by simply layering papers  and ephemera from the Mini Book Kit.   I added a little stamping and the flourishes in the corners were done with a Tim Holz Stencil and Distress Ink.
Punched an eyelet into the front cover and knotted a double length of twine through it and then attached the beads.  The twine simply wraps around the book and is looped through.  The weight of the beads help to keep it closed.

 The inside cover and the first signature. 

The paper on the inside cover is from the Slightly Grunge Collection.  All I have done here is added the stamps.  The grid and coffee stain are from Kaisercraft and the quote is from My Favourite Things.

As per the video, there are three signatures in this book (the inside pages are plain 160gm paper).  

 Each of these signatures has been sewn to the spine ..

.. and I have made a little cover for each of them.
The paper used for each of these covers is from the Sherlock II Mini Book Kit.  Again, the only thing added here are the stamps.

Back of the first signature and front of the second.

These papers have so much detail on them they would certainly stand on their own without any embellishment.  I have only added the stenciled flourishes here.  

 Again, all I have added here are the flourishes.  The postal stamp and faded script are all part of the papers. 

Back of second signature and front of third.

Sorry, but I have to keep repeating myself.  All I have added here is the flourish stencil.

 And, again, only added the stamp and the stencil.

 Back of the third signature and the inside back cover.

 Yep, just added the flourish!!

 The inside back cover is paper from the Slightly Grunge Collection as is the paper on the flap.  And .. again .. just added the splatter stamp and the flourish stencil.

The back cover of the journal has paper from the Mini Book Kit and .. wait for it .. all I added was the flourish stencil!!  LOL!!  Sorry!!

A closer look at the closure ..

 .. and a full frontal!!

As you've obviously noticed, (and I kept on, and on, and on, and on, telling you (LOL!!) ) there are no extra embellishments in this journal.  Firstly, as this will be a work book, I really didn't want anything  dimensional getting in the way.  Secondly, these papers are so detailed, I really didn't need to put anything more on them.  I added the stamps and stencil simply because I felt I should do some kind of embellishment even though it wasn't really necessary!!

I hope you like my little book and that I have inspired you to take a look at the video and make one for yourself using Megs fabulous papers.  Also, why not go and take a look at the fabulous range of other papers and embellishments available at Megs Garden.  I know you will find something that will be perfect for whatever you are creating.   And, if you're looking for more inspiration, why not also take a look at the fabulous creations by the rest of the Team.

Video of Journal

Thank you so much for dropping by to see my Art Journal.  I hope you will come back and take a look at the second journal as well.
Take care and God Bless.
Marg oxox