My DIY Fabric Planner - Journal- Scrapbook
At the end of last year I decided I needed a new, more creative planner to help me keep on top of things so I stitched one up!
I've been using it and tweaking it as I go, and so far it seems to be helping, a little. For some reason I do so much better when things are pretty. :)
The cover is made from scraps of new and vintage fabrics, crochet lace and pieces of a vintage hexagon quilt.
I embroidered the year on the little girl with pink hair (I really want pink hair!) with red metallic thread. It's hard to see in the photo, but it's very sparkly. :)
The tie is some velvet ribbon I've had in my stash for awhile.
On the back are scraps of crochet lace, ribbons and fabric and a vintage hankie with hand-sewn sequins.
The inside front cover and more sequins sewn to another vintage handkerchief scrap.
I designed the planner pages myself because I wanted very specific areas to write lists and keep track of things.
On the left side there is a calendar, a daily task tracking section, a menu planning section, a gratitude section and a sketching, doodling brainstorming section.
If you look closely, you'll see that I'm actually tracking my tracking, ha! Some may think this is overboard, but I'm trying to make it a habit and what can I say, checking things off is rewarding for me. :)
The pages between the monthly calendar and the planner pages are made from scrapbook paper (including digital scrapbook paper that I printed out for scrappy, hybrid planner pages yay!) and other papers including vintage magazine pages, vintage ledger pages and fabric and felt.
I coordinated the colors and designs each month so in January I used blues and greens, in February, pinks and reds etc.
I plan to add photos from each week on these pages and some journaling.
I used variegated thread because I love all the colors so much, it's my favorite.
On the above January spread I used the cover of a vintage Jack and Jill magazine and one of my scripture art posters sized down to fit the planner.
You can see the receipt envelope I made with my Silhouette, sticking out on the right and below. I left some of the pages unsewn on two sides to create a pocket for things like this.
This February spread is one of my favorites so far. In photoshop, I layered an embroidery pattern (downloaded from this flickr group) over a digital, black polka dotted paper from Allison Pennington.
The pattern is from one of those sets where Monday is for Baking, Tuesday is for Washing etc. and in this set, Sunday is for Resting. Rest is my word to focus on this year so I just love it!
Another February spread using October Afternoon paper and a hybrid page made from vintage valentines layered over each other. I downloaded these from James Kimberlin's collection on flickr.
I really went through and tried to use papers from my stash along with the digital papers. The March pages above are made with (practically vintage!) papers from Colors by Design and SEI.
These are digital papers, again from Allison Pennington at The Lilypad, ( "These Papers Are Super Festive" and Dashing) She is one of my favorites, just love everything she makes.
An April spread using an old Susan Branch calendar page (I always save my calendars from her because they are so beautiful).
I haven't actually done the binding yet, because I wanted to use it for awhile to see if I needed to make any changes.
The first quarter I printed my hybrid pages and planner pages on matte photo paper, and while it looks pretty, it's just way too thick to work with, so the next quarter I'll be using just printer paper.
Once I'm firmly decided, I'll bind the pages in. I'll show you how that looks when it's finished.
I'm curious to know if you use a planner? Is it pretty and creative or more practical?
Do you have any tips for me on staying organized and on top of a massive to-do list?
Hope your week is filled with His presence!
Grace & Peace,
♥ Melissa~
____________________________________
"We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it." -Proverbs 16:9