Plan With Me Monday

Happy Monday, friends! Today I'm sharing my planner spread for the week and this week I've used no stickers, just paper and stamps. I've had this paper pad for years in my stash that a good friend gave me. Such a sweet gift for a non-crafter to give. That being said, it's not cardstock thickness and is very thin making it unsuitable for most cards. However, I've found that it is perfect for my calendar pages and doesn't add a lot of bulk or thickness. I looked through the stack for some coordinating prints and pulled these out. I wanted colors that would coordinate with my calendar pages since I was not going to use column headers, washi or stickers.

I started by cutting the pieces for each calendar section which measure 1.5" by 2.25". I cut the piece for the weekend days together because I like the look of having them both the same. Next I stamped the heart checklists on each top section for listing my daily activities. This is from the Pink & Main Planner Tabs stamp set. I also used the same set to cut the labels for planning my dinners for the week. My weekend banner is made with a EK Success flag punch. I love making these little weekend banners. I think I may add a few more elements as the week progresses. It seems as though I need to add extra activities every day as we do a little more socializing in the winter months at our RV resort. Just as I was sitting down to type up my blog post a friend came by to invite hubby and I to play cards this evening. That's the way it goes here, between cards, golfing and dining with friends our days our full of fun. I haven't said it lately, but RETIREMENT is truly fabulous.

Thanks for stopping by today. Make sure to come back for this week's Cutting Cafe assignment on Wednesday. The Design Team will be making Bendi Cards. They're so much fun!

Plan With Me Monday-Planner Essentials

Hello crafties and welcome to my blog and the first post for my planner series. Today we're going to talk about how to get started and some supplies you might want to have on hand. Like any papercrafting project there are a zillion and one ways to go about this. Part of the fun is finding what works for you from planner to embellishments. Obviously, you will need a planner and I'm sure I don't have to tell you there are a plethora of sizes and styles. I'm using a MAMBI Happy Planner this year. What drew me to this planner was the moderate cost and the fact that it is a disc binding system so the pages can easily be removed for ease in embellishing. Another option is to get a download calendar file-two that I would suggest are The Planner Series 2016 Full Year Calendar from Paper Sweeties or the 2016 Planner Printable Set from The Cutting Cafe. The other goodies in my bag of supplies are Paper Sweeties Planner Series stamps, Pink & Main Planner stamps, Cardz TV planner stamps, assorted dye inks, Sharpie markers, washi tape, stickers, flag punches for weekend banners and postie notes. You can also find ready made stickers by the tons from many talented people on Etsy. It is my intention to show you different options weekly. One week it will be a layout with stamps, one week a printable download, a week with Etsy stickers and so on.

Here is a photo of my weekly planner pages for this past week. I decided to go with a winter theme, an odd choice for someone living in Florida, but I'm a transplant that originally came from Michigan. I'm happy to say I've left the cold and snow behind and I don't miss it in the least, but I most certainly have many cold weather memories.

I started this page spread with some free downloadable printable sticker elements from Jessica Brown @ MYPLANNERENVY.COM. I found this site to be a valuable source for freebies to decorate a planner, especially helpful for those just starting out. There are PDF files and files that can be cut with a Silhouette. I'm a little odd in that I enjoy fussy cutting, so that's what I do, and honestly I haven't had the time to sit down and mess with importing the files and cutting them with my machine. I printed this Pastel Winter Sampler twice on sticker paper that I bought at Staples. I will usually cut my elements out in the evenings while watching a favorite show on TV. After cutting out all the pieces I wanted to use I added washi tape to the pages then decided what patterned papers I wanted to stick in each section. I made a weekend banner using a flag punch from EK SUCCESS and Paper Sweeties Alpha stamps (upper case) and added a couple purple twine bows at each end of the banner. Keeping with the winter theme I decided to add a die cut snowman in the bottom corner. He came from the Paper Sweeties Snow Time Bundle.

A closer look at the weekend banner.

Please come back tomorrow for the premier post showcasing the new Paper Sweeties Planner Series January 2016 Release and my weekly calendar pages. Here's a little sneak peek. Happy planning!