There are links at the bottom of this post for some of the items used. So it’s July and time for me to sort next years planner out.
Sounds crazy but I learnt a long time ago that I need to be ahead of myself or I risk loosing lots of important dates. And 2020 is a big year for the whole Rabble.
I have been loving using my Leuchtturm dot grid. Creating my own versions of the Happy Planner and Erin Condren (ECLP) layouts with a bujo style. It freed me up to do as little or as much as I wanted. Adapting it for my needs, using sticker or stamps, making pockets or just jotting things down.
It lives on my desk and is the first thing I reach for most days. EVERYTHING goes in there.
BUT, there are issues I have with it too. Nothing monumental but things that would have to be sorted for next year.
Firstly I’ve run out of pages. I can go up to November and that’s is. This is undoubtedly due to my layout style but it’s disappointing. Yes I drafted my layouts for the full year because of this very reason and I’m glad I did. I have month overviews for November and December which will do for now.
Secondly, the paper. It’s not for me. The moment I got my hands on it I had ink bleeding through it. I don’t mind ghosting but this went well beyond that.
I had to decide what on earth I was going to do.
I was not going to buy another ECLP. They are lovely but they cost far too much to get over here in the UK. I used mine from cover to cover but I can not justify all the fees etc.
I have a deep love for the Happy Planner. I love the discs, the layout (which is nearly the same as ECLP}, the size and the customisation. I love the Happy Planner. However, I don’t like their colour schemes. I’m not all floral and unicorns. I don’t need lots of pink. I don’t like having set colours splattered across a page and there is no way that I’m going to pay the same price for an undated one just to get a minimalist lay out.
And then there is the one thing both of these have in common, a pet peeve I know I share with many,
SUNDAY START CALENDARS!!
No, no ,no! When I look at a month overview the week starts on a Monday and finishes on a Sunday. Sunday is part of the weekEND, clue is in the name.
For the last 6 months I have been using dot grid paper in my personal Kikki-K. Again I just draw my layouts. So I thought surely I could make my own desk planner. I had all my Happy Planner spares, I just needed the paper and a punch.
A note on the punch. I have the MAMBI one and its rubbish. I only used it for paper, 2 sheets at a time and it didn’t take long to die. So if you are certain that discs are your jam I strongly recommend the Arc Punch. It’s from Staples and it pops up on Amazon now and then. It’s not cheap but it will save you money in the long run. It’s not compatible with all disc systems but it does work with Happy Planner.
I invested in the Arc Punch and chose to use the same paper as the one I use in my Kikki-K. And it is by far my favourite dot grid paper.
Rhodia paper, it’s fantastic.
It takes a far more punishment, though not totally infallible, and I can see the dots a bit better.
So I set to work cutting down a couple of the A4+ pads down and punched them.
The off cuts I turned into a big old stack of note paper for the Rabble to use because sometimes a sticky note won’t do. I know! It’s a topsy turvy world amongst the non-stationery lovers.
It took ages and the pages aren’t all exactly the same but I like it. It’s a little wonky just like me.
NOTE: The edge of the paper is not cut along the dots so there is a 2.5mm-ish edge. I wanted to minimise the amount of cutting I had to do so that edge is down the punch side and across the bottom.
Dividers were another thing, I would like to say I cut them out by hand but nope, I used my silhouette cameo. Still managed to mess up the spacing a bit but it’s a learning curve and will do for now.
I haven’t laminated them because I plan to “customise” as I go. Also I have learnt that laminating dividers is not easy, or more precisely cutting them out once you’ve laminated them is a pain in the backside.
I’ll be making some month stickers to go on the tabs but you can get some from Etsy or just write them on.
I loaded it all up on my discs and it got pretty close to me needing my bigger ones. Another valid reason to hold off on going crazy laminating. But I managed it and I have made up template pages so I know how to fit my layout on each page.
I will probably try and make a cover at some point but for now I’m so happy with how it turned out.
It just goes to show you don’t have to have fully printed layouts and you can up-cycle your spares and get something that works for you.
In all I only had to buy the paper and the punch and that totalled £55.24 (correct at the time of publishing) which is cheaper than an ECLP.
And in the long run I just need to buy a pad of paper every now and then which are £6.12 each (correct at time of publishing)
Even with postage on top it’s far cheaper than all of them. WIN! Arc Punch - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BJH0M3I/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Rhodia No.19 A4+ Pad - https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/RH25289/rhodia-dotpad-a4-(210-x-318)-black
Leuchtturm B5 softcover dotted - https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/LC55174/leuchtturm1917-softcover-notebook-b5-nordic-blue