Planner Projects - DIY

Ok, so I am totally addicted to my planner (as evidenced Here and Here)... in fact my planner has it's own Instagram account! 

In January this past school year I switched my teacher planner to a daily layout, with inserts I'd made myself for an A5 Carpe Diem planner.  It was perfect for my ever changing schedule.  I had enough space without being overwhelmed, and I wasn't stuck in rows and sections!

So for the 2016-2017 school year I will be in my Carpe Diem again Filofax Domino, with daily printouts.  I made a few updates, such as adding note pages and student info pages.  I also added some color to the pages.  I am excited about lesson planning!

These planner pages are available as a digital download in my TpT store

So now I have a completely pretty and functional planner! But I'm not done yet.  I gave my crafty side a workout and came up with 3 ways to make my planner even prettier and more functional!

What you need: Page Protectors, Cutting Tool (I used a paper cutter), Washi Tape, and Hole Punching Tool (I got mine from Amazon).

The first thing you need to do is cut down your page protectors.  I cut mine to be 6 inches wide and 8.75 inches tall.  Make sure you cut off the side with the holes and the open top! Do not cut off the sealed bottom or the closed side.  When you are done you have a page protector that looks like this!

Now it's time to Washi! I used the grid lines on my cutting board to make sure I got my washi down straight, with about a quarter of an inch of overhang.  The overhang is so that the open side will seal. The beautiful thing about washi?  If it doesn't go down straight... it easily pulls up so you can try again.  I chose to use this more plastic-y (is that a word?) washi from scotch.  I thought it matched better, and I thought it would hold up to the turning and tugging on the rings better.

Now you should have a plastic pocket sealed on 3 sides.  Stick that bad boy in your hole punch, and get it in your planner! (I added a decorative strip of gold polka dot washi... just because I could!)

For these you need some paperclips and ribbon.  I would also suggest some liquid glue and hot glue or super glue.  

These are easy-peasy to make!  Cut your ribbon to about 5-6 inches long.  Fold them in half and insert them into the top end of the paperclip.  Then pull the ends through the hole and tighten!

Then you trim the excess ribbon off, and voila.  I would recommend that you put a little bit of glue on the ends to keep the fraying to a minimum.  I would also recommend that you put a dot hot glue or super glue on the back so that the ribbons stay in place!

I wanted a way to easily mark where I was in my monthly and daily plans, so I created this ribbon book mark.  For this project I needed ribbon, needle and thread, a vest buckle and ribbon ends (from Joann Fabrics - Jewelry section).  I picked up these blank slate charms from Hobby Lobby (also in the jewelry section).  You can use any bead or charm.  I also had some stickers to label my charms. Not pictured is my super glue and scissors.

The first thing I did was put the 'm' and 'd' stickers on my charms.  I put a light layer of super glue over it (I had it open from finishing my ribbon clips).  I wanted to do these first so they would have a chance to dry while I did the rest.

Next I cut the ribbon roughly 4 times as long as my planner is high.  I stacked the two ribbons one on top of the other and looped it around the center bar of the vest buckle.  I stitched it closed with my needle and thread.  I am not a sewing expert, so it's not pretty, but it's functional.  I just went back and forth a few times to make sure it was secure.  Then I threaded my two ribbons back around the the vest clip.  Now you should have a loop on one side of the vest clip and two loose ribbons on the other.

Next I put the loop around the back of my planner and tightened it down.  This took some finagling on my part, pulling on the bottom ribbon and then on the top, Once I had it tightened down the way I wanted I flipped it over and pulled the loose ribbons down in front of my cover.  I trimmed the ribbons to be about 2 inches longer than my planner.  This will make them hang out the end once it's closed.  

I used my needle nose pliers to clamp on the ribbon ends.  I found it helpful to close them a bit first before putting the ribbon in since it was hard to hold and clamp at the same time.  I opened the link on the charm and slipped it onto the ribbon end and VOILA! Admittedly I had to take the charms off and put them on again because I'd put the monthly on the bottom ribbon and the daily on the top, but it was super easy to switch.

So now my planner is ready for a busy year.  Join me for a FB live broadcast tomorrow where I'll show off my set-up from front-to-back.

Planner Projects - DIY

Thursday, August 11, 2016

If a mom makes it to nap time

This post was originally published on the SeeMamaTeach Collaborative Blog.

If a mom makes it to nap time...

She will start a pot of coffee in anticipation of getting a lot done!

While she is waiting for the coffee to brew she will notice the breakfast dishes still on the table.  She will start rinsing and putting them in the dishwasher.  This is when she will remember they are out of cereal.

So she will go looking for a pen and pad of paper to start a grocery list.  She will look in the living room.  No pen and paper, but she did find one dirty sock and a discarded towel.

Knowing she'll find pen and paper in the office she treks upstairs.  She sits down at her computer desk and sees the email notification from her favorite place to shop (they're having a sale).  She'll go on the site and see the new bedding sets.

Which will remind her that she put the comforter in the washer last night.  Fearing that mildew smell she'll race downstairs to put the comforter in the dryer.  On the way she will almost trip over the dog toy left in the hallway.  This will remind her that the dogs need to eat.

She will head to the closet, but the dog food container is empty.  She will go into the garage to get a new bag of dog food.  When she opens the garage door she will see the garbage cans and recyclables bins all but overflowing, which will remind her that she needs to put out the trash.

Before she can take out the trash though she needs to make sure the garbage cans throughout the house are empty (hint: they're not) .  So she will go upstairs to collect it all. When she steps into the bedroom she will notice the unmade bed.  She will remember her goal of making the bed every morning! Sitting on the nightstand next to the bed is her tablet.  She decides to watch one episode of NCIS before getting the rest of her work done.

So she gets into bed, props herself up on the pillows and before the opening credits she is nodding off. And chances are good, the second mom nods off the baby will wake up, and she'll need that pot of (now cold) coffee to get through the rest of the day!

If a mom makes it to nap time

Friday, August 5, 2016