Planner Friday - January

Hello!  Welcome to the first Planner Friday of 2017!  As it is the start of a new year I wanted to write a back to basics post for all the people who have a new planner and don't know where to begin when it comes to decorating their pages.

No matter what kind of planner you are using, Erin Condron's LifePlanner, Happy Planner, Travelers Notebook or a ring bound organiser like Filofax and Kikki K there are a few Annie's Paper Boutique essentials you will need.

• Washi tape
• Stickers
• Planner stamps and inks
• Trendy Page Dots circle reinforcements (for ring bound planners)

I always start with adding a couple strips of washi tape to the top and bottom of my pages.  I then choose some coordinating Trendy Page Dots for an extra pop of colour!  I usually know how busy my week is going to be when I start planning it so I know where I can add a few stickers and leave myself enough space to write.  If you aren't sure then you could add decorative stickers after you have filled in your notes, reminders and to dos. 

Planning my week

Next I use my Check It Off stamps to print my check boxes.  If you haven't used stamps before my advice is to not overload the stamp with ink and don't press down too hard, you need to apply firm and even pressure to get the best image.  You might want to do a few practice stamps on some scrap paper before you print on your pages so you know which technique gives you a good, clean image.

Stamping

I have a few blank heading boxes on my inserts so I use the Title It set of stamps to label these sections.  This week I made them Shopping, Reminders, Thoughts and Finances but the set is so versatile I could use them for meal planning, brain dump, errands and lots more! 

There are a couple of stamp sets I use for my reminders and to dos each week, they are At Home and More At Home, between these two I almost have a stamp for everything I would need to put in my planner!  Bill paying, cleaning, cooking, planning, gardening and laundry are all covered.  If you are at school or have children at school like me then the other stamps I recommend are the School Days set, these have reminders for homework, picture day, library, clubs, concerts, tests, carpool, football, baseball etc, it really has a good collection of school related activities!

Finally for anything else that I don't have a stamp for I use my trusty pen!

My week so far

As a finishing touch I like to use a cute paper clip like this coffee cup one, I think they add a touch of fun to my pages!  You can find some lovely clips here, I was going to tell you which was my favourite but I can't decide! 

I hope this has inspired you to try decorating your own pages, if you would like some more ideas then check out these previous Planner Friday posts and don't forget to stop by the store and take a peek at all the supplies!

See you again next month!

Amanda