Putting The Planner Together

One of the best parts of making a planner/organizer for yourself or as a gift for someone on your list is the chance to personalize the design, and as creative types, that’s our chance to play. Here are some of the things that I did with my book.

 

The covers on my planner are 6” x 8.75” pieces of chipboard covered with patterned paper. You could cut your covers the same size as the interior pages (5.5" x8.5") but I liked the idea of having just a little extra to protect the pages, the same as the cover on a novel protects the inside pages with the story. And I knew I would be incorporating divider sheets with tabs so I allowed a little extra on the width to protect them as well.

As a rule, I hate glue sticks but they really are the best adhesive for applying patterned paper to chipboard. Make sure you cover every bit of the surface area, especially the edges, to get a complete bond. Remember, this is going to be used all year so don’t skimp on the adhesive, on the cover and everywhere else too. I apply the adhesive to the chipboard as it doesn't curl like the paper will, and you'll be more likely to get good coverage if you start in the middle and work your way out. Once the paper is down, go over it with a brayer to get a good stick. I usually stack a couple of books on top for some extra pressure while the glue dries. Trim away any extra paper then turn the chipboard over and repeat the process for the inside cover.

Then it’s time to sand…and sand and sand some more. You want the patterned paper to “melt” into the chipboard as it will be less likely to separate over time. If you can still feel the separate layers of chipboard and paper, you haven’t sanded enough.

I chose two papers I liked and added a piece of wide ribbon to cover where they meet. The ribbon not only adds color and design, it brings texture and dimension to the cover as well. To adhere the ribbon I used Super Tape, and I only put the ribbon on the front cover. You could, however, use longer lengths on both the front and the back and tie them together as a way to keep the planner closed and give it a softer feel.

With trees on the interior pages, adding one to the cover helps unite the design. I created this one by printing the tree design found on the “Extras” page out on white cardstock, gluing that to some chipboard, and then cutting out each of the leaves and the trunk. It very well might fall into the “more patience than brains” category as it was a little tedious but the result is totally worth the effort. Once all the pieces were cut out, I covered them with Glossy Accents for even more dimension and sheen.

 

In order to get the pieces all in the right place, I created a template by printing the tree on some thinner computer paper then cutting out the leaves and trunk with an Xacto knife. I could lay the template over my cover to be sure the placement of the leaves was correct and my cover tree would look like those on the inside. The tree exactly like the ones inside is a great touch, but you could still carry the tree theme to the cover by using some of the pre-made chipboard trees available now, and that clearly would be a lot less work.

The whole purpose of a planner is to be better organized so it seemed only right to have dividers between the monthly sections. And if you’re going to have dividers, they might as well be pretty. These are not too complex…cardstock with a strip of the brown paper from the cover for unity and a strip of a leaf-patterned paper with a decorative edge to reinforce the tree theme. Paper is pretty but you could do other things with this page…like add a photo or print a whole collage of photos to use as your divider. This would be especially meaningful if you’re making the planner as a gift for a family member or close friend.

My planner has fourteen sections: one for each of the twelve months, one for sketches (Page Planner) and one for shopping. In my mind sketches and shopping weren’t tied to the months but obviously you can set yours up in any manner that makes sense to you. I added tabs on the edge…just an abbreviation on a small piece of patterned paper that I folded in half and rounded the corners. The font used through the book is Kravitz and you can download it here. But I thought my decorative paper on the divider page still needed something, so I added another label there. You’ll find those labels on the "Extras" page, and I used the label from the cover to trace the shape to cut out. If this seems more work than you want, just trim the rectangles, round the corners and you’re good to go.

At the end of each set of monthly pages, I added an envelope. It’s the perfect home for receipts, loose lists and other scraps of paper that need to be retained. I found some A6 envelopes at Michaels that were perfect for my color scheme then added some decorative paper to the flap for a more coordinated look. The envelopes aren’t all alike…I think I used three different patterned papers…but they were all brown with some blue in the design so the flap would stand out.

Obviously, the envelopes are smaller than the regular pages but I wanted them all to end up in the same relative place, not some closer to the top and some down at the bottom. I took a scrap piece of paper the size of my pages and punched it with the binding machine, then applied a little repositionable adhesive to the back of the envelope and temporarily affixed it to my scrap and punched it again. By marking the placement on the scrap, I could temporarily glue all the envelopes in the same place, thus assuring they’d end up in the same place in the book.

There are lots of options you could add. Instead of envelopes, use pockets. Add a list of family birthdays, addresses or a favorite recipe that uses a seasonal ingredient. The key is to focus on the person who will use the planner and determine what you can add to make it more meaningful to them. Just be aware of how many pages you're using so they will all fit into the rings when they're closed; I pretty much filled my 1-1/4" rings. 

I can’t wait to see what design choices you make and what features you incorporate into your planner, and I hope you’ll share your finished projects so I can admire your work. I think that’s part of the magic of scrapbooking…how we can all start from the same place and end up with different, yet still beautiful, results. So there you have it.

You’ve got the plan…now it’s time to get to work.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper and Walmart
Patterned paper: Amanda Blu & Co., American Crafts, KI Memories, October Afternoon, Paper Salon, Scenic Route Paper Co.
Ribbon and envelopes: Michaels Stores
Punch: Paper Gator, Around The Block
Binding supplies: Zutter
Dimensional
Adhesive: Glossy Accents, Ranger Industries and Therm-O-Web 
Font: Kravitz, Internet
Other: Chipboard

Comments

[Linda Abel]

I am not good at visualizing so help me out, please. For the cover, did you wrap the extra paper around just on the edge of the chipboard or did you wrap to back side and then cover? What keeps the glue from being lumpy? Did you use a brayer? Did you only sand the edges of the entire cover?

[Dana]

Thanks so much for this Brenda! I love how your book turned out. I'll start on mine now that I've seen yours all put together.

[Lee]

This is FANTASTIC Brenda. Thanks so much for doing all of this :)

[Rhonda H]

Well, you did it again, Brenda!
WHat a great planner idea. ANd to think...I asked Santa for a BIA!!! I hope I was good enough this year!
I will make an extra to exchange at my Annual Crop Retreat's "Dirty Scrap NIGHT".
Merry Christmas from Arkansas to you and Wayne!

[samar]

Tkx ... This project is lovely...xoxoxo from Brazil!

[Hannie from Malaysia]

Thank you! I've printed it out though I don't have a color printer and I'll just use cardstock on those divider and the cover since this is going to be a one year thing to me.