Get With The Plan, Year 4

It’s Planner time again! It’s hard to believe this is the fourth edition of what started out as simply sharing something I adapted for myself and has now made its way around the globe thanks to the power of the Internet. That is both amazing and humbling.

Like last year, I’m putting the planner up well in advance of the New Year. Not only can you have yours ready to go in time but you might want to assemble an extra one as a Christmas gift or just as a favor for someone in your life. It looks great straight out of the printer but you might want to fancy it up with some pretty papers and fun extras to make it a little more special. That’s part of the fun of creating something, right? More on that later.

One of the best things about a New Year is the fresh start it gives us, and in keeping with that spirit, the pages of this year’s Planner have been redesigned to feel fresh and new. There are still plenty of trees and birds, and the dominant color scheme is blue and green…it wouldn’t be me otherwise. But there are more graphic elements and some cute things to make you smile. Best of all, each month is different.

Download JanFeb

 

Download MarApr

Download MayJune

Download JulyAugust

Download SeptOct

Download NovDec

The pages are a little cleaner as the lined area has been removed. Given the separate Notes page, it seemed a duplication. This left more room for fun artwork.

All the planner files are zipped PDFs formatted to print on 8.5x11 paper, and the months themselves are set up as right-hand pages, two per page. I usually buy a package of white cardstock from Walmart to use for the planner as it’s heavy enough to print on both sides but not overly bulky. The book gets thick enough as it is. After you’ve printed on the back side, cut the page exactly in half and you’ll have a margin on one side large enough to bind your planner. I like using my Bind-It-All but there’s room to punch holes for binder rings too.

There are two introductory pages as well: an inside cover and a calendar for the full year. These are right-hand pages as well.

 

Download Cover_Year

So what goes on the back (left-hand) side? There are plenty of choices.

No planner would be complete without some pages for lists and reminders and there are three again this year, two of which are shown above. Not shown is the Things To Do page which looks identical to the Shopping page except for the title. The image above is actually a combination of two forms; each file will print two pages of the same design side by side. There are two files for each so you can make them left- or right-handed pages. The files are marked with an “-L” or a “-R” making it easy to tell one from the other. In addition, there is a blank page in both left and right orientation; it has only the blue outline and the tree in the corner. It’s nice to have a blank space to glue something to or to scribble on. You could also set up a text box to fit inside the blue outline and add your own content by running the blank page through your printer again.

Download Notes Pages
Download To Do Pages 
Download Shopping Pages 
Download Blank Pages 

 

I’ve kept the page to sketch and plan your scrapbook pages but I’ve modified what used to be the Must-Make Pages design a bit. Projects To Tackle serves the same purpose but could also include albums to assemble, card drives to participate in, home renovations to plan or even personal improvement goals. It’s a simple change but one that makes the page more versatile for non-scrapbookers. This image is also a combination of two separate forms with each printing two of the same design and available as both left and right orientation.

Download Page Planner Pages 
Download Project Pages

The beauty of so many pages formatted for both left and right is that you can customize your planner to your specific needs…a little or a lot of one form or skip another entirely. Or make a separate book filled with nothing but Page Planner pages. The forms are here; how you put them together is entirely up to you.

A word to the wise: Experiment on some copy paper to be sure you’re loading the paper correctly when printing on the second side before you move to your cardstock. Every printer is different, and I admit I can never remember how my own works when it comes to printing on the back side. I’ve had pages upside down and backwards on more than one occasion before getting the hang of it…but then, I’m a little spacially challenged.

There’s one more file available. It contains some labels and tabs you can use on your cover and divider pages.

Download Extras

You can see how I put last year’s book together here.

I’m not making any guesses about when I’ll get to this year’s book but I didn’t want to delay posting the files so those making Christmas gifts would have as much time as possible.

There’s some original artwork on the pages but most is free Photoshop brushes available on the Internet and I’ve added my own creative touches. Thanks to these generous designers for making their work available: Brushes: Obsidian Dawn, Pumpkins and Posies, Pixels and Ice Cream, IHEA, MelsBrushes and Cheri Mask. Digital Papers: Jessica Sprague, DenaC. Design of Page Planner page adapted from Jessica Sprague for creatingkeepsakes.com.

Have fun getting organized!

Comments

[Kathy M]

THANK YOU, Brenda! You know I love your planners for my own use, and the ones I gave as gifts last year were a great hit...the not-so-subtle hints have already started for new ones for 2011. So, once again, you saved me SO much time...not to mention how much cuter your pages are than the ones I can create on my own. LOL!

[Linda]

I love the planner. I am hoping this will fit in my leather binder for work. I can't wait to try it out.

[Jan C.]

Oh for cute! I don't even really use a planner, but I'm tempted to print this out just because it's so adorable. Nice work!

[Jeanne]

Thanks SO much, Brenda, for sharing your time and creativity with us! You are very generous!!

[MichelleGB]

Love this year's design! Thank you so much for sharing these! I can't wait to put it together!

[Cat]

i was sure hoping you'd be making a 2011 design! and it's beautiful. thanks so much for sharing!

[MilliD]

WOW!! What an amazing gift you've given us! This is SO cute and I love it! I got excited while reading your post, just thinking of the possibilities. Your talent never ceases to amaze me!! :-)

[Monica Robinson]

Thanks so much for blessing us with your talent! What a gift! Your planner keeps getting better year after year! I can't wait to make mine. :) God bless!

[LianeZ]

Thanks, I made last year's but gave it to my sister. Hoping that I get serveral meade before the end of the year - LianeZ

[Cora May Hartzell]

Just great as usual Brenda. Thanks for the inspiration and your generosity.

[CarrieH]

I was hoping to find a gift to give to friends that was cute and still inexpensive, and now I have one. Thanks so much for sharing.

[Julia/Scrappiola]

Brenda, thank you for sharing - it is beautiful!! I love your posts each day, & because of you & your husband, our family now has a love for geocaching as well. Keep the stories coming!!

[ScrapElla]

Oh, thank you so much Brenda. I was already looking forward to it.

It's so fine again!!!

XOXO

ScrapElla

[SondaT]

Brenda, this is awesome! I'm so glad I wil get to put one together this yr. Thank u sweetie!

[simona]

I love this planner !!
If you want to see how I modified your planner 2009, look at here
http://lacasadinessunluogo.net/?p=1730
I modified the planner into an Italian planner.... thank you so much for sharing .
Bye

[Betty Jo]

Thank you so very much! Awesome work!

[Irene]

thanks! this plan is fantastic!!!

[Jayna]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. These planner pages you have been posting have changed my life. I am much more organized now.

[Jessica Griffin]

I always love your planner pages! I look forward to them so much!! Thank you so much for your generosity!

[Amy]

Thank you so much! This is what I was looking for.

[Nenne]

LOVE these! TFS! So generous!

[Lynette]

Thank you so much you are very generous, hope this holiday season brings you much happiness and joy

[laura franzoni]

Grazie della tua generosità!!Un bacio dall'Italia
Laura

[jill]

ty!

[CatMyers]

Thank you so much!!