Scrapbook Art Sunday…

A 2016 Planner For Inspiration

I could not wait to share this week’s edition of Scrapbook Art Sunday. In this segment’s tutorial, you’ll learn how to make your own 2016 planner. This project turned out a LOT better than I intended, and was tons more difficult than I expected. Time frame for completion: 3 weeks. Phew! However, I conquered it. And I’m particularly proud because this makes the first scrapbook project I’ve completed without getting distracted by all the gazillion ideas rummaging around my head.

I decided to roll with using a planner this year over my cell phone apps. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my Trello and Evernote and all those other goodies that make the bloggerly life so much easier, but there’s something magical about sitting down and writing ideas. I don’t know. Maybe writing gives me flashbacks to the collegiate days when we actually wrote our lesson plans versus typing them.

Either way, many people share my enthusiasm for being able to touch, feel, smell, taste (well, maybe not that last one, but you get the point… lol). Just take a look through Pinterest, and you’ll find an abundance of printable planners, calendars, to-do lists, etc. I actually found the inserts for the planner on Etsy. The designer nailed the colors of the vision I had rolling around my head.

After a few setbacks and mistakes, I conquered the largest scrapbooking project I’ve tackled yet. Introducing the 2016 Live Well… Be Fabulous Planner.

This project took me about three weeks to complete. I would classify the skill level needed to complete the steps as experienced. All the concepts we’ve discussed in our Scrapbook Art Sunday segments will come in handy for this adventure. Due to the extensiveness of the steps involved in the project, I’ve broken this tutorial up into two segments. In Part One, we’ll be choosing our color scheme, preparing our pictures, and creating the divider-scrapbook pages. In Part Two, we’ll put the project together.

Gather Your Materials
Decide on your color scheme before you do anything else. Mine was all over the place in the beginning. However, I wanted a planner that would showcase Live Well.. Be Fabulous’s four main colors: red, pink, black and white… love, life, strength and happiness.

Throughout the tutorial, you’ll also see a bit of green. At first, we were going to include green in the LiWBF color scheme. It was going to stand for prosperity and success. But have you ever heard the term “too much of a good thing”? Four colors pushes the boundary, and five colors would’ve been overkill. So green kinda hangs out in the background and we allow it to do so. 🙂

Here’s a list of essential tools:

1. Clear Inserts – For protecting the pages of the scrapbook dividers and anything else you hold dear in your planner
2. Paper Cutter – All scrapbooking warriors need one of these. If you don’t have some way to create straight edges, then go buy a paper-cutter ASAP! Life will be so much easier, I promise.
3. Hole Punch – I’m using a single hole puncher because it’s more convenient for these smaller three-ring binders.
4. Scrapbook Paper – for backgrounds & your planner cover (optional)
5. Craft glue – Choose the sticky kind (yep, the fun stuff they use in elementary schools) over liquids such as crazy glue. The bond will hold better.
6. Scissors
7. Ribbon and any other scrapbook goodies you’ve collected

Part One

Choose Your Photos
You’ll need twelve photos to create the scrapbook dividers. Choose pictures of the moments/quotes/people/events that motivate you. That’s why I chose to make my planner this year. I wanted to hold close the things that will help me stay on track and keep me inspired throughout the year.

This can be anything from moments you’ve cherished with your family to a favorite photograph. My planner uses a few shots from the talented Viktor Hanacek of Picjumbo.

Assemble Your Pages
You have chosen your gorgeous color scheme and spent an insane amount of time perusing the scrapbook isles at your favorite craft store, right? Now, it’s time to do the thing that makes the project so much fun. It’s time to start scrapbooking it! WooHoo! Do you need a little help with creating your pages? Then take a peek at this post… Scrapbook Art Sunday: Find Your Artsy Style and learn how to put a page together.

Once you’ve assembled your 12 scrapbook pages then go ahead and insert them into the clear dividers and set them aside for now.

Part Two

Prep Your Notebook
I chose a plain white 7X9″ notebook. I wanted complete control over the design of this planner, so this step works for me. However, you can also choose one of the notebooks that come with a pattern on front. If you decide to design your own, then you’ll need to buy one that allows you to insert your design in the plastic inserts on the front and back.

Cut templates from cardboard to help you position and size the paper correctly, so you don’t waste valuable scrapbook paper.

For my cover inserts, I inserted card stock paper (32lb.) on back of the scrapbook paper to prevent crumpling the design as I inserted the sheet into the sleeve.I repeated the same process for the inserts on the inner covers of the notebook.

The back of the notebook presented a challenge. Screws prevented me from extending my design to the edge. So, I got creative. I covered the screws with a scrap of paper from my design. All went well until my son pointed out the obvious… the slit looked sloppy. Back to the craft store I went and found gorgeous lace, perfect for hiding imperfections. I used craft glue to add a pretty trim to the back cover, and Voila! No more screws or tell-tale signs of a quick fix.

Print Your Planner Inserts
In the design I purchased from Etsy (super cheap at 8 bucks), the owner provided 44 sheets to choose from. Your inserts can be fancy, simple, or somewhere in-between. The important thing to remember is that the design needs to be consistent with your overall theme. Pinterest has links to many free printable planners. However, the insert design I fell in love with was perfect for what I was trying to do.

Organize Your Planner
Part of the beauty in a customized planner is that you get to organize the way you want your year to be. My planner will be used as both an inspirational tool and a way to stay on top of my hectic life. I found separating the inserts by month to be the best format for me.

Put It All Together
All the inserts are in and the dividers are done! Doesn’t this make you feel fabulous? I think making your own motivational planner works wonders for productivity. In this day and super busy age of life, we need all the help we can get with staying organized and on top of the events of our daily lives. I hope you found this tutorial as enjoyable to read as it was for me to put together.

Have a fabulous 2016!