Planner Supplies

Hi everyone!

As any planner addict knows, a planner addict is also a stsrionery addict. And what better excuse to use your stationery than in your planner, right?

In this post, I will show you my favorite and most-used.

This is a smattering of all the different supplies we all use. And we use it to make our planners functional, beautiful, and some may even say, a work of art. Why? Because for some, their planning system is also a creative outlet. 

I don't decorate as much as some, but I still want my supplies to reflect my personality. In this case, I like pink! Duh! And I like pastels. And my choices tend to gravitate towards those colors.

Here's a rundown of the supplies I use and in some cases, photos of how I use them. 

Pens, of course. I have preferred multi pens for a while now because of their convenience, and Pilot Coleto and Uni Style Fit are my favorites. I also have a pencil component most of the time, and I like a pencil eraser to erase (the black one in the photo below).

We all love sticky notes. That's all!

When an appointment or task is not definite, I like using page flags so I can move them around.

Like I said, I don't decorate much. When I do, it's for special occasions or to highlight a special day. Washi tapes come in handy and can make my pages pretty. 

And I particularly love label washi tapes! I used one here to label my folder of supplies. 

Highlighters aren't a necessity for me but I do use them sometimes. I also use them to color in my doodles which I've been enjoying to do lately. I'm a doodle novice so please forgive the amateurish doodles. 

Stickers always come in handy when you need a quick pop of color. I don't use them much but I do have a few I like to play around with. The transparent ones are great for highlighting important dates. 

And lastly, paper clips and binder clips of every size and shape. I confess to having more than I need because they're just so pretty. And they're very functional too to hold pages together. I tend to clip past days so I'm not flipping endlessly through my planner. 

And I think that's it. Stationery just makes planning much more fun. Doesn't it make paying a bill just a little less painful when it's written in a different color (green, in my case), or you have a sticker to remind you to pay it?

If I missed anything you think I need, do let me know. And I would love to hear how you all use your own stash of goodies to plan. 

PS: I was lucky to find a local leather crafter who was willing to work with me to create the exact planner I wanted. She added the pockets here, her first time doing it, and I am so grateful to her. Lots of other leather makers do this but I didn't want to wait a month for it to be sent to me from overseas. (She made the hot pink one in this photo too.)

Thanks for visiting! Till next time!

Craft Studio and Desk Makeover

Hi everyone!

I recently redid my craft studio to gain some additional table room because I couldn't spread out enough. I also didn't want to spend a lot of money and wanted to use what I had.

I apologize In advance for the less than stellar lighting. I don't get great natural light in these areas. Ironically enough!

Here's a Before shot. 

And here's an After.

Simple furniture helped me gain the entire wall where a linen armoire was. 

Plenty of room now. I can even transport my stationery supplies here if I want to journal on the table. I used to do that on my bed. 

Most of the wall storage is the same. I just added more washi tape storage. I prefer them stored this way because they hardly take up any room. 

Super simple shelving was put up and it allowed me to clear a lot of things on the counter but they were all still easily accessible. 

I took out the boxes of planners from their hiding place.

This nook holds office supplies and files in the rolling cabinet. The frame was one that belonged to my grandparents, repurposed and strung with wire and clips. 

The drawer system holds handmade cards and other bits and pieces, and the document holder on the left was from my mom. It holds card stock, envelopes, etc. 

Dollars spent: about $20

A few weeks later, I was inspired to makeover my vanity as well. It needed some sprucing up. The bigger motivation though was that I wanted a pretty desk but as you can see from my craft studio, there's no room for a desk. 

Here's a Before shot. Functional, but not really very pretty, and looking a little but cluttered. 

Here's the After. A little bit more streamlined, and functions better as a desk. It also doesn't take away from its function as a vanity. The makeup on the counters is just stored elsewhere but still within reach. 

FYI, $0 spent because I already had everything I used.

A close up of the left side. easily transportable planner supplies in the dotted case, and self inking stamps in the floral cases. 

Pens, etc., separated by function in these cups. I've had these forever and use them everywhere. 

I love it for writing, planning, journaling, without the makeup getting in the way and distracting me. The brushes had to stay where they were though. 

This is what the drawers look like now. 

And this 3-drawer system that used to be nail products storage now holds makeup instead.

And that's it, my two makeovers. The desk was weeks in the making because I had to work out in my head first what I wanted to do. Once I figured it out though, it just took about an hour

Now I need to find storage for my nail polish. 

Thanks for visiting!

Using a Midori Traveler's Notebook as a Planner, Again!

Hi everyone!

As soon as I post an updated planner setup, I get an urge to switch planners. I'm now using a Fauxdori as my main planner. 

If you'll remember, I used one exactly a year ago. I got it for my birthday and I was determined to use it as wallet and planner. Well, that didn't work out so well. It got too thick for me. Although I love chunky planners in photos of other people's, I find it hard to carry one around when it gets too chunky. It also makes it difficult for me to grasp in one hand. I hope that wasn't confusing. Lol. 

I did use it as a planner for two months but missed the rings on my Filofax so I switched back to rings again. 

This time, I only have two notebooks in here. It's still a little chunky because of all my doo-dads in there, but it's much less chunky than what I had before. I have the DIyfish inserts for October and a brain dump/reference notebook. 

Here's a short flip-through of my setup. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments. 

I know I'll switch back to rings again someday, especially because I have wonderful inserts for 2015. I'll show you those inserts in my next post. But for now I'm enjoying this!

Thanks for visiting everyone!

Stationery Storage

Hi everyone!

My storage system has changed significantly vs. previous years and I thought it warranted a new post. 

I've been hesitant to write this post because some of the items I use might not be available where you live. I myself find it frustrating when I want something I can't find locally. I decided to write it anyway to maybe just give you some ideas on how you can improvise with your storage. 

I have corralled all the items I use for my planner and Midori so that I didn't need to run to my craft studio when I needed something, or when inspiration strikes in the middle of the night. I keep these in my room (I know!) either at the foot of my bed when I'm working on something, or under the bed at night. I can also carry them around the house if needed. 

First off, this is where I keep planner inserts and stickers. I've had these for quite a while now and they work perfectly for me!  The hot pink zippered Beabi case was used as pen storage until I downsized my pens and used them for stickers instead. Personal size inserts fit perfectly in the Martha Stewart accordion files. 

My most used items are kept in this Beabi case that I think is actually makeup or cosmetic storage. It's perfect for my daily and most-used items and will be at my bedside at night. It's a look-alike for the Kate Spade Tuxedo Court case at a fraction of the price!

I will switch out the items here so that I know I'm using what I have. This is what it contains at the moment. It holds a ton, and there's plenty of room for more. 

My main storage is this craft tote that I also found locally for about $8!  It's structured enough to hold it's shape but soft enough to fold if not needed. It has a Velcro attachment inside for compartmentalizing your stuff if needed, but as you'll see, I didn't use it. 

Instead, I got some B5 sized plastic containers from a Japanese store. They're a perfect fit! Each container has items by category: sticky notes, note pads, bookmarks and clips, etc.

It has pockets on all sides and this is what's in them. 

Here's another way of storing those B5 containers. 

I feel very efficient, organized, and contained in this storage system. I know where everything is and I can find them quickly. 

And this is where I keep my planners and Midori supplies. I keep my planners in boxes because it's dusty in the city and this preserves them well, as well as their leather smell, when not in use. 

That's it, my current stationery storage system. I hope that helped you somehow in finding the system that works for you. 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me in the comments. 

Thanks for visiting!