Hello Friend!
Today's post features my white and gold Whitney English Day Designer . Isn't she a beauty?
I am going to be honest, I did not use this planner at all for the month of January. Let me explain. I underestimated how overwhelmed I would be at the end of the year with the holidays being back to back with my son's first birthday. January was basically a blur, and I am now starting the month of February off on the "write foot" by picking up where I left off with my severely late outgoing pen pal letters and my collection (yes, collection) of planners.
Now that I have explained why January was a complete planner fail for me, let's move on to what I like about this lovely Day Designer. What I really enjoy about it is the format; you have an entire day on one page. The only drawback is that Saturday and Sunday are squeezed onto one page. That method, also seen in the Emily Ley Simplified Planner, will never really jive with me. Whitney English does offer a smaller undated version of the Day Designer, so that may be something that I will consider for 2016. I purchased quite a few planners for this year, and I have every intention of using each of them. However, this is a "trial and error" year for me, so I will be going into 2016 using only one planner. Whether it is bound, binder style, or of my own creation is to be determined. My blog will serve as a great way for me to start the weeding out process, and I hope that you will find inspiration in my content along the way.
The following pictures will show you how things have been going for the first couple days of February (actually, the 3rd and 4th to be exact). I signed up to receive the free Paper Source magazine via snail mail at one of their locations in Seattle's University District. I was so taken by their vibrant Valentine's Day cards and products that I decided to "fussy cut" all of these cute things and turn them into stickers by using my new Xyron Sticker Maker which I bought at Walmart for $8. I priced out the replacement adhesive for this fantastic little machine, and so far I have only seen it at Joann Fabrics for $6.99. I do not see myself needing a replacement any time soon, but I will continue to look out for a cheaper deal and let you know when I find one.
Fussy cutting the entire Paper Source magazine was a labor of love, but it was strangely relaxing and very reminiscent of my care free kiddo days in Art class. I have had my eye on various die cutting machines and the Silhouette Cameo, but for now I will enjoy the process of fussy cutting and visiting my Aunty Lorna's amazing third floor Craft Room in her house. I may even indulge in a nice pair of Xacto scissors, but other than that, I'm golden.
Here is a closer look at the Xyron 1.5 inch Sticker Maker. It fits perfectly in my craft tote that I keep at home. I even took this little guy to work with me today, and it fit just fine in my purse. I did have to cut some pieces of paper down even more in order to make them stickers, but that was fine with me since it keeps the stickers small. The banner you see in the picture below was made from a picture that displayed a stack of available seasonal wrapping paper.
The above picture gives you a better look at what the paper looks like after going through the Sticker Maker. All you have to do is peel the plastic off of the top, and then peel the paper off the white paper like a traditional sticker, and then you have a sticker! There are a couple things you should know before you purchase one of these little guys. Try to make a few stickers at a time as opposed to one sticker at a time. With the way the dispenser is made, if you only make one sticker at a time, you will lose about 1 inch of adhesive before and 1 inch of adhesive after the sticker you make. If you place the paper close to each other like I did in the picture above, then you get more bang for your buck. There is permanent adhesive and repositionable adhesive available for purchase as well.
The following pictures show where I placed my fun new stickers in my Day Designer.
I really enjoy the simple monochromatic look of the Day Designer. I have an Erin Condren Life Planner, and it is very bright and colorful on its own. I thought that I would stay away from decorating my Day Designer, but I find the process of decorating both a form of relaxation and an overall good practice of intention. When I take the time to sit with my planner and decorate the day or the week, I find myself thinking more about what I would like to accomplish. The colors keep me interested and focused, and the "prettiness" encourages me to keep referring back to it throughout the day and after the day is over.
If you are interested in a closer look at the inside of the Day Designer and the Emily Ley Simplified Planner, please check out my YouTube video. I will be posting videos of both planners separately once I have used them for at least one month. Happy viewing!
Until Next Write,
Teresa
@sentimentalitee
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