ABADID 4...Going Xmas crazy in my planner

Well, it's the Christmas season and there's an excuse for going sticker-mad in my planner. Over the last few months I've watched countless YT videos of layouts and hauls and resisted the temptation to buy. Even the amazing sticker kits from the US I have said 'No' to (the shipping can be pricey). Instead I settled for UK shop Plannable Designs on Etsy - love Melissa Holland's colour themes and velvety matte stickers, nice to write on.

I bought 3 full kits for December and a smaller kit for January. And I don't regret a single peel-off, stick-down penny.

The first kit is called 'Swirling Snowglobe', gentle hues of blues, green and pink. Some of the full boxes and little things (plannerspeak) have the coveted 'glitter' effect which is on trend in the sticker world. 

There's even a sticker with the words 'Life is like a snowglobe, sometimes things turn out prettier once they've been turned upside down'. (Do pageant contestants walk on their hands?)

The second kit is called 'Peppermint Latte' and I wasn't sure about this set although I ended up preferring it to any of the other December kits. Raspberry red, turquoise, stone and pink. 

The sticker with words reads 'Peppermint Everything'... 

I have a friend who has always smoked menthol cigarettes and in a bid to transform regular cigarettes into menthol she bought a small bottle of menthol crystals from the local chemist in which to dip them. It worked. But the bottle cap unscrewed inside her handbag and the crystals spilled out. Even after cleaning out the handbag she didn't realise how absorbent tampons are...I'll leave the rest of the story to your imaginations. So no, don't peppermint everything.

The third kit is called 'Skating in Central Park', lilac, teal, lime green and pink. It's full of delicately drawn clip-art which is put together very nicely. 

The sticker with words reads 'Dreaming of Skating in Central Park'. That's an image used in many films and is one of those Christmassy scenes. I dream of being able to skate and if I could then Central Park would be on my bucket list of places to go.

The fourth set which I've used in the January section of my planner is called 'Break the Spell' and has purple, dark red, grey and pale gold. These stickers are all about Belle from Beauty and the Beast. I love them because Melissa has created the original dark version of the tale upon which the new film is based. Disney has a lot to answer for by dumbing down and sweetening the great historical fairy tales that have scary bits in them. Read 'The Uses of Enchantment, The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales' by Bruno Bettelheim (child psychologist). 

There's a sticker with words which reads 'I want adventure in the great wide somewhere' which I presume is a quote from Belle and which isn't a bad attitude to have. 

Beautiful stickers and a well decorated planner. So now I've no stickers left and already I'm having to resist Etsy. I do have white printing sticker paper and I could look up Victoria Thatcher - she does free downloadables... there's a nice retro kit I've my eye on... (sounds of printer warming up and scissors opening and closing)...

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Copyright © 2016 by Roisin O'Hagan/bloowabbit

All rights reserved. The artworks/illustrations or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the artist except for specific permission granted with a free downloadable.

Decorative Planning...

'I think I've embraced Barbie'...overdoing the decorative sticker kit from Oh Hello

(MAMBI Happy Planner vertical style)

Not so long ago I still used diaries to record things to do, events to attend and didn't even touch goals to achieve. About a year ago after stumbling onto a 'Plan With Me' video on YT I was intrigued. Paper planners didn't have to be small and didn't have to be functional. And there was a whole world of stickers to dive into.

I set down my lovely Paperblank diary and began to research planners. There were tons to choose from but I finally settled on a Personal Planner which I could personalise with my art. And then I went on Etsy with my debit card almost melting it with the amount of stickers, washi and fancy pens I bought. I didn't begin small, I went into decorative overload. I got caught up in the frenzy of Darice sticker books, paying over the odds for international postage. I went a tad crazy...it can happen.

Day of the Dead Darice sticker inspired layout Nov 2015

(Personal Planner horizontal style)

I saw from the YT videos how fellow planners hid very functional parts of their planner pages with washi strips and patterned rectangular stickers. I noticed themed kits were supplied from sticker makers, allowing us to co-ordinate each page. Subscription kits, composed of a selection of sticker styles from a variety of makers, made sure we didn't even have to think about what stickers to purchase, instead putting energy into decoration and having the opportunity to try out stickers from shops we hadn't heard of. And some folk preferred to use mini stamps with ink pads to decorate their planner pages.

Finding that the Personal Planner wasn't what I wanted I invested in a larger planner. More space to decorate. I found a MAMBI Happy Planner and fell in love with its arty design and inserts. Over the months of using it I've honed my layout style to suit me. 

trying out asymmetrical layouts in both Personal Planner & Happy Planner

(Sept 2015)

current layout style - Happy Planner

(Mini Weekly Kit - English Garden from Oh Hello Stationery Co)

current layout style - Happy Planner

(Strawberry Fields Full Set from Boulderbon)

Each HP double page is divided into vertical days. Within each day are three sections for morning, day and night although I don't use this timescale. The top sections are covered either with washi or with rectangular 'full box' stickers. On top I use icon stickers to denote recurring tasks such as recycling, grocery shopping or laundry. I don't write beside the icon stickers as I'm happy with the visual prompts. 

In each centre section I use either full or strip checklist stickers for phone calls, tasks, reminders. Checklist stickers are technically functional but stickers makers design them with hearts, circles or icons on glossy or matte paper, sometimes flat colour, sometimes ombre. I have even used checklists with tiny rows of 'stitching' around the edges.

The lower section can be a mishmash of whatever stickers I have left over. I've used half boxes to tie in with a set, hydrate stickers with tiny water drops to keep a tally on my water intake or event stickers that come with an icon at the side.

Once my basic layout is set I then add larger decorative stickers across the pages. It's advisable to use flat stickers rather than puffy or three dimensional as your planner can become 'fluffy' (plannerspeak), bulging within its covers.

I've bought stickers from the US, Holland and China as well as the UK but in the end I advise buying what you need while spending as little as possible. By all means try out an interesting far-flung sticker maker and enjoy their products but for everyday stickers keep your expenditure in check. And it's true - be selective about what you want to try and set aside a budget for trying new designs. The washi I purchased last year will probably see me through until the end of this year! What I find I need are checklist stickers and half boxes - that's what I use most. And I'm considering designing some stickers myself though I'm not going to make them - they'll be available to download. I had deliberated for a long time about getting a Silhouette sticker machine but I didn't - I'm more into design than production. 

Whatever way you decide to decorate your planner have fun, join a planner group, a forum, swap ideas and try out new layouts. The world's your oyster sticker.

Mochiheart Designs creates drawings of TV series

(a one-off purchase, doesn't sell online)

Boulderbon  US sticker maker

(functional & decorative stickers on repositionable matte paper)

Darice books from US

(can be bought on Amazon or Ebay)

Djoisch stickers Dutch sticker maker

(soft watercolour effect stickers on matte paper)

Links:

bloowabbit Instagram page incl images of stickers hauls

bloowabbit facebook page

PlannableDesigns UK sticker maker on Etsy

PlanWithJade UK sticker maker on Etsy

Kayla, from Oh Hello Stationery Co planner videos

Bonnie, from Boulderbon planner favourites videos

Charmaine, from Charmaine Dulak planner videos

Personal Planner website

MAMBI Happy Planner source in UK - Homemakery (cheaper p+p)

Tomorrow's blog: 'Art Review, Jacqueline Wylie'

Copyright © 2016 by Roisin O'Hagan/bloowabbit
All rights reserved. The artworks/illustrations or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the artist except for specific permission granted with a free downloadable.