How it all began

Ever since I can remember I have loved anything office supplies related. I always had a planner but never really used it as much as I should have. Sometime in August I stumbled across a Planner Addicts Facebook group (no longer a group). I browsed through dozens of gorgeous planners and accessories. Being a crafty person I realized that in order for me to use my planner it needed to look 'pretty'.  Since then I have learned a lot and wanted to share my first pages with you.

I originally started with a punctuate planner from Barnes and Noble. It's comparable to a Filofax personal size and a Kikki K medium planner.  It came with credit card inserts, I knew I wanted my planner to double as my wallet. This was perfect !!

When I first started I was playing a lot with supplies, techniques and layouts. I used a color coding system that included stars and dots. As you will see later I stopped using this system, I kept running out of certain colors and hated buying more when I still had a bunch left. 

I love decorating my home for each holiday, I knew my planner would be the same. My son's birthday was the first week of October. We threw him a superhero birthday party and I was excited when I found superhero washi tape (Target & Joann's)

My grandmother passed away to breast cancer and I have always been a strong advocate for it. I wanted to dedicate a week for her (the funds from that weekends craft show went to Breast Cancer Research). I didn't like how the dates were getting lost in my planner so I did something different to get them to stand out. Originally I highlighted them but didn't really like how that looked. I used page markers (from Target) and stamps to create a contrast.

 Halloween was getting closer so I knew my next couple of weeks had to be Halloween themed. I learned from the previous page that I didn't like 3D embellishments, it was difficult to fill in the following week. I found the amazing washi tape at Micheal's. 

Somewhere along the way I bought StudioL2E Plan it Stamps (LOVE) and enjoyed being able to check items off. I still wasn't too crazy about all the different colors and dates getting lost. 

At Target I found the cutest Halloween Hello Kitty stickers. I added the page marker post its back. I liked how that was working for me. I was also on the lookout for some new inserts (I needed a little bit more room for Saturday & Sunday). I found some freebies from Prim and Parchment (http://primandparchment.wordpress.com/printables/) 

Another new thing I learned was to make my own dividers. I had TONS of scrapbooking paper from my scrapbooking days so I didn't have to buy any. All I did was trace the current dividers in my planner, cut, laminate, cut again and hole punch.  I think my first batch turned out pretty well.

I hope you have a wonderful day. Happy planning !!!