Can you believe that 2017 is almost here? I have been in denial for a while now. The other day while recording some upcoming events in my planner I realized that I was out of pages! I already have the new Moments Inked 2017 Binder Refill Pages, but in my denial I thought I had a lot of time to add them later. Ha! After my binder was 2017 ready, I started to prep some of my go-to accessories and thought that I would share those with you here
The first thing that I do whenever a new month is approaching, is create a new dashboard. I don't always have time to dress up my planner (read: hardly ever) so having a pretty dashboard makes up for that. :-)
I wanted to add a little something more to the first weekly page of the year, so using the Moments Inked: Boxed die set, I cut out a rectangle that fit perfectly in the notes section. Using the Bookprint Alphabet Numbers die set, I die cut 2017 out of Luxe Gold Adhesive paper.
For my dashboard, I created a pink wintery scene using Raspberry Fizz (one of the January colors in the planner), the Fab Flakes stamp set, and the Monthly Moments Year Round 1 die set.
On the other side of my dashboard, I often create a pocket, which comes in handy for storing receipts or other items throughout the month. I am now storing the current week's Meal Planning Sheet directly after my dashboard. I have found that I like it close to my schedule where I can see upcoming meal prep needs at a glance.
After my meal planning sheet, I like to have another smaller sheet where I can stick post-it notes. I will admit it. I am a total post-it note junkie! As much as I love my post-it notes, I also like to have them contained in one area! :-)
Well, that's how I set up my planner...week by week! In this next section, I thought that I would talk a little about some of my favorite tools that I consider essential to go along with my Moments Inked planner.
If you are new to the Moments Inked planning system, it can seem overwhelming by the large selection of stamps and dies available! Even if you are a veteran planner, but don't have a lot of time to customize your planner, there are some tools that can really help save time. Below are a few of my absolute favorites.
First up on my have to have list, are the Blog Banners and Family Planners stamp sets. A large portion of my weekly schedule space is devoted to various design team assignments. I absolutely adore the Planner Banner dies (which works with both the Family Banners and Blog Banners stamp sets). I use these almost exclusively for my design team commitments. The pop of color alerts me right away to upcoming assignments.
One thing thing that is necessary with these banner stamps and dies is Adhesive paper. This is the best and most economical way to create your own stickers (you get 20 sheets for $6)!
I use these every single week, so I like to have a handful of each color pre-stamped and die cut so they are ready when I need them. I found this little organizer at the Dollar Store of all places. I think it's supposed to be a makeup organizer or something like that. One thing that I have found helpful, is using two of the Planner Banners dies at a time. This makes stocking my little banners tray go a lot faster! And at only $4 each, it certainly didn't break the bank to get an extra. :-)
I added some labels to each compartments using my label maker. This little tray sits right next to my computer in my office and I have found that the rainbow of bright colors makes me smile often!
Finally, the last tool that I could not do without is the Binder Page die set! There is a spiral version of this set for those of you who use the spiral bound version. I use these all the time, even when I don't have time to make my own pages. For example, the pretty gold polka dotted paper I showed you earlier in this post was actually a piece of paper I received in some package I got a while ago. When I see things like this I immediately set it aside for my planner use. All you need to do is to line up the edge of the paper with the edge where the binder holes are. Add a little washi tape to hold in place and then run it through your die cutting machine. So easy!! You might have noticed another paper like this earlier in my post. It had an inspirational quote on it that I liked so I added some holes using my die and stuffed into my dashboard pocket for later use!
Well, that's all from me today! I hope some of these tips have helped or inspired you!
Don't forget to share your Moments Inked photos with us by tagging your photos with #momentsinked! If you are wanting inspiration, just search out #momentsinked.
Thanks so much for joining me here today!
Laurie