Handmade Leather Planner Journal Memory Keeper Book

Is that a long enough title for you? Well, it’s warranted because the point is to consolidate and make one thing serve multiple purposes. When we have limited time, we have to optimize, right?

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Planners seem to be the trendy hot thing these days and there are many beautiful ones out in the market. I decided to go DIY and make myself a custom planner, tailored to my purposes. It’ll allow me to get creative, while serving my own specific needs. I used black leather for the outside cover and just wrapped around some chipboard. The inside of the covers are lined with a brown leather and it’s all held together with some little book rings.

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I designed my own monthly calendar pages and decided to get crafty and decorate with all the pretty scrapbooking papers in my stash. It’s time to actually use my supplies rather than hoard them!

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Since I use a digital calendar for actual appointment keeping (way easier to maintain, share and edit) – this paper version is really for memory keeping reasons. It’s about capturing glimpses of my daily life – something to be kept even after the year is finished.

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Obviously, I don’t have everything worked out yet, as I’m not sure how to combine my daily routine notes with scrapbooking with art journaling and whatever else goes through my mind. It’ll definitely evolve along the way, which I think is natural.

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Do you use a paper planner or journal? What do you use it for and what do you include or exclude?

We Are All Ready Enough

Happy 2015!

I had the unfortunate experience of coming down with a high fever on New Years Eve… shucks! All my celebratory plans were ruined, although I did hear the happy hubbub while resting in bed. Despite the rough start, I’m determined to make 2015 an amazing year. I’ll have it no other way. Demanding, huh?

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Often I like to have a mantra of sorts for the year… something like a cover page for my planner or a poster tacked up on the wall to cheer me onward. In reflecting on my past experiences, I realized that I often stall on many ideas thinking I’m not ready. It’s not the right time or I still need this or that – excuses… excuses… excuses…

Well, enough is enough. Phooey to all that. I came across this quote and decided to make it the cover page for my planner.

“If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives.” -Lemony Snicket

Such wisdom in a little sentence and oh so true for so many of us, I think. We hesitate and wait around, stopping ourselves from greatness. I don’t think we have ever feel fully ready for anything. It’s just not the way life goes. That scary, butterflies-in-your-stomach feeling shouldn’t stop you from chasing your dreams, right?

That’s what I think and I’m using the quote to help me forge onward. If you would like to print out the quote for yourself, feel free to do so by downloading the PDF here. Hope it helps you out this year!