Last January my Mom was complaining that all of the planners that were organized the way she wanted weren’t aesthetically pleasing. I believe she called them boring. So I made a plan to put together one to her specifications that wasn’t boring. And even though I worked on it a little all year, the final push to have it done didn’t quite make the January 1st deadline. But I’m thinking that even if you don’t start this on January 1st, you might enjoy using it for the rest of the year.
Doing the planning to make all the pages turn out in the right order was really complicated. Putting this together into a booklet is really easy.
Each month has a double page calendar, a water color image with a quote by an awesome lady and room for notes. Check out the printables below for a good look at the quotes and my water color paintings.
When you print the Inside Pages on legal paper and use the following settings:
- Page Scaling: None
- Choose Paper Source By PDF Size
- Print Double-Sided, Flip on Short Side
It’s only 12 sheets (24 pages) long, so by all means take it to a copy center if you’d like. But it should work just fine on a home printer too.
Materials Needed:
File Folders
Ruler
Pencil
Push Pin
Needle & Thread (I like button thread for binding)
Craft Knife (Option 2 Only)
Spray Adhesive (Option 2 Only)
Ok, now you need to make a choice.
Option 1 – Print and Go
You can cut all the pages in half and spiral bind them (just flip one half onto the other as if you were closing a book or folding the pages in half with the Gloria Steinem Quote facing up of the whole stack of pages). I recommend using some press board, card stock or other heavy weight material as covers. Decorate as you choose or with the cover pages I’ve made. (Most copy centers will do all of this except the decorating for you.)
Option 2 – Soft-Cover DIY
This option includes a very simple binding stitch (not at all complicated, I promise) and a soft cover.
Print out the Cover on a sheet of legal paper. (I used 32lb paper for this and the inside printed on 24lb, but the difference is pretty negligible.)
Take all of the pages in order, with the cover on the bottom (blank side face up) and the Gloria Steinem Quote on top. Now fold each page in half, long-wise (hamburger style), keeping them all in order. Stack them in the same order inside of each other, now the cover should be on the outside and Gloria Steinem Quote is one of the middle pages.
We need 5 holes in exactly (or as close as you can manage) the same place on the fold of each page. Take a beat up file folder and measure out 5 holes on the crease. Mine are located 1.25″, 1.5″, 1.5″, 1.5″, and 1.5″ (from the edge and then each other). Take the whole stack of pages and place the file folder inside them with the folds lined up and whichever edge you measured from flush with the paper. Paperclip it all in place.
Take the some scrap cardboard, a cutting mat, or some other surface you don’t mind poking some holes in and the pushpin. Making sure to keep everything aligned, press the pushpin through each hole mark you made on the file folder and all the way through all the pages behind it.
Remove the file folder and gather your needle and thread. Start inside the booklet at the middle hole (1) and go down through all the pages, leaving a tail inside. Come up through hole 2 and down through the far left hole (3). Back up through the previous hole (4) and down again through the middle hole (5). And up through hole 6 and down through the far right hole (7). Then back up through the previous hole (8). You should have the beginning and the end of the thread both inside the booklet near each other. Make sure all of your thread is pulled taut and then tie a knot and trim the thread. See the photos for more clarification. It’s not a complicated process, but it’s easier to show than to tell.
Option 3 – Hard Cover DIY
This option is just like Option 2, but with the added step of a hard(er) cover. I think file folders make great notebook covers. Find a file folder that isn’t too beat up and is pretty clean inside.
Lay it open flat, outside face-up. Put the cover print out, with a crease mark from folding, but opened up on the file folder with the creases lined up. Mark the edges of the cover with a pencil.
In a well-ventilated area spray the spray adhesive so that it entirely covers the area you marked. The edges are really important to get.
Some tips for spray adhesive:
- Shake the can really well before you begin.
- Spray on something you don’t mind getting sticky, and then move off of it to align so you don’t risk getting errant spray adhesive on the wrong bits.
- Let the item being sprayed sit for a minute after spraying before attaching for best adherence.
- Line up one edge of the non-sticky piece and slowly lay it down smoothing it out as you go. Use a credit card or similar item to press out any possible air bubbles.
To attach the cover so it will bend well, I folded the file folder like a tent and started at the fold on one side and pressed the cover in place and then the other side. I made sure I could fold it completely in half and pressed it down and then opened it back up and pressed out air bubbles starting from just shy of the fold on each side.
After you have the cover attached to the file folder, take a metal straight edge and craft knife and trim the excess file folder.
Now you have a thicker cover for your planner. See Option 2 for binding steps.
I’m surprised how much I like mine with a soft cover. I’m excited to start using it.