Weekly Discussion Post

[lunabee34]

Comment to tell us about what you've been up to with your journal, planner, or other stationery related items. Tell us about a new pen or a coveted notebook. Consult the hive mind with a problem you've been having. Post a picture! Whatever goes as long as it falls in the realm of journals and planners. Remember, you can always make your own top-level post, too!

Comments

[sporky_rat]

I have managed to keep up with my last couple of weeks in my planner, which involved two camping trips and a lot of lists.

I need to find a nice, relatively inexpensive month stamp so I can do some tracking of some stuff but everyone seems to sell very fancy ones. I just need a block grid! (My planner isn't dot grid or I'd just draw it, and when I try and draw it on non-dot grid I get hung up on it.). Any suggestions?

[annofowlshire]

Hurray for keeping up for 2 weeks! How thick is the paper? I’ve just put a sheet behind blank pages to use as guide for writing in straight lines, etc. in the past. Could you do that with a bit of graph paper or something else with guidelines to trace?

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> I have managed to keep up with my last couple of weeks in my planner, which involved two camping trips and a lot of lists. <<

Go you!

>> I need to find a nice, relatively inexpensive month stamp so I can do some tracking of some stuff but everyone seems to sell very fancy ones. I just need a block grid! (My planner isn't dot grid or I'd just draw it, and when I try and draw it on non-dot grid I get hung up on it.). Any suggestions? <<

Very simple month stamps with a weekly set:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1022038420/calendar-stamp-set-monthly-stamps

Same set with more pieces:
https://us.amazon.com/Calendar-Planner-Silicone-Scrapbooking-Supplies/dp/B08JQDCHL4

Big set of journaling stamps including month names and 2 different grids:
https://www.amazon.com/Kwan-Crafts-Numbers-Decoration-Scrapbooking/dp/B07P191HL5

Monthly schedule set with 2 different grids:
https://www.littlecraftplace.com/products/monthly-schedule-bgm-clear-stamp-set

Plain square grid:
https://www.simplystamps.com/blank-calendar-journal-stamp

Big set of journal stamp elements including calendar ones:
https://www.amazon.com/Rancco-Included-Calendar-Scheduler-Organizer/dp/B08KT1PZH7

Collection of journaling stamps sold individually so you can pick which you want:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1148300218/calendar-stamp-for-journaling-bullet

Collection of journaling stamps with many different grids and other elements, with a choice of different subsets:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/741364890/monthly-with-weeks-and-dates-clear

Grid and circle options:
https://www.kellycreatesstore.com/product/stamp-set-calendar/

Monthly overview set:
https://kreativekreations.me/elizabeth-craft-designs-monthly-overview-stamp-set/

[justanorthernlight]

My planner has a lined 'notes' column, where I draw a grid for my habit tracker by adding vertical lines to the existing horizontal ones. It's a pain, not always particularly even, and I hate doing it, but I have a clear ruler and the little 1/16th inch marks kind of serve as a guide to where the next line should go.

Edit: Also, I've recently started seeing stencils used, I've seen ones for those round/spiral habit trackers but not so many grid stencils.

[lunabee34]

Very nicely done. Two weeks is a solid run. :)

I see you got some good stamp suggestions, so yay!

[badfalcon]

I got some happymail filled with stickers in the post. A nice big order from HappyCutieStudio on Etsy and a sheet of date night stickers from Ickleandco (on Etsy and their own website)

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Yay stickers! Those are really cute.

[severina]

Oh, those are cute. I love stickers!

[lunabee34]

I wore a bra! I love it. LOL

[bleodswean]

Wanting to photolog/travelogue an upcoming trip. Anyone here successfully use some kind of a mini printer - either for DSLR or iPhone?

Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

No, but a tip from someone who just went through loads of albums: Do not label the photos by writing on them or sticking things on them. Display the photos in a way that you can label them separately. I found one batch where ink had leaked through to the front, and others with stickers on the front. *headdesk*

[lunabee34]

I hope someone will have a rec for you.

your milage may vary.

[sporky_rat]

Friend of mine took hers on her work trip across the US and her tips were to take photos and put the notes in your tags if you do it on a phone and take the time once a day to print them out and put them in a manila envelope with one of those brad closures. Write the date on the envelope. You've got the data in the tag information on the phone.

Her phone camera is really good so she didn't bother with the dslr she has, but her tips for that are pretty similar except that's a small notebook in the camera bag and a pencil numbering system for the back of the photo.

[annofowlshire]

I’ve been working on my Spring Journal, keeping a daily page with the top for varying thoughts and observations (usually nature related), and the bottom for to-dos (and I make them each morning, so there’s space if my observations/thoughts runneth over), a lunar month chart with varying “dailies” and “often” tasks to check off. 1st April is conveniently a new moon, so I can start again there, which gives me a week and a bit to see what I like and don’t like.

I think one of the big things I’ve done differently is that I’m no longer tracking work tasks in the journal.

Also have my “big lists” of things, shopping lists, etc. in there. I even added some stickers to the cover, which I don’t usually do… It’s all a bit jumbly and not “Insta-worthy” but seems to be working so far.

I even added some stickers to the cover, which I don’t usually do…

Go you!

[ysabetwordsmith]

That's great progress. It's important to try out different things and pay attention to results, in order to figure out what works for you. My journal/planner approach has changed a lot over time, and I continue to find interesting new things to try.

[lunabee34]

That sounds really nice. I like that you're testing things out and giving yourself permission to experiment.

[thenerdygirl]

For the past year I've been using a simpler spread style for my bullet journal that's basically a running to-do list with monthly trackers. This style works well for me but it's gotten a little monotonous so for April I'm going add weekly pages as well, like this Image Link.

Aside from trackers or event reminders, what else do folks like to put in their weekly spreads? I've been looking on Pinterest for inspiration but have been seeing a lot of the same sections.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Aside from trackers or event reminders, what else do folks like to put in their weekly spreads? I've been looking on Pinterest for inspiration but have been seeing a lot of the same sections. <<

I have a weekly desktop calender. In it I put my writing deadlines, weekly recurring blog posts (e.g. Monday Update, followfriday, the current question lists), and monthly blog posts. This particular calendar comes with an illustration, recipe, or other tidbit above the weekend days. I get a comp copy of it because I write for it; before that, I used to buy desktop calendars with nature pictures.

I also have bullet journal printables in a 52-weeks format for two things: family time and watering plants.

Think about what you do every week, or almost every week: water plants, exercise, laundry, shopping, etc.

Think about what you track that changes moderately, or fast but you don't want to track every detail: weather, yard/garden, wildlife, fashion, movies, etc.

Think about what kind of decoration you like: doodles, stickers, stamps, etc.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

I've been mulling over ideas for journaling, and I'm getting good inspiration from here.

* I collected a set of printables for the classic Altair coloring pages. I want to color one and put it in Mom's memorial scrapbook, probably with a journaling block. That will fill the "colored pencils" square in my 3-1-22 card for the National Crafting Month Bingo fest over in allbingo. Altair designs are great for journaling / scrapbooking because you can color just the parts you want or cut out sections. They make fantastic frames if you're good with a craft knife.

* I have a bunch of duplicate or unused garden catalogs from spring. I want to cut out pictures and names of plants that Mom and I grew together, and make a collage, again probably with a journaling block. If you're into collages and plants, now's a good time for that -- if you don't get garden catalogs, you probably know someone who does.

* I've started collecting a list of relevant poems that I could print out or hand-copy, relevant to various themes.

* It's far enough into the warm season that I'm marking my yardening in most of the Birdfeeding posts in my blog. That's a mix of things I've just finished and notes about what I still need to do. Sometimes there are other posts about what I've ordered or what has arrived, that I need to plan what to do with. I also have a Gardening tag that overlaps somewhat, and picks up the daily log if the birds stop eating from the feeders.

* On the electronic side, I made several bingo fills with photographs and commentary. These are basically journal pages like people do in digital scrapbooks, only I posted them in my blog instead of using a scrapbook/journal program. They look a lot like how I lay out a photo journal page in an album, with pictures, titles, and journaling blocks. The yard pictures in particular are a major part of my warm season journal/planner work. I use them to see progress, but also to think about what I need to do in the future -- like how the daffodil garden shows gaps where I can plant things in fall.
-- Yard Pictures: The Forest Garden
-- Bingo Fill: Sun Catchers in the Fairy Window
-- Bingo Fill: Beadwork
-- Bingo Fill: Rag Rug

Re: Thoughts

[lunabee34]

I like the idea of a collage; that's going to look very cool.

Try this ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I needed to print a gift card today, folded greeting-card style, and I noticed something useful:

If you set the size of a picture to the printable width on 8 1/2" x 11" paper, print it, and then fold it in half, you get a half-size card where the picture has a wide margin, and you don't have to do any trimming. Usually when I make cards outside of a cardmaker program, I have to trim something. This trick may be useful if you like to put fold-out or lift-flap inserts in your journal / planner.

In case you're curious, I did it with this cartoon of yak shaving>. You'll get different results with different proportions of picture, but it will work with many of them.

Re: Try this ...

[lunabee34]

Ooooh, thanks for the tip.

[kadenza]

I’m about to finish up my third habit tracker of the year, which is a new thing for me. As a result I’ve practiced my instrument and remembered to floss daily for three months straight, among other things! Thanks for reminding me it’s time to print out one for April.

[goodbyebird]

🙌🙌🙌

[thistleingrey]

A few weeks ago I found and loosely sorted pens I own that I haven't ever used, to remind myself not to buy more. :) But one thing I found is a set of Hi-Tec-C Coleto refills, and since my old three-fer holder has cracked, I've acquired a holder that can carry four.

The psychology of all these different angles is kind of silly, but it's pleasing to find that during the past week, I've continued using the pens nearest me, and I've had reason several times to use the colors in the new holder. (I guess my problem is really that I don't tend to lose/misplace writing implements, so either I use them up, slowly, or they sit there.)

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Most of my frequent-use pens are in a little holder on my desk, like the ones I use to mark the printable pages. A few more are in different positions on my desk, based on use. I have more in scrapbooking supplies. There's a bigger holder of general pens and pencils on the coffee table in the living room, mostly swag. I like having things near where I will use them, or near other things I will use at the same time.

But then I also use broken coffee cups to hold things, like if the handle has broken off or the lip is chipped, and the cup has a decoration I love.

[razielim]

I bought a whole huge bunch of new stamps and washi and even a bunch of cool-looking papers that have to be manually pasted in, and am now avoiding using my planner entirely because that's way too many things! As you do :D

I think I will be able to open and decorate my planner without crying once I finally figure out what the hell is happening with my taxes this year. Even opening it to see gentle goals like "Just print out the forms" or "Just do a rough draft" has been making me anxious.

[justanorthernlight]

Oh man, avoiding your planner to avoid a task you hate that you know is on your todo list is a big mood!

I hope things improve!

[justanorthernlight]

I was almost perfect on my habits last week, only three items missed.



This is a blank version for this week, before I started using it yesterday. I use a pre-printed planner, so drawing the habit tracker is the only remotely DIY thing I do with it.

I just got some new pens, so I'm looking forward to some better color combinations next week.

Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith]

I like the blue and purple best. The green and purple sure has good contrast though.

New Bujo

[seleneheart]

In April, I'll buy my new bullet journal for my upcoming 'year' which starts in June. I'll spend all of May getting it set up and ready to go for the first week in June.

Front: Art and inspiration quote for the year. Year at a Glance and Future Log (I was skeptical of the usefulness of this at first, but once I tried it, I found it really helpful). Measurable goals with pie charts to show progress. A financial page with saving tracker, utility bill graph over the year, and a place where I can budget if I think I might have a major expense upcoming, like an appliance on its last legs. I also put tasks that happen once a year, like getting the car inspected, in the front part.

Seasonal: I do an art piece and seasonal quote for each season. I also include seasonal to-dos that apply to that season, but I'm not scheduling specifically.

Month: I do a monthly spread with some art, monthly calendar, events, and to-dos specific to that month. I may pull a to-do from the seasonal list if I decide to do the task that month. I also have a gratitude spread and my trackers.

Week: I have to the first weekly spread ready to go by the time that week comes around.

I'm pretty satisfied with the Leuchttrum1917 A5 size dot grid hardcover, and I plan to get another one. This will be my sixth bullet journal coming up and my 4th Leuchttrum. The only question is the color.

I'm leaning towards Lemon, but also considering Berry, Pacific Green, and Sage. https://www.leuchtturm1917.us/notebook-classic.html?preselect=2024

Re: New Bujo

[lunabee34]

Lemon, Lemon, Lemon, Lemon!!!!!

Ahem.

I think you should get the Lemon colorway.

:)