ARC DIY-Invention?

I am in a couple of planner groups, some DIY, some filofax and some ARC.  I like all of them for different reasons, although my heart really belongs with the DIY focus.  I think that is pretty obvious.  But recently I have been on an ARC kick.

I was an early adopter of the ARC system because it spoke to that DIY part of me.  I had the punch right away began making my own books before staples even considered the "build your own line." Not to mention binding it across the top.  I made that before staples did... :)  There is proof on this blog!  (TIP: Want poly covers but not with the price tag of a whole new book? Buy pre-punched ARC poly dividers, cut off the tab and make it flush.  Presto a cover!) 

 

And today I feel like I invented something new!  Knowing my luck there is someone out there already who does this, has a you tube channel with 50 videos about it and sells it on etsy...but I don't recall seeing it. 

I was thinking about my ARC notebooks.  I have about 5 I think, some I have made, some I have bought.  I basically use them for work meeting notes.  Overall, I don't really use them for planning but I was thinking about how I could make them more useful to me at home.  

This AM I was thinking about my cumbersome sticker binder.  It is a just a regular binder with protective sheets that i slide my stickers into.  It is just a nightmare mess.  They want to slide out and all over. They are all goofy sized and most don't have room to hole punch the sides.  And I thought, wish I could just attach something to the barest edge of the sticker sheet and then make them into an ARC.  Then I remembered I had this notebook of thin thin paper that I wished I could ARC but it is just too thin.  The punches are basically mush after a few flips. I have used washi tape, for these projects but I don't want to to gum up my punch and I only have 150 rolls of washi tape, I certaninly don't want to waste it all on edging!  What if I ran out? 

I started thinking wouldn't it be great to have attachable punched edges.  So I thought about it and came up with a prototype. 

I bought some double sided sticky tape at hobby lobby and a sheet of lighter weight and heavier weight scrapbook paper.  This so happens to be the lighter and it works just fine.  I also grabbed one of those mushy thin sheets of paper that I like for meeting notes.

I just folded it in half, punched it and laid the sticky side down from top to bottom.  Notice the red?  That peels off to expose the other sticky side of the tape. You can see what it looks like peeled in the third picture.

I positioned the paper and stuck down one side, careful to not place to close to the edge of the punches.  FYI, this stuff is super sticky.  You only get one shot at adhering the paper flawlessly.  If you are like me, it took a few times, which is why the paper is a little wonk.  Then I just peeled the top side, folded over and put directly in a nearby ARC.  The paper turns just fine, and the doubled up scrapbook paper is not too light or too heavy.  It is the Goldilocks weight in my opinion.

So that is my invention.  I am sure it has been done, but I am going to pretend I am original for a little bit and just bask in my own genius.

Feedback and questions welcome, as always!

2014 Updates!

It has been a busy year so far! We've moved states for my DH's job, we bought and sold a house, went on a 10 day vacation and so on!!  Yet I had time to keep up on my planner but I didn't get a chance to post here or in the FB planner groups. 

I used the same type of book as last year, XL moleskine cahier. The front is scrapbook paper, modge podge and washi tape. 

I bought these two layouts on etsy and alternated them each month because I liked them so much and couldn't decide. This is the first time I've ever put in a year's worth of monthly pages. 

Created this layout on the computer and glued it in.

To fit the 12 months and 52 weeks in this book I had to have some 2-weeks on one page layouts. 

This is a layout I've used before and created in publisher and photoshop.

I tore this out of a 2$ planner from Barnes and Noble that was on clearance. 

I can't remember where I got this layout, maybe from a planner group, I wish I could remember who to credit.  I should start making a note on each page if I use someone's layout. 

The second page is also from a planner group I think. 

This week I decide to try and blend a weekly planner with bullet journaling. The little card has my "key" for the bullet journal. 

Thanks for catching up with me!

Giveaway Winner and Update

Life got crazy and I neglected to post who won the JetPens Giveaway, since JetPens took care of the drawing and shipping of the prize. 

The winner was Julie Driver from Georgia!   Congrats Julie!

JetPens has already shipped her prize to her, and she has probably been enjoying the winnings for a couple of weeks now.  Thanks to all who entered.

Now for a general update....I have been busy making weekly layouts and just started putting together my planner for next year.  After much debate, I am going with another DIY Moleskine planner.  I had considered buying a FiloFax or Kikki.K planner or even just going back to a predated Moleskine planner.  But I do enjoy making these layouts so I figured I will just keep it up.

I am also trying to design more on the computer and then print/paste into the planner so I think that will be something that gets used much more often next year.  If I have any good printables, maybe I will make them available to share.  I would love to get good enough to have an etsy shop, but really I would just like to see people use something I made because they love it as much as I do.

To leave you with a picture, I did dress up a composition book that I will use for taking notes at work.  I used washi tape sheets, washi tape rolls and some scrapbook paper for the inside divider.  I then used the antique finish modge podge to help it all stay together.  I wanted to make sure none of the tape would peel as I will use this every day.  If am lucky, this book might last through February.  I take A LOT of notes in my job.

JetPens Giveaway for your DIY Planner!!

I was really excited to receive a couple of cute items from JetPens that I could review and then in turn to offer to one of you as part of a giveaway, sponsored by the fabulous JetPens!

The items JetPens sent to me are  the multi-color Maurman Loose Leaf Mini Sheets and the cute post-it like Kuretake Echizen Washi Adhesive Memo Notes.

I had a lot of different ideas on how I wanted to use these loose leaf sheets and I want to share two different ideas.  

First, I took seven individual sheets and lightly glued each of them together, using the Kuretake Craft Glue Pen.  Then I glued just the very edge of the loose leaf sheets to the page in my planner.  

This picture shows a good representation of the color of each note.  They are a muted blue, pink and yellow without being too pastel. 

 

This design hinges having a quality paper, due to the fact that I have to be able to fold the pages back and any bleed through would mar each subsequent day. With that criteria in mind, I wasn't disappointed. 

 

I didn't experience any bleed through with using everything from sharpie pens, Marvy LePens, Pilot Juice Pens, some scrap-booking pens and Uni-Ball Signos.  Since this planner is built on a Moleskine base, it is easy to compare the paper performance.  The Moleskine paper isn't even a match for the loose leaf paper, since these pens routinely show/bleed through. You can see on these folded back pages, nothing has really shown through and definitely didn't bleed through.  I think that fountain pen users would be happy with these if it wasn't an extremely wet ink, but I didn't test it on this layout.

 

You can also see the Washi Memo Note in action here.  It is definitely a more textured paper and not as smooth or slick as the loose leaf paper.  The sticky part on back is sufficient as well, I just held it down with some washi tape because I have about 50 rolls and I need use it!  Ink performed well on these and the pencil theme is perfect for all of us office supply fanatics.

I also hole punched down the side of the page in a few spots, to make it look like it was held on by the ties rather than the glue.  The ties are just a bit of washi tape folded on itself and tied in a simple knot. The knots have held fine all week, no extra glue was required.

The second way I used the loose leaf paper was truly as a loose leaf sheet.  I had some pockets that I glued into this week's layout and they were the perfect size to hold a few sheets.  I think for next year's planner I will incorporate one or two of these pockets into the planner design so I always have a few extra sheets at my disposal.  I find that there are quite a few times where I need to make a quick note to give to someone else or put in my pocket, and this way I won't hae to rip any pages out of the back of my planner.

I am excited to give you a chance to win both of the items I reviewed directly from JetPens.  All you have to do is visit the official entry page.  Keep in mind you must be a subscriber to the JetPens newsletter and if you aren't, you will have a chance to subscribe on the bottom right of the entry page.  And why wouldn't you want to be a subscriber?  JetPens is awesome and you will find supplies on there that you will absolutely have to have! 

The contest will close at 11:59 PM on Tuesday, November 5th and I'll announce the winner shortly after and your itemswill be sent to you directly from JetPens. 

Don't forget to enter for your chance to win!