Happy New Year!!
I have a sneaking suspicion that 2017 is going to be a great year. For the last couple of months, I have been reflecting on 2016 and setting goals for 2017 in my Quilty Planner. (I am sharing the downloadable pages I use in my planner here in the middle of this post. I also show how you can create your own planner) I had so much fun creating a lot of neat stuff last year. My favorite projects are shown here in this tile.
My goals for this coming year are:
1) Being part of a blog hop
2) Releasing five new patterns from the Garden Star series
3) Hosting a block of the month
4) Hosting a mini quilt swap
One of my favorite products for 2016 were Me and My Big Ideas planners (The Happy Planner) and all of the goodies that go along with them. I just love how they function. Paper wraps around the rings so you do not need to put them in a binder or bind them with spirals. It’s really amazing! I loved the one that I bought but I found myself wishing for more, only using a few of the sheets and wanted something more exact, more quilty! I designed a few of my own and have been using them. The first set I made, I cut using my Cricut
Newly Added Sheets
Some of you might have a larger planner. The following links are set up for 8.5″ x 11″ pages so you don’t have to trim them down:
Fabric Swatch Guide, Design it, To-Do List, One Week, Quilts I have Made
Why a Quilty Planner?
Then I found the happy planner puncher
You can pick and choose the sheets you would like to include. Make one for designing quilts that has design it sheets and fabric swatch guides and another one that catalogs your finished quilts with nothing but completed quilt sheets. Make another where you can keep all of your to-do lists together along with your plan for the week. Or better yet make one with all the sheets in it!
The Quilty Planner Sheets
Fabric swatch guide – This is a great way to keep all the colors in your stash at your fingertips. Or if you are planning a quilt, take your planner with you instead of all your fabric. Cut out a small swatch of your fabric and write down information that could be useful, like where you bought the fabric, what the fabric line is and who designed it. All things you don’t want to find yourself not knowing.
Design it sheets – Use these sheets to help you create new blocks or full quilts. It has a grid so you can work freely. Write all of your quilty math down so you can plan properly.
To-do list – Self explanatory. Because nothing is better than a list where you can mark off the items that you finish.
Completed quilt sheets – Track the quilts you make. Write down the year they are made, who they are made for and any other information, like skills you learned.
A week at a time planner – Plan a week at a time.
I have provided you with a empty cover template and empty dividers so you can customize your planner the way you would like to but you can also buy them like I did. Here are some links to helpful products made by Me and My Big Ideas for their Happy Planners: hole punch | rings
To create your very own Quilty Planner:
1. Buy rings
2. Download and print the pages you would like to have in your planner
3. Cut the sheets down to size using the crop marks
4. Punch holes in your sheets
5. Add cover, rings and dividers.
Share your Quilt Planner with me using #quiltyprojectplanner.
I hope you like it and use if often. Have Fun.
The Comments
Cassie Hung
This is exactly what I am doing this year. I am using the 8.5 x 11 Happy Planner. It was on sale and I don’t have to cut down my sheets. So glad to find someone else that felt the same about planners, not specific enough for what I want/need. Also, I wanted it to be more expandable than the wire bound and I am sick of 3 ring binders.
Quick question… do you find that its better to print out your pages on thicker paper to work with the discs? If so, what weight do you use?
Elisabeth DeMoo
> Cassie HungI love hearing that. Thank you! I will add some 8.5″ x 11″ files (hopefully today) so they will work better for you when you print them. The paper I am using is an Accent Opaque Digital – 80 lb – Text – Smooth – white by International Paper. I use it on my laser printer. I am not sure how it will print on a ink jet. It is very nice nice. Paper houses have samples so you can feel them. (Sometimes they let you take samples home so ask what there policy is. Write the details on the paper so you remember because they all end up looking the same.) They should have a laser section and a ink jet section. Kelly Paper is the one I go to in Tucson. I find regular 20 lb paper to be thin and I can see what is on the other side of the paper. You can also use a thiner cover paper. You are right thicker paper will be much easier to add it to the discs. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Cassie Hung
> Elisabeth DeMooThanks for the replies and the modified templates. I have designed my own based on ideas I’ve have been collecting from various sources. I just got my planner in the mail today. Can’t wait to start printing out and filling out my planner!
Elisabeth DeMoo
> Cassie HungThat’s great! I would love to see your creations.
Cassie Hung
> Elisabeth DeMooHi Elisabeth,
I would be happy to share some pictures of the Happy Planner. How do I send you photos? I can’t seem to send theme in this process. If you want to see some of my quilts I have an album on my facebook page. Just look for Cassie Hung (Gorman). I suspect I am the only one. The quilt gallery is a public photo album
Let me know how best to share.
Cassie
Elisabeth DeMoo
> Cassie HungI just added 8.5″ x 11″ sheets. They should work a little better for you. Thanks!
Cassie Hung
This is exactly what I am doing this year. I am using the 8.5 x 11 Happy Planner. It was on sale and I don’t have to cut down my sheets. So glad to find someone else that felt the same about planners, not specific enough for what I want/need. Also, I wanted it to be more expandable than the wire bound and I am sick of 3 ring binders.
Quick question… do you find that its better to print out your pages on thicker paper to work with the discs? If so, what weight do you use?
Elisabeth DeMoo
> Cassie HungI love hearing that. Thank you! I will add some 8.5″ x 11″ files (hopefully today) so they will work better for you when you print them. The paper I am using is an Accent Opaque Digital – 80 lb – Text – Smooth – white by International Paper. I use it on my laser printer. I am not sure how it will print on a ink jet. It is very nice nice. Paper houses have samples so you can feel them. (Sometimes they let you take samples home so ask what there policy is. Write the details on the paper so you remember because they all end up looking the same.) They should have a laser section and a ink jet section. Kelly Paper is the one I go to in Tucson. I find regular 20 lb paper to be thin and I can see what is on the other side of the paper. You can also use a thiner cover paper. You are right thicker paper will be much easier to add it to the discs. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Cassie Hung
> Elisabeth DeMooThanks for the replies and the modified templates. I have designed my own based on ideas I’ve have been collecting from various sources. I just got my planner in the mail today. Can’t wait to start printing out and filling out my planner!
Elisabeth DeMoo
> Cassie HungThat’s great! I would love to see your creations.
Elisabeth DeMoo
> Cassie HungI just added 8.5″ x 11″ sheets. They should work a little better for you. Thanks!
MarySmiles
Loving your planner pages. Thank you so much for sharing!
MarySmiles
Loving your planner pages. Thank you so much for sharing!