My Favorite Etsy Shops for ECLP Products!

My first Etsy purchase was over two years ago.  I purchased a custom hanger for my wedding dress from an adorable shop that did an AMAZING job on it.  Ever since then I've been hooked!  I love that you can usually always find whatever your looking for and if you can't, you can always find someone to customize it for you!

Ever Since I got my {Erin Condren Life Planner} I have been shopping on Etsy more and more.  Today my mailman woke me up after working a night shift to deliver three packages.  He told me that my husband and I get more mail than any other young couple he delivers to.  He sounded kinda miffed about it.  Oh well, he obviously doesn't have an ECLP to shop for!!

These are some of the Etsy shops that I've been loving and shopping at lately! (In no particular order). 

{One}  Karolinas Krafts.  This shop offers washi shapes, washi samples, paper/binder clips, and lots of stickers! Some sticker options include: nail polish, lipstick, whales, shopping carts, weights, TV, pills, popcorn, sports, chores, pay day/bills, coffee, dentist and SO many more!

{Two} My Queen Bee Designs.  This is one of the shops that I've ordered from most often.  I have placed several orders for washi squares that fit the weekly boxes of my ECLP and have loved every order.  I also ordered a sample pack that came with a little bit of everything you need for your planner such as washi shapes, stickers and washi squares.

{Three} Silent Poetry Arts This is one of my absolute favorite shops.  The selection of washi is unbelievable and the quality is excellent. The shop also carries washi tape dispensers, treat bags, bakers twine, elastic and some lip scrubs.  Silent Poetry Arts also has a monthly washi box sale that is offered on Instagram.  There are only 20 boxes available and its such a great deal.  This month it sold out in 20 seconds and I was lucky enough to score one.  I can't wait for it to arrive.  I have received a monthly washi box before and was very happy. 

{Four} Planner Kate This is another great Etsy shop that I've recently made some purchases from.  They sell pre-cut washi strips that fit the boxes in the {ECLP} perfectly.  They are sold in packages based on color or theme. This Etsy shop has also started listing some monthly themed kits giving you everything you need to decorate you planner for the entire month!

{Five} Krissyanne Designs I ordered some stickers from this Etsy Shop and love them.  They are small colored stickers which are perfect in my {ECLP} because they don't take up much room.  I use them for things I need to be aware of, like the end of my pay period, but don't need to be super prevalent in my planner.  This shop also lots of different types of stickers for your planner and also carries lots of other items such as key chains and monogramed items as well. 

{Six} Loollipop This is the first store I ever purchased washi from and where the slippery slope began.  I like the large selection of washi and that they offer great shipping rates to Canada which can sometimes be the difference between a purchase or not on Etsy.  Always fast to ship and adorably packaged this shop will always be one of my favorites.  They also offer paper straws, favor bags, bakers twine, and party tableware. 

Here is a list of some of my Instagram Followers favorite shops and some shops I've been eyeing items from lately:
Donkerrood
Yellow Paper House
Pretty and Planned
Southern Haute
LadyendeVagehond 
LillieHenry
Samantha Lisic Designs
Organized Stickers
Hello Ashleyann

Do you have any favorite Etsy Shops that I need to know about?
 

Weekly Erin Condren Life Planner Spread

Hello everyone!

I thought I'd share with you what my week is looking like so far in my {Erin Condren Life Planner}.  I like to keep my decoration pretty simple and really try to use my planner for functional purposes.  More on that in another blog post! you can follow me on Instagram to see more of my spreads and how I use my planner.  

 

I've been a student for the past 7 years so I've spent a lot of time reading textbooks and journal articles.  I'm trying to make up for lost time by watching some movies I've missed over the years.  Although, I have to keep a list or I forget what I want to watch.  I've been moving the list from week-to-week in my planner and checking off as I go. 

 

Stay tuned for a complete breakdown of how I use my {weekly spread} next week on the blog!  I'll be chatting about everything from how I plan meals, track my shifts at the hospital, and how I create to-do lists to stay organized. 

Washi Stickers and Squares

I love to highlight events in my {Erin Condren Life Planner} and was using washi squares and shapes to add color and make certain events *POP*. 

I had been buying the shapes and squares off of Etsy but while I was on vacation I found some 6X6 adhesive washi squares by We R Memory Keepers (Find them here! )This meant that I could use a punch and cutter and make my own!

I didn't think to look for punches while I was away and am regretting that now.  The only punch that I can find locally is a one-inch scalloped circle.  This means that I'm scouring the internet trying to find the coveted flag and bracket punches. 

The punch that I did end up buying is by Martha Stewart.  I found it at my local Michaels for $16.99. 
 

You can see the scalloped circle punch in the above picture and find a link to it here. 

 

All I did to make the washi scalloped circles was use my punch on the adhesive washi sheets.  I ended up punching out an entire pad of the We R Memory Keepers Adhesive Washi in the process.  I had purchased two different designs in the adhesive washi while I was on vacation and felt that the bold colors and less patterned washi was the best choice to punch as I plan on writing on the circles. While punching, I made sure to keep my circles as close together as possible so that I could make sure I got as many circles as possible.  In the end I ended up with very little waste.   

 

Some of the finished product!

 

Making the washi squares was a bit more work.  To do this, I again used a We R Memory Keepers Adhesive Washi pad.  I also grabbed a pair of scissors, a pencil, a permanent marker, a ruler and my paper cutter.  The paper cutter that I have was purchased at Winners for $9.99.  It is the first one I have purchased and bought it just for this project.  I wanted to make sure that I liked using a paper cutter before I went out and bought myself a really nice one.  I must say, this particular paper cutter did the trick nicely!  You can find paper cutters at your local craft store, such as Michael's, or here and here. 

Once I had all the supplies I needed, I put on a movie, sat down and got to work.  I began by measuring the weekly squares in my {Erin Condren Life Planner}.  I jotted down my measurements and also made indications on my ruler of the height and width of the boxes with a permanent marker.  This ruler was a spare from back in my high-school days so I wasn't too attached to it and didn't worry about ruining it. 

The paper cutter that I purchased had black lines and black ruler markings making it very hard to use it to measure and cut anything without pre-marking it.  If I had of had a different paper cutter I would simply have used the attached ruler to cut the washi paper into the desired sizes without having to do an extra step. Because I didn't trust my eyes and that ruler together I decided it was safer to take the long way and mark every sheet of washi individually.  This was a bit time consuming, but I wanted to make sure that I got my measurements correct and that I didn't waste a pad of washi that I spend a good chunk of my vacation hunting craft stores for. 

I used my ruler to mark out a height and width grid on each piece of washi.  It looked a little something like this:

Each 6x6 washi sheet gave me 12 washi squares.  It also gave me 4 smaller washi rectangles that will also be put to good use in my planner!

 

Next, I used my paper cutter to easily cut along the lines on my washi sheet.  This part of the process went very quickly since I had already measured everything out.  I was even able to stack multiple pieces together and cut them together to reduce my time even more. I kept my scissors on hand for those times when my paper cutter missed a piece.   

 

 

 

In the end, I ended up with 24 washi squares in each color and 8 of the smaller rectangles in each color as well. 

 

I just finished this project so they're not shown in my current weekly spread but I did stick some on my birthday as I knew I'd want to highlight that in my planner.

 

 

I typically use washi tape to cover the morning/day/night sections of the weekly spread.  It'll be nice to have more color to play with in my planner as I tend to keep it relatively simple and functional.  Do you use washi squares or punched shapes in your planner?  I'd love to see how you use it.  You can follow me on Instagram to see how I'm using my new washi!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How I Store my Everyday {Life Planner} Essentials

I don't know about you guys but I never know where my day is going to take me.  I often get called to see if I can pick up a shift at the hospital and I'm not always at home when that happens.  I carry my {Erin Condren Life Planner} with me in my purse so that if I need to check my schedule I can. 

I also like to carry some of my {Life Planner} supplies with me.  Often times I will grab a coffee at Starbucks and sit and plan my week.  Because I'm on the go a lot it's been really nice to keep a few essential supplies on hand.  I wanted to find a way to keep these supplies organized while on-the-go and I'm pretty happy with what I've come up with. 

This is the {Orla Kiely Garden Beauty Organizer} from Target.

Find My Organizer Here

 

Inside the organizer there is a mesh, zipped section in the middle that I use to hold my pens, markers and pencils.  This section flips from one side to the other making it easy to get whatever you need out of the organizer. 

 

 

To the left side of the organizer there is another zippered mesh pocket.  This is where I store my Post-it notes, flags and stickers that I use in my {Life Planner}.  You could store your pens in here as well but I found that it was a tight fit and I couldn't access them as easily as I wanted to. 

 

To the right of the organizer there are three small sewn pockets with open tops to store items.  This is where I keep my washi stickers, washi squares, pencil lead and one full roll of washi.  I keep all of my loose washi in small plastic bags so that they're easy to retrieve and not making a big mess in my organizer. 

 
I paid $16.99 for this organizer and so far I am loving it! I like the pattern and that it's small enough to throw in my bag, yet it holds everything I need to work on my planner on-the-go. 
 
Now for a peak at what's inside my organizer!

My Stickers/Flags/Post-Its:

 

 

My Washi Shapes/Washi Squares/Flags and Reminders:

** I made these awesome scalloped washi circles... look for a post on that soon!

 

 My Pens/Pencils/Staedtler's:

 

 

 What do you use to store your planner supplies?  I'd love to see!

Review: Stackable Washi Dispenser

Ever since I purchased an Erin Condren Life Planner I have been buying washi tape like crazy! I use it to decorate my planner, to secure to-do lists/grocery lists onto my weekly planner pages and to track my work schedule and vacation.

Keeping it organized has become somewhat of a problem.  I had it all stashed in a clear plastic container but my collection soon outgrew that and it was hard to see what colors and designs I had. 

 

Last night my husband and I took an impromptu trip to our local Michael`s to kill some time before meeting friends for supper and we found this gem:

 

 

A {We R Memory Makers} Stackable Washi Dispenser. 

 

It was $29.99 and I just happened to have a 40% off coupon and a 25% off total purchase coupon. 

 

 

The dispenser has a foam bottom so that it won't scratch your furniture.  It is also on a turntable so you can rotate it to easily access whatever washi you want. 

 

Finally, you can stack multiple dispensers on top of one another to store even more washi.  I have 22 rolls of my favorite washi on this dispenser and plan to pick up another one so that I can stack and store even more. The washi rolls easily on the holding wheel and the sharp edge cuts the washi perfectly for easy washi application.  I didn't have to struggle with it at all.  You may notice that there are some small storage areas near the tape cutting edge and between each washi section.  On the package they have paperclips and buttons stored here!

 

I would {absolutely recommend} this purchase to anyone looking to store and use their washi more efficiently!

 

2014 Erin Condren Life Planner Review

I have a love for paper planners.  I hate using my phone, tablet or computer for keeping track of appointments, bills, assignments, work etc.  It just doesn't work for me.  I like being able to write everything down and organize it how I want, not how a program tells me I have to.

For the past two years it has been a struggle every September to find a day planner that I liked.  I would drag my husband around to our local stores to look at the {very} limited options.  I like having a monthly display and a weekly display directly behind it.  It seemed almost impossible to find what I wanted without spending $60.00-$70.00 for a planner that I felt like I was settling on, that I didn't {LOVE}. 

This year I finally found something that I absolutely love.  It is an Erin Condren Life Planner.  It is available in either 12 or 18 month format and is very customizable.  You can choose a cover design and then add your name, quotes or pictures.  This year the covers are even removable so that you can purchase more than one if you can't pick a favorite or if you know you'll get tired of a design mid-way through the year.    

Needless to say, living in Canada made this planner {quite} pricy for me to purchase.  In my opinion it was totally worth it.  The planners range from $50.00 USD for the {Classic Planner} to $75.00 USD for the {Gold/Platinum Edition}.  You can add extra covers, coil clips, pens, pen holders, elastic bands, custom photo stickers, event stickers and much more to your order to customize it exactly how you want it.  Shipping to Canada is where the cost grew significantly.  It was $39.95 to ship International-Economy and $49.95 to ship International-Priority.  The total for my planner, accessories and shipping came to about $145.00.  I added all the items to my cart and had a moment of hesitation before I put in my credit card number.  Then my husband lovingly said "Please, buy the planner so I don't have to hear you talking about how much you want it everyday." I must say, he does put up with a lot of shenanigans. 

So I put in my credit card number and two weeks later this beauty arrived on my doorstep:

I choose the {Jolly Jester} design and also ordered a second cover in {Gold Edition-Spearmint}.

 

I also ordered gold elastic bands, two packages of coil clips and two pen holders. 

 

 

These stickers also came with my planner.  They're perfect to keep in you planner for when you need a git-tag on the run.  There are also personalized stickers that match the Jolly Jester design of my planner. 

Now for a peak into the {Life Planner} itself:

Monthly overview:

**I got the 18 month planner-it actually starts in July of 2014 but I have written on the early months and wanted to show what a clean spread looks like. 

Weekly overview:

  Notes page at the back of the planner:

 



Future months calendar at the back:

 

Comes with two pages of blank stickers and one page of stickers that are pre-printed with birthday, hair appt., game, party, mani/pedi and vacation. 



 

There is a "Keep it Together" double-sided pouch at the back. 

 
The "Keep It Together" pouch comes with a {Perpetual Calendar}.  A smaller calendar that lets you track things like anniversaries, birthdays, car repairs etc. 

 



And that is the {2014 Erin Condren Life Planner} review.  I can't say enough positive things about it and although it did break the budget it's been worth it!

 

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