2009 DayPlanner - Handmade

I've spent the last three weeks making things for my family. I thought I would take a stab at making something for myself. Being in need of a DayPlanner for 2009, I thought I would make one instead of going to the office supply store or ordering one online.

They have cost me about $25 each year to get the kind that is a combination of monthly and weekly. I use the monthly pages for the hotels we stay in for a quick "at a glance" reminder of where we have been. The weekly pages for some of the more in depth info - like where we picked up and delivered - and if there were any circumstances that would be noteworthy for the day.

I've watched on Craft TV Weekly how to make some "books" and thought I would give it a try. There are some rather complicated things (in my opinion) to get the covers and spines on, but mostly it looks real easy. Ya - right.


I did a Google search for "Printable 2009 calendars" and, as usual, got a gazillion hits. It was with trial and error that I found the one I wanted to use - both monthly and weekly. I got them from http://www.vertex42.com .

Not knowing quite how to make our printer do double sided printing I chose to print out all the pages. There was a "What The Heck Were You Thinking?" moment when I saw all the paper being spat out. My choice at this time was to just glue two pages together. Easy, huh. Well, not quite. I had to CONCENTRATE and really pay attention to what I was doing so I would not glue the pages together incorrectly. Getting the Month in the appropriate place with the weekly pages was a trick. What was even trickier was getting the following pages glued without getting my sticky fingers all over the papers and tearing it. I did use a piece of sponge to spread the glue, but it still got all over my fingers. What the heck, it is mine and it is not going to someone that I would want this to be "perfect" and mistakes at a minimum.

I have a rubber stamp in the image of a birthday cake. I thought it would be a great idea to put the cake stamp on the appropriate day so I would remember the birthday person. As you can see, that left no room to write anything in the date box. You will see the other stamped image at the bottom right. The succeeding months are all in the bottom right with the date and person next to the cake stamp.

After I had all the pages glued - successfully I might add - I thought I was going to have a problem with the Bind-It-All. I only have one size of wire things - 5/8 inch. The stack of papers was now well over the Bind-It-All wire doo dad. I also needed to have a bit of cardstock paper on both the front and the back of this planner to glue it into the covers so all my hard work would not fall out all the time. A little squeezing and five sets at a time I got the job done. Not just once, but three times. Woohoo, I was pleased.

For the next day and a half I alternated between knowing how to cover some chipboard with cover papers and feeling inadequate to the task before me. I cut two pieces of 12x12 chipboard down to 8 1/2 x 11. Then from one of the scrap pieces I cut a piece 8 1/2 x 1 inch - for the spine. The next was to select a good sturdy paper - Lord knows I've got a ton of that stuff.

I had my papers picked out and my chipboard cut. Now it was to get the confidence and really commit myself to making the covers. Not having someone to guide me step by step through this process, I went to the next best place. Craft TV Weekly and watched Tricia Morris' episode titled "Make The Grade" for step by step instructions on how to make the covers and the spine. I downloaded their "Design Guide" and printed that out also. I still fluctuated between insecurity and confidence in making this book.

I just finally said "To heck with it" and jumped in. It really didn't take very long to complete it. There were some things that happened that I'm not quite sure what went wrong. The outside edges of the papers were supposed to be 1/2 all the way around the front cover, spine, and back cover. Something went a little wonky and it was not quite right. That sent my insecurities into high gear.

I muddled through and made the best of it and I think it worked out quite well. I fell in love with this paper when I first saw it. It is Club Scrap's 2005 Science collection. I just love that blue paper with the gold embossing.

At first, I just wanted to leave it with the Sound Wave stencil from Club Scrap and the year tag of 2009 on the book. I didn't want anything else to hide the pretty paper. It still looked like it needed something and I thought about all the buttons I have in my stash of goodies.

Future Note: Do not use Elmers brand of Gorilla Glue. When it dries, it does not dry clear. Any of the glue that squeezes out is yellowish in color and looks similar to that insulating foam goop in a can with all the air bubbles. This Elmers glue stuff is really hard to get off. It says on the bottle that it has to be sanded off. I used a box cutter and very carefully scraped off as much of the dried glue as I could without damaging the buttons.

I'm very well pleased with how this came out for my first attempt. Next time, I will make the spine the same height as the Bind-It-All wire doo dads instead of guessing and using the one inch spine. There is too much room left over in the book itself and the cover has a bow to it.

I am way too critical of myself and the things I do and make. But, what the heck, if I don't try I will never, ever succeed at making things right. Trial and error. Failure can be good. Not that this is a failure.

I do have the confidence to make future books, because I know what all goes into making them and I also know the problem areas to watch out for.