DIY A Traveler’s Notebook on a Budget

Have you wanted a Traveler’s Notebook but you don’t want to spend the money for one or you’re not sure it will work for you? Will I have for you a cheaper alternative!

Do you have $20.00 dollars? Will then you’re in luck that’s all it costs for the supplies you need to make your own TN. So, you’re probably wondering what is your list of supplies you need for this project.

Supplies you will need to buy:

Vinyl Placemat – Dollar Tree =$1.00

Fat Quarter of Cloth – Wal-Mart = $.99

Corded Elastic – Wal-Mart = $2.99

Eyelet – Wal-Mart = $3.99

Yes, that will be all the supplies you will need to buy.

You will also need a thread to sew it all together, you can do this by hand or with a sewing machine. This maybe something you need to add to your supplies list.

 At this point, you will need to figure out the size of Traveler’s Notebook you want. You can google the different sizes of TN and pick what one that will fit what you are looking for.  After you have decided what size you want, you will need to lay out your vinyl placemat and measure the size you want to cut it at. You will also need to lay out your fat quarter of cloth and measure it too, but with the cloth, your will need to add an inch around all sides. You will also need to fold the cloth so you will have two pieces when you go to cut it.

So, now that you have measured both your placemat and cloth it’s time to cut.

At this point, you will have one piece of a placemat and two pieces of cloth. Lay the cloth down put the right sides together, you will be sewing three sides of the cloth. When you are done sewing the two piece you will need to turn them right side out. It will look like a small pillow case when you turn them right side out. You will need to slide in the placemat into the cloth and sew the open end closed. To keep my cloth from moving around I sewed the cloth on to the placemat, this will also help with the finished look of it.

Yay, you are almost done.

Now it’s time to make the holes for you corded elastic. You will be making one for the closer elastic. This up to you where you want it on the back or in the spine of the TN. Also, you will need to decide how many bands you would like to hold your notebooks. The stander TN has one band, with my I have two holds but six bands on the inside. I used a single hole punch to make my holes for the elastic bands two at the top of the spine and two at the bottom of the spine. The holes need to be ½ inch from the edge. For the closer elastic hole, I used a nail to poke the whole though.

Place your eyelets into each hole for your bands with the prettier side facing out. The hole for your closer elastic is optional if you add an eyelet. When you push your elastic in the closer hole, you will need to measure elastic will fit around the closed TN. You will need to dig out a button, you will need to string the button on the inside before you tie it off the elastic. The button is to keep the elastic from being pulled through when you are closing your TN.  It’s time to string the elastic into your upper and bottom holes, after tying it off you are DONE.

Place your note books in and enjoy the finished product.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email or leave your questions below.

Have a Good Day and Plan on PlanneryButterfly.

**Tips of How to keep up with your planner**

So, you got a planner. Now you have the task of how do I stay up on using it. I have written out some of the tips I used in the beginning of using a planner.

•       Don’t stress about filling it up the day, the week or the month your planning. You don’t want to over load yourself with task that you may or may not get done. You want to be able to check off the task you complete, it will make you feel good that you have finished the task. So, in the beginning make three priority task that you want to complete that day, after each one is done check them off. When you are see that you’re getting the priority task done then add more task.

•       Make a Routine of setting done each night to go over the next day task. This way you can see what task you have for the next day and keep them fresh in your mind of what you need to do. Each morning when you are drinking your coffee and eating your breakfast go over your planner, then you can decide what task you want to start with first.

•    Use a Single planner for everything. In the beginning just using one planner it will help you get into a routine of having everything at your fingertips. All your task will be in one place, so there is no digging around in paper to find the list of task, project and important dates.

• Have a regular weekly planning session. Set down one day a week like a Sunday or whatever day that fits you and see where you can fill in small task to complete. Like cleaning out the refrigerator, writing a thank you note or just time for yourself to read a book.

• Add to your planner on an ongoing basis. You will find that you will have task, project or date that will pop up after you planned your week or even month you want to make sure you add them as they come to your attention. This way when you are going over your planner these things you have add are wrote done and you will keep them fresh in your mind.

• Checking your planner, a lot. Though out a day make sure to check your planner to refresh your mind of the task you have for the day. Also, this way you can go back in and mark off complete task and add any that you may need to do that day. Checking off complete task will also make you feel good, that you have accomplished something that you have planned.

• Make your planner fun. Make your planner your style, add decoration, use color coding and add stickers. You want to feel like you want to look over it, you just can’t set it down because it’s so pretty. If you don’t have time for placing stickers in your planner, use different color pens. I have seen others plan they week out with using two or three color pen make they planner pretty. If your planner is eye pleasing to you then you will want to open it up often.

•   Take your planner everywhere with you. I know you have read that line a lot, but if you don’t you cannot write down things you may see you want to add to you wish list to buy or just running into an old friend that you want they phone number. You may get a phone call will you’re out from a family member wanting to set up a dinner date, you could just open the planner to see what days you are free to do so. There are many reasons you should carry it with you, so make it a habit to take it alone.

Have a Good Day and Plan on Butterfly's

Cheaper Alternative Planners on a Budget

Today I am going to tell you how I found my cheaper alternative to planner systems like Kikki K and other binder systems.

For my personal planner system, I found at Michaels for only $19.95 it is a part of the Recollections planner system.  They had so many color for this system it made it had to choose just one. They also sold planner insert and sticker for this system, but the diy person I am I passed buying them to come home and make them myself. My Recollection was my first planner that I began on my planner journey with.

For my A5 system I hit up the Target dollar spot to find a mini three ring binder it was only $3.00. Well there you can’t help but look at the planner inserts, dividers and sticky notes. After getting my A5 planner home and setting up and using it for a month or more I was not happy how it looked. So, in the month after buying the mini binder I decided to change the look of it to match my Recollection planner. I purchased full sheet labels to change the look of this planner. I found an image that I felt match my person planner, printed out and stock it on to planner to give the look it has to day.

In all and all I spent $28.00 for both of my planner systems. Can you say Cheap!

In my next post, I will be showing some of the inserts I have used and are currently using now.