It is back to school week at our house and it is extra special this year as my daughter, Mila, started Kindergarten.  It feels a bit strange to start school when I am still dreaming of summer, but no better way to get into the spirit than with the Simple Stories “Old School” Simple Set.  You may already know that I love using the Simple Sets in my planner.  You get a few sheets of gorgeous paper that can be used to make dashboards, dividers, or can be cut up to be used as washi.  There are also journaling elements paper which have beautiful journaling cards to put in pockets or decorate a page. 

The collection goes perfect with my Black Speckle Carpe Diem Planner, and no planner girl can do without the Carpe Diem A5 punch!

Look how fun my planner looks all set up with using the Old School products.

Dashboards are so easy to make!  They are my go-to planner item when I want to be a bit crafty, but don’t have a lot of time.  I used the back side of the 3x4 and 4x6 Elements Paper for the dashboard, (don’t worry there are two of each sheet in the set!) layered on two 3x4 journaling cards, punched it and in to my planner it went.

Now, it is time to fill the front pockets.  I used most of the 3x4 and 4x6 Elements Paper to decorate the pockets.  I also added in some sticky notes from the Simple Stories Say Cheese line.

Here is my weekly spread I made with the collection.  The marker and alphabet “washi” are strips cut from the ABC 123 paper.  The rest are mostly stickers from the 6 x 12 cardstock sticker sheet and the Simple Stories Alpha Stickers.

The red Alpha stickers were actually white, but I colored them with a marker (while still on the sheet) and they worked perfectly.

What a colorful collection, all the colors and elements used together easily make a fun layout!

I also love daily planning.  When I don’t have a huge list of To Dos but have a day worth remembering, I make a daily page and fill up the lined portion of the insert with a photo or a fun memory.  I use the timeline on the right to practice my hand lettering.  For this layout, I mixed in some elements from Summer Days to play up the yellow, orange and blue elements in the Old School Collection.

Print out a picture and add some stickers iand you have quickly made a memory page.

Adding a journaling card to the page fills a bit of space so you won’t feel overwhelmed trying to decorate the whole page.  I filled the rest of the page with the remaining stickers and pieces from the decorative papers and now I will always remember my little girl dashing off to Kindergarten!

Keep your eye out for the Simple Sets, planner girls.  They can give your planner a lift and have plenty of fun things to inspire you to get crafty.

Until next time!

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