Hi everyone! Leah here again, showing you how I’ve decorated my planner for summer using the Sunshine and Happiness scrapbook collection. I’ll be showing you how I’ve revamped my pockets with a new summertime look, how I’ve created another memory-keeping dashboard, and how I’ve made my own double-sided pocket insert.

If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts, you are probably very aware of my love for decorating planner pockets! I change up the décor in the front pockets of my planner at least once a month because it’s such an easy way to revamp my planner and keep it feeling new and exciting. This month, I’ve made my pockets summer-ready using the Sunshine and Happiness collection!

When I first start the process of decorating my pockets, I ALWAYS start with the SN@P! Pack for whatever collection I am working with. The journal cards and little square pieces fit in the pockets perfectly. I try to mix and match the colors I use so that no element is the same size or color as the one next to it. I find that this contrast allows each element to stand out. I also add variety to the shapes of the cards by using different paper punches. For example, I used a 3inch circle punch, a tag punch, and a rounded corner punch to create some of the pieces you see here. I also left some of the cards as squares and rectangles. After I laid the cards out in the pockets how I wanted them, then I added the extra decoration. I wait until the cards are in the pockets so I can better judge the placement of the embellishments. I used several die cuts from the Bits and Pieces pack – there are so many fun florals and that Mason jar lemonade and fruit slice die cut are just too cute for words! I secure everything in the pockets using a Scotch Tape Glider loaded with repositionable tape so I can easily remove everything later. 

I used several stickers from this pack of 4x6 sticker sheets. There are so many different types of stickers in this pack! I used the hot pink alphabet stickers to spell out “Summer Time,” though I had to improvise and use an upside down “W” for the third “M.” I used the word strip stickers, which I dressed up with some gold glitter washi tape and enamel dots. 

I also used one of my favorite stickers from another sticker sheet in the pack, the girl with sunglasses, and a floral die cut to dress up a tag from the Bits and Pieces pack.

For my dashboard, I made another scrapbook layout for my planner similar to what I made back in April. Some people like to carry photos of their families in their wallet, I like to add them to my planner to make me smile every day and remind me to be grateful for the people I love most! Featured in this layout are my darling niece and nephew, the flower girl and ring bearer from my wedding. Here they are peeking through the pier down at the ocean…and in another photo, making silly faces when they were told to smile! I could not wait to print these photos and use them in a layout! Because I like to use the small square pieces from the SN@P! Pack to layer behind photos, I like to resize my photos for planner layouts to be 2x2”.  One of the photos was not square so I resized it to be 2x3”. These smaller photos fit better onto the limited space available on a planner dashboard.

I used the “Shine Bright” 12x12 paper from the Sunshine and Happiness collection to create the dashboard. If you would like to see more about how I create dashboards and dividers, check out this blog post. I used the bold yellow side of the paper as the base for this layout – I love the “Hello Sunshine” sentiment so much! The flip side of this paper has a beautiful, delicate floral pattern. I had some leftover scraps from the paper after I trimmed it down and the floral pattern made a lovely frame for the photos. 

I added a couple of the SN@P! Pack square cards behind the photos to add a little more dimension to the layering and make the photos pop off the page. I used a couple of chipboard flowers as embellishments and no surprise here, more gold glitter washi tape and word strip stickers with enamel dots (always)!

Before gluing everything down, I tucked a couple of light blue paper doilies under the floral paper. This finishing touch provided some contrast against the bold yellow background, helping to draw the eye towards the focal point of the layout – the photos.

Last but certainly not least, the bright yellow paper really needed some contrast on the edges to frame the layout, so I inked the edges with a pink chalk ink. I love how this project turned out! You know the best part about making scrapbook layouts for your Carpe Diem planner? The holes line up to fit into the Simple Stories 6x8 SN@P! binders, so you can transfer the layouts there later to form a 6x8 scrapbook!

Next up, I will be showing you how I made a double-sided pocket insert using the Sunshine and Happiness collection! 

I cut down another 12x12 paper to fit my planner, which ends up being 6 inches wide. The 4x6 cards from the 12x12 Elements sheet, as well as the largest SN@P! Pack cards (also 4x6), fit perfectly on the page to make a pocket.

To create the pocket, I lay the 4x6 card with the side I want to show, face down against the bottom edge of the page I’m attaching the pocket to. I use a piece of washi tape (or scotch tape) to attach the two pieces and then if you fold the card up to lay on top of the page, you will see the pocket forming.

To attach the sides of the pocket, I used the little edge I trimmed off the 12x12 paper at the beginning (you know the part with the Simple Stories logo and collection name – no scrap goes unused in my house!). I cut it down to two 4 inch strips, used the track on my cutting board and a pair of scissors to crease the center of each strip and then folded them in half along the crease.

I then added glue to one edge of each strip and glued them down to the inside edges of the pocket. 

I added more glue to the other half of each strip and folded the pocket up to lay against the page and pressed it down firmly. I followed this same process on the reverse side of the insert to create another pocket using a different 4x6 element card. 

I embellished each pocket using strips of paper and washi tape along the top, die cuts from the Bits and Pieces Pack, word strip stickers, enamel dots and a chipboard sticker. I then marked the holes for the planner rings and used my Crop-A-Dile to punch them out.

I hope you have just as much fun decorating your planner for the summer season as I did! I also hope you find this pocket tutorial helpful. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask here in the comments or over on my social media (Instagram or Facebook). I am happy to help! Also, if you make a pocket insert, tag me on Instagram @sunny.leah, I would love to see what you create! And come show us your creativity in the new Creative Planning Facebook group that my friends and I started just for YOU, our fellow crafty Planners!

With love,