Leah O’Neil's Blog Posts

07.13.17

Hello again creative planners! Leah here on the blog today to show you how I give the front of my Carpe Diem planner some “curb appeal.” I will be using the new Carpe Diem collection and showing you just how versatile a few of these products can be. I have shared many blog posts on here featuring decorated front pockets and dashboards, but this will be the first time I have filmed a video of the process, start to finish. I am SO excited to share it with you! 

I have taught an online class all about front pocket design and techniques if you want more thorough explanations of the “why” behind a lot of my decisions when decorating my planner pockets. You can find a link to that class in my Instagram bio. In this blog post and video, I will be showing you all about the “how.” I will take you through how I made several of the elements for the pockets using the Carpe Diem Dashboards and Pocket Cards set and a few papers from the new High Style 12x12 paper pad.

These pockets came together fairly easily, just by cutting and punching out a few basic shapes. When it comes to pocket decorating, I like to use a variety of shapes. For example, in these pockets I have a large circle, a smaller circle, a tag, small stars, a banner, cards with sharp edges, cards with rounded edges, and a die cut typewriter that I fussy cut from a pocket card. Having a few paper punches in basic shapes is always a good investment for creating your own die cut shapes, but I collected the punches I have over the course of several years. Several of these shapes can be hand cut pretty easily without paper punches. The circle is probably one of the hardest to hand cut but is still possible with the trusty technique of tracing around a cup onto paper and cutting it out, or you can get these awesome photo cropping tools from Simple Stories that make it super easy to cut different sized circles. They are much more cost efficient and portable than having to buy several different sized circle punches.

I also like adding some texture to my planner pockets by adding things like doilies, ribbon, and staples. Another common technique I use to add the illusion of dimension and texture, is to add doodled borders and hand drawn stitching to the edges of some shapes.

I made this pocket card from scratch using some white cardstock that I cut down to fit in the pocket, and then I used the Say Cheese III roller stamp to stamp words all over it. This gave me a cool black and white text background which added an interesting detail to my pockets without competing with all of the other colors I was using. You can get this effect with any word stamps, but the Simple Stories roller stamps make it so easy and quick to do, and I like how they always have a few shapes added in too. Like the Say Cheese III roller stamp for example, has an arrow and rows of hearts and stars that break up the words.

All of the patterned paper dividers in the New Carpe Diem monthly planner inserts are so beautiful. The collection has many of the same fun elements from the original Carpe Diem line, but there are some black and white images that give it a very trendy, modern vibe – kind of reminds me of some of my favorite pieces in the old “Life in Color” collection, but with the Carpe Diem colors and designs.

The monthly dividers are pretty enough on their own without adding anything, but I always like to jazz things up in the front of my planner. In this case, I used a smaller decorative dashboard from the collection and customized it with a photo and some fun layering. I love that because the dashboard is smaller, I get that personalized feel at the front of my planner but I can still see the monthly divider underneath.

In an older blog post (read it here!), I customized one of the Carpe Diem planner charms for one of my planners and got a lot of a great feedback on it! I did the same for this planner, but this time I filmed a quick tutorial to show you how incredibly easy it is to do. I will be posting that video clip over on my Instagram, so be sure to come say hello over there and check it out! Here is the YouTube video of my process for setting up the front of my Floral Dot planner, I hope you enjoy it! Hit “subscribe” while over on my YouTube channel to catch future Carpe Diem planner videos!

Supplies
06.09.17

Hello creative planners! It’s Leah, back on the blog today showing you a few ways to use 4x6 pocket pages to personalize your Carpe Diem planners! When I saw the Summer Days collection, I was immediately inspired to create some new decorative elements for my planner to dress it up for summer time. The tropical designs in the collection reminded me of my honeymoon to Hawaii that I have yet to scrapbook, so I had the idea to print out a few photos from the trip and incorporate them into my planner pages using a few 4x6 pocket pages.

I always keep photos in my planner that remind me of happy times or loved ones. My photos from Hawaii are a couple of years old now but they immediately make me feel happy when I look at them. Since I open my planner every day, I get to be reminded every day of those special memories.

The 4x6 pocket pages fit well into your Carpe Diem planner, you just have to add a few extra holes for the rings. The first pocket page I decorated has one 4x4in pocket and two 2x2in pockets. The 4x4 card inside is cut from this Summer Days 4x4 Elements Paper. I added a butterfly die cut to the outside of the pocket to add some dimension.  I made a small tag to fit in the bottom left pocket and added a sun die cut to the outside of the pocket so I didn’t have to trim it down. In the bottom right pocket, I measured and cut a 2x2 square from some patterned paper and added the rainbow tab. I printed a 2x2 photo of my husband and I, and then trimmed it down a bit so that you could still see the patterned paper behind.

On the back side of this pocket page, I printed a collage photo that I made using a mobile app called Pic Stitch. I printed the photo 3.8x3.8” in size. This allowed me to trim the photo down to fit in the top pocket but also let the paper underneath show which added a colorful frame. Instead of gluing the photo down, I used a gold clip to hold it in place. In the bottom pockets, I added a couple more die cuts from the Bits and Pieces pack and a few word label stickers.

For my next pocket page, I used a page with six 2x2in pockets. Using the same process as before, I cut a few patterned papers down to fit in the pockets and made another little tag. I added some sequins to one pocket and taped it shut with clear Scotch tape. I printed the photo in a 2x2in size.

On the back side of this page, I just printed another 2x2 photo and embellished the other sides of the patterned papers that were in the pockets.

Here are a couple of other fun ideas for how you can use 4x6 pocket pages in your planner:

·       The pockets on the page below are 3x4 in size. I cut out some of my favorite 3x4 journal cards from this 12x12 paper, then added some sequins and taped the pockets closed to create a super cute and super easy double-sided shaker pocket!

·       The pocket page below has one large 4x6 pocket, so I used the flamingo notecard from this 12x12 paper. Putting a journal card into a plastic pocket page is a quick way to create a dashboard that you can write on with a wet erase marker. You could create the same effect by laminating the card, but this process is way quicker and allows you to change out the journal card later if you want.

Now for a little bonus content on this blog post…

Check out my June monthly layout! The Summer Days collection is PERFECT to kick off my summer planner layouts! Hop on over to my Instagram to see the layout all filled in.

Here are a couple of close up photos!

I hope this post has given you all some inspiring ideas for how to use pocket pages in your Carpe Diem planner. For lots more beeeeautiful planner inspiration and peeks at all the new planner products rolling out this summer, check out the Carpe Diem Planners Instagram! I AM SO EXCITED! What products are you the most excited for?

Supplies
05.10.17

Hello again friends! Happy May! Leah here today to show you the new dividers I’ve made to revamp my planner with the Domestic Bliss collection. It’s been a long while since I’ve made a complete set of custom dividers. If you can believe it, I think it’s been since my very first post with Simple Stories last year. Wow, how the time has flown! I have been feeling the need to change up my planner for a while now because the current organization just has not been working for me. I’ve been in such a planner funk lately and haven’t wanted to open up my planner. With a new setup, comes a new chance to get crafty and give my planner a makeover!

I used word label stickers to label my divider tabs for now. I chose ones from the Home sticker tablet. I have separated my planner into 4 categories. The first section is where I have my actual planner pages. For this planner, I’ve decided to use only monthly inserts and blank lined pages for my planning.

This divider turned out so cute! I love having it up in the front of my planner because it’s like the “front door” of my planner. The door is from the 4x6 Vertical Elements 12x12 paper in the Domestic Bliss collection. I used a banner paper punch to create a banner along the top of the divider using patterned papers from the 6x8 paper pad and some baker’s twine. I used another patterned paper to create the tag where I layered some washi tapes, word label stickers and a cute heart die cut from the Bits and Pieces pack.

The second section is for tracking chores and household to-dos. I’ve mentioned my struggle with anxiety in some of my previous blog posts. Well, I am also a pretty naturally disorganized person. I WANT to be organized, and I can achieve it, but I have to work extra hard to maintain an organized home. Writing down household tasks and chores and attempting to establish a schedule that I can learn to manage a little at a time, helps me avoid getting too overwhelmed.

This divider is so fun because I created a little shaker using a 2x2 card from the SN@P! pack and layered on some stickers from the 12x12 combo sticker sheet. Aren’t the little succulent plants that pop up a lot in the Domestic Bliss collection so sweet? I love all of the multi-colored pots! I created a little watercolor background on this divider and chose colors to match the pots.

The third section is for bill pay and debt repayment info that I’ve moved over from my budget planner (check that planner out here). My financial planner has been working out super well for me. However, now that I feel like I have a handle on our budget and spending, I have found I’m not using the first half of the planner as much and mostly just need the bill pay info from the back. So I’m going to see how it works out as just one section of my main planner.

I love how this divider turned out with the simplest of details! I used half of a doily and layered on the typewriter and “hello life” die cuts with the chipboard flowers and word label stickers. At the top of the divider, I hand cut a few different sized banners out of leftover paper scraps, grouped them together and then stapled them onto the page.

The last section of my planner is for information pertaining to our home and family, such as insurance and medical info and important contacts. This divider was super easy to make! I made it out of this 12x12 paper, and then used one of the 4x6 elements from this sheet as the main focal point. Then I layered some paper scraps and a doily behind it, and wrapped some baker’s twine around the card with a little bow for some texture.

I don’t know why I don’t make custom dividers more often! I always love how they turn out and they are so fun to make. They make my planner feel so much more personalized! I love working within one collection when I make dividers because of how beautifully everything coordinates. Look how pretty all of the dividers look together!

Do you like personalizing your planner dividers? If you’d like to see some more pretty planner dividers for inspiration, run on over to the Carpe Diem Planners Instagram! Also, I hope you will come say hello over on my Instagram as well @sunny.leah, and be sure to check out the Carpe Diem planner giveaway I’ve got going on right now!

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