When I lived in South Korea I fell in love twice - once with my now husband and the other time with Korean stationery. There were so many adorable stationery departments and stores there that I could barely hold onto a paycheck. Most of their products, especially their planners (schedulers) and accessories had amazing product design. 

They really focused on functionality and the ability of the end user to keep everything organized, but in a gorgeous way. Similar to Japanese kawaii, Korean stationery comes in wonderful colors and patterns. I won’t lie, some of it was so cute that I couldn’t use it. It’s been 3 years and I still have lots of stationery from there.

Being back in the States I miss having regular access to those goodies. Fortunately you can order almost anything online. So I can treat myself every once in awhile to a good haul. Some of my favorite sites for Korean stationery and Kawaii are: Gmarket, The Loft (helps if you know Japanese), FallNDesign, Omoi Zaka, Jetoy, and MochiThings.

MochiThings is based in Seattle, Washington so things will get here a little quicker if you order from them. Last year I was looking for a case for my planner and supplies—similar to other coil bound planner carriers. The only thing with many of those cases is they don’t have little pockets and departments to keep everything in a separate place. And that’s what I needed. MochiThings had the answer. I found the perfect case for my planner and supplies—the Better Together Pouch.

 I swear by my Better Together Pouch. It holds everything from my masking tape labels and wash tape to my erasable pens and Limelife Planner.

 I highly recommend checking out these sites, especially MochiThings. There so many options that will help to keep you organized and will let you do it in a cute way! Warning: Be prepared to be overwhelmed by cuteness especially with MochiThings and Jetoy. There are so many cute accessories for your planner you may just go broke shopping!

What are you favorite online shops for non-traditional planning accessories?

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This blog post was written by Amber Boyd for the Limelife Planners Media & Creative Team.  To learn more about Amber visit her on Instagram: @pinkimonopapers. Please share and repost this blog entry with your friends! All we ask is that you give credit to Limelife Planners and the post author.

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Limelife offers a variety of layout options for the weekly planners—which is awesome—but it can also be difficult to choose the layout that works best for your lifestyle.  Here’s a peek at how your standard-issue stay-at-home-mom (me!) uses Layout A*.

This layout has three vertical boxes for each day.  I use these to plan out what I need to get done.  When I plan, I don’t write appointments or events on my weekly pages; those only go on the monthly pages.  My weekly pages are only for writing what needs accomplished that day.  So for this layout, I use the top box for my morning to-dos.  Anything that needs taken care of before my kids’ naptime goes here.

My middle box is for what I like to call the ‘naptime hustle.’  Don’t get me wrong, sometimes this includes a nap for myself, Netflix, or a good book.  I like to plan in leisure time on some days during naptime so that I don’t feel like I’m going non-stop (as it’s easy to do with young children!).  Of course, many days this includes cleaning, starting dinner, laundry, or editing photos for my small photography business.

The last box is for evening to-dos.  My kids are still really young, so they go to bed early.  I have plenty of time in the evenings to work on projects, so I’ll often plan ahead for those projects.  I don’t feel like I’m procrastinating if it’s written down ahead of time.

I use the running ‘TO DO’ list on the left side to write down the major projects that need tackled that week.  As I’m planning each day, I’ll refer to that list, and plan accordingly.  I can segment the projects out in reasonable tasks, while keeping an eye on the week as a whole.

The ‘weekly goal’ box on the bottom left is for things that ABSOLUTELY must get done that week.  No excuses.  I know that if I see something written here, I better get working.

I’ve been so happy with this layout for two years now, but my new planner arriving in the coming weeks will have a new layout!  I’m nerdishly excited and nervous to try something new! Which Limelife Planners layout do you use?

* The planner pictured is the 2014/2015 Limelife Planner. 

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This blog post was written by Abbey Niebel for the Limelife Planners Media & Creative Team. For more information about Abbey connect with her on Instagram: @mrsniebel. Please share and repost this blog entry with your friends! All we ask is that you give credit to Limelife Planners and the post author.

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Got messy drawers? Haha, I couldn’t help myself on that one! I have some Alex drawers from Ikea that I love, but no matter how much I try to keep them organized or in neat piles, the things in them get tossed around. With the opening and closing of the drawers or tossing things back in and then planning to go back later and tidy them up they become messy over time.

Solution: DIY your own drawer dividers! With some foam board and a exacto knife and a little hot glue we got ourselves a parrrrtay! 

First I looked at my drawers (which typically are pretty tidy) and the neatly stacked piles do not stay that way when I am frantically opening and closing them in the fury that happens in my craft room.

I am not just a planner gal I am a crafter so I have all sorts of crafting supplies as well as planning supplies. My planning supplies are not as plentiful as my crafting supplies because I am a newbie with planning (at least the serious planning aka decorating). 

My love for washi tape has really grown and I am now totally obsessed with finding all the pretty washi I can buy (hoard).

Having it front and center was my utmost important task so I can (cough cough) use it.  I measured my overall width and depth of the drawer and then set out to figure what items were important enough to designate a whole divided section in my drawers. So for drawer #1 it was washi (plenty of space for growing). I did a few other drawers with project life cards, large sticky note pads, stamps, page flags and smaller sticky notes. 

I figured out the size everything needed to be and just sketched a rough draft of how I was laying it out. It changed once from my original vision because I realized the drawer I planned on having washi tape in was much deeper so I moved it to a more shallow drawer.

I bought several sheets of foam board at the dollar store and cut all the pieces I needed and made sure the height would not be taller than the drawer sides.  I marked everything on the foam board and cut with the X-Acto knife. The good thing is if you mess up, foam board is super cheap. I then cut some support pieces to put in between the rows. I just hot glued them in place. I have a high heat glue gun and trust me those pieces aren’t going anywhere! You can choose to cut some slits in the pieces to put them together in a criss-cross manner. 

My husband decided he wanted to help and honestly it took us twice as long to get one drawer done as it did when I worked alone. I mean seriously, he mentioned power tools and I thought I was going to die laughing. His idea of what needed to happen was so different than my plan. So I was happy that he decided to partake in a beverage outside so I could take over the project. I managed to do two drawers quickly. 

So hopefully you at least see that with a few dollars (and a husband that will leave you alone with your project) and a few tools you can make your drawers much neater!  

Will you be making your own foam board drawer dividers? Let me know in the comments below!

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This blog post was written by Debbie Crowder for the Limelife Planners Media & Creative Team. For more information about Debbie visit her blog at www.craftinchaos.com. Please share and repost this blog entry with your friends! All we ask is that you give credit to Limelife Planners and the post author.

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Tasha here!  Look at me blogging two days in a row! haha!  ;-) 

I love changing my computer's desktop background.  I do it all the time. I'm always making new images for it using whatever pops into my head.  Sometimes they have photos, sometimes quotes, sometimes just graphics.  Leslie made this Florence interchangeable cover a few weeks ago and I've been IN LOVE with it.  Today I thought it was the perfect background for my iMac.  

I sent it to Les and she loved it too! I told her I wanted to do this once a month... give you all a freebie to make your computer and office pretty.  Here's the first one. You can choose the one with the July calendar or just blank!  

 

CLICK HERE to download Florence with the July calendar.

CLICK HERE to download Florence plain.

We love to see your computer's and desks in action.   Instagram your desk with this background and hashtag us using #limelifedesktops

Enjoy!

 

 

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A few months ago Andrea from Simply Vague contacted us about selling our products in her shops. We were over the moon excited. We've been working on this with her and figuring out all the details.  While chatting with her we learned about the Made Local Marketplace event that would be held July 12th at Polaris Fashion Place Mall.   We registered and began to plan for the event.  

We were so happy with how everything turned out.  The day was amazing...we had TONS of foot traffic and talked to so many awesome customers.  Both current and new!  

One thing that was a HUGE hit at the show were our teacher planners. All of the teachers that came by were drooling over it.  It was so fun to see their eyes light up. All of our hard work... worth it :)   

To celebrate we are going to giveaway a teacher planner this week!  We have posted a photo on our instagram.  To enter go comment there with why you need our teacher planner, or why someone you know needs this planner and we will choose one winner Thursday, July 16th at 10:00am Eastern time.    

Just go find this next photo in our instagram feed and comment on it now!

This is one of our Hall Pass Teacher planners with the Block weekly layout.  It's already made and ready to ship on Thursday!

Thank you all who came to visit us at our booth!  We hope you are all enjoying your new planners, notebooks and other goodies.

Also, a huge thank you to Omega from Selby Lane for sewing our adorable table cloth for us!

We can't wait to read all of your comments on our Instagram :)

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YouTube is an excellent resource for makeup tutorials, compilations of the funniest cat videos, and music videos—everyone knows that. But did you know it can also be an awesome place to get inspired by others in the planner community? Whether you’re new to planning and want some instruction or someone who has been around awhile and is looking for inspiration, these YouTube channels are for you!

1.    Kayla at Microscope Beauty

Kayla is the owner of an Etsy shop called Oh Hello Stationary Co , works a full time job, is planning her wedding, and runs a blog! She is an excellent example of how a planner can be used to keep you organized and on top of the different responsibilities in your life.

• Shows both horizontal and vertical layouts planned in a very functional way
• Explains how to utilize other aspects of a planner including note pages
• Promotes affordable and easy theming for the beginner by using $1 sticker books

2.    Andrea at Scribble Prints Co. 

Andrea is the owner of an extremely well known Etsy shop, Scribble Prints Co., and has one of the most unique planning styles I’ve ever seen. I believe that this unique style means that Andrea has something for beginners and veterans alike. 

•  Has informational videos relating to traveling with planner supplies, organizational techniques, and hauls of craft supplies
• Features and shares Etsy shops that sell planner stickers or other planner supplies
• Creates spreads that are heavily decorated with little white space in both a vertical and horizontal layout

3.    Judy at Life with Pearl

Judy has an insane following on Instagram (@pearltheplanner) and takes the best washi tape photos I’ve ever seen! She also has a blog where she offers free planner printables—perfect for a new planner with a small sticker collection. Her planner videos are clean, bright, and beautiful.

• Reviews multiple planner brands to give viewers an idea of their available options
• Offers planner related Do-It-Yourself videos
• Shares experiences with buying planner related items and explains how to use some smaller websites other than Etsy

If these three don’t satisfy your planner loving heart, I don’t know what will! I think these channels are a fantastic place for new planners to get started with supplies, stickers, and designs and a place for us more experienced planners to find inspiration for layouts.
Let me know down below in the comments if you watch any of these lovely ladies, or if you’re going to after this post!

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This blog post was written by Kelly Cosgrove for the Limelife Planners Media & Creative Team. For more information about Kelly connect with her on Instagram: @kellysprettyplanner. Please share and repost this blog entry with your friends! All we ask is that you give credit to Limelife Planners and the post author.

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My life as a wife, mom, blogger, and photographer is really, really busy. Being pregnant with baby number 3 has made my brain complete mush. I have a hard time keeping track of what day it is, let alone what I need to accomplish that day. I use the Limelife Photographer Add-On Pages to keep my photography business in order. These make it super easy to keep track of what sessions I have done this year and also what I still need to complete for a session.

I use the session log to know when I had shoots through the year and what kind of sessions they were.

I love that this is an add-on and I can easily keep it in one place with the rest of my planner. I carry my planner everywhere with me, so it makes it simple to keep track of what I still need to accomplish.

The photographer add-on also includes pages for shoot list, mileage log, and gift card logs. I love the colors and it goes perfectly in my planner. I really enjoy having everything in one place, it makes my life so much easier. What is your favorite Limelife Planners add-on?

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This blog post was written by Sarah Halstead for the Limelife Planners Media & Creative Team. For more information about Sarah visit her blog at www.sarahhalstead.com. Please share and repost this blog entry with your friends! All we ask is that you give credit to Limelife Planners and the post author.

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I know the ListersGottaList Challenge was created by Cori at TheResetGirl to reach out to those who love being creative and love making lists, but for me, this has been a journey of emotions.

While preparing for the challenge, I created a beautiful cover that brought me so much joy. I was so proud of the way it turned out. Of course, I watched TheResetGirl’s YouTube video where she created her own cover for inspiration.

Prompts like, “Happy Memories,” allows you to reminisce on unforgettable moments that can always bring happy tears. My son is at the age where I can share these memories with him and let him know how much giving birth to him meant to me, so it was nice to share this page in the notebook with him.

This challenge often forces you to reflect on what you dedicate your time to. My guilty pleasure is watching ALL of The Real Housewives series. I even had the opportunity to meet two of them (Caroline Manzo at the bottom left and Phaedra Parks on the bottom right).

The saddest part of the challenge came along with the prompt that reads, “People I wish I could have lunch with.” Losing my grandmother not even four months ago made choosing a person easy, but writing about her and how much she means to me was very hard.

Although this challenge has taken me for a ride on an emotional roller coaster, I am glad I completed the challenge and wouldn’t change a page for the world. It makes you stop and think about yourself and the people, things, and moments in your life that mean the most to you. How many of you who are taking the challenge now during the July ListersGottaList Challenge would agree?

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This blog post was written by Elliscia Axson-Hall for the Limelife Planners Media & Creative Team. For more information about Elliscia visit her on Instagram @elliscia_plans. Please share and repost this blog entry with your friends! All we ask is that you give credit to Limelife Planners and the post author.

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My husband and I (along with our 3 kids, of course), purchased a new-to-us home last summer. We had to choose between buying an older (but bigger!) home in our favorite neighborhood, or buying a newer (but nicer!) home in another neighborhood. We love to do house projects, so it was an easy decision for us. While having a newer home, with features that we love (high ceilings!  3-car garage! not-terrible appliances!) was tempting, we went with an older home that we could make our own.

We pretty much gutted the thing, and we have years of work left (we haven’t touched the basement…it’s like an 80s shrine), but we have loved making it our own.  One of the things I was most worried about was making sure that the design of the house flowed from room to room.  Before we even closed on our home, I bought a simple journal at Target and dubbed it the ‘House Book.’

I started by creating a page for each room. When I began choosing paint colors for the walls, trim, and doors, I just attached a sample card to the page. When I chose fabric for curtains or upholstery projects, I stuck a swatch in the book. Each time I add something semi-permanent to a room, I make sure to document it in the House Book.

This has really saved me time and money. I almost always have it with me in my bag, so if I’m out shopping, it’s easy to see if something will match or clash. For example, we decided that we would donate our old dishes when we moved. They had seen better days (like, um, college), and we felt like a new house deserved new dishes. I had already chosen a color scheme for the dining room, so when we were at Ikea, it was easy to see that the dishes we had our eye on worked perfectly with the wall color.  

It has helped my impulse spending at Target, as well. If I see a pillow that I *need* (you know it happens to you, too), I can whip out my House Book and make sure it actually works in the space.

It’s easy and cheap to get started. There are always cute notebooks to be found, and paint sample cards are free! Happy decorating!

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This blog post was written by Abbey Niebel for the Limelife Planners Media & Creative Team. For more information about Abbey connect with her on Instagram: @mrsniebel. Please share and repost this blog entry with your friends! All we ask is that you give credit to Limelife Planners and the post author.

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I have always been in love with my Kate Spade Wellesley. Until Limelife Planners makes a personal sized planner, this is my go-to planner for carrying in my purse, and is my lifeline for all things on-the-go. I would love to replace some of these with Limelife inserts someday. (Hint hint!)

When you first unzip it, you see my dashboard. I have a few paperclips I love, a pad of sticky notes and a little folder I made for important receipts I don’t want to misplace or receipts for items I need to return.

My dashboard right now is a piece of thick card stock scrapbook paper that I picked up from Michaels. It is glittery but not sandy in texture, so I didn’t need to laminate it, which is a huge plus!

Behind that I keep this beautiful postcard I got from an order from a shop. I thought the quote was perfect for summer, so I was able to hole punch it and keep it in this planner.

Next I have a smaller dashboard-type insert that I made from two pieces of scrapbook paper and a polaroid photo of my wife and myself the day we got married on 12.12.14 in Las Vegas. I will probably always keep this in here as a reminder of that amazing day!

After that I have a pouch that I keep some functional stickers in. The red and teal flags are what I use to mark bills that are due on my monthly calendars. They are handy because I can write a check mark on the flag when the item is paid. 

Next I have a few blank to-do lists that I made myself as inserts. I love the bikes at the bottom of the pages!

The next section of inserts are my calendar inserts. I got them from the shop SewMuchCrafting on Etsy and the paper quality is amazing! It is buttery smooth and awesome to write on. I highly recommend her shop for all kinds of inserts. 

The final set of sections are for my car, shopping, birthdays, vacations, and food. AllysFiloShop on Etsy made me the inserts and I absolutely love them. I put the labels on myself with removable labels that came in my Kikki K so that when I change a section I can remove the labels. 

The car section has a checklist I printed off Pinterest to keep track of car maintenance. I have a brand new car so there is not a lot that has to be done right now, but I love this insert to keep on top of things. 

The next section I am currently using to prepare for our trip to Disney World in August. Previously I used it to prepare for my kids' birthday parties. I like being able to check things off as I go.

The last section is for food shopping. The inserts are also from SewMuchCrafting and are awesome because the front has a place to write the menu for the week and the back has a place to write the list. Once I’m done with the list, I remove it so that the next week I can start fresh. 

Do you carry a planner in your purse or handbag? If so, how do you set it up?

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This blog post was written by Nicole Ferland for the Limelife Planners Media & Creative Team. For more information about Nicole visit her store at www.thealexstudio.com. Please share and repost this blog entry with your friends! All we ask is that you give credit to Limelife Planners and the post author.

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