4×6 Monthly Booklet Tutorial

Filed under diy planner, planner templates

A couple of weeks ago I posted 4×6 monthly & weekly diy planner templates and then the 4×6 Index Card Folder Tutorial. Below is a tutorial to create the little booklet made from 4×6 Index Cards that fits in the little folder!

Supplies

Directions

First, make sure your printer is set-up to print on 4×6 Index Cards – do a test run on a scrap sheet with the first page of the 4×6 Index Card Booklet PDF (8.8 MB). When it’s ready put 7 Index Cards in the printer and open the print dialog box. It might not look like my example but there should be a spot to select Odd Pages Only.

This will print pages 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13. When finished take your stack of cards, flip them over and put them back in the printer – making sure they’re the right direction. Then go into the print dialog and select Even Pages Only and print. This will print pages 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 on the other side of the Index Cards.

The first time I printed the booklet I used scrap paper and light/grayscale ink to test – especially since every printer is different. Also, if you want to print the calendar out and NOT make a booklet don’t use the above PDF – the left side doesn’t match up with the right side. :)

Once they’re all printed, fold each sheet in half. Use a bone folder, scissors or fat marker to smooth out the crease and get it nice and flat. Stack them all together and double check that they are in the right order. When looking at your opened stack the bottom page should be January then February, March, April, May, June and July. The first decorative page of the PDF will be the outside of the booklet.

When they’re stacked together, a glance from the top down will show you how uneven the edge of the booklet is. This is because of the width of the spine and varies depending on the thickness of your paper. I like to push the pages together and trim the edge of the booklet so it’s even.

I then went through every corner of the booklet and rounded it off, the inside corners too. This is optional!

Now it’s ready to bind together! A quick search on google will show you a million different ways to do this – since I’m lazy and love my sewing machine I just opened the stack up and stitched right down the middle to attach them all together.

I wanted to add some little tabs for fun, they’re mostly decorative and honestly don’t help with much functionally. I made a little mark on each page getting lower with each one. I then cut off a small slice below each mark down to the bottom. Redo the rounded punch on the bottom corner of each page and that’s it!

8 comments

4×6 Index Card Folder Tutorial

Filed under binders, diy planner, tutorials

A simple 4×6 index card folder tutorial to hold your monthly, weekly and meeting diy planner templates!

This folder is very similar to the DIY Cardboard Binder, just a little smaller with binder clips and velcro instead of binder rings and elastic.

Supplies

  • Two sheets of heavy decorative scrapbook paper
  • Sewing machine or glue
  • Two binder clips
  • Small piece of velcro

Plans

4x6 velcro Index Card binder dimensions

Directions

Because the length of the folder needs to be 17 inches, I sewed some cut up 12×12 scrapbook sheets together to get there. If you have a sheet of 17″ paper or cardboard skip the first 4 steps and just cut two pieces of 4×17 rectangles.

  1. Take the 12×12 scrap book paper and cut it into 2 strips of 4 by 12.
  2. Cut two more pieces to 4 x 6.
  3. Take one 4×12 and one 4×6 and lay it out so that it’s 4×17 – giving you an inch overlap for gluing or sewing. This will be the inside of your folder.
  4. Repeat for the outside.
  5. Attach the front and back with glue or by sewing around the edges. Sewing gives the paper a more flexible and sturdy feel, it’s also fun to use the stitches as part of the design.
  6. At this point, you should have a double sided 4×17 rectangle. Mark lightly where the folds will go – see the dimensions diagram above. Finish decorating by drawing, stitching, painting, adding stickers or sprinkling with fairy dust! Keep in mind that we still have to make the folds, so your decoration should hold up to this.
  7. Next, add the three folds – hold a ruler against the fold mark on your desk and push the flap up against it, this will give you a nice straight fold. My paper split on one side during folding so I went over the fold with a wide zig zag stitch to reinforce the edges.
  8. The last step is to add velcro. Stitch one piece onto the inside right flap, then close the folder and line up the other side on the outside flap.

And you’re done! Use the binder clips to hold two stacks of 4×6 index cards (or the booklet pictured, tutorial and download here!) on each side.

10 comments

4×6 monthly & weekly diy planner templates + meeting notes

Filed under diy planner, planner templates

4×6 index cards are the perfect size – big enough for taking notes/doodling and small enough to fit in your bag! Just finished this brand new 4×6 set, how cute and tiny right?!


Cost: Free
Size: Index Card – 4″ by 6″
File type: Adobe PDF
Included::

  • Fill-in-the-blank full month template, Jan-Dec
  • Fill-in-the-blank weekly template
  • Fill-in-the-blank meeting notes

Download! (9.22MB)


Some 4×6 tips:

  • Cutting up a piece of standard 12×12 scrap booking paper will make 6 (4×6) notecards with no waste!
  • Look for a 4×6 pack of index cards in an office supply store right next to the standard 3×5′s – cheap and easy!
  • Want to use 3×5? These scale perfectly, just set your printer to 3×5 and click ‘fit to page’
  • Browse through my binder tutorials for ideas on making a whole planner to fit!


Wait, there’s more!!

In the next day or two I’ll be posting a full tutorial on creating a little mini booklet from the 4″x6″ diy planner templates and a little velcro folder to hold it all. 4×6 index card folder tutorial here! AND 4×6 Monthly Booklet Tutorial

11 comments

DIY Printable Planner, 2011-2013

Filed under diy planner, planner templates

The DIY Printable Planner is updated and available for purchase – it now goes all the way through December of 2013! Little birds and scribbles singing out your to-do’s, goals, ideas and fabulous plans for the next two and a half years.

Cost: $12
Size: Letter – 8.5″ by 11″
File type: Adobe PDF, for best results print with Adobe Reader

  • 2011, 2012 & 2013 year-at-a-glance
  • April 2011 – December 2013 monthly + blank
  • fill-in-the-blank daily page
  • to-do list
  • weekly appointments
  • goals & ideas worksheet

I’m a huge fan of letter-sized planner templates, they’ll fit in any ol’ binder and leave lots of room for notes and doodles. You can always resize these though or print them 2-up to create your own custom size. Want a fun handmade binder? Make sure and check out the binder tutorials.

Made by hand with stamps, a pencil & typewriter…

11 comments

tUnE-yArDs, new release!

Filed under music


I’m very excited about the new tUnE-yArDs album, out tomorrow! NPR is offering a streaming download to hold us over, fabulous!

Listen here.

If you haven’t heard them before definitely check out the first album, BiRd-BrAiNs. Here’s a video from the new album too, how cute is the little girl playing the part of Merrill Garbus!? SO cute.

http://twitter.com/tuneyards
http://tune-yards.com/
Buy the digital download on Amazon tomorrow!

Leave a comment

Tissue Paper Painting Tutorial

Filed under art, tutorials

Had so much fun during the process of making this painting, thought I’d share!

Preparing the Surface

  • Start with a DIY Masonite Panel (or any hard surface) & stack of old leftover book pages (or any paper good for collaging).
  • Mod Podge pages to the board – in a pattern or not, just cover the whole thing. Use the mod podge as a glue, putting it directly on the board then smoothing the pages over the top.
  • Paint the board with white acrylic – use a big brush and not a lot of paint. You don’t want to cover the whole thing so the texture and color of the book pages come through.
  • Once the paint is dry use your handy putty knife to scrape at it a while to give it a warn look. Don’t be afraid to dig into the pages and tear up small edges and corners.
  • Paint over it again with the white acrylic if you’d like.
  • Then you have a wonderful texture-y surface to draw or paint on!

Painting with Tissue Paper

  • Sketch out the elephant or whatever shape/animal you’d like.
  • Find a sheet of tissue paper that will cover the whole shape you want to fill in.
  • Fill in the shape with a gluestick, it doesn’t have to be exact but it’s better to be a little out of the lines than inside.
  • Carefully smooth the tissue paper over the glue’d areas – using a tissue works well for smoothing.
  • Once it’s all covered and dry cut around the shape with an exacto and remove the extra tissue.
  • At that point I drew over the elephant again with a dark pencil line but do whatchya want!

I made a smaller version on paper with a cute little elephant stamp I found at Jo-Ann’s too!

4 comments

Nursery in Progress

Filed under family

Spent most of last Sunday in the nursery. Putting up shelves and hanging art… I’m happy to say it’s finally starting to look like a little girl’s room. It’s not ready for a full reveal but I couldn’t wait to post a peek!

I also wanted to give a shout out to my amazing parents who have been married 36 years today! You’ll see lots of their handy-work in the nursery – paint, chair rails, paint, closet shelves and more paint! Plus, my mom is quilting, helping with the mobile, bought the crib and every cute little outfit she’s seen … the list goes on and on.

I have a feeling their little granddaughter will be even more spoiled than me, if that’s possible! xo

Leave a comment
Page 5 of 19« First...3456710...Last »