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DIY discbound planner templates, heck yeah!

I put together two planners in the last couple of weeks – on the left was a gift for my RV traveling sister and brother-in-law. The right is my new 2017 planner! I hadn’t planned on buying a new notebook but I went to Staples to buy 1″ black rings and they were out… ended up falling for this creamy beige/gray Marth Stewart notebook. I love the fabric-like texture it has.


DIY discbound planner templates - compact calendar by Dave Seah davidseah.com

On the left is an at-a-glance calendar for 2017 – an iteration of Dave Seah’s Compact Calendar. If you haven’t, browse through his website – so much goodness. He has a really clean version you can download – or grab the one seen above here (5.5″ by 8.5″): 2017-compact-calendar.pdf (4808 downloads)

On the right are my monthly templates you can purchase for $12. They’ve been my favorite to use so far, although I do want to work on a month spread that will take up two pages. I really only use a month view – on paper and online. I live by my google calendar in month view (don’t tell my planner, ha!).


DIY discbound planner templates by month $12
Another shot of monthly templates.

Daily Tasks

I’ve been looking for ways to simplify and be more productive while managing work, a household and two kiddos. Part of that is dividing things into 2 basic groups – things that I can accomplish with kids and things I can’t. To help with that I’ve been making a quick daily list and leaving it on the kitchen counter – they usually have 5 or less tasks that I’d like to accomplish for the day and include house, kid, work and general life stuff. They’re not pretty, just scribbled quickly as I think of things. I’ll have flexible lists planned out for 2-3 days in advanced so I don’t end up doing laundry/cleaning (kid friendly) on a day that would be better used for work (solo activities).

DIY discbound planner templates - bullet journal key by Shingo Omura

I’m not following the entire Bullet Journal system but I like the idea of rapid logging with bullets and signifiers (above left key by Shingo Omura). I’m excited about incorporating these into my daily lists. The rest of the notebook is just tabs and blank paper for notes and things. The end!

Happy planning! xoxo

This is a super simple 8.5×11 month, week and 2-week template. Not sure if I’m sold on the 2 weeks at a time yet – I love the idea but think the layout needs some work. Might be posting an update soon! Also included in the download are the templates for printing 2-up – cut the paper in half and you’ll have 5.5×8.5 (pictured in my planner below).

DOWNLOAD -> 2013_week-month-8x11.pdf (15236 downloads)

Enjoy and let me know what you think – xo

month and single week diy planner template, Ahhh Design month and double week diy planner template in use, Ahhh Design 2 week diy planner template, Ahhh Design 2 week diy planner template in use, Ahhh Design

Hi friends! A few months ago I did a little give-away on the Ahhh Design Facebook page. I asked for a favorite organizing/planning tip to enter. Here’s one of my favorite responses.

I imported one of your cool templates into my ipad, and then am using Upad app that will let me draw on top to take notes and do other fun stuff. I’m trying to cut down on paper, but I love how organized your templates make me feel and they’re so pretty to play with. I just love your designs.Kerrie Carbary

What a great idea! I had just ordered a stylus for the iPad, which I totally recommend, and got to work doodling right away. I tried Upad as well as a couple of other note taking Apps and finally settled on Noteshelf.

Directions

  • Save the templates you’d like to use as JPG
  • Save them to your iPad photo library
  • Import them to your note taking application of choice
  • Doodle away!

My favorite is bringing in little photos and scribbling around them and writing notes. Great for digital scrapbooking!

Here are a few of my templates in jpg form, view this post on your iPad and save the below images to import. I just saved you a step, happy planning!
Read More »

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 months-booklet.pdf (11290 downloads) . 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!

Amanda Hawkins

Amanda Hawkins

Take care of little humans,
stare at tiny computer,
scribble on paper,
daydream.
Maker of DIY Planners and 🎨 artist; front-end web developer and designer well-versed in CSS & WordPress. Make music with RBK & as Love Morris. Check out littlebird.ahhh.co if you're interested in hiring me for WordPress dev. Subscribe to a newsletter I never send out. Connect on Instagram & Twitter.

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