Plan With Me blog-style September Grapevine

One of these days I'm going to gain enough courage to hook up a camera and do this video style like the rest of the world... but until then, here's another edition of bad dining room window pics of my weekly planning.

I know you're excited.

This week I'm using the September Grapevine full weekly kit.

Link to this in my shop

With one exception. I am not using a sampler sheet.

What???

Yup. No sampler.

Why???

Because I'm lazy.

Actually, it's because I happen to be missing the sampler sheet from this one and I also happen to have the remnants of other samplers that I've decided to pilfer instead, but it means I don't have the Weekend banner or a few other things... crazy, I know.

Plus it's already Tuesday morning and I'm just now getting around to planning the week. 

This Kansas girl likes to live on the edge.

Last week, I did a whole paper comparison post where I fell deeply, madly in love with a new found premium paper, and all week I couldn't help but run my fingers over my pages.

(This Kansas girl might also have a problem.)

And I am happy to report that I have finally received by big expensive order of that beautiful stuff to upgrade all the kits in my shop.

Hooray!

However, today I am not obsessing over my paper, I am using up the kit I already printed out on plain old regular matte sticker paper for personal use, so I will not spend my week stroking my pages. It is still quite pretty, though. I'm pretty picky when it comes to purple, but this one has some very agreeable shades, if I do say so myself.

This happens to be the only kit (I think) I have with the big wide washi band for the bottom. I usually design my kits with two narrower strips that you can stack or not stack at the bottom, the top, the middle, you see where I'm going with this. Because I like options. I often use the space at the bottom to extend my day, or write my shop updates, or keep track of design ideas...

I don't usually like covering that whole area with a big flat band of decor. But this week we have already decided I am throwing caution to the wind.

It's also going to be a different week for my usual work plans. My daughter is having surgery on Thursday, so I plan on the last four days of this week being anything to keep her happy and comfortable. 

This kit is also my only (I think) kit with solid washi instead of patterns for the 1.5 inch strips, and I was happy for that when I got down to the end and had varying heights of white space left beneath my Littles. I like the way the solid washi filled in without making it overwhelming pattern. I may have to make more like that.

What do you think of plain verses patterned washi strips?

Do you use the big bottom bands of washi or do you extend your days?

I'm curious.

Here are the stickers I have leftover so far. You know some of those will get used as the week goes on.

And here's the partially inked spread. 

Even though it's Tuesday already, I will go in and fill out my To Do list of the things I did yesterday and this morning. I like to be able to look back and see when things were done as much as seeing what needs to be done. It helps me know when to do them again and when I can get away with skipping a chore till next week.

How do you handle a late planning week? Do you retro plan, too, or just leave it blank?

Overall, I didn't miss the sampler sheet too much. I did pull some clocks and a laptop from leftovers of previous weeks, and I'll be digging through my stash for more as I fill in. 

If you have made it this far, leave me a comment to let me know I'm not alone. And you feel like stopping by my Etsy shop, use coupon code BLOGGER25 for 25% off any purchase of $20 or more! 

Plan With Me "Fall in Love"

Ahhh, fall is in the air...

well, it is a little bit first thing in the morning before the sun takes over and heats it up to 85*

I think it's the kids going back to school that's making me think fall, and the changing colors of the pages in my Erin Condren LifePlanner.

Did you think I was going to say leaves?

That doesn't happen much in Kansas, not the way it did when I lived in Vermont.

Does any of this have to do with a PWM?

It does when you take a look at the changing colors I was faced with this week...

Gold into purple smeared all over the place. It's moments like this that I wish I had gone with the neutral layout.

I had no choice but to hop on Etsy and buy some new colorful graphics and turn them into a colorful fall kit that would coordinate with all that watercolored ummm... stuff.

And here it is...

link to this kit in my shop

I called it "Fall in Love" because that's how I felt when I actually found some graphics that had all the colors I needed to make it through EC's next few months of watercolored challenges.

This kit is a four page Sampler Kit. That's what I call the kits that don't contain the full box ombres or washi sheets. I usually use the Full Weekly Kits because of my love for the ombres and washi, but this week I was re-formatting the Sampler Kits as well as trying out some amazing new sticker paper, so I wanted to test it all out and see how far this kit could go.

Without my normal ombre checklist boxes to stack with my headers, I turned the book sideways and placed the headers and checklist flags for my to do's. 

At this point I was already in love with my new vinyl like paper. 

The headers lifted up easily even though it is not labeled as repositionable. I was able to pull them up and straighten them out as many times as I needed and the little babies didn't fade or wrinkle or loose their shape. 

Love.

I tried something new in this set and made a two box spread with that fabulous car.

At this point I also wanted to kick myself for forgetting to calibrate my new Silhouette cutting machine! The cuts are off by just enough to show the white on the top of several of the stickers, but I decided to finish the spread and blog it anyway.  

Guess what I'll be doing today... ugh.

Despite the calibration fiasco, I really like the way they came together. With the lack of washi, and the adorableness of the two box car, I decided to layer that poor miscut weekend banner over the Today headers. I guess I can do without washi after all!

Maybe.

Last week I tried placing a half box at the bottom of each day to give me an extra little space for incidentals. 

At first, I didn't really like the look of it, but it became so useful as the week went on that I did it again this week. However, I didn't really like the look of that last line hanging out there at the bottom, and no washi sheet! 

Tape to the rescue.

And here's my favorite PWM trick I learned from Youtube... the old credit card washi cut. In case you haven't been around long, just keep an old store card in your washi stash. Line it up and tear the tape upward against it for clean straight edges.

One of those, can't believe I never thought of that, moments.

And there it is.

Just a few stickers left. I'm sure I will use most of them as the week goes on.

As it turns out, I really liked using the sampler kit. 

I liked not having any waste.

And the new paper?

LOVE

I just placed a huge order to upgrade my shop, and I will attempt to do a paper comparison post tomorrow.

You know by now that when I say tomorrow, it could likely be a week!

If you made it this far, thank you for visiting, and please leave a comment below so I know I'm not alone.