I decided to do a quick little tutorial about
decorating a Mini Happy Planner. Figured we
could all use a little something to take our minds
off recent serious events. Arts and crafts to
reduce anxiety and have some fun! A special
welcome to anyone visiting from the
Facebook group. Yes, that's a thing! We love
the Harry Potter books and it's a friendly,
welcoming group. Click on any image
to enlarge for a closer look.
The planner that I'm using has pink accents in the
gutter and for dividing the days of the week.
We will change the color combinations as
we decorate. The pages are about 7 inches
high by 4 5/8 inches wide.
Collect your supplies. I'll be using Washi tape in
both 3/16 inch width, and 1/2 inch width, Mildliner
markers, and Harry Potter themed stickers.
For the month of March, the Harry Potter group
has been celebrating each Hogwarts House. This
week I decided to go with a Ravenclaw theme.
(Even though I'm in Gryffindor, I like to change
things up) Ravenclaw's House colors are blue and
bronze. The first thing I did was use the wide tip of
my blue Mildliner marker to color in the outside
edges of the pages.
I also wanted to cover the pink center of the
page with Washi. The tape was a bit wider
than I would like, so I lined up the edge
of the tape with the end of the daily box, and the
other edge of the tape ran off the edge of the page.
Then I just trimmed it with scissors. Do this for both
pages.
Since the page holes are now covered, I used a hole
punch to punch holes in the tape. (If you have a Happy
Planner punch, that's even easier!) Punch the holes from
the back side so you can see the spacing. Then also
trim the tiny strip from the hole to the edge of the
page with your scissors.
Next, I used the narrow (brownish colored) tape to
cover the pink lines between the days of the week.
I numbered the days of the week with the blue Mildliner.
Then I outlined the numbers with an extra fine point
pen. ( .01 Pigma Micron) You wouldn't need to
outline them, I just like the look better.
Probably my favorite part is adding the stickers!
I used symbols and objects that suggest the
Ravenclaw House. In the upper right corner
is the raven (or eagle depending on which you
prefer) that is my own hand-drawn
illustration. I try to vary the placement of the
stickers for interest, keeping in mind I need to
leave space to add my "to do" lists. I also covered
the 'weekly highlights' and 'notes' with
stickers and Washi tape.
Here I've used the wide tip of the Mildliner to
make small check-boxes for each day. You could
certainly use sticker check-boxes if you
have them on hand. In the
Facebook group we have daily challenges
that we can choose to participate in, so these
are the events that I want to make sure
I complete!
You may have noticed that I added another strip
of narrow tape at the bottom of the page. I thought
the page needed it to look complete. Since I had
already put down stickers, I used the tip of an x-acto
knife to lift the tiny legs of the telescope so I
could apply tape underneath. You may even have
the specific tool that is used for that.
Write in your lists for each day, and you're done!
Well, ok. I thought it still needed something more,
so I added diagonal stripes at the top of the
pages in a different color of blue Mildliner. Blue
and Bronze Ravenclaw pages...did you spot
Luna Lovegood and the radish earrings?!
There are many ways to decorate a planner, and
this is just one. You can obviously get a totally
different look with the use of different colors,
designs, and themes.
Happy Planning!
