Rollabind/Circa Notebook Becomes DIY Planner
Allrighty, folks, I think I've finally managed to create a satisfactory DIY paper planner. Inspired by sites like DIYPlanner and 43Folders, I've designed a system that I think will serve me for a long time. I hope.
Here's what I have so far, and how I got there. It sounds like a huge amount of work, but it was actually spread out over a couple of weeks.
I started by purchasing the small-sized "Rolla" notebook at Staples. I bought the leather version, which is a little more expensive than the regular but worth it. I was only buying it for the cover. You could make your own cover, but to make it really sturdy you'd have to get the heavy-duty punch, which costs $65. I bought the light-duty punch for $32 from (awesome) Wilde-Ideas.com. They're having a sale right now, and you can get a free package of the plastic discs if you buy a punch. I highly recommend the Jumbo size discs.
I disassembled the Staples notebook and snapped the covers onto the larger Jumbo discs.
I knew I'd need some kind of pen holding apparatus. I used a length of black elastic from the fabric store, added a metal button for an accent, sewed the elastic together, and sewed a loop. Then I slipped it over the cover between the top two discs. The pen is a Pilot G-2 Mini, which comes in eight great colors!
The first page in my planner is made of thick, heavy-duty plastic. It's got some Post-It flags and regular-sized notes. I used the Super Sticky ones to be sure they wouldn't fall out. The calculator on the bottom came from Radio Shack. It was on clearance for $5. It's hard to see here, but it's a very thin calculator. Make sure you get a solar one; you don't want the batteries in a regular one to wear out from being turned on by the pressure of the cover. I attached it with E6000 glue, a superstrong adhesive. You'll see in an upcoming photo that the glue buckled the plastic a little.
My new planner is divided into 12 sections: Inbox, Calendar, Reference, Projects, Swatches, Lists, Contacts, Finances, Health, Someday, Personal, and Fun. To make the dividers, I purchased plastic 2-pocket folders in a purple-blue color and cut them to size. This was when I learned that the notebook's covers aren't the 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" that I thought they were. They're 8 1/4" in height. (It doesn't sound like that big of a deal, but when you go to punch the holes it makes a huge difference.) Anyway, after cutting out the plastic, I ran each piece through a Xyron machine, a slightly expensive but extremely useful device which applies clear adhesive to paper and other thin objects. Then I placed each of the 12 plastic dividers onto a different piece of patterned scrapbook paper, and trimmed. Finally, I added a self-adhesive tab to each one.
I went ahead and used my Carl Rotary Trimmer to cut up some 8 1/4" x 5 1/2" paper. (Next time I'll have it done for me.) I chose Staples Heavyweight printing paper, which at 28 pounds is smooth and thick without being stiff. Then it was time to head to the computer to make some custom pages. For these I used various applications, including Print Shop, MS Word, and AppleWorks.
The Calendar section is something I'm still playing with, to see if the format works with my new job responsibilities. It's quite simple - one week on the left, and actions/notes on the right. These pages were done in Print Shop. Each calendar page has a different background.
The Swatches section is so much fun! On the pages shown, I doodled a sample of each of my art pens to avoid buying doubles of what I already have. I numbered the actual pens with labels. The same section has marker and paint swatches, too.
One thing in the Lists section, predictably, is the Shopping List pages. They're one-sided, and there are two on each page. The dividing line down the middle of each page is actually perforated - I used the perforating blade on my rotary trimmer to divide them.
The Fun section of my planner has some crossword puzzles. I ripped them out of one of those cheapo grocery store books and used the Xyron to stick them onto some blank pages.
I'll post more as this project continues.
Maybe some readers can give me ideas for one particular piece I have in mind. I need a way to put a PDA inside this planner. Yes, that's right, I'm too much of a geek to abandon technology completely, so sometime in the near future I'll be buying a new Palm-based PDA. I need to be able to keep passwords and private information in this planner, and the only effective way to do so is with an electronic device. Plus I want to be able to surf the web and check my email in cafes and stuff. Plus... I neeeeed one.
What I need to be able to do is have it inside the planner itself, but without causing a ton of bulk and of course without getting damaged. Any thoughts?
Here's what I have so far, and how I got there. It sounds like a huge amount of work, but it was actually spread out over a couple of weeks.
I started by purchasing the small-sized "Rolla" notebook at Staples. I bought the leather version, which is a little more expensive than the regular but worth it. I was only buying it for the cover. You could make your own cover, but to make it really sturdy you'd have to get the heavy-duty punch, which costs $65. I bought the light-duty punch for $32 from (awesome) Wilde-Ideas.com. They're having a sale right now, and you can get a free package of the plastic discs if you buy a punch. I highly recommend the Jumbo size discs.
I disassembled the Staples notebook and snapped the covers onto the larger Jumbo discs.
I knew I'd need some kind of pen holding apparatus. I used a length of black elastic from the fabric store, added a metal button for an accent, sewed the elastic together, and sewed a loop. Then I slipped it over the cover between the top two discs. The pen is a Pilot G-2 Mini, which comes in eight great colors!
The first page in my planner is made of thick, heavy-duty plastic. It's got some Post-It flags and regular-sized notes. I used the Super Sticky ones to be sure they wouldn't fall out. The calculator on the bottom came from Radio Shack. It was on clearance for $5. It's hard to see here, but it's a very thin calculator. Make sure you get a solar one; you don't want the batteries in a regular one to wear out from being turned on by the pressure of the cover. I attached it with E6000 glue, a superstrong adhesive. You'll see in an upcoming photo that the glue buckled the plastic a little.
My new planner is divided into 12 sections: Inbox, Calendar, Reference, Projects, Swatches, Lists, Contacts, Finances, Health, Someday, Personal, and Fun. To make the dividers, I purchased plastic 2-pocket folders in a purple-blue color and cut them to size. This was when I learned that the notebook's covers aren't the 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" that I thought they were. They're 8 1/4" in height. (It doesn't sound like that big of a deal, but when you go to punch the holes it makes a huge difference.) Anyway, after cutting out the plastic, I ran each piece through a Xyron machine, a slightly expensive but extremely useful device which applies clear adhesive to paper and other thin objects. Then I placed each of the 12 plastic dividers onto a different piece of patterned scrapbook paper, and trimmed. Finally, I added a self-adhesive tab to each one.
I went ahead and used my Carl Rotary Trimmer to cut up some 8 1/4" x 5 1/2" paper. (Next time I'll have it done for me.) I chose Staples Heavyweight printing paper, which at 28 pounds is smooth and thick without being stiff. Then it was time to head to the computer to make some custom pages. For these I used various applications, including Print Shop, MS Word, and AppleWorks.
The Calendar section is something I'm still playing with, to see if the format works with my new job responsibilities. It's quite simple - one week on the left, and actions/notes on the right. These pages were done in Print Shop. Each calendar page has a different background.
The Swatches section is so much fun! On the pages shown, I doodled a sample of each of my art pens to avoid buying doubles of what I already have. I numbered the actual pens with labels. The same section has marker and paint swatches, too.
One thing in the Lists section, predictably, is the Shopping List pages. They're one-sided, and there are two on each page. The dividing line down the middle of each page is actually perforated - I used the perforating blade on my rotary trimmer to divide them.
The Fun section of my planner has some crossword puzzles. I ripped them out of one of those cheapo grocery store books and used the Xyron to stick them onto some blank pages.
I'll post more as this project continues.
Maybe some readers can give me ideas for one particular piece I have in mind. I need a way to put a PDA inside this planner. Yes, that's right, I'm too much of a geek to abandon technology completely, so sometime in the near future I'll be buying a new Palm-based PDA. I need to be able to keep passwords and private information in this planner, and the only effective way to do so is with an electronic device. Plus I want to be able to surf the web and check my email in cafes and stuff. Plus... I neeeeed one.
What I need to be able to do is have it inside the planner itself, but without causing a ton of bulk and of course without getting damaged. Any thoughts?
Just discovered your Circa Rollabind post.
Are you still looking for a way to attach a PDA inside the planner? Or have you found the solution? If not, I suggest you look at attaching a strip to the side of the PDA. On the strip, you punch the Circa notches to attach into your planner.
I hope you will write an update on how you're still using your DIY planner.
Posted by
Chet |
12:29 PM
Or Velcro
Posted by
judyofthewoods |
8:24 PM
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Posted by
Anonymous |
7:53 AM
Very cool! I just ordered a Circa and I can't wait to set it up.
Posted by
Jennifer |
5:53 PM