Heidi Swapp Memory Planner

You might remember that I posted about this awesome memory planner a few weeks ago.

I struggled initially with what I wanted to do with it but ultimately decided to use it as a creativity planner, a place to record projects, goals, design ideas, blog topics, etc. I asked people on my blog for advice, talked to my crafty friends, and checked out some images of what other people had done. I don't know these people, but a quick google images search resulted in some great inspiration for my planner. Look at some of these examples!

Here's one from scrappingclearly.blogspot.com. The pics on this page are great, plus I love her embellishment choices.

I love the tiny pic on the calendar page and the embellishments she chose like the vellum arrow and the chipboard/wooden camera and the glitter star.

Here's another example from mpcapistran.blogspot.com. I really like her lettering on the calendar page and the use of date stickers. I hadn't planned on doing that, but I think it looks great.

Here's an example from glasshalffull-kim.blogspot.com. I like her layered elements on the calendar side a lot.

Look how jmpgirl.blogspot.com embellished the cover of her planner! Love!

Check out this video from Heidi Swapp via http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=61&sid=28292176. I happened upon this video by accident, but it makes me so excited to work on my planner!

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Once I knew that I wanted my planner to be about the creative aspect of my life, I started by trying to go back and fill in January and February since those months had already passed. After checking my paper calendar and electronic calendar, I checked out Twitter and Facebook for additional tidbits. 

Here's my cover right now. I haven't adhered anything because I'm still deciding what I want to do, but this is one possible option. In this possibility, I'm using scraps of paper that I've used in my last few projects. I've been itching to try out my hexagon punch, and I liked the idea of incorporating all of these colors on the cover of my planner. Part of me thinks it might be too busy though, and I might be better off with one larger image like a stencil. Idk what I'll end up doing; for now, I'm just playing.

The title page is coming together pretty well. I'm not sure that I'll do that much more to it. I have considered doing some sort of embellishment or journaling on the inside front cover, though. Don't those diagonal lines just scream for words of some kind? Quotes about creativity maybe? Hmm...

Here's my January thus far:

Sorry about the glare - I waited until evening to take pics. :(

I really need to make some decisions about how I want to proceed with the calendar portion of January. I didn't have a lot of crafty things happening each day, so I'm considering including some tiny pics of projects that I made or just making a list of goals. I'm trying to be open and flexible to different possibilities.

Here's my February thus far:

More glare - grr! I'm not sure I like these pics here, so I may replace them with something else for the month. I need to make decisions about the pics and have them printed for January through March soon.

As you can see, I have a few more pictures to include. :) I haven't really worked much on the calendar portion of February either, but I've started at least.

I'm not finished with the spreads yet, but I feel pretty good about the start I've made. I've already begun working on March as well.

March in progress for me:

Again, I have a start but nothing is completed yet. I've considered using the "to do" sections to try out new techniques or to practice my stamping skills. Maybe I could include swatches of my fave products right now. It'd be perfect for a photobooth strip of pictures too. I just have to be willing to try new things. For April, my "to do" section includes a list of supplies that I need to replace/purchase. I'm all about lists, you know.

There will be some months where I have more material than others, but I'm trying not to sweat that too much. I like the idea of having a home for my creative life plans, a place that I can reference to set goals and challenge myself. This memory planner def makes me happy!

Do any of you use a creative planner of any kind? What kinds of things do you put in it? I'd love to hear all about it.

TL