How To: Personalize Your Planner Using Hand Lettering

How are we already one month into the new year!? And one month past that horrible holiday known as New Year’s Eve. Yup – not a fan. Not at fan at all. The only thing that excites me about the new year is being able to start a new, fresh planner and making it my own. LOVE a good blank canvas! Now that we’ve all hopefully picked up our new planners, I’ve decided to put together a tutorial for you where I show you how to easily personalize your planner using hand lettering with a couple different types of planners – paper and “leather” (not actual leather like rich, fancy people might have, but the leather-ish material that is sold at your local office supply store). And there’s some free printables to trace if you need a little inspiration!

Other than getting to start a new planner, a new year just means that I will have to find creative ways to turn a “7” into an “8” every time that I write the date for the next 6 months. I often tell people that I don’t believe in New Year’s Eve. Staying up past my bedtime to watch a countdown and pretend to be excited about it? Yah, I’ll pass. I’m glad it’s behind us for 11 more months. Do you like New Year’s Eve? Please tell me I’m not alone in this! #newyearsgrinch

Watch the video tutorial here and create your own customized planner using hand lettering!

While New Year’s Eve doesn’t make me happy, getting to share these printables and tutorial showing you how to customize your own planner does! Just scroll down to watch the video – enjoy! And hope you’re having a wonderful 20178 so far!

MATERIALS:

• Planner printables
• Planner of your choice (Just try to stay away from smooth plastic, non-porous surfaces!)
• Scotch tape
• A hard leaded pencil 
• Ruler
• Acrylic-based paint markers
• Oil-based paint markers (Sharpies or Craft Smart)
• An embossing kit (embossing pens, embossing powder and heat tool)

(Your choice of materials for the design will depend on which will work best and lasts the longest on your planner’s surface)

HOW TO:

• Center the printable tracer on the cover of your agenda and tape it down to secure
• Trace the design with a hard leaded pencil, using heavy pressure
• Remove tracer and add rough pencil marks as needed for guidelines
• Use the ideal materials for the surface of your planner to complete the design – add your own personality and style!

TIPS AND TRICKS:

• If using paint pens – always remember to shake them
• Use the thickness of your lines to keep your letters consistently spaced – be strategic!
• If you’re using your paint markers to do a second coat, always make sure the tip of your pen is covered in ink to avoid scratching your design
• If embossing, prepare your planner by wiping the cover with a microfiber cloth and an anti-static sheet