Year of the Doodle Planner

{Doodled flowers on text page with dots - January 8th}

Yikes -  three weeks into January and I was still waffling about what planner to use.   I had high hopes for the 2016 Documented Life Project.   This year the planner to use is a 3-ring binder and downloads with prompts.  Since I had already made pages for a binder, I thought I was good to go, but a couple of weeks in I realized I was in trouble.   First, I'm not much of a rule-follower and decided not to use the downloads, the prompts, or really much of anything.   Second, the binder is too big to carry in my bag.  And then I realized I was really making an art journal - taking way too long with my pages to realistically expect to use the binder as a planner.

Here are the first two weeks' pages - I 'm happy with how they turned out , but they really aren't planner material.  Somehow adding , "call plumber" or " clean garage" didn't enhance the designs!  I painted over the day numbers and declared this an art journal instead.   I'll be following the DLP Unplanner Project to pick up tips, but the format isn't working, so on to Plan B.

 I love this lady, inspired by Shirlee McGuire's art pieces featured in the November/December issue of Cloth Paper Scissors.   She adds embroidery, buttons and bits of fabric to her pieces - check out her lovely work on her blog.  I cheated and stamped my lady's bouquet.                        .

This one was fun.  I made this page of sewn paper strips for another project

 and couldn't bear to throw away the excess cut off the edges.   When I laid the strips on the pages I saw houses!

Fun pages, but no way could I keep up if I continued to make pages that took days to complete.  I present Plan B,

I bought this book by Dawn DeVries Sokol as a Christmas present to myself.   It's a year-long exercise in doodling, with prompts, some doodling or art work already started for every day.   The size is perfect for take-along, about six by seven inches.  The day sections are small, so working out a doodle or small art work is quick and easy.  Voila, my new planner.   Pretty sure Ms deVries Sokol  would approve.

 I started by covering the book with some handmade wrapping paper from World Market.  I had an Erin Condren journal elastic that works well with the paper .  I like a closure on my planner so it stays closed in my bag.

Then I altered the title page and table of contents to work as a planner.  

 and folded a page to make a pocket inside the front cover for phone numbers, extra washi tape, stamps or whatever.

Here are a few completed pages:

One of my goals for this year's planner is to go outside my comfort zone and put pen to paper more often - documenting what's going on and making some sketches or doodles to go with the text.   I've blabbed about my non-existent drawing skills, but finally realizing that while I'll never make a living sketching, it apparently is possible for me to occasionally make something recognizable.  Who knew?

I also need to work on lettering - so many skills to improve!

Coffee mug, whimsical flowers and cupcakes - this is fun!

And some yet to be fiddled with:

Aren't they fun!

I am loving this format - small spaces already jump-started and the challenge to make some marks.  This is so much less stressful than the big two-page spread.   Thank you, Ms de Vries Sokul!