Papercraft Explosion: How I Got My Project Life Album For $5 + Happy Planner Redesign

This past Sunday, I got two new and exciting goodies for my two running papercraft projects:

Project Life Black Leather Album

About a week ago, I posted an update on my new papercraft project, Project Life! On my wishlist, I included obviously a Project Life album to house my upcoming 2017 spreads. Let me tell you, those albums are EXPENSIVE. Yes, $40 may not seem like a lot to you – but as a poor college student IT IS. I did not want to spend full price on an album online or in-store so I looked for other options from third parties and online. After church, I was welcomed with a canvas Michaels Bag and a gift card with $10 credit! CRAZY right? So by that time, I was destined to buy something for myself and my papercraft projects. After a long time thinking about my Project Life and the look I wanted to go for, I decided to opt for a Recollections Black Leather D-Ring 12×12 Album. This album is super cute and simple. Plus, it came with 10 12×12 pocket pages.

“It’s Your Year” Happy Planner Cover

After a bigger purchase, I normally stop myself from purchasing anything extra from Michaels. But as always, I decided to browse the Happy Planner section since my location just started selling the 2017 editions. Then I saw this beauty, the Classic Happy Planner Decorative Covers Set! My new Happy Planner cover came in a set of three. All three of the designs are wonderful and come with a front cover and a matching back cover. You can click the link above to see the two other designs. I FELL IN LOVE with this design because of the pastel watercolors and the gold foiling. I’ve already gotten many compliments on it and this cover came at the right time. I mainly bought my 18-Month Happy Planner for the inside colors and design, not really for the floral cover. This set made it all worth while!

Pricing

Originally, the album was $29.99 and the cover set was $7.99. All Happy Planner supplies were on sale that day, so the price for the cover set reduced to $3.99. I scanned the 50% one regular priced item coupon in my Michaels weekly email. This took $15.00 off of the album, leaving the album at $15.00. The total plus tax as 20.55 and I used the $10 gift card I received at the door to reduce the price  to $10.55. Overall, the album was:

$29.99 – $15.00 = $14.99- $10.00 = $4.99!

Great deal right! I know i’m such an old lady with my coupons, but a $5 Leather Project Life album is a deal I could not lose out on! I hope this inspires all of you to use your coupons and search for the best deals on your papercraft projects. Having money in your wallet left over makes the process a lot more fun. Have y’all found any good deals lately? Comment and share what kind of deals you got this Black Friday/Holiday season!

Why I Switched to Happy Planner

Hello lovelies! Many of you have complimented me on my organization skills. I don’t know how many times I get approached with “your planner is so cute” or “can you show me how to plan?” I get so flattered each time! Planning, to me, is my escape. I love sitting down in the middle of the day and planning my weeks out. It keeps me sane and of course on top of my game on my busy weeks. I have this terrible habit of switch planner programs mid-year. Obviously, I have kept up with the tradition! Now, I am using the Happy Planner. I used to use the bullet journal, but I love this set up more than any other planner set up I have tried! Here’s why I switched to Happy Planner:

1. This planner is AWESOME if you love to plan super, super ahead – This is something that really won me over when looking at other planner systems. With bullet journaling, I would have to create spreads for an entire month to get ahead. It just wasn’t working with my school schedule.

2. Horizontal AND Vertical Layouts – I have the vertical layout right now, which is awesome for me. If you still love big long rectangles, just buy the horizontal one! The horizontal layout is very similar to the standard weekly planners.

3. REMOVABLE PAGES, I repeat REMOVABLE PAGES – Game changer, am I right? You are able to remove and insert new pages as you please. This is awesome for people who love to really personalize their planner. Here’s a video from the creators of Happy Planner!

4. Customizable Sizes – By buying smaller disks or expander discs, you can change the size of your planner any time you want! As you can see from the picture, I definitely downsized to a six-month book. I love how light my planner is now!

5. Stickers and Washi Tape – You can embellish every inch of this planner. There are tons of stickers, washi tape, inserts, and stamps to add to the planner. Let your creativity be your guide.

6. Cost Effective – My favorite perk about this planner. Many plannerholics go for the Erin Condren Life Planner. Even though the planner is super cute and customizable, the Erin Condren Life Planner is $55+. What a waste. I bought my Happy Planner for $17.99 (IT’S STILL THAT PRICE RIGHT NOW) from Michaels. Every planner comes with 18 months, so I think this is a steal compared to other planner systems.

7. BIG Pinterest Audience – Just search “happy planner” on Pinterest and BAM! You’ll find free printables of stickers, layout ideas, and so much more on Pinterest. Here’s what comes up for me:

Overall, I love it and I am so happy with my decision. The planner and the stickers I bought hurt my bank account just a little bit. I’m guilty! I highly highly encourage you all to try this planner system. Now on to how I use my planner…

How I Use My New Planner

Pretty self-explanatory! I take advantage of each section of the vertical layout. Of course you do not have to follow the same organization I do. For me, this works AND keeps everything in one place. If I have to add more to-do lists, I’ll just put a sticky note on the page and write even more.

Sample Base Week + A Filled Week

Here’s what I have so far! I am definitely using up all of the washi that I accumulated over the year. All of the stickers on this page are from the Everyday Plans Stickerbook. These are also on sale at Michaels right now. As you can see, my week gets a little hectic looking by the end of it all.

If you are looking into buying this planner, you can go to Michaels this week and find 40% off of all of their planner supplies. This is everything from Happy Planner Box Sets to inserts to sticker books. Definitely worth the money, I promise! Everyone have a great week this week!