Check it Off!

I love a day when almost everything gets checked off the list! I didn’t get to organizing my crochet works-in-progress but I still got a LOT done. Love having Wednesdays off from work (we’ll sort of off — occasionally a meeting has to happen like tonight).

Oh, and if you’re wondering why I just include work meetings in this planner but not work to-do’s, it’s because I have a separate task list notebook at work. This is my catch-all planner where all appointments, meetings, etc. go (in addition to my Google calendar) and it’s where I jot my personal to-do’s. I plan out way ahead in Google, but usually just a month at a time on paper.

My planning method changes, but this is what works for me right now!

New Erin Condren Holiday Designs!

I’m dying over how pretty Erin Condren’s new holiday designs are! I bought a cover with this poinsettia theme. She has an amazing sale still going on — $10 off of 50 or $25 off $100 AND you can add a coupon code on top of that discount! If you are new to EC, you can sign up for the newsletter through my referral link and get $10 off your first order. (You’ll get an e-mail with the code when you sign up).
 
 
 

Erin Condren Fall Seasonal Surprise Box

Warning! Spoilers!

It’s been a while since I ordered anything from Erin Condren. I’m on the fence about which brand to use for my 2018 planner. (I’m kind of hoping that Happy Planner will have an hourly planner in their fall releases, otherwise I will probably go with EC.) And honestly, I just haven’t needed any kind of stationery products. I wasn’t intending on getting another seasonal surprise box, but when I saw a preview for the autumn one I changed my mind. And I am SO glad that I did!

Yesterday I came home from work and saw this purple box propped up against the garage. I hadn’t even known that it shipped, so it truly was a surprise! 

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I had successfully stayed away from all the Instagram feeds and Facebook pages where people were showing off the contents, but I think by now almost everyone has gotten theirs so I don’t feel bad showing you. My box stayed in pretty good shape this time — sometimes the P.O. is so rough with it or adds sharpie marks. I can’t figure out why, but at least it wasn’t the case this time. Because I love purple, this is a box I may keep, especially because I love the quote inside. (And how about that gold tissue paper? So pretty!)

Erin Condren Fall Seasonal Surprise Box

OK, on to the goodies inside! In addition to all of this beautiful stuff, there was a $10 coupon code for a spiral planner or notebook.

Erin Condren Fall Seasonal Surprise Box

I can always use notecards, and these are foil stamped. 
Erin Condren Fall Seasonal Surprise Box

I saw this pattern in the preview on ErinCondren.com and it’s what convinced me to make this purchase. I love these leaves with foil accents. The cover is gorgeous and the stickers are absolutely beautiful!
Erin Condren Fall Seasonal Surprise Box

My favorite!
Erin Condren Fall Seasonal Surprise Box

There were also some large stickers/labels, a rose gold stamped dashboard, and a cute Halloween planner sticker set.
Erin Condren Fall Seasonal Surprise Box

Washi tape in the same “grateful and thankful” pattern, long sticky notes, and jewel-toned dual tip markers. I have another set of these markers and love how they write, so I am thrilled to have them in my favorite colors!
Erin Condren Fall Seasonal Surprise Box

So there you have it! Oh wait – there was an enamel pin, too, but Laura snagged that. She wanted to put it on her jean jacket and I was happy to let her have it. I’m really happy with this surprise box — it’s full of items I’ll use in styles that I love! 

Erin Condren Seasonal Surprise Box Review

Is there anything as exciting as coming home from work and finding out that happy mail has been delivered? I’m not talking about bills, of course. I’m talking about fun packages like this one…

First EC Surprise Box

Ah, yes, the classic Erin Condren box! Hard to miss. At the end of December, I got an email about a brand-new Seasonal Surprise Box that they were launching. According to the description, it would be an $80 value. The price was just $35 (including shipping)! So I took a chance. My surprise box finally arrived today! Spoiler alert! This blog post includes photos, so if you haven’t gotten yours, yet, be warned.
Continue reading Erin Condren Seasonal Surprise Box Review

Free Printable | Scalloped Event Stickers for Your Planner

While I definitely love using cute, decorative stickers in my planner, basic functional stickers are my go-to. They add pops of color, but also draw attention to important events or notes. One way to make a basic box a little more exciting is simply by making the edges scalloped. I created these myself in bright, cheerful colors.

The width is 1.5-inches, so it is a perfect size for the EC Vertical layout. It also works well in the hourly and I’m pretty sure they will fit the MAMBI Happy Planner, too.

Download my Free Scalloped Events Stickers

As usual, my free planner printables are for personal use only and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Use an electronic cutting machine like a Silhouette Cameo to cut your stickers, print them out on regular printer paper and then cut and paste into your planner using a tape runner, or else print them on full-sheet labels and just hand-cut the stickers. I always appreciate being tagged (@carolwrites) in your IG pics if you use any of my free printables in your planner!

Planner Freebie | Banner Event Labels

Happy Monday! It’s been a while since I got a planner freebie up here and today I was reworking some of the stickers that I love to use in my own Erin Condren planner, so I thought I would share. 

This time of year is always crazy with school concerts, field trips, appointments, and various activities. Add to that my work schedule (I am back to working part time at a local library), and just all the usual everyday things that need tending to and it doesn’t leave much time to decorate my planner. I’ve been relying on my two favorite labels: the colorblock hourly stickers and these banner event stickers. In the hourly planner, they take up approximately an hour’s worth of time. Of course, they would also work in other planners, too! I used colors that coordinate with the current EC hourly and horizontal scheme (though I think it will be slightly different for the 2016-2017 editions).

Download your free printable right here:

FREE Printable Banner Event Stickers for your planner

As usual, my free planner printables are for personal use only and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Use an electronic cutting machine like a Silhouette Cameo to cut your stickers, print them out on regular printer paper and then cut and paste into your planner using a tape runner, or else print them on full-sheet labels and just hand-cut the stickers.

2017 Erin Condren Life Planner Sneak Peak

Can you hear me singing, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year?” OK, that’s a bit of an exaggeration but I always get excited for the launch of the new line of Erin Condren planners. I have been using an EC since 2011 and over the years there have been many changes and many additions. This year is no exception, so let’s get on with it, shall we?

First of all, I think the biggest change is the addition of a neutral color scheme option. If you work in a professional environment, the blacks and grays will definitely look slick. (But there’s also just that hint of color, so it’s not boring.) Also, this choice is great for people who love to decorate (me!), but don’t always want to match the pre-selected color scheme. For example, in my currently hourly planner the month of July has a green color scheme, but I’m going to want to do red, white, and blue the week of 4th of July, so I’m going to have to cover every bit of green. If I go with a neutral next year, I can do what I want! And what about that handlettered font? This one just might be calling my name…

 Neutral Erin Condren colorway

Of course, there is still an option for bright, cheerful colors. I’m not in love with the watercolor splash along the top. I know it is very trendy right now, but it seems a little 80s to me. Probably because I am old enough to remember them, LOL! Also, as you can see in both colorway photos, there are three options for layouts: classic vertical, horizontal, and hourly. Currently I have an hourly planner, but as I have gone “back to basics” I’m once again considering a horizontal. I have plenty of time to decide, though, since my current planner runs through the end of the year.

 Bright Erin Condren colorway

Another change this year is you can choose your coil: silver, gold, rose gold, and black. I’m kind of excited about the black coil, but I’m concerned about paint chipping off — this has been an issue for the metallic coils in the past. I am also a curious what the upcharge will be.

Now, let’s talk about covers. There are so many new covers this year, including several new metallics. In addition to these Life Planner covers, there are some new designs from the launch of the Teacher Planner. I have no idea how I’m going to choose! Good thing they are interchangeable so I can pick several!

 New Erin Condren Covers for 2017

 New Erin Condren Covers for 2017

The new planners will be available for purchase on June 1If you’d like to save $10 off your purchase, sign up through my referral link and then check your email for the code. I’m not sure what pricing will be this year, but in the past, a basic planner sold for $50. I can’t wait to see what other goodies will be announced!

Free Printable | Colorblock Event Stickers for EC Hourly

 Free Colorblock Event Stickers

TGIF and Happy April to you! I am still trying to catch up from Spring break and Easter weekend, but I am just popping in with a free planner printable for you guys today. It’s been a while since I posted one. But first, I have to tell you today’s exciting news…

I won this week’s #ECFanFriday contest! The theme was “monthly layout.” I rely heavily on my monthly as an overview to help guide my weekly planning, so I was very excited and inspired. I won an e-gift certificate for myself and one for a friend, which was super cool!

One of the stickers I use in my monthly layout, as well as my weekly layout, are these small, 1/4″ event boxes. They fit perfectly, and in the weekly the sticker takes up the space of a half-hour. I created this set using the more muted tones of the hourly and horizontal planners. I find them to be highly functional. Sometimes I’ll put a time in the block of color, or I’ll put the initial of a family member who has something going on (extracurriculars, for example).

Download my FREE Colorblock Event Stickers Here
 Free Colorblock Event Stickers

They’re simple, but I’ve come to realize that it’s just my style. I hope you enjoy them!

As usual, my free planner printables are for personal use only and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Use an electronic cutting machine like a Silhouette Cameo to cut your stickers, print them out on regular printer paper and then cut and paste into your planner using a tape runner, or else print them on full-sheet labels and just hand-cut the stickers.

{Planner Freebie} Troop Meeting Planner Stickers

Troop Meeting Planner Stickers | puresugar.net

Oh, I have slacked on getting this free planner printable up, but also blogging in general. So, instead of waiting until yet another Friday I’m just putting them up here today!

Last fall my daughter eagerly joined Daisy Scouts and absolutely loves it. I have been a Cub Scout mom for many years, and now both of my boys are in Boy Scouts, so it really comes as no surprise that she wanted to join in the scouting fun. For a while I was using Daisy Scout stickers that I made to designate meeting times in my planner, but I didn’t love them. So created these troop meeting stickers that will work for all phases of the Girl Scout program.

Download my FREE Troop Meeting Planner Stickers HERE.

I like to write the meeting time on the trefoil to make it stand out a little. They are nothing terribly fancy, but they work for me. Hopefully they’ll work for you too! Enjoy!

As usual, my free planner printables are for personal use only and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Use an electronic cutting machine like a Silhouette Cameo to cut your stickers, print them out on regular printer paper and then cut and paste into your planner using a tape runner, or else print them on full-sheet labels and just hand-cut the stickers. I always appreciate being tagged (@carolwrites) in your IG pics if you use any of my free printables in your planner!

 

{Freebie Friday} Cross Event Stickers for Your Planner

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Hey guys! I meant to get this free planner printable up last month, but I never got around to it. I’m sorry! I have to say, I love these cross event stickers! I use them in my Erin Condren planner to mark down my kids’ CCD classes, as well as designate church and church-related events. I use them a lot! They’d also be great for Bible study, or really anything Christian-related.

Download my FREE Christian Planner Stickers HERE.

The floral cross image is free clipart from 123FreeVectors in case you want to download it yourself for any crafting.

As usual, my free planner printables are for personal use only and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Use an electronic cutting machine like a Silhouette Cameo to cut your stickers, print them out on regular printer paper and then cut and paste into your planner using a tape runner, or else print them on full-sheet labels and just hand-cut the stickers. I always appreciate being tagged (@carolwrites) in your IG pics if you use any of my free printables in your planner!