This post IS about my 2015 Day Planner. I have a bit of a hang up about finding the perfect thing to use for a calendar. But before I get into the crazy details of my hang-ups I have a fun little tidbit to share!
Imagine my surprise to look at my blog stats today and see a spike of hits on Saturday. I didn’t have a new post up for Saturday. I’ve been very lazy in the blog world lately.
But somewhere, one of my blog posts must have been shared because I had way more traffic than I should have had for being so lazy about getting new content out there. So I did a bit of sleuthing. And discovered ‘Good Housekeeping’ in my list of hits. Whaaaa?
Yep. My Painted Vinyl Chair was shared on the GH website under ‘Craft Ideas and DIY projects‘. And yep, I’m happy about that! It’s just fun to have my projects ‘discovered’ even if it is in small ways. I didn’t get 1000’s of views and it’s not a total blog sensation by any means. But it’s still fun and I got a bit of a thrill out of it!
So. Now we can move on to my 2015 Day Planner. I used to always use a wall calendar. I think that was before I was married. And for a few years after I was married. But in this house there was never a good place to hang a wall calendar. And those little tiny spaces quickly became way too small for what I needed to put in them.
Some people like the big desk calendars – the ones that take up the entire top of a desk and have plenty of room to write in all the sports the kids have, all the appointments, and family plans. That would be great for me – IF I had a desk that wasn’t always piled with fabric, sewing projects, paint brushes, paint, and vintage finds. My best friend hangs her calendar like that on her refrigerator. My refrigerator is a side by side and that kind of calendar won’t work. And putting it on the side of the fridge is not an option either.
So for years I just sort of made do. My wall calendar just sort of bounced around and landed wherever I happened to be using it. And it NEVER looked nice laying anywhere.
calender I wish was still in print. I have yet to find one I love as much.
And then I found it. The best, most amazing calendar I’d ever dreamed of. You can see a very old post I did about my 2010 calendar here. And my 2012 calendar. 2010 wasn’t the first year I’d used these. I loved the shape and size, the beauty and the amount of space per day. I also loved the fact that this calendar could act as part of my decor and look amazing lying on my dining room table. I rarely had to hunt for this calendar because it looked so pretty I always left it on the table.
When it was time for my 2011 calendar there was no calendar by Jean Lowe and Greg Johnson to be found. I was so sad. I don’t even remember for sure what I used that year. A large wall calendar I think. One that bounced around and I could never find it cause it wasn’t cute laying on my table as part of the decor! Then for 2012 it was back and I ordered on pronto. The quality of the pages was a bit cheaper but the beauty, size and style was the same, and I was happy. But alas, 2012 seems to be the last. Unless someone steps up and produces one similar. This year I have used a planner that is ok but not at all what I like. Small spaces for each day. Nowhere near the room I need.
A few weeks ago I accepted a wedding dress project for next May. And I needed to put the wedding date on a 2015 calendar. Then the girls and I got our teeth cleaned and our next appointment set – for March. And I needed to put it on a 2015 calendar. Time to get a new day planner. Something I liked this time, something pretty, and something with enough room in it.
I did quite a bit of searching online. I wanted hardback. I wanted tall is size. I wanted cute. I searched a lot of different combinations of what I wanted and clicked on ‘images’. I ended up at Jenni Bick Bookbinding and bought a paperblanks brand dayplanner.
I think it’s cute. I think it will look just fine on my dining room table for 12 months. I like it.
I still like the layout of my favorite calendar better. I don’t love that this one lists the time of day. I’m nowhere near that organized. I just want lots of space to write appointments as they come and I am capable of adding the time myself thank-you-very-much. But it’s cute and that trumps a lot of other things 😀
I will see at the end of the year how I liked this. I have a feeling I’ll order this again – unless of course the other one becomes available again. You can be sure I will search for it again – I liked it that much.
The flap on the front might end up being a pain – I’ll find out when I start using it. My Teenager thought it was silly as it covered up the cute factor on the front of the planner. But it will keep the edges of the pages from getting messed up.
So I’m set with a dayplanner for 2015. And it meets all my requirements. We shall see if the things it sports that are not requirements are enough to send me on a search for yet another brand for 2016 😀
Do you have a favorite calendar and as many requirements for it as I do? Or are you much easier to please? 😉
Hi Jill! I could really use a day planer…if just to make plans and hold myself to them. I really like this.
Your mention in the spike in your blog post caught my interest. Twice in the past few months I had pageviews on two post that exceeded 2000! I have no idea why. How did you find out that yours was related to the magazine? I could really use your help. 🙂
Jane xx
Jane are you on wordpress? I can see where my hits are coming from on my wordpress dashboard.
I can totally relate to the calendar search! I need BIG spaces and what I have found that I THINK I like best (open for change) is the school year calendar because as a HS mom, my life revolves around the school year. It runs from July to July. Right now I am using a desk top one but I am not sure I like it as it is not as handy.
Now, on a different subject – that of your painted chair, I have been toying with the idea of painting my (not real) leather couch & love seat. They are dark brown & I would love them to be gray. I have dropped a little hint about it to Luke but haven’t even decided if I would be able to complete a project like that & it is a pretty big thing to ruin if it doesn’t go well. …….. still very much on the fence…….
Hmmmmm… I may have to think about a school year calendar. It would be really nice to have the wrap around into the new year
That is such a cute day planner and you’ve inspired me to look for one like that. I keep my calendar out on my kitchen table year round too. It’s just a simple 8×10 note pad that I write the days of the week on and that’s it! Super cheap and easy, but not very attractive. You’re so right about needing a 2015 calendar now.
Thanks Kelly – I’m liking it so far! Will see when the new year gets here how I like using it all the time 🙂 It’s definitely better than the one I’ve been using this year.
Hi Jill, I wanted to pass along another blogger’s daily planner she has designed (http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/p/2015-daily-planner-faqs.html). I follow her blog,iHeart Organizing, and love her organizing ideas. You should check it out for your 2016 calendar.
Thank you Martie! I’ll check it out.
We used to get these great planners for free where my hubs had his liability insurance when he was still working. They were pretty handy but had small little squares to write in, I’ve never been known to write small, and if I did, couldn’t read it later but they were handy when I used them.
Your day planner is great. Love looks of it and the size would be hard to miss. With all you have going on I can sure see why you’d need a planner. I was always losing mine as it wasn’t very big but nice size for a purse to note whatever needed. Happy days
Yes, JaneEllen I need something to keep me somewhat organized and on track! The older I get the more brain cells I lose 🙂
I am beginning to look at planners for next year. Do you have an update on how you like your 2015 planner??
I just happened on this post…searching in vain for the great calendars by Greg Johnson and Ms. Lowe, the series you mention at the beginning of this post. My friend and I have not found anything close to those beautiful day books with the vintage feel and look. I fell back on Barnes & Noble’s yearly calendar book (Authors & book coverings) but I have to say, I like the one you introduced here…just not enough color. Here’s hoping someday we will find what we want again. Thank you
I know. I’m so sad those calendars did not stay in print. I’ve thought about trying to make my own and have it printed but that takes a lot of time and getting it printed would probably be too costly anyway. I did like the one I got for 2015 but not like I loved the ones from Greg Johnson!