Bullet Journals, Blue Sky, and Brand New Stickers : Planner-ed Out Perfect, Part Five!

Long time, no see! The wifi at my house is no longer with us, so I'm currently camped out at my local fave Starbucks, desperately trying to get this post sent off before the battery pack on my laptop dies. Still, even the stressful deadline or the rush of caffeine still can't compete with how excited I am to talk about my fave new and notable planner things! 

From the rise of bullet journals, to new planner lines at everyone's top shopping mecca, to the best new stickers I love to decorate my planner with, we've got lots to discuss: 

For starters, I started looking at cool planner options for this coming year back in August, and let me tell you, there are some new agendas that were almost enough to tempt me away from my beloved Day Designer! We already knew that they had teamed up with Whitney English and the DD Team this past year, but it seems that Target is back with even more affordable versions of some of the best. Touting new lines from planner-world faves through collaborations with Blue Sky Planners, Target is bringing in the cute once again this year, alongside Emily Ley, Super Paper Co., and more. There are plenty of planner notables you can't find online tucked away in the regular planner section at their stores, so you're going to have to go in, in person, to peruse some of the best!

And those aren't the only planners that have been grabbing my attention. After being introduced by some of the amazing women I follow on YouTube, The Get to Work Book and The Happiness Planner are also looking like cool and creative new ways to get your plan on in 2017:

The Get to Work Book appeals to me for its minimalist design and can-do attitude, and coming in at about $55 a purchase, it's striking a similar cost to many of the other big-name planners we're seeing these days. It's got lots of room for customization and follows a similar format to most other planners, but still isn't provided in a daily format, so unfortunately, it can't tempt me. But it may be perfect for you!

Meanwhile, the Happiness Planner seriously stuck out to me for its beautiful colors and trendy design, and besides, who can resist something that pledges to help make your life more happy? Touting inspirational messages wrapped in a beautiful package, I've got to think that this new paragon of positivity has got a lot to offer, even beyond its yearly and monthly goal-setting pages and adorable color combos. Coming in at $59 for its Jan-Dec edition and with only a limited quantity available, I think that there's going to be quite a few of these coming up on Instagram this year... and I'll be following the hashtag to see how people make use of them!

I'd also be completely remiss in not mentioning the meteoric rise of the Bullet Journal in this past year... to be honest, the phrase has become one of my most-search Pinterest queries, even with my own planner sitting alongside me. While there are plenty of merits to debate over the adaptability and personality of the BuJo movement, I'd already found my planner soul mate!

Still, some of the best parts of BuJos aren't just the weekly layouts, but the artistry and creativity behind it. Some of my favorite users on Pinterest and Instagram don't just use theirs as an organization tool for a weekly basis, but the means by which they focus and direct their months and years, using elements like "habit trackers" or list pages to orient their mindset for the weeks ahead. Unconsciously, I began implementing more artistic elements - like collages and calligraphy - as well as unconventional organization - like trackers and mind-maps - into my own paper life... but in my journal, not my planner!

 The way I tracked my summer reading - like you've seen in my "Summer Wrap-Up" post - and a collage I used as a page separater, both from my Journal!

It's much more colorful now that we're most of the ways through September, but this Self-tember habit tracker has been one of my favorite BuJo-inspired pages in my journal yet!

I've been journaling since I was in the second grade, with only about a year ever spent without a paper collection of my thoughts and feelings by my side. When it came time to pick out my journal for the summer, I took a risk, and decided to forgo my usual staid-and-sturdy composition notebook, in favor of an unlined and metal-spined sketchbook. Not only did this free up a lot more room for marathon journal sessions, but it gave me space to utilize those more creative parts of my brain, with lots of decorations and bright colors, as well as plan out things that just don't fit in my regular planner.

Alongside all of that progress, I've recently taken up hand brush lettering as well, which makes for plenty of beautiful page title additions, too!

And it works for more than just my journal... I brush-lettered the names on envelopes for some of my Sigma Kappa sisters, before they embarked on their Work Week/ Recruitment journeys this year! What can I say, I'm an alumnae who just can't let go...

However, despite how enamored I am with my journal, my heart still belongs to my Day Designer, which becomes more and more thick and beautiful every day, with the addition of even more stickers, washi tape, etc., than ever before! I had a mini-sticker-buying-session right before we left for vacation in August, and was able to come home to plenty new pieces of decor that I'm slowly rationing out to myself over the course of Fall (so that I don't just lose it and go completely sticker-crazy on one day).

And, of course, Target comes in clutch once again, with the inexpensive and adorable contents of their dollar section. It requires a little digging, but you can often find plenty of cute stationery buried in there, like giant paper clips or mini to-do lists, as well as a rainbow of post-it note options that I've been having tons of fun sticking in with double-sided tape.

 two quick peeks at some planner pages this past summer... as you can see, I'm still totally in love with my decos!

So, that's what's going on in my paperly life right now. It was a long post, but I still managed to make it all before my battery drained! YES!

As you all know, I'm always happy to share my planner passion. You can find all of the posts in my "Planner-ed Out Perfect" series collected under a new tab on my top menu, under the tab "Just Planner Things"! 

Have any new planners managed to catch your eye for the coming year? Do you keep a Bullet Journal? Do you love Target as much as I do? Let me know, in the comments below!