THE FILOFAX REVIVAL

It's been exactly three years since my obsession with planning began. Don't get me wrong though, I've always been a planner - I just didn't know it yet. But it was 2014 when I purchased my first Filofax, needing to be more organised but not knowing where to start. Fast forward three years later, and I'll be able to tell you everything about them, and supply a whole village with the tools required to put a spread together. But in those three years, my planning game has morphed and taken place in 43587 different diaries, in a variety of ways. I began using Hobonichi and Traveler's Notebooks, completely abandoning the Filofax and ring system by the end of 2015 and 2016. I adopted Bullet Journaling, and tried to keep everything in one book, but alas, nothing seemed to work. I know that 2017 has an air of change to it though, partly due to work and partly due to Filofax bringing out a new range that were just too hard to resist. Once upon a time, Kikki K rose to extreme fame with the Mint planner, but it soon died out, with Traveler's Notebooks being the current trending item. Filofax seems to have taken a back seat, but I'm sure it will be revived into its golden era again. After all, things goes in cycles. With people forever looking for something sturdy, reliable and nostalgic, Filofax will always be there to quench those desires.

Which brings me to this post: I think this year holds some change for me in terms of the planning front. I now own a Filofax Heritage Compact, and I've never been more excited to use a Filofax since I first got a Malden. The 2017 planners I listed in the previous post will no doubt change in the next few days (I can already feel it), and my ring binder may very well take the wheel when it comes to plain, straight forward planning - like how it's meant to be. These days, we're so overwhelmed with different pens, stickers and embellishments that we forget the main purpose of these planners. Sure, these embellishments adds life and colour to your pages, but what's the point if they're not doing what they're supposed to do so initially? I'm gonna go for a simple approach this year, keeping things as they are, writing out raw and unedited emotions as they happen. And if I ever were a one word kinda person, I think 2017 is going to be the year of Simplicity. Exciting things will be happening this year, and I'm looking forward to it all.

FILOFAX PERSONAL COMPACT HERITAGE REVIEW

It's been a while since I've done one of these, especially for a Filofax. I think my love for ring planners started dwindling this year, after my obsession with Midori grew exponentially. I guess there were a number of reasons for my change in preference: for one, I didn't actually need a planner; I didn't need dated diaries. Eversince finishing uni (and the end of assignments) Bullet Journaling and creating the days as I go by was enough for me. I didn't exactly need to plan ahead (because I was more or less generally free). For another, the size of a planner and the fact that rings took a chunk of the page annoyed me. I needed the page size to be bigger but still portable. Not to mention, ring planners, as they suggested, wasn't bounded. This could be a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it, but I guess I liked my spreads stuck together. And lastly, eversince the Malden, I haven't actually found another planner that I wanted to use as much as I did the Malden. Well, not until I got the Filofax Heritage Compact planner, that is.

I've been eyeing this planner ever since it came out, and thought I was able to last till November when I took a trip down to Paris. But nope. I went searching online and found it for a pretty reasonable price on John Lewis. I actually wanted the Personal sized Heritage, but since they didn't have it in stock and I wasn't planning to keep much in it other than the diary, I decided to go for it. It arrived relatively quickly from the UK, and apart from the Malden I don't think I've been this excited to receive a Filofax till now.

Opening it up, it was beautiful right from the beginning. It came in a nice, sturdy box that Filofax planners used to come in (before they changed it to just a lousy plastic sleeve!) and it was divine once picked up and handled. The leather is thick, supple and you just know that it will last through and through. It's absolutely hard to describe how gloriously luxurious the leather is. I've read about how different the leather is on different blogs, but wow. It's definitely one to inspect in person. Here are some pictures of it up-close and personal:

As it says on the Filofax website, it doesn't contain any pockets on the front or back, but rather just a leather flyleaf on the inside containing a pocket and an elastic pen loop (which really doesn't serve any purpose):

Apart from that, the insides are the usual diary, notes, etc pages that comes with a new Filofax. Overall, I love the feel of this one. It has an inconspicuous look and really gives that heritage feel. It's safe to say that I can't wait to use this beauty when 2017 comes around!

2016 PLANNERS: UPDATED

Compared to last year, I think my 2016 stack has needed an update faster than I thought it would be required. Don't get me wrong though, most has stayed, some has replaced others, while others have just changed roles. Hopefully this new list should be the final edit for the rest of the year:

1- Midori Traveler's Notebook - Bullet Journal & Scrapbooking:
I take back what I said in my previous post here about being able to keep up with both a planner and a Bullet Journal for my to-do list. Truth is, there really wasn't any point having the same thing written twice. Not to mention, the writing area was just too small in my Personal Planner to incorporate all of the items I needed to do that has been written in my MTN. So that has in fact been scrapped of the list. My MTN now holds everything I need to do for the day in one booklet.

My MTN holds a separate Kraft notebook as well for my creative outlet. I must admit, I miss putting my photos in my MTN. It's funny, every time I use my MTN, I'm always wishing for more space to work with, but now that I have my A5 Hobonichi, I have no idea what to with all that space! So my MTN now has a booklet for documenting some special moments.

2- A5 Kikki K Planner - Journaling:
Despite the fact that my A5 Hobonichi is now able to document lengthy journal entries, I miss having an outlet for an overall summary that highlights the important points of the day in a few sentences. This used to happen in my weekly Midori booklet and because I was so used to having it around, this has transferred on to my A5 Kikki K planner. And because it's A5 sized, I have that little bit more room to document compared to last year's Midori. Not to mention, I'm thoroughly happy that I've finally found a use for my A5.

3- Personal Malden Planner - Work:
I'm hoping and hoping that I'll be getting a job this year... soon, because my personal Malden is getting lonely and it has been allocated the role of work hours. It's probably too big for that but at least it's going to get used for something! It still holds my expenses, and notes about all kinds of things though.

4- A5 Hobonichi - Scrapbook Art Journal:
I was hoping to use this as an every day scrapbook journal like my daily MTN used to be, but because of the abundant space it has, and me being absolutely lost in knowing how to use that space, it has converted itself into an art journal scrapbook. And I'm thrilled by that. I love the paper the Hobonichi has. Despite it being super thin, thinner than the regular 80GSM printer paper, it is much much stronger than it in terms of crinkling. I'm planning to dedicate a whole post to the paper used in the Hobonichi so I'll keep it short here.

5- Standard Memorandum - Sentence A Day:
A tiny book slimmer than a passport Midori, this is going to be my sentence a day highlighting the main event. This was probably (definitely) an impulse buy but this stays in the zippered pocket of my MTN and will be useful for dated planning

6- Kikki K Sentence a Day:
I managed to get my friend into doing one of these (can you tell I'm proud about that?) and even she was impressed that I managed to get one year done with it already. It is now one of the list of things I do daily and its activity is tracked in my Bullet Journal so I don't forget

7- Project Life (6 x 12"):
Not exactly a planner, I know, but this needed to be included in the list due to its weekly demand. I managed to do one spread already and love the format so far. Because it's 6x12", it doesn't require too many pictures (which I know I probably won't have) for a full spread. Not to mention, the minimalist design is making the creation of a spread easier (and much more fun) than I expected. I definitely should have started it sooner!

So this is my updated list that I go through currently. I know some of you may be wondering how I keep up with all these but truth be told, I don't. Not all, at least. However, right now, I am in this weird phase of my life where I've just finished uni and am in search of jobs, making me have ample time to keep up with all of it at once. When I get busy, or when I'm lazy on some days, I tend to do things in batches. For example:
1- My MTN is my every day go to journal because it is basically my to-do list. It is the master of all planners and notebooks. It keeps track of everything, so it's a no brainer when I say that this never gets left behind or not updated for days on end. I write in it whenever, every day. and so takes no effort to keep up with.
2- My Hobonichi gets updated in batches - two days at a time usually, so I can dedicate some time to writing up my entries
3- My A5 Kikki K planner gets updated nightly. It serves as the basis for my Hobonichi if I forget what happens on a particular day. It doesn't take long to write in it, so it's a definite habit for me to write in it every night.
4- The personal Malden planner is currently not in use (until I get a job), so apart from any expenses I need to write down, it's pretty dormant.
5- The Standard Memorandum gets updated whenever I feel like it. There is no set time
6- The Kikki K Sentence a Day is another nightly routine that gets done once I've finished my A5 Kikki K entry. Doesn't take too long, after all
7- As my Project Life gets updated weekly (or whenever I get the photos printed), I am able to do it whenever I want, on whatever day. I just have to make sure I keep up with it because once you fall behind, that's when everything crumbles!

So overall, if you think about it, all these planners don't really take up much time. Put aside half an hour each day and you'll be able to document your life without any problems!

SUNSHINE

I think I start off by saying that I have no idea what I'm doing with my spread more times than I count, but I honestly don't more often than not! However, unlike last year where my decorations in my Malden depended on whatever my hand picks up, my 'inspiration' behind this month and next year's spreads will be coming from Kikki K's different clip arts each week. As this week's clip art was more of a beach theme, that's what my Malden was decorated with. This is how it turned out:

And a little close up:

The summer stickers were remnants from the Soleil collection by Basic Grey. Stamps included those from Ali Edwards, and the Reject Shop. The smaller kawaii stickers were from eBay and are basically included as the day passes.

2016 PLANNERS

It's that time of the year again where we try to find the right planner for the new year. For me, I'm trying to limit it and trust me, I've had to get rid of some just so I don't have empty diaries staring at me. And so, here's the narrowed down list and their uses:

1- Malden Personal Planner:
I think I will always use a planner; my Malden planner, especially. I don't carry it around like I used to. It stays at home now, in my drawer. It still houses the diary for every day to-dos and planning ahead; expenses; and little bits of info regarding myself and the bf. It's simple, but it does the job.

2- A5 Hobonichi
Because the 2016 Midori planners are not going to be sold in Australia this year, the A5 Hobonichi will replace the journaling that used to happen in my Midori. I think I'm looking forward to the change as it will allow me to craft and journal in it without the fear of not having enough space. And as I bought the Avec version whereby the yearly planner is split into two, it won't be weighing a tonne from all the pictures by the end of the year.

3- Midori Traveler's Notebook
Just because my Midori won't be used for journaling, doesn't mean it won't be used! I'm currently looking into the Bullet Journal system and it seems like my Midori will be excellent for it. And if you're wondering why I would need a Bullet Journal when I already have my Malden for to-dos, it's because I love the flexibility of the Bullet Journal system. More often than not, I admit, I still write my to-dos on sticky notes because the list is just too damn long to fit in the little boxes of my personal planner. I need something that I can actually store my to-dos in. And since this baby comes with me everywhere, it'll be handy for shopping lists and mindless doodling as well.

4- Kikki K Sentence a Day
Yep, I'm still using this! I can't wait to start the year over again and compare my answers to the year before.

And that's it really. A far cry from the list I had at the beginning of this year. I think I'll be able to keep on top of things this year. Simplicity is the way to go.

WOODLAND COTTAGE

It's been a while since I've done a planner set up post, I know, but I just didn't feel like making my planner pretty recently. As December is now here, I was able to use thenew 2016 Kikki K inserts that came with my cute watermelon planner. It has cream paper and lines that aren't as pronounced as it was last year. Not to mention, it has cute little designs for each week. I was thinking of keeping it rather simple next year, aka, no decorations, but I must admit, I couldn't resist. So here's a little look into it:

The main embellishments for this spread came from Australia's very own The Reject Shop. It had a great number of embellishments and there were two of each design, which was perfect really. It even had gold foil on some embellishments, and I'm pretty sure I only payed $3 or so for it. Really great value for money. I was stuck after I decorated the edges with flowers, so I decided to throw in other random bits like stamps from Kelly Purkey / Aldi, stickers from Kaisercraft, hand-made cork letters using my Bigshot and bunting washi tape from mt. And that's about it really. I'm sure it'll look a little bit more complete once I add things to it during the week. But for now, this will have to do

MASH UP

It seems like all my layouts have been a mash up of everything. I use whatever falls into my hot little hands, and for this week's spread in my Malden, this was a mixture of stamps of plants and Halloween washi. Weird mix, no?

Surprisingly, it actually didn't turn out so bad. I love the colours utilised in the layout. And as for the stamps, I loved using three different chalk inks to colour in my palm tree. Here's some close ups:

The stamps were from an Aussie local called Aldi - yes, Aldi sells craft items occasionally! - with inks from Versamagic and Kaisercraft. The Halloween washi was from Daiso's Halloween collection last year.

So now, who said Halloween was two weeks ago?

AN APPLE A DAY

Yep, a week late and still flaunting it. Here's a look at this week's Malden decoration. I'm starting to think it's time to shift out of my ol' Malden and into a fresh coloured planner. I've been slowly accumulating Kikki K planners and have yet to show them off. I guess we know what my next blog post will be about! But for now, here's a little school themed decoration that made it into my planner this week:

And a little close up;

I managed to get my hands on the washi from Officeworks, with the stickers and stamps all coming from Kaisercraft

BLACK AND BLUE

Guess what? I'm working this weekend; however, as I'm on the evening shift, it allows me to bring my laptop in to let my creative moments flow during quiet moments like these. And since I've done my Malden set up for next week, here's a little peek into the theme:

And a little close up:

Have a good weekend, y'all!

PINK FLOWERS

I got some new washi this week from Officeworks. It's a Little B thick floral washi and as soon as I got it, I had to plaster it everywhere. And so I did:

I decided to just go with the flow and to make it a little bit more 'chaotic' and colourful, I decided to stamp some flowers I got from Kaisercraft around the page, before adding forgotten Typo owl stickers around the page. Done and done in 15 minutes.

BLUE AND GREEN

I had a feeling this week was going to be those weeks where my layout was something I could not share on social media because it was just that bad, but it didn't turn out so bad after all.

I was obsessed with a green and blue washi tape I received from Kaisercraft last week and wanted it plastered everywhere on my weekly spread. So I kinda did just that:

I added a few stamps, some from Kellie Stamps, some from Kelly Purkey and one stamp set I got in Singapore and bam, I was done for the week.

FLORAL

Utilising the same theme as my MTN layout, my Malden planner was decorated in florals, gold striped and glitter washi, with the whole spread done in just 15mins!

Rather than using washi, I decided to cut up the remaining Project Life cards from my MTN layout to use it as borders. Add a few embellishments from the Maggie Holmes 'Open Book' embellishment, and we're all set for the week ahead!

WANDERLUST

I've been itching to travel lately (I blame all my coworkers who are sharing their stories of travel), so I decided to make next week's layout in my Malden travel themed. It started off pretty plain, but thanks to forgotten travel rub-ons, the spread came to life within minutes. Here's the overview:

And some close up shots:

I used items from a variety of sources this week. Washi came from Singapore, Daiso and Washi Tapes Australia. Rub-ons and stamps were from Kaisercraft. Inks were from both Kaisercraft and Vermagic Singapore. (And of course, my favourite coffee mug from Typo had to feature too). Teehee

SPRINGIN'

It was 9:30pm on a Sunday night when I threw this layout together. It didn't take much supplies. I just needed it to be quick so I could head to bed. I rummaged through my box of washi tape (someone come organise it for me, please!) and I decided to give this week a flowery theme which suited the Spring weather that was happening here in Australia. Here was the result:

I used washi tape from Washi Tape Australia and Typo. I got the Project Life card from the Bloom Edition Core Kit which is filled with beautiful art journal type colours. The stamp was from Amy Tangerine's Rise and Shine stamp kit and ink pads from Kaisercraft. I drew out the lines by myself and voila. Done!

BLACK AND YELLOW

Birthday week this week! I decided to continue on with the black and yellow craze that you saw on my previous MTN post. It was simple but colourful enough to satisfy me for the week!

Supplies for this week includes stickers from Kaisercraft, stamps from Amy Tangerine and Kelly Purkey, and washi tape!

A FRUITY WEEK IN MY PLANNER

Truth be told, I was just out of ideas for this week's planner decorations. So I decided to just go with the flow and go with a 'whatever happens, happens' attitude. I wanted to centre my theme around pops of colours like those used in Amy Tangerine's Rise and Shine collection, so went with a watercolour base and some washi tape which suited. I added in some stamps and watermelon/lemon sticky notes, and bam, another weekly spread done and dusted:

This week's fruity spread

This was the result. Sure, it could have been neater, nicer or what have you, but I'm happy enough so why not, no?

COFFEE PRONTO

Today, I'm getting back to posting up layouts of my Malden's weekly spread. I've been having on-and-off weeks regarding my decorations, with a week being nice and simple, and the next being highly decorated. I've been focusing more on my MTN's weekly spreads lately so I guess I need that balance in my planner, which, admittedly, I find, is not being used to its full potential anymore. Don't get me wrong though, I highly doubt that my MTN will ever replace my trusty Malden, but because my life currently revolves around 9 - 5:30pm work, a planner isn't exactly ... required. Other than little bits and pieces of my life I occasionally need to remember, my planner is relatively blank (oops). Either way, here is my spread for the upcoming week:

Coffee themed spread!

I didn't exactly know where my spread was heading in the beginning. I know I wanted to use my gold and film roll washi tapes from Washi Tape Australia, and since I had a left over strip of Heidi Swapp's Wanderlust geometric patterned paper, I decided to use those. Then came the stamps: I recently got hold of some coffee Kellie Stamps and have yet to try them, so in they went, and my spread morphed into a coffee themed wonderland, which I didn't particularly mind.

I used a number of different stamps for this layout, which included those by Sweet Stamp Shop, Kellie Stamps, Studio Calico and a brand I don't particularly recall. I used Versamagic and Kasiercraft ink stamps which are chalk based and doesn't bleed through the other side. I drew my circles and lines out with a regular pen (nothin' fancy) and my spread is now ready to go!

AUGUST

I can't believe it's already August! Time is flying by so fast these days, especially with work occupying my weekdays and cleaning occupying my weekends! But this weekend, I decided to chill, take some time to breathe and work on my planner decorations. It's been a while since I've decorated my planner to more than just the sides, but knowing this week won't be too busy, I jazzed it up a little more than usual:

Next week's layout!

I've used a number of supplies for this spread from Kaisercraft for the stickers, to different stamp sets, including those from Studio Calico. But of course, the major player in all my layouts are washi tapes. Layering washi tapes is the most effective way to create colourful, crazy spreads. I've yet to learn the art of it to a full extent, but I'm having fun experimenting!

KRAFTY

It's back to full days and busy weekends now that I've started life as a Radiographer intern at two absolutely lovely / beautiful / nicest-people hospitals. My weekends are now filled with catch-up craft sessions and long overdue blog posts and diary entries. On the bright side, I'm actually getting paid real money now that I'm working... hah

This week's layout was actually only done on Saturday and it's a good thing I didn't forget to do anything during the week:

The items used in this layout was purchased entirely from Kmart Australia!

NEXT WEEK'S PAINT SPLATTER LAYOUT

I particularly love this upcoming week's layout. It took me around 10mins to do and I'm ecstatic about the outcome.

The tools used in this spread included:
1- Versamagic inks - these are great for thin papers as the ink doesn't show or bleed through
2- Kaisercraft sticker sheet for the cute little books
3- Paint splatter washi tape from washitapeaustralia

Three tools to create a perfect little spread in minutes. What more can someone ask for?