Handmade Planner for 2010, or the Most Overdue Project Ever
Hey everyone! Happy St. Paddy’s Day!
Are you ready for a long post? I have a project to share today that truly took me about three months to complete — a ridiculous amount of time. It had so many components, which might explain the time a bit, but mainly it’s due to my going off in too many different directions to simply get the thing done. Might as well be honest.
So here it is – my 2010 planner, which has been in the works since December. A labor of love. 
Here’s a look at the front cover of the book. I found the fabric that covers the front and back covers of the book late last yea and fell in love with it immediately (I’ve mentioned my fixation with blues many times here). I knew just how I wanted to use it.
This book is really quite large, about 8×10.5 inches. To figure out what size I needed to make, I first tracked down the calendar pages that I wanted to use. And to get a full month’s calendar on one page (and be able to actually write stuff on there), I really needed to make things pretty big. In case anyone is interested, this is where I got my 2010 calendar. It’s a cool site – you can customize the calendars in all sorts of ways. Here’s a view of a calendar page, along with the pocket on the inside of the front cover.
And here is a close-up look at the fabric – I wanted to show you the detail on it, since it’s got this silvery, shimmery outline around the flowers. I love this stuff! And to give you a LOL – I spent a LONG staring at pieces of hardware, trying to determine which had a pewter finish, since that would match with the silver in the fabric and the antique silver of the binding wires. And I finally went with this piece pictured here. And is it pewter? NO, it’s gold-toned! And when did I finally figure that out? When I saw these photos! The hardware all looked so similar to me that I could not even tell them apart, but yet, it’s so OBVIOUSLY gold in the photos! So weird!
But at the same time, my perfectionism and fussiness know no bounds, so I will most likely switch out that hardware. It might just bug me all year.
And finally – here is a view of the book when it’s closed. It’s the size of a phone book, true? I actually measured it – it’s about an 1 1/2” tall. After the calendar pages are a ton of blank pages. Since adding pages to a bound book like this involves taking the entire thing apart, trashing the binding, and then re-binding, i thought I would err on the side of caution and make the book enormous. For the tabs with the months, I used a Stampin’ Up! tab punch along with a set of date stamps from Making Memories. 
So what do you think – was it worth all of that work? I am pretty much happy with it, gold hardware and all.
Thanks so much for visiting – see you again soon!
© 2010, Stars Fall Designs. All rights reserved.
By rebecca, 17 March 2010 @ 6:32 PM
I loved the title – it made me smile
and the book is just jaw droppingly beautiful! {and I’ve been there with the hardware, I have some stuff that’s hard to tell what’s antique silver vs. brass!}
rebecca´s last blog ..May happiness fill your heart! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
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By Dani C., 17 March 2010 @ 6:55 PM
Oh this was so worth it!! So beautiful!!!
Dani C.´s last blog ..Our Daily Bread Bread Challenge – Stamping in Time
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By Alison, 17 March 2010 @ 9:11 PM
SO worth it! And I actually really like the gold frame. I think it’s so pretty! You did quite an incredible job here, my friend! Be proud!!!
Alison´s last blog ..Her Bed/His Bed
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By Laura, 18 March 2010 @ 8:29 PM
I think it’s beautiful, Julie! Definitely worth the wait.:)
Laura´s last blog ..Sassy Inspiration Challenge!
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