Friday 6 March 2015

Planner Love

So recently I caved in and bought myself a planner. I did not think I needed one, but just could not resist the cuteness of the Webster's Pages Color Crush Planners. And I have surprised myself, as I am using it all the time. 
Today, Simon Says Stamp are releasing a cute line of planner stamps and inks, and since they were kind enough to send them to me, I thought I'd share a few of the ways I have used them.
But first, let me just say that I am not yet a full on planner nerd. :) I really see my planner as a functional thing rather than a piece of art. I don't have enough time to decorate it and fill it with beautiful, fancy things. Any planner products I use need to be practical and easy to use.
So… the first thing I created was a set of mini post it notes for my planner dashboard. I had no idea what to do with the dashboard when I first saw it, and actually just moved it to the back of my planner. I thought it was time to find a purpose for it, and the stamps from the Plan On It set were just perfect - such a clear and clean font for easy reading. I stamped the words with Smoke ink and the bullet points with Cotton Candy ink - both from the Peace Hybrid Ink Cube set.
Planner1 
I really love the little heart shaped bullet points which are from the Life Planning set - OK, so they are pretty and cute, but they are still practial. :)
Planner 2
I'm keeping my dashboard clipped in to the current date now so it's always there to jot things down as I remember them when I am planning.
Next, I created some little inked post it style strips to add social events to my planner. These were so quick to make you could create a ton in no time at all. All I did, was tear off some strips of masking tape, adhere them to some scrap paper, then apply ink with the new hybrid ink cubes.
Planner3
I left them to dry for several hours so the ink smoothed nicely, and then they were ready to be used. And the best thing - they are removable, so I can move them from week to week. These blue ones are created with Malibu and Audrey Blue inks from the Zen cube set.Planner4
And finally, I thought I'd show you the new Hybrid Ink Cubes and how they compare to Simon's regular dye ink. These hybrid inks have been specially designed for use with planners to reduce bleed through thinner papers.
Here's a side by side comparison of a few colours which I stamped on a sheet of paper from my planner:
 Inks1 
As you can see, the quality is very similar. When I first stamped them, the hybrid inks looked quite grainy, but just like the dye inks, the hybrid inks look smoother after some time. And the lighter colours of the inks do not bleed through the paper at all, even though the paper on my planner is very thin - I am using pencil in my planner for this reason as all the pens I have tried have bled through terribly - so I was surprised (and very pleased) by this. The hybrid inks make stamping in my planner a possibility. Woo hoo. And the light greys and pinks don't show through the paper at all.
Here's a comparison of the same inks on some Neenah cardstock:
Inks2
You can see that although they are not quite as smooth as the dye inks, they are still awesome, and give a lovely result. In fact, my sweet and talented friend Debby Hughes shared a stamped card with these inks yesterday. Check it out HERE to see how well they work.
All we need now is for Simon to release their dye inks in cube size. I don't know about you, but I just love ink cubes… they are there best! I always reach for my Hero Arts and Ranger cubes before the large ink pads, and they are so much easier to store too. Space is (very) limited in my house.
OK - so that's it for today. Head over to Simon Says Stamp and check out all the new release products - there are three stamp sets, a couple of dies and four sets of ink cubes in really lovely colour combinations.
Enjoy!! And thanks for stopping by.
And if you have not yet been converted and are not interested in planner stuff, check back tomorrow for a card! :)
Happy Friday.
x
Supplies 

2 comments:

Kim Faucher said...

So excited about these planner stamps! Placed my order first thing this am!
Have fun creating!

Ruth G said...

You've done a great job of making everything you shared today look irresistible! I love it all! Thanks so much for sharing about the hybrid inks and how they work. I'm with you about loving small sizes and how wonderful it is to store smaller things!
Have a wonderful weekend!