An Interview with Chelley Darling!

Hey dolls!  Today I have one of my favorite planner geeks, Chelley Darling!

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1. What planner/planners do you have? Are there any you want to get?


Oh that is a question I almost don't want to answer - lol! I am a collector for sure. I'm definitely not sharing a specific number, though I've been destashing and parting with a lot of the ones which don't quite make my heart sing any more. I'd rather they go to a loving planner home. With that being said, I do use, or have a plan to use, all of the planners that I own. I think the best way to answer that question is to provide a recent collection photo of nearly all of my personal-sized planners:

I have since parted the medium lilac kikki.K and my small lilac kikki.K. 

I do own some of the more rare planners, including:
- A Taylor floral Forever New from 2014 (along with the matching pencil pouch)
- A sparkly gold Forever New from 2014

- A mint die-cut A5 Forever New from 2014
- A bright floral Molly & Mimi from 2014
- An A5 Gold Filofax
- A one-of-a-kind pocket Filofax called Roses:

And yes I realize how lucky I am to have some of these!

As for planners that I want, I'd have to say a White A5 Color Crush, some of the kikki.K's from 2013 and earlier, and the new Fluoro Pink Patent Compact Filofax.

2. What planners are you using at the moment?

I am not a spiral-bound planner type of girl, and I only use less-than-letter-sized week-on-two-pages layouts for planning certain projects, not my entire life. I've just recently come close to completing a DIY letter-sized disc-bound planner that I'm fondly calling my "Shine Darling" planner. (I'm feeling planner peace!) She's my command center for everything in my life. I also use over a dozen regular old white binders for organizing paperwork, notes, plans, and printouts. Being a creative, I have a LOT of projects in the works. Being a planner girl is the only way that I'm able to turn ideas into action steps. My 6-ring binders are used for managing certain projects that I want to be especially pretty and fun to use, or that I can most easily manage without relying on letter-sized paper. I also use Wunderlist to manage and prioritize tasks and lists and collect brain dumps, which are then turned into plans in my planner! :)

3. What are your favorite planner brands?

Color Crush, Forever New, Molly & Mimi from Target-Australia, Happiness Planner, GettoWorkBook (if only that layout worked for me!) and, most recently, all of the tools and accessories from the Happy Planner, Arc, and Levenger

4. Where do you draw inspiration from for your planner?

Nothing gives me the most inspiration for my planners than when I'm just curled up in bed, planner in hand, with a few boxes and bins of supplies close by. Using what I have in new ways, to create what I need, is one of my favorite things about having a planner. I try to avoid taking inspiration from other planner girls, as inspiring as they are. We all have our own style and tastes, so finding a way to express yourself without necessarily mimicking others is a large part of your individual planning journey. I do keep a list of improvements for my planners that I work on whenever I can, and I'm always jotting down new ideas, or setting aside pieces of paper/ephemera/washi, etc after thinking how perfect they'd look in a certain planner theme. In general, when setting up a new planner, focus on the foundation first, and then move onto the decoration.

5. Do you have any favorite planner bloggers?

Oh dear, I don't really follow blogs. I just don't have the time. I've glanced at a few and loved their layout and content. I've read the most posts from MissTrenchCoat, who's a productivity guru after my own heart. FiloAlly.net, LifeWithPearls.com, and TheRachelMark.com all have beautiful content. I'm sure I'm forgetting many of my friends - I'm so sorry! I spend most of my free social media time in Facebook groups, most recently in my own Planner Darlings group, where I'm able to connect with and help my followers one-on-one - something I've been wanting to do for a long time. :) 

6. What are 5 things for your planner that you absolutely can't leave the house without?

I actually do not carry my planners outside of the house apart from my pocket gold Sugar Paper planner. I've read too many horror stories about expensive and rare planners being lost, stolen, or damaged. I work from home, (a lot), and being a single girl in her mid-20's, I don't have a lot that I need on the go that I can't access on my phone. Modifying your question a bit, some planner supplies I can't live without: sticky notes, my new Levenger Circa 123 punch and Happy Planner discs, a wide palette of colorful pens and highlighters, listpads, and Project Life cards.

7. What is the current theme for your planner pages?

It's been a few weeks since I decorated a week-on-two-pages layout. I'm probably going to be using the gorgeous flamingo theme from July's The Planner Society Kit for the next layout.

8. What would you describe your planner decoration style as?

A wide variety, due to the design teams I'm lucky to be a part of, but I always seem to resort back to pastels and bright rainbows with hints of gold, when left to my own inspiration. I don't have many planner stickers, so I'm not really a planner sticker girl. I have my crafting roots in card-making, so I use a lot of untraditional stamps and techniques. In adjectives: free, messy, creative, pastel, rainbow, happy, pretty, gold accents, occasional doily

9. How did you first discover your love of planners?

I've been using lists and binders and notebooks since I could write. I kept journals when I was very young, but stopped until around the age of 20, and I've been journaling semi-regularly ever since. I've always used productivity systems, and even created my own gamified life system at one point. It wasn't until the summer of 2013 that I discovered Filofaxes and 6-ring planners. I was watching Youtube videos, researching studying techniques for nursing school. The nursing school passion was kind of lackluster, and it was quickly replaced with my passion for planners. I'm grateful to have built a business around something I've been passionate about since I could write, and I have many more planner projects and businesses coming in the future.

10. What is your favorite thing about Live. Love. Planners.?I love how active you are in the community and how you're always coming out with new ways for planner addicts to use and have fun with their planners! Please keep it up! :)

Blog: chelleydarling.com

IG: Instagram.com/ChelleyDarling

Youtube: youtube.com/user/PlannerDarling

FB Page: Facebook.com/ChelleyDarling

FB Group: Facebook.com/groups/PlannerDarlings

Chelley Darling is a creative entrepreneur and coach with a burning passion for productive pretty planning. A member of the Webster's Pages Color Crush and The Planner Society Kit design teams, her dream is to launch her own product lines for planners. She's an outspoken advocate for mental health awareness, especially with the areas of depression and anxiety, and works to encourage others to use creativity and planners as therapeutic aids.

Planner-Lover, Paper Addict:
Spreading happiness through creativity,
and bringing daydreams to life.

hellochelleydarling@gmail.com | chelleydarling.com

Design, Dev, Coaching & Consulting:
Helping planner girls shine since 2015
prettymarvels@gmail.com

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Thank you so much for coming doll!  Remember, if you are interested in taking part in an interview here on Live Love Planners, shoot me an email at liveloveplanners@gmail.com and I'll respond as soon as possible!  Thanks for reading!

FREE Undated Inserts (For all Planner Sizes!)

Hey dolls!  I know it's been a while since I have posted a freebie, and you guys have been so sweet on both Instagram and on here on my blog!  You dolls leave such sweet comments and have been so supportive, so you guys totally deserve a freebie, and what better freebie then some weekly inserts! And of course, so all you guys can use it, it is in Pocket (Small), Personal (Medium), and A5 (Large) sizes!



Some features of the inserts:

• They are undated so you can start using them whenever you like!
• Each week has a section for yours goals for next week.
• Simple lay-out, which is perfect for decorating your weekly set-up

So what are you waiting for? Download yours below!

A5 Size

Personal Size

Pocket Size

Make sure to share your inserts on Instagram using #planitwithbeth so I can check out how you use your inserts!  Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy your inserts!

An Interview with Joannywhite!

Hi guys!  Today I am very excited to have a fellow planner geek today, Joanny from the blog Joannywhite! I put together a couple questions for her to answer.  Here she is!

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Hello lovely people,

My name is Joanny and I blog over at Joannywhite.co.uk. I am a chocoholic who recently discovered her love for planners, stationery, journalling and smashbooking.

I was very excited when I saw an email from Beth asking me to do an interview for her blog. I feel very honoured and so of course I said yes.

1. What planner/planners do you have? Are there any you want to get?

I only have two planners at them moment- My personal Saffiano in Aqua and my mini Metropol in Raspberry.

I am currently experiencing planner lust right now and I've been really wanting to get the personal Filofax Butterfly and I also have an eye for the hobonichi techo planners although to be totally honest, I think I am more in love with the pretty covers.

2. What planners are you using at the moment?

I am currently using both my planners. I use the Saffiano as my main planner and the mini as my wallet. You can view my set ups here and here.

3. What are your favorite planner brands?

Considering the fact that I have only ever used the Filofax brand, I think I am going to be kind of biased in saying I love the Filofax brand. I love their inserts even they are not all the same and the quality of the paper is not the best but I can't really make any comparisons. I also do love the paperchase planners. They have got really pretty designs and they are much cheaper than the Filofaxes too.

4. Where do you draw inspiration from for your planner?

When I just found out about the gorgeous world of planners, the pictures and blog posts where the first things to draw my attention. Then I found out about the videos on YouTube and I was hooked. I get my inspiration mainly from YouTube, blogs and sometimes Pinterest.

5. Do you any favorite planner bloggers?

I have a long list of bloggers I love including Angela at Paperlovestory, Amanda at She's Eclectic and Abby at Spread The Giggles just to name a few.
I'm sure there are loads more but the list is too long.

6. What are 5 things for your planner that you absolutely can't leave the house without?

I don't carry loads of things in my planner. I try to carry the minimum so it doesn't become too bulky for me to carry around. But the most important things are pens, notepaper, and some washi tape and sticky notes to decorate my pages

7. What is the current theme for your planner pages?

I haven't had the chance to decorate my pages for this week but I mostly use washi tape as the main decorating tool and then add some sticky notes and stickers to match the theme. I occasionally doodle in my planner but only for week where I am not too busy and I have loads of empty spaces in my planner.

8. What would you describe your planner decoration style as?

I try not to go over the top but I like it neat and pretty at the same time. I am a very visual person and the prettier it is, the more motivated I will be to open u the planner and actually use it. Below are a few of my favourite decorated pages.

9. How did you first discover your love of planners?

I first found out about Filofaxes on the stationery and organisation thread on The Student Room and then from this thread, I was led on to the The Filofax Appreciation Thread where I was introduced to some Filofax blogs and then from the blogs, I started watching Youtube videos. I bought my first Filofax in June 2014 after watching countless set up videos and I have never regretted that decision.

10. What is your favorite thing about Live. Love. Planners.?

I just recently discovered Beth's blog after she entered my blogiversary giveaway but I really do love her writing style and I love the many photos too.

Thank you again for hosting me Beth. I hope you guys enjoyed learning a bit about me. If you would like to know more, here are my links.

Blog: Joannywhite.co.uk

YouTube Channel: Joanny White

Twitter: Joannywhite

Google+: Joanny White

Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/GetInspirationToday?ref=hdr_shop_menu

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Thank you so much for coming today Joanny!  Remember that if you would like to do an interview (and you don't have be a blogger by the way), just shoot me an e-mail at liveloveplanners@gmail.com and I will get back to you as soon as possible.  Also remember to enter my giveaway here!  Only a few days left!

My New Color Coding System!

Hi guys!  If you read my last post, you'd know that I received color coding stickers in my giveaway haul package from Miss Puff, and I was extremely excited to receive them because lately I have feeling the need to put together a new system because I didn't feel like my old one was working for me.  So after sitting down and following my steps from My Thoughts & Tips on Color-Coding, I created a new color coding system for myself!

To help remember which color belongs to what, I took a index card and hole-punched it for easy reference in my weekly lay outs.  I also cut slits where the holes are for easy removal from week to week.

My code goes as followed:

• Pink- Blogging
• Reddish Orange- Kung Fu
• Orange- Family/Friends
• Yellow- Homework (for when I head back to school in the Fall)
• Green- Vacation/Holiday
• Blue- Shopping
• Indigo- Cleaning

All the topics I used for my color coding chart are the most general things that happen in my daily life, which is why I chose them as my general categories.  I like using the stickers because I can easily place them near the day of the week I am on without any hassle.  I also like the fact it provides an easy glance for me to use when I need to know the just of my day.

Thanks for reading!  Make sure to comment below and tell me what you think of my new color code and also if you have a color coding system as well.  Remember to enter my giveaway here!  Only a few days left!

Week of 6/22: Decorated Pages!

Hey guys!  Sorry i haven't blogged in a while, last week was I didn't get a chance to blog at all, but I am going to try to stay on top of it. Recently I received a giveaway package from Miss Puff so this week I utilized my giveaway to put together this week's pages.  This week's theme is "Counting Sheep".  Here's what it looks like:

For this week, I used Felt sheep stickers, a sheep paperclip, as well as thin yellow and green washi tape.  All of these items were included in my giveaway prize from Miss Puff.  I also used some color coding stickers (which will be included in a post later this week.)  I hope you all liked this week's set-up!  Thanks for reading and make sure to enter my giveaway here!  There's only a few more days left so make sure to enter soon!

Finding the Practicality in Planner Decoration

It's one of the most controversial topics you'll see in the Wonderful World of Planner is Supplies:  To Decorate or Not to Decorate?  After reading the article Accessories and Planners: Do They Really go Together by The Fabulous Planner, I really thought to myself about whether I really should have accessories and decoration in my planners.  It took me a while to actually realize that one of my favorite parts about planning was being able to find practicality in decorating or finding uses for stationery that most people would find as a distraction or a waste of time in their planners.  For example, when most people would use page flags as decoration, I use them to write events that have pending date so I can move them around my planner.  Washi Tape?  I write on pieces of it as labels.  Project Life Cards?  I use them to write notes on.

My point is, certain aspects of planner decoration don't necessarily have to be just for eye candy.  Decoration in planners can be a motivator to make you actually want to take the time to plan as well for general uses in your planner.

Thanks for reading!  Make sure to comment and tell me what you think and also remember to enter my giveaway here!

How to Create a Divider System for Your Planner in 3 Easy Steps

In the Wonderful World of Planners, you'll constantly be seeing tutorials for decorating or making your own dividers to utilize as a design tool, but also as a big key to functionality in planners.  Dividers can add another dimension of organization in planners, making them a key part of your planner.  One of the reasons I said my planner was a mess (see An Update on My Planner...), was because I had outgrown my previous divider system, making it hard for me to reach Planner Peace.  Now I think it is safe to say that planner is officially out of shambles (Woo hoo!), and this is because I have recreated my divider system, which brings us to today's topic on how to create a divider system for your planner.  Here are the steps I used to recreate my divider system:

1.  Take a good look at what's in your planner.

• As simple as it sounds, it is one of the most crucial parts of recreating (or creating) your system.  Start by asking yourself this:  "What is really in my planner?".  Do you have pages of notes. To-Do Lists, agenda pages?  When I did I noticed that I had a lot of note pages, inspiration collages I had made, To-Do lists, agenda pages, contacts, personal info, and budgeting sheets.  Once you have done this, take everything out of your rings and put them into piles according to what they are (at this point you can see the categories for your dividers start to form!)

2. Think about your lucky divider number.

• A lucky divider number is how many dividers you feel comfortable with.  For some, this could mean as little as three dividers or even as many as twelve!  For me, I have always felt the most comfortable with six dividers, which is pretty standard.  Try not to make your lucky divider number exceed the number of piles you have too much, but also don't make it too little.  For example,  I have seven parts that I've made from my planner, but my lucky divider number is six.  With this number, I'll still be able to contain everything properly, but I won't be all over the place trying to make everything fit in three dividers, and I won't be trying to stretch everything into twelve

3.  Put everything together!

• Now that we've done all the dirty work, we can put everything together!  Since in this case I had had seven parts established but my lucky divider number is six,  I decided to combine my personal info and contacts together in one divider, since they are similar.  Everything else received its own divider, making the final categories for my dividers become agenda pages, contacts and personal info, notes, inspiration, budgeting, and to-do lists!

Reminder:  Don't be discouraged to make new divider systems even when you've already established one.  Remember that everyone's world is always changing, and you have to change your planner along with you and make your planner work for YOU!

Thanks for reading!  Comment below to let me know what your divider system is like! Remember to enter my giveaway here!

My View on Using Multiple Planners

Whether it is blogs, social media, or from other planner geeks themselves, you'll see an abundance of people with more than one planner.  Some will interchange them, using them one at a time, while others will them all at a time.  As a person with multiple planners (my Filo and my Fauxdori), I believe in using multiple planners at one time. Here's why:

One planner equals limited space.

When I first received my Filofax, since I had no other planners I had tried my best to include all important parts of my daily life in my planner.  Even then, the space of my compact planner limited the options of my planning and I hated having to be contained in a way like that.  That's why I chose to make a Fauxdori for my blog planning to help open my space.  Even though now I have two planners, I'd still like to open up my options by getting more planners.  Do I believe in using to many planners at once?  Yes, even though it helps to "opening up" my planner, I think that it can be hard to manage them all at once.

Thank you for reading! Make sure to check out tomorrow's post!

Week of 5/18: Decorated Pages!

Hey guys! Over the weekend, I took a trip over to Hobby Lobby with my friend Stefanie and we went all out and got a planner haul!  I bought quite a few things, including a Pocket Pages kit, a Heidi Swapp kit (*drools*), and a We R Memory Keepers Journaling Card Pad.  With all these supplies, I decorated my pages for this week, are here they are!

This week, I used the following supplies:

• Stickers from this Heidi Swapp kit
• Paperclip made from stickers from this Pocket Pages kit
• We R Memory Keepers cards from the Albums Made Easy Collection in cut out Pocket Pages sleeve from this kit
• Washi tape accents from here

I hope you enjoyed this post! Thank you for reading!

An Interview with Becky from Planner Fun!

Hey everyone! I am glad to say that today, I won't be the only one writing!  Today we have our special guest star Becky from Planner Fun!  I love Becky's organized and fun style, and I adore the printables she designs. So without further ado, here's Becky!

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Hi, I'm Becky and I'm a 40 something year old (okay, okay, I'm 49 - y ou made me say it), Christian mom to two boys ages 12 and 14.  I spend my days homeschooling, making planner forms (and other printables), and sometimes I crochet.  My hubby and I have been married since 1993 and we enjoy our family time with the guys, eating out, and occasionally taking impromptu day trips.

1. What planner/planners do you have? Are there any you want to get?

I have an older, brown leather, zippered Day-Timer that is 8.5" x 5.5".  I bought it over 15 years ago and it is still in great shape.  Eventually I would like to try a Filofax but for now I am quite content with my Day-Timer.

​​2. ​​What planners are you using at the moment?

F​or Christmas my hubby gave me a ​red Day-Timer Organizer​ (also 8.5" x 5.5"​​).  This particular one has a soft, flexible cover which I love and a magnetic tab instead of a zipper.  I am enjoying it very much!​

​​3. What are your favorite planner brands?​

Well, you would think Day-Timer, wouldn't you?  :)  I just haven't tried any others up to this point.  Like I mentioned, I'm wanting to try a Filofax at some point, but  I am mainly interested in just planner binders as I like making my own inserts too much to stick with just one thing for any length of time.

​​4. Where do you draw inspiration from for your planner?

​Facebook groups and websites where other planners share what they are using and what works for them.  I often find inspiration from Pinterest as well. ​

​​5. Do you any favorite planner bloggers?

​Yes, Kristy at Giftie Etcetera and Patty at Homemakers Daily are two bloggers that I read regularly.

​​6. What are 5 things for your planner that you absolutely can't leave the house without?
​Sharpie Pens in black and red
Highlighter (whatever color I'm using at the time, currently pink)
Frixion erasable pen in Black
Graph note paper
Post-it notes and page tags​​

​​7. What is the current theme for your planner pages?

​I like bright white pages with open spaces and lines and checkboxes.​

​​8. What would you describe your planner decoration style as?

​Well, I'm what I guess is called a functional planner.  Although I bought a few rolls of Washi tape when I started, I don't really decorate my pages now.  I was once very much in to scrapbooking and loved it.  After the last baby book was finally completed, I moved to digital scrapping to save time and eventually quit doing that up as well.​

​​9. How did you first discover your love of planners?

​I have always loved desk-top publishing.  I would make newsletters on an electric typewriter before personal computers (yes, I'm that old!), business cards and certificates when I got my first computer (Macintosh Classic II with the tiny screen), and  then forms:  business, home management and to do lists when I discovered Microsoft Publisher.  I liked making printables so much that I started putting them on my blog and discovered that there was a "demand" for planner inserts.  Last July I pulled out my old planner and started creating my own inserts.  I enjoyed the creating and discovered that I loved being organized and having a plan.

10. What is your favorite thing about Live. Love. Planners.?​

I am a new reader of Live. Love. Planners, so I am just getting started.  This post right here is the one that drew me in!  Live. Love. Planners is now in my newsreader and I'm looking forward to each new post.

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Thank you so much Becky for being here today! Make sure to check out her site http://www.plannerfun.com/!

If you are interested in being featured in an interview on Live. Love. Planners., send me an e-mail at beth.dewald@gmail.com! Thanks for reading!

My Thoughts & Tips on Color-Coding

A very controversal subject in planner world is -you guessed it- color coding.  Some people love it and make it the most important part of their planner, others view it as a waste of time and avoid it as much as possible.  I myself have color coding in my planner, but I believe it is a very testy part of planning.  Some people over do it to the point were they have 15 different colors existing within their planner for the most explicit details in their daily life, meanwhile, I only have 5 at the moment.  Why I do this? Here's why:

Color coding is glance-at only

What I mean by this is that I believe the purpose of color coding is to be able to see what type of events will be on my schedule without having to read into the details of the event itself. When you go ahead and go color crazy, you'll constantly have to go back and look at your code to see what type of event it is. This defeats the purpose of color coding because you prevent yourself from "glancing" properly.  When you have only the five colors, it makes it easier to "glance" at your events.

How do I start my own color coding system?

Simply brainstorm the most general thing you do in your everyday life.  After that, choose a few that you think you need the most and assign them a color. Easy-peasy lemon squeezy!


That's it for today! Thank you for reading and make sure to comment below!

3 Tips for any Beginner Planner Geek (Perfect Planners: A Guide to the World of Planners Part 1)

Hey everybody! If you have signed up for my email newsletter, you know that I have officially started my new mini series Perfect Planners: A Guide to the World of Planners.  In this series, I will teach you the basics of starting and organizing a planner through an assortment of videos, tutorials, and articles on my blog.  Today I will be starting my first article in the series, 3 Tips for any Beginner Planner Geek.  In this article, I will give you 3 tips for when you first start up your planner:

1. Decorating before organizing:

• This is definitely one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a planner geek. Though it may seem as one of those "I'm gonna ignore Beth and just decorate my planner to my heart's desire" situations, it's not.  If you procede to go ahead and washi tape and sticker-fy your planner without setting up a system in the planner itself, you create an even more difficult situation for yourself.  It can be extremely confusing and frustrating, and in the end of it, you further stray from the ultimate goal of having a more organized lifestyle.

     2.  Decorating without actually planning:

• Although decorating is what makes planning fun, there's no purpose to be decorating when you don't do any planning. Make sure to dedicate time to planning and organizing so your decorating will not be in vain.

     3.  Don't be afraid to mix things up:

• Remember that making a planner system that is right for you is a trial and error process, so sometimes you need to take risks that at first might be a struggle, but will pay off in the long run. Remember to take risks!

Thanks for reading! Make sure to comment and tell me other tips you have for beginner planner geeks!