Product Review: Life Planner

Over the course of the next couple of weeks expect to see some changes happening here at The Creator's Leaf.  Cindy and I have been working on some new branding - hence the new topper - and cross-branding over various social platforms. One of the things I want to implement is reviewing products that are new to me. Perhaps not new on the market, but things I had not used before - starting with the On-the-Go Life Planner from Erin Condren.

I am not sure where I found a link to Erin's store, I think it was on Facebook, but I honestly don't recall. I was a drawn in by ~ what else ~ the bright colors! 

Bright colors and personal photos! Erin had several photo layouts you could use in building your life planner. I selected the option with the most openings for photos. I was as simple as drag and drop and poof! my photos were in place. (The ripples you see across the top left corner of both photos is not an issue with the planner. They are an issue with too much sun coming through my studio windows and me not noticing it until now.) Super easy to make online.

When I received my planner a few days later I was pleased to see that both covers were protected in a heavy lamination, which easily wipes clean with a damp cloth. (Thanks to a little accident with some ink sprays - I can positively attest to this whole cleaning up thing. >.<) The whole planner is held together with a sturdy coil.

Another selling bonus to me was the selection of add-ons I got to pick from. It is important to me to be able to quickly access the calendar page I need to be on. This cute little, click-in ruler is just the ticket I needed to make this happen. Erin uses the same heavy lamination to protect the ruler and it is so easy to remove and place in a new location. I ordered two rulers - one to save my place in the correct month, and one to help me quickly find the contacts section.

It was already the end of April when I came across the On-the-Go Life Planner, which meant one third of the year was already complete. Another selling point for the planner is this - I could start the calendar anywhere in the year that I wanted to. I chose to run my calendar from May through the end of the year and the price was pro-rated. Each month is earmarked with a laminated tab, alternating colors. You get a two-page spread for each month, and a two-page spread for each week. Every page spread has a column for taking notes, as well as space at the bottom of each page for more notations. 

The monthly pages have decent size blocks to write appointments in, and I was able to use my own pictures to make photo labels to use throughout the calendar.

In the back of the planner is a sturdy double-sided pocket page to store my labels . . .

. . . all my labels. The life planner comes with these sheets of labels that I can use to mark special days in my planner. I was also able to detail one sheet of labels to be pre-printed with wording of my choice.

There are a few pages of inspirational art in the planner . . .

. . . and a nice section of note pages - both lined and unlined pages. The front of the planner has a special dates section and a two-year overview calendar. The back of the planner has the above note section, a section of contacts pages, and four more sheets of labels that aren't pictured anywhere in this post.

Behind that pocket page is a clear sealable envelope to store the surprise labels they sent me, as well as stamps for postage, stash receipts, whatever you wish. 

The front of the back cover features monthly calendar blips for the next two years. 

Can I just say that I love this calendar? I go through a lot of calendars. I have a hard time finding one that fits my needs, as my needs are always changing. This one is truly sturdy and I believe it will hold up well. I am probably not going to want to give it up at the end of the year. You can find Erin's store at www.erincondren.com and look at the various products she makes. I just noticed that life planner production is at a halt now until July 1st. Those planners will run from July, 2014 through December, 2015. If you are interested, you could go check out her other items now and pin this post so you can find it again in July. 

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