Kikki K Planner - Not Just a Planner Part 1

I am so excited to show the first small project that I did for my Kikki K Peach Perforated Medium Planner. 

I plan to use this planner as my go-to-planner.  If I could, I will totally put everything that I can in this planner.  As we speak, I already have 9 sections and it is growing exponentially. 

I haven't done anything special in the front yet, as shown below.  I don't have collection of sticky notes and stickers and stuff so I left it simple and put in some tags from the Kikki K Be Brave sticker book.  The tags that I chose are those that I may use for gift giving.  

And a paper clip that I made, also from the same sticker book.  A butterfly cut out from the Be Brave planner kit.  Is it obvious now that I love that collection? 

Onto the project, the above is a picture of a closed envelope-like insert that I did.  I regretted putting the sticker on top of the insert.  It would have looked better and simpler with just the butterfly cut out from the Be Brave planner kit.  I just used a gold cardboard paper to make the envelope.  The closure is a strip of velcro tape. It may also be a good idea to make the opening on the opposite side of where I put the opening.  I put it on that side as I like the butterfly to be put in between the rings.  I thought it makes it special.

Let's open it, shall we? I decided to make a first-aid ala mending kit to put inside my planner.  For the simple reason that I think it can fit inside.  Also, it can be useful as well.  I have seen a lot of people putting lots of colored pens and lots and lots of cards and stickers.  Why not a mending kit? Well, maybe it is just an excuse because I don't have those stuff.  They are not accessible to me here in NZ.  If there are, they will be expensive.

There are 4 little components inside.  First, there is the pocket for the plasters and alcohol wipes.  This is just a folded pink paper.  The pattern I used is not a very busy one to give a nice backdrop for the other things. I could also use the same gold paper and it will look nice.  Secondly, the scissor holder.  Under the butterfly sticker ( also from Kikki K Be Brave sticker book) is a magnet piece to hold the scissors in place.  The scissor is decorated with a gold sticker strip that I bought from Whitcoulls.

Third, is the mending kit.  

This is made out of a tag from the Sticker Book.  I cut the top part and made a small pocket out from it. Then, covered the hole with a butterfly sticker.  I just inserted one safety pin and threaded 2 needles with white and pink threads. 

Fourth, is the button holder. 

I took the bird cut out from the Be Brave planner kit and punched a heart shaped hole.  My puncher is from Daiso that I purchased for 2 dollars while I was in Singapore.  It is not the sharpest puncher as you can see the crooked cut it did on the cardstock. I am not really bothered by it, I think it made it look handmade and real.  To showcase the button, all I did was fold the plastic and tape it behind the bird cut out.  

I enjoyed doing this project so much.  I plan to make good use of the Sticker book that I bought. . .so more projects coming. 

Also, if you are wondering.  This insert did not add too much bulk in the binder. 

It is almost invisible when you look from the side.  The first aid ala mending kit is under the Projects tab.  The other gold insert under expenses that is very visible is another project for some time. 

Hope you like this project and please let me know if there are things you want to see done :).

Kikki K Peach Perforated Leather Planner ( Medium) Overview

This will be about my new project series.  I have a few small projects in mind and it involves the use of a planner.  The planner that I fell in love with is The Kikki K Peach Perforated Medium Leather planner from the "Be Brave" collection.  I have always been a fan of Kikki K so my hubby gifted me with a Kikki K voucher for my birthday.  This planner is a gift from my hubby and not from a sponsor for commercial purposes.

Below is an overview of the planner.  I will try to describe the planner in as much detail as I can.

1. The box

I loved boxes ever since I can remember.  Hence, the title of my blog.  I really hoped that they kept the boxes they used to sell the old planners in.  The old boxes have a sturdier feel to it and you lift the top up to open the box.  The new design requires you to slide the inside of the box away from the cover.  I can understand that this new design maybe a cheaper alternative to the previous boxes. This box design is easier to assemble and looks like there is no wrapping required paper required.  I would like to see the old box but I am not really complaining about this new one.  Not all new planners come in a box so Kikki K is ahead on that game.

2. The color

     I have been eyeing the peach planner before I went to visit the shop.  But when I stepped inside the store, the Ice Blue Planner is just so eye catching.  With all the blue colored products together in one shelf, the look is so fresh and cool and clean.  In contrast to the shelf where all the peach products are displayed, the whole shelf looks warm and orangy.  I instantly want the Ice blue planner like Love at first sight.  I studied the peach and held it in my hand.  I have a gut feeling that this beauty will look better under natural lighting.  It could be that the shop lighting is making it all look orangy and dark.  I left the store to clear my mind.  I went back again and knew that I will get the peach.  I paid for  the peach and never looked back.  I looked at the peach planner several times during the day under different lighting.  Early morning is when the peach  gives its best hue.  It maybe orangey and dark for some, but I would say that this color grows in you. It gets prettier every day.  Below pic is under artificial light.  It looks orangey compared to the first picture above.  The above picture is taken in the morning under natural lighting, although the photo is still more orange than the actual color.  It is hard to capture its actual color in camera but I will definitely say that it is not orange. 

3. The texture

    I am not sure how to describe leather texture.  This particular planner feels hard and rough and I like it like that as it gives me the impression that it will not become dirty very easily. It is not very rough that you wouldn't want to touch it, just enough friction against your skin to give you a good nice grip.

   The perforations are squarish in shape.  The holes are probably around 2mm deep.  The inside of the holes are grayish, more like cardboard color.  It makes me wonder how beautiful it would look if the insides of the holes are gold or some color contrasting with the peach. Nevertheless, the gray holes doesn't compete with the beautiful peach.

4.  The hardware

      The hardwares are gold in color.  The binder rings feel high quality.  I love the gold hardware against the peach.  The gold color is more on the yellow side and also very shiny.  I rubbed my fingers across the rings and it seems fingerprint proof as well.  My ring binders open and close without any hiccups.  No ring gaps as well.  When measured with a ruler, the ring diameter is around 3 cm. 

Opening the popper doesn't give me a problem either.  It looks and feels like it is tighly secured to the strap. 

5.  The cotton cloth interior and pockets

     The interior fabric matched the leather perfectly.  From afar, it looks like the whole planner, plus the interior is covered in leather.  In close inspection, it is a cotton fabric.  I am worried that because of the light color, it might get dirty very fast.  Although it feels like it is somehow a  protected fabric, I will still be mindful on preventing accidentally putting pen ink on the fabric. 

On the plus side, the stitching looks uniform and clean.  The thread used for the stitching is also peach so the design looks seamless and clean.

Pockets are ok in this planner.  It has 2 card slots, 1 secretarial pocket and 2 note pad slots.  I am not very fussy with pockets as I can always add storage slots inside the binder with handmade envelopes and business card holder inserts. 

6.  The inserts

     I plan to use the inserts provided in the planner so I don't waste any of it.  However, I have few comments.  First, the labels feel like there is not a lot.  Only 6 blank tab labels, so there is very little room for error when using labels.  Next, is the month in 2 pages inserts. Is it just me or anyone else bothered as to why there are no margins on the sides of the pages? But, it will have to do, I can ignore it.  Good thing is that Kikki K is generous with the number of pages.  The paper provided are a lot so I will be making hundreds of my lists and still have spare note pages left.  

I hope I described this great planner in detail to help you if you are looking at getting this planner.  For some people, it may seem like just a notebook but for planner/notebook enthusiast like me, I need this kind of information when selecting a planner.  My hubby always laugh at me when I describe a notebook to him, I can go on forever.

I would like to hear your from you.  I welcome any comments and please feel free to ask any questions.  A

Although I have been using planners for a long time, only recently have I learned about the planner love or planner community in the internet and would like to be a part of it.  To end this post, here is my 17 year old planner.