My inspiration for this week’s spread was the Notebook Therapy Stencils.
Notebook Therapy Stencils
Here are all of the shapes from the stencils:
I used a Frixion pen with the stencils but they’d probably work better with a needle tip pen. If you slip you can’t erase though, which is why I always use erasable pens with stencils.
There’s a good mix of shapes, borders, banners, weather icons, hydrate trackers, checklists, lines and a habit tracker.
When I’m deciding what planner or layout I’m going to use for the week, I make a list of the sections I need. So for this week (which was back in November I’ve just been slacking with posting), it was:
- Japan travel planning (I’m off to Japan for the cherry blossoms in 2023! I was supposed to take this trip in 2020 so have finally been able to reschedule it)
- Appointments
- To do (including priority tasks)
- Reminders
Before the Pen
I ended up using shapes from each of the stencils in the set. This is what I came up with:
I didn’t have enough space to use the curved edge borders, those would be good for a larger page size (e.g. B5, 7″ wide x 9″ high).
The star shapes of the stencil are a bit fiddly but since I used my Frixion pen I could erase and redo to make it neater.
I had some leftover space so created a border at the bottom of the page using some ovals on the stencils. There’s also arrows, stripes, lines and vines you could use to do a border.
I kept it simple with the left page for appointments, priority tasks (the star symbol) and other to do’s. On the right page I kept Japan trip planning separate and had a notes box down the bottom.
After the Pen
Much better after adding some colour!
I had a hard time choosing what markers to use and did test swatches for the Staedtler Norris club, Milkliners, coloured pencils, zooms, Sharpie S Note and the Zebra Mildliners. I was so close to using Zebra Mildliners but I use them far too often and wanted to try something else. Which was when I stumbled upon the MALA markers I found at IKEA a few years ago which were just the right thickness.
Related post: Favorite Twin Tip Markers for Planning (Roundup)
I outlined the circles then coloured them in properly when the task was complete.
Related post: 10 strategies for tackling your to do list
There was some light ghosting of the MALA markers on the back side of the pages, not enough that I wouldn’t use the back pages though. The Notebook Therapy journal is 160 GSM. As I mentioned in my review of the notebook, most notebooks with 160 GSM paper don’t have show through for marker pens like these.
Supplies Used
- Notebook therapy dot journal
- Notebook therapy stencils
- Frixion erasable pen in black
- MALA markers (from IKEA)
Notebook Therapy dotted notebook review
Would I use these stencils again?
I like them, but I actually prefer cheap plastic stencils like the ones I reviewed in this post instead. Because the plastic stencils are flatter than the Notebook Therapy Stencils, it’s easier to get a pen around the stencil outline. Except for the checklist shapes. I like the checklists on the Notebook Therapy stencils as the stencil is more sturdy and doesn’t slip as much as the plastic stencils (which I usually hold in place using some washi tape).
Past weekly spreads
- Minimalist versus Rainbow Bullet Journal Spread in the Kikki K Grid Journal
- Modifying the Agendio Planner
- Landscape page orientation weekly spread in the Happy Notes
Planning tips
- 10 Bullet Journal Weekly Spreads with Habit Trackers
- Project Planning Using the Action Method Book
- My all time favorite planner supplies
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Kelly P says
That looks so great!