Do you use a planner? I do, and I love my planner. Like, LOVE! I know it’s superrrrr old school but I stay so much more organized when I use it.
My system is a little laborious but the end result is always better for me. I have a record of all my ins and outs in my phone because I don’t want to haul this thing with me everywhere. At the beginning of each month I write down the month at a glance (taken from my phone), and I fill in the weekly to-do’s each week. I also update the month at a glance a few times a month to keep myself on track. There’s some back and forth, for sure, but me not forgetting things makes the effort worthwhile. Sometimes I have an item of note to accomplish in the future and I’ll flip ahead and note it so I don’t forget. Also, this planner is so pretty and that makes me want to use it. I just love a pretty planner, don’t you?
Anyhow, I always write in pencil (except birthdays) but I am always, always losing my pencil. It’s annoying. So this month, I dedicated my Kraftex project to not losing said pencil. Truth be told my friend Kristi gave me the idea and sent me a photo she found online and I totally ran with it. Partly because the Kraftex coordinates nicely with my planner, partly because it’s VERY necessary. It’s the pretty things, people.
I started with the amethyst Kraftex and some elastic grosgrain ribbon. I wish the ribbon were a slightly different color, to be honest, but it works and I can always change it later.
I wrapped the elastic around the planner to give me a general idea of where I needed to cut it.
I cut the elastic and sewed it together. Once I knew where to cut and sew, I trimmed the elastic a half inch shorter so it would be a little taut when I secured it around my planner.
I measured the inside of a page in my planner and cut an arrow template to size. I made mine in Photoshop and you can download a copy below.
I cut out the image, traced it onto the Kraftex then cut that out. You’ll need two and the second arrow is cut off before the tail.
Once you have the two arrows cut out, measure a small piece of Kraftex to sew onto the back piece. It needs to be the width of the arrow by whatever height you like. You’ll use this to make a sleeve to sew around the Kraftex.
This allows you to hide the seam AND if the elastic is loose you can tighten it without disassembling the entire pencil holder since it’s not sewn onto the elastic.
Use clips to hold the pieces together while you sew. Pins will leave a mark. I used a size 90 needle and Aurifil thread. I stitched at a 2.5 stitch length on my machine.
You can make any shape to hold a pen or pencil. Be sure to tag me if you make one! I’d love to see your creations!
Happy Sewing!
-Patty
Patty Murphy 