If you've ever looked at a blank, functional planner and thought there must be more to this — this video is for you. Over about 80 minutes, I walk through more than 10 ways to personalize and customize a planner, using mostly materials I already had at home or picked up secondhand. The same ideas work just as well for any ring-bound journal, including junk journals. My starting point was a $12 Kmart planner — nothing special — and by the end it was something I actually want to open every morning.
What we cover
This is part inspiration tour, part tutorial. The first half moves through all 12+ customization ideas — cover decoration, charms, washi tape edges, dashboards, a DIY expanding folder, sticker storage, custom dividers, free printables, ribbon bookmarks, pockets, extras like paper clips and uplifting messages, and a supplies pouch. The second half goes deeper with step-by-step tutorials on making a reusable hole-punching template, a laminated or acetate dashboard, and the expanding folder with a built-in flip-out pocket.
What you'll learn
How to decorate a planner cover with materials you probably already have, including:
- Transparent stickers layered over a plain cover
- Metallic body tattoos applied to smooth vinyl or faux-leather surfaces
- Collage, paint splashes, fabric patches, or photo arrangements
- A small mirror glued to the cover — more practical than it sounds
How to add charms to monthly tabs without getting in your own way — I punched a hole in each tab, set a small eyelet, and attached a bell charm. The key consideration: anything that hangs lower than the tab edge will catch on pages and become annoying fast.
How to apply washi tape to page edges so it actually stays — apply a thin line of glue to the paper edge first, then lay the tape halfway, fold, and press. A glue stick can work for a one-year planner, but I prefer a proper adhesive because glue stick doesn't set immediately and the tape can shift.
How to create a washi tape sample card — a simple reference strip stored in the back pocket so you can see all your tapes at a glance while decorating weekly spreads.
How to make a dashboard from upcycled materials, including:
- A laminated piece of scrapbook paper with a sticky notepad glued on top
- Clear acetate cut from food packaging or a plastic shoe box lid
- The clear panel from an old student diary
- Self-adhesive clear pockets found secondhand
How to make a reusable hole-punching template — cut a piece of card stock to exactly the size of a journal page, mark hole positions by aligning with the ring openings (not the rings themselves), punch the holes, then transfer to any new insert. This one template works for every dashboard, folder, or printable you add all year.
How to cut notches for wide ring mechanisms — a straight notch works for round rings, but for the flat double-wire rings common in modern planners, cut a V shape instead. It makes insertion and removal much smoother.
How to make a removable expanding folder, including:
- Cutting a file folder down to journal size using your template
- Punching holes and notching the spine edge only
- Adding a flip-out element on the open edge with a pocket behind it
- Gluing the flip-out along the top, bottom, and the inside edge so it doesn't gap open when flipped up
How to create a sticker storage folder from a file folder, including:
- Cutting the folder to pocket size
- Folding in both sides to create interior pockets
- Decorating the cover with scrapbook paper and alphabet stamps
- Covering the whole piece with contact paper for durability — do this before gluing it into the journal, not after
How to make a ribbon bookmark with interchangeable charms — glue a length of ribbon or trim along the full back cover panel so it's secure, then finish the end with crimp ends (ribbon crimp ends) and attach charms via the small hook. The full cover attachment is what keeps it from pulling out.
How to use free printables to fill pages you'd otherwise ignore — daily gratitude lists, habit trackers, gift trackers, movie logs, book trackers, 30-day challenge sheets, and a table of contents. I searched "free printables for planners" and printed everything that actually matched how I work.
How to make DIY paper clips from stickers and acetate — sticker face-down on a piece of acetate, trimmed and shaped, then slipped over a standard paper clip. No laminator required.
Adding a closure as a removable element — a strip of fabric, lace, or ribbon can work as a simple tie closure; making it detachable means you can swap it out or remove it entirely without touching the journal itself.
Tips & gotchas
Apply a line of glue to the paper edge before laying washi tape down, not after. Washi is designed to be temporary — without that glue underneath, it will start peeling back within a few weeks of regular use. A glue stick can work in a pinch since this is a one-year project, but it doesn't set instantly, so the tape can move before it dries.
For your hole-punching template, align to the ring openings rather than to the rings themselves — the rings shift around a little, but the openings stay fixed. Slightly imperfect holes are fine as long as they're all on roughly the same horizontal line.
When cutting notches, resist the straight-across cut if your planner has wide flat rings. The V cut takes two extra seconds and makes every insert go in cleanly instead of having to force it.
For the flip-out pocket on your folder: glue along the top edge, the bottom edge, and the inside vertical edge. If you skip that inside edge, the pocket face swings open every time you flip the element up and everything falls out.
Cover your decorated folder pieces with contact paper before you glue them down into the journal. Once they're attached, you can't get the contact paper to lie flat over the edges cleanly.
For dashboards and inserts made from acetate or thin plastic, make sure the base material is sturdy enough to hold against light tugging. Very flimsy pieces will pull out of the rings with minimal force — if you're using something thin, reinforce the spine area with a strip of card stock before punching your holes.
One thing I kept coming back to while building this out: bulk is the enemy. Every pocket you add has to hold something, and all of that adds thickness. Once the journal stops closing flat, it stops being pleasant to use. Choose your pockets and inserts deliberately rather than adding everything you could.
When you get bored of a dashboard in August (and I do get bored), you pull it out and make a new one in twenty minutes. The folder gets coffee-stained, you replace it. The charms get tired, you swap them. It ends up being less about decorating a planner once and more about having a way to keep it feeling like yours all year long — which is the whole point, really.
