Tutorial: Using the Hello Forever Planner for Memory-Keeping with Lisa Truesdell

Hello everyone! After a lot of thought and indecision, I recently settled on a method for my 2016 memory keeping. As my kids get older, I find myself struggling to fill a pocket album, but still wanted (and needed!) a place to collect the keepsakes, kid quotes and everyday memories that don't warrant an entire scrapbook layout. I recently picked up a Hello Forever planner, and rather than using it to plan out my weeks, I'll be using it to document them.

Once the decision was made, the next step was to actually get started. I was excited to try something new... but had a little bit of a "how the heck do I DO this?!" moment. Rather than get stuck there, I pushed myself to just play and see what happened, and to enjoy the process.

I started by printing out my photos for the week, and placing them near the days where they were shot. I tried not to cover up all of the days / dates printed on the planner sheets, but didn't worry too much about it.

With those in place, I looked through my Arendal kits for items that would work well in a planner. These transparent squares from Canal Street add a nice punch of color, and as a bonus, you can still see the days / dates printed underneath them.

Next, I added some stamped journaling lines. I knew I'd be more comfortable writing in the planner with them as a guide, and it helps to connect my words with the photos they match.

I wanted to add a little color, and the washi strips from the Arendal Planner kit were a perfect solution! I layered in a couple of the sticky notes from Canal Street as well, so that I had more spaces to journal. For some reason writing directly onto the page intimidates me, so things like stickies and journal lines help to ease me into the process.

Okay. I DID IT. I wrote in my planner. WHEW. Maybe next week, I won't be so scared to do it. ;) I did end up using my typewriter on one of the sticky notes, just to mix things up.

I felt like the snowy photo was getting lost on the white background, so I matted it with a Documeter card. Cards like this would also be a great place to add journaling!

At this point, I just wanted to fill in more of the blank spaces. I added a little stamping (the word "snow" and the "for the record" and "this moment" circles) and a ticket.

And I couldn't resist digging into my washi stash to finish everything off! Just a little strip here and there adds a big impact to the finished week.

With one week done, I have to say that I'm really excited about the rest of the year! It took me about an hour from start to finish, and that included a lot of finding my groove time. I'm looking forward to exploring all of the possibilities this planner will offer - working in a new format, the ability to add pocket pages when needed, playing with adding things between pages. And I love that I can move it all into a Handbook when the year is over!

Have you had a chance to try memory keeping in your planner? I'd love to see!

Supplies : planner - Hello Forever + Studio Calico; kits - Arendal Scrapbook, Documenter & Planner kits, Canal Street Add-on; ink - Color Theory Clean Slate & Glass Slipper; other - washi tape, Tiny Attacher, date stamp