Thrifty Planner Decor - 3 Items You Probably Already Own
I've recently become incredibly interested in anything second hand, upcycled, or thrifted. I've been loving watching "thrift with me" YouTube videos and have recently found a love for second hand shops around my city. So, when it came to looking at different things I could use as planner decor I decided to take on the same mindset and thrift things, or upcycle what I already had around the house.
SCOTH TAPE
First things first, we all love a good washi tape, but sometimes it can be very expensive. If you're like me and you prefer a more minimal aesthetic, you find that the patterns or colors of the tape don't fit the look you're trying to go for or it just ends up cluttering your weekly spreads more than you want them to.
So, I recently went through our junk drawer and found a good old roll of scotch tape.
Which, funnily enough, would work perfectly for the warm, minimal, and natural look that I'm going for for my planner aesthetic.
It's probably something that you already have in your house in a drawer somewhere and you can dress it up with other stickers to make it look really interesting.
CRAFT PAPER
I had a bunch of craft paper envelopes leftover from our wedding and I knew I wasn't going to use them. It bothered me that I had over 50 good quality paper envelopes just sitting in my drawer, but how could I make them work?
Once you tear up the pieces of craft paper into chunks or strips that will fit into your planner, it creates a beautiful torn edge that adds a really nice, natural element. The paper adds a little bit of color and warmth as well. It was everything!
If you don't have envelopes laying around like I did, you could also use brown paper lunch bags. I also had an extra roll of craft paper that I had used to wrap Christmas presents last year. I bought the roll of brown craft paper from the dollar store.
OLD BOOKS
Last but not least, my final upcycled planner decor idea is to find an old book. Now, I'm not talking about your favorite books or collectible books. It has to be a book that you are okay with ripping the pages out of and tearing them into pieces. Again, it's a similar process as the craft paper as you tear pieces off to get that raw edge. Make sure you pick a book that you like the color of the pages and the font. I love the graphic effect that the text adds.
So those are some of the elements that I've really enjoyed introducing into my planner, that haven't really cost me anything, but add a lot of impact to my decor. You could really use anything so just take a look around your house.
Here's a few more ideas:
Scrapbook paper
Magazines
Clothing Tags
Labels off of any products you use
Tickets from events or transit passes
Thread
Shipping tags & envelopes
Newspaper
Greeting Cards
Sheet music you no longer use
Try to see things in a different way. Whether you have to rip it or tear it or cut it or do whatever you have to do to it, planner decor can be so readily available to you.
I'm not saying don't go buy all of your different sticker packs if that's what you really love to do for your planner. We all know I love stickers. I'm just saying that you can create a really beautiful and unique effect if you use an item in a different way. Think outside of the box. Use up what you have. Shop your stash. There's probably stuff that you have in your craft room or your supplies somewhere that you can use up and make it look beautiful again.
If you found this post helpful and you got some good ideas from it, let me know in the comments. Tell me below, what is your favorite unexpected item that you like to introduce into your planner to add a little bit of a decor element to it.
I'd love to hear from you.
-Emilee