Pretty Things for a Planner Girl

Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down.
Charles F. Kettering

Like any girl I like pretty things, especially from the office supply store. Or even better: random little shops where you can find cute stuff for your desk, planner or journaling. Like cute pens with patterns or rolls of adorable washi tape… I want to share some random cute stuff today, because I think that readers of this blog are a bit like me: collector of pretty things, especially pretty office supply store things. Am I right? If yes, keep reading…

But first, as seen on random Pinterst pins, a paper clip hack I have tried and really enjoyed playing with.

Adding ribbons to a paper clip. Such an easy way to decorate your planner, mark special pages and add a little fringe on top of your notebooks. I love this idea, and have been giving away some of these to friends. All you do is attach a piece of ribbon to a regular paper clip (I glued it on so it doesn’t move too much) and then you’re done. If your ribbon ends unravel, hold them over a candle flame until they melt just a little, then they will stop that. Easy, fun hack. Let me know if you give it a try yourself!

I have also fallen down the Gold Foil rabbit hole this year. Gold is everywhere, and that has been my downfall I guess. I didn’t even like gold before I started seeing it everywhere, but now I can’t resist script in gold, or gold polka dots. Yum! Of course glitter and shine has always attracted me, but still, it’s funny to see your taste change drastically when something is on trend…

Though I haven’t splurged much on it, I just know I really like it. Earlier this summer I found a pad of Bazzill Basics Cardstock with gold details:

I couldn’t resist it, even though now I kind of regret it. I really want something similar that is bigger! This pad is just 15 x 15 centimeters (6 x 6 inches), and that is not enough to make a pretty cover for a Traveler’s Notebook unfortunately. But still, it’s very pretty. And sparkly gold.

Another trend seen a lot in Planner Girl Community is paper clips formed like animals, decorated with buttons or die cuts or just simply sticking up making a statement. My favorite paper clip right now are all gifts from my mom, so I don’t know where they’re bought. A big black and white polka dot one:

A true statement piece for your journal. And these are pretty too:

Also, my motto for life is: you can never have too many pens. Never.

These are my new favorite technical pencils, with black and white patterns (also a big trend). I so wish pretty pens would be easier to find in Sweden, but nope, mostly normal boring ones. I haven’t even seen one with a floral pattern here. But I’m in love with these, bought from a Danish shop called TGR. So you see, not all things are pink in iHanna’s Studio. But my pencil sharpener is!

After I bought this one I was all like: WHY haven’t I bought a good sharpener before? I have used a not at all sharp one looking like a mushroom for years, and now I don’t know why I am so cheap sometimes. This is a good buy that was needed. All the rest are just. for. fun.

The trend of sticky notes in all different shapes and forms is also here to stay. I bought these (at Panduro) because they are tiny:

Anything tiny is cute, right?

This post is inspired by the phenomenon of Unboxing Videos on YouTube, as well as the Planner Girl Community everywhere. Some of the women on YouTube and Instagram could be considered crazy, if you ask me. It seams that some buy new pens and cute stickers every day of the week. This summer I followed a few on instagram, but I had to stop. It wasn’t good for me to see new things all the time. And of course calling them a bit crazy does not help my utter jealousy. I want what they have! I too drool over my iPhone as they unbox The Society kit or their stash of pretty scrapbook paper, or notebook box subscription (extremely expensive to ship to Europe, just sayin). The phenomenon of “unboxing videos” was actually on the news the other week, as a trend that now marketers are using to sell their goods. An easy way to entertain and lure (innocent) people into buying things they don’t need…

This post was not made to inspire you to buy everything you see, but to tresure these little things and share the prettiness of them. Also good to know: I bought or was gifted these tiny things over a few months, not a week or a day. Though of course, some might call me crazy anyway. But that is another story.

Anyway, these videos I’ve been watching does more than make me long for money. Watching YouTube also makes me wish I could do videos like that, sharing inspiration in moving images more often that is. They inspire me creatively, and that my friends, is always a good thing. My idea is that I will do inspirational videos in the future, but until my computer can handle video without shutting down, I will stay with still photos for now. And so this post was born.

Cute stuff, planner trends, internet phenomenon.

What say you?