CRITIQUE : Planner Decoration

Part 2 of my planner design.

I'm about ready to send the designs for the month labels off to be made into plates. Each will be letterpressed in black on the colored flap. You get the fun of writing in the month name, however you want.

Any critiques of these would be great.

CRITIQUE : A Revolving Planner of Monthly Books

I used to be at my desk often enough that a flat planning pad was perfect for me. Now I get all my best ideas (ie: things that I need to remember) while I'm out and about, and I needed a place to put everything down with a pen. Rachel was kind enough to show me her new planner, which was great... BUT I hate spirals.

It's not just because I'm a lefty; spirals fall apart, catch on things, and are overly bulky. In fact, an annual planner is kind of a waste of space in my already full bag.

My solution is a system where each month is a separate book, which hooks together with other months to hold just as much time as you need at a time. 2 months, 3, 4... and when you're done with a month, you can unlock it from the group and put it away.

Here is an example of the 4 books, loose. Each book contains a month of information. The months are blank, so you can use them for whatever month you would like by simply marking the month, and the days on each page.

The books hook together through their binding to make one connected book with as many months as you want.

Here's an animation of several books being connected together. The flap slips through the binding of the month in front, and tucks back into itself.

The colored flap also serves as a bookmark to the current week.

The first several pages contain spots for daily tasks, and for notes. There is a space to write the month at the top of the page, and open circles to write the date number above each day.

There is also a section for more notes, and dates to remember (birthday, anniversaries, etc.)

The last spread has "forward planning" for adding items to future months. It also has instructions on how to bind the months together.

The final page has an overview of 15 months for reference in setting up the blank book.

I have chosen to use three patterns of Mod-Tone paper for the inside. Each book has a colored flap, and one coordinating paper. The following are three of the four papers.

1) I've been using the books already, for my day-to-day planning. They are working quite well for me, but I'm curious what the rest of you think. Anything you would add, delete, change from the inside design?

2) Also, I am planning on designing medallions to letterpress on the front of each book. Each of the 4 medallions would be a decoration with a place for writing the month. Any ideas or inspiration would be appreciated.

3) I want to sell the books in sets of 4- which is a good opportunity to try them out to see if they work for you. Each set of 4 would come with a band to tie around your set. Anyone have any comments about the structure of the binding, and the rest?

Any comments are helpful, and again, thanks! I hope one day these will help someone else stay on track.

CRITIQUE: Arrows Card Design

So today I worked on drawing up some cute vintage arrows for a new Camp Smartypants card. I want to add a saying, but am needing help coming up with ideas.

Alison came up with these...
"Poke poke."
"May all your dreams strike swift and true."
"A little to the right."
"Congratulations on your bullseye."
"to my arch-nemesis..."

I'd love to hear other ideas before choosing just one! What do you think?

CRITIQUE: DIY Craft Kit

Hello! It's been a while since I done a post on AIM. I've been working on a new product for Camp Smartypants and thought this would be a perfect AIM blog post, as I'm looking for your feedback!

I am discontinuing my Friends Forever Card & Bracelet set from the Camp Smartypants line. But, friendship bracelets aren't going away completely! I want to remake this product into a diy craft kit! I've been wanting to create some crafty kits for Camp Smartypants for some time now. This will be the first, of hopefully many kits I plan to create.

So, what the kit includes is: an instruction booklet, a Friends Forever card (which is perforated down the middle so that if can be torn in half- much like those "friends forever heart necklaces"), two safety pins, and embroidery floss.

What I'm mainly looking for feedback on is the packaging of this kit. Take a look at the photos below. I want it to be both visually appealing while also showing what the kit contains. I also want it to fit into my Camp Smartypants brand.



I plan to sell this for $10.00 (retail). What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

CRITIQUE: Scrap Feather Headbands

Hi! I am in need of some feedback on a new product I am in the midst of developing for Camp Smartypants. First I'll give some explanation as this particular item has some restrictions/different goals than my other Camp Smartypants product:

- This is a fall/winter product. I've wanted to create some new products that didn't scream tie-dye. Most of my current product is very loud (color). I'm worried that I am narrowing my market. The base of the feather is still created using leftover scraps from my tie-dye shoulder bags, but I wanted to incorporate other elements into the design to make it different enough to appeal to people who aren't necessarily attracted to tie-dye.

- It has to be made from at least 50% recycled materials. I recently became a member of Trillium Artisans, a local nonprofit that supports people with small crafty businesses. So far, the only product they are currently helping me sell are my God's Eye Pins (because they are over 50% recycled). I submitted these headbands to their product review board last week and they did not pass. Below is the feedback they gave me (click on image to enlarge).

The fabric and thread used are all scrap/thrifted. But the suede lace and elastic is new (which they say makes it only 30% recycled). They also didn't like how I finished the leather braid with fabric and glue.

They also didn't like that the edges of the feather are raw, and will eventually fray. I actually like this about the design. I think that some fraying fits with the idea of an actual feather and would still look nice.



So... what do you think? Here are some possible solutions I've been thinking over:
- Change the leather braid to a scrap fabric braid. (I don't have a clue as to how I'd find a source for enough scrap/thrifted suede lace).
- Change the fabric/glue on the ends to string wrapped around tight?
- Use better elastic (also try to find as much thrifted elastic as possible)

Any other suggestions? What do you think of the design as a whole? Would you wear one? Do you think that the fraying of the feather over time would be bad? Any help/feedback would be great! Thanks

♥ Rachel