Next year, coming soon / Demnächst: Ein neues Jahr

Hello friends, if you follow me on twitter or instagram you may know that lately I've been working on the planners for next year. My neighbour ordered one, so I made his. And I wanted to try out a different layout and size for mine. I love the quite small pocket calendars that I usually make because they are so light and small enough to fit in a purse, so wherever I go, I can take them with me. It's quite convenient, actually. I do, however, also like to treat my planner as a sort of diary and notebook, not just something that reminds me of appointments. Being able to scribble down random thoughts, make notes on what happens in my life and other things like that, is something I enjoy. And as much as I like my notebook, which is perfect for longer thoughts and planning things and charts and doodles and I don't know what - I don't want to take my calendar AND my notebook with me all the time.

Hallo Freunde, wenn ihr mir auf twitter oder instagram folgt, habt ihr vielleicht schon mitgekriegt, dass ich in letzter Zeit an Kalendern für nächstes Jahr gearbeitet habe. Mein Nachbar wollte einen, also habe ich einen für ihn gemacht. Außerdem wollte ich bei meinem eigenen Kalender etwas Neues für Format und Layout ausprobieren. Ich finde die kleinen Taschenkalender, die ich normalerweise mache, toll. Sie sind so leicht und kleine genug, dass ich sie in meine Handtasche stecken kann und immer dabei habe, egal, wo ich hingehe. Das finde ich ziemlich praktisch. Allerdings mag ich es auch, wenn ich meinen Kalender auch als eine Art Tagebuch und Notizbuch verwenden kann, und er mich nicht nur an Termine erinnert. Ich mag es einfach, wenn ich wahllos Gedanken aufschreiben und Notizen darüber machen kann, was gerade so in meinem Leben passiert. Und so sehr ich mein Notizbuch auch mag, weil es perfekt ist für längere Texte, Planungen, Tabellen, Grafiken und Kritzeleien, will ich trotzdem nicht immer mit Kalender UND Notizbuch durch die Gegend laufen.

So I decided to mix the two. On the left page, there is a typical planner for a week with space for appointments. And on the right page, there is space for things I am grateful for, random stuff, a to do list, and an inspirational quote. I'm already curious how well the quotes will fit the week they show up in. And because I want the next year to be all about CREATING - creating beautiful things, creating a colourful and amazing life, getting dreams to come true - there is also space for things that I can do to actually achieve all that. (Here comes a big shout out and thank you to Tara Bliss and Rachel MacDonald, whose blogs and ebook Spirited inspired me to create this planner the way it is now. And a lot of the quotes I used are actually from them. Seriously guys, check them out!)

Also habe ich beschlossen, die beiden miteinander zu verbinden. Auf der linken Seite ist ein typischer Kalender mit Platz für Termine. Und auf der rechten Seite ist Platz für: Dinge, für die ich dankbar bin; beliebige Gedanken; To do-Listen. Außerdem gibt es für jede Woche auch ein inspirierendes Zitat. Ich bin schon gespannt, wie gut die Zitate letztendlich zu den Wochen passen, in denen sie erscheinen. Und weil sich das nächste Jahr ganz ums ERSCHAFFEN drehen soll - schöne Dinge herstellen, ein farbenfrohes und wundervolles Leben gestalten, Träume wirklich werden lassen - gibt es auch Platz für Dinge, die ich tun kann, um das tatsächlich alles zu erreichen. (An diese Stelle ein großes Hallo an Tara Bliss und Rachel MacDonald, deren Blogs und eBook Spirited mich dazu inspiriert haben, diesen Kalender so zu gestalten. Viele der Zitate, die ich darin verwende, kommen von den beiden. Ernsthaft, schaut euch mal auf ihren Blogs um!)

I can't wait to wrap up this year and dive headfirst into all my intentions and goals for the coming - with my inspiring companion by my side. And now I will go do what I like to do most: getting to work on some more planners to brighten up other people's year. Have a great night (or morning, or afternoon) Fräulein Grit PS: What are your intentions for the coming year? Would you like a planner like that to help you achieve them?

Ich kann es kaum erwarten, das alte Jahr abzuschließen und voller Elan meine Intentionen und Ziele für nächstes Jahr anzugehen - mit meinem inspirierenden Gefährten an meiner Seite. Und jetzt werde ich das tun, was ich am liebsten mache: an weiteren Kalendern arbeiten, um anderen Leuten das neue Jahr zu versüßen. Habt eine gute Nacht (oder guten Morgen, oder schönen Tag) Fräulein Grit PS: Was sind eure Vorhaben für das nächste Jahr? Hättet ihr auch gerne so einen Planer, um euch dabei zu helfen, sie in die Tat umzusetzen?

Everyone has to start somewhere

My dear reader, welcome!

I don't know if it is just me, but I remember year after year drifting through book stores and markets for office supplies and stores with really cute stuff, looking for a pocket calendar that would fit my needs. But I never really found one of a good size, that pleased my eye, and had a convenient partitioning. I might be crazy to think that functionality should be combined with cuteness, but hey, that's me ;)

So anyway, after my then roommate introduced me to the art of bookbinding, I thought to myself: If the big paper companies of the world won't fit my needs, I can do that myself! How hard could it be to make a planner anyway? As it turns out, for a person who never bound a book in their life, it's not as easy as I made it up in my head to be. But I like a good challenge, so I started to do it anyway. I decided on a format and designed the interior of my first calendar ever. Which took a long time and made me swear a lot, trust me, but unfortunately wasn't even the difficult part. Because then I printed the pages, folded them, had to cut them precisely, sew them together, glue them and I don't know what. And all of that without the proper tools, because why spend money on something you don't even know you can do, right?

Well, as you can imagine, the result was not exactly what I had pictured in my head, but for a first try I still think it turned out pretty good. It had it's rough edges and flaws, but I used it for a year and it didn't fall apart or anything. I was so proud :) But since I don't like to not get something done perfectly (yep, control freak, I admit), I wanted to get better. I was hooked; and out of a mere 'necessity' a great hobby was born. That was three years ago. I have made a lot more planners since that - for myself, for family and friends. As it turned out, I wasn't the only one who was bored with the off-the-shelf diaries after all...

So now I get to share my passion with family and friends, and thanks to the unlimited possibilities of the world wide web even with you.


Have fun browsing and enjoy life
Fräulein Grit