A huge trend (or shall we say, movement) in the crafting world right now is the planner craze, and the planner stamps that come along with it. If you follow any #plannerbabe, #planneraddict or #plannercommunity hashtags, you'll see beautiful planner layouts that'll make a Type A personality jump for joy.
How to Use Planner Stamps - With Amanda Rose Zampelli
One such planner community leader is Amanda Zampelli (@amandarosezamp) of AmandaZampelli.com. She recently created several custom rubber stamps from RubberStamps.com by uploading her own patterned designs, and we simply can't get enough of the creative final product: a custom planner layout.
Supplies:
We decided we had to learn more about planners and using planner stamps from the expert herself!
You recently used custom planner stamps to make a killer planner layout. What do you think are the benefits of using stamps to do so?
Oh, let me count the ways! I really love stamps. Firstly, you can customize the color scheme of your planner page with whatever you decide to use. Stick to three or four, and then you can build around the vibes those colors create. For my December monthly layout, I stuck to teal and silver grey mostly, with pops of pink to mark days with special events.
Secondly, stamps can create a design element on the page that can aid in the functional aspect of your planning. A couple of the ones I designed provided me with lines on which to write my plans on. This was so practical and helpful for me, while also being decorative and fun!
Where did you get the inspiration for your custom stamp designs?
I have been using a planner to help me remember events and important dates and "get things done" since my elementary school days. While I easily fill up my weekly pages to the MAX with lists and highlights and sticky notes, my monthly pages often remain blank.
I knew, however, if I could create a set of stamps that fit inside the daily boxes of my monthly pages and provide me with bullet points and lines on which to jot tasks down on, I’d be more likely to work in my planner’s monthly format.
Turns out, it worked like charm! Once I started stamping them, I couldn’t stop!
You are a #plannerbabe through and through. For someone who wants to get into the planner craze, but doesn’t really know where to start, what are a few methods you recommend?
Getting into the planner craze starts with a few simple steps: (1) start using a planner, (2) do yo' thing in it (3) share what you did. The hardest part about those three steps is honing what yo' thing actually is, but your own unique approach and style in your planner develops after you try a bunch of things.
Some of my favorite newbie planner advice I’ve ever written was in an Instagram post back in the summer of 2016. It read:
“The planner community is a club that ANYONE can be member of, so my advice is JUMP. RIGHT. IN. Believe me, you’ll be welcomed. // Other than that, I encourage you to play, experiment, try new things, find what works for you, connect with those who inspire you, make mistakes, cover them up with pretty paper, and move on. Don’t hoard and don’t treat the untouched page as precious.
The time spent with your planner is not wasted time. It’s our method of organizing our thoughts and actions in a way that will best enable us to live a fun, happy, full life. It’s our way to express gratitude for everything that encompasses our busy day. It’s our way to celebrate events that have happened and document our stories in a visual way using our own voices. It’s our quiet time for ourselves, and you should take it, as often as you need it."
We understand that you recently left your job to pursue a new career, and, according to your website, you are “trying to come up with a plan for how to combine all your skills in design, teaching, writing, crafting, memory keeping, and marketing.”
What lessons have you learned about starting your own business that you can give to other novice start ups?
The hardest lesson I’ve been learning thus far is even though most times I know I'm the right girl for the job, people don’t seem believe me. It takes a whole lot of grit and perseverance to prove your capabilities to other people. I’m still in the throws of that, but it’s been good work thus far and you have to have a little faith. One day (hopefully) someone will believe me.
Also, I’ve been learning the divine difference between a hobby, a job, a career, and a vocation (a la Liz Gilbert) - and have been getting really specific about what category the things I’m doing throughout my day fit into. I want a creative, lucrative CAREER that allows me to live out my VOCATION of creating art people can use on the daily, but right now that means I have a boring ol’ night JOB to pay the bills while I’m in pursuit of it…and that’s okay. You need to support your creativity, and not depend on it to support you.
Don’t want to create your own planner stamps? Check out these stock planner stamps!
Want to learn more about planner stamps from Amanda? Check out her website, AmandaZampelli.com, and find her on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube.
* All photos courtesy of Amanda Rose Zampelli.
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Bullet Journals and Planners
