DIY Happy Planner Cover

Hey there!

I am super happy that summer is officially here. But, when June 21 rolls around, that also means that we are halfway through the year. Can you believe that?

While I shake my head in disbelief, I know that it’s time to pull out my Happy Planner and begin creating my pages for July. I like to plan my month the week before so that when I flip the page to the new month, I can get my productivity on!

Desk planners are not the only calendars that I have an unhealthy obsession with. I end up purchasing several wall calendars for each year. I mostly buy ones with inspirational sayings or, for my kitchen, food related pictures. I only hang three calendars in my house but it’s not unusual for me to buy 6 or 7 calendars if I like what’s inside!

I do quite a few projects with my leftover calendars. I can frame my favorite pictures or inspirations easily. Or, I can use them as Happy Planner covers! It’s so much fun to change out your Happy Planner cover from time to time.

After finding the picture that I want to use, I use the original Happy Planner cover as a template and cut my calendar sheet down.

I back it with paper since the natural backing of the calendar sheet is the previous month’s calendar. That’s not exactly the view you are looking for!

I’ve owned a laminator for many years. It’s a cheap one that works only 50% of the time. I was out of self laminating sheets so I pulled this out and used it to laminate my picture. If you’re on the fence about laminators, try the self laminating sheets first and see if you like them. They are on the aisle right next to laminators in your big box or office supply stores.

Once my laminator was properly heated, I ran my picture through the machine twice. I like to make sure everything is nice and secure. You have to make sure that you leave plenty of room around the picture for the seal. If you don’t, when you cut or punch holes in the plastic, you will break the seal and the laminated sheets will come undone.

Once I was content with my seal, I used my Happy Planner hole punch and punched my cover. I measured my pictures so that the punches would be on the edge of the design.

Then I trimmed it, rounded the edges and popped it into my Happy Planner. It only took a few minutes and afterwards I had a nice, new cover for my planner!