Tutorial: Planner makeover for back-to-school

It's that time of year again: back-to-school time. My semester actually started back a few weeks ago, so it was about time that I figure out a way to beautify my boring weekly planner. It was seriously lacking color and personality.

Here is an after shot of my planner. Now, I actually want to plan ahead!

Materials

• 2 sheets of cute 12 x 12 scrapbook paper (Lightweight fabric would probably work too.) {< $1}
• Planner / agenda that you already own and want to recover (I got mine from my university's bookstore, because it lists university dates, like Fall Break, and comes with stickers - yes!)
• Mod Podge (You could probably substitute regular Elmer's glue, but you will need to give it more time to dry.) {Large bottle of Mod Podge is $5.97 - this project will only take a tiny amount.}
• Foam brush to apply the Mod Podge {< $1}
• Scissors {already own}
• Ribbon or yarn (optional) {< $1}
• Letter cutouts or stickers (optional) {< $1}

Time - approximately 30 minutes

(Check out the cool stickers that came with my planner! I'm sort of embarrassed to admit that those stickers were the main reason why I went with the university planner. Ha ha!) 

Step 1 - Trace an outline of your cover onto your sheet of scrapbook paper, and cut the shape out. 

Step 2 - Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge to the cover of the planner. Then, place your paper on top and gently smooth all of it down. 

Step 3 - Trim the excess around the edges.

 Step 4 - Repeat steps 1, 2, and 3 on the inside of the front and back covers, as well as on the outside of the back cover.

Note: I used different patterned paper for the inside of the cover. It makes it cuter that way, I think. 

To finish it off, I just tied a piece of coordinating yarn around the planner and tied a bow. I also mod podged on some letter cutouts to form the word "planner" at the top…just in case anyone doesn't know what it is…ha ha.

Happy back-to-school planning!

By the way, check out the CSI Project. It's back-to-school week, so I'm linking up!  :)