New Brush Dance journals!

Brush Dance has a new collection of gorgeous journals! They very generously sent me two to review.

These are the Perennial Grace Journal and the Renee Locks Dreamer Journal:

Here is the Perennial Grace journal. I love the artwork and the quote:

Here is the Renee Locks Dreamer Journal. What a great quote to have on a journal!

The journals are 5 by 7 inches and slim, with rounded corners and an elastic closure so it can easily go with you everywhere in your bag. There are 136 lined pages of 120 gsm paper! So you can use all your favorite pens with no worries of bleed through.

Here are the back covers, so pretty!

Here is a closeup so you can see the info:

Brush Dance has an excellent selection of journals in various sizes, click here to see them all. 

Huge thanks to Brush Dance for these gorgeous journals!

Brush Dance 2014 Date Books: Simple Pleasures, Perennial Grace and Mindful Living

Many huge enormous thanks to Brush Dance for sending me these beautiful planners to review! I absolutely love Brush Dance products. I have had the pleasure of reviewing several here on Plannerisms and they are just a joy. So when Brush Dance offered to send me some of their new 2014 Date Books to review I of course said yes and I could hardly wait until they arrived because I knew they would be great!

And they are, wow!!

Brush Dance Datebooks are famous for their beautiful imagery and uplifting quotes. They are 6.9 by 8.5 inches, with hard covers and metal coil bindings. The fountain pen friendly paper is thicker than most paper so there's no bleeding or show-through to the other side of the page, allowing you to use all your favorite pens!

The Brush Dance Date Books have lots of themes to choose from so you're sure to find one (or several!) you identify with. Some people frame the monthly images because they are so beautiful.

I have to admit, the Simple Pleasures Datebook is my favorite for 2014.

The Simple Pleasures Datebook, journal and wall calendars are about the joys of home, companionship, a good book and a warm bath.

Each of the Datebooks has a pocket for papers and receipts, and tabbed monthly calendars embedded in the weeks with a new image and quote each month. Click on the photos for a larger view.

The tabbed months are on heavier card that will stand up to use all year. The monthly calendars have holidays for the US, UK, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand printed on the day spaces, with lined space for Notes below the month grid. Phases of the moon, solstices and equinoxes are also printed on the days, which I really like.

The weekly pages begin at the beginning of each month and end on the last day of the month.

There is a week per page. I really love the bright blue ink they used in the Simple Pleasures pages this year, it looks great! There is also a subtle decorative background design at the edges that looks so nice.

At the end of each month there are several notes pages for lists, tracking goals, finances or anything else you want to write each month. I love the border design and again that blue color is so pretty!

The coil binding allows you to fold the book completely back on itself to save space on your desk and still see your week in one view. Holidays are all printed on the day spaces in the weekly pages too.

I have to admit the July quote actually made me cry, because this is exactly how I feel about my house. It says, "I am grateful for the lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and floors that need waxing because it means I have a home."

After ten years of dreaming of owning a traditional cottage in Scotland, last year that dream came true when we bought our house, our first time as homeowners after two decades wandering the earth. I don't particularly enjoy cleaning, but each time I sweep the floor or clean the kitchen it feels like an affirmation of love for my home. That's why the Simple Pleasures datebook really speaks to me this year.

Anyhoozle, back to the datebooks!

Every month has a tabbed divider to easily flip to the month you're looking for.

There's also a tabbed Addresses section at the back of the book. Love the design!

You might remember I used the Simple Pleasures 2012 pocket calendar last year and loved it!

Here is the Perennial Grace 2014 Datebook.

The Perennial Grace Datebook, journal and wall calendars celebrate nature and peace. The Perennial Grace 2013 Datebook is my favorite this year, and I cut it apart to turn it into a week + notes format in my Success Choice binder. Later I regretted cutting it up and bought another one!

Here is the pocket and tabbed months. I love the beautiful images of nature in this datebook!

Here is the weekly design in the Perennial Grace 2014 Datebook. The colors and patterns remind me of sitting outside in a garden looking at flowers and trees.

This is my favorite quote in this datebook. It says, "The bird of paradise alights upon the hand that does not grasp. -John Berry"

Here is the pattern in the Address pages:

Here is the Mindful Living 2014 Datebook. The Mindful Living Datebook and wall calendar are about self-awareness and improvement.

The images in the Mindful Living 2014 Datebook are soothing and calm.

Here is a view of the month tabs, they look so nice. This is my favorite quote in the Mindful Living Date Book this year, it is so true.

The colors and design are very handsome and can be enjoyed by men and women.

Here is the design in the Address pages:

I have the Mindful Living 2013 pocket calendar (which I featured in a giveaway last year) and I love the positive quotes!

Each of the Date Books has an elastic closure for keeping the book closed in your bag. The closure strap can also stay out of the way on the back cover when you're not using it.

If you are looking for a planner that will make you feel good and is beautiful, for yourself or as a gift, take a look at the Brush Dance 2014 Date Books. You're sure to find something you'll love!

Brush Dance also has a huge selection of wall calendars, mini wall calendars, journals, cards and bags that are all beautiful and functional!

You can buy Brush Dance products at BrushDance.com, on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, and at Calendars.com for international shipping.

Thanks again to Brush Dance!

Brush Dance pages in my Success Choice binder

If you've read my first two posts in this series, you'll know I bought the Success Choice binder I've been wanting for so long, and loaded it with Franklin Covey pages that left me meh.

After I loaded in the FC pages, I remembered an experiment I wanted to do months ago but didn't have a hole punch for at the time. But now I do! Let the experiment commence!

I reviewed the 2013 Brush Dance Perennial Grace datebook awhile ago. It is a gorgeous planner and I love it.

But, I have two problems with it:

The weeks are broken at the beginning and end of the month where the tabbed months are put in.

 

And, the two week spread doesn't give me anyplace to write my weekly lists.

I thought how perfect the planner would be if it were a week + notes format without the broken weeks. I adore the art, the quotes, the colorful pages, the thick white paper, the holidays printed on the days, and the tabbed months.

I had a lightbulb moment when I realized I could use my new hole punch and Success Choice binder to make the planner exactly how I wanted it to be!

I went to work with scissors and the hole punch. In my excitement I didn't take any photos of the process, but here is the result.  Basically, I put a lined notes page between each of the pages. Brush Dance, if I could redesign your planners, this is how I would make them:

Tabbed months are still embedded in the weeks.

The month page is followed by a lined page for that month's goals or notes.

Turn the page and there's the first week of the month. This week the first of the month happens to be on Monday, but even when the first of the month doesn't fall on Monday there would still be the entire week here, not broken. In this planner I'll draw in the days to complete each broken week.

There is a lined page between the weeks:

And after the last week of the month there is another lined page for monthly notes, month review, monthly finances or whatever. Then there is the next month's tabbed page.

At the back of the book are the Addresses tab and pages.

Also at the back I put in the pocket, which is very handy to have.

Here you can see how nice the tabbed months look!

My Perennial Grace datebook didn't have as many notes pages as required for this setup so I had to pirate some from my Brush Dance A Fearless Woman datebook.

The result is perfect! And it looks so great in my binder!

Have any of you hacked a bound planner into a ring-bound system?

Brush Dance Perennial Grace 2013 date book

I bought this planner just because I had to have it. It's beautiful! This is the Perennial Grace 2013 Date Book from Brush Dance.

The Brush Dance date books are approximately A5 size, with a hard cover and elastic strap closure.

There is a pocket in the front, TABBED months embedded in the weeks, and beautiful art and quotes every month. I especially like the art, colors and quotes in this date book!

At the beginning of each month there is a month calendar with moon phases and holidays for the US, UK, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand printed on the day spaces. The month's flower, gemstone and theme for the month (Women's History Month etc.) are also indicated at the beginning of each month. The weekly pages begin at the first day of the month and end on the last day of the month.

There is a week per page, and the daily spaces in the weeks also have all the holidays printed in the day spaces, and month reference calendars at the top of the pages. The designs and print colors are beautiful and so pleasant to look at!

At the end of the month there is space for notes.

And at the end of every month there are several pages for notes. The paper in the Brush Dance date books is thick and is fountain pen friendly! Excellent paper.

At the back of the book there is a tab and several pages for Addresses.

I love the positive vibe and sheer beauty of Brush Dance planners and calendars. I have reviewed several Brush Dance planners, and Paul B did a guest post on his Brush Dance planners, click here and scroll down to see them all.

Brush Dance date books and calendars are currently up to 75% off on remaining stock on BrushDance.com. You can also get Brush Dance planners and calendars on Calendars.com, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.