Most of you know that I use (and love!) an Erin Condren Life Planner to keep my life organized. I’ve been using an ECLP since 2011 and highly recommend it to anyone who might still be searching for a paper planner. In the last few years, I’ve found a few ways to connect with others who use the same planner and have made some great friends in this community of planning and organization. A few weeks ago, 30-40 planning friends from across the country met up at the Atlanta Scrapbook Expo and had a great time! I want to share some of that experience here on the blog and express gratitude to some very generous folks who made the meet-up so wonderful!
For those of you wondering why people who use a paper planner would seek out a scrapbook expo, many elements of scrapbook cross over into the planning world. We use our planners not only as a way to keep track of appointments, but also as a way to manage lists, record milestones, track exercise and meal planning and a million other parts of our lives. We use stickers, stamps and washi tape much like scrapbookers – some use them to decorate and some use them to highlight parts of our schedule or tasks. It becomes a creative outlet for us and motivates us to stay organized.
The meetup started as a way to gather and talk planners, share ideas and spend time together. A handful of people came into town early and we may or may not have spent all day in IKEA, Container Store and other shopping venues. 😉 Who doesn’t love spending all day with other organized people looking at organization eye candy?
The next day was the big meet-up. I would say that we had 30-50 people in and out of the meeting room one of us had so kindly arranged, and the most exciting part of the official meet-up was a raffle that another friend had worked hard to arrange!
A whopping 23 companies/shops/individuals donated at least 25 items EACH to “swag bags” that were raffled off to attendees. Many of them have very high-volume orders and still took the time and effort to make sure the attendees were able to have a chance to score some of their awesome products. Please take some time to check each of them out because so few people do things like this these days and we were so very appreciative! I always love giving my business to shops who go above and beyond. I’ve linked their shops for easy browsing! 🙂 I will try to contain my excitement and use of exclamation points (!!!!!!!).
- Erin Condren Design
The largest company to donate, Erin Condren Design, gave these Designer Sticker Books (Classic Collection)! I LOVE my sticker book and have found that it’s not only a great variety, but a great value if you want to purchase one! A few pics from the inside are below! (If you’re a first-time customer, you can use this link to save $10 off of your first purchase!)
- OliBLOCK
OliBLOCK was SUPER generous and donated a BUNCH of clips to the swag bags! Everyone got a slightly different combination, and I LOVED mine! OliClips are magnetic paperclips that are very strong and really, really thin, so they don’t bulk up your planner! I’ve had a small set that I’ve used for a long time, and I was ecstatic to get some bigger ones to try too!
- CraftyCato
Brianna from CraftyCato was so sweet to give everyone washi samples!
- Discbound Marketplace
If you’re unfamiliar with disc-binding, many people choose to punch their planner pages to fit small discs (in place of a coil or rings) because it’s a fast and extremely convenient way to add and remove pages from your notebooks or planner. Adding notes, budgeting pages, contacts, etc, is a breeze when you disc-bind. Discbound Marketplace donated these notebooks (with the discs, hardcover and pens!) for everyone to try!
- Hello Ashleyann Prints
Hello Ashleyann Prints was so generous to donate three full sticker sheets to everyone, but unfortunately the shipment got held up by the post office and didn’t make it to the meet-up. I was lucky enough to still get my hands on a set and love them! Those donuts!!!
- #junkfromjodi
Jodi has a well-deserved reputation in the planner community by being the sweetest person ever. She frequently blesses people with her #junkfromjodi (FAR from junk – all treasured items!) in the mail. She had goodies for every bag at the expo! Such a kind soul.
- Lillie Henry
LillieHenry is one of my FAVORITE shops and I absolutely adore these travel stickers she donated to each of the bags! She is also such a kind, hardworking woman. I have many of her stickers and always LOVE adding to my collection!
- Lily Daniel Designs
Lily Daniel Designs donated this sweet sampler set to each bag!
- Lisa V Creations
Not only did Lisa from LisaV Creations donate this sticker set to everyone, she also volunteered to make the labels listing all of the sponsors of the swag bags! Check out her reward system for customers! I’m lucky to call her a friend, and when we moved earlier this year, I became her neighbor, too!
- Maklow Planner Goodies
Maklow Planner Goodies made a HUGE donation to the swag bags! Every recipient got this WHOLE SET! Wine, anyone? These stickers are all ADORABLE!
- MilaPrintShop
These sweet samplers are so perfect to tuck in the pocket of your planner. MilaPrintShop donated these to each bag! Love the little planners!
- Olive Planning
OlivePlanning donated several different sets to the meet-up and I got these half-boxes – PERFECT for my ECLP!
- One Orange Snowflake
Taylor is a busy student and mom in addition to being a shop owner, and she STILL took the time to donate TWO sampler sheets to each bag at the Expo. Her shop is one of the most popular on Etsy in the planner community and it was so generous of her to donate.
- Pink & Main
Pink & Main was the only shop that was also exhibiting AT the Scrapbook Expo! It was so cool to see their selection (not just for planning – mostly for scrapbooking, card-making and other paper crafting!) They not only donated a stamp set to each bag, but they also gave everyone a discount at the booth!
- Planned Chaos
Planned Chaos is one of the most sought-after planner subscription boxes in the planner community. She always delivers goodies from the shops everyone loves and adds so many other special things for subscribers to try out, too. Here’s one of her sticker sheets that was part of her monthly kit! She also sells many of her stickers separately in her shop (including this one!), 4BoyChaos, which you can find here!
- Planner Pandemonium
The largest donation of the swag bags came from Vicki at Planner Pandemonium! She donated an ENTIRE monthly kit to each swag bag! Seven sticker sheets (in coordinating colors to the ECLP August color scheme), sticky notes, a felt paperclip AND a discount code! Amazing.
- PowellsPaperCrafts
If you’re a paperclip person, you MUST check out Powells Paper Crafts! The picture doesn’t even do this sweet little thing justice, because her little puddle is shimmery and precious and there’s an itty bitty rhinestone on her, too.
- Sizemore Designs
Austin has been in the planner community for some time now, and he has his own stationery shop! He offered a discount code to all who attended the Expo!
- Stick-e Beans
These are functional clip-ins, but they’re also SO funny and cute! You just snap them in and use double-sided tape if you want to add anything to your planner! They fit the EC coil, and I’m guessing they also fit a Plum Paper Planner as well!
- Stickers, Washi & More
One of my favorite people, another longtime admin of our We Love EC Facebook group and owner of StickersWashi&More donated these sweet samplers to everyone! I love her shop because everything is so unique and sweet. She has a signature style I can spot a mile away, and I love using her stickers! The “coffee time” sticker has always been my favorite!
- Sweet Peach Planner
Sweet Peach Planner donated this summery lemon sticker set! Such a sweet set and included one of my favorites – full box flags.
- TheECPlannerKitLady
I’ve already used most of this donation because I couldn’t resist the watermelons or that ant washi! Good thing I took a pic before I started using it! TheECplannerkitlady donated such a fun set!
- TwoKraftyChicks
TwoKraftyChicks donated this sweet set to the swag bags! The smiley taco!!
We also had a professional photographer there who volunteered to take pictures – if you are local in the Atlanta area, please check her out! Her name is Anna McGlamry and this is the link to her business page! She did a wonderful job capturing us all in our natural habitat!
I got to draw the winners!!!!! 😀
Here are all the winners:
And everyone who was there at the peak time!
Again, HUGE thank-you to the sponsors for their generous donations, and especially to those who helped organize everything behind the scenes so that it could be extra special for everyone who was able to attend. The very best part was getting to spend time with friends who share a love of planning! I hope we can all meet up again sometime soon!
How fun!!! I hope we can have something similar to this up here in Ohio! 🙂
How much fun! Love all of the goodies listed.