DIY Folding Planner: Step-by-Step Tutorial

Lay out A6 monthly and weekly halves in Planify Pro, print the covers on sticker paper over chipboard, then punch and wire-bind the stack with a Cinch machine.

A folding planner gives you monthly and weekly layouts at a glance, in a design you can make yourself. This tutorial walks through designing the covers and inserts in Planify Pro, printing them, and binding the whole thing with a Cinch machine.

Whether you're a seasoned crafter or just starting out, each step is covered — and once you've made one, the same method works for any year or any layout you like.

What you'll need to prepare before crafting your folding planner

Paper to print out the Notes Pages	Chipboard / Book Board ×2	Sticker Paper
Binding Wires	Cinch Binding Machine

Design Planner Covers and Inserts

Starting a new folding planner project in Planify Pro

Choosing the page size for a folding planner

Create the Cover Pages

Choose a size for your planner (A6 is used in the video).
Design the front and back cover using a pattern and text boxes.

Applying a background pattern to the planner cover

Adding a text box to the folding planner cover

Create the Monthly Planner Pages

Insert a monthly calendar on one half of the page.
You can customize the calendar to start on Monday and end on Wednesday by going to settings and day start.
Add an empty white column on the left side of the calendar by going to settings and add eighth column.

Inserting a monthly calendar widget on the page

Setting the calendar day start in the settings menu

Adding an eighth column beside the monthly calendar

Create the Weekly Planner Pages

Insert a weekly calendar on the other half of the page.
You can customize the calendar to start on Thursday and end on Sunday by going to settings and day start.

Add Additional Pages (Optional)

You can add notes pages by going to starter and skeleton.

Adding optional notes pages from the starter templates

Choosing a skeleton layout for notes pages

Print Out the Planner Inserts and Covers

Make sure to print the covers on sticker paper.

Binding the Folding Planner

Printed folding planner inserts and covers ready to trim

Trim the Printed Materials

Trim the printed inserts and covers.

Smoothing the sticker cover onto the board

Prepare the Cover Interior

Take white sticker paper and cut it a little bit smaller than the cover itself.
Place the white sticker paper on the inside of the front and back covers.

Cutting white sticker paper for the cover interior

Applying the interior lining to the front cover

Both covers finished with clean interiors

Assemble the Planner Pages

Insert the monthly pages and weekly pages into the planner.
Put the cover page on top of the monthly and weekly pages.
Take the back cover, flip it over, and insert it into the planner.

Stacking monthly and weekly pages in order

Placing the front cover on the page stack

Punch Holes and Add Binding

Use a cinch machine to punch holes in the covers and inserts. The punching settings are different for the weekly and monthly pages.

Punching binding holes with the Cinch machine

Completed folding planner with wire binding

Close the Binding

Insert wires into the holes and close them using your cinch machine.

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What you need to get started

Chipboard / Book Board	Guillotine Paper Cutter	Cinch Binding Machine
Binding Wires	Sticker Paper	Cardstock Paper

How to Make a Folding Planner