I love making dashboards for my planner! You can buy them, but designing your own is way more fun. To make one, all you need is a tissue box, glue and some scrapbook paper.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, a planner dashboard is used as a divider that is typically made of plastic or cardboard. Some people use them to store post-its, some are used as a storage folder (which I’ve also DIYed if you’re interested), others use them as a place to keep their checklists.

I like many of these options, but right now, I need something to segment pages, much like a bookmark. I’ve tried page corner bookmarks and paperclip bookmarks to keep my place, but I open it and shuffle through the pags too often and they keep falling off or damaging the pages. I need something that’s easier to move around like a dashboard.

Of course, I didn’t want to buy one, so I made my own and I’ll show you how I did it below. Keep reading!

Planner dashboard supplies

• glue
• ruler
• pencil
• scissors
• tissue box
• hole punch (in my case a Happy Planner Punch)
• scrapbook paper
• your planner for measurements

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Step 1: cut apart your tissue box

Disassemble your tissue box and cut off the long edges on the sides. You could use the bottom too, if you want a larger dashboard.

Step 2: determine the size of your dashboard tab

I wanted my dashboard to have a tab so I can find my place faster. I decided how tall it should be and measured and cut for that space.

Step 3: measure the scrapbook paper to fit your dashboard

Trace your dashboard base (from the previous step) onto the scrapbook paper.

Then cut out the shapes.

Step 4: decorate your planner dashboard

Glue the scrapbook paper cut outs onto the front and back of your dashboard to add some flair!

I really like this yellow and blue scrapbook paper. It’s such a fun, modern design that matches my planner perfectly.

Let the glue dry.

At this point, you could laminate the dashboard if you want. This enables you to write and erase or just protect the paper.

Step 5: hole punch the dashboard to fit in your planner

Hole punch the dashboard and put it wherever you want in your planner!

Depending on the type of planner you have, you might need a specific kind of hole punch. Mine requires one for a disc bound planner. I don’t have the right kind of hole punch so I cheat a little bit.

In the image above, you’ll notice that I’ve used another page in my planner to mark where the holes should go. Then I took a regular hole punch (single) and punched a hole over each mark. Then I used my scissors to cut a slit up to the hole so it will fit around the discs.

When you’re finished, you’ll have something like this!

I’m loving my new dashboard. I can find my place much faster and it keeps my pages from getting ripped up from.

Eventually, I’m planning to design dashboards with motivational says and images you can colors to add some individuality. I’ll post a link to that when I do.

In the meantime, I’d love to get your thoughts on this process. Have you made your own dashboards? If so please share your pictures on social media using #MakeSomethingMondays!