How To Punch Holes In Happy Planner Pages When You Don’t Have An Arc Punch

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Want to punch holes in something to put into your Happy Planner but don't have a Happy Planner Arc Hole Punch? It's easy to DIY it! This tutorial shows you how to make holes in Happy Planner pages without the Arc Punch.

I love my Happy Planner and over the past couple of months it’s become apparent that my readers love their Happy Planners too! We’ve been getting a ton of love for our How To Make DIY Planner Folder Pockets Tutorial along with our How To Make DIY Planner Stencils article. Today I’m going to share with you another tutorial which will help you with your Happy Planner– How To Punch Holes In Happy Planner Pages When You Don’t Have An Arc Punch. 

I’ve tried to use a planner for years, but never had any success sticking with it until I got my Happy Planner. I don’t know if it’s because the planner is so pretty, or if it’s because I love all the accessories, or if it’s because I love that I can make my own “add ins” to put inside the planner, but something about the Happy Planner just works for me. 

I’ve bought all kinds of accessories for my Happy Planner including planner stickers, sticky notes, a dashboard and a pen holder, but one thing I haven’t gotten around to buying yet is the Happy Planner Arc Punch

If I was going to be adding a ton of my own custom pages to my Happy Planner, an Arc Punch would be a must, but so far I only add a page (or folder, or stencil) or two here and there and it’s super simple to make the holes myself. 

I think that being able to add your own pages to the Happy Planner is one of it’s biggest selling points. My old planners were spiral bound or bound like a book and I couldn’t add to them… maybe why I wasn’t successful with them??? I love writing “To Do Lists” and between everything I have to do for my business and keeping track of family activities the pages that came with my Happy Planner end up being pretty filled up with my day to day tasks. 

I love adding in pretty scrapbook pages that I can brainstorm on or keep track of other things that aren’t tied to a specific time period. Being able to move them easily from week to week or month to month is a big bonus as well!

Craft Smith Paint Chip Scrapbook Paper Pad

The paper I used in this tutorial is from the Craft Paint Chip Scrapbook Paper Pad. I cut the page to 7 inches by 9.25 inches so it was the same size as the other pages in my Happy Planner. The Happy Planner I use is the Fresh Floral Happy Planner. I love how pretty and feminine it is and the color scheme and layout really spoke to me. One of my favorite things about my Happy Planner was picking it out. There are a ton to choose from and it was so fun to pick out the one that is perfect for you!

Fresh Floral Happy Planner

Read on to learn the steps for how to punch holes in Happy Planner pages when you don’t have an Arc Punch.

How To Punch Holes In Happy Planner Pages When You Don’t Have An Arc Punch

Want to punch holes in something to put into your Happy Planner but don't have a Happy Planner Arc Hole Punch? It's easy to DIY it! This tutorial shows you how to make holes in Happy Planner pages without the Arc Punch.

What you need:

-Hole punch (I got mine at the dollar store, it’s similar to this one.)

-Scissors

-Pen

-Binder Clip (optional)

-Page from your Happy Planner to use as a template

Want to punch holes in something to put into your Happy Planner but don't have a Happy Planner Arc Hole Punch? It's easy to DIY it! This tutorial shows you how to make holes in Happy Planner pages without the Arc Punch.

Step 1: Take something out of your planner that has the holes in it. I usually take out one of my Happy Planner Dashboard Pages. Place the planner item with holes on top of the item you want to punch holes into. Clip with binder clips if you want a little extra security that it will stay lined up.

Want to punch holes in something to put into your Happy Planner but don't have a Happy Planner Arc Hole Punch? It's easy to DIY it! This tutorial shows you how to make holes in Happy Planner pages without the Arc Punch.

Step 2: Using a pen, put a dot on the page your making holes in through the holes of your template, I put my dot in the center of the hole, towards the top. 

Want to punch holes in something to put into your Happy Planner but don't have a Happy Planner Arc Hole Punch? It's easy to DIY it! This tutorial shows you how to make holes in Happy Planner pages without the Arc Punch.

Step 3: Take the binder clips off and remove the template that already has holes. Using your hole punch, punch a hole on each dot that you’ve marked.

Want to punch holes in something to put into your Happy Planner but don't have a Happy Planner Arc Hole Punch? It's easy to DIY it! This tutorial shows you how to make holes in Happy Planner pages without the Arc Punch.

Step 4: Once you have each of your holes punched, go back with a pair of scissors and do two small snips between the edge of your planner page and each hole. This will give your page room to “snap” onto the Happy Planner Rings. Pop the page into your Happy Planner and you’re good to go!

Want to punch holes in something to put into your Happy Planner but don't have a Happy Planner Arc Hole Punch? It's easy to DIY it! This tutorial shows you how to make holes in Happy Planner pages without the Arc Punch.

Voila! You can use this method to add holes to anything you’d like to add to your Happy Planner from planner pages, to stencils to DIY planner folder pockets

Tell me… Do you have a Happy Planner? Have you ever DIYd pages or accessories for your planner? What Happy Planner DIY or tutorial would you like to see next?

Like this post? Pin it for later! 

Want to punch holes in something to put into your Happy Planner but don't have a Happy Planner Arc Hole Punch. It's easy to DIY it! This tutorial shows you how to make holes in paper for your Happy Planner without the Arc Punch.

Make sure you check out our other Happy Planner DIYs! How To Make DIY Planner Stencils:

How To Make DIY Planner Stencils Using Your Cricut (Perfect for Happy Planners)

How To Make DIY Planner Folder Pockets Tutorial:

Making accessories for you planner is easy and fun! Learn how to make DIY Planner Folder Pockets that are perfect for Happy Planners & other popular planners.

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9 Comments

  1. I love your Blog . You are so Creative and full of inspiration for every body. It’s colofull , It gives me ” peps” .
    Thank you for sharing your tip on ‘How To Punch Holes In Happy Planner Pages When You Don’t Have An Arc”
    Beacuse it’s becoming Ridiculous , the money you have to spend , just to make ” HOLE”, and the rest !!!!!!
    But busnisss is busnisness . THEY make you feel that you need ALL that supplies .And we you keep adding ….Especally for me leaving in France . I go crazy when I see the prices ,, We don ‘t have your coupons system , and every time it’s full price + shipping + bla bla . What about Creativity and Imagination ! .
    Thank you for sharing .

  2. Stephanie Ewing says:

    I don’t know if anyone has asked this before, but does the stuff actually stay in the happy planner? It just seems like it would fall out

    1. Hi Stephanie,

      Thank you for the great question and for visiting the site. I don’t think it’s obvious in the photos, but Happy Planner Disks have ridges on each side. The part where you cut with scissors allows the paper to slide onto the disk, then lays inside the ridges on either side of the disk. It definitely stays in place. 🙂 The only differences between doing it this way and with the ARC punch is that you can do more pages at once with the ARC punch and the ARC punch does a half circle instead of the full circle that a hole punch does.

      If you are punching a bunch of pages though you definitely want the ARC Punch: https://amzn.to/2vlXE7t

      Best Wishes,

      Crystal

  3. Cristi Aguilar says:

    Thank you so much for this. You just saved me from spending $40 at Michael’s. Life Saver!!!

  4. Thank you thank you thank you!!

  5. Kari Forrest says:

    Awesome!! It actually worked and saved me$$. Thanks!

  6. I appreciate this – I’ve been having problems punching plastic pocket pages accurately in my TUL punch, and this seems like it will be a great fix.

    1. So happy we could help Lyn! Thank you so much for visiting!

      Best Wishes,

      Crystal

  7. Rebecca B says:

    I have looked and looked and looked for a template or a plan to create the hole aside from the expensive cutter. Thank you for this!