Making Your Filofax Your Own - Domino Cover Decoration

The Domino is a very popular Filofax, it comes in a huge variety of colours and it is priced at the lower end of the price range and therefore it represents excellent value for money.

Now before I go further with today's feature, I don't own a Domino myself, but I have seen them and I'm sure the idea I am about to outline will work and it will make your Domino very different from the Domino of that other person in your office.

This idea came out of a discussion with Laurie, who was keen when I outlined the Olympic Games 2012 range and I mentioned the Union Jack edition, but it wasn't full colour much to Laurie's disappointment.

My initial idea was to use say a blue Domino and then use red and white tape to make the rest of the flag, or a red Domino and blue and white tape to make the flag. Getting all the angles right and the thickness of the lines right could prove difficult though.

Then I had a brain wave!!! Why not use a vinyl sticker normally sold as car stickers. To my surprise there are loads of these that you can buy from Amazon or other sites that would be the right size. Vistaprint even do quite a large range, including the option to upload your own design.

You don't have to restrict yourself to flags, there are quite a range of sticker designs, sizes and colours available on this site for instance. And looking in their 'Sticker Book' you can even specify the width and colour of some of their stickers. See also this site

Now I realise these are UK sites, but I'm sure there is a just as big a range in your country.  The designs are only limited by your imagination, check out your local car accessories store, although you might get a few odd looks trying different stickers against your Filofax!

If you try this idea out, share a picture or two in the Philofaxy Flickr Group.

If you want to remove this type of sticker at some point in the future, a little gentle heat from a hair dryer will soften the adhesive, then peel it off. If it leaves behind any adhesive residue, use a little white spirit on a paper towel to remove it.

Please note I wouldn't recommend doing this on a leather Filofax I'm not sure what the glue would do to the leather, or if it would stick that well. 

Have Fun.

My tabs setup in my new A5 Domino

I set up my tabs in my new A5 Domino this weekend. I previously posted about letting my Filofax evolve organically, and that has worked for the most part.

I realized quickly that most of my standard info needed to go in right away like family addresses and phone numbers, and accessories like my world map, sticky notes and calculator.

Many of my standard tabs went in, but some tabs that I used to have in my Personal Filofax didn't get reproduced in my A5 because I don't need them now.

I used the colored sticky flags from the Filofax sticky notes accessory to label the numbered tabs that came pre-loaded in my A5.  To create the purple color for the Me section I layered a pink sticky over a blue sticky.

You can see my tabs setup below (click on the photo for a larger view):

Near the front of the book I have an Emergency tab, where I will keep emergency contact numbers and information for medical and car insurance.  In a country where you can't dial 911 or 999 in an emergency, I need to have my entire list of emergency numbers easily accessible.

Next is a Planner tab, behind which is the Filofax year at a glance, month on 2 pages and weekly planner pages.  I have weekly planner pages all the way through the end of 2012, and as soon as I can I'll get a 2012 monthly calendar too.  This section is very thick with almost 2 years' worth of pages, but I like being able to plan so far ahead so I'm willing to deal with the bulk and weight.

After the thick Planner section, the tabs start from the top again.  Right now each section only contains a page or two, but I will add pages as I need them.  The tabs are:

Lists contains my to-do lists, projects and other ongoing things.

Me right now holds my strength training regimen, and I plan to add Goals and inspirational quotes into this section.

Blogs is a new tab in my setup. I realized it's nice to have a handy place to write down post ideas and keep lists of what's been posted and what's yet to post. 

International is a standard tab for me, where I keep my world map and other maps, frequent flier and hotel rewards numbers, and other info I need when traveling or making reservations.

Indonesia is a new section, for my new place. I plan to keep all local contacts and info consolidated here.

Financial is also a standard tab for me, but one that normally gets rarely used. This time I plan to really use it to keep track of bank accounts, expenditures, and savings.  My Filofax calculator lives on the rings directly behind the Financial tab, which I find extremely handy.

Behind that are my address tabs and pages, then my clear zip-pocket, a clear top-opening pocket, and a business card holder page, all of which are empty right now.

Because I have from now through the end of next year's monthly and weekly pages already in my Filofax, it's pretty thick already. As the year goes on, I know I'll be adding pages in the tabbed sections. There's still plenty of room on the Domino's huge rings, but I have to decide whether I want to lug around such a big and heavy book. Something I've considered is removing August-December 2012, which would lighten it up a fair amount and still take me through the end of the next school year.

I am really enjoying my new Filofax! Stay tuned for updates! :)

My A5 Domino Filofax in the NEW Ultra Violet color!

My new Filofax arrived today! I've been waiting for a year for an A5 Domino in a purplish color, so of course I couldn't resist ordering up the A5 Domino in the new Ultra Violet color. I'm extremely glad I was able to get it before I leave for Indonesia!  (Which is just two weeks from today, and yes I'm slightly freaking out. Need Filofax distraction!)

First, about the color. "Violet" by definition is more on the blue side than true purple, so I braced myself for a blue binder. My photos make it look a little more blue than the true color, but it's definitely not a purply purple.  So if you do order this binder, don't be expecting a very purple look, it's definitely bluish. In fact, the color on the Filofax page is a very good representation of the color (click here to see the Filofax UK A5 Domino product page and hover on Ultra Violet to see the color).

Here are some photos comparing my A5 Domino in Ultra Violet on the left, my A5 Finsbury in purple in the middle, and my Personal size Domino in Grape at the right, to give you a color reference.

The A5 Domino came loaded with a July 2011-December 2012 horizontal week on two pages (AWESOME) and ALSO a 2011 vertical week on two pages with the days as columns!  Thank you Filofax!!

Inside the July 2011- December 2012 weekly pages there are Course Record and Timetable pages that would be handy for students (or teachers, parents, and anyone else who keeps track of students).  There are also pages of holidays for lots of countries for 2011 and 2012.  I was very excited to find that all the holidays for Indonesia for both years are listed! There are also pages that list Notable Dates and Religious Holidays for various religions for all of 2011 and 2012.  These are very handy reference pages!

Also loaded on the rings are A-Z tabs, 1-6 tabs, several pages of colored paper, address pages, To Do forms, a black ruler page marker and a clear top-opening envelope.  It is very nicely kitted out and has everything you need to get started on your plans for world domination.

The inside of the interior pockets is lined with purple fabric, which is much more purple than my photo shows. (I wish the cover were the purple color of the pocket lining.)  The Domino has a great interior layout with card pockets and a full-length pocket behind, and a notepad inside the back cover.  And the A5 Domino has two elastic pen loops to hold pens of any size!

The A5 Domino binders are great because the cover is very lightweight and the rings are huge, so you can really load it up and it still doesn't weigh as much as a filled leather binder.

I have an A5 Domino in red that I bought last year, which you can read about here.  (And if you do click through to that post, you'll notice my last line was, "If they come out with a purple one you can bet I'll get it!" True to my word!!)   As much as I love my other A5 Domino, I always wished for a color that's more "me."  (As my husband says, I'm not a "red" person.)

Even though the Ultra Violet isn't as purply as I would prefer, it's still a really beautiful color. In fact, I have to be honest and say that this color is more professional-looking than a very purply purple would be. I would be happy to use this binder at work or home.  I'm very glad to have it!

In fact, I love this new Filofax so much it's already throwing me into a planner quandary. This is definitely a possibility as my Planner for my New Life in Indonesia!

Guest Post: Jess's A5 snake Domino!!

Here is a guest post from Jess, about her brand-new snake A5 Domino Filofax! Jess, thank you for sharing so much about how you are using it! Great photos!


I’m a newcomer to the Filofax fold. I received a beautiful Anya Hindmarch agenda for the Christmas just passed, which happened to fit Filofax personal inserts. I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect planner since, as I quickly realised that Anya (as I like to call my first agenda) is gorgeous and elegant, but the soft silver patent leather cover just isn’t sturdy enough for everyday use. Its a luxury planner, not one that will stand up to my student life, where I need a planner to be able to handle constant use and being thrown around into numerous bags with uncapped pens, lipstick, the whole messy girl deal. So I moved onto a personal Fresco – alright, but nothing special. Then I ‘borrowed’ my Mum’s old personal black Pimlico – great sturdy leather, but a bit boring looking. My budget didn’t stretch to a glamorous Amazona or any of the high end Filofaxes – what to do?

Turns out that my dissatisfaction with these Filos wasn’t simply the design, material, or anything like that – it was the size. I bought an A5 red Domino from WHSmiths a couple of weeks ago, purely on a whim because it was reduced to a very purse-friendly £18, complete with an 18-month diary, index tabs (numbered and alphabetical), to-do sheets and coloured note paper. The A5 portable hole-punch was also reduced in price, so I slung that in my basket too, admittedly not giving much thought to how this Filo would fit into my life.

Quite simply, moving to A5 size has been a revelation. The ring size of the Domino is large enough to stuff full of everything I need, which I can easily do now I can simply fold and punch A4 sheets – something I get through plenty of in the course of my days as a student. I find that I’m using my Filo even more effectively, and relying on it completely, than before now I have moved to a bigger size. Luckily the portability issue doesn’t crop up for me because of the light cover material of the Domino and my penchant for huge handbags!

I liked the red cover, too, but it could have been better. I was more than happy to tolerate it, though, because of the benefits of everything else about the Domino. When I spotted the new snake effect A5s, though, I didn’t think twice and promptly ordered one in bronze. Finally I have size, space, glamour, everything I want in a planner! I’m in heaven, and it’s perfectly suited to my student life too; as Laurie said in her post about the A5 Domino, the cover can withstand all sorts of stuff being spilt and dropped on it, and it’s not so expensive that I feel guilty every time I chuck it in my bag!





Being able to just transfer my pages from my red to the new Domino has made the whole process very easy indeed. My set-up is as follows:

When I first open my Filo, I keep a transparent pocket with a top opening containing a photograph of me and the boyfriend, stamps, passport photos and some Post-it notes. Then I have my personal information pages, and all the reference pages that come with Filofax diaries such as the international holidays.

I then have six tabbed sections, one of which has a further six tabs contained within it.

Behind the first is all my main reference material – main phone numbers (I like to keep a paper copy of phone numbers as well as in my phone, as I’ve lost too many phones to count!), addresses of family for birthday cards, passwords, booking references, etc.

The second tab is my Health section, which is probably where I’ve felt the benefits of the A5 hole punch the most. I have calendars detailing appointments and check-ups, fitness class timetables from my local gym, food diaries that I designed myself and printed onto A5 paper, a record of my weight, exercise plans, and so on. I refer to this section constantly, which I wouldn’t be able to do if I was still using a Personal and couldn’t put all this information together as easily.

Fitness timetable


Food diary


Behind the third tab is my lists section, where I have running to-do lists and shopping lists.

The fourth section is my diary. The snake Domino came loaded with a week-on-two-pages in the column format, which I’ve never used before, so I’m taking the opportunity to try that out for a week or two. I put important to-dos in the space at the bottom, and birthdays etc in the space at the top. So far I’m really liking the appointment times running down the side, split into half hours – although I’m not sure whether this format would work for me outside of university term time, when my life is much less structured. Seeing as I’m only in university for 24 weeks of the year, I’m going to keep hold of my standard week-on-two-page format diary for now as well. In my diary I also use my own version of the Jot Pads, which I made myself from the perforated pages at the back of a pocket Moleskine and my A5 hole punch. On these I record any extra details about meetings, times, etc, that I can’t fit on the daily space.


The fifth section, which contains six further tabs, is my Projects – each project has its own sub-tab. Again, being able to create my own pages, and hole-punch A4 sheets, has been an amazing benefit for this section.

This photo shows the sub-section dedicated to my work on the fashion section of my university’s student newspaper – I have an article here from Vogue which I want to use for reference in a future edition, and I made my own pages with body outlines printed on them to draw inspiring outfits I see on the street, ideas for photoshoots, etc.

The last section is all my spare address pages, note paper, to-do lists etc. The last thing in my Filo is a card holder which came with the snake Domino; I’m not sure what I’ll use it for, yet, so for now it’s protecting the back pages.

For the first time since I started using the Filofax system, I feel like my planner is an extension brain. I’m sure this is totally down to the A5 size! I’m so glad Filofax have offered a budget option which is both sexy, fashionable and grown-up for those of us on a budget who can’t quite afford the Amazona(!). Just divine – thank you!

My new A5 Domino Filofax with Dodo Pad diary insert!

Here is my new A5 Domino Filofax that I bought at the Filofax store in London! It is great!! I felt like I was meant to get one because I saw so many A5 Dominos while I was at the London Book Fair, and after Jess's comment on my post about it I knew it was just what I've been looking for. And it is!!

I have two other A5 Filofaxes, both Finsbury, one purple and one green. In the past when I've tried to use one as my planner, I quickly abandoned it because the binder is too big and heavy to carry everywhere. I love them, they are beautiful and now they serve me well at home. But I don't like to carry them around.

The Domino solves the portability issues of the A5 binders. The cover weighs almost nothing, unlike a leather binder which significantly adds to the weight of the book. Also, the Domino cover is narrower side to side than other A5 Filofaxes: by 1 to 1.5 cm, depending on the model. And having an elastic band instead of the snap closure contributes to the slimness of the book too.

The rings are huge, which is great for those of us (guilty) who like to cram as many pages and accessories into the book as possible. Again, because the cover itself is so lightweight, I can put in as many pages as I want and the overall weight of the book is still bearable.

The inside cover has a full-length pocket and several smaller pockets. There is no zip pocket in the Domino, so I added a zip pouch accessory onto the rings to hold those little things that might get lost.

There is a note pad inside the back cover. The bottom of the notepad pocket is slotted too, so you can slide the notepad into the bottom of it--that way if you are a lefty you can use the binder upside down and have the note pad inside the left cover for easy writing, and the pockets on the right. Those folks at Filofax know what they're doing!

Another thing I love about the Domino (that I also love about my personal size Domino which I use as my Scotland guidebook) is that the cover can handle my messy life. I am not a tidy person, and I have problems if my planner is too precious. It needs to be able to handle abuse, rain, sticky table surfaces and my not-always-very-clean hands. I'm not afraid to take my Domino into the kitchen with me for fear of setting it down into a blob of jelly.

Another thing about the A5 Domino: it lays flat, immediately. No flapping, no fighting. It's flat.

The first time I ever saw a Domino I thought I wouldn't like the elastic band. But I do, for lots of reasons. As I noted above, it helps make the book more streamlined. Also, it's very handy for tucking papers on the outside of my book for easy access and reference while I'm out and about.

I'm using my Dodo Pad A5 Filofax-compatible diary insert in my Domino, and I love it! I had recently hit a wall with my planner usage--I had gone too far into overly-structured planners that seemed too impersonal and business-like. I'd gotten to the point where I didn't even want to use my planners anymore (*gasp!*) because they seemed so strict, like they were wagging their finger at me about all the things I should be doing. I wanted some color and something fun. So this was perfect timing for me for the Dodo-Domino combination.

Here you can see the inside cover of my Domino, and the front of the Dodo Pad diary insert. You can also see my Dodo Reminder Stickers tucked into the pocket inside the front cover. I really like the light-colored faux suede interior of the Domino, it looks and feels really nice.

Here is my Dodo Pad diary insert in action! You can click on the photos for a larger view.
I love that the page opposite the weekly schedule has plenty of room for all my lists and notes. In general, I use the daily boxes as: first box, important thing to highlight that day. Next 2 boxes, morning activities. Last 2 boxes, afternoon/ evening. I'm not strict about it though. I write across the boxes, in the margins, at the top and bottoms of the page, on the other page, wherever. There's plenty of room for all my little notes to myself.

Here's a closer look at the weekly page. This particular week has a couple of sticker-worthy events, so you can see how I use my stickers.
Also you can see how I've set up my tabs. I forced myself to use only 6 tabs, because I tend to get too tab-crazy. Directories has emergency info, contact numbers, whatever else I need to quick-reference.

Here is a look behind my Financial tab, with the Filofax calculator I splurged on. I have a calculator that I use in my Personal size Filofaxes but it doesn't fit on the A5 rings. I figured, I use it all the time in my Personal size, I better have one in my A5! I'm glad I got it.

The Dodo Pad diary insert has Annual Planning calendars for this year:

And next year, which is really nice:

I didn't take a picture, but right before my Addresses section I have my maps. Behind the addresses I have two top-opening pouches, the zip pouch I mentioned above, and a business card holder. With all of these I can collect whatever bits I need throughout the day, then when I get home I can put them wherever they belong.

I'm sure my tabs usage will evolve over time, which is why I use the colored tape flags from the Filofax Sticky Notes accessory to label my tabs. That way I can move them around whenever I need to.

When I was at the Filofax store the only color choices for the A5 Domino were black, brown or red. I wanted a cheery color so I went for the red, which I don't normally use. Now on the website they have the A5 Dominos in faux snakeskin, and they look really cool! While I was at the store I saw Domino folios in pink and purple, and personal size binders in a cobalt blue that I like too, so I'm hoping they'll come out with these colors in the A5. If they come out with a purple one you can bet I'll get it!!

Filofax maps

Steve and Nicola's exchange re: maps got me thinking about how I use maps in my Filofaxes. My opinion is, the more maps the better! I always seem to find myself needing a map.

In my very first pre-Filofax planner (a personal size Cambridge) I photocopied a map of the big island of Hawaii, where I was about to move, and poked holes along the edge with a sharp pencil to put it onto the rings. This is a technique I still use, actually, for maps that Filofax doesn't carry. In my A5 Finsbury I have a map of Albania that I copied out of my guide book, for general road trips planning. Also in my A5 Fins I have an A5 Filofax world map and the A5 size British Islands maps (which I bought from the Filofax UK website), which are very useful when I grab my Filo to look up a location. My A5 lives by my computer so it's always handy.

In my Scotland Filofax I have as many maps as possible. World map (actually I keep a world map in almost every Filofax I own), British Islands. I also have the Filofax maps of London (which consists of 3 maps that together comprise most of central London, with street names on the back) because I usually spend a day in London on my way up to Scotland. I also have the London rail systems and Underground map, which is very handy. I also have a map that has Edinburgh on one side and Glasgow on the other, that I cut out of the free Letts Scotland diary that came in The Scotsman newspaper in January. I sliced the page out of the diary, put some tape on the edge, poked some holes and into the Filo it went! Very handy.

In my black Buckingham I store my US maps for when I go back to visit family and friends. I have a US road map (which in the personal size is so tiny it couldn't really get you anywhere, it really just gives you an idea of which highway would be better to get you across the state or the country) and a US times zones and area codes map. I also have a Washington DC street map, which I used all the time when I lived in DC. I usually go through DC whenever I go back to the US so it's convenient to have it in my Filo.

In my Deco, which is now my everyday notes/ lists/ addresses/ everything except my planner book, I keep a world map and my ancient Europe map (which is so old it still has Yugoslavia!). The people I know travel a lot, and to places all around the world, so usually during the course of a conversation I need to look at a map to see exactly where they are talking about. I have learned more geography this way than I ever learned in school!

The problem with Filofax maps is, there just aren't enough of them. As Nicola discovered, there aren't enough of the city maps. (And actually I'm shocked that they don't have Toronto! But sure enough, they don't.) I understand that Filofax only carries maps that they believe will sell well. And I know in this day and age it's maybe a little archaic to use paper maps at all (although after hearing some people's GPS navigation stories, I don't trust those things at all!!). But being a paper-person, and a maps-person, I do wish they had more maps available.

Do you use maps in your Filofax(es)? Which maps do you wish Filofax had available?

Tell us your Filofax sightings!

Hi everybody,

It's my birthday! Yay! Happy birthday to me.

Just for fun, let's talk about Filofax sightings. I mean, not just Filos in the store but real live Filofaxes in use by a person. Ideally these would be in real life, but television and movie ones are good too.

Yesterday I met a group of doctors who are in town working on a new medical program. One of the docs had a black personal Domino that I was dying to grab and look through! But I restrained myself (barely!). I also wanted to say, "Hey, I have one of those in grape, isn't it great? Let's talk Filofaxes!" But he had more important things to do than chat with me about Filos so away I went.

What Filofaxes have you seen out and about lately? Do you work with someone who uses a Filofax? Have you had the rare opportunity to see a Filofax being used out in public? I think there should be Filofax coffee houses where only Filofax users can enter, so we can sit around and drink coffee and look at each others' Filofaxes.

Even better, have you seen someone using a Filofax and then TALKED to them about their Filofax?? I would love to hear from the brave reader who has done this!

So let's hear about your Filofax sightings!