Notebooks from Erin Condren

Tags

erin condren, jinhao 159, lifeplanners, notebooks, parker urban, spirograph

A co-worker of mine purchased one of the Erin Condren Lifeplanners and as I’ve said previously, I was tempted. Boy was I tempted. But I bought two basic notebooks instead, and a few accessories, and they arrived this week.

I think it took about 10 working days from order to delivery. Personalized items take more time but they do have a number of attractive options that are ready to ship.

The packaging is exceptional; very bright and cheerful.

On the left, some elastic bands for keeping the notebooks closed. On the right, Party Pops Markers. Really nice pens with extra-fine tips. And I’m a sucker for pens in their own case. Sigh. Like I need more markers!

These are the freebies that come with each order. On the left, a postcard, and on the right, a sticker for your notebook. And on the bottom, a package of gift tags.

Here you can see all of the gift tags. The website says this is for “gifting on the go.”

I included a couple of pen holders in the order.

This is one of the cover designs that is available for the planner as well as the notebook. This is the Alphabet – Keep It Simple design. You choose the letter and the colour of the large letter as shown here. The covers are laminated. And the bookmark is thick plastic; very sturdy feeling. Both notebooks measure 7″ x 9″ but they are available in 8.5″ x 11″ as well, for $5 extra.

And here’s the second design I chose, again available for the planner as well. It is called Favorite Things – Keep it Simple. I think this is my favourite of the two covers because it’s so much more personal than just a name or an initial – it’s literally everything I love! You can personalize this by typing in all of the words you want to see on the cover. You can also add photos, or change the font. Erin Condren really allows for a high level of customization.

The cover design is carried over to the inside. I love the designs on the take note! page – anybody remember Spirograph?? I had one as a child and loved it. It’s nice to know they are still available on Amazon.

More spirographs! I might colour them in for fun. And the notebook pages begin. The paper is very good. The weight is 70lb and you can certainly tell. A pen test is included further down.

There are 132 lined pages, each a different colour, followed by 21 blank pages.

Such an inspiring design. I am a lover of colour so the pages really appeal to me.

This is the last page of both notebooks. I laughed out loud when I saw this because this is one of my favourite quotes.

The back cover of this design carries on the favourite things theme.

The bookmark is included with each notebook. It is thick – thicker than a credit card – and snaps into the rings very easily. It’s a nice touch. You can also purchase dividers and undated calendar pages. So many options.

The pen loops are super sticky – just as good as the Leuchttum 1917 ones. And the loops themselves are stretchy – I didn’t try my Jinhao 159 but the Parker Urban had no problems. And of course the Party Pop Marker fits perfectly.

And here is the pen test. I didn’t like the feel of the rollerball and ballpoint pens on this paper, and I was very happy to note it took fountain pen ink like a dream.

Slight bleed through (those Sharpie markers) and some show through, but nothing to worry about. Fountain pen friendly!

Overall I am very impressed with the quality of these notebooks, and the customization options are numerous. There are more accessories and lots more cover styles available so check out the website. I was also emailed a $10 off coupon for my next order. I don’t know when that will be, as the exchange is brutal right now and shipping is a flat fee of $20 to Canada. Each of these notebooks cost $22 due to the personalization. Worth it, in my opinion, but still pricey. You get the quality you pay for.

After helping me with this review my assistant took a long overdue nap. 🙂

I couldn’t find it so I made it

Tags

filofax flex, notebooks, paper, youtube

Here’s what I’ve been working on tonight: home made notebooks. I’ve been looking for grid notebooks with a smaller grid length and in a size that would fit my Flex Planner. Couldn’t find them. So I made some.

They are very small; only 10 pages each. I wanted to perfect the craft before making bigger books. There are lots of videos on Youtube for making your own notebooks; I watched about a dozen before deciding on stapling my books together. Look up Sea Lemon on Youtube; she has a ton of videos on the many different ways to make a book.

The stapling method is the easiest and fastest method, in my opinion, although the limitation is the size of your staple.

I used some cardstock that was kicking around my closet. I’m really pleased with how they turned out.

I printed the paper from http://www.printablepaper.net. This version is the 7 squares to the inch size.

I want to try saddle stitching next. And here is Sea Lemon’s video on Saddle Stitching with Staples in case you want to make some notebooks too. 🙂

Scribbles on the back of a barn door

Tags

diary, lists, nature, notebooks, UNESCO Fundy Biosphere Reserve

The weather has its own methods of screwing up people’s ideas of how they can outwit it.

Bonus post for you today as I missed one last night. Below is a beautiful video put out by the UNESCO Fundy Biosphere Reserve showing the power and value of a couple’s 30+ years of observing and chronicling weather, flora and fauna patterns. The couple are from my part of the world, and the shots of their farm house and property bring a flash of home for me as I watch. Their collective journals have been studied by environmental students at Mount Allison and definite trends emerge from the analysis of their data. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did; as soon as it was over I went outside, took photos of my irises which are glorious this year, and filled up my bird feeders. It’s all about paying attention to what’s going on in your backyard.

…calendars, journals, or even scribbles on the back of a barn door…all hold value.

Work Journals

Tags

golder associates ltd., journal, notebooks, pens

I work for Golder Associates Ltd. We are a “global, employee-owned organisation providing independent consulting, design and construction services in our specialist areas of earth, environment and energy.” My current role is a Technical Editor for a dedicated client team. I’ve been with them for five years. In those five years I’ve received five journals and today I wanted to share them with you.

I have received five journals in total: two of the large leather refillable journal on the right, one of the brown journal, and two of the small green journal.

Inside the leather refillable. I use this at work all the time, so it has my business cards in the pocket and one of my pens.

This is the pen that came with the journal. Notice it has the same sewn detail as the pen. I like the look of the pen but it does not stay released when I try to write with it. I turn the barrel until the pen appears but then when I start to write the point goes back into the pen. Most annoying. But that’s a ballpoint for you!

The paper is pretty thin but it ‘s not bad.

So the journal is made by Hampton, and it’s nice of them to list where to find the refills.

Sorry for the blurriness; on my phone it looked fine. This journal I received this year. I love the color, and the fact that you can stick a pen in the binding.

A close-up of the pen that came with the journal.

And this is where the pen lives in the binding. Just like my Cross Journal.

Nice ruled pages with brown lines – and they are perforated which is a nice detail. I wish it was refillable though.

Pocket in the back.

Back cover. Another one made in China, by Spector and Co.

This is the small green journal. Love the color but not crazy about the journal itself.

It doesn’t lie flat at all. Very disappointing.

Genuine Leather and again made in China.

So there you have it. Golder is very good to give out these journals and other gifts; I really do appreciate them. It’s nice to be thanked for your efforts.

Paint If Empty or Tired

Tags

brainpickings.org, handwriting, joan didion, journal, maria popova, mary gordon, new york times, notebooks, writers, writing

I started out tonight with an entirely different post in mind. Last week I received a notebook at work as a token of appreciation for Administrative Assistants Day. I am not what you might think of as an Administrative Assistant; I frequently refer to myself as an editor and that is how I am known in my group at work. My official title is Report Production Coordinator which involves quite a bit of word processing. Anyway however you want to describe it we editors were invited to join in on the Administrative Assistants Day fun, with a lunch and the presenting of a present; the afore-mentioned notebook. This is the fifth notebook I have received while working for my company; the others were presented as thank-yous or gifts for something or other. So I wanted to show you pictures of these notebooks but then I realized I forgot one of them at work (I actually do use one or two of them, at work). So that’s a post for another day.

In my despair at it being almost bedtime and my topic thwarted, I started reading this post from brainpickings.org. called Famous Advice on Writing: The Collected Wisdom of Great Writers. That was over an hour ago. So many great jumping off points in this article: Mary Gordon on the Joy of Notebooks and How Writing By Hand Catalyzes Creativity (omg was there ever a more perfect article for me?!?), Joan Didion on Keeping a Notebook, and The Daily Routines of Famous Writers, just to name a few. This hopscotching through articles could go on for some time. I want to write everything down in my journal but that would take weeks. Months maybe. And my apologies if I’ve already touched on some of these articles previously on here. There are over 600 posts now and I find my memory failing. I seem to recognize certain quotes but not others. So be indulgent with me if I repeat myself.

I hope you have as much fun as I did reading these amazing and inspiring articles. And then go write in your journal and just see what comes. You’ll be happily surprised, I guarantee it.

[T]he point of my keeping a notebook has never been, nor is it now, to have an accurate factual record of what I have been doing or thinking. That would be a different impulse entirely, an instinct for reality which I sometimes envy but do not possess. – Joan Didion

 

 

My Every Day Carry

Tags

filofax, hobonichi, incowrimo, journal, lula fashion business, monteverde prima, notebooks, parker urban, planners, roots londoner, toffeenut, tomoe river

I’ve been seeing lots of videos and blog posts about what people carry with them every day. So I thought I would do one too. It’s about what I carry with me every day, an update on my planner, and kind of a “what’s in my bag” post as well. Some of these things I’ve talked about in previous blog posts, some stuff will be new.

This is my Lula Fashion Business laptop bag. When it doesn’t hold my work laptop it holds what my purse doesn’t.

Love the purple lining.

I carry my Cadence pens with me.

This pencil case carries lip balm and my phone charger…but no pencils!

My medicine bag, which contains medication, wet wipes, a hand mirror and breath freshener.

I carry my journal with me everywhere I go. The yellow pencil case is attached to the cover of the journal by a large elastic. I found it at a dollar store, believe it or not, and it works beautifully. A few more of my favorite fountain pens live in here. The Monteverde Prima and my Parker Urban are in the pen loops.

And here is my planner! We are still together! You recall I first started using this planner on December 1 of last year. I wanted to use this planner for all of 2014; I didn’t think I would make it this far. I must admit I’ve been feeling the “planner itch” as I’ve heard some call it; I’ve been reading about the Hobonichi Planners at Plannerisms and I feel tempted. One of my InCoWriMo penpals sent me some Tomoe River paper, which is the paper in the Hobonichi Planners, and it is wonderful. But I am going to stick with my Martha Stewart disc-bound system. It’s been working great since December so why change?

So that’s it for my laptop bag. I also carry my purse every day so I thought I would include that too.

My current bag is the Roots Londoner. It is my second leather Roots bag and I really love it. It’s very roomy but if I try to put everything from my laptop bag into this bag it stretches the leather and is too heavy for my shoulder. So I split the weight up between the two.

In the zippered pockets on the front I keep lip gloss and Green Tea and Echinacea Ricola.

My change purse.

My Filofax wallet is a green chameleon. I found it at my local Reid’s Stationers on sale. I can see why lots of people use it as a wallet; I’ve been using it without incident for over a year.

For as long as I can remember I’ve carried a Rosary in my purse. This one I picked up at our local church.

Remember my Toffeenut Planner? I didn’t actually end up using the planner but I do still have the case. I found small notebooks that fit it perfectly so I carry it around with me just in case I need to make some notes that wouldn’t normally go in my Cross journal (like directions or my grocery list).

And finally my sunglasses, which I’m realizing kinda match the color of my bag.

And that’s it! I hope this wasn’t too terribly boring. I’m always interested in other people’s bags and what they carry every day. Would love to see what you carry!

Visiting Yourself in the Past

Tags

diary, journal, notebooks, writing

Great post on dispatchfromla.com about re-reading past journals. I look back at mine on occasion, and I’ve been known to remove pages. But for the most part I leave them intact. I write what I need to write and if anyone reads them down the road they will know me and hopefully love me and understand.

The post also has some beautiful pictures of journals. And great quotes:

There are a lot of ways to be truthful and not all of them involve gut wrenching psychological poop storms.

The author makes a great point about looking in a mirror of sorts and seeing yourself through your own eyes, at 20, at 30, at 40. You can learn so much about yourself, how you handle things, what positive things you do, and how you sabotage yourself. You may see patterns emerging, which you can work on, depending on if you want to change the pattern or encourage it. Or you can write your truth and set it free, never looking at it again.

So whether you have a complete set of journals from age six onwards, or you have one book that will be destroyed as soon as you finish it, I hope you enjoy the process and are richer for it. Happy writing.

Tea with Journals

Tags

fountain pen, notebooks, phasha, tea, thomas paul

My sister was in town this week and we met up today to have tea and talk notebooks and pens, and various sisterly things.

Big sis spoiled me rotten, arriving with bags of food. She baked the yummy scones and provided the cheese and crackers and chocolate (and vegetables and fruit not shown here). I provided the tea and tea things, strawberry jam and Devonshire cream. It’s hard to see but one of my Phasha journals is sitting on the table to the right. My turquoise Monteverde Prima is sitting on top of it.

Here’s a closeup of the journal and some tea things.

We also invited my Thomas Paul Botanical Slipcover Journal to join us.

My Monteverde Prima looks very fetching with it, no?

We devoured the food and filled the tea pot twice. We chatted and laughed and admired each other’s fountain pens. A truly blissful afternoon, and I can’t wait to do it again!

Writing Because It Is Fun

Tags

fountain pen, handwriting, jetpens, nanowrimo, notebooks, writing

I just read this heartwarming interview on Jetpens.com with Brent Acuff, a band teacher in Texas. He shares his love of fountain pens and fosters a love of writing by offering pens as prizes for writing competitions. This year he inspired more than 50 students to take part in NaNoWriMo’s Young Writer’s Program. We need more Brents!!

…the act of writing helps foster creativity by forcing you to slow down and take a little more time to get your thoughts in order. There is no ‘ding’ of email coming from your journal, no text message or updating blog to draw your attention away from the task at hand.

Well said Brent, and may you continue in your mission to foster the love of writing.

Book Review: Bellman & Black

Tags

bellman & black, books, diane setterfield, notebooks

Image from http://www.amazon.ca/Bellman-Black-Diane-Setterfield/dp/0385679505/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388467001&sr=1-1&keywords=bellman+and+black

I finished Bellman & Black: A Ghost Story today, the second novel by Diane Setterfield, whose first book, The Thirteenth Tale, was a phenomenal bestseller, debuting on the NY Times Bestseller List at number one. Bellman has received mixed reviews on Goodreads and Amazon but I was hooked by the cover blurb:

Caught up in a moment of boyhood competition, William Bellman recklessly aims his slingshot at a rook resting on a branch, killing the bird instantly. It is a small but cruel act, and is soon forgotten. By the time he is grown, with a wife and children of his own, William seems to have put the whole incident behind him. It was as if he never killed the thing at all. But rooks don’t forget…

Years later, when a stranger mysteriously enters William’s life, his fortunes begin to turn – and the terrible and unforeseen consequences of his past indiscretion take root. In a desperate bid to save the only precious thing he has left, he enters into a rather strange bargain, with an even stranger partner. Together, they found a decidedly macabre business.

And Bellman & Black is born.

This novel is about death and madness. Death seems to follow William as in business he moves from success to success but neglects his family life, or what remains of his family after it is decimated by a mysterious illness. Around every corner and in every dream the rooks are waiting. After his meeting with the elusive stranger whom we come to know as Mr. Black William sets out to establish London’t first funeral store, a one-stop-shop for Victorians celebrating mourning. Little does he know his obsession with creating the perfect retail environment for death will ultimately result in his own.

There were such elaborate rituals associated with death in the Victorian age; wearing black for two years and then slowly moving into lighter shades of grey, outfitting even the lowliest servant in mourning clothes. There is a list of reference books on the last page that Setterfield used in her research and one in particular sounds worthy of further study: James Stevens Curl’s The Victorian Celebration of Death. Indeed.

For me the book was engaging and well written. It is a very different style from The Thirteenth Tale, which I loved. I had no difficulty seeing it through to the end. One of the elements that stayed with the main character throughout the story is his calfskin notebook. He carries it with him everywhere and writes list after list of everything he needs to do. Sound familiar?

[William] filled every minute of the day with activity. He lived in fear of idleness, sought out tasks to fill every chink and every nook of his waking day, and if something was finished five minutes earlier than he’d allowed, he grew fretful. He learned to keep a list of small jobs to fill those dangerous spaces in his day. Accompanying Paul to a meeting with a haberdasher in Oxford, he stopped off in Turl Street to purchase a calfskin notebook for the express purpose of writing these lists. He kept it close by him: in the office it was always on his desk; on site at the mill or travelling it was to hand in his pocket. He slept with it by his bed, reached for it the moment he awoke. When the monster reached his claw for him, sometimes just the touch of the calfskin cover was enough to hold it at bay while he armoured himself with work.

I identified with this image so much; I carry my notebook around with me everywhere, even to bed. It is a magical talisman that calms and protects me.

I pictured something like this when I read the description of his notebook:

Image from http://www.amazon.com/Franciscan-Calfskin-Leather-Photo-Album/dp/B000PWIUZU/ref=&tag=polyvore006-20

Along with the recurring element of the notebook, one cannot escape the rooks, just like William. Interspersed in the text are interludes of rook history and behavior, told from the rook’s point of view, in a different font which is as effective as it is creepy. The rooks’ cries and wing flutters are just out of reach for William, but ever present. He is truly haunted by a thoughtless act of killing committed as a child, and the image never quite leaves his consciousness. Here is an excerpt from the last, and best, missive from the rook:

All stories must come to an end. This one. Everyone’s. Your own.

When your story comes to an end, a rook will harvest it, as I harvested William Bellman’s story. So when you arrive at the last line of the last page, it is Thought or Memory or one of their many descendants who will be waiting to accompany you as the book closes on your story. En route, over the last blank page and beyond the covers to that unknown place, your rook will harvest your story. Later, he will make his way back without you. And then, when the time is right, he will make his way to the white page of sky where he will partake in the most important rook ritual of all.

All will be gathered together in an inkpool of black. First one will rise, then others, then hundreds, then thousands until, ink-black marks on a paper-white blank, the descendants of Thought and Memory will dance together in a passionate and spectacular act of collectiveness: a storytelling, of gods, of men, of rooks.

I hope in my eagerness to convey the atmosphere of the book I have not given too much away. Ultimately I would recommend this book. Not a match to her first wildly successful effort but a worthy follow up, in my opinion.