Since the beginning of the year, the pockets of my planner have become filled with an assortment of stickers, postage stamps and washi tape. I’ve gotten into collaging on my daily pages so having a few stickers to add along the way is a great option.

I am still loving the B6 size for my planner. It’s not as small as an A6, which I often felt like I needed more than one-page-per-day, but not as intimidating as an A5 which always seemed like too much space and too large a notebook to tote around everyday. If you haven’t tried B6 yet, I highly recommend it as the Goldilocks of notebooks.

This image above shows that I’ve filled about 2/3rds of the Stalogy daily planner and evidence of collage-y bits can be seen from the edge.

I added the Midori pen clip to the back of the Stalogy at the beginning of the year and have managed to keep it for six whole months without losing it. Good news since my rare Sailor ProGear Slim Stargazer has been riding around in the loop all year.

I mark my place each month and each day with the Midori gold Chiratto Index Clips ($8.50 for 8 clips). It makes getting to my current spot fast and easy.

I’m getting some mileage with the monthly pages to keep track of silly holidays like Graham Cracker Day (July 5), travel, pen shows and birthdays and such but I am not using the week-on-two-pages like I thought I would.

I had thought I would utilize the page on the right of the week-on-two-pages in the Midori for work-related tasks and notes but I have ended up keeping a notebook at work for these tasks and the pages go largely unused. Its extra sad because I really like the paper in the Midori Pocket Planner and the little illustrations throughout are cheery.

The only creature in my house that uses the ribbon bookmark is Apple. He thinks it’s delicious.

In the Stalogy, on days without a lot of activities (like a Sunday when you discover you have Covid-19), I have started adding collage elements with washi, stickers and some rubber stamps. I also bought a Polaroid Mint mini-printer to add the occasional photo to my planner.

I often treat my planner more like a log book of what I did, what I ate, where I went, who I saw, what I read, watch or listened to, etc. so adding photos in is a good way to log activities. If you want to be able to add photos to your journal or planner, many people recommend the Canon Ivy which is currently available. The Polaroid Mint has been discontinued. Both the Mint and the Ivy use Zink 2″ x 3″ printer paper. The color output is not great but the printer uses instant film technology and the printers don’t need ink cartridges making it a little easier to use. So, it makes fun, little retro-looking images that add some much-needed personality to my planner.

Usually, on Sundays, I try to pre-decorate a few pages. Since I am doing a (sort of) page-a-day for my planner/journal/logbook I just add a few decorative elements to add some interest for the week but I am not locked into using a whole page for one day. Some days, I might use two or more pages. I’ve found this open method so much easier for me since there is no pressure from day-to-day. Some days are super busy and active, and some days I skip altogether.

I don’t know how to solve for the largely unused Midori Pocket Planner. I thought about removing the monthly pages and pasting them into the Stalogy but I would want the whole year’s worth of calendar pages so where doe I put them? In the back altogether? At the beginning of each month but what about later months?

I would like to streamline a little bit but I haven’t figured out the best way to do that. As it is right now, the book is quite chonky so I suspect I will try to reduce the bulk I carry on a daily basis a bit.

How’s your planning/journal/notebook set-up serving you? Have you needed to switch it up?

Bonus helper photo:

Apple insisted on hanging out with me while I photographed this post so he wanted to put his paw stamp on this post. It’s “Apple-approved.”

The post Mid-Year Planner Review appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I have two brands to show: MU Series Print-On Stickers ($3.35 per set of two sheets) and Midori Transfer Stickers for Journaling ($5 per sheet).

Each set includes instructions on the back in both Japanese and English which is helpful. Unlike regular stickers or washi, transfer/rub-on stickers are rubbed onto the paper and will not have any noticeable edges. They can be opaque or transparent which makes them fun for layering over collage or other elements in your journal or notebook.

Tools needed:

In order to use these rub-on transfer stickers, you’ll need scissors (I am using the Allex S-165F Office Scissors with non-stick fluorine coating, $16) and something to rub the stickers down. I used a bone folder but a coin, the side of a plastic card (like a credit card) or the end of a ruler would work too. You can also buy a wood tool like the MU Print-On Transfer Wooden Applicator ($1.95).

How to Apply Transfer/Rub-on Stickers:

Both sets include the sheet of stickers and a backing sheet. The backing sheet protects the stickers from sticking to the inside of the packaging. I recommend keeping the packaging to store the sheets after using to keep them protected. When applying the stickers, remove the protective sheet from the back of the sticker.

For best results, cut out the sticker you want to apply so that you do not press on the other stickers and accidentally apply them.

With the backer sheet removed, place the sticker where you want it on the page. I found it helpful to put a pencil board or other stiff board under my page as it made it easier to rub down the stickers. In the image above, I am using my bone folder to rub down the sticker. Work around the image in a methodical way to be sure you’ve rubbed all the details down.

Peel up a corner gently to make sure all the elements have been applied. You can put the transfer back down this way and rub a bit more if all the art did not apply to the page.

Once done, remove the transfer film. In the case of the Muji transfer stickers, some of the art did not transfer. I think more pressure or a harder under-surface would have made the transfer apply more cleanly.

Even with the tiny bits that didn’t transfer, the art looks really bright and pretty on the page.

I walked through the same process with the MU stickers as well.

After I cut out the art, I removed the backing sheet and I placed it in the position where I wanted to apply it.

I rubbed it down using the same technique as the Midori transfer stickers.

Then I removed the transfer film. In the case of the MU stickers, the artwork applied completely with no residue.

Based on my overall results, I am more inclined to recommend the MU transfer stickers over the Midori as they seem to apply more easily and also the cost less for more stickers. Of course, for you, the designs will be a deciding factor. There are more playful, whimsical designs available from Midori transfer stickers as well as metallic gold transfer stickers which look SO COOL! The MU transfer stickers are available in more nature-themed and watercolor-style designs.

Are you going to try these out for yourself? Which styles do you like better?

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens and Vanness Pen Shop for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Journal Supplies: Rub-On Stickers appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

The Trigg Gratitude Journal (£13.99) is a guided gratitude journal from the makers of the Trigg Life Mapper planner system. This A5 matte faux-leather hardcover journal features prompts, quotes and a variety of page layouts that create a place where you can pause and reflect. The notebook starts with some direction about how and when to use a gratitude journal.

The goal of this gratitude journal is to help find happiness in your life and improve personal resilience when things get tough.

Throughout the notebook, there are inspiring quotes, mandalas that you can color, and an assortment of guided prompts to explore positive aspects, people and things in your life.

I am a cynic and a bit of a salty b*tch so looking for the bright side, being grateful and staying positive always feels a bit forced for me. I am 100% the person the Grievance Journal was made for. But I totally understand why and how the Trigg Gratitude Journal can be helpful.

I am also the person who needs guided prompts to get me to even think about “10 things I like about myself” and, trust me, filling this page in would be a painful and emotionally wrought activity.  I know. Therapy.

There were a few “notes’ pages in the back of the notebook that I used for pen testing.

While the structure and concept behind this planner is it’s raison d’etre , I am sure you’re asking, “How’s the paper?”

The paper is a bright white compared to the Trigg Life Mapper which features a softer ivory paper. I am pretty sure its the same paper stock though as I had similar results with some bleedthrough from fountain pens and a little showthrough with darker or broader brush pens, though it was pretty minor.

The paper had a “dry” feeling. I know that seems like a strange way to describe paper but it did feel like it wanted to absorb inks though the overall result was not terrible. No pen feathered. The mystery ink in my ProColor seems to bleed on most papers so I wasn’t overly surprised. There was a bit of show through with the Pilot Custom 912 with the FA nib but that is a flex nib and dumps a lot of ink on the paper.

Overall, I found gel pens, rollerball and felt tip pens performed well on the paper. The brush pens also did really well and fountain pen ink did okay, YMMV.

If you are looking for a notebook to help focus on gratitude, the amount of content in the Trigg Gratitude Journal is excellent providing a range of activities. I have to admit, I want to spend an hour coloring a couple of the mandala designs in the journal. I feel like this is a notebook where the content provided outweighs the potential fountain pen-incompatibility. If you need to get your gratitude on, grab those seldom used gel pens, markers, colored pencils and such and dive in. Sometimes, content is more important than the fountain pen-friendliness.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Think Trigg for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Notebook Review: Trigg Gratitude Journal appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

The Trigg Life Mapper is an A5-sized, hardcover book with ribbon bookmark and vertical elastic closure. The book contains over 365 pages including one-day-per-page for the work week, Saturday and Sunday are half pages and then additional pages for monthly reviews, monthly goal planning and more.

The exterior of the book is a faux leather with a bit of texture and debossed design on the front, back and spine.

Each month is delineated with a color along the edge making it easy to find quickly.

The binding is sturdy and the pages are all stitched into the book in a way that allows the book to lay flat and remain pretty duarble.

The paper is a warm white overall with lots of color accents throughout. The front piece has a quick summary of the goal of the planner as well as a place for personal contact info and a mission statement of sorts. I’m not sure I’d want my mission statement next to my contact info. Should I misplace the book I would hope someone would flip to the first pages and find my contact info but not necessarily need to read that “I want to be retired by age 60, a fully trained flamenco dancer and published author” — that feels a little personal. So, I would recommend if you fill this out, don’t misplace your planner.

There are several pages in the front of the planner to help explain the system that has been created and also what various symbols mean and how they can be used. First, are the icons relating to the most common categories one might try to plan and organize. The colors associated with each icon are the same as the colors used to color code the months. As I dove into the planner, I discovered that this color coding also allowed for each month to be a chance to focus on a specific aspect of your goals. I.E. In January, the prompts at the beginning of the month suggest focusing on personal goals like health, wellness, etc. Since January is often the month that we set goals for ourselves like “exercise more” or “eat less junk” it seems like a good match. Each month rolls through each of the monthly goal focuses.

I really like this set-up. It makes it a little less intimidating. As I looked through the planner, I was encouraged that I would not have to tackle ALL the goals every month. You certainly could but, by focusing on one specific area in your life, the likelihood that you build an achievable goal seems far more attainable.

On each daily page, at the top is the grid. In the front of the planner the diagram above explains how or what sorts of tasks could be assigned to each section. I like that they made the main area the same size as a sticky note so that it would be possible to just move those “must do” tasks to the next day as needed.

The start of each month is a one-page spread that includes some prompts for thought around goal setting and space for a single goal for each life category and two or more actions that could be taken to achieve said goal. Again, one goal per month per category and a maximum of two actions seems doable. For self, the goal could be walk 3 days a week. The action item might be to get up an hour earlier to make time or buy new sneakers. Relationships goal could be “plan Madeline’s birthday party” and the actions are “order cake” and “make her a new scarf”. You get the idea. The goals don’t always have to be the 10,000 foot goals.

So, here is one of the daily pages above. One each weekday, there is an inspirational quote at the top. Then there’s the grid and then a half a page to list appointments or other notes.

At the beginning of the planner, in the middle and at the end are opportunities to reflect on the bigger goals and also prompts to help you focus and clarify your goals.

I’m surprised how much I like this planner from a content standpoint. I was initially inclined to be a little judgy about it. I often get a little salty when things feel to woo-woo or verge into “The Secret” territory of “you can do anything if you set your mind to it” nonsense. The writing in the planner is positive without being toxic. It’s uplifting without making me wretch from the saccharine. (See my Grievance Journal review for my dark heart revealed.)

Now for what you’ve all been waiting for, the paper and ink tests:

The paper is pretty lightweight so I was expecting average to sub-par test results with fountain pens. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the paper didn’t feather but there was some bleed through with wetter inks.

There was also so bleed through dots from the liquid ink rollerball pens I tested. The most unusual thing I discovered when testing the paper is that the paper is very soft and so some extra fine pens caused some indentions in the paper. I write with a very light hand and still got some indents in the paper so a writing board or guide sheet in between pages would definitely help mitigate dents to the next page.

Despite the less-than-fountain-pen friendly paper, I really like the Trigg Life Mapper planner. I normally prefer blank or minimal planners but the Life Mapper has just the right combination of structure and inspiration to make me want to keep up with a more thoughtful, well-planned life.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Think Trigg for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Planner Review: Trigg Life Mapper appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Just reading the description on the order page tapped into my long-buried teen angsty Goth girl:

Who is this grievance journal for?

Humans! Particularly humans who like to write things on paper and vent about all the ways in which the world has wronged them. It’s cheaper than therapy and less dangerous than the incarceration that would surely result if you acted on your darkest impulses instead of just jotting them down in this sweet journal for sourpusses.

Ah, the gratitude journal made for dark souls!

The journal is hardcover with a matte finish. Inside is about 214 pages that features prompts and quotes to. inspire your own complaints and grumblings.

The book features two types of page spreads: one is a prompt at the top of the page followed by two pages of lined paper for a response. The second is a 2-page spread on blank paper with a decoratively framed quote on the left had page and a full blank page on the right that can be used to comment on the quote of freeform write or doodle.

I spent an inordinate amount of time reading out the prompts and quotes to my knitters, my dark-hearted friends and my patient spouse. I found them to be inspired and delightful.

Of course, with a “novelty” product (for lack of a better word), the paper quality was going to be immediately called into question. This is a book made for its message, not for the exacting standards of the picky-ass fountain pen community.

Truly, the Grievance Journal lives up to the hype, at least for me.

Anger management journal  for venting about life’s annoyances.

If you have friends, family or children who need a good place to revel in their dark thoughts, this journal is the place. Would I love it even more if the paper was truly fountain pen friendly? Yes. But do I love it in spite of its short comings? Yes. We all have our flaws, mine are just written down in this journal now.

PS: If you see a Grievance Journal on Amazon, its not the “real deal”. There’s a note in the description page on Bored Walk that they don’t sell on Amazon so beware of fakes.

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purpose of review. Some items were purchased with funds from our amazing Patrons. You can help support this blog by joining our Patreon. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Notebook Review: Grievance Journal appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I’ve only journaled half a dozen times so far, but I’ve used this process and a few cool tools (detailed at the bottom) to help me along the way. I end up primarily tracking my knitting projects, but I’ve also taken to adding my thoughts about what’s going on in the world, and every now and again a quote or two. While this is still a work in progress, I like that there isn’t the pressure of a dated journal so I can write whenever I want. I also love that the blank pages allow me to add in whatever media I want to use.

So far I’ve used:

• My Musubi Diary
• My Platinum Procyon Maki-e, Brush Warbler on Plum Tree filled with Pilot Iroshizuku Momiji ink.
• The Himekuri Sticky Note Calendar (for dating my posts)
• Kamiterior Memo Pad in Twilight Indigo and a Pilot Gold Metallic Paint Marker Extra-fine (for memorializing quotes)
• Assorted washi tape.

It feels good to use my tools and also to track what I’m up to over time. Whether this journal lasts me 1 year or spans 10, this is a habit I’m working on keeping!

The post Journaling Reflections appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

For more than a year now, I’ve been keeping what I call my “scribble journal” (you can learn about how it originated on my personal blog). Somewhere between a sketchbook and a daily log book, it’s a mix of doodly sketches from imagination and short notes. Although keeping a sporadic, longer-form written journal has been a lifelong habit, and I also keep separate sketchbooks, I have not been able to keep up this type of daily scribble journaling – until now. I’ve made other attempts in the past at combining writing with sketching, but somehow those habits never “stuck” for more than a few weeks. I seem to have finally hit on the right format that is both satisfying and is easy to maintain.

The format is simple: Like the log book I used to keep, the writing is a sentence or two describing an event about my day. For some of these log entries, I also make a small sketch – nothing more than a stick figure or a doodle that encourages me to draw from my mind (not an easy task for someone who has focused on drawing almost exclusively from observation for the past decade). They’re really just visual notations to go with the written notes. The sketches make the pages more fun to look back on than when the log was filled with writing only. I also find that the doodles trigger memories more easily: I see the sketch, and I recall more about what happened that day or related to the event, even if I haven’t written much.

I typically fill one page in an A5-size Leuchtturm 1917 hardcover notebook ($21.95) per day. I usually spend no more than about 15 minutes a day, usually in the evening, which makes it a sustainable, low-maintenance habit. Instead of thinking of it as a task I “must” do (as I sometimes used to feel about formats that didn’t stick), I look forward to it.

Since I put no effort into designing attractive page layouts, using readymade date labels makes the pages look better. Last year I used the colorful Mark’s Maste Perforated Writable Washi Tape date set ($12.25/set), which was exactly what I needed to give the pages some consistency. 

This year I decided I wanted to work on my lettering, so instead of pre-dated stickers, I got a pack of Mark’s Maste Writable Brush Paint Title washi tapes ($8.25) and a roll of Mark’s Maste Writable Watercolor Title washi tape ($8). Both give my pages a quick splash of color where I can write the day, date and maybe a heading.

For those dates and headings, I’m using Tombow Fudenosuke brush pens with hard tips ($22.50/set of 10). Basic black Fudenosuke brush pens have long been a favorite for sketching, so these colorful versions containing water-resistant ink are a fast go-to. Easy to control like an ordinary pen, the brush tip is firm enough not to mush down under my heavy hand. They write beautifully without feathering or bleeding on washi tapes and on Leuchtturm paper (and the ink dries quickly for this lefty). I usually color sketches with colored pencils, but this year I might add color with the Fudenosuke pens, too. 

Finally, for writing and sketching, I’m using Uni Pin black pigment ink pens with a brush tip and a 0.5mm tip ($2.45 each). I sometimes use the brush tip to write the date on washi tape, too. Like the Tombow Fudenosuke ink, Uni’s pigment ink shows no feathering or bleeding and also dries quickly.

Let’s face it: I have and love having lots and lots of stationery and art supplies, but sometimes too many options can be stymying. This simple tool set keeps my scribble journaling process simple (and therefore easily doable). The year is fresh: I hope yours is off to a good journaling start with whatever format you use.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

Tina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.

The post Journal Accessories: Mark’s Maste Washi, Tombow Fudenosuke, Uni Pin Pens appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I had mentioned Paperblanks to someone recently and it led me back  to their website to discover that they now list the paper weights they use and noticed that they listed 80gsm, 100gsm and 120gsm paper stocks. Clearly, it was time to give Paperblanks another look.

I ordered one Flexi Midi notebook (approx. 5 x 7 “) with 100gsm paper. The cover featured artwork by Catrin Welz-Stein whose work I am enamored with. I also ordered a hard cover Midi notebook with 120gsm paper. Included in my order was a free A7 sized Paper-Oh lined notebook which is part of Paperblanks contemporary line and featured a metallic grey wave texture on the outside.

Upon further research, the Paper-Oh line is only available in 80gsm and 100gsm papers (when shopping on the Paperblanks site, select “more filters” to reveal the paper weight options if you are specifically looking for the heavier weight.

So, let’s start reviewing the notebooks.

Oceania Diamond Rosette Midi Hardcover Notebook

The Oceania Diamond Rosette Midi ($18.95) Notebook in Hardcover is beautifully embossed with antiqued gold foiling and a textural look though the cover is actually a matte soft-touch wrapped paper hardcover notebook.

The hardcover Midi version of this notebook includes a black elastic closure which I don’t particularly like how it looks with the antique centered design. But its nice that its been included.

The back cover includes a gusseted pocket for miscellany and a red satin ribbon bookmark that is cut and sealed on the end so it doesn’t fray. The book includes 144 pages.

The Oceania notebook features the 120gsm and this is what I wanted to try. The paper is a soft white ivory (which is very difficult to photograph correctly) and I purchased the blank version. The only other option was lined.

I tested several “everyday” fountain pens and a small assortment of felt tip and gel pens. They all performed beautifully.

Writing on this paper provides a little tooth and texture and feel velvety to write on. The Midi size also hits that sweet spot between an A5 and A6 size. I really like it.

From the reverse side of both pages, there was no bleedthrough and no showthrough either.

Wordscapes Flexi Midi Notebook

The Wordscapes “Free Your Mind” Midi Flexi  ($15.95) Notebook is the same size and the hardcover Midi but features a more flexible “softcover”. The design printed on the cover is done in the same way as the Oceania notebook — soft touch matte but this cover features a more contemporary, vintage-inspired illustration by Catrin Welz-Stein. The illustration is accented with gloss varnish and some metallic details on the figure’s dress.

This notebook also features a light, printed edge painting that reminds me of marbling. It’s very subtle and might be missed if I hadn’t looked closely. It would have been nice for the edge painting to be a little more bold to be more evident.

The secretary pocket in the back of the Flexi notebook is not gusseted and the Flexi notebook does not include an elastic for closing the book.

The Flexi notebook features more pages than the hardcover notebook — 176 pages vs. the 144 pages in the hardcover. The paper is also only 100gsm instead of the 120gsm option in the hardcover.

Compared to the velvety texture of the 120gsm paper, the 100gsm paper seems a bit smoother, silkier. I enjoyed writing on it despite knowing that it was more likely to bleed or showthrough. The advantage of the lighter weight paper is that a guide sheet is much more easy to see under the blank pages.

The lighter weight paper becomes evident with more showthrough and a little bleedthrough with heavier ink applications like the music nib and the broad brush pens. It’s not awful and if you use a lot of fine nib fountain pens and a mix of ballpoint, gel and other tools, you might not mind the lighter paper.

Paper-Oh A7 Yuko-Ori Lined Notebook

The Paper-Oh A7 Yuko-Ori Metallic Grey ($4.21) Lined Notebook was included in my order as a bonus and it gave me a chance to see and try the lined paper without investing in a third notebook. The Paper-Oh line is more contemporary looking and feeling with the textural paper cover and a “perfect binding” rather than the wrapped paper covers (hard of soft) of the traditional Paperblanks line.

Included in the tiny notebook was a paper bookmark which I could not figure out how it was meant to be folded and a little brochure about the development of the Paper-Oh line.

The Yuko-Ori notebook appears to use the same 100gsm paper as the larger Midi Flexi notebook. However, the paper seemed to behave a bit differently with inks. I believe this was a result of the printing necessary to add lines to the paper. The lines are very thin and printed in a light brown so they are very subtle. If I needed a lined notebook, this is the kind of lines I’d want. However, the alteration to the paper as a result of the lines is a bit of a disappointment. I may be reading more into the paper than was there. Maybe it’s just a slightly different paper?

The inconsistencies in the way the fountain pen ink adhered to the paper turned out to be difficult to capture in a photo so I guess it’s not as bad as I am making it out to be.

Conclusions

In the end, I am more inclined to stick to the blank pages to avoid any additional issues, especially with the 100gsm paper. The 120gsm paper may stand up to the printing process better. If anyone decides to try the heavier paper with lines, please let me know if you run into any issues.

I am glad I tried Paperblanks again. I am 100% sold on the the 120gsm paper and I do like the unusual Midi size. I look forward to trying more variations of the Paperblanks notebooks in various sizes.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were purchased by me and I was not compensated to write this review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Notebook Review: Paperblanks 100gsm & 120gsm appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

My Knitting Notes (€19 or $25) is designed as a notebook for knitters who want to keep a journal of the projects they work on. Ana and I were particularly interested in this because of late, we’ve been contemplating the best method to track our projects.

A small sidebar:

You might be wondering why we would need to track projects and what use such a record would be. As crafters, we often make projects more than once, so recording what patterns, needle sizes, and yarns we used, as well as any notes we made during the project, make a tidy reference point. Ana and I have been using Ravelry, a social media site and database for crafters, to track our projects, but recent developments have made us worry a bit about the longevity of that platform. The nice thing about an electronic journal is that we can add pattern PDFs, photos, links to needles or yarn, whereas in a physical format you’d have to print some of those items out to append them to a journal. That said, electronic platforms (particularly those social ones) are impermanent and can disappear (often faster than the written word). So what is the best method to track things?

Back to the review at hand:

My Knitting Notes is a small journal, measuring 6 x 8.5″ (15 x 21cm) and about .75″/2cm thick. It is hardbound, with a woven cover in Mustard, and embossed in gold on the front cover with My Knitting Notes and the back cover with Laine’s logo. The journal itself contains 156 pages divided among reference materials, entry pages for 31 projects, and a small section of grid for noting schematics or charting patterns. The end papers are in a soft peach with no additional printing, and the main paper of the journal is off white. Finally, there is a yellow ribbon bookmark for place keeping.

I find the layout very practical actually. There is a small reference section at the front which includes among other things needle conversion tables (the US uses needle “sizes” and the remainder of the world mostly uses measurements in mm), a printed ruler for small measurements and some common abbreviations and definitions. However the bulk of the book is devoted to project pages. The first 2-page spread of the project pages has spaces for some basic information, and then lined areas for notes. The second 2-page spread is blank, which could allow for doodles, sketches or more notes. It also might be a nice place to add yarn tags and snips with washi tape? Or a printed photo of the completed project?

Let’s talk about the paper. The journal touts “156 pages of high-quality paper” which to me often spells trouble. To be sure, in my larger nibs and more heavily pigmented fountain pen inks, there was some feathering. But I was pleasantly surprised that in my smaller nibs, the paper did fine. And even with a bit of feathering, nothing bled through. I used fountain pens in varying nib sizes, fine liners, gel inks, rollerballs and pencil so I feel like I did put the paper through it’s paces. I didn’t test any water resistance (I expect not much because the paper feels fairly porous) or heavier markers because I don’t know that I would use them in a journal of this sort.

Overall, I think this is a well made and reasonably priced book geared towards knitters. As I continue to mull over where I track my projects, I’m going to give this one a go for the remainder of 2021 and see where I end up!

DISCLAIMER: The notebook in this review was purchased by The Well-Appointed Desk from our local yarn store, Yarn Social Kansas City. You can also find it at Laine. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Notebook Review: Laine My Knitting Notes appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I say apparently because it wasn’t until earlier this week that I realized I had five different notebooks that I intended to continue using in the new year or purchased specifically for the purpose of using in 2021.

I say “plan” because I am using the term in its broadest and loosest possible sense. If 2020 has taught me anything, it’s the need to develop systems that are resilient. And for me personally, resilient systems must at their core be flexible.

However, there is a very thin line that separates flexibility from chaos. So, even though I may look back and laugh in six months, I grabbed my stack of notebooks and spent some time reflecting on the possible use cases of each one.

William Hannah: the notebook I’m already using

I was gifted a William Hannah a couple of months ago, and I’ve been using it almost every day since. The official William Hannah paper is outstanding even for fountain pens, and I usually have a few pages of that paper in one section of the notebook. The rest of the book, however, is filled with all types of different papers. Inspired by Jesi’s previous post, I have primarily been punching my own refills with an Atoma punch.

This allows me to have Tomoe River, Clairefontaine, Cosmo Air Light, Bank Paper, Col-0-ring paper, and other sketchbook papers all in the same tiny notebook. I use whatever paper I’m feeling in the moment, and take the page out and move it to the back of the notebook when I’m finished. At the end of the day, I review the pages I’ve used- transfer important tasks or items to another notebook or a digital system, hold on to the pages or sketches that I want to keep and get rid of the rest. Each day I’m starting with a new, fresh notebook.  I never thought a ring-based system would work for me, but if the last couple of months are any indication, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

In previous years, I may have a notebook that’s planned to be catch-all for any “exceptions” or things that didn’t belong in the other yearly planners and journals. But after using the William Hannah for a couple of months, I think that mindset was backward. This notebook is the catch-all where nearly everything begins. All the other planners and journals are the “exceptions” meant for specific use cases.

I may jot down a quote here and write more about it later in my journal. I may write notes from a meeting here and retain the tasks by adding them to my planner later. But anything and everything belongs here. It may end up somewhere else in the end (and that’s the beauty of a ring-based system with removable pages), but I never feel like I need to grab any other notebook before I write something down or sketch something or doodle or test an ink. Just get it down on paper, and figure out what to do with it later.

Hobonichi Techo Weeks: the only planner I used at all in 2020

When March rolled around I stopped using all planners for a while in favor of a single Musubi notebook. I wrote about that experience here. But once I finished that notebook, the Hobonichi Weeks is the planner that I picked back up. There’s a large section of months in the middle that went unused, but that doesn’t bother me. The format of the Weeks is the only planner format that seems to actually make sense to my brain for planning purposes.

I tend to use it on Sunday nights or Monday mornings to plan for the upcoming week, and when I do so I find it immeasurably helpful. Will I use every page in 2021? Probably not. But will I get more value from the notebook than I invested in it? Absolutely. Because I’ve used it for the same purpose repeatedly over time- I have a strong mental association with this format. Productivity, when it exists, comes to life for me on the pages of this notebook.

Musubi Folio Notebook- A5: the stockpiled staple

I mentioned I finished an entire Musubi notebook during early quarantine months because I was using it for every single thing I was writing down. While I don’t plan to do that this year, I still love Musubi notebooks. So when the old Tomoe River paper was getting scarce, I purchased a small stockpile of the Musubi folio notebooks.

Hobonichi Techo- A6: the notebook I can’t NOT buy

This is where things admittedly start to get ridiculous. The above three notebooks are more than enough to meet my needs for 1) writing down literally everything, 2) productivity and planning, and 3) creativity and reflection. Those are the main analog spaces I need in my life. But when I go to buy a Hobonochi Weeks, somehow the original A6 Techo always ends up in my cart. Every.single.year.

If I am completely honest, I don’t use it nearly enough to justify it. I want it to be a beautiful tiny art journal with perfect sketched summaries of my day. That is probably never going to happen.

So recently, I’ve been using it at the very end of each workday. I review the William Hannah pages for the day and condense the most important notes and tasks for that day onto a single page of the Hobonichi. The repetition seems to help me retain the things that matter, and the summary sets me up well for the next day. We will see if this practice sticks in 2021, and if my success or failure relates in any way to whether or not I choose to purchase the Techo again in 2022.

Fleurir lab 2021 purana sérénité- A6: the new kid on the block

After hearing about the Fleurir lab notebook several times on The Stationery Cafe podcast, I couldn’t resist checking it out for 2021. It’s similar to the Hobonichi Techo, in that it has a one-page-per-day format. But the details of the book are a little different. I just got it in hand this week, but what I can already say is that the notebook is absolutely beautiful and extremely well made. It’s the kind of product that inspires you when you hold it in your hands. But what will I do with it? Honestly, before I started thinking about all these notebooks I had literally no idea. But as I’ve been “thinking out loud” through the writing of this post, I think I have a bit of a hypothesis about why some of my notebooks tend to get used and some tend to sit empty.

 In the past, I’ve sometimes limited notebooks to specific use cases. Planning goes in a certain notebook, journaling goes into a separate book, meeting notes go into another. What happens if I want to journal, but I’m away from my desk and my “journaling” notebook? And what happens if I sit down with my “journaling” notebook, and don’t really feel like journaling and suddenly feel more like sketching or feel the need to get planning out of my head before I can journal about anything else? I think limiting a notebook to one specific use-case can be what keeps me from using them. 

So maybe a time-based system instead of a use-case-based system would be less limiting and more flexible (and thus, resilient) for me. On Sunday evenings when I plan for the week, I use the Hobonichi Weeks. At the very beginning of the day, I use the Hobonichi Techo, and at the very end of the day, I use the Fleurir lab. On the weekends, days off, vacations, and trips I use the Musubi. And literally any and every other time I use the William Hannah. Whatever I need the notebook for at that specific time is how it gets used. 

The downfall of this particular system is the potential for the “Where did I write that down?” conundrum. But most notes that I would need to find again would end up in the catch-all William Hannah, and I already have a system that’s working for reviewing those notes and putting them in their proper home. I still need to mull this over a little more, but that kind of system seems to work for where my brain is at the end of this crazy year we’ve all been through. I will have to follow-up on this later in the year so we can all laugh together about my ambitious “plans.”

How did 2020 change how you used your analog tools, and do you have any “plans” about how you will use them in 2021?

The post A (Draft) Notebook Set-up for 2021: Planners, Journals, and Blank Pages appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.