Apple Accessories, Etc, Et Al and even more!

Dear Scribblers 

Yesterday I posted an updated look of my Apple technology.

Here's my iPad and 11inch MacBook Air. If you'd like to read more, please link on this link: http://thecraftyscribe.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/a-byte-sized-look-at-my-apples.html

Today, I'd like to show you some of the products that support the main tech. Here's a picture of some of it - 

Starting with clockwise with the top left-hand corner is my latest arrival - Canon Selphy. From what I've seen of it, up to this point, I'm very pleased with the quality and function. It's wi-fi compatible, plus with the free Canon iEPP app, you can print directly from the iPhone/iPad. When not in use, I store it in an old black quilted hard vanity case, you can see beneath the printer. It fits not only the printer and leads, but also a box of photo sheets and the instruction booklet. I've two niggles with the Selphy. You can't choose the multiple photo on one sheet function from the devices, nor can I use this an additional functions such as calendars/frames that came in the programme on the enclosed cd, as Canon is no longer supporting it for use on Apple OS X Macericks. Very disappointing! On contacting Canon, they offered a different product, but this has very limited functionality. The only way to use their multi-picture is to use the SD slot on the front. Has anyone else encountered this? What are you using instead? I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

My main printer, not pictured, is also a Canon - MG3150 which I've never had any problems with. As well as being wi-fi compatible, it's also AirPrint which is perfect for using with my Apple devices. 

Next across on my photo, sitting on the Lulu Guinness iPad cover, is what looks like a black ribbed brick! It's actually a Polaroid Bluetooth Speaker (model number BT20), it's sold via Asda supermarkets and only cost £20, but it certainly packs a bunch! Once fully charged, the unit's internal rechargeable batteries last a good while, so you can be wire-free and listen to your music or podcasts, it sounds as good with music or voice, and also has a phone hands-free function, too. It works well with my iPhone and iPad. Even though it's designed to be wire free, you can use it when it's plugged in, plus there's an AUX in port, if you want to use it with a non-Bluetooth device. I've had it for well over a year, and use it almost everyday and it's still going strong. My hubby has a Jawbone Jambox mini which cost £75, and although mine doesn't have quite the depth of bass and pure audio, it certainly gives it a run for its money! 

Next round are my headphones of choice - JVC flats, they are compact with pivoting soft pad earpieces that lie flat and are easy to store. They are very comfortable and I like the clear sound quality. I'm not keen on the in-ear buds for long use, but I will use my standard Apple ones, if I need them out for taking calls, etc. However, at home; in the garden or bed, or if I'm listening for a length of time, such as on a plane, I'll always prefer my JVC ones. Interestingly, I've tried many pairs, including the expensive noise-cancelling type, or fine tuned base, and call me uncultured, but I love these. The price? £12!

Below my headphones is my slick little silver DVD/CD drive - Hewlett-Packard model DVD600s which cost about £35. It's a perfect size for use with the MacBook Air, and the colour matches too! When not in use, it lives in a net-a-porter.com black pouch! This then slides into the repurposed clutch with the laptop. (See yesterday's blog post.)

Next to it is an one stalwart of my arsenal of tech gear. My Polaroid PoGo printer, this has had so much use, and still printing! I love the 3x2 sticky-backed photos it prints, perfect for scrapbooking, journalling, smashbooking and Project Life. Unfortunately, it seems that the zink papers are getting harder to find and more expensive too, so it may be at the end of its life, although it's been a workhorse. The only issue was you couldn't print directly from the iPhone, the Bluetooth wasn't compatible, so I'd upload the photos to my Mac via Dropbox and then Bluetooth then to the PoGo. It wasn't too much of a hassle for such useful photos. 

The PoGo is sitting on top of a glossy black monolith that is my 1TB external hard drive. I keep this in my desk, and every month back up my computer using Timeline, plus I move photos and files across. This isn't my only backup, we have a wireless system across all our devices which holds much more than this. My monolith (I call it that as it reminds me of the one from 2001: A Space Odyssey) is for my personal use. 

Next around the circle is my Samsung WB750 compact camera. It's a few years old now and had a lot of use. It's 12.5 mega pixels, takes sharp images, 24 - 432mm equivalent Schneider-KREUZNACH len, full HD video and clear 3 inch screen with easy to use controls. What I don't like about it is that the sound quality on video is quite poor and it hasn't got a proper viewfinder for those times when the screen is difficult to see. I really dislike holding the camera out in front of me, I prefer to have my eye up close. It wasn't something I realised until I had this camera. What about you? What I adore about this camera is it's incredible functionality and it's full manual use. Very impressive!

I'm going to continue using this camera, but I'm now ready for something better. I've had SLRs in the past - both film and digital, preferring Nikon. I don't know whether to go back to SLRs or try a bridge camera, as you don't need to faff with changing lenses, although for the purist professional, the image quality isn't as good. What are your suggestions? I'd love to hear from you. 

Above the camera is a retro grey and black vinyl case I bought from Paperchase in a sale for around £3.50. Bargain! A perfect fit. 

Last, but not least is my Kobo e-reader which I've now had for about two and a half years. I adore it, and have written about it before on this blog - here's the link: http://thecraftyscribe.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/i-love-my-kobo.html?m=0 I still feel the same about it now, as I did then. I've considered moving over to Kindle, as they dominate the market and have lower prices on some books, but I prefer the functions of the Kobo, and it's vast array of file formats that work with it. It works as well now as it did when new, taking all the new upgrades with ease. Plus, have you seen the back of the Kobo touch? - http://www.kobo.com/kobotouch#overview  It reminds me of my favourite designer... which is fortuitous as...

Lying to the left of the Kobo is the leather case I use for it. It's a vintage Chanel clutch cover which I've had since the mid/late 1990s. It was a present and came to me second-hand. I think it was either a late 1980s or early 1990s piece, and was my first Chanel (non beauty) item. I love it. The Kobo fits it well, and it means I get to see and use the case everyday. 

So that's all the pieces in the photo. Not shown are the SD card reader; (which I think most people known what they look like,) I use these to download pictures to the computer, but also to upload onto for either printing directly and separately on the Selphy, or taking to a photo printing machine in a supermarket or store (which I don't do very often), or my USB drives; for quick short term storage or transfer between computers, or finally, my digital pen, which you can read about here - http://thecraftyscribe.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/popular-pens-for-particular-purpose-3.html

There's other devices in the house, such as the AppleTV, plus my hubby's tech stuff. Yes, we are both gadget geeks. What I've shown you here are my personal use tech. I hope you've enjoyed reading about it. If you can think of anything I'm missing, or would like to share your favourites, please add your comment below. 

My next post with be all things stationery, showing you some of my favourite items I'm using in my journals, Filofax, smashbooking and daily scrapbooking. 

When I upload a new blog post, I always announce it on Twitter and Instagram. Please follow me @TheCraftyScribe so you're first to hear and don't miss out. I hope you'll join me soon. 

Happy Scribing!

Important Notes

1. Please note that I am not connected to any company mentioned in this post. I do not receive any products, funding or gifting from these businesses. All products shown have been bought by me, or gifts from family or friends. I mention the items because I like them or have my own private opinion about them. It's just little old me talking about ma stuff! ;-)

2. If you would like to see more of anything in this series, please write a comment below, or 'like' and leave a comment by my 'Apple Accessories, Etc Et Al and even more!' Instagram photo, letting me know what you would like me to post photos and write about. 

3. If you like what you read, don't forget to bookmark this site, and please share it with your friends. 

4. You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram - @TheCraftyScribe which I update regularly with all things crafty, scribbling, beauty, fashion, the cats, sci-fi, fantasy, and the ephemera of 42*................... *42 = Life, The Universe and Everything!

A Byte Sized Look at My Apples!

Dear Scribblers

Way back in July 2011, I uploaded this post: http://thecraftyscribe.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/my-favourite-things-part-5-and-project.html

called, "There's an Appealing Apple Aparatus for that!" My titles haven't changed, have they? They may not be funny, but often punny (or should that be puny!)

I felt it was time to show you my latest Apple tech, along with those cases and gadgets that I use along side them. 

This are my Apple collection now:

You'll probably notice that I still have my original iPod Classic, which I use as storage, and the iPod Touch which lives in its dock on my Gear4 bedside alarm clock. I update it with my latest music, podcasts and keep all of my audiobooks on there, so they are always close to hand. 

As you can see - although it does look like a shiny slab in the photo. Please see better pics below - my 13 inch white MacBook was replaced in November by a gorgeous new 11in MacBook Air. Oh my goodness, I adore the speedy 251GB flash drive, and I have 8GB memory, 2GHz Intel Core i7 running Mavericks. Quite meaty for such a svelt machine. The white MacBook is still going by the way, although the casings in chipping around the front edge and it's only running "Lion". My hubby has taken use of it. 

The iPhone 3GS was replaced my iPhone 5, and the one improvement I adore is the upgraded camera. Great for my Instagram photos. Please follow me @TheCraftyScribe, I try and post everyday. 

Plus added to my gadget collection is an iPad 2 - it's quite old now. Although it is taking all the new programme updates, I'm noticing it is slowing now and feeling clunky, but I'm still happy with it. I've recently had a new back cover for it. 

I found it in the sale items at Next for £5. A bargain! The colour doesn't show well on this photo, it's a beige/grey background with white, taupe and two tones of rusty red typewriters - quite subtle vintage shades. I thought it when well with my Lulu Guinness padded cover and pencil case. (Strange colours on the covers, too. The main one is white, but the smaller pencil case is light cream, but not as yellow as it's appearing.)

The cover I'm using with my MacBook Air was also a bargain. 

It's a black/blue/cream clutch bag I snapped up in a sale at New Look... for £4! I bought it in the off chance that it might fit, I liked it anyway and thought if it didn't, I would use it as a clutch. When I tried it, I couldn't believe it, it was like it was made for it! 

The laptop slides in perfectly, so safe and secure, plus there's room for a separate hard drive and SD card reader (more on that tomorrow) and a small zip pocket on the front for holding USB drives and SD cards, plus a larger flap pocket for leads, although there's no room for the power supply. 

I'm considering buying a snap-on cover to protect the aluminium case. I wonder what your experiences are of these? Are there any you would recommend?

You'll see from the photo, my iPhone is in the black quilted wallet style case. I prefer a case that protects the screen, as well as the back, and I like the sleek chic look of this one. 

As promised above, here's a better view of the MacBook Air - 

Do you recognise the pen lying on the iPad? It's the Ted Baker stylus pen, as seen in my previous blog series, "Popular Pens for Particular Purpose" http://thecraftyscribe.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/popular-pens-for-particular-purpose.html

Please come back tomorrow to see all the gadgets which I use to support my Apple core products. (Apple?!? Core!! Geddit? Geddit?!? Oh, well! I think I need to watch where I drop my puns.) ;-)

Happy Scribing!

Important Notes

1. Please note that I am not connected to any company mentioned in this post. I do not receive any products, funding or gifting from these businesses. All products shown have been bought by me, or gifts from family or friends. I mention the items because I like them or have my own private opinion about them. It's just little old me talking about ma stuff! ;-)

2. If you would like to see more of anything in this series, please write a comment below, or 'like' and leave a comment by my 'A Byte Sized Look at My Apples' Instagram photo, letting me know what you would like me to post photos and write about. 

3. If you like what you read, don't forget to bookmark this site, and please share it with your friends. 

4. You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram - @TheCraftyScribe which I update regularly with all things crafty, scribbling, beauty, fashion, the cats, sci-fi, fantasy, and the ephemera of 42*................... *42 = Life, The Universe and Everything!

Popular Pens for Particular Purpose (Plus Personal, Peculiar and Playful Picks ) - Photo Playback inc: new note & new pics

Dear Scribblers

I thought I would post all the photos from my Popular Pens for Particular Purpose (Plus Personal, Peculiar and Playful Picks) series in one place so you can see all my favourite pens in one place. There's a new note and an extra picture along the way. As an extra treat, if you read all the way to the bottom, there's a further new photo I didn't post about my other pens. 

My older Balmain set, and my everyday Uni-ball gel pen for use in my Filofax. 

My other Filofax pen, Ted Baker stylus pen.

The Stylus Pen in use. 

Smythson wafer diary and  matching ladies pen.

Smythson jotter and silver pen. Additional note, that I didn't mention in my previous post: This leather jotter was a special release for Concorde! I remembered the pen did come with the cover, and has Concorde logo engraved on it. 

My favourite journal pens, which are also my oldest (black and white) and newest (Balmain - duck egg blue.)

My Chanel pencil case, general pens and stationery, plus the digital pen wallet. 

IRISNotes2 Executive digital pen. 

Bargain Asda supermarket notebook and file organiser, with colour ink and gel pens. 

New mini 'Passport' notebook with hotel freebies, promotional, memorable and sci-fi fantasy pens. 

Close-up of my Harry Potter, Doctor Who and Star Trek pens. 

Here's the photo I haven't posted before, in my previous post, I wrote: I have further pens and pencils in my collection which are important and I use regularly in crafting, such as: charcoal drawing pencils, a variety of Sakura gelly roll pens, Whispers Strokes and Permanents coloured double ended felt tips, and various coloured drawing and watercolour pencils. I thought you might like to see some of them. 

I hope you've enjoyed this series. I'll be back soon to show you some of my favourite stationery extras, along with those technology ephemera that's used along side my photo, iPad and computer. 

Enjoy writing and crafting wherever you are!

Happy Scribing!

Important Notes

1. Please note that I am not connected to any company mentioned in this post. I do not receive any products, funding or gifting from these businesses. All products shown have been bought by me, or gifts from family or friends. I mention the items because I like them or have my own private opinion about them. It's just little old me talking about ma stuff! ;-)

2. If you would like to see more of anything in this series, please write a comment below, or 'like' and leave a comment by my 'Popular Pens' Instagram photo, letting me know what you would like me to post photos and write about. 

3. If you like what you read, don't forget to bookmark this site, and please share it with your friends. 

4. You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram - @TheCraftyScribe which I update regularly with all things crafty, scribbling, beauty, fashion, the cats, sci-fi, fantasy, and the ephemera of 42*................... *42 = Life, The Universe and Everything!

Popular Pens for Particular Purpose - 4 of 4 Useful Others, Fond Memories, Colour and Beyond!

Dear Scribblers

Welcome to the last day of Popular Pens for Particular Purpose (Plus Personal, Peculiar and Playful Picks ) focusing on my favourite pens and their uses.

1. My Old Favourites and Regularly Used

2. My Smythson Pens

3. Hidden in my Pencil Case - the Expected and Digital Unexpected

4. Useful Others, Fond Memories, Colour and Beyond!

Other pens I reach for are my coloured gel pens and felt tip style.

The ones shown here are: Crayola Super Fine Pro writing pens in blue, green and red, and Crayola Pro 0.7 liquid ink rollers in red and blue. Along with Bic Z4 0.7 gel pens in blue and purple. These are the ones I tend to reach for to add definition to a note, list or diary entry in my Filofax or journal, or to add detail or write on a card, scrapbook or smashbook page. I most often write in black, and add detail in colour. The pens are lying on a fabulous find from Asda. A cream lined page notebook and slotted concertina file in this great vintage seaside print. Details on the back say they are made by www.dggl-products.com A stylish bargain (less than £3 each) from a supermarket! 

Here's another new notebook: 

This time from one of my favourite stores already mentioned in this post - TK Maxx. On the front it reads: Passport - New York City, and my goodness, it really feels like an old passport! Same size, weight and even the cover has that rippled strong texture to it. If you ever owned a British passport before they changed them to the EU burgundy sort, you'll know exactly what I mean! This is so cute! The pages are a pale pink and lightly printed with the Statue of Liberty, and the first two pages are printed like a real passport for you to add a photo and your details. All for £3! It's a great journal, especially for travelling. We have a number of trips organised, and already been on, this year, but I've already started a book for that (which I'll post here, if you would like to see it.) However, we may also be going to New York at the end of the year - fingers crossed - if we do, this will be perfect! If not, I'll keep it for our journeys next year. 

So back to our main topic, the all-important pens on top! These are the personal, peculiar and playful picks, I mentioned, in the title. Sometimes a pen comes your way that writes so well and it's free - well, sort of. It often has a room attached! I've found some great pens on our travels in hotel rooms. The ones lying around the notebook cover all came from hotels, and they all write really well. Not all freebie pens are good quality, but these are, and I gladly use them as every day pens that lie in apt places around the house, car or handbags. I never look a gift pen in the nib, but they are always worth a click and scribble to find out. One of my best flowing ball points came from a hotel and I use it to write every thing from lists to story first drafts. It's the one lying on the book, now I just need an excuse, plus a humongous pile of pennies to get back to Hawaii! 

The top picture of the two smaller photos shows those writing instruments which have meaning to me, and even though they are cheap and cheerful, I'll never throw them away. The two smiley pens were free from a company stand at the first screenwriting convention I went to in Los Angeles, and the camera pen was bought, on the same trip, from a shop opposite the Dolby Theatre, Hollywood Boulevard (where the Oscars are held.) The dragon pencil is Figment from the Journey into Imagination ride at Epcot, Florida - bought over 18 years ago. There's another pen in the main title above which is another cute choice - 'I Love Amsterdam' with a plastic red heart dangle bought from Schiphol airport. Very silly, but we were there for my hubby's birthday and it was a brilliant time. When I see this fun pen, I'll remember the fab times we had. 

The lower picture shows my other loves - Sci-fi and fantasy! There's a Doctor Who pen I received free with a magazine a number of years ago, along with my ninth doctor Sonic screwdriver, as well as being a working pen, it makes all the right noises and lights up blue - which when you use the UV tip to write secret messages - the light allows you to read them. It's magic! 

Talking of magic, in the main picture, you'll also see a little white owl by the name of Hedwig! It's my Harry Potter pen. Hedwig covers the nib, and when you write he sits on the other end watching as you scribe your Owl Post letters. There's also a switch which turns the nib into a torch so you can continue to write in the dark! Lumos! 

I found another light up pen, my red glowing Star Trek: The Next Generation pen bought at the Star Trek Experience at the Hilton, Las Vegas. Unfortunately the attraction containing memorabilia museum, behind the scenes sets, Klingon and Borg simulation rides and Quarks bar no longer exists, but I have my pen! (Although there is Star Trek: The Experience. More can be found here:  or via this OS app: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/star-trek-the-exhibition/id663233661?mt=8

I may be grown up, but it doesn't mean I'm a Grown-Up! ;-)

I have further pens and pencils in my collection which are important and I use regularly in crafting, such as: charcoal drawing pencils, a variety of Sakura gelly roll pens, Whispers Strokes and Permanents coloured double ended felt tips, and various coloured drawing and watercolour pencils. 

I'm sure many crafters and writers have a love of pens, and have their favourites. I've shown you some of mine here, and I'd love to hear about yours. Please leave your comments below, especially if you have any recommendations. 

I've been writing in black for such a long while I've been thinking of choosing a different colour. Does anyone have a signature colour in which they write. It would be great to see if we can make a rainbow of writers. I wonder what colour I'll chose? Mmmmm... can you buy ink cartridges the colour of Chanel Vamp nail polish? That's the shade of deoxygenated blood, apparently!

I hope you've enjoyed this delve into my pencil case and more. I have other cases, along with other pens, this was a tickle along my favourites. Once I've reorganised my Filofax and Chanel case, I'll post the changes. 

So what's next? Maybe a review of my recent writing course, along with an in depth look at my latest technology and the accessories I use with them. I'll always post a picture on Instagram, and a Twitter comment, letting you know when there's new content. 

If there is anything you'd like to see, please let me know. 

Happy Scribing!

Important Notes

1. Please note that I am not connected to any company mentioned in this post. I do not receive any products, funding or gifting from these businesses. All products shown have been bought by me, or gifts from family or friends. I mention the items because I like them or have my own private opinion about them. It's just little old me talking about ma stuff! ;-)

2. If you would like to see more of anything in this series, please write a comment below, or 'like' and leave a comment by my 'Popular Pens' Instagram photo, letting me know what you would like me to post photos and write about. 

3. If you like what you read, don't forget to bookmark this site, and please share it with your friends. 

4. You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram - @TheCraftyScribe which I update regularly with all things crafty, scribbling, beauty, fashion, the cats, sci-fi, fantasy, and the ephemera of 42*................... *42 = Life, The Universe and Everything!

Popular Pens for Particular Purpose - 3 of 4 Hidden in my Pencil Case - the Expected and Digital Unexpected

Dear Scribblers

This is my companion series to the 'Notable Notebooks' series. Here's day three of four! Popular Pens for Particular Purpose (Plus Personal, Peculiar and Playful Picks ) focusing on the pens I use, and the tasks they perform.

1. My Old Favourites and Regularly Used

2. My Smythson Pens

3. Hidden in my Pencil Case - the Expected and Digital Unexpected

4. Useful Others, Fond Memories, Colour and Beyond!

My older every day pens and other stationery pieces live in here:

It's a Chanel cosmetic case that came with a set of makeup brushes, and it works perfectly as pencil case. The brush slots are used for some of the pens I want for quick reach, including my Balmain set, some coloured gel pens, a multicoloured ball point, a propelling pencil and a feather!*   (*See below!)                               

The pocket holds my fountain pen cartridges, a ruler, Doctor Who eraser and pencil sharper and an old Smythson diary from 2009 which holds some story ideas and other notes I may need, along with some blank pages which I want to write on. There's often washi tape or stickers or mini ink pads and stamps in here, but it's pared back at the moment as I'm reorganising. I'll post again once I've finalised my Filofax and case. 

Lying in the centre of the case is the little black 'glasses case style' pouch  which holds a secret weapon. My IRISNotes 2 Executive digital pen:

This simple ball point pen hides a great function. When you link it to the tiny receiver, which you clip to the top of any paper and write, it captures your hand-writing, which you can then upload to your PC or Mac. You can either keep your writing as it looks, or process it to computer font which you can then transfer into your normal word processing app. I use it with my MacBook Air using OS X Mavericks pasting my writing into Pages and Scrivener and it works seemlessly. I've also used it with OS X Lion and it worked just as well. It's incredible! 

There's also features which allow you to use the pen as a mouse (you change the standard ink refill for a special tip which is included.) Plus there's a 30-pin connector lead which allows you to use the pen with an older iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch via a free app. I'm not sure if you connected the lead to an adapter whether it would work on a newer device. I don't know as my iPad is an older 30-pin version. If you have the pen and tried it on a newer device, please let me know if it still works, I'd love to know. I have an iPhone 5, but never use the pen with it as I think it works better on a larger screen. I hope I've explained this okay, however if you want to learn more about the pen, here's the website: 

http://www.irislink.com/c2-2353-188/IRISNotes-2---Digital-Pen.aspx

I hope you'll return tomorrow for the last part, to see those Personal, Peculiar and Playful Picks in 4: Useful Others, Fond Memories, Colour... and Beyond!

Happy Scribing!

*By the way, the feather in my pencil case... One day, I was writing in the garden. I had my head down, then all of a waft, this white feather drifted down and landed on my page. I think it was a gift from the angels, so I keep it in my pencil case for good luck, inspiration and positivity. Well, that's what I think anyway! ;-)

Important Notes

1. Please note that I am not connected to any company mentioned in this post. I do not receive any products, funding or gifting from these businesses. All products shown have been bought by me, or gifts from family or friends. I mention the items because I like them or have my own private opinion about them. It's just little old me talking about ma stuff! ;-)

2. If you would like to see more of anything in this series, please write a comment below, or 'like' and leave a comment by my 'Popular Pens' Instagram photo, letting me know what you would like me to post photos and write about. 

3. If you like what you read, don't forget to bookmark this site, and please share it with your friends. 

4. You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram - @TheCraftyScribe which I update regularly with all things crafty, scribbling, beauty, fashion, the cats, sci-fi, fantasy, and the ephemera of 42*................... *42 = Life, The Universe and Everything!k

Popular Pens for Particular Purpose - 2 of 4 My Smythson Pens

Dear Scribblers

Here's the follow up to my 'Notable Notebooks' series. Day two of four: Popular Pens for Particular Purpose (Plus Personal, Peculiar and Playful Picks) focusing on the pens I use, and the tasks they perform.

1. My Old Favourites and Regularly Used

2. My Smythson Pens

3. Hidden in my Pencil Case - the Expected and Digital Unexpected

4. Useful Others, Fond Memories, Colour and Beyond!

Onto my Smythson handbag wafer diary and notebook, I use matching Smythson pens with them both. The first is official called a 'lady's pen' as it fits into the dainty hand of a 'laydee', and also into any of her petite purses she may be carrying. An old-fashioned term which may make us laugh, or cringe, or roll our eyes now, but still an extremely useful pen. A tiny gold blue ball point with the diary, you pop the lid into the end which extends the length making it easier to hold, then when not in use, it clips into the spine of the diary keeping it safe. I've had both this and the next pen for over six years, I think.  

You can tell the silver pen is older and been given some use as it is quite scuffed now. I can't remember if it came with the leather jotter, I think it did. I've only recently pulled it out from my notebook pile where it's been sitting unused (but never unloved) for a while. It's going straight into my bag for easy access when I need to scribble down that idea, note or list. 

Unfortunately, Smythson no longer offer these pens in their online store. There is a similar shape to my silver pen available in a pencil, and in  a choice of silver or gold: http://www.smythson.com/silver-wafer-pencil.html

Please return tomorrow for Part 3, to discover what's hidden in my Pencil Case... the Expected and the Digital Unexpected!

Happy Scribing!

Important Notes

1. Please note that I am not connected to any company mentioned in this post. I do not receive any products, funding or gifting from these businesses. All products shown have been bought by me, or gifts from family or friends. I mention the items because I like them or have my own private opinion about them. It's just little old me talking about ma stuff! ;-)

2. If you would like to see more of anything in this series, please write a comment below, or 'like' and leave a comment by my 'Popular Pens' Instagram photo, letting me know what you would like me to post photos and write about. 

3. If you like what you read, don't forget to bookmark this site, and please share it with your friends. 

4. You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram - @TheCraftyScribe which I update regularly with all things crafty, scribbling, beauty, fashion, the cats, sci-fi, fantasy, and the ephemera of 42*................... *42 = Life, The Universe and Everything!

Popular Pens for Particular Purpose - Part 1 of 4 My Old Favourites and Regularly Used

Dear Scribblers

At the end of my 'Notable Notebooks' series, I mentioned I would post the details of the pens I use with my notebooks, Filofax and more. So here it is!

As I wrote the blog post, I realised I had a lot more to say than I expected, so I've split it into a four day series:

1. My Old Favourites and Regularly Used

2. My Smythson Pens

3. Hidden in my Pencil Case - the Expected and Digital Unexpected

4. Useful Others, Fond Memories, Colour and Beyond!

My longest used pens are these:

My Uni-ball Signo gel-grip 0.7 gel pen in black. This has a good free flow which reminds me of a fountain pen, with the ease of a ball point. Very comfortable to write with for lengthy sessions. I also have the same pen (unphotographed) in white - or as they call it angelic! - which is great for crafting and art journalling. The black one seen here lives in a loop in my Filofax, and there is always an extra on stand-by. My hubby loves to use these too. 

Talking of the other half, the gorgeous silver tiled effect Balmain set was a surprise gift. He knows me well. They are a ball point and cartridge fountain pen, both with black ink, bought from TK Maxx. The gold-tipped fountain pen was my journalling pen for over the last two years, although it has recently been replaced by...

...yet another Balmain fountain pen, also from TK Maxx. This duck egg blue iridium point pen was an absolute find. It came in the matching box, although the ball point which should have been included had been nabbed by some unscrupulous person, so customer services let me buy it at a fraction of the cost, as it was an incomplete item. I was very pleased with the result! The pen is well-balanced with a great nib. It fits perfectly in my hand, as does another old favourite which I keep in the same box now. 

My black and white Kingsley ball point pen is the oldest one I have in my collection. Another present from my husband about 15 years ago! It's my shortest and fattest pen, but the unusual shape lies in the curve of my thumb and forefinger ergonomically. I love the monochrome look and the silver trim has a Greek key design running around it. This pen has had a lot if use, the only problem is that the size of the ink refills. They are unusual, which you don't find on the high street. I need to go searching on-line to get replacements, difficult when you don't know the size you are looking for. 

The pen in the other loop of my Filofax was a birthday present from a friend. It's the Ted Baker ball point pen with screen stylus, and case. It's thin and elegant, and I use it as my everyday pen. Very practical, and it's become a habit to use the stylus tip with my iPad. Helps reduce those greasy finger marks you can't help causing on the screen. As it stays with my Filofax, I don't use the little leather case it came with. It fits a long lipgloss, with additional space at the end, but that's about it. If you can think of a way of using it, please leave a message in the comments. 

Please come back tomorrow for Part 2: My Smythson Pens. 

Happy Scribing!

Important Notes

1. Please note that I am not connected to any company mentioned in this post. I do not receive any products, funding or gifting from these businesses. All products shown have been bought by me, or gifts from family or friends. I mention the items because I like them or have my own private opinion about them. It's just little old me talking about ma stuff! ;-)

2. If you would like to see more of anything in this series, please write a comment below, or 'like' and leave a comment by my 'Popular Pens' Instagram photo, letting me know what you would like me to post photos and write about. 

3. If you like what you read, don't forget to bookmark this site, and please share it with your friends. 

4. You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram - @TheCraftyScribe which I update regularly with all things crafty, scribbling, beauty, fashion, the cats, sci-fi, fantasy, and the ephemera of 42*................... *42 = Life, The Universe and Everything!

Throwback Blog Posts and Instagram

Dear Scribblers

In recent weeks, as part of their #ThrowbackThursday tag, I've been uploading photos to Instagram showing old blog posts, concentrating on The "Favourite Things" series I wrote in June/July 2011. Yes, that long ago! Where does the time go to?

This is today's photo:

If you don't want to go searching through the archive, here's a link to the original post - http://thecraftyscribe.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/my-favourite-things-part-4-and-project.html

Sometimes it's good to take a meander down through memory data. By the way, in the entry above, there's a further link to a blog post previous to that from June 2010! How's that for double Throwback Thursday? Then in that post, there's a link to a poem, which is no longer on-line, although there are some poems still available on the 365poet2010 site, but there are many more on: http://555poet.blogspot.co.uk/ 

It's like going down that rabbit hole (or The Cherek Bore,) you might never get out! ;-)  

Happy Scribing!

If you would like to find me on Instagram or Twitter, I'm @TheCraftyScribe 

If you are interested in reading bad poetry, and would like me to dig out 'The Book Tower', the poem mentioned in the June '10 post, please let me know in the comments below, or via Twitter. 

Looking forward to seeing you. 

Notable Notebooks Part 5 of 5 - Used, Loved, Never to be Thrown away. A dip into an old journal.

Dear Scribblers

It's the last day of the series, 'Notable Notebooks' (Five of Five): Welcome!

 These are the previous posts, along with today:

1: My Ultimate Quality Favourites 

2: The Organiser

3: My Newest Arrivals

4: When a Notebook isn't a Notebook

5: Used, Loved, Never to be Thrown away

Please read the important note at the bottom of the page. 

All the other books I've shown you are either in use, as we speak, or waiting for the pen to caress their pages. On this last day, I wanted to include something special to me. It's the first notebook I used as an adult returning to writing and creative endeavours. 

I began writing in it about twelve years ago, and it took me a couple of years to fill. It's just a standard hard cover journal. It originally had a lockable flat clasp (I love books with locks, must be my secret Scorpio nature!) but I've reused the fastening on another book, (make do and mend!) However the book is still dear to me. It's full of ideas, and poems, scrapbook layout designs, doodles by the dozen, dream descriptions and the odd thought process, although it's not a journal or diary, it's much more free flowing than that, and I wonder if it's because its pages are unlined, which gave me unrestricted access from mind to page. 

There's drawings of a silly idea for a witch's cat cartoon, there's stirrings of story ideas, some I've used, some still available to me. Ideas for non-fiction books, along with lists of book titles. There's even the first rough sketch of what would eventually be my tattoo! 

However, my favourite note in there is a list I made of what I want to achieve/do/enjoy in my life. Some of them were, what I considered to be, pipe dreams. I'm overwhelmed when I now read it to see the number of things ticked off, including: living by the sea, owning a classic 2.55 Chanel handbag, travelling to Hawaii, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, having a long and happy marriage, meeting Joss Whedon, and putting my hands in the prints of Marilyn Monroe's, and the feet of Gene Kelly's prints at Grauman's (Mann's/TCL) Chinese Theatre, LA.  There's other things I've achieved, and many more that I still want to do, plus new ideas I want to add. Time to write a new list! 

As you fill up your notebooks, remember to dip back onto your old favourites. Never throw them away as you never know what gem you might find. My sunny first book lives on a shelf by my desk, along with a few of my other filled favourites, ready to delve into and give a sprinkle of pre-made inspiration when the blank bland brain needs some seasoning to get things stirring. 

I hope you've enjoyed this series of 'Notable Notebooks.' As an extra post, I will soon blog about the pens I use to write in these books. It may surprise you, as I have a digital pen to tell you all about. 

To finish, here's a nostalgic blog moment, here's something I used to add to the end of my posts...

Project of the Day!

Take your present ideas notebook, or grab yourself a brand new book, but it must be handwritten, and you must be able to retrieve what you've written in the future. 

On your next/first page, write the heading, "My Wish List: 100 Things I Want Achieve in My Life."

And get writing. 100 different goals, from the small and easily achievable, to those things you consider to be beyond your dreams. Just let it flow! Don't censor yourself. If it comes to mind. Write it down. I've even got "travel into space" on mine. Go for it. Continue until you have all 100. Then turn the page, and get on with writing, creating, living your life. Let the list go. Then see what happens. You never know until you try! :-)

Happy Scribing!

Important Notes

1. Please note that I am not connected to any company mentioned in this post. I do not receive any products, funding or gifting from these businesses. All products shown have been bought by me, or gifts from family or friends. I mention the items because I like them or have my own private opinion about them. It's just little old me talking about ma stuff! ;-)

2. If you would like to see more of anything in this series including more of my filled journals, or even the story behind my tattoo, please write a comment below, or 'like' and leave a comment by my Notable Notebooks Instagram photo, letting me know what you would like me to post photos and write about. 

3. If you like what you read, don't forget to bookmark this site, and please share it with your friends. 

4. You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram - @TheCraftyScribe which I update regularly with all things crafty, scribbling, beauty, fashion, the cats, sci-fi, fantasy, and the ephemera of 42*................... *42 = Life, The Universe and Everything!

Notable Notebooks Part 4 of 5 - When a Notebook isn't a Notebook (Brought to you by The Rosetta Stone, and guest appearance by Crystal Skull!)

Dear Scribblers

Welcome to the penultimate day of 'Notable Notebooks' (Four of Five):

A five day series:

1: My Ultimate Quality Favourites 

2: The Organiser

3: My Newest Arrivals

4: When a Notebook isn't a Notebook

5: Used, Loved, Never to be Thrown away

Please read the important note at the bottom of the page. 

The next two are slightly different from the normal notebooks that I've discussed in parts one to three. Please take a look if you haven't read them yet. 

Whenever I go to museums, art galleries, stately homes and such like, I always like to pick a useful souvenir, and as you probably worked out, that's usually a notebook and pen. Last year, we went to the Pompeii and Herculaneum exhibition at the British Museum, which was fantastic. Afterwards, as I perused the many gift kiosks, I was overwhelmed by the pen selection, but there wasn't a single notebook in celebration of the exhibition. I was so disappointed. So I hunted further, I found a few standard books from the 'Paperblanks' company, but I could buy those anywhere. I wanted something connected to the museum. At last, I found this - http://www.britishmuseumshoponline.org/invt/cmcs38200/?ref=searchzone

The Rosetta Stone plain paper notebook. It has a press-stud fastening on the smooth well-made material-wrapped cover with the stone's script printed all over the front and back. The bonus feature of this book is that once the pages are full, the bound sheets can slip out of the cover and be replaced. I may find a lined pad to use inside, although as you'll see tomorrow, I sometimes enjoy the freedom of a blank page!

Whenever we go to the British Museum, I have to wander the Ancient Egyptian room to soak in the atmosphere and energy, and spend a few minutes in front of a certain display, as I love the history of language and the Rosetta Stone. If you've never heard of it, I urge you to Go-Go-Google it, after you've finished here of, of course! (There's also a must need to go visit the Crystal Skull... but that's another story!)

Side note 1: I wish the British Museum offered more notebooks, for an academic institute, you would think it was a 'no-brainer!' Do they think people no longer write? Good job someone wrote in three languages, otherwise the Rosetta Stone would not exist!

Side note 2: Whatever happened to stickers? Up until a few years back, whenever you went into a museum/gallery (etc) gift shop, you would be able to buy a sticker with the name/logo of the place. Sometimes they would say things like "I've been to ___ insert place name here____" Great for scrapbooking! Nowadays - nothing! I even ask, only to have shop assistant blank faces staring back at me. Does anyone else miss these? Just a meandering thought!

The other book isn't really a book. It's a file of to-do list sheets and post-it notes, which was picked up at a bargain price from the forever-giving TK Maxx. I love the home section, and the handbags, and the skincare, and the...

Off the ramble, back on the topic. I love the quotes and the very crafting on-trend look. It's designed by a US company called Pela Studio for http://www.tricoastaldesign.com/ 

I never realised how incredibly useful this was going to turn out to be. I keep it with me, adding to-dos as I go, crossing stuff off as completed. Then adding the still-to-do sheets to my Filofax. The smallest post-its are used to add notes to my diary section, as needed. To be honest, I've been using this more than my Filofax inserted pages. I almost feel that this, along with my diary, would be enough, but I do need more space for expanding writing ideas. This is where the lined pages in the organiser works, or you could just use a separate notebook for that. As I said, I'm changing my own process as I go along. You've got to keep it easy and quick, otherwise you spend all your time organising rather on the job at hand. At the moment, this book does that for most tasks, and it's lasting ages too. I haven't run out of any section yet. (Disclosure: I took the photo not long after I bought it, and it's had a couple of months use since.)

Please pop along tomorrow to read part five, the last instalment, of 'Notable Notebooks' - Used, Loved, Never to be Thrown away. 

Happy Scribing!

Important Notes

1. Please note that I am not connected to any company mentioned in this post. I do not receive any products, funding or gifting from these businesses. All products shown have been bought by me, or gifts from family or friends. I mention the items because I like them or have my own private opinion about them. It's just little old me talking about ma stuff! ;-)

2. If you would like to see more of anything in this series, I'll even tell you about the Crystal Skull experience, or if you have a story about museum stickers, please write a comment below, or 'like' and leave a comment by my Notable Notebooks Instagram photo, letting me know what you would like me to post photos and write about. 

3. If you like what you read, don't forget to bookmark this site, and please share it with your friends. 

4. You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram - @TheCraftyScribe which I update regularly with all things crafty, scribbling, beauty, fashion, the cats, sci-fi, fantasy, and the ephemera of 42*................... *42 = Life, The Universe and Everything!

Notable Notebooks Part 3 of 5 - My Newest Arrivals... (and what's the plural of TARDIS?)

Dear Scribblers

Welcome to today's instalment of 'Notable Notebooks' (Three of Five):

A five day series:

1: My Ultimate Quality Favourites 

2: The Organiser

3: My Newest Arrivals

4: When a Notebook isn't a Notebook

5: Used, Loved, Never to be Thrown away

Please read the important note at the bottom of the page. 

We've covered Smythson and Filofax on the previous two days, please go back and read those if you've just found yourself on my blog today. Now it's time for some of my other notebooks to take a turn in the spotlight. If you are anything like me, as a writer or crafter, you love notebooks and find it difficult to walk pass that siren singing to you from their shop shelf, so I bet you have quite a collection, and many more than are shown here... I know I do! These are just my favourites, either new starlet on the block or much loved celebrity. Here's my latest ones:

If you don't know it yet, you probably will do, as my long term sci-fi and fantasy nerdness often seeps into posts. Yes, I was one of those going to Star Trek conventions in the mid 1990s, before geek was chic. Along with Star Trek and Buffy and Angel and Hercules/Zena and Supernatural and The X-Files and The Walking Dead and The Game of Thrones and The Originals and Agents of Shield and  Supernatural* and... I'd better stop, there's many, many more to add and don't get me started on books and films! Where was I? Oh, yes, along with all of these, my love of the weird began this strange little girl (me!) and an instant fascination of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and... Doctor Who! Of course! So I had to have a T.A.R.D.I.S notebook, didn't I? It's an official BBC product and it's lined with a little T.A.R.D.I.S on the bottom outside corner of each page. I like that it's spiral bound, so you can fold back the cover and write without restrictions. (I like T.A.R.D.I.S's... T.A.R.D.I.Ss... T.A.R.D.I.S'sss... what is the plural? I know it isn't T.A.R.D.I as that would just be Time and Relative Dimension In! Anyway, I like 'em and this book is part of my notebook collection and my slowly budding T.A.R.D.I.S collection - I have 5.)

The dotty book, at the back of the picture, was part of a birthday gift from a lovely friend. It's from Debenhams - the Frost French Floozie range, they make knickers! It reminds me of the size and feel of an old school exercise book. I also like the title on the front, "I keep my secrets hidden."

The last book in the photo is very interesting. I picked it up in an amazing local gift shop, well worth a visit, if you are in the area - https://m.facebook.com/Studio4Gifts I thought it was an old book in the wrong place, but it was me who was wrong! Bound in cloth and gold stamped, it's called 'Wainwright Notebook' and contains endpapers illustrations by Alfred Wainwright (1907 - 1991) who devoted his spare time drawing and writing about his beloved Lake District, and a biography page about his work. The rest of the book is classic cream lined paper, complete with marker ribbon. It feels like a book to journal in, or for writing your own travel memoir. As it looks like a well-loved novel from a vintage bookshop, like an original print of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, Wuthering Heights or The Picture of Dorian Gray. I'm going to use it for a first draft of my own making. If nothing comes from it, at least my writing will appear in one hardback volume. 

Please return again tomorrow to read part four of 'Notable Notebooks' - When a Notebook isn't a Notebook. 

Happy Scribing!

*Yes, I did mean to mention Supernatural twice, and even that isn't enough! ;-)

Important Notes

1. Please note that I am not connected to any company mentioned in this post. I do not receive any products, funding or gifting from these businesses. All products shown have been bought by me, or gifts from family or friends. I mention the items because I like them or have my own private opinion about them. It's just little old me talking about ma stuff! ;-)

2. If you are a glutton for punishment and would like to see the rest of my notebook collection, or anything else in this series, please write a comment below, or 'like' and leave a comment by my Notable Notebooks Instagram photo, letting me know what you would like me to post photos and write about. (I'll even show you my T.A.R.D.I.S'ssss, if you want?)

3. If you like what you read, don't forget to bookmark this site, and please share it with your friends. 

4. You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram - @TheCraftyScribe which I update regularly with all things crafty, scribbling, beauty, fashion, the cats, sci-fi, fantasy, and the ephemera of 42*................... *42 = Life, The Universe and Everything!