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!

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!

Notable Notebooks Part 2 of 5 - The Organiser... Filofax style (plus another plea to Smythson!)

Dear Scribblers

Welcome to my new short series 'Notable Notebooks' (Two of Five):

This five day series includes:

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. 

Onto my Filofax, it's a red chilli coloured Cuban, which is, as I said yesterday, A5 size. It was bought last October at an amazing discount from TK Maxx, with the full 2014 inserts pack! I've used Filofax and other similar organisers in the past, in both A5 and Personal sizes, and decided to try again with it this year, as I wanted to have everything in one place, including my to-do's, writing ideas and journalling.(This was why I wanted the blue Smythson pages, I planned to journal the whole of 2014 and then bind them together with homemade covers at the end of the year.) To be honest, it hasn't worked out this way. I'm still finding it difficult to find a file system which works for me, at the moment, and I keep changing my mind! It's coming together, but still not perfect. 

For the past 8 years, I've used Smythson diaries in their Soho, Premier or Bijou Portobello sizes (Smythson, can you also bring all three sizes back for 2015, please? ;-) Please?) So going back to such a large organiser has been strange, although I also have a small Smythson red wafer diary to carry in my handbag for this year, then at home, it slips conveniently into the little pocket inside the cover. 

(Please see note at the bottom.)

It's the best of both worlds... for now, who knows what I'd do next year. As I've also found out about this company which seems very enticing:

http://www.personal-planner.co.uk/EN/

from YouTube's MsGoldgirl -  

http://youtu.be/DcfqTWfhPrQ

The only thing that bothers me is - you guessed it - paper quality, it's difficult to tell without being able to touch it. If it was just a notebook to use for a short time, it would not be an issue (well, more of a grumble really, it's not 'end of the world' stuff. LOL! We just like things a certain way, don't we?) but this is a diary which will be your companion for a year or more, so we want it to feel nice and be the right texture to write on, which takes the ink well, without smudging or seeping. That perfect 'Goldilocks' page. If you are using one of their personal planners at the moment, I would love to hear what you think of it. 

Of course, these are musings for next year, for now I'm playing around with my Filofax, along with a little helper, which I'll tell you all about in a couple of days in part four of the series. I've got you wondering now, haven't I? 

Please come back tomorrow and see the next instalment of 'Notable Notebooks' - My Newest Arrivals. 

Happy Scribing!

Note from the Filofax Photo 

In case you are interested, the pen in the photo is a Ted Baker Stylus pen - with the touch screen tip on one end, and a ball point pen on the other. You can find them on-line at Amazon, John Lewis, Selfridges, eBay and many other places. 

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 how I presently set up my Filofax, 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. 

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 1 of 5 - My Ultimate Quality Favourites (and a plea to Smythson!)

Dear Scribblers

I think I've said this to you before, nothing really changes, does it?

In my last post, I mentioned the importance of keeping a good notebook beside you. Then I looked to a post way back on 30 June 2011, as part of my 'Favourite Things' series, I discussed my love of Smythson notebooks and stationery - 

http://thecraftyscribe.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/my-favourite-things-part-3-project-of.html

I still feel the same now. Please, welcome to my new short series 'Notable Notebooks' (One of Five):

Over the next five days, the series will include:

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 post. 

There's nothing like the sensation of a great quality notebook, and I find, for me, that no-one comes close to Smythson -  http://www.smythson.com/

These leather bound books, with the smooth pages that let your pen glide with ease, makes writing a pleasure. I especially adore the feather-weight pale blue papers. They may be a little pricey, but you can start with a wafer notebook for £35 (even for less, if you can find an outlet price, such as their store at Bicester Village, or their on-line New Year sale), but be warned, once you have one, they become addictive! 

Over the years, I've used two lockable journals (please bring back the red version with the flat gold lock, Smythson. Please? Please?!), Runway 11.5x13.5cm tuck fastening black notebook (yet to fill), a number of Panama 9x14cm and Wafer 7x10.5cm notebooks (I always write my poetry in the wafer books, I don't know why, it just feels 'right' http://555poet.blogspot.co.uk/), a featherweight replaceable pad in leather cover and little silver pen (which makes me feel like a Film Noir Detective!), along with my yearly diary, A4 pads (white lined pages) and something of a find, this year, the blue featherweight lined notepapers in Duke size which fit my A5 Filofax. 

For those who love their organisers, this may be your way in to try Smythson stationery. You get 25 sheets for £10, which I think is quite reasonable for the quality - an affordable luxury. As I said, I've found that their Dukes size fits the A5 rings (paper size 15x21cm). So, I'm thinking that their Bond Street refills may fit the Personal size (paper size 9.5x17cm), there's also a smaller size (paper size 8x12.5cm - I've checked on the UK in-line store, diary refills are in stock, but the notepaper isn't at the present time) called the Bijou, which I think may be the Pocket size, but please don't quite me on that as I haven't tried them. 

Most of these have been birthday/Christmas/special presents from my hubby - he knows me well!

Please come back tomorrow and see the next instalment of 'Notable Notebooks' - The Organiser. 

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! ;-)

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