Covet Monday - On The Hunt For My Nomad

As you might know, I moved from my Personal Filofax into a Field Note sized Naked Cow Fauxdori around 2 months ago. More recently than that, I changed my "system" and now loosely follow a Bullet Journal style, in which I am about to finish my first insert. 

I still really like the size and it was perfect to start off as it is not only utterly portable but also completely undaunting for somebody who hasn't really written much of a diary or journal before. No big scary expanse of paper. I now think though that I'd like a larger format to house my longer term collection and also to add an insert for my to dos and work notes as I am about to start a new job. I know, I'm really just justifying acquiring a regular size cover but given that it's a big birthday soon and Mr G. wants to get me something special, I think that's quite alright?

I was dithering between the Gillio Giramondo, a Pelledori (both of which I discovered a while ago) and a Van der Spek Nomad. The fact that you can fully customize this cover finally pushed me towards the Nomad and I am now in the process of selecting a suitable leather with the help of Petra Van der Spek.

As I am such a sucker for printed leather, my hope is to find a piece of black croco. Fingers crossed and watch this space!

Gone Ringless: My New Planner

So after pondering over going ringless for ages, I finally moved out of my Filofax. I decided Field Note size inserts would be worth a try and started out with a lovely handmade "Raydori" (which you can order here) and moved into a Naked Cow Cover shortly after that, as I just needed space for more inserts.

Have a look at my current setup - I really like the size and the flexibility this system is giving me. And as DIYFish inserts come in this size for you to print as well, it was an easy transition.

Apologies for the abrupt end: that was my phone running out of space.

• The inserts are from DIYFish 
• The plastic insert is a Passport cover I bought at a German Müller
• The homemade Kraft style insert was made following instructions from Ray's blog

Covet Monday: Washi

About a year ago I went to WH Smith and bought a gift. I remembered that I needed some sticky tape but all I could find in the store (that did stock some wrapping paper, by the way), was this silly, colourful stuff. Little did I know what I was missing!

I have since been introduced to the wonderful world of washi via some amazing blogs and lovely Facebook groups focusing on planners, journaling and everything around that.

If you are a washi virgin, just pop over to Pinterest and search for washi - not only will you be amazed in how many different designs it comes in, you'll be astounded what you could use it for. I won't go into that for this post, maybe I'll revisit that idea later.

Anyway, what I really wanted to share here, is my current wish list. Washi wishes, really. So here it goes...

1. MT German Map Washi
It's a wide washi of German maps. Not only will I be able to try and find places I know, I can also use it to wrap Mr. G's birthday pressies as he loves maps!  

2. Yano Purple Flower Washi
I love the combination of the different flowers. I think this would be a nice one to chop up and use individual flowers for scrapbooking etc as well.

3. Yano Book Washi
Like a little library on tape. Do I need to say more?

4. Totoro Washi
I don't know what it is about japanese cartoons, or kawaii specifically. But I just love them. Even though I'm supposed to be a grown up.

5. Zwillinge Poetry Washi
This one actually covers a poem we had to learn in school (and I can still recite). I love the calligraphy and the sentiment of the poem, which is all about spring awaking. Ok, so I'm not being very seasonal...

I've had all of these in my Etsy basket for days and am trying to justify spending more money on sticky tape that's a different colour from the one I already have...

Something Ringless: Midori & Co.

If you've followed my blog in the past weeks, you might have seen that I recently got into carrying around a planner. At the moment this is a personal-sized Filofax, which is working quite well size-wise. I have now also found inserts that I really like, though I am still tweaking how exactly I am using them and deciding on which version I will continue to use.
 
The rings are, of course, what make a Filofax a Filofax. Having them means I can chop and change my setup really easily, add pages if I need more writing space or rip out a page where I’ve done something I’d rather not see again. This is certainly much more flexible than buying a ready bound planner and especially helpful for me now when I'm still in the figuring out phase.

However, there are two things I'd like to change – and both are inherently linked to the rings themselves:

1. They get in my way and I really can't be bothered taking pages out to write on them. This means I don't utilise the space as well as I could or my handwriting is even more aesthetically challenged than it already is.
2. When moving used up pages out of my planner, they end up clipped together in a box. I would really like to archive pages in a way that invites me to flick through them. I still pick up old planners or diaries form over 20 years ago and would love to preserve some of the stuff that is going on now for years to come. I think this applies even more so as little M seems to be growing up so fast and I'd like to record little anecdotes.

By immersing myself into the wonderful world of plannering I discovered something recently that might just fit the bill. It's called a Midori or Traveller's Notebook and it is, essentially, just a leather cover with string that allows you to slot in various inserts by slipping them behind an elastic band. Midori Traveller’s Notebook is a brand name of a specific company but the concept seems to have spawned (or supported) a whole industry. You can get these covers now in all kinds of sizes and I am drawn to either the traditional TN, which takes inserts measuring 11cm x 21cm or a cover that takes Field Note sized inserts, which measures 9cm x 14cm. 

So yes, the FN is much smaller than the TN but whether it would work would all depend on how I'd set it up. I like the idea of having one insert for my planning/calendar and then another one for journaling rather than to write down personal notes in the planning section. But then again I imagine it would be nice to have the luxury of 22cm x 21cm on an opened up page to scribble, sketch, stick in things...

I've been going back and forth on this so I think I'll just have to take the plunge and try one. My current favourites for both TN size are:


Midori TN Blue Limited Edition £45
An "original" Midori but in a limited edition blue

FauxDori by Ink Bandits £22.99
Extra-wide Midori-style cover made from real leather and available in some lovely colours. Extra-wide means you can slot in a larger number of inserts and really cover all your planning needs.

Gillio Giramondo €180
From what I have seen in recent months, Gillio are the ultimate in planner luxury due to the quality of their leathers and the craftsmanship applied. Given their fantastic choice of colours, I am probably being pretty boring picking something that would match my Mulberry oak items but I just love that kind of leather and what it does when it ages.

And for Field Note size:

Pelledori Leather Journal in Lush Grey - Pocket Wide £23.11
Pocket size wide should accommodate 4-6 Field Note sized inserts and give me the flexibility to add all the sections I want. Oh, and I love the Pelledori colours! 

Pelledori Honey Tanned Leather Journal - Pocket Wide £23.11
Same as the above, just in a lush natural leather colour.

Explorer 3 Leather Notebook Cover by FennerCRAFTS £54
The leather on this looks so sturdy and gorgeous and I love the subtle detailing

So I really just need to decide on size, right..?