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30+ Ways to Fill an Empty Notebook (Revised & Enhanced!)

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
30+ Ways to Fill an Empty Notebook (Revised & Enhanced!)

Way back in 2015 we put together a list of 13 Ways to fill up all those notebooks I know you have floating around in your stationery cupboard. Today, it felt like a good time to see if we couldn’t add, update or zhoosh these lists up and make one MEGA list.

Stacks of filled notebooks from Austin Kleon.
  1. Daily Journal: I love the techniques that Austin Kleon uses where you just make a list of the things you did, people you saw, things you watched or listened to and any other interesting things that happened.
  2. Morning Pages/Free Writing/Brain Dump
  3. Lists (Bullet Journal): you can use each page for a list — lists of your favorite albums, your favorite foods, your bucket lists, things you dislike, a shit list, whatever strikes your fancy. You can make a gratitude journal which is just lists of good things in your life.
  4. Mind Mapping, or if you’re more of a visual person, make a vision board book.
  5. Sketchnoting
  6. Practice your handwriting: choose a notebook to use for 15 minute handwriting practice or calligraphy
  7. Test all those pens and inks: make an ink swatching notebook. Keep a few pages to put a few inches of each of your washi tapes so you can see the designs and also have a little snippet when you use it up.
  8. Commonplace book
  9. Dream Journal: keep a book by your bed. If you wake with a particularly vivid dream, write it down while its still fresh in your mind.
  10. Travel Journal: if you are traveling, pick a notebook to collect tickets, receipts, and your thoughts and memories from your travel adventures. If you don’t travel a lot, put a spare notebook in the glovebox of your car and write down anything that catches your eye, places you might want to stop at in the future or just use for grocery lists. If you don’t drive, find a small notebook that fits in your bike basket, or in your bag to keep notes of the world that goes by. Your travel journal could be a “where I want to go” journal and include info about different places you’d like to travel, places you’d visit, eat, see, and experience.
  11. Book (to-read or read) Journal: There are so many how-to’s on how to make a beautiful insta-worthy book journal but you can do it you own way and just put the book title at the top of each page, when you start it, when you finish it, your favorite bits or why you didn’t like it. Easy peasy.
  12. Modify a notebook: If you don’t like the notebook, its too big, the wrong size or somehow does not meet your needs, disassemble the notebook. Cut it up or remove the pages to use as a notepad, scratch paper or use a hole punch and put into a binder
  13. Collage, art journal or sketch book Tina has a great list for all those sketchbooks. Or try out Laura’s Doodle Notebook project.
  14. Gaming Notebook: just like a book journal, keep a log when you start a new video game and use the notebook to keep track of side quests, things you need to remember, what you like about the game and even if you finish it or bail out on it.
  15. Gaming Notebook 2: if you play tabletop or D&D-style games, keep a log of when you start a game or campaign, who all is playing and any additional notes. With tabletop games, include who won each game.
  16. Recipe book: Keep your favorite recipes in a notebook. It keeps them in one place and allows you space to add or change a recipe you found in a book or online. I like to draw how-to diagrams for how to chop something, especially since some of my recipes came from online videos.
  17. Craft Journal: if you knit, crochet, quilt, sew or embroider keep notes in a specific notebook for the projects you do, where the pattern is, materials used, when you started and when you finished. If you want to be extra, take a photo of your finished project and tape it in to the project page.
  18. Gardening Journal: Do you want to plan your garden (indoor or outdoor)? Use a journal or notebook to track and plan your botanical adventures.
  19. Self-Care: If you are anything like me, you need a place to remind yourself to take care of yourself. Make lists of why you are awesome. Keep track of when you do do something nice for yourself. Keep it a safe place to write what you need from the world, from your friends and family.
  20. Create your own grimoire: feeling magical? Start your own grimoire (AKA Book of Shadows) where you can write down spells, correspondences, lists of gemstones, colors, astrological symbols, etc.
  21. Tarot Journal: whether you read tarot or oracle cards, dedicate a notebook for your weekly or daily readings.
  22. Write a freakin’ book: Pick a notebook and start that book you have always wanted to write. Maybe you start writing out character studies, locations, plot out the story, draw a map, etc.
  23. Junk Journal: all those pretty little bits of ephemera that you’ve collected, just glue it in to a notebook. This is a great use for a notebook that doesn’t have the most fountain pen friendly paper. Just glue stuff on top of the crappy paper. I love the safety patterns on inside of financial envelopes and often have a whole stack of them at any given time. Add in tea bag tags, tickets, receipts, and any pretty pictures I find in magazines and I have enough miscellany to fill multiple notebooks.
  24. Letterwriting Log: If you have a multitude of pen pals, keep a notebook to track when you receive a letter, when you reply and a summary of the contents of each letter. A Letterwriting log will also be a great place to collect any ephemera sent to you from a friend or special postcards.
  25. Pet Journal: When you have as many cats as I do, keeping a few pages for each animal is a great way to check that they have all been in to the vet for their vaccinations.
  26. Vehicle Journal: I keep a notebook (an old Field Notes) in my car that I keep a list of oil change dates and mileage, gas-ups with costs and dates and other repairs. It gives me a one stop place to verify when the last time was that I had the tires rotated.
  27. Home Records: This might be a great place to use an unused binder like an old Filofax. Keep track of when the roof was repaired, the receipts and info from the new dishwasher purchase, the business cards for the yard service and wind cleaners, etc.
  28. Address Book: This is so old world but keeping addresses and phone numbers of important people in your life that is not your cell phone is a good idea. Especially if anything were to happen to you or your family, keeping a paper record of close friends, family, doctors, etc is not a bad idea.
  29. Health Log: If you have any long-term illnesses, keeping a record of what food you’re eating, weather, exercise, medications, or any other extenuating circumstances, keeping a record will help keep symptoms in check or provide a solid list for your physician. As a cluster headache sufferer, I keep a record of my headaches, how long they last, what medications I take and any other details to share with my doctor.
  30. Big Project Planning: Are you buying a house, going back to school, getting married or any other BIG project planning? Pick a book to contain all the information, lists, contacts, questions and any other notes you need to track as you plan the project.
  31. Log Book of a Hobby: Bob keeps a Beer Log. I keep a Gin Book. Do you love wine, beer or whiskey? Keep a record of the brand you tried and if you liked it. Where you purchased it, if you can peel the label off or save the receipt, tuck it into the book too. If you don’t drink, you can track your favorite chocolate bars. You could also keep track of jams and jellies, hot sauces, the candles you purchase (like the brand, price, scent, burn time, etc), record albums, etc.
  32. Quotes: keep a log of your favorite quotes whether they come from pop culture sources, Shakespeare, poetry, song lyrics, or your 3-year-old son or all of the above. Inspiration can come from anywhere.
  33. Long form journaling: There are lots of journal prompts available on the internet but you can just pick a notebook and write whatever is on your mind, whenever it seems like you need to. Sometimes its because you saw a beautiful sunset, or a terrible tragedy but both can spurn you to write about the experience. In you daily log book, just make a note that there is a longer writing in your journal. That takes the pressure off having to write a novel everyday.

There are probably a million other ways to use your notebooks but the key is to just use them. And if you finish a project, you can put the book on the shelf and call it done even if you’ve only used 15 pages. There are no rules in stationery. Do whatever makes you happy.

Don’t be afraid you might “ruin it” because there is no such thing. I have sliced shitty pages out of my notebooks more times than I can count. The book still worked. Jesi puts a binder clip around pages she’s “done” with — whether she journaled something she didn’t like or that she made a mess, she just clips all the pages together and then turns to a fresh page and moves along.

How do you use your empty notebooks? Did we forget any of your favorite ways to use your notebooks?

In feature

Sticker Launch!

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments
Sticker Launch!

I am so excited to be able to share our new sticker collections. There are currently seven original sheets available ($3 per sheet in our shop and on Etsy).  Each sheet contains at least 12 kiss cut stickers — just like the sticker sheets you had as a kid but feature a wide assortment of vintage illustrations culled from the vast collection here at The Desk HQ.

All the stickers are produced in-house by little ol’ me using a mechanical cutting machine and high-end inkjet printer. This method will allow me to offer a wider assortment of designs and print on-demand as needed.

Our current sticker offering features Autumn-themed sticker sheets perfect for the cozy, pumpkin-soaked months of October and November. There are leaves, spooky things, florals and animals to choose from.

We are already hard at work to develop new designs that will feature wintery themes and some more general planner and journal designs as we head into the new year.

We have one fabulous outlier — a set of WORDY stickers hand lettered by my pal Madeline Tompkins. These stickers feature bright, fun lettering to sass up your journal, planner or envelopes.

In our shop, if you are just ordering stickers, we are trying to keep shipping costs low starting at $1 to ship a single sticker sheet. These sticker-only orders will be shipped via USPS in an envelope with real postage stamps from our stamp collection. These packages are not trackable. If you prefer to have a tracking number, send me an email and we can custom build your order (email listed below in BOLD) or add any non-sticker item in your order.

For Etsy customers, be aware that Etsy has a policy that any order over $10 must include tracking which means that this small, fits-in-an-envelope stickers cannot be shipped USPS in an envelope like I can do in my own shop.  If you are just ordering stickers from within the US (and territories) , I recommend placing your order via our online shop rather than Etsy.

This same shipping issue with Etsy exists for international customers as well. If you are outside the US and want to order just stickers, please send me an email (chair (cute little symbol) wellappointeddesk.com) and we can arrange a purchase through PayPal if you are okay with non-trackable shipment for lower shipping prices.

In feature

Pen Review: Pilot Prera CM (vs. TWSBI Eco)

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Pen Review: Pilot Prera CM (vs. TWSBI Eco)

The Pilot Prera is one of the first pens I purchased when I got into the fountain pen hobby almost 15 years ago. It wasn’t until recently that I realized that the Clear Preras ($41.50)  are available with the rare CM (Medium Italic) nib.

I’ve taken to signing my invoices with a TWSBI Eco with a 1.1 stub nib so I started wondering how the Prera Medium Italic nib would compare. Sometimes. I like to have options!

Aesthetically, the translucent body with mere hints of translucent color at the ends and simple silver clip look quite similar to the TWSBI Eco. Pricewise, it is a fair comparison. TWSBI Ecos start at about $35.50 while the Preras started at $33. The Clear Preras that look most similar to a TWSBI Eco are $41.50 each.

In writing, the nib looked slimmer than the 1.1mm in a TWSBI but, in writing, was quite comparable in width.

There’s a little feedback in the writing with the Prera but I didn’t notice the difference until I wrote with the TWSBI immediately after writing with the Prera. They are both very smooth writers and the Prera was easy to use from every angle I write at as a lefty.

The Prera features a snap cap which I love compared with a standard threaded cap on the TWSBI.

When comparing the two pens, the TWSBI Eco is a longer pen overall.

When the pens are posted, the TWSBI is comically longer. Measurements and weights are written below in the writing sample.

Uncapped and unposted, the Prera is a little shorter than the TWSBI Eco. More space is needed for the longer grip section and the built-in piston filling system on the TWSBI. The Prera has a cartridge converter system allowing it to accept Pilot cartridges or be filled from an ink bottle. Bonus: both a cartridge and the converter are included with the Prera so there is no additional expense.

When looking closely at the nibs, the TWSBI appears slightly rounder where the Prera has a bit more crisp corners.

In writing, the two pens appear to perform almost identically but the Prera has slightly finer lines when used on the horizontal lines and is visibly in the loops above. It creates more line variation in use than the TWSBI.

I do wonder if it would be possible to eyedropper fill the Prera so it would have similar ink capacity to the TWSBI. I think its something I’ll experiment with because I do think it would make the Prera a true competitor to the TWSBI Eco.

For right now, I like using the Prera as an alternative to the TWSBI. Is it better? Not  necessarily. Just different. The snap cap is a big bonus in favor of the Prera but the overall ink capacity of the TWSBI may make it preferable for others. Other nib sizes from Pilot will definitely be finer than what’s available from TWSBI so if you like a Japanese EF or F nib, then the Prera will definitely win out.

Which would you choose? Do you have one, the other or both?

 

In Pen Review

Pen Review: Zebra Mildliner No Moto Mild Blue Ink Set

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment
Pen Review: Zebra Mildliner No Moto Mild Blue Ink Set

I am relying more and more on Mildliners for my notebook annotation and illumination (i.e. writing the day of the week ll fancy-like) so when I saw the set of three Mildliner pens with the Mildliner no Moto ink refill, I had to try it out. Zebra Mildliner No Moto Mild Blue Ink Set ($17) comes with a Mild Fuchsia, Mild Gray, and Mild Lemon Yellow and a bottle of  Mildliner no Moto ink in Mild Blue.

The Mildliner pens are the doubled ended design with the Brush tip and Bullet tip like we reviewed recently.

The information on the back suggests that you dip each of the Mildliner pens in the ink bottle to create a new, gradient color.

The Brush tip end, shown above before dipping.

Above, shows the same tip after it’s been dipped in the blue ink creating a vibrant green shade.

Above are samples of both the unblemished colors (quite standard highlighter colors) and then after we dipped the tips in the Blue ink to create gradients and alter the colors.

Information on JetPens recommends that you wipe the tip after using to remove the cross contamination color or it will slowly alter the pen color over time. I think the capillary action will cause the blue bottle ink color to be absorbed into the body of the pen so if you don’t want that to happen, be sure to clean the tips with a paper towel between uses.

They also advise not contaminating the bottled ink by dipping a dark colored Mildliner into the bottle. And not to use the Mildliner No Moto bottle ink to refill a Mildliner pen. Weird…

Finally, the bottle of Mild Blue ink can be used with paint brushes, water brushes and glas dip pen but do not use it with fountain pens or metal dip pen nibs.

There are nine individual colors of Mildliner No Moto bottle inks available ($11.50 for 10ml bottle) so if you already have a healthy collection of Mildliner and would like to experiment with ink mixing, you don’t need to purchase the set and there is a larger variety of colors available than the two options in the sets.

Overall, it was fun to play with the Mildliners, dipping them into the ink and experimenting with gradient colors but I’m not sure how often I will actually pull this out to use it on a day-to-day basis. There are so many great Mildliner colors available that I don’t often feel the need to create a new color but I guess I like knowing now that I can.

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

In Link Love

Link Love: Busy is not who I am

Author AnaPosted on 7 Comments
Link Love: Busy is not who I am

I’m not busy, I just do lots of things. I type this as I think of my urge to slow down and be more mindful about my time. It’s all too easy to obsess about all the things.

I want to stop answering the question, “How are you doing?” with the all-too-common “I’ve been so busy.” The more I think about this sentence, the more it sounds like a cross between a humble brag and an “oh, poor me” sentiment. How is the other person supposed to respond? Should they say they are busy too? Or should they console me?

Just like trying to stop saying nervous verbal ticks like saying “ah” or “umm”, I want to stop saying “I’ve been so busy”. I chose this life and I know it won’t last forever. There are lots of things I WANT to do and lots of things I HAVE to do. However, when someone asks after me, I should be kind that they care or not burden them with my personal squirrely-ness. I should ask about specifics in their life — to take more time to connect and waste less energy feeling harried by all the “all of this”.

So if you asked me today, “How are you doing?” I’d say, “I’m caffeinated, feeling healthy, desperately waiting for cat shed season to end and debating if its too soon to pull out my Halloween decorations.”

How are you doing today? Let me know in the comments!

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Art & Creativity:

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Hi! I see you’ve made it to the end of another Link Love. We do hope you’ve enjoyed the content but did you know there is more to see over on our Patreon? We have an exclusive bi-weekly podcast, newsletter, discounts and sneak peeks and more. Check it out! And if you’re already a member, thank you!

In Tools

Giveaway: Galen Leather zippered 10-slots pen case with magnetic insert!

Author Laura CameronPosted on 81 Comments

I told you Ana brought back the goodies from the San Francisco Pen Show! One of the fun things she brought back was a new Galen Leather zippered 10-slot pen case ($58). Now we’ve given these away on the blog before, but this one has a new feature: magnetic inserts.

All Galen Leather cases come with soft suede-like leather inside, and elastic pen loops to hold your pens so they don’t touch each other or get damaged in transport. But now they’ve made that insert detachable, so that you can remove it to load your pens and magnetically pop it back into place when you’re done. That means that for tall pens (like my Heinze pen or my Esterbrook) there’s less risk of the pen getting scratched by the zipper. Neat, huh?

So here’s the deal: I have one 10-slot zippered leather pen case in Crazy Horse Brown from Galen leather available to one lucky winner. I’ll choose one lucky winner and throw in some Desk swag! Also – fountain pens pictured are NOT included. (get your own pens ya scallywags!)

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell me about your favorite pen case? If you don’t have a favorite pen case, then tell me which pens you’ll be storing in your new Galen case! One entry per person.

If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site (wouldn’t a monkey case have been fun???). Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give the monkeys some time.

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Friday, September 20, 2024. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Monday. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 5 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this giveaway were provided to us free of charge by Galen Leather. Please see the About page for more details.

In Pen Review

Pen Review: Teranishi Guitar Glass Pen with Cap (Aurora Long in Jelly Blue)

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Pen Review: Teranishi Guitar Glass Pen with Cap (Aurora Long in Jelly Blue)

Ever since I bought a “glass pen” with a cap through Ebay several years ago, I’ve been on the hunt for others. The one I purchased is no longer available and I’ve had to reattach the nib to the grip section so many times its now permanently crooked.

I love the capped design of my original and have purchased several others in search of the same smooth, fine line writing experience. When I heard about the Teranishi Guitar Glass Pen with Cap – Aurora Long – Jelly Blue ($45), I was ready to give it a shot.

Glass pens are great when sampling and testing ink as they can often give a similar writing experience without have to ink up a whole pen and clean up is as simple as a dip in some water and a swipe with a paper towel.

The overall pen is beautiful with a cracked ice gradient color from blue to green. The cap can be screwed to the base of the pen when using for a longer length and less chance to misplace it. I ended up not using the pen with the cap posted as it made it quite long for me but if you have larger hands, this might be just what you need.

  • Length – Capped: 5.0 inches
  • Length – Uncapped: 4.3 inches
  • Length – Posted: 6.7 inches

One thing I did notice is that the grooves in the nib of the Teranishi are all parallel, running from the base to the tip. My other pen has grooves that twist around the pen like a candy cane twist to hold the ink. I’m not saying either method hold more or less ink, I just thought it was interesting.

The tip of the Teranishi writes with a bold, monoline stroke. The actually tip is quite smooth and there is very little feedback on the paper. I occasionally ran into hard start issues after dipping the nib in ink but once I got the pen going, it wrote smoothly for quite awhile before I needed to dip again.

Maybe its just because I’ve used my old pink glass dip pen for so long its actually developed a bit of a stub italic angle but I still can’t find another pen that will replace it (even with its wonky angle).

The Teranishi is a beautiful pen and well crafted with a smooth point but it’s too wide for me. I’ll keep working with it to see if I grow to like it more but, right now, I still like my old janky pen better.

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