Notebook Review: Rhodia Greenbook

As a lover of things analog, I do sometimes wonder about my carbon footprint with all my notebooks and scratch paper. While I love jotting down notes more in pen and paper than digital, I do wonder what the real cost of that habit is? So when I was perusing new products at JetPens, I was interested in the Rhodia Greenbook Notebook (A5, $13.00)

Now let me get a few biases/preconceived notions out of the way. I LOVE Rhodia notebooks. That’s definitely a point in this notebooks favor. On the other hand, in general, I’ve found recycled paper to be kind of crappy, particularly with fountain pens. Let’s see what I think of this!

The Greenbook Notebook is an A5 notebooks that is made of recycled materials. The hard plastic covers are made of recycled polypropylene, and the 80 sheets (160 pages) are made of 100% Clairefontaine 90gsm FSC-recertified recycled paper. The paper itself is white with blue graph paper.

As you can see this is a spiral notebook, and the paper is perforated for easy tear out sheets. The sheets are pre-punched for a European 2-ring binder or an A5 4-ring binder if you wish to store them that way. There are no frills on this one – just the plastic covers and the paper.

So how is the paper? Honestly it’s pretty darn good. It’s a little toothy and more porous than some other papers, but that is sort of how I expect recycled paper to feel. However, there’s no bleeding or feathering, even with medium wetter nibs and brush pens. I got a smidge of puckering on the backside when I used the highlighter, meaning this paper is not going to be good for any mixed media, and there was just a hint of bleed through there as well, but not with any other ink/pen. . I don’t have anything bad to say about the paper itself.

However, I find the grid to be kind of dark and it’s distracting as I write. I could see using this book to plot out knitting motifs or the like, but I don’t see it as a favorite everyday notebook because of that. But if graph paper is your jam, and you like the idea of using recycled materials as much as I do, this might be a great notebook for you!


DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

Setting up my Planner for February

Setting up my Planner for February

Inspired by last week’s color-coordination of my pens, I decided to pro-actively set-up supplies for my journal for February. I am embracing the Valentine’s Day vibe with an all-red-and-pink palette with pink floral washi and flower stickers as well as color matching my pens and inks.

I picked out two inks for the month:

and three pens:

I also dumped out my jar of pink and red pens to see what I have available:

I went through my collection of washi tape and pulled out some that were pink, red, green and floral. The roll in the plastic container is the Bande Washi Tape Sticker Roll in Pink Roses ($6). The rest of the rolls have been collected over years so I don’t have links to share but JetPens has lots of fun options in the pink color family.

I also purchased some new washi date stickers ($6.99 for a pack of 12-monthly sheets) to use on my pages since my notebook is a plain Stalogy and the pages are not dated.

From my sticker stash, I picked out some flowers, cupids, leaves and other elements that felt Valentine appropriate. Most of the washi stickers came from Flowers, Fairies and Plants washi sticker set ($9.99 for 120-stickers) I found on Amazon last year and the Botanist’s Sticker Anthology Book ($14.49). I carefully razored out a few pages from the book that I will put into a folder so I have quick access to stickers as I want them.

For Clarity:

The only purchase I made this month for my planning was the washi date stickers. Everything else was collected from my existing stash of products. I like this activity of pre-selecting inks, pens, colors, washi and stickers at the beginning of the month. IT pares down my massive collection to a more manageable kit and makes it easier when I sit down to plan or add a little flash to my notebook.

I’ll probably streamline the pens a little bit more so they fit in my travel pen case that I take with me to and from work. The rest will stay in my home office for my weekly prep sessions.

I used a similar, curated collection for January and it worked really well. In January I focused on blues, snowflakes, and a wintry feeling. Using a curated portion of my collection meant I had fewer decisions to make when I got my journal out but enough different pieces to create nice little embellishments to my pages. For both January and February, curating my tools has helped me stay inspired and excited to use my planner and, really, for me, that’s the most important thing.

What kind of system do you use to keep you excited about journaling or planning?

Pen Review: WRITECH Journaling Kit

Pen Review: WRITECH Journaling Kit

Having watched lots of planner set-up videos recently, I am seeing a lot planner and journal supplies that were purchased on Amazon. A lot of these products are from brands I’ve never heard of before so I got curious.

I tend to purchase name-brand writing tools from smaller, online retailers like JetPens and Vanness Pen Shop but, in an effort to see what the competition is offering, I decided to take a chance on the WRITECH Journaling Kit (9-Count with Pen Bag) in Vitality Blue & Green ($19.59, approx.$2.17 per pen ). The Kit is also available in Red & Pink, Earthtone, and Blue & Purple.

pardon the little wet footprints. my kitty helpers were getting into everything today!

As a starter set for setting up your first journal or planner, the set seems like a good option.  The zipper pouch that ships with the set is a frosted, flexible plastic with a color-coordinated vinyl top — Instant Travel Kit!

The WRITECH Journaling Kit includes:

  • 4 Dual Tip Brush Pens (2 colors in 2 different styles)
  • 2 Retractable Gel Pens
  • 2 Retractable Highlighters
  • 1 Black Fineliner
  • Pen Bag

JetPens also offers similar sampler sets but many are currently sold out. Prices for JetPens mixed pen samplers start at about $33 and include over a dozen pens (approx. $2.53 per pen). So, pricewise, the JetPens sets are comparable in price to the WRITECH set.

Reviewing the individual tools:

The waterproof liquid fineliner black ink pen will remind many pen folks of the classic Pilot Precise V5 but the nib is a bit wider at 0.4mm.

The larger brush pens feature a tapered brush-style, felt tip on one end and a small bullet tip on the other.

The smaller brush pens have a slightly smaller brush-style, felt tip on one side and a metal-housed tip on the other. The finer tip reminds me of a Marvy LePen tip.

There are also two 0.5mm gel retractable gel pens and two retractable highlighters.

In testing, the colors are light green and light aqua overal. For me, the 04 Liquid Fineliner is a bit too wide for me. The brush markers work well and have pleasantly flexible brush tips. I always think the “dual-tip” option is a nice bonus but is seldom the reason I reach for or purchase a brush pen.

Tested on Tomoe River paper

I do like the retractable highlighters. I don’t think I’ve had any other retractable highlighters which seem like a good tool to be retractable.

The gel pen colors are pretty but I tend to prefer much finer tips for gel pens.

Despite the collection being made up of some of my favorite colors, I am unlikely to use the gel pens or the black liquid ink pen. The brush pens and highlighters might get some use but overall, I find that I was disappointed with the collection. So, about one-third of the tools may get used.

I’ve been color theming my planner each month so having a selection of pens in  a specific color family is a quick way to get my monthly theme started. But this set got me thinking about how I could better utilize the pens I already own. So I went through my various pen bins and re-sorted them by color.

I realized when I did this experiment I don’t have a lot of blues or purple but a massive amount of green pens. Surprised? Nope. Me either. The center container is reds, oranges, brown and yellow as my Autumn palette. These containers actually make me excited for the different seasons so that I can use them in my planner and use pens I REALLY like.

If you are just dipping your feet into bullet journaling or planning, the WRITECH kit is a quick way to acquire an array of options in a favorite color plus a black fineliner. Just be aware of what tip sizes you prefer or what your comfort level is with the brush-style pens. To be honest, I would rather collect individual pens in colors I like in the sizes I like. Though this method may lead to a few pens that aren’t to your liking, I feel like your odds of building a collection you genuinely like is much higher.

Are you a “buy the set” or “buy just the sizes and colors I like” person? I often fall for the set because I think it’s a quick way to have lots of options but after repeated disappointments with sets that offer colors I don’t want (or tip sizes, etc) I think I’m leaning towards a slower, one-a-time process.


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I Need A Pen Store!

Last week, Frank from Fontoplumo launched a new website, ineedapenstore.com. His goal was to create a centralized location to help people who might be looking for nice pen shops around the world.  The site will also list manufacturers.
As the site is just getting started, a  lot of shops and info still needs to be added. But you can help! There are multiple ways people can add or suggest a shop:
  1. On the website, click “add “and choose “visitor”, then enter the details
  2. Email Hello@ineedapenstore.com to recommend a shop. Please try to include as much information as possible.
  3. There are links on the bottom of the website to WhatsApp, telegram, Facebook and Instagram so you can send a message with your favorite pen shop that way.
At the moment, the search area needs an option to “search by country” or an option to key in a country and see what stores are in that country. When traveling to another country, I am not likely to know a specific city name or town that might be just outside a major metropolitan area. I do hope that this option is added.
Also, I wish the map on the home page was clickable. The US is a big country but we have statistically very few brick-and-mortar pen shops. I just want to click and see ALL THE SHOPS!
Have you submitted your favorite local pen shop yet?

Link Love: The Other Stanley Cup

Link Love: The Other Stanley Cup

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been utterly fascinated by the fervor surrounding the Stanley Pink Tumbler collabs that turned a January morning at Target into Black Friday Mayhem (see the link below in “Other Interesting Things”). It’s an incident that has led to conjecture, concern, head shaking and more. Is it another example of the never ending trend cycles that have been exacerbated by social media? Or are people just getting swept up in the excitement and enthusiasm?I have no specific desire or interest to own a Stanley water container, but I have been guilty of getting swept up in the FOMO and excitement around a limited edition ink or pen. Haven’t we all?

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:


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Planners and STICKERS Oh my!

So this year is the first year that I’ve really tried to go all out in my journaling. I find myself using my Paper Republic calendar more for work and everyday to dos, but I’m enjoying trying to jot down a few bullet points each day in a journal I’m keeping (and so far I haven’t missed a day!).

This has meant that I’ve also been looking for some visual elements to add to my journal. I already loved washi tape and had several rolls, but my knitting group started discussing stickers and I appear to have fallen down a bit of a rabbit hole. Here are a few of the things I’ve bought (and of course handy shopping links for you as well!)

First up, I have to shout out Symposi Press. While the shop is current closed for medical leave, the owner is a knitter and I have some lovely knit night stickers from her. I also see yarn ball, sweaters and more in her sold items. I can’t wait for her to come back so I can purchase a few more items!

Whimsy Inkk kind of has my heart. From skulls to mermaids to holidays and farm animals, I sort of want one of everything in her shop! And these aren’t just labels, they’re high quality glossy stickers!

Etsy really is a treasure trove of sticker makers. When I wanted something simple and easy for holidays and to do lists, Jude Anne Designs let me choose fonts and colors and ordering was easy!

I’ve got a few more things on order that I’ll share in the future, but I have to ask. Do you use stickers? Who are your favorite artists to support?

Writing as Part of Slow Living Movement

Writing as Part of Slow Living Movement

(This post, while started before last week’s AI post, seems like an appropriate follow-up.)

As the standstill of the COVID lockdown becomes a distant memory, our society has become more and more hurried again. How many times have you replied to the question, “How are you doing?” with the reply “Busy!” or heard someone else do the same? What are we so bust doing? And are we happy to be doing all this “busyness”?

I catch myself doing this too. Always in a hurry, thinking I must complete this task or that. I run around with a never ending to-do list or wake in the middle of the night with yet another “Oh no, I forgot to do (fill-in-the-blank)!”

I don’t want to go back to lockdown life (though I miss the sourdough and jigsaw puzzles) but I also don’t want to race around my days like everything is urgent. I want to make time for reading, assembling those jigsaw puzzles, going for walk or writing in my journal. I want to learn to bake my own sourdough, sit and knit, lay on the ground watch the clouds pass overhead.

The rushed, stressful pace that I feel my life taking is neither healthy nor satisfying. I want to leave time for thinking. Being bored is a good thing! As fellow pen-and-paper lovers, I suspect you feel similarly. We need time to reflect and process.

Taking more time to do things is a central tenet of The Slow Living Movement. This lifestyle (or ethos, or whatever you want to call it) started gaining attention along side the minimalist movement — pre-pandemic. When we were all forced to slow down,  fewer people discussed Slow Living as anything more than our life at the time. Now that things are pacing back up, I think more and more about doing less and less.

Some of the core concepts behind Ryder Carroll’s Bullet Journal system is prioritizing and, in the process, removing “must-do’s” from your list if you’ve continued to migrate tasks week after week — is it still something you need or want to do? It’s about using the act of writing as a way of making contentious choices.

As an introvert and a bookish human, I think I’ve always wanted a slower life. I find that taking time to write everyday helps me feel more grounded and my brain feels less chaotic. I relish hobbies that require that I take time like knitting, reading and making art.

Where do you stand on the fast- or slow-paced life? Does writing and pens help you fit more in or help you cherry pick fewer tasks to persue?