Numberclips

I was given these wonderful paper clips as a gift. Rainbow colours and numbers from 0-9.  They look great all together in the packet but what could I use them for? 

This Little Piggy

I thought I'd pop on a quick blog entry on a small but cute Christmas present I got this year. On Good Friday posting an Easter bunny may have been more appropriate, however this is a pig. A piggy pencil sharpener.
The nose covers the hole into which you place your pencil Ann's the body catches and holds the shavings. And that's it really except to say this is one of the best sharpeners I have ever had. Hopefully you can make out the pencil point in the picture. Perhaps it's too sharp for some?
I have no idea where it was purchased but I love it.

Leuchtturm Large Dot Grid Notebook

Here we have a large dot grid notebook from the Leuchtturm1917 family of notebooks.  I usually use lined notebooks for work and yet I do love a grid.  However a dot grid was a new idea for me.  I think overall, while its a great idea for many circumstances it perhaps doesn't quite suit my style.  I can see for people who need to do more of a mix of writing and drawings it might be great but my work involves mainly writing with only the occasional flow diagram that probably suits grid paper more than anything.
The notebook itself is good quality.  The paper has a smooth feel and yet there is a small bit of tooth about it.  The cream colour will be a favourite for many. I'm not too bothered by that and maybe lean towards bright white if pushed.  I can never remember paper weight but in fairness I'm not sure it tells you on the label.  The size is 145x210mm, it has 249 numbered pages and a blank index.  The numbered pages could be very useful depending on what you use it for.  It also has an elastic closure, ribbon marker and pocket at the back as most of these types of notebook have.  It also comes with labels for the front and spine of the notebook for easy reference in case you have several notebooks in your possession - as if that would ever happen!
I've been using ballpoint in this pen in the main and of course there is no problem with that and as you can see the pens I've tried look fine.  There is no bleed but a bit of show through on the other side.  Mainly with the Sharpie - does anyone use a Sharpie to write in a notebook? I have used it as other notebook blogs seem to always include it but I cant think why I would use a sharpie in a normal notebook.

I used most of this notebook for a 6 month work secondment and dont really want to fill it with other things so I am back to another Sicura notebook for work that I picked up from TK Maxx (I bought 3 and I do really like them).

Would I buy another Leuchtturm? Yes I think I would but probably a grid version would be my preferred option.  One last think is the colours available for these notebooks are superb.  Something for everyone I think and you can have a whole matching range of sizes.

Leuchtturm1917 week per page diary

This years main diary is a pocket size Leuchtturm1917. I won it thanks to the wonderful folk at The Paperie. It's the traditional black colour although Leuchtturm have a wonderful range of colours in their notebooks. The style is week per page but opposite each week is a page of lined paper. This is a very useful format and adaptable to different needs. The space for each day isn't large and so won't take a lot of detail. I tend to split each day into halves for morning and afternoon meetings and can fit in time, title and venue though usually abbreviated. My evenings are seldom recorded in this diary but I may write something on the lined side opposite the relevant day.
The paper is cream, perhaps 90g but certainly 80g weight. My diary entries are always in pencil but it takes most pens I've tried on it beautifully.
Additional features: a back pocket (yawn), an address book that slips into the back pocket and can be transferred to your next diary (better) and a few pages of perforated plain note pages at the back.
As you will see From the pictures I like to add some moo stickers to my notebooks. Size wise it's perhaps a bit taller than a Mokeskine pocket but not by much.
I've been very happy with this one so far although I do also have a Mileskine Colour a Month Diary to tell you about. Thats for another day. This is the first blog with pictures and text from my iPhone-true blogging on the go. Surely how it's intended to be. I have no idea how this will look when published so bear with the bear here but it could mean the intention of writing this blog on they train could finally materialise.

Return to watercolour

It's been about ten years since I painted anything in watercolour. I feel like I've just been too busy for it. It is a wonderful pastime where you can totally lose yourself in the paint for a while but you need to have time to spend. Another reason I remember for stopping painting was my frustration at not being able to draw. Ten years on I still can't draw and I think I now know its not essential for painting.
So tonight in my Travelodge armed with a small Windsor and Newton field kit and a size 12 ProArte connoisseur brush I finally put brush to paper again.
Things I remember about my issues are, amongst other things, I have trouble relaxing and painting freely, I have trouble leaving white in the painting and I need to remember to let certain areas dry before going any further. I did two watercolour sketches just to get back in the saddle. Plenty to improve on but if I don't actually apply paint to paper I'll never get better. More importantly I enjoyed it.

Mark's Original Notebook Calendar

This was a present from a friend, although in fairness I had waved it under her nose in the shop and repeated 'I'd like this for Christmas please' several times.  I figure subtlety is overrated sometimes.  Mark's produces some other gems such as the le + zippe pochette essentialle which I just happen to have an A6 version of.  However back to the schedule.

It, as the cover suggests, is a month on one page.  Now the boxes of course are not huge and so it cant be used to write in a lot of detail about many appointments.  That being said i have managed to put enough detail in for my purposes.  As I may have mentioned before I work from more than one base and keeping track of where I am going to be not only keeps me sane but helps me plan my future appointments.  Obviously I wont show you my appointment detail but I do like a bit of colour coding.....

There is a space at the top for each month where I guess you could put in your goals for the month or some wise words of wisdom or perhaps some vital must-do items.  The other neat feature is the the back of each month page is lined so that you can lay the whole calendar flat and write notes or tasks alongside each month.

The paper is more like card which I love.  I often write diary entries in pencil for obvious reasons but it also happily takes a rollerball or gelpen.  It is a very thin and easily carried calendar that I have found really useful so far.  it isn't my main appointment diary but more my planner to help me keep tabs on where I am meant to be and assess how my month ahead is shaping up.
This was purchased in Paper Tiger, a wonderful shop on Lothian Road in Edinburgh.  I haven't come across it on any of my usual online shops although the lovely Papernation do have some other items from the Mark's range.

Midori D-CLIPS

I picked these up from the journal shop. Paper clips shaped like mopeds. Every desk needs them. They are ridiculously expensive at £5.50 for 30 but do come in a cute Orange dispenser. You can also pick up ducks, cars, rabbits, penguins, pigs, elephants and many more shapes. Readers in the USA can get them from Jetpens for $6.73