PencilWraps, Pens, Pencils, Notebooks, and some day-to-day happenings and such as...
Taking the rest of the year off from blogging due to too many things happening at once ( Christmas/Birthdays/Business Moving/editing deadlines/etc…..) BUT, I had to post my pics of RAH’s Spain kit that I received recently. Enjoy, and don’t miss getting one before they’re sold out! This is the last kit of the first year!
Click to embiggenate.
These are the writing pads that we have here at work. My boss likes simple, plain, boring writing pads. Usually we get white ones but whatever is cheapest usually gets purchased. They’re used for writing out scripts, notes on scripts, graphic changes, and the like. The paper is smooth and only showed bleed through when using the markers.
I generally don’t like using pads at work because when I do, I always end up bending the corners up. It just happens while they sit on my desk. I put my paper in front of me so whenever I reach for anything on my desk it gets in the way and the corners get bent. Other than that, they serve their purpose. Plus, these are made in the USA!
Minor bleed through
Things about stuff we enjoyed reading this week.
Pens/Pencils
Paper
Ink
I had read on several blogs that Rhodia notebooks were available at Target and I finally saw some. I picked up an A4 (21cm x 29.7cm) staplebound lined notebook with black cover (they also had the orange cover in stock) and the No. 11 Notepad (7.4cm x 10.5cm) with grid lines. Both have the 80g paper that seems to be the Rhodia standard. Very nice. These are going into the review queue.
Photo courtesy of Rosemary's Blog
It’s National Letter Writing Week! (Jan. 9th-16th, 2011) We’re smack dab in the middle of it. Have you written more than usual? Did you get any special stationery? Did you fill your pen with special ink? Did you know about it? Did you forget like I did?
I was planning on writing a letter a day. I’m thinking I have some catching up to do. Angela and I are going to start by handwriting thank you notes for our son’s birthday. Here are some suggestions that I’ve read all over the web in case you need some ideas.
Write…
And in case you need tips on how to properly do it, here is a link.
You’re going to need stamps.
Since I started trying to incorporate GTD into my life and get more organized, I resurrected my Franklin Covey binder and bought some refills for it. Soon after I started receiving the Franklin Covey catalog in the mail. I picked up this notebook from them. It’s the Large Croc Journal here. The site doesn’t give you a very detailed description of it. It just states that it’s embossed with an “attractive” croc pattern, has 160 ruled white pages, and has a ribbon marker. Oh, and it gives you the dimensions. (5.75″ W x 8.25″ H x 0.625″ D) I don’t normally get notebooks that have designs or embossed patterns on them but for the price I thought I might as well give this a try.
It’s actually a very nice journal. I personally prefer off-white/cream colored paper but this bright white is nice, kind of like the Quo Vadis Habana. I did some pen/pencil/ink tests on it and it performed very well. There was no bleed through with gel ink pens or fountain pens. As you can see from my pics, only the markers actually bled through to the other side and even they didn’t make a mark on the next page at all. I even held a Pilot Varsity medium nib fountain pen on the page for 5 seconds and it hardly sucked any ink out. In fact, since my birthday I have been using it as my daily journal and I can write with a fine nib fountain pen on both sides of the pages and it’s great. Like I stated, the site doesn’t give you very much info so I don’t know what the weight of the paper is but it does feel pretty thick. Also, I measured out the line spacing at 6mm.
Nice hair in the pic. 
Another plus is that it lays flat when you open it up. That’s nice for those of us that like to use as much of the page as possible.
Nice and flat
A couple of things that I don’t like are that it doesn’t have an elastic closure and it seems like you lose the first and last pages due to the glue. But, there is another version of this journal on Amazon and it not only has an elastic closure, it has a pocket in the back. The cover is the weakest link in my opinion. But, it will take a beating and protect the paper well. If the cover matters not to you, the paper sure is worth it. This is a review of the larger of the two sizes. They also offer a pocket sized version on the Franklin Covey website and on Amazon.
UPDATE: FYI, this review is for the Faux Croc Leather Notebook. There are other “Markings” notebooks that are sold at Target and Amazon that are not the same. I just saw one this weekend and the paper is much thinner and off-white like a Moleskine. The paper in these Faux Croc cover ones is thicker and white.
The glue affects the first and last page.
Renaissance Art makes beautiful handcrafted leather journals, journal covers, laptop bags, and much more. This particular video is about the paper that they use in their 9 x 12 refillable journals. It’s fountain pen friendly 120g Arches Text Wove and they tear it to give it that rustic look.