Search the Community

I've been meaning to post pictures of my Traveler's Notebook for ages now, but I found myself putting it off. I realised why: my MTN is one of the most personal things I own. It's always within arm's length, I use it several times a day, and I feel kind of shy sharing it with you - but I keep saying I'm going to, so here it is. The charm is a jade bottle gourd my husband bought me on honeymoon a decade ago. It's supposed to symbolise longevity and good luck, and it makes me think of him when I fiddle with it. It's designed to be tied onto a thread, like a bead with no hole. There's a craft card envelope, the plastic zip envelope, free diary, plain notebook and squared notebook in there. I use another jade charm (a tiny one) as the bookmark for my diary, and a piece of grosgrain ribbon whose ends I sealed with a lighter as the bookmarks for the two notebooks. My name, email and phone number are the first thing you see when you open it, in case I lose it (under the bit of washi - like I said, I'm shy, so I'm hiding them in these photos). I drew the tree and used Midori stickers for the leaves and bird. The paperclip is also a Midori one; there are several scattered through there, and they often come in handy. I also have some tiny bulldog clips on there, which I find myself using surprisingly often for all kinds of things. I keep my business cards, blotting paper and stickers in the craft pocket. I live in the UK but travel a lot for work, and I keep emergency US dollars (and coins, which I should remove because they make it bumpy - I just dropped those in there last week at an airport) in the plastic envelope. I haven't moved anything out of there for the photo, and what you see's pretty representative: emergency cash, business cards (including John "Oxonian" Sorowka's card, which I'm sure many of you also have - Greg Minuskin's is floating around in there somewhere too), and work receipts. The back side of the craft pocket is kept (mostly) empty so I can use it for passports and airline tickets when I need to. If I'm away from home, passports live in there. If I'm at home they live in a box on my desk. Free diary cover. Plain notebook cover (I made a blot when I was labelling this, so I stuck this picture over it). Work notes cover - more Midori stickers. Midori stickers aren't the only things I stick in there. Whenever I finish a diary page and there's some space on it, something tends to get glued into the spaces. I really don't know what I'd do without my Traveler's Notebook. The flexibility suits me down to the ground, I like that it just looks better the more I beat it up. It's become a friend: it's ended up with a lot of personality of its own. I use it as a place to braindump, a place to think, and a place to play with pretty things (and to test inks and mess around with my pens). I can't imagine being without it.

I had recently stopped using my MTN because it just wasn't pocket-sized, meaning that I couldn't have it always with me. To solve this, and much to some of your dismay, I'm sure, I trimmed it down to a 3x5 inch size. I actually did it without messing anything up, and now I have a truly pocketable MTN. It was a nerve-wracking operation, and I was sure I'd mess something up (and did not), but here it is! Let me know your thoughts. Okay, it's not an absolutely perfect cut, but that slightly rustic feel suits the MTN, IMO. I made a thick notebook with 120gsm paper, printed with fine lines. I also made a storage card with paper-flap in the front and closing envelope-style pocket in the back. I am currently printing out a hipster PDA day-planner template. The beauty of choosing 3x5 size is that I can use all the popular Hipster PDA templates and fit index cards inside.

I recently got a leather notebook cover from Ms. Rhona Carantes. She makes pen cases and recently branched out to notebook covers - a far-easier task for her. What makes her work distinctive is that she hand-paints on her leather products. I requested her to splash the Milky Way galaxy on my cover. And she carried it out with aplomb! http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab278/southernfountainpen/Leather%20Notebook%20Cover/RhonaCarantesLeatherFolder_zps6ec0142f.jpg Front and Back Cover View: http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab278/southernfountainpen/Leather%20Notebook%20Cover/RhonaCarantesLeatherFolder-FrontandBack_zps121566e7.jpg This cover has the same dimensions as that of the Midori Traveler's Notebook. I used A4 paper, trimmed 77 mm off on one end, folded it, and inserted it into one of the elastic binders. Perfect fit. http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab278/southernfountainpen/Leather%20Notebook%20Cover/RhonaCarantesLeatherFolder-Open_zpsd14f03ac.jpg It's the perfect size for tucking in envelopes, so I use it to keep track of correspondences. The painted planets have a tactile feel, and so far, it is aging well... no flaking of the paint, even if the cover is malleable. The inside cover is somewhat finished, too... the suede portion is smoothened out and is of a dark blue with different shades. This is a notebook that encourages dreaming! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Usual disclosures, no affiliation, just a satisfied customer. I ordered the notebook by communicating with her through her FB page. The collaborative creative process was fun! I wanted ET on one corner, but that realization came a little too late. Her FB page (but you have to be signed in on Facebook for this link to work): Rhona Carantes on Facebook ... and a review of her fantastic painted artwork on clocks, from "Rhome", a member on LeatherWorker.net: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=22377