Moleskine Postal Notebooks

[Lymnour]

Thanks for the review! I've been curious about these, but have not had a chance to try them yet.

[Miz Black Crow]

I don't know about other countries but http://www.adoptaussoldier.org/ is a good cause for US Soldiers if you are inclined to do so.

Thanks for this. I'm not normally overly-patriotic, but my application has been accepted here. Letter writing + encouraging servicemembers = win-win, at least in my eyes

[senzen]

Very useful review indeed; although my first thought was yeah, I'd go postal if I had to write on Moleskine notebooks.

[Tanzanite]

This is a fun idea. Would probably not be too difficult to make ones own postal notebooks with the amount of pages of choice.

Edited February 1, 2015 by Tanzanite

[Garageboy]

Hmm, how would one make their own?

[zbyshko]

I was thinking the same: to make one's own postal notebook out of paper that suits one's needs.

 

To start, I would steam or slice open an envelope that you like to make a template to cut the cover. Extend the side opposite the closing flap further to have the back cover. How much you increase this depends on if you wish to or meed to include a flap or pouch similar to the original.

 

Place your template on the paper you chose for the cover, trace, then cut and fold along similar lines to envelope. Fold your flap over if you made one in an arrangment of which you like the look. I would choose a heavier stock paper then normal to be a more robust outside surface. Be adventurous and use a pattern or design; wall paper samples are great for this. Test your ink for effect on this paper. I would recommend a white label to give the postal machinery less confusion when scanning.

 

Make note of what is the bottom of the envelope, that is the side opposite the opening. This will be the fold onto which the notebook is sewn.

 

Find the paper you want to make the notebook pages. It should be the same size as two envelopes side by side along the bottom edge. Fold a number of pages in half along the 'long' edge and nest them inside one another. Test to see if this fits inside your original envelope style. If too many pages, remove until it fits or if there is room and desire to add pages, add more.

 

Nest the folded pages in the cover with the folded edge tucked against the envelope's edge noted previously ad the bottom. If you have a stapler that will fit over the page, staple along this fold into all pages. If not, try a pamphlet stitch. See here:

 

http://www.quietfiredesign.com/Galleries/Techniques/3HolePamphlet.htm

 

for an example. I would reverse the orientation of the stitch to place the tie-offs inside the envelope so as not to foul the postal machinery.

 

This is just some free-form thoughts as I am at work researching some related things. I hope it makes sense.

 

Enjoy,

 

Ralph

[Studio97]

This is a great thing for a soldier on combat duty overseas to have!

The side of an MRE box works too but the moleskine would have more class