Homage to the composition notebook

[TMac]

After reading all of these great comments, I ordered a cover from PLE Designs and stopped on the way home from work to pick up a couple of Norcom composition notebooks from WalMart. Found a couple made in Brazil. Can't wait to try them out.

[eherreid]

Oops...I meant to run back to this thread and post a link, and I forgot. For those who might still be looking for a leather composition book cover, I recently received a Renaissance Art custom cover. My thoughts (and a few pictures) are here! I'm very pleased with it. I go through about a comp book a month when I'm writing regularly...I figure the cover will have paid for itself in a few months, when compared to the cost of your typical Moleskine level notebook! And I prefer the paper and size of these....

 

Great way to add a touch of luxury to the lowly composition book.

[ht1]

A cheaper (non-leather) cover that I have found at Target and Officemax is the "Cambridge City". Cambridge is part of the Mead company. I have found the cover in two sizes and the smaller one fits the marbled notebook. The "Cambridge City" comes with a wirebound notebook. It works well, too, but I prefer using the marbled notebook in the cover. I tried to find a picture, but they don't have one on their website.

 

ht

[tdcackler]

So I went today over my lunch break and grabbed one of the Wal Mart ones made in Brazil. Wow! I'm quite impressed I think I'm going to pick up a few more of these as even my wettest writing Levenger True Writer with Waterman South Seas didn't bleed through nor any feathering. Very pleased and cheap (sure, I paid full price at $.98 with tax, but still. That's not bad at all!)

[Nenona]

Yeah, I noticed that. I wrote in my target moleskine knockoff. and my moleskine, and the cahier. There was feathering, some bleeding, and it wrote a little wider. and then in my previous journal that's a cheap comp book, no feathering, no bleeding, and it wrote much finer.

So I think I'm going to switch everything to comp books eventually. they're cheap enough.

[Pink Ink]

Yeah, I noticed that. I wrote in my target moleskine knockoff. and my moleskine, and the cahier. There was feathering, some bleeding, and it wrote a little wider. and then in my previous journal that's a cheap comp book, no feathering, no bleeding, and it wrote much finer.

So I think I'm going to switch everything to comp books eventually. they're cheap enough.

Recently, I’ve had the best luck with made in Brazil comp books. As for how to shop for them, what I do is, when they’re on sale, I buy one and if it’s good then I go back to the store and stock up.

 

But even if a comp book turns out to have crappy paper, that’s okay too. I’ll just use it for scrap paper. Having a scrap notebook around cuts down on the post-it notes. Plus, instead of a gajillion notes everywhere, everything is neat and tidy in one place. ;-)

[rosemaryknits]

I love composition notebooks - especially the grid-paper ones.

 

I cut a clear page protector in two, so now it's ~9 by ~5 inches, and keep the bottom half and throw away the top half. Then, I turn it sideways, and tape (clear packing tape) the bottom edge of the protector along the front edge of the inside cover of the notebook. Now, I have a pocket. The opening of the pocket faces the spine of the notebook, so that things don't fall out when the book is closed. You can put two or three of these pockets into the front and the back covers, just offset them a little. Instant filing system, lol. Also really nice for photos.

 

I make a pen holder book mark by taking an approx 18 inch length of 1/2 inch gros grain ribbon and folding up the last approx 12 inches, and then stitch up each side of the ribbon, to make an approx 6 inch long pen-pocket with an approx 6 inches left to the ribbon. (Burn the cut edges of the ribbon to prevent unraveling.) I put a strip of duck tape near the spine of the inside of the front and back cover. I use the tiny gold safety pins and pin the bookmark to the duck tape - I use 2 pins. Now, the ribbon can mark the place, and it can hold a pen or pencil. I put one in the front and back covers.

 

Now, I have my everyday book. I just retired my last one and made my new one. My last one was hauled around with me every day for the past TWO years! It's no where near falling apart, it's just that I ran out of pages. I did have to re-attach the cover about half way through. I took it off, duck taped the inside of the spine, and re-sewed the pages to the cover. Then, ducktaped the outside and I was good to go.

 

I just appointed a moleskine flexible cover notebook in this manner, and I am having my doubts. The flexible cover doesn't play nicely with my two pen bookmarks. Hmmm... Maybe I'll take the cover off of a composition book and attach it? Hmmm...

 

My old composition book was soooo fat with all of the stuff I stuck inside. Another filing tip - take an "office" size envelope, and unfold the flap, so it sticks up. Give it a quarter turn, and arrange the envelope in your comp notebook so that the bottom of the envelope is parallel to the spine of the notebook, face up, and the point of the flap is pointing to the front edge of the notebook. Now, lick the adhesive, and stick it onto the page. It makes a really nice receipt holder - just the right size, and nothing will fall out. It is also good for holding other things into your notebook. You can do the same thing with other sizes of envelopes, but the standard office size one is my fave. I also like the brown, rectangle envelopes for this use, but you have to stick the flap to the other side of the page, and fold the flap over the page, and I don't like this .

[Pink Ink]

@RosemaryKnits: Oooh, your ideas sound so cook especially the pen holder. I was wondering if by any chance, you make altered composition books. I was looking at the ones at Etsy and I am intrigued but I have no clue what kind of glues to use for the papers and ribbons.

[rosemaryknits]

@RosemaryKnits: Oooh, your ideas sound so cook especially the pen holder. I was wondering if by any chance, you make altered composition books. I was looking at the ones at Etsy and I am intrigued but I have no clue what kind of glues to use for the papers and ribbons.

 

Hello! Well, I *guess* you could call it altered composition books - I just want, and need, a knock around notebook for all of my brilliant thoughts, lol. I draw my own calendars into these notebooks, so it serves as sort of a day-planner and note taker. Nothing fancy, but I can't live without it. Which is why I'm concerned about the whole Moleskine notebook thing - I'm not sure I'm ready for the change, lol. I was drawn to the "no lines" bit, but the paper seems really thin, so I'm not sure. lol

 

I don't glue in the ribbon - I pin it to a bit of duck tape. The fabric in the duck tape is what allows the pin to hold the ribbon, and the duck tape has wonderful glue.

 

I also knit, http://rosemaryknits.blogspot.com for endless blathering on that topic.

 

[Sailor Kenshin]

Those are some pretty good ideas, rosemary!

 

And Lord help me, I just came home with two new comp notebooks.

[rosemaryknits]

Those are some pretty good ideas, rosemary!

 

And Lord help me, I just came home with two new comp notebooks.

 

 

Two new notebooks is bad... how? lol. I have stacks and stacks of them. Every time they go on sale, I pick up 4 or 5 - sometimes as low as 20 cents, each. I'm not "buying" them, I'm "rescuing" them, lol

 

Have fun with your new notebooks -

 

Cheers!

Rosemary

[CharlieB]

The composition books for sale in my neighborhood (CVS, Office Depot, etc) are all from Thailand, and the paper does not appear to be as good. Does anyone besides Walmart sell the ones from Brasil?

[TMac]

The composition books for sale in my neighborhood (CVS, Office Depot, etc) are all from Thailand, and the paper does not appear to be as good. Does anyone besides Walmart sell the ones from Brasil?

 

Try Staples. Some of the Staples brand are made in Brazil. Also, the Staples bagasse paper, made in Egypt, is very good with fountain pens.

[elmer42]

Does anyone besides Walmart sell the ones from Brasil?

I picked up one from Office Depot last night that was made in Brazil. The cover is ugly as anything, but at least I can cover it up with something. Maybe a paper bag...

[eherreid]

The composition books for sale in my neighborhood (CVS, Office Depot, etc) are all from Thailand, and the paper does not appear to be as good. Does anyone besides Walmart sell the ones from Brasil?

 

Office Depot does carry some of them--some (but not all) of the "fashion" comp books are from Brazil. Look for pink covers, fake leather print, or one that says "Espresso" all over it.

 

Now you see why I wanted a cover?

 

I've heard that Walgreens also sometimes has a good selection, but I haven't had a chance to check 'em out.

 

Elizabeth

[ribbit]

I am weak. Picked up a Brazilian one at the grocery store (a Kroger sub). It was mixed in with Thai and Vietnamese ones. The paper is nice and a good size. No bleed through with a rather wet fine nib and MB Violet and Waterman SS Blue but you could see it from the other side. Not bad enough that I didn't use both sides. Wish there were more pages and it was college rule-feels like I'm going to go through this very quickly. Guess I'll have to stock up next school year-I paid $3.60.

[Pink Ink]

I picked up one from Office Depot last night that was made in Brazil. The cover is ugly as anything, but at least I can cover it up with something. Maybe a paper bag...

Google around for “altered composition book” and you’ll find lots of links of what people have done with theirs.

 

I figure, I’ll just use colored duct-tape for the spine. But what I need is a recommendation for a glue that binds papers or cloth to paper.

Edited January 3, 2009 by Pink Ink

[Sailor Kenshin]

Those are some pretty good ideas, rosemary!

 

And Lord help me, I just came home with two new comp notebooks.

 

 

Two new notebooks is bad... how? lol. I have stacks and stacks of them. Every time they go on sale, I pick up 4 or 5 - sometimes as low as 20 cents, each. I'm not "buying" them, I'm "rescuing" them, lol

 

Have fun with your new notebooks -

 

Cheers!

Rosemary

 

Twenny cents! Yer killin' me! :roflmho:

 

And yes, Office Depot does sell the comp books made in Brazil. Those were the two of which I spoke, and they were kind of ugly, but in a cute way. Though even with the whole store on sale at 40% off, they weren't twenny cents.

 

[rosemaryknits]

I went through my kids' old school notebooks and did pen-tests, and many of the ones "made in China" also have good paper. You can tell by feel - if the paper is really smooth, chances are that you can use it with a fountain pen. Some of the paper works well with the ink, but the paper is so thin that you can read the previous page's words through. I don't mean the other side of the page, but the previous page.

 

Now, my next complaint - some comp books have lines which are way too wide and too dark. I prefer a finer and paler line. I don't want the line to overpower the writing, kwim? Also, some notebooks have really widely spaced lines - I like the "wide ruled" but some of the wide ruled are ridiculously far apart. More things to compare. Now, I won't be the only person in an office supply store opening every single notebook on the shelf, lol. They do differ.

 

My faves are the grid ones, though.

 

One more point I check is how the covers are attached. I like a strip of paper in the area of the spine, with two cardboard covers. (The paper is covered by the black tape) The paper is much more flexible than the cardboard, which will eventually crack right where the stitches are. Also, with the paper spine, the notebook lays flat better. You can see the spine's content by looking at it from the top or bottom. I'm not above opening the book a little past 180 to see if it will crack - and putting it back on the shelf if it does crack. I'm bad.

 

Check big box stores at back-to-school time. Then, their notebooks are really inexpensive - like give away prices. However, I also like the Mead 5 star notebooks - plain plastic covers and college ruled, and they *never* put these on the seriously-cheap price.

 

I have plans to finally use that old leather skirt from the Goodwill to make a cover for my calendar notebook. Personally, I like the marble covers, but some of the covers are really ugly - ugly colors, or garish stripes, or whatever. I'm going to take the cover off, sew on the leather, then replace the cover. My son covers his in bumper stickers - SERIOUSLY durable!

 

Cheers!

Rosemary

[SonyaSpiral]

I went into Walgreen's today and HAD (I had no choice) to look at the composition books to see where they were made :ph34r:

 

I've been contaminated thanks to spending time on this site.

 

(They were all made in Vietnam by the way, paper felt a little rough and seemed thin.)

 

Just to join the madness, I scanned the outside & inside of a composition book from my hoard. It's a No Boundaries brand, bought from Wal-Mart in 2006, a Back to School season. It has the curvey stripes. (I see the stripes are straight now.) Made in Brazil.

Edited January 4, 2009 by SonyaSpiral