The joy of a new notebook

[MyMachineAndMe]

I'm surely not the only one? I was telling dh that I've almost finished my current notebook and that it's exciting because it means I get to start my new one. It's a beautiful notebook - it has a gold, shiny cover - and I've got the nice gold shimmer ink to use in it.

When I said all this, Dh looked at me like I've got two heads, as did one of my dc (the other has a better understanding of all things stationery).

Light-hearted question obviously, but do you get excited by new notebooks?

@Lavenderfowl I still have no idea. I see them using it on YouTube in the same way you'd use sellotape but it's fancier.

@hilariousnamehere I tried using a Filofax many years ago but found they were too prescriptive, a bit like a lot of planners and journals with the writing prompts and the page already laid out.

I'm finding I waste a lot of space in preprinted planners so started using a notebook instead. Taking inspiration from the bujo threads on here over the years, as well as Google images etc, I've started filling in my new one ready for September - the dotted purple journal came today!

Yes, I think I remember it. There are some other stationery shops in Leeds I think (I rarely go into Leeds any more) but Smiggle and that rude one that I can't remember the name of just aren't the same.

@CurlewKate happy birthday for the other day. Nothing wrong with a "just-because" gift!

@Lavenderfowl it's a way to make things look pretty. Washi tape is made from paper so you can write on it. For example, you could stick a line of tape across the top of a page and write 'Christmas List' across it and there you have a nice pretty title. Or you could use it to make a border around a page.

I personally use it to wrap presents because it looks lovely!!

I. F*ing. Love. A new notebook.

And finding a new pen that writes great? OMG.

@hilariousnamehere No, it was weirdly deleted as the OP was a troll? I didn't understand that, and wish MN had left it standing as there were great suggestions on there.
This year I bought a Filofax, well a fake one, for my journal thinking I could just replace the pages each year. It works fine cause I have notes at the front and back, then my diary days. For some reason though I just don't use it as much as my journals in previous years. I think I may go back to a proper diary, or even use a posh notebook, for next year.

As a result of this thread I bought myself a fountain pen and have been using it today to make my meeting notes instead of typing them straight into a word doc. It's lovely. 😍I've also committed to starting a proper health and exercise journal with a notebook I bought for the purpose then decided I'd mess it up so didn't. That's starting today.

Ooh yes op, I love to start a new notebook!!
I do, however, have a notebook that I had for Christmas in 2007, each year I write down what I'm cooking for Christmas as well as what I'll be buying friends and family as gifts, info on where dcs birthday parties will be, who's invited etc, it also has wedding planning info in it from our wedding in 2010 so I love to look back on it, I've only got a few pages left so I'll be sad when it's full.

@EllaMenopee Which pen did you get?

Parker Jotter, @RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie , it's lovely to write with.

And a beauty to look at!

That sounds like something that your dc might treasure in years to come.

@EllaMenopee that's a very nice pen. Does it feel nice in your hand? The best part of a fountain pen for me is the weight - it just feels more substantial and "real" if that makes sense.

I’m scared this thread will ‘make’ me buy a new pen when I keep telling myself how happy I am with a black Berol handwriting pen for children. I have a fountain pen from WHSmith that stops and starts all the time, is there a foolproof one?

@Lavenderfowl

I'm not artist At All, so I use my gorgeous shimmer inks in different colours and then patterned, pretty washi tape in a toning or matching colour to decoratet journal.

I put washi tape down the side of the page, folding it over, to mark the beginning of each month (hope that makes sense!). Also use the same tape at the bottom of the pages that aren't the daily jobs list pages. Or to cover mistakes 😁

It's an easy way to pretty up my journal without having an artist bone in my body - there are some lovely ones out there and they don't cost too much. I love that it's paper not plastic too, easy to tear and feels nicer on the page than sticky tape does - well, I think so!

I love this thread I made a coffee to catch up on it and fully enjoy it!

It's made me realise despite my notebook love that ive got very plain tastes! I've never had a fountain pen and my notebooks are rarely expensive. My biggest stationery extravagance recently though was the Filofax I got after another thread on here inspired me to go for one. I'm inconsistent in how good I am at keeping it up to date but I do really love it and in general it makes me at least a bit more organsied!

Here it is with my latest notebook, a basic asda one but I really like it, which I'm loving using as an old school journal. Been sticking some photos in too as the kids have been scrap booking their summer holidays so I've been copying them. Really enjoying it.

@LikeAnOldFriend your comment about your children scrap booking their holidays just bought back a really powerful memory of my parents (possibly more my dad) making us do this when we went on holiday. I don't know if it was for holidays during school time, or just a general thing, but my sister and I would have to write in them each night. We'd add photos (once we got home) receipts, coins, all types of things. My sister still has a couple of them and they're so cute to look back on. One of my entries was full of excitement about drinking Fanta Limon 😁

I have found my people!!!

I have a Cult Pens addiction and love my fountain pen (Kaweco special edition one).

It has boring black ink in at the moment but I have a bottle of diamine in poison ivy waiting for the cartridge to run out.

It does bleed through my moleskine notebook though 🙄

Moleskines are dreadful with fountain pens - I speak from bitter (and expensive) experience.

Oh yes! Don't want to derail your excellent thread, but who else loves a Sharpie?

Last year I had a long term booking covering a sick leave teaching year 5 and one of our favourite lessons was colouring face masks with Sharpie markers. I had to buy a lot of them myself so bright them home with me when I left!

Another time, we were decorating stones for the jubilee using Posca paint pens. Again, I had to buy them myself (£15!!!) so brought them home too. My youngest loves using them.

In fact, my youngest shares and understands my stationery addiction and love of notebooks and pens. We are going to find an actual stationery shop and go to it over the summer holidays!

It doesn't @MyMachineAndMe. Probably first day enthusiasm, but my writing was definitely more careful legible with it too.

I've realised I'm going to need a different, either squared or dotted notebook for my exercise tracker. I know I've a couple of ugly functional ones I could dig out and use in the spirit of economy and eco-consciousness...

I don't love sharpies, @sonicmum2002 but I did pick up some very cute markers when I was in the US last week

Eh, very much a typo in my second word there, the pen does feel very nice in my hand!

I just bought an Ottergami notebook from Amazon (link in a post above somewhere) and have used a very wet fountain pen on it and the ink hasn't bled through at all. It's lovely paper to write on, too.

Good news about the Ottergami notebook, I've had my eye on one of those!

It is a joy to write in and I love it!

Went to London yesterday for the first time ever but didn't get the chance to go into any stationery shops!