I came across this excellent DIY version of our own elastic bookmark a while back, and have been meaning to share it ever since — awesome, no?
Check out Rhomany’s Realm for instructions on making your own, and while you’re there, be sure to explore some of the journals and artwork she’s posted.
How cool is this: I was cleaning out my desk the other day when I found a couple old Sapa X covers and two staplebound Clairefontaine basics. Turns out, it’s a perfect fit — with the tiniest bit of care, I was able to maneuver the notebooks snugly into each cover. Here’s a shot from the side:
I love the pared-down aesthetic of the ordinary basics cover, but the sleeker, more professional look of the leatherette club is hard to argue with. It’s also the perfect way to put those old covers to use, and makes me feel better about switching to the IB Traveler, which I’m thinking of doing next year.
The fact that I had one red and one spring green cover, and one red and one green basics notebook… well, that was just gravy. My only question is: what should we call this mashup? Sapics? Basix? Basa X?
It’s always fun to see how people adapt our products to their specific needs and preferences. Steve from Philofaxy matched our French formats with Filofax covers. Author JT Ellison put her academic Equology into the sturdier cover of a Space 24. Here’s how she explained the decision:
I stashed the Equology innards into the red cover of a Space 24. The Equology cover wasn’t stiff enough for me – I like some heft. I used a Coach leather planner for years, that’s the weight I’m used to. But I love the academic calendars – my brain still works on the school year schedule. I doctored the planners together, using the removable notes and email address pages at the back of the Space 24 to use as a To Do List.
So this is cool: Steve of Philofaxy recently took a Timer 21 (a French format that’s similar to the North American Trinote), a Filofax A5 hole-punch, and his A5 Filofax Pocket binder and voila! A brand new planner. Steve also discovered another format, the Timer 17, that’s compatible with the Personal Size Filofax. UPDATE: without extra hole punching!
Of course, his task was made easier by the fact that the Timers 21 and 17 already use a loose-leaf system. Here in North America, our planners are bound books and thus aren’t as easy to adapt to other covers. Still, we once heard from a woman who took apart an ABP/1 and put the pages in her FranklinCovey binder. When there’s a will, there’s a way!
Along with her thoughtful review of the Exacompta Space 24, artist Leah Markov-Lindsey shared some pictures of a cool, simple DIY project. As she explained:
I covered a candle box with Clairefontaine graph paper and it’s the perfect size for my post-it notes! Love to re-use and re-purpose!
Me too! Here’s another shot:
When it comes to crafting, I really never got beyond elementary school. (Though I’m still determined to make a quill pen, once I get my hands on the right knife!)
I defend myself with the assertion that most elementary school projects are actually pretty fun. To wit: making paper snowflakes, which I did earlier this week while playing with my new shredder scissors. No, it’s not seasonal — though I certainly wouldn’t mind if New York temperatures were a bit cooler — and it’s not really age appropriate. But it was nonetheless a nice break from an otherwise adult day…
Here’s some food for thought for those of you who want more space for notes in your planners… reader Massimo Camocardi, an Italian schoolteacher who has used Quo Vadis planners for years (here’s a picture of his first one from 1980), recently sent us two prototypes he devised for his President.
We don’t do product design here in the US, though we’re always happy to forward your suggestions on to France. But Karen and I still figured it’d be fun to share these designs on the blog in a sort of DIY spirit.
Another thing I came across in the woods last weekend: a 9-inch long feather from a Canada goose. I’ve got no experience with knives outside my kitchen, but I’m nonetheless very tempted to try to make a quill pen with it. Have you ever made one? My last experience with a quill pen — a precut J. Herbin set — wasn’t positive; the line kept splattering and I had to re-dip every two words.
Still, the lure of DIY is strong… I found some pretty detailed instructions online, and I’m thinking about giving it a try.
If you’ve made them before, I’d love to hear your experiences. Did you use a pen knife? Were you handy with knives before you began? How long did it take before you felt comfortable with the whole process?
Thanks!
Speaking of composition notebooks, here’s something I’ve been meaning to blog about for months.
As you may recall, I continue to be quite partial to Mead Composition books, even though I generally prefer a smaller notebook for the sake of portability, and the paper doesn’t play well with fountain pens.
Nonetheless, I have one going at all times and I can’t seem to give it up. It functions as my most expansive idea journal, and sometimes (the horror!) my diary, when I’m in the mood, or when I want to write down a particularly memorable dream. There are also a couple of things I like to store in it — photographs and souvenirs — so one evening I sat down to make my very own pocket on the inside of the front cover.
Turns out, it’s not hard at all.
Funny story: I was just watching a new video we made for Clairefontaine (Karen’s going to blog about it later), and followed one of the automatically generated suggestions to find the clip that’s embedded above.
Who was “Brian,” I thought to myself — could it be Brian Goulet? Sure enough, I emailed him, and he knew exactly what this was. One of his customers, Lauren Irby (irbyls on the FPN), purchased some Basics notebooks, and he sent her follow-up note asking for her feedback. One thing led to another, and Brian ended up featuring her elastic band notebook hack on his blog back in April.
Lauren also, of course, made this video, which seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle until I stumbled across it yesterday. Funny coincidence, eh? Anyway, it’s a cool demonstration, so I figured I’d feature it here.
