Being retired, I don’t make many plans anymore; my days just flow one into the other. All my days consist of painting, writing and being in nature, so I never need a “planner” and I still use an old fashioned appointment book for dates I need to remember. I do keep Art Journals though, which are full of inspiration.
I'm retired too. I keep a diary and a filofax to note appointments. I also have a separate notebook where I note down special events, such as concerts , astronomical events like comets, satellites etc.
i have been 'lurking' on your pen/planner and JB for a while now. I really appreciate your content and welcomingness (prob not a word but...) so good to find a place and friends that are even more obsessive about pens ink and planners notebooks than I am! Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Lori, I enjoyed learning about your journals mid-year. I have Sterling Ink Common Planner A5 and B6 this year. I use the B6 for daily devotions and the A5 for planning and daily journaling. I love the Common Planner and will not go back to Hobonichi. Enjoy and thank you for sharing.
I have used a Levenger Agenda for the last 5 years. There are a number of personal and professional matters I need to keep up with and it works great for my purposes. I like that I can add and remove pages. I recently began using The Onion Skin Journal for journaling and I love it. It's thin which makes it easy for me to take with me when I travel and it handles fountain pen inks well. I love your pen journal idea. I think I'm going to start keeping one. It's nice to have a record of what inks work in what pens, what you like about them, what problems you experience with them, etc. Great video, Lori.
The planner setup is a great idea! You could even get the loose Tomoe River, Iroful or Graphilo sheets in A5 and punch holes in it so you have the best paper to work with. Perfect 🤩
Yes! Great idea! Someone gifted me the Graphilo sheets. I think I'm going to add them to the ring binder and do like color swatch pages! The possibilities are endless with rings!
I love my Sterling Ink N2 full year. I don’t like a lot of blank space, so this works perfectly for me. Put it with a nice Vander Spek Codex Mega and voila…as close to planner peace one can get. Don’t get me wrong…I have some Hobonichi’s to play with because I enjoy them as well. There’s no limit but you will find what works for you.
This is my first of your videos outside of the Juicy Broads Lives and wow-is it jam-packed with insights and ideas. I love how frankly and fairly you shared your hopes and goals, what has worked for you and what hasn’t. Until I watch again, one stand-out idea for me to consider is your fountain pen log with drawn images and descriptions. I think something similar might be a way for me to slow down and take stock of my collection and my relationship to it while being creative and having fun!
I love your idea for your Archer & Olive journal, to devote it to the pens first, then the inks. I have been struggling to figure out how to determine which nibs on which pens with which inks are my favorites, because I don't have a way to track. Just doing "currently inked" doesn't give that comparison so clearly as your A&O approach would do. Thank you for that inspiration!
I’m fairly new to the foundation pen and ink addiction! 😂 I currently do have three different journals I’m working with, and I’m still determining which I really like. I totally get this!
Great video as always Lori. You have some great ideas. I may have to look into the Sterling Ink notebooks for this next year. I am a consultant and have to keep a "diary" of what I do for my clients, which is fairly extensive each day. So, I am using a Hobonichi Cousin for my weekly planning and daily tracking, in addition to my online monthly calendar. This seems to work o.k. for me for now. What wasn't working was all of the client-specific notes and data that I keep in separate client notebooks. I have been using A5 Kokuyo Campus notebooks for each client, and generally have three to five notebooks going at a time. I needed to find a way to "contain" these so that I wouldn't lose track of them. So earlier this year, I purchased a Roterfaden Taschenbeigleiter in an A5 size and found that works well to contain my working notebooks. For my "quiet time" journal (daily pages for some), I use a blank Nanami Seven Seas notebook which has worked well. I do have a B6 size TR notebook that I use for ink swatches (cross indexed by brand and by color), but that is almost full now, so I will have to start a second in the near future.
Thank you for your recommendation of the Hongdian pens. I ordered one based on your recommendation and I am floored at how great it is for the price! With a high quality ink, it is every bit as smooth and a joy to use as my much more expensive Sailors and Pelikans. I love finding something like this and I think it would make an excellent introductory fountain pen gift! Thank you for sharing!
Currently I have two notebooks. One I have added dates myself, it works as a weekly planner / calendar on the left page and a to do list on the right. The other only started as a bulletjourmal, now I call it my “brain dump”. Without any structure it is collections of thought, ideas, a mental journal, sketches, project notes, ink log etc. All things I want to write down in one book. It works wonderful for me. No longer half used books, loose notes, items in the “wrong” book.Although it is undated, it is chronological. After trying lots of systems, this seems to work for this ADD brain. I like to format of the Sterling, months , weekly’s and lots of undated pages, it could work for me too.
Undated for 2025 is the plan for me. Not spending on so many planners for past couple of years. 2 at best. Thanks for the Atlas discount. Thanks for sharing 😊
Thank you so much for this video. It reminds me so much of my several planner in different sizes with different cover. 🤣 I organize my pen overview like this: I use a ring planner 📒 and take for every of my pens one page. Above the pen description and then one line with little ink swap, date und ink and some doodles. When I change the ink in this pen: next line. And when the sheet is full, I can put a blank sheet after it. 📚📚📚😉🖋️🤗
Your video normalized my journal and pen love! Thank you! I am currently using Wonderland 222, A5, but considering going to the B6 next year. I have a 5 year journal at my bedside, an Estie journal for more… and many more. ❤
Great video, I am glad I am not the only one with an overload of notebooks. Diary, personal, business, journal, I’m into adult colouring so enjoy using pencils. I am finding now I wouldn’t mind using planners. 1 for personal - business, seperate one for journaling and planner for gel pens, pencils etc. I love multi rude of notebooks but then feel overwhelmed.
I keep wanting to do some journaling, but I miss a lot of days. I used to have the Passion Planner, but found it too confusing. Maybe if I get a nice fountain pen to use I will keep up with it. I found a journaling guideline to help me get ideas of what to write. Thanks for doing this. By the way, some bookstores carry great journal books with leather imprinted covers and little locks.
Loved this, Lori! I'm working on a mid-year system check in video for this week and omg - we sound so much alike with the ink journal situation 😅 - want to try a rings situation as well.. something a little more flexible.. because I have ink swatches and samples everywhere LOL. Excited to run into you at Stationery Fest (also thinking about getting something done to my bungubox x Esterbrook nib there as well :))
Hi Lori, I tried A5 Hobonichi and it didn’t work for the same reason the back is dated. I tried the Sterling Ink B6 common place for 2024 and love it. I use it most days. I have just purchased another B6 note book from Sterling ink and am hoping to use it as a pen and ink journal, but will use paper to use the ink on as I don’t enjoy bleeding. Thanks for sharing what’s working and what’s not, so informative.
Love the idea of an ink journal in the undated planner and how you're doing yours. Nice to see the extra room on the weekly layouts for writing your thoughts about the pen and ink choices too, neat idea... I keep two ink and pen journals, one in an A5 Hobonichi notebook and one in a B5 Sterling Ink notebook. I like the Hobonichi A5 notebook because the paper is the original Tomoe River Paper. It's more of a stationery collection notebook. I put all of my ink swatches in this book and arrange color families in this notebook as well. I include all my washi, stamps and stamping inks in that notebook. It's mostly geared toward my planners. The B5 Sterling Ink notebook gives me room to do all my fountain pen and ink collection on fewer pages and I can put color families together as well as my pen and ink wish lists and track my purchases. I also have swatch cards for all of my inks in a Weringeul Ink Card Binder... Great reset video. I reset my planners set up in April because I left a job that wasn't where I wanted to be and I'm moving to a new position in July that I am very happy to have accepted... I moved from an A5 Sterling Ink Planner back to into a Hobonichi Cousin but this year it's a full sized instead of a Avec...
I have used the weeks (1year), the Hobonichi Cousin (2years) and now I’m in a Stirling Ink B6 and I really like it and will probably use another one next year. I find that the B6 is the best size for me.
I do my ink swatches on looseA5 Tomoe River paper that I buy on Amazon. I have the name and the ink blobs then a short paragraph on my initial impressions of the ink just with my dip pen. (Wet/dry/shimmer/sheen/shading, readability, etc.) I keep them in an inexpensive A5 binder divided by color group and alphabetized by company. I have my ink samples set up in alphabetical order in trays I got from Goulet. It took a bit to set it up but now, if I am re-inking a pen or if it’s a new acquisition, I can find the color match in my binder and then quickly find the sample. It all sounds a little OCD but it works well. I like the loose binder because I can easily add new ink pages. I do my currently inked in fixed binder (Hobonichi notebook because that’s more chronological. I’ve only been in this hobby since last October so it surprises me how addicted to it I am. Your videos have been a real inspiration guiding me about pen purchases, wish list pens and grail pens. I want to thank you for the gift of your time and your talents.
What do you write in your morning pages.? I understood that morning papers was just writing what pops in your head and without concern for punctuation. My first time here. Thank you
I happened across your video today. Hope you enjoyed your trip up here to Maine. :-) I always like to comment on people's videos when the mention Maine. I'm evaluating my planner line up & looking towards the next half of the year & 2025.
I'm trying out a ring planner for the next half of the year to see how that flows. I have a traveler's notebook that I will try for next year - watching how to it organized. I have my Hobo for work and that works well. I am trying to not get too overwhelmed so I think the less I need to keep up with the better off I am. Maybe you can try some washi tape or stickers over the dates. But sometimes it's nice to see a blank week - when that happens to me it reminds me life happens and there is nothing wrong with that.
Great video. I too am revamping my ink journal a little. And I am creating a fountain pen journal. I got the idea from Lao at Ken Chan Crafts. And I got inspiration from your follower that you shared in the Dutch pen show vid on an ink journal to focus on each individual ink. Somewhat different than my normal ink journal that includes currently Inked etc. It can be so much and overwhelming, but fun at the same time. ❤
Love the mid year check in. I've been in the SI vertical TN and I like it for time tracking. I'm going to add a TN planner for tracking domestic tasks. Then I've got some personal size notebooks on the way from Inkpression which I'll put in my new ChicSparrow sidekick. Thinking about a SI b6 for 2025. Based on your recommendation, I do morning pages in Lechturem (sp?). Thinking about disc planner, too.
You made me feel a lot better about my ink journals! I've abandoned two because I didn't like how I'd set them up and didn't like the paper. I've just started over in a third, which I will probably abandon as well because of the beautiful ink journals you showed in your Dutch Pen Show video that were done by Lynn... those are next level! I use a Traveler's Notebook weekly vertical in the standard size for planning, plus some memory keeping and gratitude, whatever I feel like in the moment. I use two other inserts: one is a blank page insert that I use as a commonplace book / diary / memory keeper, and the other is either the watercolor insert or an accordeon insert that I use for sketching & collages. I go heavy on the stickers and stamping as a way to manage stress throughout my work day (lol). Irritating call with my boss... 5 minute sticker fiesta. Unreasonable demands from the board of directors... 5 minute stamping rampage. Email overwhelm... 10-minute mini collage session. I always feel happer and more productive afterwards! Thanks for sharing your pen & planner journey, I really enjoy your channel.
I love this comment! "Irritating call with my boss...5 minute sticker fiesta!" What a great, fast & gratifying way to tackle stressful moments! I need to try this strategy! Thank you!
Such a refreshing video! Thank you! Love your nails and polish! Classy☺️ What color is that? Love how you are noting the pen and ink! 🤍 I will definitely be using that idea. Thank you. Also…. Love the weekly gratitude and health. I think everyone should use a Wellness Journal! I am trying this too. Never considered using the Weeks for this. Perfect! I feel your pain with all the notebooks and the ADD issues. 😂 Thank you for sharing!
Hello Lori, thanks for your thought process choosing a new ink book. 🙏I made so many mistakes myself and I just can’t use predated planner! I just started a A5 binder to document my pens. My swatchcards are sadly a bit too big for those inserts where 4 are on one page, so this is another project ☺️ I also got the special Estie in a BB nib but sadly mine is „broken“- but it’s the most beautiful Estie I‘ve seen so far! 🎉 Anyway, your video of showing different formats you tried, helped me deciding what and how I will continue my documentation for myself 🙏
Because I keep my system simple (2 books max), my planning has been going well. I have a B6 Sterling Ink Common Planner for my plans (work and personal) and a N1H Common Planner for my reading journal. My system works and so I don't change it, even though I was tempted by the portability of the Weeks size.
"My head is spinning"😂 too funny. I use a passport travelers notebook with three inserts. One is a calender, one is for gratitudes,to do list, and collections. And the third insert is for Journaling. One page each day. I use a different fountain pen each day.
I like the new pen journal setup and the inks cut out and pasted to the side. I am trying to figure out how to set up my ink and pen journals for the 2 weeks.
I am not much of a planner, but I do keep a work and a private diary to keep track of my appointments etc. I bought some planners in order to experience the paper. I didn't want to invest in Hobonichi, as a non-planner, so I bought a Stalogy and a Kinbor planner, as they are both fountan pen friendly and I can use them to try out pens and inks and note which pens I have inked with what ink. I bought the Konbor from 2023 for 2024 at reduced price. It is dated, but the dates are not so pronounced, and using the 2023 planer in 2024, I just ignore the dates alltogether,. Same in the Stalogy. I use the pages in sequence, and using an old planner keeps me from being tempted to use the pages with the correct dates.
This year I decided to ignore the dates on the pages like I do the quotes in Japanese on the bottom of the hobonichi books. Working great and I just love the tomoe river paper - so win win.
Hi Lori! With regards to your wanting an undated Weeks-type of book, have you ever checked out Sweet Freckled Designs OG Undated Weekly Diary? It’s made with 52 gsm Tomoe River paper, and is so easily customizable for whatever you need…also is available in a compact version, and the prices are very reasonable. I love mine! ☺️ Meline
I started the year in a TN for my planning, a Dark Matter journal by Cognitive Surplus for my journaling, and a Hobonichi Weeks for gratitudes and book log, but that format wasn't working for me because I wanted to be able to have all of my journaling and planning in one. I have switched to the Hobonichi Avec Cousin for my planning and journaling needs and it has made a world of difference. I feel motivated to journal on a more consistent basis because of the dated pages at the back of the planner, but I am also able to keep track of my appointments and other necessities with the monthly and weekly planning pages. I fell off the wagon for the gratitude portion of my weeks, but I have been keeping up with my reading log even if I don't feel like it is totally working for me. I'm still considering how I want to track that for the upcoming year. I've been thinking about changing my general ink swatches (not my monthly currently inked) to possibly a binder system. I have a large quantity of trading card sleeves that go in binders and that has the ability to see my inks a glance better and possibly allow for swatches on other types of paper to see the properties better. Your Archer & Olive journal has given me an idea of how to track whether or not inks work well within my pens once used. I think I'd like to have a journal where I swatch the inks I have used in the pens under some type of photo/drawing of the pen and write about the combination.
Thank you for sharing. I am actually going to Yoseka Stationary Fest and hoping you could share advise on Nib grinding. I am only there on the 7th and wanted to get a nib custom grinder 😊 any recommendations on how I can get this done on this one day. Do I need an appt? Appreciate any advice you can offer here.
Hi! I know that some of the nibmeisters usually have some online appointments available prior to the event and then they'll leave some time for walk-ins. I would check out who will be there, and see if they have slots available online. If not, as soon as you arrive head over to their tables and try to get an appointment. Good luck! It's so special to have a custom grind!
I tried a hobonichi this year. One of the little ones with the cat on it. I don't work for anyone and don't have a lot of things to schedule, just apts and special events. It's still too much extra pages and calendars for me. I do have ADHD, and like how could I possibly use like three different calendars of the same year. So I won't do that again next year. Sadly, because I love the dream of Hobonichi. But I am not Hobonichi. I am cheap weekly walmart Exceed notebooks and planners. As long as they work with my fountain pens, inks and I can paint in them. I also have ink swatches everywhere, even in my Talens art sketchbooks! I just love smearing colors all over a page. :) (I also go through two or three journals a month, so a daily Hobonichi doesn't work either.)
Too many planners. Too many half used. I’m thinking undated. No wasted pages. Gratitude. Bible Verses. Yearly/Monthly calendar with To Do 3x5 cards. Some planners are so beautiful I don’t want to use them. So I buy undated for those. Dated for everyday use.
Being retired, I don’t make many plans anymore; my days just flow one into the other. All my days consist of painting, writing and being in nature, so I never need a “planner” and I still use an old fashioned appointment book for dates I need to remember. I do keep Art Journals though, which are full of inspiration.
I'm retired too. I keep a diary and a filofax to note appointments. I also have a separate notebook where I note down special events, such as concerts , astronomical events like comets, satellites etc.
Retired as well. My daily planner is more of a journal. Inspiration. Random thoughts. Highlights. Stickers. Coloring and doodles.
i have been 'lurking' on your pen/planner and JB for a while now. I really appreciate your content and welcomingness (prob not a word but...) so good to find a place and friends that are even more obsessive about pens ink and planners notebooks than I am! Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Lori, I enjoyed learning about your journals mid-year. I have Sterling Ink Common Planner A5 and B6 this year. I use the B6 for daily devotions and the A5 for planning and daily journaling. I love the Common Planner and will not go back to Hobonichi.
Enjoy and thank you for sharing.
What is the weight of paper in Sterling Ink planners compared to Hobonichi?
I love the ink journal where you did the lengthy writing samples on the vertical spreads and would definitely sample down the side ✨ TFS Lori 📚
I have used a Levenger Agenda for the last 5 years. There are a number of personal and professional matters I need to keep up with and it works great for my purposes. I like that I can add and remove pages. I recently began using The Onion Skin Journal for journaling and I love it. It's thin which makes it easy for me to take with me when I travel and it handles fountain pen inks well.
I love your pen journal idea. I think I'm going to start keeping one. It's nice to have a record of what inks work in what pens, what you like about them, what problems you experience with them, etc. Great video, Lori.
The planner setup is a great idea! You could even get the loose Tomoe River, Iroful or Graphilo sheets in A5 and punch holes in it so you have the best paper to work with. Perfect 🤩
Yes! Great idea! Someone gifted me the Graphilo sheets. I think I'm going to add them to the ring binder and do like color swatch pages! The possibilities are endless with rings!
Thank you for sharing
Your pens I want to try a fountain pen but it’s nice to hear recommendations 🙋🏻♀️✍🏼
Im baffled at the timing of your video. So perfect ❤.
I haven’t journaled is a while. I do take long notes.
It’s always enjoyable to see what others are using.
This is so good, watched and enjoyed till the end 😊😊
I love these chatty videos talking about all the things! I got the hongdian 1862 pen because of you and I love it sooo much!
Thank you Elyse! I'm so glad you love it!! It's so underrated!!
I love my Sterling Ink N2 full year. I don’t like a lot of blank space, so this works perfectly for me. Put it with a nice Vander Spek Codex Mega and voila…as close to planner peace one can get. Don’t get me wrong…I have some Hobonichi’s to play with because I enjoy them as well. There’s no limit but you will find what works for you.
This is my first of your videos outside of the Juicy Broads Lives and wow-is it jam-packed with insights and ideas. I love how frankly and fairly you shared your hopes and goals, what has worked for you and what hasn’t. Until I watch again, one stand-out idea for me to consider is your fountain pen log with drawn images and descriptions. I think something similar might be a way for me to slow down and take stock of my collection and my relationship to it while being creative and having fun!
Love the idea of ink swatches on cards, what a great idea!
I love your idea for your Archer & Olive journal, to devote it to the pens first, then the inks. I have been struggling to figure out how to determine which nibs on which pens with which inks are my favorites, because I don't have a way to track. Just doing "currently inked" doesn't give that comparison so clearly as your A&O approach would do. Thank you for that inspiration!
I LOVE that you do morning pages. I haven’t done them in about 20 years . Julia Cameron rocks! I so wish there had been all the fun inks back than😀
I’m fairly new to the foundation pen and ink addiction! 😂 I currently do have three different journals I’m working with, and I’m still determining which I really like. I totally get this!
Great video as always Lori. You have some great ideas. I may have to look into the Sterling Ink notebooks for this next year. I am a consultant and have to keep a "diary" of what I do for my clients, which is fairly extensive each day. So, I am using a Hobonichi Cousin for my weekly planning and daily tracking, in addition to my online monthly calendar. This seems to work o.k. for me for now. What wasn't working was all of the client-specific notes and data that I keep in separate client notebooks. I have been using A5 Kokuyo Campus notebooks for each client, and generally have three to five notebooks going at a time. I needed to find a way to "contain" these so that I wouldn't lose track of them. So earlier this year, I purchased a Roterfaden Taschenbeigleiter in an A5 size and found that works well to contain my working notebooks. For my "quiet time" journal (daily pages for some), I use a blank Nanami Seven Seas notebook which has worked well. I do have a B6 size TR notebook that I use for ink swatches (cross indexed by brand and by color), but that is almost full now, so I will have to start a second in the near future.
Thank you for your recommendation of the Hongdian pens. I ordered one based on your recommendation and I am floored at how great it is for the price! With a high quality ink, it is every bit as smooth and a joy to use as my much more expensive Sailors and Pelikans. I love finding something like this and I think it would make an excellent introductory fountain pen gift! Thank you for sharing!
Currently I have two notebooks. One I have added dates myself, it works as a weekly planner / calendar on the left page and a to do list on the right. The other only started as a bulletjourmal, now I call it my “brain dump”. Without any structure it is collections of thought, ideas, a mental journal, sketches, project notes, ink log etc. All things I want to write down in one book. It works wonderful for me. No longer half used books, loose notes, items in the “wrong” book.Although it is undated, it is chronological. After trying lots of systems, this seems to work for this ADD brain.
I like to format of the Sterling, months , weekly’s and lots of undated pages, it could work for me too.
Undated for 2025 is the plan for me. Not spending on so many planners for past couple of years. 2 at best. Thanks for the Atlas discount. Thanks for sharing 😊
What a feast!! Thanks for sharing 🙌
Thank you so much for this video. It reminds me so much of my several planner in different sizes with different cover. 🤣
I organize my pen overview like this: I use a ring planner 📒 and take for every of my pens one page. Above the pen description and then one line with little ink swap, date und ink and some doodles. When I change the ink in this pen: next line. And when the sheet is full, I can put a blank sheet after it. 📚📚📚😉🖋️🤗
Great system!
Your video normalized my journal and pen love! Thank you! I am currently using Wonderland 222, A5, but considering going to the B6 next year. I have a 5 year journal at my bedside, an Estie journal for more… and many more. ❤
Great video, I am glad I am not the only one with an overload of notebooks. Diary, personal, business, journal, I’m into adult colouring so enjoy using pencils. I am finding now I wouldn’t mind using planners. 1 for personal - business, seperate one for journaling and planner for gel pens, pencils etc. I love multi rude of notebooks but then feel overwhelmed.
I keep wanting to do some journaling, but I miss a lot of days. I used to have the Passion Planner, but found it too confusing. Maybe if I get a nice fountain pen to use I will keep up with it. I found a journaling guideline to help me get ideas of what to write. Thanks for doing this. By the way, some bookstores carry great journal books with leather imprinted covers and little locks.
Loved this, Lori! I'm working on a mid-year system check in video for this week and omg - we sound so much alike with the ink journal situation 😅 - want to try a rings situation as well.. something a little more flexible.. because I have ink swatches and samples everywhere LOL. Excited to run into you at Stationery Fest (also thinking about getting something done to my bungubox x Esterbrook nib there as well :))
Hi Lori,
I tried A5 Hobonichi and it didn’t work for the same reason the back is dated. I tried the Sterling Ink B6 common place for 2024 and love it. I use it most days. I have just purchased another B6 note book from Sterling ink and am hoping to use it as a pen and ink journal, but will use paper to use the ink on as I don’t enjoy bleeding. Thanks for sharing what’s working and what’s not, so informative.
Thank you for sharing Chrissy! I really think that the Sterling Ink planners and notebooks have really made their mark in our community!
Love the idea of an ink journal in the undated planner and how you're doing yours. Nice to see the extra room on the weekly layouts for writing your thoughts about the pen and ink choices too, neat idea...
I keep two ink and pen journals, one in an A5 Hobonichi notebook and one in a B5 Sterling Ink notebook. I like the Hobonichi A5 notebook because the paper is the original Tomoe River Paper. It's more of a stationery collection notebook. I put all of my ink swatches in this book and arrange color families in this notebook as well. I include all my washi, stamps and stamping inks in that notebook. It's mostly geared toward my planners.
The B5 Sterling Ink notebook gives me room to do all my fountain pen and ink collection on fewer pages and I can put color families together as well as my pen and ink wish lists and track my purchases. I also have swatch cards for all of my inks in a Weringeul Ink Card Binder...
Great reset video. I reset my planners set up in April because I left a job that wasn't where I wanted to be and I'm moving to a new position in July that I am very happy to have accepted... I moved from an A5 Sterling Ink Planner back to into a Hobonichi Cousin but this year it's a full sized instead of a Avec...
I have used the weeks (1year), the Hobonichi Cousin (2years) and now I’m in a Stirling Ink B6 and I really like it and will probably use another one next year. I find that the B6 is the best size for me.
I do my ink swatches on looseA5 Tomoe River paper that I buy on Amazon. I have the name and the ink blobs then a short paragraph on my initial impressions of the ink just with my dip pen. (Wet/dry/shimmer/sheen/shading, readability, etc.) I keep them in an inexpensive A5 binder divided by color group and alphabetized by company. I have my ink samples set up in alphabetical order in trays I got from Goulet. It took a bit to set it up but now, if I am re-inking a pen or if it’s a new acquisition, I can find the color match in my binder and then quickly find the sample. It all sounds a little OCD but it works well. I like the loose binder because I can easily add new ink pages. I do my currently inked in fixed binder (Hobonichi notebook because that’s more chronological. I’ve only been in this hobby since last October so it surprises me how addicted to it I am. Your videos have been a real inspiration guiding me about pen purchases, wish list pens and grail pens. I want to thank you for the gift of your time and your talents.
What do you write in your morning pages.? I understood that morning papers was just writing what pops in your head and without concern for punctuation. My first time here. Thank you
I happened across your video today. Hope you enjoyed your trip up here to Maine. :-) I always like to comment on people's videos when the mention Maine.
I'm evaluating my planner line up & looking towards the next half of the year & 2025.
I'm trying out a ring planner for the next half of the year to see how that flows. I have a traveler's notebook that I will try for next year - watching how to it organized. I have my Hobo for work and that works well. I am trying to not get too overwhelmed so I think the less I need to keep up with the better off I am. Maybe you can try some washi tape or stickers over the dates. But sometimes it's nice to see a blank week - when that happens to me it reminds me life happens and there is nothing wrong with that.
Great video. I too am revamping my ink journal a little. And I am creating a fountain pen journal. I got the idea from Lao at Ken Chan Crafts. And I got inspiration from your follower that you shared in the Dutch pen show vid on an ink journal to focus on each individual ink. Somewhat different than my normal ink journal that includes currently Inked etc. It can be so much and overwhelming, but fun at the same time. ❤
This video is like looking into a mirror with all of my current systems 😂😅😅
Love the mid year check in. I've been in the SI vertical TN and I like it for time tracking. I'm going to add a TN planner for tracking domestic tasks. Then I've got some personal size notebooks on the way from Inkpression which I'll put in my new ChicSparrow sidekick.
Thinking about a SI b6 for 2025. Based on your recommendation, I do morning pages in Lechturem (sp?). Thinking about disc planner, too.
You made me feel a lot better about my ink journals! I've abandoned two because I didn't like how I'd set them up and didn't like the paper. I've just started over in a third, which I will probably abandon as well because of the beautiful ink journals you showed in your Dutch Pen Show video that were done by Lynn... those are next level! I use a Traveler's Notebook weekly vertical in the standard size for planning, plus some memory keeping and gratitude, whatever I feel like in the moment. I use two other inserts: one is a blank page insert that I use as a commonplace book / diary / memory keeper, and the other is either the watercolor insert or an accordeon insert that I use for sketching & collages. I go heavy on the stickers and stamping as a way to manage stress throughout my work day (lol). Irritating call with my boss... 5 minute sticker fiesta. Unreasonable demands from the board of directors... 5 minute stamping rampage. Email overwhelm... 10-minute mini collage session. I always feel happer and more productive afterwards! Thanks for sharing your pen & planner journey, I really enjoy your channel.
I love this comment! "Irritating call with my boss...5 minute sticker fiesta!" What a great, fast & gratifying way to tackle stressful moments! I need to try this strategy! Thank you!
@@timewithtata8004 It's a silly thing, but it really works. Where did you get the David Rose sticker? I totally need that!
@@timewithtata8004 And my boss... after an irritating phone call with me, she does 5 minutes of lego 😂
I have a Cousin and a Weeks and always find myself using the Weeks, even though it looks very messy and I don’t love that!
Such a refreshing video! Thank you! Love your nails and polish! Classy☺️ What color is that?
Love how you are noting the pen and ink! 🤍 I will definitely be using that idea. Thank you. Also…. Love the weekly gratitude and health. I think everyone should use a Wellness Journal! I am trying this too. Never considered using the Weeks for this. Perfect! I feel your pain with all the notebooks and the ADD issues. 😂 Thank you for sharing!
Hello Lori, thanks for your thought process choosing a new ink book. 🙏I made so many mistakes myself and I just can’t use predated planner! I just started a A5 binder to document my pens. My swatchcards are sadly a bit too big for those inserts where 4 are on one page, so this is another project ☺️
I also got the special Estie in a BB nib but sadly mine is „broken“- but it’s the most beautiful Estie I‘ve seen so far! 🎉
Anyway, your video of showing different formats you tried, helped me deciding what and how I will continue my documentation for myself 🙏
Because I keep my system simple (2 books max), my planning has been going well. I have a B6 Sterling Ink Common Planner for my plans (work and personal) and a N1H Common Planner for my reading journal. My system works and so I don't change it, even though I was tempted by the portability of the Weeks size.
"My head is spinning"😂 too funny. I use a passport travelers notebook with three inserts. One is a calender, one is for gratitudes,to do list, and collections. And the third insert is for Journaling. One page each day. I use a different fountain pen each day.
I like the new pen journal setup and the inks cut out and pasted to the side. I am trying to figure out how to set up my ink and pen journals for the 2 weeks.
I am not much of a planner, but I do keep a work and a private diary to keep track of my appointments etc. I bought some planners in order to experience the paper. I didn't want to invest in Hobonichi, as a non-planner, so I bought a Stalogy and a Kinbor planner, as they are both fountan pen friendly and I can use them to try out pens and inks and note which pens I have inked with what ink. I bought the Konbor from 2023 for 2024 at reduced price. It is dated, but the dates are not so pronounced, and using the 2023 planer in 2024, I just ignore the dates alltogether,. Same in the Stalogy. I use the pages in sequence, and using an old planner keeps me from being tempted to use the pages with the correct dates.
I use the Hobo A6 for daily planning. I will add a favorite quote if I have an empty page (which is rare) or an empty space area.
This year I decided to ignore the dates on the pages like I do the quotes in Japanese on the bottom of the hobonichi books. Working great and I just love the tomoe river paper - so win win.
Hi Lori! With regards to your wanting an undated Weeks-type of book, have you ever checked out Sweet Freckled Designs OG Undated Weekly Diary? It’s made with 52 gsm Tomoe River paper, and is so easily customizable for whatever you need…also is available in a compact version, and the prices are very reasonable. I love mine! ☺️
Meline
I finished my passport inserts, so I moved to narrow size for as long as those inserts last me.
I started the year in a TN for my planning, a Dark Matter journal by Cognitive Surplus for my journaling, and a Hobonichi Weeks for gratitudes and book log, but that format wasn't working for me because I wanted to be able to have all of my journaling and planning in one. I have switched to the Hobonichi Avec Cousin for my planning and journaling needs and it has made a world of difference. I feel motivated to journal on a more consistent basis because of the dated pages at the back of the planner, but I am also able to keep track of my appointments and other necessities with the monthly and weekly planning pages. I fell off the wagon for the gratitude portion of my weeks, but I have been keeping up with my reading log even if I don't feel like it is totally working for me. I'm still considering how I want to track that for the upcoming year.
I've been thinking about changing my general ink swatches (not my monthly currently inked) to possibly a binder system. I have a large quantity of trading card sleeves that go in binders and that has the ability to see my inks a glance better and possibly allow for swatches on other types of paper to see the properties better. Your Archer & Olive journal has given me an idea of how to track whether or not inks work well within my pens once used. I think I'd like to have a journal where I swatch the inks I have used in the pens under some type of photo/drawing of the pen and write about the combination.
Thank you for sharing. I am actually going to Yoseka Stationary Fest and hoping you could share advise on Nib grinding. I am only there on the 7th and wanted to get a nib custom grinder 😊 any recommendations on how I can get this done on this one day. Do I need an appt? Appreciate any advice you can offer here.
Hi! I know that some of the nibmeisters usually have some online appointments available prior to the event and then they'll leave some time for walk-ins. I would check out who will be there, and see if they have slots available online. If not, as soon as you arrive head over to their tables and try to get an appointment. Good luck! It's so special to have a custom grind!
I tried a hobonichi this year. One of the little ones with the cat on it. I don't work for anyone and don't have a lot of things to schedule, just apts and special events. It's still too much extra pages and calendars for me. I do have ADHD, and like how could I possibly use like three different calendars of the same year. So I won't do that again next year. Sadly, because I love the dream of Hobonichi. But I am not Hobonichi. I am cheap weekly walmart Exceed notebooks and planners. As long as they work with my fountain pens, inks and I can paint in them. I also have ink swatches everywhere, even in my Talens art sketchbooks! I just love smearing colors all over a page. :) (I also go through two or three journals a month, so a daily Hobonichi doesn't work either.)
Too many planners. Too many half used. I’m thinking undated. No wasted pages. Gratitude. Bible Verses. Yearly/Monthly calendar with To Do 3x5 cards. Some planners are so beautiful I don’t want to use them. So I buy undated for those. Dated for everyday use.
Hi, where did you find the last journal book that is blue with a picture of a pen on it? Thanks
Hi. It's from Archer & Olive.
You wish to purge your Lamy 2000? I'm interested. I would hope some of that boundless energies come with it.
I actually gifted it to my oldest son. He is starting a new job in July.
@@timewithtata8004 Good for him. All the best this summer, stay cool