fountain pen

by Tony Thomas I have been using my new custom "document holder" notebook for almost two weeks and can say that I am still very pleased with it.  As I wrote earlier, I constructed it from a 8.5 x 11 piece of tooling leather that I dyed and punched. I really love the flexibility the notebook provides. I can use all kinds of paper in it (much of it custom cut or folded to fit). As I use fountain pens, pencils and gel pens, I can use better and cheaper paper as I desire. Right now, I have Rhodia graph and lined paper, HP 32# laser, Georgia Pacific 24# laser and cheap  Indonesian  lined paper loaded. I can sort the sheets I have completed to fit my daily requirements. When I am done with a sheet of paper, I can file it or toss it. It is absolutely perfect for my workflow! For more information on the original notebook: http://thefrugalfountainpen.blogspot.com/2016/05/my-new-notebook.html

by Tony Thomas I have a problem with regular notebooks.  Unless they are dedicated to a singular purpose, I usually fill them up with information that has no long-term significance.  My initial solution was to use disc-bound Circa and Arc notebooks for everyday use but found them to be both bulky and heavy to carry around. I decided that a better solution would be to create a notebook that would allow me to carry loose papers that could be easily rearranged and discarded when no longer needed.  These days, most of my important archival information is in Evernote and I either transfer the information from my written notes manually or take a quick photo of the written page with my tablet or phone and store it electronically in Evernote. I ordered a nice piece of tooling leather from eBay, cut it down to 8.5" x 11" and dyed it.  I added an elastic band to hold everything together.  It is similar to a traveler's notebook and very quick and easy to make -- less than ...

by Tony Thomas I really enjoy making my own notebooks. Not only do I save a lot of money, I can use whatever paper I like. I have used HP Laser Paper (32#), Staples Laser Paper (28#), Rhodia grid paper, Canson Drawing paper and others. For covers, I either use card stock from my office supply store or fancy paper from the scrapbook section of my local craft store. I use my ancient Boston paper cutter and my limited sewing skills to put them together. My notebooks are only 24 pages making them easier to trim. I highly recommend making notebooks if you are a fountain pen user and love fountain pen friendly paper.