MTN WEEKLY 2016 #11

I've been procrastinating (hard) with my blog these days, but when I do get around to it, I tend to do it all at once, so I guess that evens it out. This time, it's updating my MTN weekly posts. I've been keeping at it for a while now, although I must admit, I have strayed to other projects too. I never seem to be able to stick to one these days, and the only one I seem to keep around is my messy 'everything-in-one' notebook. But I'll save that for another post. This week's MTN spread goes from the 2nd of May to the 9th of May (and that's a long time ago):

It was Star Wars Day on the 4th, so of course I had to include a BB8 stencil in it. Throw in some stamps from Kelly Purkey's shop found here, some alphas, pressed leaves and stamps, you've got a complete layout to go

MTN CAMEL

Yes, it's finally in my needy little hands, and I'm in absolute love. Sometimes I wish I can carry my brown and camel MTN with me everywhere I go, but alas, I'm not that crazy. Anyway, here's all the pictures you're waiting for so feast on them, and drool if you must, because it was definitely worth the wait:

I've reviewed both the brown, black and blue MTN on my blog, so scour for them if you must to learn everything about them. You can get them on pre-order in Bookbinders Online now, or head to Stickerrific to get them straight from Malaysia.

MTN 10TH ANNIVERSARY

I was actually pretty hesitant in purchasing one of these, because for one, I know for a fact that there is basically no point in having one. Don't get me wrong though, the 10th Anniversary MTN was pretty darn cute, but what can they be other than collectables? But as always, I was talking myself up into buying one. I mean, I loved the tin it came with and the fact that it fits the regular MTN. I loved the stickers. And well, I just wanted one, and by the end of my talk (which was not long), I wanted one really badly. So you'll understand when the super cool team at Notemaker asked if I wanted one to review. Because um, yes, I do. I really do.

So one came rushing (as fast as it could through snail mail) to me from Notemaker and I had it in my greedy little hands in no time. I was fortunate enough to get a brown version (orange tin) which matches my trusty brown MTN. Here are some pictures of my new little MTN friend:

The 10th Anniversary set is basically a DIY MTN. You create your own little notebooks using the tiny paper provided before slipping it in the baby Midori. They've even thrown in a little charm for your MTN too, which is honestly too damn cute.

You can get your own little 10th Anniversary now on the Notemaker site. Just click here and you'll be redirected straight to it! (You might even end up picking a whole lot of other stationery goodies and that's ok) Happy shopping!

CURRENTLY #16

TIME: 3:59PM

LOCATION: Work

FEELING: Productive - Managed to get some painting and blogging done in between patients. Yep. You heard right.

LOVING: My new peg board and dried flower bouquets

READING: Sheltering Rain - Jojo Moyes

EATING: Caramel Popcorn

ANTICIPATING: The rain to fall

LISTENING: Good Charlotte - Sex on the Radio

WATCHING: Elementary

PLANNING: To write all the blog posts

LOOKING FORWARD: Graduation next week! Eeek!

CREATING: Watercolour paintings

NEED TO FINISH: My Project Life layouts

WISHING: I had more data on my phone - it's depleting at an exponential rate

MAIN GOAL: Get all my blogging, Project Life and journalling done

BOOKBLOCK ORIGINAL

A while ago, I received a little customised present from Bookblock Original. Now, this company is revolutionary - only because you're able to customise your own notebook inside and out. I'm particularly picky with my notebook. It has to have certain paper thickness, soft / hard cover, etc. So when Phoebe from the Bookblock team asked if I wanted to try out their fully customisable notebooks, you bet I said yes.

But before I get into the details of the notebook I received, here's a little overview on their company:

Bookblock Original used to manufacture notebooks for agencies and brands, but recently decided to downscale their process so that illustrators, designers and notebook lovers (basically you and me!) in general are able to produce their own fully customisable notebooks! They are manufactured in the UK, contain recycled paper, and are able to create customisable notebook covers with full bleed digitally printed covers. This means that for approx. the same price as a Moleskine, you'll be able to not only create your own cover, but choose the type of paper that goes in it, the availability of a back pocket and even pictures on the inside!

So of course, when I had the opportunity to make my own, I had to create something entirely for me, which meant drawing (literally) up an original artwork for my front cover. Here's a close up of my artwork on my new notebook:

As you can see, every little detail of my line work has been carefully printed out onto the front cover and I can't wait to customise it a little bit more by adding some paint (yes paint!) to the front cover when I get the time. I have so many ideas for this blank canvas and I'm absolutely stoked to get started on it.

I managed to get the plain paper option on the inside and was pleasantly surprised when I found out that the actual pages in the notebook is from the Monsieur brand (which I love!):

I own a couple of sketchbooks from the Monsieur brand and know the quality they have, but have yet to test out the plain pages. Here's to hoping that it doesn't disappoint!

Check out their site here if you want to find out more and create one for yourself!

BRAIN DUMPING IN MY MTN

On Wednesday, two weeks ago, I decided that it was time to get on with using my 8273458 MTN notebooks. I had a spare plain notebook in my MTN when I was at work and I just had too much information in my head that needed to be noted down and stored so that I didn't forget. So with just a pen and the notebook, I wrote. I didn't have any washi tape with me, nor did I have any stickers, no stamps or pretty paper - just a pen and a lack of fear of the white page. Once I made the initial mark in the notebook, everything flowed out easily and without any doubt. I know I keep saying that I will make 'xyz' notebook plain and simple (but end up decorating till no end), but I think this will stay that way. Decorating a spread is always fun, but it takes time. With my brain dump book, I won't have that time, so I'll be relying on just minimalistic doodles and words. And just because a notebook is filled with just that, doesn't mean it can't look great too. Here's a look into one of my pages:

Hope you've got a brain dump book too, because it really is just therapeutic!

MTN WEEKLY 2016 #10

I had a number of things to document this week with a whole lot of happy mail coming through, but I was limited with the little space I had, so only kept it to the main items. The biggest happy mail I received this week was from Stickerrific which contained a whole bunch of washi tapes, stamps, stickers, and my new Camel MTN. I couldn't get it all in, but stickers I received were pasted in asap. This week, however, also saw me making some mistakes in the spread, like trying out Muji instore stamps with weak ink, and glue stains that didn't come off. But I powered through, and in the end, it didn't really end up so badly. It could've been better but I'm going to look forward to the next week and hope these mistakes won't happen again! For now, here's a look into my spread:

I think I need to learn to embrace white spaces and stop trying to fill in every little nook in my spread because although it looks super, it can look overcrowded at times!

MAY GOALS

I can't believe it's already May! But that only means one thing: graduation is coming up sooner rather than later and I'm stoked. But before we get to that, here's a look into how I went with last month's goals (I can tell you now, it did not go well!)

• x     Read at least two books
• x     Paint more
• ü Blog post at least once a week!
• ü Keep a brain dump book

I knew I was going to be busy, but I didn't know it was to the point where I wouldn't get any reading time in. Boo. I'm hoping to pick up my reading again in May but I know for a fact that my work load only goes up from here, so who knows, my reading may need to take a back seat again in May. Nevertheless, here's May's Goals List:

• Read two books: Nicholas Sparks / Jojo Moyes
• Catch up with my PL layouts
• Catch up with my MTN journaling
• Blog post at least once a week!
• Decrease the sweets
• Keep up with my brain dump book

Let's see how this month goes!