MIDORI TRAVELER'S NOTEBOOK: UPDATE

I don't think you'll be surprised to know that I haven't actually stuck to one documenting style in my Midori in the past few weeks. I've kept up with some weeks of my MTN diary, but nothing too concrete. If you follow my Instagram (@lettersinnovember), you would have seen the variety of pages / spreads done up but never really followed through. So instead of creating multiple posts regarding all the projects I've done in my MTN, here are some pictures and notes on some of them:

In regards to my MTN diary, I've done just two extra pages since the last post (which isn't great, I know). I missed out most of September, and have only started it up again for design team projects. So don't be surprised if it dies out again right after:

I started a Chronodex booklet when October began, needing something dated in my life for once. Initially, my (not too great) bookbinding abilities led me to put away my Chronodex booklet, but after letting it sit on my desk for a while, I decided to pick it up again and start in it. Because the booklet started from the end of June, I had half a booklet of empty pages to waste. So instead of keeping it blank, I decided to fill it with memories collected from my days in October, and here's a look at some of the pages I've created in it:

When it comes to creating pages in regular notebooks, I've done some here and there with nothing absolute solid:

I'm still in the process of creating a notebook for my trip to Paris in November, but because I haven't decided which notebook (grid / plain / kraft?!) to use yet, it's still in the works.

HERO ARTS BLOG HOP

Hello hello and welcome to the Hero Arts blog hop! I'm super excited to bring this fun blog post to you filled with all things planner and stamping! There are lots of new stamps in this release by Hero Arts and Kelly Purkey and I'll be giving you an overview of how I use them in this post. All of the stamps used here are available now in the Hero Arts store, which you can purchase here. And if you stay till the end, there'll even be a chance for you to win a little something something! So without further adieu, lets get to the fun part of using these stamps! I decided to use all of the Kelly Purkey Planner stamps in my Traveler's Notebook diary. I love love love that there's such a great variety of planner stamps that's suitable for anyone and everyone:

Here's an up close look:

Here's a list of all the stamps I used in this spread:
- Kelly's Everyday Sticky Notes
- Kelly's TV Planner
- Kelly's Winter Planner
- Kelly's Girl Talk Planner
- Kelly's Adventure Planner
- Kelly's Reading Planner
- Kelly's Shopping Planner
- Kelly's Take Note
- Kelly's Flags Stamp + Cut
- Kelly's Coffee and Donuts
- Kelly's Travel Day
- Kelly's Outdoor Inks
- Kelly's Urban Inks
- Kelly's Fashion Inks

And now to the most important bit! Hero Arts will be giving away three $25 shopping sprees drawn just from the comments left across all the blogs in this blog hop. Comment by Wednesday, October 19, 11:59PM PT and the winners will be announced next week!

Next on the hop is the amazingly talented Kari Stiles. Be sure to check out her blog as there'll definitely be more inspiration coming your way! You can also find the links to all the designers on the Hero Arts blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

FILOFAX PERSONAL COMPACT HERITAGE REVIEW

It's been a while since I've done one of these, especially for a Filofax. I think my love for ring planners started dwindling this year, after my obsession with Midori grew exponentially. I guess there were a number of reasons for my change in preference: for one, I didn't actually need a planner; I didn't need dated diaries. Eversince finishing uni (and the end of assignments) Bullet Journaling and creating the days as I go by was enough for me. I didn't exactly need to plan ahead (because I was more or less generally free). For another, the size of a planner and the fact that rings took a chunk of the page annoyed me. I needed the page size to be bigger but still portable. Not to mention, ring planners, as they suggested, wasn't bounded. This could be a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it, but I guess I liked my spreads stuck together. And lastly, eversince the Malden, I haven't actually found another planner that I wanted to use as much as I did the Malden. Well, not until I got the Filofax Heritage Compact planner, that is.

I've been eyeing this planner ever since it came out, and thought I was able to last till November when I took a trip down to Paris. But nope. I went searching online and found it for a pretty reasonable price on John Lewis. I actually wanted the Personal sized Heritage, but since they didn't have it in stock and I wasn't planning to keep much in it other than the diary, I decided to go for it. It arrived relatively quickly from the UK, and apart from the Malden I don't think I've been this excited to receive a Filofax till now.

Opening it up, it was beautiful right from the beginning. It came in a nice, sturdy box that Filofax planners used to come in (before they changed it to just a lousy plastic sleeve!) and it was divine once picked up and handled. The leather is thick, supple and you just know that it will last through and through. It's absolutely hard to describe how gloriously luxurious the leather is. I've read about how different the leather is on different blogs, but wow. It's definitely one to inspect in person. Here are some pictures of it up-close and personal:

As it says on the Filofax website, it doesn't contain any pockets on the front or back, but rather just a leather flyleaf on the inside containing a pocket and an elastic pen loop (which really doesn't serve any purpose):

Apart from that, the insides are the usual diary, notes, etc pages that comes with a new Filofax. Overall, I love the feel of this one. It has an inconspicuous look and really gives that heritage feel. It's safe to say that I can't wait to use this beauty when 2017 comes around!

MTN: CHRONODEX

At the start of October, I decided to take the plunge and use a Chronodex. This system was created by Patrick Ng, and you can check it all out here. I needed something dated in my life, and since I didn't want to buy something that I'll probably only use for a month, I decided to go cheap and create my own booklet. It took a whole lot of getting used to as I didn't actually like my handmade book at first, but it grew on me, and I'm glad it did. Seeing I've only used it for a week and a bit, there aren't too many pages to show around here, but nevertheless, here are the ones I've done so far:

See, the thing with me is, I tend to overthink things. I decide over the layout of my page longer than needed, causing me to not create a page eventually. I'm trying my hardest not to let my Chronodex be the same and actually updating the pages as the day goes by. I'm still ending up with a bit of catching up by the end of the week, but there's always next week! And here's hoping it's not going to lose its lustre after a month of usage!

KELLY PURKEY SEPTEMBER REVEAL

Happy happy Monday! Hope everyone's been checking out the newest release from Kelly Purkey because they're another perfect set of stamps! It's all about the upcoming Autumn weather in the Northern Hemisphere, home touristing, single life and happy things. Here's a look at some of the spreads I created using some of the stamps:

And of course, you can check them all out in Kelly Purkey's shop here. Happy shopping!

OCTOBER GOALS

Why yes, I did in fact miss out on my September goals (oops). I don't actually know what I've been doing in the past 8 weeks, but I've obviously neglected my blog horribly. But never fear, I decided to sit my butt down one Sunday afternoon and have created a number of posts for your reading pleasure for the next few days. But first, to kick off the month, here's a look at my goals for this month:

1. Read at least two books:
   I've decided that when I say 'books' I mean everything from digital photography tips to lifestyle books to short novels. Before writing this up, I actually already managed to read through a quaint little book called How to be Parisian Wherever You Are. It was a short read that I gobbled up in a night, but hey, it's still a book!
2. Research up and document all things Paris!
   Despite the fact that I'm heading to Toulouse and Singapore as well in November, the city of love seems to be the only thing on my mind when I think about my upcoming holiday. This of course means requiring a whole Traveler's Notebook dedicated to my research for this trip!
3. Test out the Contax G1 + film photography
   I'm still debating whether or not I should bring my new film camera with me on my trip, so I'm planning to test this medium out this month before I actually head out.
4. Save
   Needs no explanation, really.

A relatively easy set of goals this month. Someone needs to kick me in the butt if I don't get them accomplished by the 31st.