Empress Bat's Journal: August 2018

Filofax - storing new paper refills for my A5 and personals filofaxes

NOTE: If you are interested in reading more about filofaxes and how people use their organisers I encourage you to visit Philofaxy.

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I am a stationery addict - I admit it. I really find joy in using beautifully made paper, colourful pens, fountain pens, pencils, water colour paints, and using paper based task management and information systems.

I often buy paper when I see it on special, or in a design or type that I just know will be great in one of my many Filofax / other brand binders. This created the challenge <'first world problem'> of where to store the new paper refills while they wait to be used?

Enter these amazing PVC ring binders I bought from eBay for a teeny tiny cost. I am happy to find who the seller was and share their store link with anyone who wants it - just comment if you want that info.

I bought one in A5 and one in personal size - as they are transparent PVC I found them a wee bit difficult to photograph, I altered the white balance a bit so the PVC is tinged yellow to make them easier for you all to see. In reality they are almost as transparent as water. The photo shows the A5 size and the personal size together with paper in them.

The binder rings are about 20mm and are in the standard distance as in Filofax binders. The front cover has a lengthwise vertical pocket inside, which you can see by the slightly stronger shadowy line in the above photo.

My refill paper stash fits neatly in the binders and I think the PVC is strong enough that I could actually even use them as every day carries if I wanted to. I have also thought that they could be used as a base to make a personalised cover.

How do you store your new, yet to be used, refill paper for your filofaxes/binders? I would be interested to know your storage ideas!

(c) empressbat.blogspot.com 2018

Plan with me - Hobonichi Techo Cousin A5 daily layout

Last week I shared with you how I use the weekly pages in my Hobonichi Tech Cousin A5, you can read that post >> here <<. I still use Filofaxes, including an A5 Malden in purple that I use for work and of course Little Purple, however I am really enjoying using the Hobonichi and will probably use one again next year.

Speaking of Filofaxes, If you are interested in reading about filofaxes and how people use their organisers I encourage you to visitPhilofaxy.

For anyone who has not seen the daily page of a Hobonichi Techo Cousin A5, this is what it looks like before the pen. I like the Tome River paper which is thin but sturdy and is really smooth to write on and fountain pen friendly.

I like function first in organisers and diaries as they are productivity tools that I rely on to ensure I do not forget all the things I need to do. I like to add some creativity to the pages as well to brighten my day.

The first thing I do is add some time line washi tape over the top of the times printed on the page. I like the times easy to see and I find this washi tape just right for a time line,

I then lightly block out areas on the page, for the schedule, a to do list, a memo and my journal/scrapbook.

I have a great sticker book I bought from Spotlight (you can see a bit of it in the below photo. It has bullet point strip stickers which are ideal for the to do list section on my daily page.

From the same sticker book I add a fun quote sticker on the top right, and a note to self sticker as a header to the note or memo section of the page.

With days of the week Washi tape I bought from Chiyogami Designs I added 'Wednesday' - days are printed on the page but just as for the printed times the print is very light and I prefer the day name to be more prominent.

I finish setting up the page by ruling lines and shading every second hour on the schedule section, rule the pencil lines with a thin tipped black felt pen, add the journal heading and some more stickers.

The page is ready for me to use and I had fun setting it up. Please note that when I am really busy I do not necessarily set the page up as tidily but the general layout with these sections is how I usually set up each week day. On weekends I use the pages in a different way, for shopping lists, recipes and notes.

In the journal section I will write a short note about the day, add some pictures I draw and colour with watercolour paint or photos I have printed out.

I am interested to know how other people use their Hobonichi planners and I am happy to promote blogs as well. Leave me a note in the comments section.

Plan with me - Hobonichi Techo Cousin A5 weekly layout

Since one Book July I have been using the Hobonichi Techo Cousin A5 for my every day carry planner. Don't worry that does not mean that my favourite Filofax, Little Purple, has been relegated to a dusty corner of my over flowing book shelves!

I am using Little Purple as an information storage system, in the File of Facts manner at the moment and if I could get the exact Hobonichi style layout on Tomoe River paper pre-made for a personal sized filofax I would be using Little Purple for everything! (Yes I could print my own inserts on the Tomoe River paper, but last time I tried that the printer ate the paper as it is so thin!). I will do a post in the future of Little Purple as a 'file of facts' set up ...

Which reminds me . ..If you are interested in reading about filofaxes and how people use their organisers I encourage you to visit Philofaxy. Say hi to them from me!

Anyway, back to the Hobonichi.

I have been working out how best to use this organisation tool and have watched so many videos and flicked through so many images of how people use their Hobos (apparently that is what the cool kids call the Hobonichi diaries). I really need my organiser to be functional first, and if I can make it also aesthetically pleasing that is a bonus. I do like both function and beauty, but overall an organiser is a tool and so its function is important.

I added stick on tabs to differentiate sections in the Hobonichi as I found it difficult to use quickly if I could not find the right section fast. This is how the week spread looks before I add things to it.

I am starting to get in the swing of using this book as my every day carry organiser and am contemplating using one all of next year. Again, if I can obtain pre-printed Hobonichi style, cut and punched Tomoe River paper for Little Purple, I would use my filofax, but I have been unsuccessful in that search so far.

I use the weekly pages to give an overview of the week ahead and future planning. As I do also like things to be aesthetically pleasing and cheerful, I do add some stickers and washi tape to the layout! \

The washi tape I use is from Chiyogami Designs - I purchase from them as they have a huge range of tape, are a local Aussie small business and, have the most amazing friendly reliable customer service.

So back to the weekly spread.

I work fulltime and under a flexi time system meaning my start and finish times are not always the same. At the top of each day column I leave room for my work times which is a back up record in case the electronic record I have to use for work has a conniption!

On the far left column I have an overview of things coming up, list days off and also if I am on call that week I will not only add it to the week (using washing tape) but also note it on the side. Can't forget if it is written everywhere, right? ..right?!?

I then draw (or tape) a horizontal line about two thirds of the way down the page. This leaves the top part of the columns for my schedule where I add meetings and appointments and the bottom part of each column for noting tasks as they come in against the day they need to be done. I use a kind of bullet journal system with the tasks and will add an arrow to something if I did not get to it and it needs to carry over to another day.

I mark the weekend off with stickers - when a week is tiring it gives me a moment of joy to see the decorative weekend columns ahead!

On the bottom of the weekend columns I leave room to note anything coming up the next week that I need to remember and maybe prepare for.

This is how I use the weekly pages in the Hobonichi Cousin Techo A5. My scheduling and task system sits on these pages so decoration is minimal and functionality is the focus.

I would be interested in hearing how others use their Hobonichi planners or if they have found someone who sells a similar set up on Tomoe River paper prepunched for a filofax personal!

Art Journal - line and wash - pets

Chloe, our three year old Staffy cross recently had a knee operation. She is a gentle affectionate dog with a sweet nature. The vet wrapped her leg in a pink happy face bandage and she is holding her leg out awkwardly partly because of the pain and also because the bandage is bulky.

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