Unboxing Leuchtturm1917

  

A glimpse of my purple Malden personal filofax

This gorgeous Filofax has been used daily since 2012, it is the only one of my large collection of Filofaxes and notebooks that I have named. This is Little Purple. 

For more posts about filofax and other planners please see this page >> here << 

Whether I use it as my primary diary/organiser/planner, or whether I use it for lists and information (as in the old 'file of facts') it has been used every day. Thrown in bags, dropped on desks and working like the little amazing purple powerhouse it is. The cover just looks better and better with the slight scratches and stains it gathers on the way.

The rings are perfect and have stood up to the test of time, opening and closing and lots of paper stuffed in them! I have so many tabs and clips and all sorts of things stashed in Little Purple.

Currently I have a day to a page, and lots of lists, information and note pages crammed inside. For the diary section I use printables that are provided for free by Philofaxy and  I print these on Tomoe River paper. This paper is very thin, like paper in a traditional bible, and is fountain pen friendly and strong. What I like about this paper, other than it being ink friendly, is that as the paper is so thin I can fit heaps of pages in my organiser!

I have a page at the front after a clear plastic dashboard that uses Alice in Wonderland illustrations by Sir John Tenniel. This has no functional purpose other than I like it and it makes me happy!

I edged my day to a page pages in month groups, with Washi tape from local Aussie washi tape seller Chiyogami Designs.

Here is my Filofax Malden personal sized in purple in all its stuffed goodness.

I have a cute little maneki neko in gold  hanging from the bottom ring. It makes me smile to see it.

I use tabs both on the side and the top of pages to divide different sections. I use a silhouette machine to cut out tab shapes from adhesive paper. I made a tassel from lilac embroidery thread and a glass bead which I have attached to the clasp.

So many pages!  Here you can see the edges of my Malden pages: day to a page, shopping lists, volunteer information, pets and vets information, wish lists, measurement conversions, maps, ... a useful and aesthetically pleasing organiser - Little Purple!

See more about Little purple in this post >> here <<

Filofax love - Little Purple - my Purple Malden personal sized

I do a lot of things - fitting so much into every day! I stay organised by using a lot of different tools. One of my favourite organisation techniques involves using my purple Malden in personal size to keep a note of infomration, things I need to do, lists and brain dumps. I have decorated as you can see with a metal tag, a tassle and a cute little gold coloured maneki neko.

I make tabs and use them on the top as well as on the side of the pages! Yes, as you can see in one of the tabs, we have an N64 game system, and as we buy games for the console second hand I like to keep a note of what ones we have and what ones we are looking for.

DIY: colour change your Midori TN notepad cover

Anyone that knows me understands that I adore all shades of purple. I also love stationery, and really enjoy using Midori TN where I have my brain dump and interchangeable notepads that complement my purple Malden Filofax diary.

I use a limited edition blue Midori TN, as it seems closer to purple than either black or brown, but I really want a purple one. Yes I know there are plenty of faux Midori TN out there, but I do really like the genuine original construction!

So last week, on payday (when there is still money in my account before bills), I bought a brown Midori TN, I chose brown as it was cheaper than either the blue or black, and frankly this is an experiment, so I want to go as economical as possible.

Steps

1. I bought / gathered my supplies:

• Midori TN, least expensive I could find
• Vinegar to clean the Midori TN prior to painting
• Angelus Leather paint/dye in Violet
• Angelus Leather paint/dye finisher to waterproof and ensure flexibility of the paint/dye
• disposable gloves
• disposable plastic drip protector to stop me painting the kitchen table purple too (although that does give me inspiration..)
• Original Nivea creme which i use on all my leather and faux leather products to keep them flexible and in good condition, i have been using this for years.. for me and all my leather and faux leather products and all of us find it beneficial as a moisturiser!

 2. Opened up my brand new brown Midori TN, removed the closing elastic, but left the rest of the hardware in place. hmm that is a nice chocolate brown kind of makes me sad to colour it purple..but hey that is why I bought it afterall.. so purple here we come!

1. readying my supplies	2. Opened up the Midori TN

3. Using vinegar and a soft cloth I wiped over the Midori TN (front of it only) to remove any grease or dust that may be on it, and left it for a few minutes to dry.

4. I opened the Angelus purple paint, realised the brush on the cap was far too tiny to be practical, so grabbed a paint brush and painted a thin coat vertically on the leather. I left the paint to dry for 20 minutes, and applied a second thin coat horizontally, after another 20 minutes i applied another thin coat vertically. 

3. I used vinegar to clean the leather	4. brush in the cap is too tiny!
4. three thin coats applied in 20 minute intervals!	4. it's like watching paint dry...

5. The Angelus paint dries to a semi gloss, but I want to make sure I have locked in that colour and made my Midori TN cover's new colour flexible and waterproof. So this is where the Angelus leather paint finisher no. 600 comes in! I applied a thin coat to the cover, allowed to dry for 20 minutes, then applied a second thin coat ...oooh shiny! The paint finisher provides a gloss finish that is flexible and waterproof, and a small amount goes a loooong way!

5. Angelus finisher No. 600 to make this paint job flexible and waterproof and glossy!!	5. The finisher goes on opaque and dries clear

6. After the paint finisher has completely dried, I rubbed in some original Nivea creme to the surface (keeping clear of the suede inside of the cover). I have used this method for years to keep leather and faux leather supple and it has not failed me once.  I am sure you all have your own ways to keep leather and faux leather flexible and strong, and restore old leather/faux leather, so in this step use whatever works for you! (Dubbin is another good one I have used before)

6. This is the original formula thick Nivea creme, not any of the fancy Nivea versions with super sonic promising youth ingredients. This is the original and still the best  ;)	6. treating my Midori TN to some TLC. (that paint looks a wee bit streaky but after the notepad has had some use i won't even notice given how scratched i get them!)

7. Time to get the Midori TN with its new coat of paint fitted out! I am using an elastic that was a spare from my blue Midori TN as the dark blue looks better on the purple than brown does, and a charm from one of the Tim Holz ranges. I will use this Midori TN as a scrapbook, smash book, happy type journal, so the charm I am using has stamped on it 'Capture life's moments', I thought that would be apt!  I have a couple of spare Midori refills I will fill the notepad with, I often sew up my own, but I have some spare of the genuine ones, so I will use them.  I undid the blue elastic, threaded the charm through, re-knotted it and slid it through the hole in the back of the Midori TN. I placed the refills in, and some page markers a friend sent me (thank you Lisa of The GDC!) and I am very happy with the result!

7. accessorise!	7. I love this! very happy with how it turned out.

Please comment below this post and let me know if you have done this before to your Midori TN and what you used! Also welcome any other comments from fellow stationery lovers!


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