Inspiration #4
We’re almost halfway through February and I’m still wondering where January has gone! I spent the month working on some exciting projects and getting ready for holidays and didn’t have much time to explore the Internet and stores. So my January findings aren’t as many as usual!
Most of the discoveries I made are from my visit at PaperWorld at the end of the month. I came across some new stationery wonders in Frankfurt and I’m so happy I got the chance to attend this amazing fair. Instagram has also been a uge source of inspiration in January, and I added new accounts to my favourites list.
Cover picture : the new Life journal notebook from Quo Vadis and Off Lines’ notepad
Soumkine notebooks
As (almost) anyone else’s, my resolutions didn’t survive January. I wanted 2018 to be the year I’d use one and only notebook and I already failed! I’m now using, in addition to my bullet journal, this stunning Soumkine weekly planner as my gratitude journal.
Now that I also use my bullet journal for work, and carry it everywhere with me, I wasn’t comfortable with having my gratitude journal in it.
I can’t get enough of these pink, smooth pages and I just love the one task per day layout. the only drawback is that I sometimes don’t have enough space to write more than 2 lines per day on the right page (I use the left one to log the highlight of the day). I knew it when I picked up this notebook to log memories so it’s ok and I’m now trying to reduce my daily log to the essential to keep it short.
Almost half the pages for February should remain empty as I’m currently on holidays and left this notebook at home. I’m only carrying my bullet journal with me and using it to document my stay in the Alps when I have some time left at the end of the day (and if I’m not too tired to hold my pen after spending the day skiing).
Paperworld
I have to be honest and say that I didn’t fell in love with Frankfurt’s cold and fog. But it didn’t prevent me to have a blast at Paperworld. It’s an international fair that is all about paper and stationery: imagine a thousand booths showing all sorts of notebooks, pens and notepad and you’ll probably get an idea of what it looked like.
I didn’t spend much time in the halls dedicated to crafts supplies (pens, washi, paint…) as I don’t use them that often, but I’ve been exploring the notebooks and planners section for hours.
I rediscovered some amazing brands I found at Maison et Objet in September (Paper Republic, le Typographe…) and made new findings too. Among the amazing products I discovered, I particularly enjoyed the work of Octagon Design, Happily Ever Paper and Off Lines.
Yes, it’s the same picture as the cover, because I was too disorganized to take more photos before leaving for my 10 days holidays.
I totally fell in love with the Offline’s notepad. It’s basically a refillable notepad, with the perfect size to fit into any purse or pocket. The cover is water resistant and the pages are hld by a simple elastic string that allow to pull pages out easily. It should be a good replacement for the notepad I currently use in addition to my bullet journal to jot down ideas when I’m on the go. Even though I love this product, it’s not perfect: the price of the refills is very high in my opinion, especially if you use the notepad very often (which I do).
I also had a crush on Octagon Design’s simple and beautiful stationery products. They just released a new notebook with a Swiss binding and a dot grid that is surely a nice option for bullet journaling (another candidate running for the best notebook price!).
I also took advantage of this visit at PaperWorld to start getting ready to celebrate the 25K followers milestone on Instagram as it’s getting closer everyday (TANK YOU!). I hope I can put an epic giveaway together very soon and give back all the love I get there!
Instagram discoveries
Dan – Pacificnotation
I love how artsy and simple the pages of this amazing bullet journal Instagram account are. The black lines give character to Dan’s simple and effective layouts.
Each page of his journal is quite unique, and explore new ideas and inspiration. The clear; neat pictures are perfect. They make it easy to see all the layouts details and understand how the sections work together.
Kelsey – Tetheredandtold
I’m a huge fan of Kelsey’s work. I sometimes wish I could give her my journal so that she could keep it for me!
Her simple and pretty layouts are just perfect and have been one of my main source of inspiration lately. Since I downsized my bullet journal and use a B6 notebook, I’ve been looking for miniature bullet journal inspiration and Kelsey’s account is just the perfect match for this purpose.
Paperki
Last but certainly not least, I wanted to share a special Instagram account. I came across Paperki’s work thanks to Mark from @menwhobullet a few weeks ago and I’m still stunned by all these amazing hexodexes.
The hexodex is a simple way to track time and get organized with a double hexagon graph. The first hexagon stands for the morning hours, the second one for the afternoon’s. Each hexagon can be divided in sections to plan the day and/or keep track of the time spent for each task.
Each one of Paperki’s hexodexes is unique thanks to the gorgeous patterns he creates. I’m in love with this time management technique and how amazing these small graphs look at the end of the day! I’m seriously thinking of trying this method in my own journal. The only thing that is holding me so far is that it takes a certain amount of time to draw them… I could think of a DIY stencil to solve this issue and give it a try. I’ll definitely keep you posted about this hexodex thing!
