D*I*Y Planner

I found a suggestion on the internet that with a little surgery A Montblanc rollerball refill will fit in a Pilot G2 pen. I went to my local pen store, and asked for a Montblanc rollerball refill. I told them what I was going to do, and they let me know that a Faber-Castell rollerball refill would fit exactly. So I installed the Faber-Castell refill in one of my Pilot G2 pens and it fit perfectly.

For a long time I have heard about disc bound notebooks. Circa, Rollabind, and Myndology were the brands I have heard about. I was impressed by the number of people who seemed to love disc bound notebooks, planners, and journals. I found these systems to be either expensive or hard to find. I found the M by Staples Arc Customizable Notebook to be both easy to find and in a price range I could afford.
I purchased the 6-3/8”x8-3/4” notebook with a vinyl cover. My cover is plain blue. I also purchased graph paper and a set of 5 dividers. The discs are 3/4” in diameter, and black.
I use this notebook to track my projects and goals as well as recording writing ideas. I enjoy the ability of the notebook to fold around, like a spiral bound notebook. I like the firmness of the notebook. The paper that is provided with the system I feel is good quality. The vinyl the covers are made from is thick. The dividers are holding up well, and the discs are doing well. Accessories for the system are priced reasonably.
I have been using Pilot G2 pens, and some ballpoint pens with this notebook. The pens I have used have not bled through. I do not see shadows on the back of the pages. I am impressed with the quality of the paper Staples created for these notebooks.
I have four notebooks from various manufactures they are all Moleskin style. Notebooks, except for this one. It has become my favorite notebook.
Pros:

• Affordable
• Good quality
• Punch for the system is affordable
• Easy to find
• Lots of accessories

Cons:

• Bound to buying paper from Staples, or punching your own.

I rate this a 10 out of 10.

When I came across Markings by C.R. Gibson I was looking for an alternative to the Moleskine notebook. I like graph paper in my notebooks, and that is what this one is. I believe the graph paper to be rare, or no longer produced as I have not been able to find reference to it on the C.R. Gibson website.

My notebook has a black bonded leather cover in the large size. The bonded leather cover has some overhang, which may protect the pages, but it is defiantly not as nice looking as a Moleskine of the same size. There is also a stitch going around the edge of the notebook. The cover takes the wear of being in a backpack with cords, iPad, pocket knives, and stuff well.

It has the features of a Moleskin notebook; elastic to hold it closed and pocket in the back. The elastic is looser than I would like, but it still holds the book together. I believe the pocket is well made, if more utilitarian looking than most rear Moleskin pockets.

So far I have used Pilot G2 pens with this notebook, and they take the ink well. I see shadows on the reverse side of the pages when I write on the back, but the ink does not bleed through. Based on the use of the pens I have used I have seen comparable paper to the Moleskine in quality.

I do not believe I would purchase another one of these, but I am not disappointed in its quality to much. If the elastic were just a little tighter I think this could be a serious contender for future purchases.

Pros:

• Slightly less expensive
• Easier to find, as it is available in more locations (Target, Staples, etc.).
• Paper works well with Gel pens.
• Cover is heavy duty.

Cons:

• Lacks a certain amount of style when put next to a Moleskine.
• Elastic is looser than what I would expect.

I give it a rating of 6 out of 10.  

Since it is the Christmas season and there are several holidays available for celebration I thought I'd show you how to create some cards as easy as getting an image you like, choosing the right format, and sending out your custom made card!

Let's start with finding pictures.

Flickr is a great place to start with looking for pictures. In fact some Flickr users have released their images under a Creative Commons License, which allows you with proper attribution to use the image for your card, just put a small caption under the image when you use it.

sxc.hu is a good source of stock photography which is free to use in your card. You need to create an account, but it is free.

The format of the card is another choice you will need to make. A post card (3.5 inches to 4.25 inches x 5 inches to 6 inches) is a less traditional, but less expensive to mail format. A good size for cards which fold over is 5x7. This means that you will get one card per letter size piece of paper. I have included Templates for both types of cards to give you a start.

The last bit for a custom made card is sending it out. If you are sending the post cards just address it, write your message on back place a stamp, and you are good. If you made the folding card you will need to make or buy an envelope, address stamp and mail.

No, I'm not dead. Although I can understand why some people believe that.

As much as I dearly love this site, and all the interesting people that have sprung up from nowhere to contribute their experiences, their ideas and their passions, life has thrown me a curveball or two.

Back when this site began, I was living in Newfoundland, Canada. I was doing contractual work (web development, training and marketing/communications consulting), and owing to the scarcity of such jobs in that locale, was blessed with plenty of spare time. I could afford to spend a thousand hours (yes, that many) working on hundreds of forms. I had just had a child, was surrounded by supportive family members, and life was relatively easy.

Today is different. I live in beautiful Yellowknife, Northwest Territories --yes, that's near the Arctic Circle-- where I have a job that requires me to perform my focused best at all hours of the day. (I am an executive at a marketing/communications company, to be precise.) We have had another child, now five, who is severely autistic, pre-communicative though seemingly happy, but who requires constant attention and plenty of patience. I have also had a hernia for the past year, and have recently had back surgery for a ruptured disc, and that's taking a toll on every little physical action I perform, including sitting down.

In short, live is no longer easy, and it's truly difficult to find time for my old passions. Not that I care any less for them, but the energy and time to pursue them is often lacking.

It's rare that I speak of things that are very personal, but I figured I owed you folks an explanation.

So, where are we now?

There have been rumours that I am selling the site. I tend to get an offer or two every month, it's true. But I can't put a dollar figure on this community, knowing that these buyers would only take advantage of the terrific content here to plug every hole with a dozen ads to monetize the resulting mess. No, thank you.

We've had to turn off new user registration because we were being spammed to death. If you would like a user created, for now you can contact me directly at douglasjohnston on gmail.com. State two preferred user names, in case the first is taken. Please be patient and give me a day or two to set you up.

Partly related to our spam issues, I'm afraid the CMS that powers this site, Drupal, is a couple generations old. Upgrading the site two versions is way out of my comfort zone, especially with custom content like the template directories. If you are a Drupal wizard who would like to volunteer to help me take that on, I would very much welcome your help. Once we upgrade, we can build a lot of improvements into the site, including social media, better galleries, better editing/admin tools, quicker moderation, faster response time, and all kinds of wonderful as-yet-thought-of goodness.

Innowen, Steve and the initial DiyP troop have gone on to more regular gigs, and I wish them all the best. They are truly wonderful people, and I love and respect them all. They've contributed so much over the years, and looking back I can't believe the depth and breadth of their hundreds of articles. Most would have run out of ideas after a few weeks, but they kept going, offering us fresh, informative and entertaining posts for years. Astonishing.

Speaking of writers, is there an opportunity for a "next generation" here? By all means! I can't do much by myself. If there is anyone reading this who would like to become a regular writer on this site, please contact me. The only catch is that I don't have the hours of time for editing that I used to. But if you're a talented writer, and would like to live in a stationery store, have a hankering for tinkering with your productivity system, push your creativity far beyond your limits, or love reviewing your cool new pens and notebooks to the utter bewilderment of your friends, you could be a fine fit here. Drop me a line and let's take it from there.

Last but not least, we have ygor. ygor, the amazing. ygor, the dedicated. ygor, the coding guru. ygor, the productivity maven. (ygor, the ill-captitalized.) ygor, the reason why this site still exists. I can't thank him enough, and I don't think any regular visitor to this site could, either. Thanks again, ygor, for keeping the ball rolling and instilling a strong sense of belonging and professionalism throughout this little community. You've been incredible, and there for us all.

So, I'm turning the mic over to you folks here. What would you like to see happen on this site? Any ideas for new features? Perhaps you're a designer and would like to take a crack at a new theme? Any products you'd like to see reviewed? Any stories to share? Tips for analog systems? Odes to your favourite fountain pen?

Let's sweep out the cobwebs, each grab a hammer or paintbrush, and start reconstructing this site into something great again. The foundation is there, reinforced by some tremendous dedication and talent and passion. But I want us to build it together.

Many years ago, I discovered this product.

I had a lot of letter size paperwork to sort out. Many important projects had to be portable, organized and nice looking. And I was on a budget.

The Tabs were great performers on the spot. I used a mechanical pencil to write the title on each tabs, it didn't smudge. Despite lots of handling, the tabs corners stayed intact.

Over the years, Avery has expended this very dependable line of letter size dividers by offering color coded laminated write-on tabs then plastic, rounded corner write on tabs. The entire line can be found here

I remember the plastic rounded corner write on tabs catching my eyes a while ago, but I do not remember if I added them to my stationary stash or not. But, this year, while searching for 5.5 x 8.5 Plastic Dividers, I found these and these.

The second tab dividers also exist in the Retro Circles pattern in a orange and lime theme color. All are 7 holes punched for easy fit in most half letter size ring binders or organizers.

The Multicolor set is very light has the durability of hard plastic, yet is not stiff. The tabs' corners are gently rounded making them easy to hold and turn. The very soft and semi-translucent colors are: pastel blue, ice grayish white (very elegant), pastel green, pastel yellow (somewhat see-threw) and the loveliest of ice cornflower purplish blue (somewhat see-threw as well). I got my set at Office Max.

The Spring Leave Design dividers take their names from the pattern in the front of each divider. There are two mauve dividers, two pastel pink and a light sea blue one in the middle. The patterns have contrasting colors on each divider, which might explain why they are in the high $5 range, in contrast to the plain dividers, in the $3 range.

They are well worth the price and the trip I made to the next town to the only place I could find them. The only Franklin Covey retailer in my state. I cleaned up their stock of the product on display (4 sets).

The Spring Leaf set is a must have for anyone who loves pink and purple; the Translucent set is an affordable, fun and professional looking tool.

In my enthusiasm, I forgot to say that I am not affiliated with Avery in any ways.

Steven Savage is no stranger when it comes to turning his passions into viable career options. The creator of the awesome generator site Seventh Sanctum, which I've mentioned several times on the site here, Savage now coaches people on how their hobbies can push them forward in a business arena. His first book, Fan to Pro, is a wonderful how-to guide on how you can use your hobbies and fandoms to build or improve your careers. This book isn't like any other business or career guide. Savage focuses on the things what you do outside of the office and the cube farm and shows you how to turn those hidden talents and gems into new opportunities in career growth.

The basic idea is that we spent a lot of hours involved in our hobbies and passions. In some cases we learn new skills as a result of being involved with them. Savage believes that it is in this area where we can get futile markets for job/career opportunities. Sounds a bit unrealistic? Well, the site you're reading this review on is a real-life example of the principles of this book. Doug taught himself how to use the Adobe Creative Suite so he could save money by creating planner form refills. Then he decided to drop these forms online for others to share. Finally, after seeing how many people out there enjoyed the forms, he decided to create D*I*Y Planner as a destination on the web for paper and pen geeks to hang out and swap new ideas and tips. Without that passion, the D*I*Y Planner form kits would never have existed. And without those forms, then this site and all you passionate people about paper and pens would have to go elsewhere to find ways to connect and geek out on paper and pen products.

Editor’s Note: Luckily for me, my husband’s boss, Anthony Dupre, is a woodmaker and a big do it yourselfer. Two months ago I was gifted with a lovely handmade fountain pen that Anthony crafted from materials my husband selected. I consider this pen a heirloom item and pressured him to tell his tale. Finally, we just sat down to do an interview-style article.

How did you get started in woodworking?
Anthony: A few years ago, I received a small lathe as a christmas present. It was love at first sight. I set it up in my shop / garage and started turning. I started with bowls, goblets, and tool handles and then got hooked on turning pens. 

What motivated you to start creating your own pens?
The inability to find a pen that matched my style (well, within a reasonable budget that is). I also simply enjoy making things from scratch in general. I was also looking for projects I could turn for gift that would get used and not just thrown on a shelf. Pens are a perfect gift in that regard.

Our friends at Renaissance Art wanted me to pass on the word that their latest giveaway involves a new Circa cover.

For our 40th giveaway, we’ve got a Classic Size Leather Cover with flap and D-ring snap closure for your Rollabind or Circa brand notebook with 1-inch rings. The Rustic Brown cover features three interior slash pockets and a pen loop. Makes me want to get organized, how about you? Check out the personalization: B.G.C. = BeGone Clutter.

To toss your name into the hat for a chance to win, go visit the Renaissance Art blog and read all about entering.