Hobonichi Techo 2016

I want to blog again! I'm never quite sure what to say, I want to share things but I also have become very, very, very private in the past year. It's a strange mix of wanting to be "real" about what I'm up too but not wanting to overshare. So I spent the summer trying lots of new things. Visiting thrift stores, learning to garden more, walking, decorating my house, finding my "style", birding more, restoring furniture, woodworking and journalling. I got REALLY into journalling this summer! Really really REALLY into it!

I started out the summer using Midori Travelers Notebook (you can view my previous post to see all about it) and I really liked it a lot! I liked adding things to it, using the elastics and decorating it with lots of stuff. I had something happen in my family over the summer that really threw me off and I filled up so.many.inserts. Just venting and working through the various issues. It felt SO good and it was exactly what I needed to do! But I ended up discarding my TN for big cheap journals with lots of pages from TJMaxx because I couldn't keep up with buying inserts or making my own. I also used a little Cute Kikki K and each night before bed I write something GOOD that happened. A little happiness journal!  

I really loved how cute and chunky my TN was but it didn't fit in my purse and I felt like I started spending more time trying to rearrange it to make it work for me than actually using it! I do think it's such a great system and I'd love to use it in the future again but I'm trying something new now. :) Oh! I also used an Erin Condren notebook this fall as a journal but I really didn't like it so I'm not going to talk that much about it. I have about 1/4 of the notebook left and I'm debating not using it at all.

In the end, I switched to a Rite in the Rain for my birding adventures, the same Kikki K for happiness- it's financial year so it runs until 8/16 and Hobonichi Techo! 

Hobonichi is quite possibly the sweetest thing out there. It's essentially a planner with very thin (but sturdy!) paper called Tomoe River, it lays flat while you write, it has many cover options and three different sizes. If you get a chance, check out the instagram hash tag. It's really inspiring. Here is the official "all about Hobonichi" if you aren't familiar. Reading this message from the editor in chief might make you fall in love with it too! And this tumblr page is helpful too! All the links! ;)

I ordered the hobonichi from JetPens. I originally ordered the Japanese version directly from Hobonichi but after comparing my Japanese to Ashleigh's English, I switched. Here is a good link that describes the difference between the two.

I also ordered a beautiful zip up case for my Hobonichi called Royal Stewart so when I travel I can protect it and carry some favorite supplies. It's small enough that it fits in my purse which I really like! Ashleigh & I both originally ordered from the Hobonichi website so we could save on shipping. It was pretty fast, about 5-6 days from Japan to California! We each got a pencil board and sticker savers! The sticker saver is so clever! It's three sticky sheets that stick to your page (but they are removable!) and you can put your stickers on the sheets to use them later! I saw them used in this YouTube video and thought they were so awesome! 

I'm using the Cover on Cover and I've cut some favorite scrapbooking paper and tucked it in, over my strawberry cover. Just so you know, if you order a Hobonichi from JetPens, they don't have the cover on cover with them. :) The cover on cover is basically a plastic cover that protects the nylon cover. Ashleigh & I spent a morning cutting up pretty much all my scrapbook paper to make different cover options. Here is a link to more cover options and ideas. I like that you can slide whatever you want in there! I might sew a little cute quilt block and tuck it in there. And I love the idea of changing it out with holidays and seasons. ;)

You also can do whatever you want with the pages! I was worried about using dated pages for things other than what they are intended for but it seems like everyone uses their Hobonichi differently! I'm using some of the calendar pages to keep track of pen and ink samples. This is an awesome video that is really inspiring for what to do with your Hobonichi!

I'm using mine to capture small sweet moments in my life rather than to write big swaths of text. I have a huge sticker collection that I'm enjoying messing around with and I like painting in it. So far nothing has bled through the pages except a stamp pad (StazOn if you are curious!) but the paper does take a little bit of time to dry!

Part of me wants to share daily on instagram like Paperedstars & Cecicat because I look forward to their posts but part of me is nervous about publicly sharing that much! I do share some journal pages on my private instagram though. I guess I'll just play it by ear! I really do like taking photos of my journal because I like getting a hot tea or coffee, lighting a candle, putting on music and just creating. It's super relaxing for me!

I'm going to blog soon about my favorite books I read in 2015. As of today I read 131 books, I'm going to see if I can pick my top five! And I think I might share one of my projects I did this summer, I turned my old toy chest into a trunk for quilts. :)

I hope you had a nice fall! :)

PS: This blog post contains an amazon affiliate link to a notebook that I purchased and used and genuinely like. :)