Stationary

Stationery Spotlight: Letters and Doodles to Kickstart Creativity

formletters

Abrams, September 2016

Finding the time to write can sometimes be hard to do. Work, school runs, bedtime routines… there are many things in life that can get in the way.

The other battle is once you’ve sat down to write, your inspiration disappears and that blank space on the page can be incredibly daunting. No matter how long you sit there, the words will not come.

This is why I like writing prompts. Your brain is like a car engine. It works better when it has warmed up. Today I wanted to share two books that I’ve found so helpful.

Form letters by Laura Olin is a series of letters where you fill in the blanks. In the form of a workbook, it has a series of pages that include a letter to an internet friend who you’d like to know better, a note of encouragement to yourself, a letter to your sibling, your valentine and the ex whose instagram you’re stalking.

‘Fill in the blank notes to say anything to anyone.’

If you need something to get the creativity going, this book could be perfect. You never know what these letters will spark.

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My Back To School Stationery Wish List

polka dot pensAs you may have guessed, I have a bit of an obsession with stationery. There is nothing like a new notebook or finding a nice pen.

I did used to dread September and having to go back to school after having six weeks off. The one thing I did look forward to though was the chance to go shopping for all the back to school supplies – you know; the beautiful rucksack that costs more than your pocket money allowed or the five pack of pritt stick your brain convinces you that you’re going to need for the new year at school and will then spend the next nine months in the back of your draw.

As we’re nearing September, I wanted to share my wish list for back to school stationery. I can still want all these even though I’m not at school anymore and haven’t been for a while right? Please? Pretty please? (I’ve tried to include links as I love posts like this and I like knowing where I can get things if any of the items takes my fancy.)

The first item I’ve chosen for my back to school wish list are these Polka Dot Gel Pens from Paperchase (I could seriously spend all my money in that place if I didn’t stop myself. Somehow I don’t think my lack of rent money would be appreciated though.)
What I love about these is that they are so colourful. You have green, purple, blue, red and yellow so if you’re like me and you like to use various colours to brighten up a planner or a notebook then these are perfect.
They are soft grip and retractable too so perfect for those long note taking sessions.
(A pack of five is £4.00 at http://www.paperchase.co.uk)

 

purr maidsThe second thing on my wish list is also from Paperchase and it is this Purr Maids A5 subject notebook.
This collection from Paperchase I think is among my favourites. It’s cats. That’s me pretty much sold. It’s so cute and like the pens, it’s very bright and colourful.
What I like about this notebook is that it has five sections with colourful dividers so you can keep all your notes for each subject separate and organised.
There are 100 sheets (so 200 pages.) It’s close ruled paper and it’s spiral bound which I find easier to use if taking notes (especially if you need to remove any. It really irritates me when I have to rip a page out of a notebook and it leaves a messy heap of the page behind.)
(Purr Maids Subject A5 notebook is from Paperchase and is £8: http://www.paperchase.co.uk)

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My October Favourites

91ZKzlBvzTLI can’t believe we’re into the second week of November. Christmas is next month! I know I am a little late off the mark but I wanted to share some of my October favourites.

 

Composition Book from Knock Knock. 

I love the stationary from Knock Knock. They are the company that usually do all of the cute sticky to do pads with little funny sayings on them. This book was kindly sent to me from the guys over at Chronicle Books. This is part of a little series. As well as the purple one which is the important topics notebook, they do a pink one titled the funny one and a blue one too titled, hyper organised so you can pick the one that suits your personality the best. I’ve always loved the look of the composition books that I used to see on TV shows like Degrassi Junior High and films like Struck by Lightening and now I have one (almost.)

 

Santa’s Little Melter Candle.

IMG_0509I light a lot of candles. If I am at home, you can usually find a candle lit in the room I’ve decided to hang out in. This is the Santa’s Little Helper candle from Bomb Cosmetics. I originally got one of these last year for my birthday. I fell so in love with the scent that I had to buy another one. It’s such a lovely, sweet scent and reminds me of all the sweetie goodness of Christmas (it has a little cinnamon in it I think.) Along with this one, I am also loving the Berry Trifle candle from Yankie Candle. So many lovely candles, so little time to burn them.

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My Favourites: August Stationary Haul

IMG_2287 I am obsessed with stationary. I used to work in one of the big office stores so you can imagine how much of my monthly wage I actually ended up keeping hold of. You can never have too many pens, notebooks, pencils and colouring pencils. I don’t care how old I get, I will always love this time of year as its an excuse to browse all the new stationary. Why should it only be the kids and teenagers going back to school having all the fun in buying stationary? Exactly!

I wanted to share some of the stationary that um, cough, fell into my basket or more accurately, made a flying leap. I love things that help keep me organised (I need all the help I can get,) and seriously, I have so many pens but that still hasn’t stopped me buying more so my haul is a mixture of various things. Where I can, I have put a link to things in case you want to check it out (I have not been paid to feature any of these products – they are things I have brought and just wanted to share.)

 

Firstly, it’s The Weekly Times from Fox & Star. £11.95 + postage and packing. 

I’ve previously mentioned this on social media. I saw this in a haul I watched on You Tube and absolutely loved the look of it. There are fifty sheets in total and what I love about it is that it includes Saturday and Sunday too. A couple of desk planners I have brought in the past only cover Monday to Friday and for what I want to use it for, which is blog planning, this is ideal. It’s also not dated so it’s flexible in where in the year I decide to use it. I love the fact that it has a protective plastic cover and it’s so smart in appearance. I adore this desk planner and it is going to become a permanent item in my stationary pile.

IMG_2198IMG_2279
The second item in my haul are these Harry Potter themed notebooks from The Literary Emporium (£4 each.) 

If you’ve not guessed by previous posts, I love Harry Potter and get excited when I find Harry Potter themed things. I adore these three notebooks from The Literary Emporium. They are A5 in size and have 80 recycled pages so they are perfect for slipping into my handbag. I have been using the ‘Advanced Spells’ book for my to-do lists and it’s great for that too. The quality of the paper is lovely and the covers are quite sturdy (mine has survived a few trips in my bag which is a little like Mary Poppins’ carpet bag.) You can buy just one book at £4 or all three for £10. Bargain I reckon and a must for Potter fans who also love to write.

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