Anne's Notebooks Part 2

I have always kept a notebook, but usually I had one at a time. When I was close to filling up one notebook, I'd start hunting for the next. I have only recently started hoarding notebooks. Recently like in the last 5 months. This is the beginning of my little stash.

The two little pink ones in the bottom row are Iconic "free note", meaning they have lined, grid & blank page (most of Iconic's notebooks also have calender / planner type pages). I have two of them because I thought I would be clever & take the first one apart to re-arrange the pages. I wanted the pink grid paper (!) dispersed throughout the notebook rather than all lumped together at the back. It was the first time I'd tried to take a notebook apart but since it bound by 2 little staples I thought it'd be easy. Know the problem? The stapler wouldn't reach  to the middle of the book!! So I bought another one. Eventually I figured out a way to stitch the binding on the first one, so now I have two.

The little cream coloured notebook next to it is an "Antique Diary" I got off of ebay. There were 3 other varieties of these, but of course I wanted the one with the butterfly on the cover!

 It has weekly & monthly calender pages as well as lined & grid pages. All of which are absolutely gorgeous.

The last notebook in the top row is part of a series I had had printed long, long ago with my artwork on the covers. I found several recently when I was cleaning my room. I used one to make a home-made smash book for my sister. But this one I decided to keep because the cover art is still one of my favourite drawings I've ever done. :)

original drawing

The next two in the middle I got from Writer's Bloc. I love hot air balloons & anything with a blue sky & clouds motif so I couldn't resist the "Write More Happiness Into the World". It has great, decorated lined pages & quotes scattered throughout it.

Write Now Journal

The one next to it is my Clairefontaine notebook. It has nice multi-coloured lined paper which is blank on one side.. however I hated the cover. So.. I washi-ed it!

Much better!
It also wasn't fat enough for me. I like my notebooks to last at least 6 months-a year. So I ended up ordering another one of these notebooks. I took it apart & added most of the pages to the 1st one... I also added a few to my smash book for extra writing space. :)

Last but not least, my "Steamboat Willie" Mickey Mouse notebook! My amazing friend Sara brought this back for me from Disneyland.

Isn't it great? :) Oh Mickey how I love you, let me count the ways....
The notebook is is a good inch thick! That's a lot of paper. :)
It has extra large rings holding it together- which means it will be able to expand & hold all the junk I stuff into my notebooks!
The paper is great- not even my Sakura Gold Shadow pens bleed thru it! And they bleed thru EVERYTHING!
It has four adorable vintage Mickey designs on the papers.

I think the Mickey & Minnie in the little airplane is probably my favourite :)

And it has a little note on the first page: "To my lovely Anne" <3
Sara said when she saw it, she knew it was made for me.  And that she figured it had enough pages that I could rip some out to use in other notebooks, and still have a nice fat Mickey notebook. Which is exactly what I was doing (she knows me so well!)

Lately, I have been thinking about trying to keep a real art journal... Which means I might have to add a sketch journal to my collection, as none of these are really suited to that purpose. But you can never have too many notebooks, right? :)