More MMMG Goodness, now with pictures!

Due to the anonymous comment on my last entry, I was directed towards The Hach to help me fuel my MMMG planner addiction. Before I talk about the planners, let me comment on The Hach. I have no affiliation with them and I paid for my products so I feel no reason to say anything one way or another about them. That being said, this was an excellent company to buy from. My items shipped quickly and they even refunded some money to me for shipping. My shipping cost less than expected so I actually got that money back! When does that ever happen? Never! So, if you have a few bucks to throw around, visit The Hach, because they were awesome. I will surely be placing another order soon as they have some Washi tape calling my name.

Back to the planner addiction...I have no idea how I will use the 134 planners I have now, but I am going to give it a shot. I also ordered pens, because I clearly do not have enough of those either. When I am going to get my own episode of Intervention for all of these paper product purchases? My friends really should be stepping in at some point.

Maybe my friends and my husband view my paper/pen addiction as a victimless crime (if you excluded the damage done to my bank account...) And when I think about it, really everyone wins, because I am about to share some MMMG goodness.

(Notice the handwritten thank you note from The Hach as well!)

I think the paper is thin on the Planner.M model and the paper wouldn't be suited to fountain pens.

I haven't actually written in any of these because I simply can't bear to taint the pages if I am not using it. I hate writing in something and not using it. However, from the feel of the pages, the Past Present Future and Tomorrow planner will take gel pens and wetter ink ok, with limited bleed through.

Here are a couple of pages from the Past Present Future, it is basically laid out like a weekly Moleskine. There are blank calendar pages in the front and then some additional unlined and lined journal pages at the back.

Overall, if you are looking for a functional, undated planner with weekly layouts, MMMG is great option.

Lets not forget the pens! These are just standard color pink and purple ink pens (ignore the lighting issues, it is Iowa and gets dark at 2:30 this time of year.) They are .38 and really are nothing special in the pen department, but I liked the aesthetics and simplicity of the barrel. Seems like a good enough reason to buy something I suppose. I will probably pick up more in this set because they write well enough and I wouldn't be heartbroken if I lost one.



Anyone else out there love these planners? If so, let me know which one is your fave!

MMMG Millimeter Milligram Planners

I love planners. I have made my own planners, made planners for other people, printed out free printable pages, used Moleskine's, Quo Vadis, generic Mead academic planners, assignment books, the uncalendar....I've been around the planner block. But like with most things, I want to try something new and travel to far off planner lands. I started my journey with these two planners from Poketo:
Weekly Planner
Perpetual Planet Planner (in brown)

But now, I need every single planner at MMMG. Millimeter Milligram is a Korean company I believe, and they sell every planner an addict could ever dream of. I literally must have every single planner listed below.

Check these out:
New Day
Daily Color
Planner. M
The Collage Book of Daily Life Travel
Tomorrow-L
Past Present Future and You (Large version)
Daily Color

Apparently you can order online, but unfortunately the site doesn't seem to link to an US version. I have the "Draw Your Tomorrow" planner already. However, I want nearly every other planner on the site.

I'm not sure why I need all of these different planners, it seems like a bit much. However, being rational when it comes to paper products isn't something I am good at. My point is, if anyone knows of anywhere that is selling these adorable MMMG products, tell me in the comments. I don't care if the store is from overseas or in the US. As long as there is an English version of the website, I will be happy. If you can't help me find these awesome products, feel free to suggest some of your favorite planners in the comments!

In the mean time, I will try and do a review on the two planners from Poketo and let you know what I think!

Dialogue Journal and Rolling Writer

It is coming up on my favorite time of year, school supply season! I have already started browsing the displays cropping up at the mass market stores, but I also love college bookstores. I decided to beat the rush of students and visited a nearby college bookstore yesterday. I came came across this Dialogue Notebook by PaperLuxe and the Pentel Rolling Writer pen. This book has a soft flexible purple cover with attached elastic band. I couldn't get the book to open flat, but I think it will be more likely once it broken in. The pages are lined on the front and blank on the back. This was actually the selling point for me and I how I use journals. I like to make collages in them and a blank page would be great for that. Or I could use this book as a DIY planner and a mix of lined and blank pages would be perfect.

My main complaint is the layout of the lined pages, that the spacing on the lines is wide like a Rhodia, I prefer a ruling similar to a Moleskine. There is also a lot of wasted space at the top and bottom of the page and there is a logo, which I typically do not like. (You may need to click on the picture to see the lines they are kind of faint.)

The paper performs as expected. I did a quick test with several pens.



All showed through on the back but they didn't bleed through to the next page. I would recommend this book as more of an art journal rather than a writing journal, but you would have to be aware of the medium being used to avoid bleed through.

I also want to talk about the Pentel Rolling Writer (the first example in my pen test above). The package lists this pen as a .8 however, it is liquid ink pen that is very bold. I have come across this pen a few times, usually in offices where I have worked and immediately appropriated them as my own. I rarely see these in stores and when I do, I buy one.

I even have several dried up ones in my pen box. I love the pen but if I could nitpick one thing, it is that the width of the line varies greatly as you can see from the pen test above. The package says it is because of the writing pressure that is applied. I feel like it more about the angle of how the pen is held. That being said, I still enjoy this pen and like to use it for journaling.

Does anyone else use this pen? I rarely see them in circulation so I am not sure how popular they are.

Quick Cheap Pen Review

Tomorrow is my first day at my new (old) job. Needless to say I have continued to fantasize about how I am going to supply my new office and have been dying to make the rounds to every office supply store and website known to man. Unfortunately, a rowdy going away party and homework limited my shopping time this weekend.

Because I was short on time, I decided to visit Wal-Mart to get my pen fix! I picked up a package of pens by Papermate. I liked the clean white styling of the pens and I thought they might go well with the white supplies at Poppin. I also picked up a pack of Elementz markers made by inc. I really have no need for these, but I thought they could be useful when decorating my planner pages every week.

I decided to test these pens out in the notebook I received in the Germany Rad and Hungry kit. As a side note, I am so in love with Rad and Hungry! I have previously speculated on what different countries office supplies were like and it seems as though Rad and Hungry read my blog and decided to start a company to satisfy my curiosity! If you aren't yet signed up with Rad and Hungry, you should do it right now, or you are going to be the only kid on the playground without a notebook from Latvia and paperclips from all over the world.

Back to my review... the Der Brunnen Block notebook paper is 70gsm and reminds me of the writing tablets that you used to see everywhere, both in size and the weight of the paper. I'm not sure if you can tell in the pictures, but the grid lines on the paper are done in grey, rather than blue. I like this better than normal grid paper simply because of that fact.

The Papermate pen is a Silhouette Elite and is classified on the package as a medium pen at 1.0mm. It is really just your standard ballpoint pen. It wrote smoothly and didn't seem too goopy. There is nothing fancy about the pen, but nothing bad either. I can see filling an office supply closet with this type of pen if you wanted to get away from the stick pens or avoid gels.

Closer view of the ink shows a little bit of skipping, but I think it is because it is brand new. I don't think it would be a problem long term. The pen comes in blue and black.

The Elementz markers very metallic. The picture doesn't really do the colors justice. The package says they work well on light and dark paper. They are not listed as permanent markers, but they do say that they are fade resistant. These markers are labeled as fine tip. However, that clearly isn't the case, they are similar in size to regular sharpie, so they may not be best for very detailed crafts. I am sure I will get some use out of these pens, but they won't be something I use everyday.

Both the ballpoint and the markers showed through on the back of the paper. However, there was no bleed through on the markers. So if you are looking at them for crafting, I don't think it would be a problem.

Now that I have my pen fix in for the weekend, I have to start deciding what notebook and pens to take with me on my first day of work! I know I will be taking a lot of notes during my training and I want to ensure I have a trusty pen and a notebook that I won't mind using for awhile as i get up to speed in this new job. I am already planning on using my Uncalendar as my work "to-do" book (but I follow my own system, not the one at their website). I have all manner of bound books, office project notebooks, Rhodia pads etc. to choose from. But I would love to hear from you in the comments! What would be your must have supplies on your first day of work?

I'm still here and back with a new review!

I have not posted in a very long time, I just got busy and my work was stressful. For awhile I didn't do much in the way of collecting pens and notebooks. My once monthly jet pen orders had even fallen by the wayside for a few months.

Recently I have restarted ordering from www.jetpens.com at least 1x per month and bought a subscription to http://www.radandhungry.com. I am also starting a new job in a week where I can fill my office with anything I want and I am super excited to place a large order from www.poppin.com. I think this new job is going to give me some more time for my hobbies because it will (hopefully!) be far less stressful.

So today I visited the local Blick store after work and bought a variety of pens and then came across some new journaling products. All of the products are made by SMASH. I bought a journal, some page markers, a stamp, quotes pad and tape (not pictured).

I didn't even open the plastic on the journal to see what kind of paper was in it at the store, but I knew I could use the stamps and quote pad in my planner if I wanted. I am not doing a complete DIY planner right now, but I am using a Moleskine planner and making and collages and doodles in it most weeks. So it is a combo scrapbook/journal/planner.

Back to the SMASH items. The journal had a a plastic envelope on the outside and then another plastic cover actually on the journal.

front


front cover without plastic and showing double ended pen/glue stickback cover


explanation page

first page

sample pages

stamp/page markers and quote pad and page samples

I haven't tested the paper to see how it takes different kinds of inks. Overall I get the sense that this journal is very versatile but probably not for journalers who just write. I can't see my self using it as a daily journal but more as an art project journal. The pages are quite varied and there are many many more designs than what I have shown. I could almost see myself using this as a DIY planner but the pages are very unstructured and might night suit me from a planner aspect. The pen that comes with it is cute because of the glue stick, but I do not see myself using the glue stick. I am a bit more particular when it comes to gluing stuff into my books. It sees like a run of the mill glue stick so I am not sure how well it will work.

I do love the stamper and quote book. The stamper is not self inking which is kind of nice because it gives me an excuse to buy ink pads! I like the fact that there is a date as well as phrases on the stamp. I think it could be really fun, but again I see myself using both the stamp and the quote book in my planner more so than in the SMASH journal.

Overall people who scrapbook, do a lot of collage type projects or art journals will probably like this line and they seem like fairly decent quality and since I bought it all for less than 20$ I think it is also at a great price!

The Seventh Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper

The Seventh Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper

Welcome to the February 9, 2010 edition of carnival of pen, pencil and paper. My name is Melinda and I happy to be the host this month!

I would have made this entry "prettier" and added more pictures or at least something I had written, but started a new job last week, and I am tired! Apparently ordering tons of new office supplies for my office takes more energy than I thought! Or it might be the fact I am used to sleeping until noon everyday and now I have to get up at 5:30am. Either way, I apologize for the lack of pictures, now on to the Carnival! (Please note the links are there, just hover and they will appear, my settings over rode the links an my html skills are limited.)

Editor's Choices

Julie (Okami) presents a Featured Pen - Sheaffer Statesman Snorkel posted at Whatever.

Passion shares a great review about Comparing Pencil Cases posted at The Pen Archives.

Notebook Reviews

Cynthia Niklas presents a review: Pen and Paper Test in Leuchtturm's Pocket Journal with New, Ink-Proof Paper posted at Journaling Arts.

Ryan Wolf presents a comprehensive and helpful review of ecosystem notebooks posted at RE:Wolf.

Pens and Pencils

John Johnston presents a Platinum Preppy Fountain Pen Review posted at Coffee-Stained Memos.

dianeb presents a Guest Review by Jack Labusch: Jinhao Evening Stripes Fountain Pen posted at Pocket Blonde.

Alberto presents a Lyra Colorstripe Colored Pencils Review posted at Lung Sketching Scrolls.

Lito Apostolakou presents Faber Pencil and Vincent Van Gogh:The Artist and his Letters (or his Pencils) posted at Palimpsest.

Snarky's Soapbox (I think we can all relate!)

Snarky's Machine presents an Open Letter to a Pen Thief posted at Does This Pen Write?.

User's Collection

George Fox presents a great collection of Pentel Roller Ball Pens posted at My Supply Room.

Well it is time to tear down the rides at this Carnival but don’t worry, another Carnival will be heading your way next month! Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of pen, pencil and paper using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page. The carnival is organized by Nifty at Notebook Stories, and so if you have any feedback or would like to host, please contact Nifty.

New items and DIY planner update!

So I bought some new things over the past couple of months. I have had a chance to use all of them and I will give some brief opinions, there is a lot to cover!
At the top are several Zebra Sarasa Push Clip Gel .4 gel pens. I feel like they write a little more reliably than the non push clip Zebras. If you have been disappointed in the past, give Zebra another shot with these.

The Copic AtyouSpica in lipstick is next. This has a nice glitter to it and a marker/felt tip pen feel. I plan to buy a variety of colors but will use them as craft pens versus daily writers.

The Zebra Midliner Soft Color Highlighters are great! I will probably buy every color set offered. Again, I use these as more of a craft pen than a highlighter. The colors are a nice change from the typical fluorescent colors.

The next two pens I picked up at a bookstore, a Pilot Bravo and a pen marked Liquid Stylist, but don't see a brand name. The Bravo is like a marker where as the other pen has a needle felt tip. Both write very marker-ish and bold. Especially the Bravo.

Up next is a Morning Glory Mach II. This is a great pen, I like how it writes without a lot of skipping. I won't use it every day, but I know I will seek it out when I want a bit of a purple splash.

The Sailor Recruit is a great pen. I love the nib and although the pen is narrow I don't find it uncomfortable to write with. I bet it would fit in an agenda pen loop fairly well if you are searching for a classy looking, inexpensive fountain pen.

If you are looking for a pen to clip to a notebook the Tombow OnBook pen may be a great choice for you. The pen is just a pen, I didn't buy it for the simple ballpoint, I just liked the unique design!

The next two pens I purchased at the Pendemonium store in Fort Madison, IA. The yellow is a vintage Sheaffer fountain pen and the maroon pen is a cartridge roller ball. I haven't used either one on a daily basis, but I really like the the cartridge pen. The fountain pen was my first adventure in using bottled ink and truthfully that could be a whole separate post. It is apparently rocket science because I can not make it work!

The notebook is what I am using for my journal this year. It is a Kokuyo Campus High Grade MIO Paper notebook, A5 size. The string around it is my homemade elastic band to keep it from getting completely beat up. I'm crafty.

I also picked up a couple of notebooks while looking for the perfect journal. I almost used the Oxford Block book because I liked the layout and the simplicity of it. (The picture is blurry, but it says "date" on each page.) To be honest, I hated the Whitelines book. The lines are way to wide and the paper quality was not good. I really have no use for it. I didn't even include a picture of the paper. It was a waste of money.

Now an update on my DIY planner. I changed formats! I really wanted something that would match my purse and wallet so instead of using the large piccadilly, I bought a Louis Vuitton Desk Agenda cover. It didn't come with an agenda and they were about 100$ more. I wanted to keep my DIY spirit so I bought a multiple subject, grid format, wire bound Clairefontaine. The size is about A5 and it fits perfectly in the agenda after I trimmed the covers just a bit. The paper quality works well with most of my pens, except for sharpies, and it gives me a chance to still be creative!

I printed off some 4x6 cards for monthly calendars and keep them tucked in the front.My layouts aren't quite as interesting as my old planner. I find the grid pattern kind of stifles my creativity just a little. Also, my life hasn't been all that busy, but I will share the first few weeks. I start a new (great!) job tomorrow and I expect things to get a little more interesting, however I am not sure I will use this planner for work or have a separate one. Next week I am going to try a two page per week layout.




Back of planner...

That was a lot of pen and paper info in one post! If you want to know more details about the quality of the items I have recently bought, leave me a comment!

Send your submissions!

Just a reminder, the Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper needs your submissions! The carnival homepage is at http://www.notebookstories.com/carnival-of-pen-and-paper/ if you want more info and you can find the submission page is at http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_7671.html!

Submit your entries by 5pm on February 7th, as the next Carnival will be posted on February 9th!

Journal Suggestions and the upcoming Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper

As I have mentioned in a previous post, I have been journaling for a long time. How I have journaled has changed through the years. I used to want to fill up a book completely before moving on to the next one. I went through a phase where I used large, blank cover journals and modge podged my own covers because I was tired of all the cheap ones with lame covers being sold at the bookstores. I had a few of those that turned out great but some modge podged covers were just a bad idea. After the last trip we took to Las Vegas I decided to create a cover made entirely out the of the stripper trading cards you get from the people on the street corners. Shortly after making it, I realized that I could never take such a "unique" journal out in public, rendering it useless.

My last journal was this Robert le Heros Lined Journal. After a little bit of use, I did not like this journal at all. The paper was great, but I hated the design on the cover after about two months and the feel of cover material wasn't my favorite.

I need to really like the journal I choose or I won't write in it. I have several journals with very few pages filled because I just didn't connect with the book. Sometimes it was too pretty looking and I felt like by writing in it I was ruining it. Other times I just didn't like how the paper felt, the way it opened or the width of the lines.

This year I want a journal that is more functional than previous journals. I want nice paper that responds well to fountain pens and the various .3 pens that I have. I don't really want any designs on the cover. The book must be large, pocket sized journals don't work for me, A5 is the smallest I would want. The book should be lined, but not too small or too large of width, which I guess means a little bigger than a moleskine, but not too big. It can not be spiral bound because then I am tempted to rip pages out of it later on.

I have been all over the usual pen/paper websites looking at reviews and I just can't decide! If anyone has a suggestion, I would be glad to hear it. If I buy the journal you suggest, I might even send you a pen or unused journal out of my collection!

In other news, did you see the Sixth Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper over at Journaling Arts? You should check it out and then make sure to catch the February edition right here at SchoolSupplyDance!

Edited 1-8:
I am still looking for journal ideas, but if anyone has specific experience with the following I would love to hear it!

-Roma Lussa Leather Journal
-Toscana Bonded Leather Wrap Journal
-Fiorentina Lined Journal Refill
-Leuchtturm Master Book Lined Journal
-Leuchtturm Desk-Sized Notebook, Black
-Canteo (I can't seem to find a US Distributor, any ideas?)

I am really interested in the Canteo and the Leuchtturm books, and I want to know if the two Leuchtturm I have listed are the same or different.

And the winner is...

Kasi! Comment number one!

Email me and I'll get your package sent!