I use a product called Fiebing's Aussie Leather conditioner. It waterproofs your leather and also revitalizes old dry, or scratched leather. I may darken some light colored leather, but won't make them too dark. My notebook has been splashed on and the water just wipes off. There are some KZfaq videos on this product. Good luck. I enjoy your videos. Thanks for what you do.

i use stalogy notebooks as well as my over 20 typewriters for journaling.

Fun video, thanks for sharing these tidbits.

This is so interesting! Not that we needed celebrity endorsements of course, but it's so interesting to know us regular folks are not alone in our analog-ness! Thanks for sharing this!!!

I think beyonce also journals but we don't see her posted them since 2010s

🌿 TIME STAMPS 00:00 Introduction 00:36 Austin Butler 01:25 Oprah Winfrey 01:50 Hugh Hefner 02:25 Emma Watson 02:57 Zoe Saldana 03:20 Jeff Buckley 03:41 Jason Sudeikis 04:02 Lily-Rose Depp 04:25 Neil deGrasse Tyson 04:50 Jonah Hill 05:03 Reese Witherspoon 05:21 Pierce Brosnan 05:36 Stevie Nicks 05:55 Jeff Bridges 06:35 Jason Momoa 07:28 Glen Powell 08:07 Jon Batiste 08:28 Tom Hanks, Part 1 08:28 Eddie Vedder 09:03 Lady Gaga 09:12 John Mayer 09:12 Tom Hanks, Part 2 10:23 Mark Twain

Love your attention to detail. Great information--so many excellent points/recommendations. Love football player analogy--I do follow the pigments! I love geeking out on all the technical info. There's so much to know! My cool red for mixing is DS Quin Rose PV 19 but now I need to try a PR122 and have made a list of potentials from Kim Crick's outstanding pigment database. I live and die by her lists of lightfast and not-lightfast pigments as well as the wealth of lightfastness info she has researched and recorded. Amazing. I agree that lightfastness matters. Things fading when it's totally avoidable is sort of heartbreaking. I don't scan everything to preserve for posterity so buying lightfast pigments seems like the best way to go. Thanks for this!

This was THE best description of putting the TN together....thank you so much!!! I am new to TN, and this was sooo helpful...love your videos.

I'm afraid I don't have any tips for the water stain, but what I will say about it is that I think it adds to the look of the leather, adding to the travel-worn look and feel. Thank you for introducing me to traveler's notebooks. I've been using more traditional style journals with a wrap-around cover. Maybe I should look for a traveler's notebook instead because I love the idea of the customizability of it.

Love this ! Thank you

I would like to see you in the 013 insert just to get a review of it as you have reviewed wandering many times. I'm curious to know how the paper is as you use it daily. I actually have some loose leaf 52gsm TR paper on hand; so I could compare our thoughts and see if they are the same. If it stalogy paper that would be amazing as it's my favorite! I'm currently working through my stock pile of journals before I stock up on anyone, but im always interested in new finds. Thanks for sharing!!

I have found that I can use 2 fountain pens in the moleskine cahiers plain journals; they are twsbi eco extra fine filled with noodler's black and a super cheap off brand, Epakh on Amazon also filled with noodler's black. In fact, I like the flow of the Epakh better, and the ink is darker, yet the line is still fine. I do still need to allow for dry time and use a blotter page if writing a lot. Overall, I'm quite happy with the pen to paper performance all things considered.

Evidently one of the worst things you can do when you get water on your TN cover is to rub at it or blot it because it will lift the color off the cover. Chic Sparrow has a Leather Care 101 guide that might be helpful. Just google and you should find it. I'd leave a link but KZfaq frowns on that these days.

This was a really good video. When I first discovered TN's several years ago I did a lot of research. I didn't like the Midori TN's either for several reasons, the bump, the metal thing on the spine and inserts sticking out the front. I went with Chic Sparrow and Lady Falcon. I have a couple others but the first two I mentioned are my favorites. My favorite leather of all time is the Chic Sparrow Maverick. I have a Chic Sparrow Maverick in passport plus size that I use for my calendar(I'm not a planner person) just to write down appointments and I have a couple other inserts in that one for notes and passwords. I don't need a lot of room so I just use the Midori monthly that I fill out myself. I use my other TNs for memory keeping(I make my own junk journal inserts and I don't bind them till they are complete and ready to be stored away. And I use them for art journals. I have a composition size Chic Sparrow that is wonderful. It's the Patina leather that gets darker over time. So smooth and beautiful.

So helpful, thank you.

While I have never found the elusive planner peace - I generally consider myself an A5 gal and for that carry, I have consistently used my Kokuyo Systemic cover. I was lucky enough to get the all Cordura version without the weird pleather. It is, by far, my favorite way to carry A5. I know it's not really TN related, but I just love the way it's configured.

Really beautiful!

If I may ask, what is the journaling magazine you’ve recommended in the past, it has prompts and such? Thanks!

Wow, i love the picture woth the ship <3

To help protect your leather covers, treat them occasionally with something like saddle soap or leather conditioner (or similar products). Let them sit overnight, then buff with an old t-shirt rag, removing any of the soap or conditioner that the leather did not absorb.

One thing you can try when you get a water stain (right as it happens), is to slightly wet down the entire surface, then let it all dry. It might darken the entire piece of leather slightly, but it won't look like a stain spot any more.

The Leuchturm1917s are a true A5 size of 6x8 inches, right? Have you ever tried the Exceed brand?

🌿 TIME STAMPS 00:00 Introduction 01:07 Format & Durability 01:59 Pen Test 04:40 Watercolor: Cincinnati Reds 05:58 Hand Lettering + Watercolor: Lion 07:07 Watercolor: Fawn 07:28 Hand Lettering + Watercolor: Rabbit 07:55 Watercolor: Cardinals 09:50 Watercolor: Adeline 10:41 Watercolor: Blossoms 11:50 Ephemera + Hand Lettering: Keats Poem 12:46 Ephemera: Classical Music 13:52 Hand Lettering + Watercolor: Hummingbird 14:45 Hand Lettering +: Transfers: Flower Vase 16:02 Watercolor: Bing Cherries 16:43 Watercolor: San Diego Bay 17:41 Watercolor: County Fair 21:08 Watercolor: Mixing Challenge

What size is your standard on the Apple Pig Etsy site? Field note regular? Personal regular?

Starting your journal any day, month or time is so true. Decide when you want it to start. Love that and that's exactly why journaling has been so good for me. Thanks for sharing!

Love this video, lots of great information. Thank you.

I have used the Travelers Notebook and Moterm standard inserts from Amazon, for over a year now. They are good quality, sturdy, and have endured through brush pens, stamping, coloring, stickers, clips, and fountain pens. After trying various covers, I settled on the Moterm TN/wallet system. Although it has some weight to it, I love this combo and wish I'd used it sooner🙂 thanks for sharing!

Ages ago I bought a pair of kobalt blue shoes. Before I had been able to treat them it rained and I had stains all over my new shoes. I went back to the shop and the lady told me to wet my shoes all over. A real good soak with a sponge or a cloth. When they were dry no stain was left. For my shoes it was THE solution. Don’t know if you do this already, but I treat all my notebooks, handbags, etc. with a good leather cream from time to time. Can’t remember having water stains anywhere except for those blue shoes.

I love the idea of using TN covers for archiving. I might try it. Thanks for the idea and for sharing your insert contents.

In the economical section, I'm missing the brand name for the first one. Promo? Piromo? Peeromo? Sorry, what?

I hated my first (off brand) traveler's notebook. I hated the elastic closure and the metal bead at the top of the spine. I got a leather cover with the elastic in the spine and no bead. I removed the elastic closure and stuck two elastic penloops inside the front and back covers, slightly staggered apart. Close the notebook and put the pen through both loops and the cover stays closed (and you're extremely unlikely to lose the pen). Very happy with this one.

Thanks for this video. I’ve learned that I need different books for different purposes.

Talking of stickers I get the bloom mini sticker books for my cousin and weeks books

I just don’t understand why all the complaints about weight for a 1 pound book🤷‍♀️ I carry a Hobonichi cousin and a wonderland222 to work every day with no issues. The avec is a pain come July when you keep having to refer to stuff that happened in the previous book and you keep having to refer to it. I did the avec ONCE -NEVER again!🤬 I love the cousin as my master planner, wonderland222 for work and Sterling Ink common planner for hobbies and such.

I’m a horizontal planner. Vertical never has enough room for writing. I do like my Hobonichi cousin though

Mold?!? Holy moly that is disturbung! That was the one I've had in my Amazon cart and was gonna click buy when payday comes around!thanks for that heads up 🙏🏻

This was brilliant, thank you so much. I have wanted to bible journal but had no clue how to start. This was so very helpful. Please do more as well as your other amazing videos. I love your leather desk by the way!

Great video especially for a new entry into the TN rabbit hole world! Still exploring all the numerous options & narrowed it down to regular size (vs passport) TN in cognac or olive. Plans include journaling, documenting gardening journey, travel, book club notes and as a sewist & quilter- documenting projects both planning & completed. Since you’ve been using these for nearly a decade, a quick question: how could I add small fabric swatches best to include actual fabric samples use? Thanks, I’ll be busy for awhile watching all you other videos.

Love this video. I agree with so much of it. I keep trying pre printed planners hoping the next one will work, but not a single one ever meets my needs so ive basically accepted the fact that im a TN girl so i can use inserts that suit my needs... that and i love putting my stalogy in my TN. I think so many of us get caught up in what everyone else is doing that we forget to personalize it and just have fun. A word of the day is always one i enjoy doing on dailies.

I just received this TN for my birthday. It had a little white stuff on it but I don’t believe it was mold. There was no mold smell and it wiped right off. Also it was not on all of the cover or the packaging. The TN cover is beautiful!! I have been wanting it for over a year now and I’m so glad I got it.

❤Thank you😊 Great video!

I love my cousin. Use the weekly for to do list and stuff, and daily for journaling. I have the full year. But if I were to take the planner with me outside a lot, I might have chosen a different planner. It can be big and heavy if you are going to carry it round all the time. I usually only carry it around in my apartment and nowhere else.

Thanks so much for this great video! Your advice is also helpful for those of us who like to create our own bujos or planners!

Love this video! I’m already (over)thinking my set up for 2025 and your tip about planner weight is great (I need to keep this in mind). Thanks!

I’m new here, I love your style - you’ve got a new subscriber 😊🇬🇧

Brilliant video, thank you!

I love that you addressed the weekends! Mine are generally my most busy as well, and I’ve often seen a combined “weekend” entry that combines Saturday and Sunday which drives me wild!! For myself, some of my considerations have been: -Size; I seem to be leaning towards A5 journals, and am enjoying having a planner that stacks nicely -Bilingual or Monolingual; in a country with more than one official language, you may have a preference. I find bilingual reminds me of being in school, so I avoid it! -Fonts; some are just too jarring and bold for me! -Contrast; in a similar vein to bold fonts, black ink on white paper spikes my cortisol for some reason! I think it’s because I found my dream planner (DesignWorks Ink) which has ivory pages and “gold” text and graphics; it’s SO soothing on my eyes, and feels warm and welcoming to come home to! After finding my dream journal (as mentioned), I was so sad they didn’t seem to have a January-start planet this year - so upset I just didn’t buy a planner because I couldn’t find anything that fit my wants and needs! When I found their August-start 1.5 year planner, I’ve never bought anything more quickly in my life! I resonate with all your points! Especially rounded cornersare a must!!

Great video as usual. I've been around here long enough to know we share many planner preferences and pet peeves. The Sunday start monthly, Monday start weekly is the worst! I prefer Monday start, If I had a dollar for everytime I've tried to redate monthly spreads because the weekly worked. Its not worth it, great advice to avoid that frustration.

These are the Superior Master level paints; also sold with the same colour palette (all 48 colours are the same) as Artsy & lately, Lightwish….so we can buy whichever is on sale. Kim Cricks has tested their lightfastness under their Superior label & compared it to Paul Reuben since it’s the set it copies, for those interested in lightfastness. I personally am careful on their pigment info, a lot of their info/actual paint colours make no sense; they might have a lot of undisclosed pigments. They are a fun set though, I like the paints for sketchbook works.