My Favorite Notebooks

I'm a paper girl, so it's probably no surprise that I have a lot of notebooks. Lists, to-dos, goals and ideas all firm up in my head when I write them on paper, and I recently realized that I've always been this way. As a follow-on to last week's post on my favorite pens, I thought I'd share my favorite notebooks. I'm pretty particular about these, too.

1 / Flora Stripes Jotter / by Betsy White / 3.5 x 5.5 inches / I keep this mini notebook in my bag and use it to capture inspiration when I'm out and about. Sometimes it's a gift idea while I'm shopping or an idea for a blog post while I'm waiting at the doctor's office. Whatever it is, my preference is to write it down rather than, say, jot it in the notes app on my iPhone. I'll do that, though, if I don't have this little guy with me.

2 / Shagreen Journal / by Martha Stewart Home Office for Avery / 5.5 x 8.5 inches / I've changed up my personal journals over the years, but this is one of my favorites. I love that it lays flat without being a spiral notebook. I write with my entire hand and part of my arm on the table or page and spirals are annoying to me. I also love that the lines in this notebook are perfectly spaced to accommodate my handwriting. I'm pretty sure they're discontinuing it so I may have to grab a couple - or I'll just experiment with something new. Any ideas?

3 / To-Do Sticky Notepad / by Russell + Hazel / 6 x 4 inches / Sometimes I just need to jot down a list and start cranking through it. For those occasions, I use this notepad.

The lines are spaced nicely and there's a place to "check things off the list." Also, it's sticky, like a post-it note, so I'll jot down things I need to do and then I can stick it on the fridge, or in my planner, or up next to my desk. I use this little guy a couple times a week. Love R + H products. I also use their little sticky tabs.

4 / Medium Softcover Notebook in Silver (my everything notebook) / by Poppin / 5 x 8.25 inches / I found this notebook on clearance at Staples for $2! It's lined and has heading lines at the top of each page, which I use to write the subject of those notes so I can easily refer back to things. For years, I've kept one main notebook at a time which I use daily to corral everything I'm working on at the time. It houses my Project Life layouts, lists of photos to edit, blog post ideas and brainstorms, notes on client work, etc. My last notebook was just a college-ruled composition book. The two before that were Moleskines. This metallic guy is a great size but I'm tearing through it because of the smaller pages. The price was too good to pass up, though!

5 / Black spiral unlined journal (similar HERE) / found at Barnes and Noble 6 x 8 inches / I just started art journaling in this notebook a few weeks ago, and I'm loving it. It's relaxing and fun and really pushes me outside of my creative comfort zone. I was itching to get started with art journaling once the Get Messy group opened up, so I ran out and bought something in person, as opposed to my go-to. I couldn't find a link to the actual notebook I have since I randomly bought it in-person, but I found it here for about $7. The notebook pages are unlined pretty thick and can stand up to watercolor paints well, which were my main requirements. So far, I like the spiral format for art journaling.

Are you a notebook-user? Any favorites you'd be willing to share? I'm flying through my "everything" notebook and would love a suggestion!

Interested in more favorites? Read about my favorite pens, favorite Project Life supplies and favorite desktop supplies.

FAVORITESCATHERINE