Make a fountain pen tray and storage box

It's easy to make yourself a really useful piece of desk furniture:

All you'll need is some basic supplies you probably already have. Watch the video to see how it's done.

Midori Index Book - a new version

Remember my Index Book?

There is now a new version which retains the index from the original but instead of the grid layout, offers plain pages.

You can download this insert as an A4 document or as a Letter paper document.

What you'll download is a PDF file. This is ready to print straight away, without any need to use booklet format on your printer. Just print this straight to A4 or Letter as appropriate, with duplex set to flip on the short edge (I'd recommend you print just one or two pages first to make sure your printer deals with this correctly and make adjustments as necessary.)

Once you've printed out the pages, you can bind them into a booklet and cut to size using these instructions or these ones.

And if you'd like to roll your sleeves up and play with the source Word file here it is in the A4 version and the Letter version.

Download a pen and ink sampler for the Midori Traveler's Notebook

The Midori and fountain pens were made for each other. Today's download is a booklet you can print at home that allows for the standardised sample testing of different inks or ink and pen combinations.

Each double-page spread contains two identical sampling pages:

You can download this insert as an A4 document or as a Letter paper document.

What you'll download is a PDF file. This is ready to print straight away, without any need to use booklet format on your printer. Just print this straight to A4 or Letter as appropriate, with duplex set to flip on the short edge (I'd recommend you print just one or two pages first to make sure your printer deals with this correctly and make adjustments as necessary.)

Once you've printed out the pages, you can bind them into a booklet and cut to size using these instructions or these ones.

And if you'd like to roll your sleeves up and play with the source Word file here it is in the A4 version and the Letter version.

2015 dated Midori inserts to download and print

As I type, it is a warm early-summer day, but I know many of you like to plan ahead, so today I am making available 2015 versions of all my dated Midori inserts.

Yearly

Firstly, there are new versions of the yearly calendar cut outs:

You can download these here:

Purple     Red     Green     Orange     Blue

In each case, simply print the file on A4 and cut out the calendar, which you can stick on a booklet cover or on a kraft file.

Monthly

This one you can use almost right away, since it covers a two-and-a-half year period from July 2014 to the end of 2016, with a two-page spread for each month:

The file prints double-sided on A4 paper in booklet mode. You can then bind the sheets into a cover and trim in the usual way.

You can download the Word version or the PDF version.

Update: a January 2015 - December 2016 version is now available. Download the Word version if you like. If you've always struggled with booklet mode printing, then you can download a print-ready version that just needs straightforward double-sided printing (flipping on the short edge) either for A4 paper or Letter paper.

Weekly - full size

The week-to-view with tasks fits a whole year into two booklets.

Again, the file prints double-sided on A4 paper in booklet mode. You can then bind the sheets into a cover and trim in the usual way.

Because this comes in a choice of colours and in two formats for two halves of the year, there are a few files to juggle, but you don't have to download them all!

First half of 2015

Word versions - Purple     Red     Green     Orange     Blue 

PDF versions - Purple     Red     Green     Orange     Blue

Second half of 2015

Word versions - Purple     Red     Green     Orange     Blue 

PDF versions - Purple     Red     Green     Orange     Blue

Weekly - Field Notes size

This is a week-to-view layout that takes into account the constraints of the Field Notes size. 

Again, print double-sided onto A4 in booklet mode, then bind and this time trim the booklet on the three edges that aren't bound.  

For a full year, you'll need two booklets.

First half of 2015

Word version     PDF version

Second half of 2015

Word version     PDF version 

Daily

Finally, there are 2015 versions of my day-per-page inserts. You can choose between the plain, minimalist layout, or the layout with times.

Again, the file prints double-sided on A4 paper in booklet mode. You can then bind the sheets into a cover and trim in the usual way.

Each booklet will hold two months, so you'd need six for the whole year.

Minimalist layout - Word versions

Jan-Feb 2015     Mar-Apr 2015     May-Jun 2015
Jul-Aug 2015     Sep-Oct 2015     Nov-Dec 2015

Minimalist layout - PDF versions

Jan-Feb 2015     Mar-Apr 2015     May-Jun 2015
Jul-Aug 2015     Sep-Oct 2015     Nov-Dec 2015

Times layout - Word versions

Jan-Feb 2015     Mar-Apr 2015     May-Jun 2015
Jul-Aug 2015     Sep-Oct 2015     Nov-Dec 2015

Times layout - PDF versions

Jan-Feb 2015     Mar-Apr 2015     May-Jun 2015
Jul-Aug 2015     Sep-Oct 2015     Nov-Dec 2015

Download free notebook writing guides for Midori Passport size

Writing looks better on plain paper than on lined paper. But it can be hard to write in straight lines, particularly in a pocket notebook.

These writing guides solve the problem. Pop one behind the page you're writing on in your plain paper Midori Passport or similarly-sized notebook and you'll be able to see guidelines clearly through the paper, to keep you on the straight and narrow.

Here's a walk through the various features of the writing guide:

The guide measures 124mm x 89mm, the same size as the notebook page.

You can download the guide and print onto either A4 or Letter card - there are different versions for each. Each document contains three different styles, offering, narrow, wide or even wider line spacing.

You can download the A4 version or the Letter version. Print onto card and cut out the individual guide card of your choice. Laminate it if you want to and tuck it in your notebook.

There are versions for the Midori Traveler's Notebook and for Field Notes and Moleskine Cahier size too. 

An Index Book (A-Z) for your traveler's notebook

Filofax users have been creatively using their A-Z index dividers for years. Designed primarily for addresses information, people have repurposed them in a number of ways, using them, for example, for:

• tracking passwords
• keeping alphabetised general notes
• recording birthdays
• keeping lists of books, music etc (owned or wanted)
• organising collections

Today, I'm releasing a free-form A-Z Index Book for the Midori Traveler's Notebook that you can download, print and bind at home.

 As you can see, there is a space to title the book, so you can maintain multiple books for different topics or different date ranges. Inside, each letter of the alphabet has its own double-page spread:

The pages are mostly grid paper, with an index system at each edge.

You can download this insert as an A4 document or as a Letter paper document.

What you'll download is a PDF file. This is ready to print straight away, without any need to use booklet format on your printer. Just print this straight to A4 or Letter as appropriate, with duplex set to flip on the short edge (I'd recommend you print just one or two pages first to make sure your printer deals with this correctly and make adjustments as necessary.)

Once you've printed out the pages, you can bind them into a booklet and cut to size using these instructions or these ones.

And if you'd like to roll your sleeves up and play with the source Word file here it is in the A4 version and the Letter version.

My new Camel Traveler's Notebook

Midori made a beautiful Traveler's Notebook 5th Anniversary special edition in Camel coloured leather. You can't get them any more, although if you're lucky you might find a few of the Passport Star Ferry special editions still for sale, which have the same look.

I found some leather that was pretty close to the original and also managed to get some of the lead seals that Midori uses to hold the elastic and bookmark in place. With a little green elastic, my tribute version was complete.

I'm not lucky enough to have the real thing, but this is close.