Self-made planner in Daycraft Signature Sketchbook

Sorry everybody, my A5 Filofax failed terminally. I really do have to be able to carry my planner around with me everywhere, and the A5 Filo binder is just too big.

And my Minister weekly planner wasn't doing it for me because now I don't have many scheduled events (so I don't need the timed daily columns) but I do have loads of tasks (so I need more space each week for lists).

I'm pining for my Uncalendar Half-Size planner, which would be perfect in this situation. It has month-on-two-pages grid calendars, week on one page with the opposite page for lists, and loads of notes pages. Click here to see my review of it with lots of photos of the interior pages.

But since my Uncalendar is on a boat somewhere with the rest of my household shipment, I had to create my own version. Perfect excuse to buy a new notebook! I bought a Daycraft Signature Sketchbook in the large (A5) size. You may remember my review of the small size sketchbook (which you can click here to see).  I bought the sketchbook here in Jakarta at Aksara bookstore in Kemang. (@Aksara_Store on Twitter).

In my previous review of the Daycraft Signature Sketchbook I went on about the beautiful soft cover and the super-smooth 100g paper. I have to say, it's very pleasant to use as a planner because I love to handle it all day! I'm very tactile and I love touching the soft cover and smooth paper.  And, the purple cover is gorgeous too! ;)

The paper is cream colored, and the page edges contrast nicely with the purple cover.

The cover is smooth with Daycraft embossed on the back.

As far as I know, Daycraft is still looking for distributors in the US and Europe. If you don't have a Daycraft retailer near you, you an order them from Australia on the Vera Chan website (http://www.verachan.com/online-shop/) with worldwide shipping. You can find Daycraft notebooks here: http://www.verachan.com/online-shop/stationary/ and the Signature notebooks are listed as "Classic notebook." She has generously offered Plannerisms readers 20% off all products when you enter the discount code plannerisms at checkout!

Here's my self-made planner. It's pretty simple. I made open, untimed spaces for the days, and left the opposite page open for lists and notes (click on the photos for a bigger view):

At the top of each week's page I stamped the beginning and end dates for the week with my new date stamp that I bought right before I left Scotland:

I also made month on two pages calendars for April, May, June and July:

I actually put the month calendars in front, and the weeks behind. I only did until July because that's when my Extra Large Moleskine 18 month weekly notebook starts, and I plan to switch to that planner when it starts (on June 27th to be exact).  So this planner is really just a stopgap until then. But, if I get to July and want to stay with this planner, there are enough pages in the book that I can draw up monthly and weekly pages all the way through the end of the 2011-2012 school year.

The day spaces measure only about 40 sq. cm, which are not large enough for me when I'm busy.  (From experience I know I need day spaces of 65 sq cm or larger when I'm busy.)  But I think these day spaces should work fine for me until July because I'm not very busy.  The Extra Large Mole weekly notebook day spaces are about 72.5 sq cm, so when school starts up along with after-school activities and all that I'll have the big day spaces to handle it all.

The Signature sketchbook doesn't have a pocket in the back, so I taped in my address booklet that I removed from one of my large size Moleskine planners. I taped my favorite post card of Glen Coe to the front of the address booklet.

The colors on the postcard happen to look really good with the purple cover!

So there's my very simple stopgap planner in my new beautiful Daycraft Signature sketchbook to get me through the next couple of months until my Moleskine weekly notebook starts.

Interestingly, this is the third year in a row I've been chomping at the bit to start a Moleskine 18 month weekly notebook in July! The first year I also made my own planner to get me through until my Mole started (which you can read about in my 13 Planners post, scroll down to #s 7 and 8).  Last year I was impatient to start my new 18 month Moleskine because it had the new monthly calendar grids, so I went back to my old Mole weekly notebook (which you can read about in my 2010 Planners Tally post, scroll down to #5).

Both of the Large size weekly notebooks failed me due to too-small day spaces. I don't know why I never tried the Extra Large size before! I'm thinking the larger day spaces will make ALL the difference. What do you think? ;)

Daycraft : The Beautiful Notebooks

Here are the Flower Wow notebook and the Signature sketchbook from Daycraft. They are gorgeous!

First up: the Flower Wow notebook:  

The cover is fabric with a beautiful flower pattern front and back:

Inside the overleaf and first page are gold, adding elegance to the book:

And the page edges are gold too:

The lined pages have a discrete flower pattern at the corners, and there is a gold ribbon pagemarker.  The paper is cream-colored, smooth and thick.  The 100 gsm paper is fountain-pen friendly.

This A5 size notebook would make a really beautiful journal or commonplace book, and would make a very nice gift.

Next, the purple gorgeousness of the Signature Sketchbook:

The Signature Sketchbooks come in a wide variety of colors with contrasting page edge colors.  This one is the beautiful purple color cover (which, as you might imagine, I adore!) with cream page edges.

The blank cream colored paper is 100 gsm so it's perfect for fountain pens, or any pen you wish.  There is a cream colored ribbon page marker.

The cover is soft,smooth and flexible.  Daycraft is subtly embossed on the back cover:

This book is A6 size so it's portable enough to go everywhere with you and capture those important memories or sketches wherever you go.  These sketchbooks also come in A5 size if you want a larger page size.

These notebooks were generously sent to me as samples to review from Daycraft. Many thanks to Daycraft!

Daycraft Decoder sketchbook and Laptop notebook

These are some of the coolest notebooks I have ever seen. Photos do not do them justice. Wow!

These were generously sent to me as samples from Daycraft, the #1 brand of diaries and notebooks in Hong Kong. My reviews of these are long overdue!

First, the Decoder sketchbook. The sketchbooks in this range have messages on their cover in Braille, Sign Language, Morse Code and Semaphore (flag signaling communication). I have the Morse Code one. This book is extremely cool:
There is an elastic strap to hold the book closed. The 110 gsm paper is black, with rounded corners:

This paper would look great written or sketched on with a silver Sharpie, paint pens, pastels, chalk and even pencil:

The first page has an interesting history of the use of Morse code:

The back cover has the entire Morse code alphabet and numerals, so you can decode the message on the front cover:
This book is very eye-catching and is sure to be a conversation-starter!

Another conversation-starting notebook is the Laptop notebook. Imagine people's surprise when you open up your "laptop" and they realize it's a notebook!

This book really looks like a laptop computer from the outside. Even the page edges are printed to look like electronics:

The white 100 gsm paper is lined. Interestingly, the pages are lined lengthwise on the page, so you write across the length of the page with the book open laptop-style:
Both of these books are A5 size, approximately 8 1/2 by 6 inches.

Daycraft is still looking for a US distributor, but in the meantime you can buy many of their products online at:

http://www.verachan.com/online-shop/diaries/

Be aware that they ship from Australia. They do ship internationally, but be sure to check your currency conversion and shipping rates to avoid any surprises on your credit card bill!

Click here to see all of my reviews and giveaways of Daycraft diaries, notebooks and sketchbooks.

Click on the name to see each of my reviews for the following Daycraft products:

Executive diary

Vogue diary

Strawberry Juicy notebook

Make My Day diary

Signature sketchbook and Feminique notebook

Animal Pals diary

Animaland diary

Chromatic Days diary

Cantoon and D-sign notebooks

Many, many thanks to Daycraft for sending me so many of their amazing products to review! All of their books are very cool, and of superior quality with excellent paper. I hope they find US distributors soon!

Daycraft Signature sketchbook and Feminique notebook

Here are two beautiful notebooks from Daycraft: the Signature sketchbook and Feminique notebook. The Signature sketchbook has a sophisticated style, and the Feminique notebook is a slightly frillier style.

The Signature sketchbook has a soft-to-touch, flexible cover. The book is small, approximately 5 3/4 by 4 1/4 inches, so it can go anywhere.The edges of the pages are black, which makes for a very dramatic-looking book:"Daycraft" is subtly embossed on the back of the otherwise-blank cover:


The creamy paper is smooth, thick (118 g) and acid-free. There is a ribbon page marker that matches the paper edge color.

The Signature line also includes lined notebooks and daily and weekly planners, in a variety of colors and sizes. It's a beautiful, elegant book with wonderful paper and a soft cover.

The Feminique lavender notebook is a light purple color with a suede-like textured cover.
The first page inside the front cover has this inscription, which smells of lavender when you rub it:
The lined, cream-colored paper is smooth and thick (also 118 g like the Signature).

The book is A6 size (approximately 5 3/4 by 4 1/4 inches).

Purple! Fuzzy! Lavender fragrance! I love it.

The Feminique range also includes diaries.

Daycraft is the #1 brand of diaries and notebooks in Hong Kong. They currently are searching for a distributor in the US. Let's hope they find one soon so we can all have access to these beautiful books!

Daycraft Sneak Peek: Reviews and Giveaways!

Daycraft is the #1 diary and notebook brand in Hong Kong, and now I know why: their books are beautiful, and great quality. They were very generous and sent me eight of their diaries and notebooks to review here on Plannerisms. I will be giving away 3 of them to some very lucky Plannerisms readers!! The blue diary (top left), the pink diary with the blue ornament on the cover, and the strawberry notebook will all be given away to readers. More on that below.

First, a little more about Daycraft: Their logo says, "Daycraft, We make your day." Receiving a box full of these beautiful little books definitely made my day! The catalogue (so generously supplied, full of fantastic photos of their entire product range) says, "Our diaries, notebooks and planners are made to endure for decades as a treasured archive of your thoughts and ideas." Each of these books is special in its own way, and they are definitely meant to be treasured.

Daycraft products are currently available in Hong Kong, China, Korea and Taiwan but at this time they are looking for distributors in the US and Europe. Personally I hope they find distributors for this part of the world very soon, because I fell in love with these little books immediately.

The first thing I noticed was how well-made they are. Everything about them is quality. The paper, the bindings, the covers--all excellent. And, the aesthetics are wonderful. As we all know, I'm a very tactile person, and these little books are so nice to hold and use. Even the best photos don't do these books justice. Holding them in your hands is an experience.

Not only that, but each book has its own personality. These are only a sample of the wide range of styles available from Daycraft. They have sophisticated, they have quirky, they have funky, they have cute. And all of them are very cool.

I will be doing a thorough review of each book in its own separate post complete with interior photos. Below is a quick description of each book (with more details to come in its own review later). Also below I'll point out which of these books will be given away to Plannerisms readers!

The blue diary (below) is from the Executive diary range. It is very classy and sophisticated, and would be great for any busy person who needs to look professional wherever they go but still wants a touch of style. This book measures approx. 6 1/2 inches tall and 3 1/2 inches wide and has a week to view. The Executive range of diaries has a variety of sizes with weekly or daily views. They come in blue (shown here), pink, brown and black. I will do a very thorough review of this diary with lots of photos because it has so many fantastic features. I will be giving this diary away (as I wipe away my tears. It's beautiful.)

The small pink book is a Vogue diary, for the fashionista. The ornament held on the cover by the ribbon adds to the style of this pocket-sized weekly diary. This range also has a variety of sizes and colors with weekly or daily views. This particular book is tiny (approx 4 3/4 inches by 3 1/4), and would fit into any clutch or evening bag so that you can make plans wherever you go and still look fabulous. I will also be giving this book away!

The last book on the bottom right is the Strawberry notebook from the very cute and clever Juicy notebook series. Inside the pages are lined, with a ribbon place marker and also a green felt bookmark. It's very portable at approx. 5 3/4 inches by 4 1/4 inches.

This cute little book has a great feeling, soft cover. I'll be giving this away to a lucky reader!

So here is how the giveaways will work: Unfortunately due to mailing restrictions where I live, I can only send to people in the US, via USPS (which means no P.O. boxes). I'm very sorry to all of you outside-the-US people. I would send to you if I could. When I post the review for each giveaway book, if you want to be entered in the giveaway contest, post a comment. I will give a few days for people to post comments, and then I will choose the winner by random number generation. You can enter only once per book, but you can enter the giveaway for each book if you want.

Below are the books that I won't be giving away, but I will still do separate reviews for each to show the quality and range of style of the other Daycraft books.

The white book is a lined notebook, with the person heading for the exit on the front and on the back in green is printed "Let your creativity escape here." It is part of the cleverly tongue-in-cheek D-sign series of notebooks. At 6 inches tall by 4 1/4 inches wide it is small enough to go everywhere, and has a ribbon page marker. My sister and I are currently fighting over this one! Sorry, this one will not be part of the giveaway, but I will still do a thorough, separate review of it.

The last book in the top row is the Cantoon notebook, a play on words of Cantonese and cartoon. The cover has "a Cantonese mnemonic for learning English" which makes me wish I knew Cantonese!This notebook has a cool, old-school look and is quad-ruled on the inside. It is 7 inches tall by 4 inches wide. Sorry, my sister and I are fighting over this one too, but it will still get its own separate review.

Left side bottom row: the Make My Day diary. I am keeping this one because I absolutely love it and it does, in fact, make my day. The hard cover has black fabric that feels nice to touch.It's a very portable size (6 1/4 inches tall by 5 1/4 inches wide), but the almost-square shape means the weekly spread (with the days as columns) has plenty of room to write. I will do a thorough review of this one, it has tons of great features.

The next book on the bottom is the green Chromatic Days diary (which also comes in several other colors). It has a very nice, soft cover and a week per page. It is very portable at 5 3/4 inches by 4 1/4 inches, and very slim. My sister is getting this one (if she's lucky, because I really want to keep it!) but I will still give it a thorough review. It is an excellent diary with the weekly and also monthly views.

Next on the bottom row is the pink Signature sketchbook. It. Is. Beautiful. The cover is soft to touch and flexible, the pages are cream and blank, the page edges are black, and it has a ribbon page marker. I'm keeping it, because I love it and I absolutely cannot bear to part with it. I will have to think of a noble purpose for this one because it is really special. It is 5 3/4 inches by 4 1/4 inches, so it will fit in any small bag. The Signature line also includes notebooks and diaries in a variety of sizes and colors, weekly or daily format. This is a gorgeous book.

These are just a few of the styles of diaries and notebooks available from Daycraft. Also check out their super-cool Decoder sketchbooks, Laptop notebooks, Feminique notebooks (oh how I want the lavender one!!), and tons of other diaries and notebooks.

More info to come in the reviews! Stay tuned!