DOODLES IN THE CAGE

This  is a little boredom doodle. Drawn with my Stipula Passaporto and Noodler`s black ink.  

A AND SOME DOODLES

the finished doodle and travelers notebook on my desk

the first outlines and inking all done with stipula passaporto fountain pen and
diamine raw sienna ink

Midori Traveler's Notebook

So here it is – my new pal!

So far I have been using a Filofax for all my daily planning, addresses, numbers and notes. I have 2 Filo's, one personal and one pocket. The pocket is usually the one that I will take with me on the go.
A notebook is needed for my drawings general journal stuff. For that purpose I lugged an a5 x-17 around with me. Now seeing that those two items are not everything I carry around with me, it's easy to guess at the state of my poor shoulders – right, they are sore from carrying all that stuff with me.

Another solution was needed and then it happened. I fell in love with the traveler's notebook and I think I might have found the answer to my prayers. The Traveler's Notebook works similar to the x17, both use elastic bands to hold notebooks inside the cover. This system is extremely flexible as you can put in whatever refills you need.

The traveler's Notebook will replace my Filofax AND my notebook because I will now have both
put together in one.

Traveler's Notebook, Stipula Passaporto and some old stuff

Some modifications

1. Calendar
The first addition was a good calendar. I found to be the Midori calendars to be a bit expensive and not quite perfect. So I ended up creating my own refill. On the left I have one week, on the right there are checkboxes for "to-do's" and some blank space for doodles or additional notes. To save precious space I decided to have a 6 monthly calendar.
I added a few pages of important informations to the calendar. There is a personal information page, finances, a yearly calendar, a birthday calendar, important numbers, worldmap with times and a page for dates that I need to save in the next calendar.

Traveler's Notebook with DIY calendar 

2. Art and journaling

This is my journal refill. For now I am using the insert that came with the Traveler's Notebook. I have ordered some other blank refill that I will try out. But I might end up having my own paper stapled together and made into a refill. This is the inside cover that I doodled on. 

Traveler's Notebook blank refill and Stipula Passaporto.
The drawing was done with Diamine ink in Raw Sienna and
Diamine ink in Hope Pink

2. Storage capacity

Although I have the plastic envelope and little pocket stickers for storage it doesn't seem to be enough for me. So I folded an envelope from an old paper bag (this is an ultra old Diesel bag). It's really easy do do and looks brilliant – even if I say so. This little bag is big enough to even hold a folded a4 letter. I glued it to the back of my journal/art refill. Good thing nothing can get lost anymore. 

This envelope was made from an old paper bag. One piece
is folded a few times and out comes an envelope/bag that
stores a lot of things. 

2. Tabs to keep things nice and tidy  

This idea I saw over at Patrick NG from http://scription.typepad.com/. I fell in love with his leather tabs and just had to have them. So I cut up an old leather bag that I'd never use again and cut there tabs. Believe me, it's NOT easy to get those little buggers straight and good looking. Mine are not quite ready yet. They will get their edges oiled and be stamped with a function. As far as I am concerned those little tabs do enhance the look of the Traveler's Notebook and keep my lose leaf do-do lists all orderly.

Tabs made of leather. They hold all sorts of to-do lists

2. All finished   

This is what my Traveler's Notebook looks like now. I am done for now and the notebook is ready to keep track of my life. Now the fun part starts – filling it all up. One thing is for sure, we will have a lot of fun together. This notebook is amazing and I am sure I won't miss my Filofax and the x17 notebook for one second.

My new mate

Stipula Passaporto fountain pen review

Stipula Passaporto  

(inked with Diamine Raw Sienna)

Stipula Passaporto with Diamine ink in Raw Sienna

Screw on cap and write away

Stipula leaf makes sure that pen doesn't roll off

Fine nib that writes very smoothly

Stipula engraving

Stipula Passaporto unposted

I love this pen, it's a nice writer

Eyedropper for filling and closed
Stipula Passaporto

Appearance and handling:

How cute is this was my first thought when I opened the package.

The stipula passaporto is the tiniest pen I own by far. Closed it only measures 9 cm – now that is what I call compact. Absolutely perfect for carrying around in my pocket. This pen really needs to be posted to be used comfortably. I usually don't like to post my pens, but since this one is made for posting, it works well. The cap is simply screwed onto the body and that's it. Nice and easy. When posted the pen looks just like a pen of normal length (12 cm) and feels perfectly balanced this way. I really like the Passaporto, it feels just right in my hand, and I do enjoy the fact that this little pen is a lightweight. For me that is perfect for longer usage. I do like the simple design of the Stipula Passaporto. Watching ink swish around in the clear pen is fun. What still bugs me a little is that the pen doesn't have a clip. I wonder how I am supposed to clip it to my notebooks that way. Maybe I can find a tiny little pen pouch to carry my new favourite around.

A word of advice: do use silicone grease before inking this pen. I didn't do so cause I wanted to use this pen so badly and didn't have any silicone grease around. So I just inked it and had some ink seeping into the grip section. Not a lovely sight on a new pen. This can easily be prevented by using some grease. Luckily the ink could be cleaned out by unscrewing the nib.

Filling System:

The Stipula Passaporto can be used with cartridges or as an eyedropper. It comes with an eyedropper, so it's easy to put ink in. So far I have only used it as an eyedropper and adore it.

Nib:

The steel nib is great. I picked a fine nib and am very happy with it. I find it writes smoothly, smoother than my Sailor fine nibs, but then those are a little finer. Smoothness wise the Stipula Passaporto can be compared to a Pelikan nib. I love writing and drawing with it cause it's so darn smooth. Yummy feel. And I have tried quite a few different papers, I even like it on rougher drawing paper. 

Overall thoughts:

This little pen is my new favourite writer and drawer for that matter. I love the look and feel of it, such an adorable little pen. I can see myself using this pen a lot, already I prefer it to my beloved sailor fountain pens, due to its absolutely smooth nib. I can only recommend this pen, and to me it's well worth it's 65€.

Rating:8/10

New lines

Having had a lovely Christmas time so far I'm in the need for some new lines. I got new drawing stuff for Christmas, so my fingers are itching to create. For this drawing I picked my new dark diamine ink in amber, sailor kiwaguro black ink and my new Stipula Passaporto fountain pen. The drawing is done on Daler Rowney Cartridge paper that I have picked up last week.
I really like those inks together and I think the paper is a keeper.