Birthday in July!

It's my birthday this week! Which is why I have decided to gift all of you with a

10% discount on ALL ITEMS 

in my 21Kittens shop!

You can visit my store here, or by clicking on the widget on the left.
Simply use the code B1RTHD4Y at checkout to instantly get your 10% off!
Valid until the 1st of August '13.

Thank you all!!!

My new earrings

Yep, you read it right. I won't be talking about stationery today, but of the beautiful new earrings I got last month!

I've been so excited ever since I ordered and received them, that I've been meaning to tell you about them. But true to my feline nature, I got distracted easily and forgot about it.

Yet today I have finally disciplined myself into writing this entry in my blog notebook first, and now I'm transferring it to the blog for all of you to read. :)

I honestly can't remember how I stumbled upon them. I might have been performing a search for 'earrings' or 'green', or I probably found the shop through one of my friends on Etsy. What I do remember is falling instantly in love with them as soon as I saw them.

They are gorgeous, aren't they???

The creator of these little lovelies is called Iryna and she's from Ukraine. Her shop, 'Eten-Iren', is full of unique and beautiful hand made jewellery, mirror cases, even mobile cases and charms.
And if you pop into her Facebook page, you'll be able to see pictures of her work, as well as other items not listed on Etsy.

I'm actually thinking of ordering a custom made bracelet or ring to match my earrings. I'm only waiting to get some money in.

So, do check out her Etsy store here and her Facebook page here.

Oh, did I mention that she sent me another pair of earrings with my order as a gift??

How cool is that!!

*Disclaimer: I was not asked by Eten Iren to do this post, I'm doing it because I think a talented artist like her needs to be known by others.

Thanks for reading!
Oni

My Midori Traveler's Passport the I

It's kind of sad that in all this time, I haven't dedicated a thorough post to my beloved Midori Traveler's Passport, the first one I got (hence the title).

I've had it for almost three years now, yet I must admit I didn't use it as much as I would have liked.

It was only before our incredible trip to Japan last year that I really got into it, as I brought it with me. But that's a long story for another occasion!

Two weeks ago, I switched from my large Midori Traveler's notebook to the Passport one because of portability, as most of my bags are small and the larger one takes too much space inside them.

So far, so great!

I've inserted one of my own refills (21Kittens), the one with the graph paper. Then there's the plastic envelope insert to keep loose papers and other stuffs safe.

I have noticed that even though I also carry my Field Notes with me, I am gravitating more towards the Midori.

During this time the leather has become simply gorgeous. I keep holding it in my hand due to how nice it feels!

Anyway, just wanted to share that tonight before I go to sleep.


G'night,
Oni

Filofaxes for Sale on eBay!

Ok, so after much debating I have decided to put my Filofaxes for auction on eBay. I might be adding a couple more besides the Pocket Tecnic and the Personal Kendal.

If you haven't read it already, I am selling a couple of my Filofaxes. The reason is I'm not using them, and it would be best to give them a loving home.

Filofax Pocket Tecnic

This one is a bit of a rarity I believe, as I haven't seen it anywhere else. I myself got it at a thrift store in London. I believe it is from around 2003.

It is in a brand-new condition. I myself have never used it, just got it for collection purposes. But knowing that there are true Filofax collectors out there, this planner should be with them.

Filofax Personal Brown Kendal (discontinued model)

We all know this one and it is a favourite of ours due to the beautiful and oh so durable leather, not to mention the two penloops!

If you have any questions, please do leave a comment :)

Thanks so much!

love, 

Oni

Beaded jewellery

I have to confess that I've only done beading twice in my life. One was about ten years ago when a friend who was into it, took me to a bead shop. I got some ceramic beads and made myself a slightly boring necklace. I rarely wore it.

The second time was now. For some reason I've never really been attracted to it, but as of late, I find myself looking forward to browsing the huge selection of beads and charms at the various crafting stores I find in this city.

So when my mother in law came to visit us, I thought I'd try my hand at making some bracelets for my sisters in law:

They turned out nice, don't you think?

..Oops..

So, last night I was fixing the links to my images on old posts, and for some reason (I'm sure a mistake by my part), I set an old post about my Sidekick notebook to be re-published or moved to yesterday's date!

And there doesn't seem a way to revert it back to the past.

In case you were wondering, I keep switching from notebooks at the moment. I've moved from the large Midori to the Passport TN. And at the same time I'm using my Field Notes to carry in my bag. (Hm, I guess I'll have to blog about this soon, ne?)

Anyway, I'm sorry you had to re-read an old post. I am still tinkering with my blog, so please excuse me if it appears broken or disorganised at times.

Thank you for your iunderstanding,

Oni

My sidekick notebook

For nearly two years now, I have been using a notebook for everything. I call it my sidekick, as it tends to follow me around the house. I use it for writing down my daily To Do list, things I've bought, recipes I want to try, doodling, sketching, scrapbooking. Like I said, everything.

I find it pretty handy, as I don't have that much space in my planner especially since I moved away from ring bound planners.

Of course, in almost two years of use, my sidekick has reincarnated in 5 notebooks already, being the current one my dear orange Rhodia Webbie, which is now nearing its end with only four pages left, including the ones I'll use today.

I am torn though, regarding which notebook to use next.
Should I go once again for another A5 notebook, quite likely Rhodia?
Or should I go back to my gorgeous, leather Midori Traveler's Notebook?

See, the A5 notebook has worked really well before. The hard and sturdy covers make it possible for me to use it anywhere without having to worry too much about getting it dirty. I write down recipes in it, which means I use it in the kitchen as well, getting the pages quite soiled at times!

And because I very rarely take it out, the fact that it is an A5 is not an issue at all; rather, it is an advantage, having all that space for my drawings and doodles.

As for the Midori, I did use it as my sidekick for a while, but found that its size was actually hindering me from using it on a daily basis ( I didn't have enough space for drawings), as well as the soft cover (very hard to write or draw for long when you're lying it against your knees - another thing I do a lot!). Which is why after I filled up my second refill, I quickly started using my Webbie.

But now that I am about to fill this notebook, I don't know what to do.
On one hand, I want to just continue using an A5 notebook. Yet on the other, I really want to use more my Midori, because it is so beautiful.

Currently I am using my TN with an insert I made myself for my blogging activities, and I am really enjoying it!

So yeah, I am still very undecided about which one to use next. I guess I will take that decision once I am on the last page of my beloved Rhodia, and I will keep you posted!

Good weekend everyone!
Oni

What I've been up to

Hello everyone!!

I know I've been neglecting my blog, not writing, not updating the links to my pictures (which are now living happily after at ipernity), etc etc.

So I thought that since I'm feeling a bit inspired tonight, it would be a good time to let you know what I've been up to all this time.

Those of you who visit my etsy store regularly, might have seen that I've been, slowly but steadily, adding more items to my shop.

For those of you who are now discovering this blog, I am in love with stationery, and making notebooks is one of my favourite hobbies. 

For a while now I have been focusing mainly on making refills for Midori's Traveler's Notebooks, both the large and the Passport size. I really enjoy trying out different kinds of paper, paper that is hard to get, and coming up with cover designs and colours that will set your notebook apart.

But notebooks aren't the only thing I enjoy. I'm also designing blog headers and etsy banners.

As a matter of fact, this month I was commissioned by Meredith to design the header for her blog The Palette Muse. Meredith told me she really liked my handpainted Sakura header, but instead of the pink hues and cherry blossoms, she wanted it in blue and with dandelions.

Not a problem!

The end result is an exclusive watercolour header that she really likes, and that I really enjoyed painting.

Now go and visit her blog! ;)

What's happened to my pictures?

I thought I should write a quick update and let you know why you're not being able to view my pictures at the moment.

After much ruminating, I finally took the big decision to leave Flickr, as I wasn't happy with the service anymore (will blog about it at a later time).

Like many unhappy Flickr users, I've also emigrated to Ipernity, which has an interface very much like the 'old' Flickr used to have. 

I have transferred all (except some that were lost during transition, yet another story) my photos there.

This means that I will have to manually edit the url of every single image on here that was hosted in the old site.

Since this process might take a while, I'm not sure when all images will be restored.

Ah, yes. this is my Ipernity link:

www.ipernity.com/home/onigiri-sama

Do come by and visit, even though I'm still settling in ;)

thanks,

Oni

Cheating on Mark

Although I really love my Mark's Tokyo Edge planner, with its lush paper and its awesome and stylish colour, I've been left feeling a bit unsatisfied as of late.

I miss the Moleskine week with notes layout because of the extra space I had for notes and doodles. As a matter of fact, before I got the Mark's I was going to get another 18 month planner because I felt it had worked quite well last time. But of course, the allure of trying a new, Japanese planner in lime green was too hard to resist. And although I do like the weekly layout in columns, I've grudgingly had to accept that the day columns just aren't wide enough for me.

I really  hate not finishing a planner, switching to a new one at a random date, especially when we're only in April. So I considered trying a Filofax with planner inserts designed by me. I could just create inserts for April, see how it goes. If I like it, and don't mind using the Filofax, I can stick with it for a month, while at the same time still using the Mark's as a backup, in case the Filo doesn't work. Once the month is up I can either create more inserts or go back to my Japanese.

This past weekend, perfect as it was the start of the month, I designed the inserts with the mole's layout in mind, made the paper size bigger for more space. The day spaces are the same in height, but narrower due to the smaller page size and the spacing for the rings. The weekend slot is shared, I personally don't mind that as I don't need more space.

I have started using it last Monday (1st of April) and am only carrying this month's inserts and a few lined pages for notes. It makes the Filo quite thin. I am also being good and updating it every day, writing down my daily tasks and future appointments. So far it's going well.

But there is one thing that bugs me A LOT:

The rings!

Because I like the week on the left page, when writing, the rings get in the way, making my handwriting crooked. I do not want to swap the layout, and I don't want to be opening and closing the rings non-stop to take the page out every time I want to write something down. (Yeah, I know I'm nuts!)

I honestly can't remember how I managed to use a Filofax a few years back without any problem, maybe because the day spaces were much bigger, it wasn't such an issue, or the fact that it was always quite fat, made the rings less protruding? If the latter is the case, I will try adding extra inserts and see how it goes.

I will keep you all updated on how this little tryout is going next week.

Hope you had a lovely weekend,

Oni