It’s last call for my 2021 planner giveaway, with this cool Midori MD Diary 2021 A5 Thin ready to help you get organized next year. Midori keeps this one simple and beautiful, with a two-page per month layout in the front, an 80 grid-ruled pages throughout the remainder of this notebook. There is even an A4 size if you wanted to go big. Read the rules below and get to entering!
Midori Film Sticky Notes Mini Review
(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)
My calendar and to-do lists are always in need of a little brightening. Midori makes some of my favorite stationery products, so I thought these lovely Film Sticky Notes Mini Stars might do the trick. And they do! They're the perfect way to add fun pops of color to your pages without adding any bulk. They are, however, a bit tricky to use.
The microscopically fine paper that these notes are printed on makes them weightless and bulk-free, so you can use them abundantly without doubling the thickness of your planner. Their thinness also makes them transparent, so you don't need to worry about them covering up useful lines or information. In fact, they work great to highlight important text or dates. In addition to being able to put them over text and still see it, you can also write on top of them in pen or pencil, like a traditional sticky note (as long as your message is very small). The whole card of 150 notes fits easily inside the cover of a notebook, so you can access them anytime. In this pack, there are fifteen notes each of ten different colors.
Almost the entire back of the note is sticky, so they stay in place well, though they can also be cleanly removed. They can also be applied to various surfaces, like glass and plastic. They're a great hybrid between a sticky note and a sticker.
The only downside to these is that they're so thin that it's a little tricky to just peel off one at a time. Only the top prong on the star is not sticky, so that's the best place to try, But it takes a fair bit of fiddling and squinting to separate just one note. A few times I've gotten two or even three. So you can't really grab one quickly--you've got to be pretty intentional about it. But once you get the hang of it, they're really delightful.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
Midori Clip Bookmarker Review
(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)
Midori has a great line of stationery accessories, and these dainty clip bookmarks are a nice addition to their collection. There are a few themed sets; this one celebrates different kinds of weather.
The bookmarks are very thin metal: .1 mm. They feel quite flimsy and delicate, but they're tougher than they look. They're as thin as a piece of paper, and a bit flexible, but I haven't bent any of them (yet) with careful handling. The thinness does serve a purpose--they're lightweight for metal bookmarks, so they don't weigh down or damage the paper that they're clipped to.
The clip function is a folded metal lip that pinches at the back. They're surprisingly grippy, and were, in fact, a bit tricky to slide on and off at first. Even after repeated use, they're secure enough that I know they won't slip off of a page by accident.
They work well as bookmarks or fancy bookdarts, but they also work as stencils for your notebook or planner. The metal cutouts are traceable to make cute designs on the edges of your pages. The weather ones are perfect for a planner or journal. Because they're so small, they are a bit tricky to trace. I tried a fine point gel pen, a fine rollerball, a mechanical pencil, and a marker on them. The marker didn't work at all (I thought I could use it like a stamp. Nope), and the gel pen was a bit tricky, but the very fine rollerball and the mechanical pencil worked great. Broad tipped pens won't work well, I suspect.
Because they are so thin and light, I have mine in my Hobonichi Weeks planner for next year. They don't add much bulk to the paper, but they still make it easier to flip to the marked pages. These are a great alternative to the ribbon bookmarks that are already in a lot of planners--the ones that dangle outside the book and get caught in planner cover zippers. $6.50 is a bit on the pricey side for such a small item, especially one that is too delicate to have a lifespan past that of the notebook you use them in. In other words, I think they should be viewed as consumable. I'm going to wear them out, eventually, like an eraser. I'll enjoy them while they last, though, and I hope they'll last long enough that I get to use the sunny day one.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.
Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!