Up for review today is a Sula Jane and Earl Leather Writing Sheaf / Pen Wrap.  I chose the fabulous color of “Cerise,” which is a lovely, subdued, hot pink color.  What I love about this color is that it is a rich, berry pink color — but it is not neon!

Here are some product details from sulajaneandearl.com:

The leather is very soft just like all the other SJ&E products I have reviewed.  The website shows a a high contrast between leather and stitching color, but the stitching is actually a similar color to the leather (just more neon), as shown in the photos below.  There are four slots for pens, and the pens fit snugly inside.  There is a little flap to protect the top portion of your pens.  Then you wrap it up and tie it by sliding the end of the strap through the loop you made when wrapping the strap around the whole sheaf.   I have found the best way to wrap the sheaf is in small sections — i.e. making a small section out of the side flap, then folding after each pen until it is fully wrapped.  Then to tie the wrap, you wrap the little strap around loosely, tuck the end of the strap through the loop, then pull to tighten.  If you make the strap too tight when you wrap it, you won’t be able to tuck it in the loop.

The wrap then stays together like a loose cylinder, which I suppose is best because then the pens still have their own space without being scrunched together.  This would be a great product for taking your pens along while traveling or even going to school.

The Sula Jane and Earl Leather Writing Sheaf / Pen Wrap retails on their website for $42.

Dear Sandra Strait,

You have not emailed me to claim your Cookie Bookie notebook giveaway prize.  If I don’t hear from you by tomorrow, I will pick a new giveaway winner.

Thank you,

La Plume Etoile

Well, La Plume Etoile’s first giveaway is now over and the winner is….

Sandra Strait!

I numbered the comments, where #1 was the first comment posted and counted up from there.  I used the random number generator and comment #2 was picked, which was Sandra’s retweet.

Congrats Sandra and please email me with your addresss.  Thank you to all others who entered!

Daycraft is a company whose products are designed in Hong Kong and made in China.  They make a WIDE variety of planners and journals in various styles and sizes.

The Covers: The covers are sturdy and well bound.  Planners and journals are available in both hard and soft covers, depending on the model you choose.

Size: Again, this varies from pocket-sized to “normal” journal size.

Paper: I’m not sure of the weight of the paper.  It is fairly thin, but not tissue-paper thin.  You can see writing on the other side of the paper, but there is not much bleed-through at all.   The pages are a very nice ivory color, smooth and fountain pen friendly.   The planners are dated and lined, while the journals are just lined.

Some notes on each product I tried: All the planners have some Chinese writing, maps and holidays, which don’t serve much use for users outside of China.  However, each planner does feature some extra blank pages for notes and each month begins with a full color page featuring and inspirational quotation (in English), which I thought was a really nice touch.

Signature Diary – Mini size in light pink (h83 x h125 mm): This is a great little planner to carry with you in a pocket, backpack or purse.  Of course, writing space is smaller because it is the mini size, but it’s lightweight and compact for transporting!   This planner also sports a harder cover for durability.  My sample was light pink, so how could I not love it?

Executive Diary in Pink (w108 x h149mm): Another pink planner — love it!  This one has a hard cover and an elastic closer to hook on a metal button on the front cover.  This was probably my favorite planner as it was simple, chic, a good size with a nice amount of writing space.

Chromatic Days in Blue (w106 x h150mm): This is a nice small and thin journal.  The edges of the pages are rainbow!  Its a nice journal with a soft cover.  Not my preference, but great if you like a soft cover!

Feminique Journal in Purple (w107 x h152mm): This is a great little journal.  It is compact with a hard cover and good paper.  Because its size is smaller, you will use a lot of pages if you have a lot to say, but I use it for short happenings I need to write down.  It was supposed to have a scratch and sniff scent of lavender, but I could not smell it.

Cool Notebook with the Film Projector cover (w106 x h153mm): I haven’t used this one yet, but expect it will be just as good as the Feminique!

I can’t find the model of the grey planner with cool black plastic decoration, but that one is cool too!!

Overall: A great line of planners and notebooks.  I would recommend these, espeicially if you want something different than all the standard planners available in the office supply stores.  I want the Vogue planner in white!

Daycraft also makes sketchbooks for you artists and doodlers out there!  Check out the entire Daycraft line at www.daycraft.com.hk.  As their website says, they “make your day.”

It’s just about time for another new year, which means the start of a new planner.  The last year I used Exacompta’s Space 24 and loved it.  It features Clairefontaine paper — the best paper in the world.  It was a joy to write with my glorious fountain pen inks on the smooth white paper.  However, I decided I needed more space in the time-slots.  So this year, I am trying Exacompta’s Journal 21.  There is more space to write per timeslot, but it is a daily format instead of a weekly format.  I am not used to the daily format, so we will see how it goes.

I love starting the new year with a new planner.  Its blank, smooth, bright white pages are waiting to be filled with wonderful plans for a whole year.  It’s really quite exciting. To prep for the new year, I like to write in birthdays and regularly occurring items.  I tear off the little bottom tabs of the pages before January 1st that I don’t need, and I make sure to use some pretty and bright inks for that extra oomph.  Currently I have used J. Herbin’s Rose Cyclamen, Vert Olive and Bleu Myosotis, along with Private Reserve’s DC Supershow Blue (blotter needed for this one!).

I am not starting a new journal yet, but some of you might be starting a new journal along with the new year.  I feel the same about new journals as I do with new planners; there is so much potential in thoughts and writings to fill the calm white pages.

Do you have any rituals that you do to begin a new planner or journal?  Do you feel the same sense of hope and excitement as I do when starting these new books?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

More posts to come in 2011.  I still have some in the backlog list and I will try to post more regularly this year.  Happy New Year and thanks for reading!

Today on The Dr. Oz Show, audience members participated in a quiz about longevity.  One of the questions was whether typing on a computer or writing is more beneficial to longevity.  The answer?  Writing!

Writing contributes to longevity because it gives your brain a workout, which keeps you sharp and helps prevent diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Of course, fountain pens are perfect for this task!  Yay for writing!