How to Buy and Use a Moleskine Notebook

1. How to BUY AND USE A MOLESKINE NOTEBOOK

2. 1 CHOOSE YOUR NOTEBOOK. Moleskine has a wide range of products, so choosing one to suit your needs is a must. Visit moleskine.com for a full list. If you're looking for something to plan with, like a calendar, try a dated planner. These have sections for each day of the year. If you write a lot, choose a ruled notebook. If you like drawing and illustrating, choose a plain notebook, or a watercolour-friendly one. If you're a coder, a graphic designer or a mathematician, choose a squared notebook. If you want to keep a diary, choose a planner or a ruled notebook, depending on if you want a regular flow of writing based on each day or just random tid-bits.

3. 2 CONSIDER THE SIZE AND COVER OF YOUR MOLESKINE. Moleskins come in "classic" and "large" sizes (3.5"x5.5", and 5"x8.25", respectively). If you're looking for a notebook to carry around, choose a classic size. If you'd rather use this as an at- home sketchbook or folder, choose large. The size of the notebook also determines the size of the pocket at the back, so choose wisely. Moleskine covers come in a range of colours (black, red, violet, magenta, green, yellow and white) and come in two types, hard and soft. If you don't want to decorate your moleskine, choose a bright colour. Keep in mind part of the appeal of Moleskine is it's simplicity, so choose black if you can. In terms of cover types, soft and hard are just as hard-wearing as each other, so go for what you normally prefer.

4. 3 PURCHASE YOUR MOLESKINE. You can buy directly from their site, or through an online retailer. Compare shipping prices and see if you can find sales or price codes for an extra bargain, although shipping may be highly priced if you live outside of Europe or the USA. If you can't find a good price online or you can't wait, you can buy from a physical shop. Many bookshops, stationery dealers and art centres have these notebooks, so look around.

5. 4 DECORATE THE COVER. This becomes slightly easier with a hard cover, but is still do-able with a soft one. Look online for more ideas. Create a slip or cover similar to the one that came with the notebook, out of fabric or hard-wearing paper. Embroider with a thick needle. Draw on with permanent markers. Paint on a design. Add stickers, or glue things on. Keeping your front page blank, cut out a shape in the front cover. Trace where that shape is on to the front page, and draw a design inside it, creating an interesting effect. Buy a cover of clear plastic or opaque materials. 5 ORGANISE THINGS WITH YOUR NOTEBOOK. Keep track of dates, times and to- do lists, while keeping the design to your liking and decorating pages as you wish. You can put addresses, contacts, errands and more in the notebook for later reference. Don't be afraid to dedicate some pages to decoration or personal reflecting.

6. 6 USE IT AS A KEEPER OF INSPIRATION. Press flowers, keep ticket stubs, write lyrics, overhear conversations, sketch people and places you see, write passing thoughts and anything else you want. This is a helpful thing for writers and artists, so you can always have ideas that you compile over the day, your brain is stimulated and you can easily get past "art blocks". 7 SCRAPBOOK AND JOURNAL. This can be about your life in general, or a specific time in your life (eg. wedding plans, baby milestones, time abroad, or a specific year). Keep track of your different important dates, either per day with a planner or in general with a plain or ruled notebook. Stick in photos and ideas from magazines for future improvements. 8 SIMPLY WRITE OR DRAW. Moleskine notebooks are perfect for artists, and there's a large following of people in the art community for them. Join in online with sites such as "moleskinerie.com". Use good quality pens and pencils, and you'll have the creative juices flowing in no time.

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