self contained underwater breathing apparatus

My boyfriend wants to get his SCUBA license while on vacation, so this little journal from Smythson might make a nice present. Wait a minute--does that price say £150.00?? Um, never mind, let's just pretend I never mentioned the "P" word.

[Via Urban Outfitters blog]

gussied up moleskines

We love a good moleskine notebook: Functional, reliable, plain. But sometimes we need something a little sexier, sassier... Well, looky here. All they needed was a little paint job. Who says a book can't be judged by its cover? Above, Macy's bubbles from Shoofly, $10. Pocket notebook from tamptation, $8 Hand-painted notebook from tamptation, $13 Sun and rain moleskine from Greenwheeldesign, $7.50

follow the leader

We're suckers for birds. Especially for little baby birds following a mama bird...or...wait, are those regular adult birds following a weather vane? Stupid birds.

[Follow the leader handmade book from broundoor, $34]

littleput books

We're loving these journals from Littleput Books. Here are 2 of our favorites. Wrestlers, a love story ($25) and Here Fishy Fishy ($25)

fluffy journals

Buttonfish Designs has a bunch of fluffy (though we prefer the term "full figured") journals ($4.95-$8) in her etsy shop. While we love a good portable journal for day, we do prefer a journal with a little more substance for the special stuff. Pictured are some of our more favorite patterns, but she has a variety to choose from...

rawr!

We're feeling a little wild over here (it's Friday!), so here's some jungle related animal love for ya. Linoleum print bookmarks from Rainy Prints ($3).

Animal print notecards from Red Caboose Designs ($6.50 for a set of 6)

Deer Journal (Do deer live in the jungle? Or is it the forest...?) from Mary Ink ($12.50) More prints, different animals from Cicada Studio ($7 for a set of 4)

compartmentalized journaling

If you really need to separate your thoughts into different books, Pamela Barsky can help you out. She has journals for practically everything--documenting wine preferences, top restaurants, birthdays, even pickles and ice cream (ehh? we didn't get it either but the description said something about being pregnant, so we guess it's weird food cravings). They range in price from $8-$30 so take your pick. Personally, we bought a "birthday book" once, wrote everyone's birthday in it and then promptly lost it. But hey, that was probably just a bad day. [Via Dolly Mix, thanks.]

paris je t'aime

While we're on the subject of movie as stationery, here's some more Frenchy inspired stationery for the Paris Je T'aime watching set. (On a side note, we went and saw this last week, but I think we might have been distracted by our growling stomachs from really enjoying the movie. Also, Elijah Wood as a vampire? I don't think so...) The above is a Cavallini notebook ($10.95) from Stampington & Co.

Paris stamp set ($24.49)from Alpha Stamps

Eiffel Tower notecards ($14 for a set of 8) from square business design

spidey

We heard Spiderman 3 sucked (agree, don't agree? tell us in the comments), but that's not what we're really here to talk about. We just used that as an excuse to share this awesome spider stationery we found. The above is from teriko and costs $2.

Buy a whole spider family card set from headexplodie. ($10 for set of 4)

Spider journal from beetlelady ($25)

wallflowers

dear, charming graphic wallpaper, how we admire your good looks. But it seems unwise to try and tackle the task of wallpapering when we still can't manage to install simple shelf paper (air bubbles, you're on notice). The answer to our little dilemma has arrived, in the form of cheerful handbound journals featuring sunny wallpaper covers. Each is one of a kind, all are completely darling. $26 from freshly blended

glory comes in 8 1/2 x 11

Office workers everywhere, access your secret crafty side and take notice: Instructables has a great How To on making your own journal from used office paper. Best let the geniuses speak for themselves: "Here I will give a simple bookbinding tutorial using a Japanese stab-binding technique for making blank books from paper that is printed on one side. These books are useful for all kinds of notes, and tell an interesting story about the place they came from. I work in the computer lab at my school, where a lot of printer paper is wasted. I go through the recycle bin to find my papers." So stuff your shirts full of "liberated" pages from the office scrap box and go forth with a song in your heart and a paper cut somewhere unsavory.

how very meta

These notepads from Bombus ($15 each) are decoupaged with...paper. Well, specifically vintage maps and awesome comics (in your choice of comic strip). See, we didn't even know we needed a new notebook. How convenient. We wonder if she has any vintage Family Circle Circus or Marmaduke comic strips... What comic strip would you want? [Thanks decor8]

we know you know

We're lovin' Tyler Bender's blank journals made from vintage book covers ($40 each). You can choose from his assortment, or send in your own hardcover book for reworking. The only problem? These books might just be too nice to write in... Yes, sometimes we keep journals around for years before we actually get a chance to write in 'em. Do you ever do that?

'cause we're gambling fools

Okay, we don't really like to gamble. But that shouldn't stop us from buying this full deck journal ($10) from candlemark & gleam, should it? The journal covers are made from actual playing cards, creating the perfect sized notebook to throw into your handbag for whenever you need. Plus, who knows? Maybe the cards'll contain a little luck and we'll win the lottery and be able to just sit around and write this blog all day long! (We wish...)

ka ching

Okay, let's pretend this "cash book" isn't really a notebook where you write down all your expenses and see how little (or a lot--you lucky bastard) of money you have leftover after all your monthly expenses. Let's pretend this "cash book" is a magical money making book that provides you with crisp dollar bills every time you open its minimalist white cover. Let's also pretend we have $7 available to buy this "cash book". Fun hologram covers also available, thanks to the brilliance of mmmg ($8 from cut + paste)

we crave paper crave

Can't thank Heidi enough for recommending paper crave to us. We've only spent 5 seconds on the site and we already see tons of things we love. For example, these beautiful journals from Five and a Half ($22). Uh-oh, this is gonna be trouble...shopping trouble.

c'mon tomorrow

Is there ever really a bad time to buy a planner? Especially one as beautiful as this? The illustration was created by Jen Corace and inside you'll find a perpetual calendar, lined pages and even a little pocket inside the front cover. Just what our inner Type A OCD havin' neurotic self needs...($24 at ifnbooks.com)

QUESTION: dear diary?

Decor8 had a great post a couple of days ago about journaling that really got us thinking. Whether your journal contains words, images or magazine cut-outs, keeping a journal is like writing a series of letters to yourself. And you never have to worry about clarity, grammar or politesse. So in conjunction with our call for your old letters, how 'bout showing us what's in your journal? We'll post 'em and, of course, any explanations you choose to include.

the bold and the beautiful

Big, bright prints like these note cards and journals from Heidi make our shriveled little grinch hearts grow 3 sizes. They're the perfect solution for a case of the Mondays, or non-morning people...even though it's noon. Pass the english breakfast.