Review: Paperblanks Journals

paperblanks stack of notebooks

The folks over at Paperblanks kindly sent me an assortment of notebooks to review. The books have such amazing details on the covers that I decided the best way to review them is with a video. (Please forgive the ums and ahs, this is the first time I’ve done this. I was nervous.)

To clarify from the video, I received four books in various sizes and formats:

Description Format Size Page Count Price
DaVinci-themed Sun & Moonlight Mini Reporter 3.75×5.75″ 192 $11.95
Letters of Inspiration: Florence Nightingale Mini 3.75X5.5″ 176 $15.95
Mucha Tiger Lily Midi 5×7″ 144 $14.95
Parisian Mosaic Mosaique Safran Midi 5X7″ 144 $14.95

All but the Florence Nightingale book had a black elastic closure. The Nightingale edition has a magnetic closure. They all have pockets in the back with book cloth gussets. All but the reporter-style DaVinci book included a red satin ribbon bookmark.

paperblanks notebook assortment

paperblanks inside

The line spacing is about 8mm which is probably equivalent to wide-ruled notebook paper. The lines are very fine and brown and do not run edge to edge but leave a small margin round the edge of the page. The spacing is a bit too wide for me, preferring the blank paper for optimum writing freedom.

Paperblanks Writing Sample

The paper in the Paperblanks is the same as in planner I used all last year. I’ve included the writing samples here. I have to say that the warm white paper is pleasing and the overall weight of the paper allowed it to hold up to an array of writing tools including fountain pens with above-average results.

Paperblanks Reverse Side

You can see from the back that the Sharpie was really the only tool to bleed through.

Overall, the Paperblanks books are some of my favorite notebooks. They are sometimes a little too elaborate for my everyday needs but the construction, paper quality and features plus the reasonable price point make them a good choice. To purchase online, Love Notebooks has the widest selection of books but I purchased my planner via Jenni Bick so I recommend them as well.

For more information, you may want to check out these posts:

Finally, I’d like to give away some of these books to some lucky readers. I’m going to giveaway the DaVinci reporter, the Mucha Tiger Lily and the Florence Nightingale. One to each of three lucky readers. Leave a comment and tell me which of these designs is your favorite or visit the Paperblanks site and tell which one you wish they’d sent me.


FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Sunday, January 26, 2014. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Monday. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner(s) does not respond within 30 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. US readers only this time. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance (or customs fees) will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money.

DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Paperblanks for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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  1. I’ve been eying these journals in every bookstore I visit — for months! They’re just so pretty! I think my favorite of these four is either the Florence Nightingale one or the Da VInci one.

  2. Ana – so cool to have a voice to go with your bio pics 🙂 It makes TWAD even more personal.

    They are all lovely, but my vote would be for the Tiger Lily.

    1. Whoops, not contest-entering, just actual comment that I love the design on the top left notebook there 🙂

  3. I’ve loved the Paperblanks notebooks since I worked at Borders. We used to sell them there. I found the line spacing too wide also, and we didn’t carry many options with blank paper (if any), but I love the covers SO much! The Parisian Mosaic one is beautiful! I would have loved to see the William Morris or Ukiyoe patterns too!

  4. To select one from the website is impossible; too much beautiful notebook overload!

    It’s so hard to even pick one from the three you offered up. Really, I would love to win any of them and be grateful for the beautiful notebook. Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!

  5. I like the Much Tiger Lily because it’s just interesting and a normal person wouldn’t know if it was a book, notebook, etc.

  6. Wish they had sent you one of the Laurel Burch Blossoms! I’d love to see one of those designs in person.
    Of these three, though, I think I like the Mucha Tiger Lily best.

  7. Ooh! Nice! Of these designs, I like the Parisian mosaic best, but my favourite Paperblanks notebook is the Shakespeare embellished manuscript … but then I’m an English teacher … 🙂

    I love to win any of these!

  8. Loved the video review – it really showcased the loveliness of the notebooks! My favorite of their designs is probably the Lyon Florals but I do love the designs you reviewed too.

  9. Of these, I like the Mucha Tiger Lily the best, but I wish they had sent you the Laurel Birch Fantastic Felines to review.

  10. I like the Much Tiger Lily the best. I’ve been drooling over their website for two years, but can’t make up my mind.

  11. I love the Parisian Mosaic Mosaique Safran. So pretty with the raised bands on the spine and the gold finish. I also love unlined journals since I often add little drawings to my journaling. I would live to win this. Thank you for the opportunity.

  12. Check out the unlined Albert Einstein, though it is ultra sized so don’t know if that is too big for you. My biggest wish, though, would be next year to have a verso planner, which I had last year and loved but like you couldn’t find anywhere this year.

  13. I love the Florence Nightingale! The metallic accents look amazing 🙂 Also, I enjoyed the video, really got to see the shimmer in the notebooks

  14. A Da Vinci, please.
    For whatever reason, the “reporter” format seems to suit me best.

    But most of all, thanks for the review, and the opportunity.

  15. I was initially torn between the Mucha Tiger Lily and the Florence Nightingale but ultimately I like the Mucha Tiger Lily the best! I also agree on the bit with unlined notebook paper; optimum writing freedom is very very nice, but little doodles in your notebooks is really the overall best

  16. I love all of them, but the Parisian Mosaic is a nice size for me and the cover looks beautiful. I wish they had sent you: a Kipling manuscript midi, jade green Ultra, or one of the William Morris editions. I’ve only seen one cover in person. Thanks for giving these away!

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