Paper Penguin Co. Review and Ideas for Using Colorful Traveler’s Notebooks

This article is two-for. I usually review either a planner and rarely a journal. But, this review covers both!

A few months ago, I wrote an article on creative journaling ideas. I enjoy working in my journals and finding different ways to use up some of my paper crafting supplies.

I have several traveler’s notebooks (TNs) that I enjoy using. I featured one last month- JM Planning Essentials, which has that beautiful, thick Mohawk paper.

I also have some TNs that I bought from Paper Penguin Co. This is a small business that I featured in my second of two Resource Roundup posts on purchasing from minority-owned businesses.

This company sells an impressive number of products, and they come in several sizes, paper styles, and with various covers. Below, I’ll review the products and provide some ideas for using the notebooks with different colored papers.

Paper Penguin Co. Traveler’s Notebook Inserts

I am so impressed with the selection of notebooks from Paper Penguin Co. This little company has such a wide variety of products, it’s hard to imagine such a variety coming from a small business. Although the company sells stickers and some 6-ring bound punched paper, it is primarily a notebook company, and it specializes in traveler’s notebooks.

These thin notebooks are designed as inserts for traveler’s notebook covers. The beauty of a traveler’s notebook systems is that they are fully customizable since cover can hold one ore multiple inserts.

Another nice feature of a traveler’s notebooks is that they come in standard sizes, so you can purchase inserts from different companies, and they should fit in your notebook cover. And, Paper Penguin Co. has products that fit any of the various traveler’s notebook cover sizes.

Most of the notebooks have a thick, cardstock cover and are staple-bound. However, the type of paper you get depends on the notebook you buy.

Some of their notebooks are simply meant for journaling, while others are for planning. Finally, there are few notebooks that have specialized purposes. Below are the main categories and the variations in the many products they sell.

Sizes

Since this company offers so many sizes of notebooks, it might be helpful to know their dimensions:

• A5– They also call this their “Extra Wide.” These are 8.3 x 5.8”.
• Wide– 8.25 x 5”
• Standard/Regular – 8.25 x 4.3”
• B6– 6.9 x 4.9”
• Hobonichi Weeks – 7.4 x 3.7”
• B6 Slim– 7 x 4.25”
• Personal – 6.75 x 3.75”
• A6 – 5.8 x 4.1”
• Pocket/Field Notes– 5.5 x 3.5”
• Mini/Extra Small/Micro– 4 x 2.75”
• Composition– 9.75 x 7.5”

Notebook Paper Style Options

In addition to having a variety of papers and colored papers, this company allows you to choose from several designs for their notebooks. Here’s the breakdown of their main choices:

• Grid– This is the square grid you might also heard called graph paper. The boxes are gray and measure 5×5 mm.
• Dot Grid– This grid design has dots instead of lines to provide some guidance in writing on the page. The dots are very light, so they don’t dominate the page. These are gray dots which also measure 5×5 mm.
• Lined– This ruled paper is filled with lines that are also gray but spaced 6.5 mm apart, which is a little smaller than college ruled.
• Blank– As you might have guessed, this paper has no grid, dots, or lines. It is simply a blank canvas.

Calendars and Planners

Monthly Calendars

Dated Plain Monthly Calendar. The plain 2021 calendar has 12 months of calendars that span across two pages with a blank sidebar for notes. An additional 14 notes pages are included at the end of each notebook with the option of choosing grid, dots, lined, or blank pages at the end. Another neat feature is that you can opt for a Monday or Sunday start to your calendar. The inserts come in all their size options listed above.

Dated Monthly Floral Calendar. The floral version of this calendar has identical features to the plain version except for the floral decorations on each page.

12-Month Undated Calendar. This calendar has a simple elegant swirl pattern on the left-hand side of the page. You can choose your start day- Monday or Sunday- and choose your style of paper for the 14 additional note pages at the back of the book. These come in all the sizes listed above. Check their website as you can purchase this calendar insert with a black colored swirl pattern or a reddish brown.

24-Month Undated Calendar. This calendar is identical to the 12-month version listed just above except that it spans 24 undated months and has only 3 blank pages in the back father than 14. It also comes in all of the insert sizes.

24-Month Undated Calendar, Colorful. This calendar is identical to the plain undated 24-month version listed just above except that the swirl design alternates different colors throughout the insert.

Plain 12-Month Undated Calendar. This is the simplest design for their undated calendars. It has the same features as the 12-Month Undated, but without any decorative elements, which means you can decorate it with any stickers or washi that suit your mood! It has all of the same features as the 12-Month Undated.

Daily Planners

Plain Daily on 1 Page. These inserts allow for daily planning with each day on one side of the page. The inserts are undated and allows for 31 days or 1 month of daily planning. Each page is divided into five sections. Each section has a different color line above it to include a category for that section, and you have your choice of grid, dots, lined or blank for the sections and extra 8 pages in the back.  The notebooks come in all sizes except Hobonichi Weeks. You can also buy these in a 3-insert bundle to help you plan for a full quarter of the year.

Daily on 1 Page, Paint Splats. This notebook is identical to the Plain Daily on 1 Page except for the colorful pain splatter designs along the edges of the pages. These also come in a 3-insert bundles.

Daily on 1 Page Floral. This notebook is identical to the Plain Daily on 1 Page except for floral designs along the edges of the pages.

Weekly Planners

Week on 1 Page. This insert is undated and has 15 weeks of spreads where all 7 days of the week are on the left-hand page with a blank page on the right. At the end of the insert are extra pages that come in grid, dots, lined or blank styles. You can also choose your start day- either Sunday or Monday. They come in all sizes except Hobonichi Weeks and are printed on 80-lb text paper.

Week on 2 Pages. This is another undated, 15-week insert. The days of the week are spread across 2 pages with equal space for each day and an extra section for notes. Like the Week on 1 Page version, you can choose the style of paper for the pages at the end of the notebook. The sizes are all available except for the Hobonichi Weeks version. And, the paper is 80-lb, white text paper.

Week on 1 Page, 3-Month Classic. Like the Week on 1 Page above, this one has 7 days of the week on the left with a notebook page on the right. However, instead of blank paper, these inserts allow you to choose your paper style- grid, dots, lined, or blank. It come in all sizes, including Hobonichi Weeks, and can be purchased as a 3-insert bundle.

Week on 2 Pages, Horizontal. This uniquely styled, weekly planner has a horizontal layout with each day divided into three boxes. Four days of the week are on the left-hand side with the remaining three and a notes section on the right. The paper style is your choice of grid, dot, lined or blank pages, and you can choose a Monday or Sunday start. There are 8 pages at the end of the notebook that correspond with the paper style you choose for the planner. These come in all sizes, except Hobonichi Weeks, and can be purchased as a 3-insert bundle.

Week on 2 Pages Paint Splats. This colorful weekly planner has a horizontal spread with each day divided into two boxes, and a paint splatter pattern along the sides of the pages. Four weekdays are on the left-hand page with three on the right and a space for notes. The planner is undated with options for a Monday or Sunday start and page styles including grid, dots, lined, and blank. Each insert spans 15 weeks, and a bundle can be purchased at a discounted rate for 3 or more inserts. The inserts come in all sizes.

Week on 2 Pages Floral. This insert is identical to the Paint Splat version except that the pages have a pretty floral design. Like the Paint Splats version, these can be bundled for a discounted price.

Specialty Notebooks

Reading Journal. This insert is designed for the book lover. It includes spaces to write out the title and author of the book along with dates the book was read, genre, and rating. Also included are lined areas to write out a book summary and memorable quotes. The cover is Kraft Brown cardstock and the pages are 80 lb white text paper. The front of the notebook includes 3 lined pages that can be used for notes or to create a table of contents or list of the books read. The notebooks come in all sizes except pocket and mini sizes.

To Do List Insert. This insert has a simple design. Each page has the words “To Do List” at the top with a lined checklist below it, complete with checkboxes. What makes the notebook unique is that you have the option to order an insert with perforated pages, so they can be easily torn out of the notebook to take with you. The insert is made up 40 pages of white, 80-lb text paper. The notebooks come in every size notebook available.

Checkbook Registers. This company sells two checkbook registers- in green and neutral (white and gray). They have a kraft-brown cardstock cover and comes with 8 extra pages in the back for notes, if you wish with the option of grid, dots, lined, or blank pages. If you don’t opt for the notes pages, those remaining pages will be in check register style. The inserts come in all available notebook sizes. These would be great for anyone using a TN system for budgeting.

Address Books. These come in Colorful and Neutral versions. (The colorful has pastel colored lines on each page dividing address entries, whereas the neutral has sections divided by a grey lines). Each address book provides spaces for recording names, addresses, birthdays, home phone numbers, cell phone numbers, and email addresses. There are 40 pages, and they are not categorized (so the pages are not assigned certain letters of the alphabet). They come in all sizes except Hobonichi Weeks and Mini.

Traveler’s Notebooks

The Traveler’s Notebooks are where we really start to see some variety in the types of paper and colors this company carries. Nearly every book comes with the choice of a black or brown cardstock cover and they are all staple-bound.

Writing Paper: These notebooks are filled with 60-lb text paper and come in grid, dots, lined, and blank paper styles. However, they come in a wide variety of colors including, White, Black, Light Blue, Kraft Brown, Orange, Pink, Bright Pink, Yellow, Ivory, and Green. They come in all the same sizes available in their planners except for Hobonichi Weeks. The white notebooks have the greatest variety of cover options, as noted in the photos here. I have purchased four of these and use them to take notes during meetings. There are holiday and seasonally-themed covers as well as other designs.

Tomoe River Paper: I have written about this paper before in a post on planner terms. It is a very thin paper manufactured in Japan that allows for you to carry a lot of pages in a lightweight journal. The paper, although thin, can handle most inks, including fountain pens, as well as watercolor. There are 2 types of this paper on the Paper Penguin Co site, “New Manufactured Paper,” and traditional “Tomoe River Paper.” The website explains that the new paper version will eventually be the only one made, but this company currently has both versions. I have not tried the new paper, but I enjoy the original version, which gets a lovely crinkly quality after you write or paint in it. They come in all notebooks sizes and there are even options to purchase composition notebook-sized books (9.75 x 7.5”). Also, because the paper is so thin, you have the option of buying notebooks with 80 or 160 pages of paper.

Strathmore Paper: This is a thicker writing paper. It is 90 gsm and comes in bright white and natural white colors. The inserts come in all sizes and styles. Each book has 80 pages (40 front and back leaves).

Onion Skin Paper: As you might have guessed from the name, this is extremely thin paper. It is 9lb weight and made of wood fiber. The books come in all sizes except Hobonichi weeks, each has 80 pages, and there is only one style- blank.

White Shiraoi Paper: This is 64 gsm paper, so pretty thin. That said, it is similar to Tomoe River Paper in that it is fountain-pen friendly. There are 80 pages in these books, and they come in all TN sizes. You can choose from grid, dots, lined, and blank paper styles.

Using TNs with Colored Paper

Most traveler’s notebooks I’ve seen used by creatives on Instagram or YouTube tend to work in books that have standard colors: white, ivory, black, or kraft brown. Given the rainbow of colored paper you can choose at Paper Penguin Co, I couldn’t help but come up with some ways I would use them.

Here are some ideas I suggest for using these fun and colorful inserts:

Show Off Your Gel Pens. In the darker-colored books, such as the black, brown, dark blue, bright pink, and orange, pastel and metallic gel pens would stand out nicely. This works especially well for creative journaling. Here are some Pilot G2 colorful gel pens that I personally enjoy using in my TNs: (#Ad)

Although my favorite white gel pen will always be a Uniball Signo like the ones here (#Ad)-

Seasonal Themes. Some of these notebooks look like they belong to a certain season. For the fall, the orange and brown notebooks seem like a natural fit. The green one might work for the winter- for holiday journaling- or for spring, given the light green color. The dark blue makes me think of a deep winter and would look beautiful decorated with snowy scenes or night skies. The pink would work for the spring as would the yellow. The summer seems like it could use any bright color, although the light blue reminds me of beach colors.

Memory Keeping by Person. If I had found these TNs when my kids were younger, I would have considered using them as little memory books. I have my calendars color-coded, and my son has always been green and my daughter, pink. These would be the book colors I would have chosen to use as memory notebooks for them.

Color-Coding. If you have several responsibilities and like to use color-coding to keep them straight, these colorful TNs would fit in beautifully with your system. You could use a different TN for each of your obligations such as school meetings for kids, work projects, committees or boards you sit on, volunteer work, medical visits, etc.

One-Per-Year. Another idea is to use one notebook color per year. Over the course of a few years, you would have a rainbow of notebooks for whatever purpose you decided to use them.

Creative Journaling. As I noted in my prior post on creative journaling, traveler’s notebooks are such a great space to do this combination of written and art journaling. They allow you to complete a unique and fun project in very little time. Any of these colorful TNs would make for a pretty and satisfying place to be creative. Here are some of my favorite supplies:

For quick quotes, I love this spiral-bound sticker set by Tim Holtz, which has 2 of each quote in black or white backgrounds. (#Ad)

Because I have yet to collect a bunch of old books I’m ready to tear up, I have purchased some ephemera meant just for this purpose. Here is a set I’m currently enjoying (#Ad)-

I also enjoy using die cuts, which are sturdy and can double as journaling cards (#Ad)-

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Are you a Traveler’s Notebook fan? Have you tried this company or know of other small businesses that sell these kinds of products? Leave a comment below!

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