Saturday 21 July 2012

My horse-themed Filofax!

For a while now I've been meaning to post pictures of the Filofax that really got me into personalizing my Filofaxes. I have been using Filofaxes for years, but was partial to the pocket size-I usually picked a new one up at Winners (a Canadian discount store, similar to TJ Max in the US) around February, and thus have a HUGE collection of Pocket Filos, which I will do a post on soon. 

Last year I took up horse-back riding again after a long time away-20 years, in fact! I had so much fun and enjoyed it so much, I ended up getting my very own horse, a Morgan mare named Molly. But even before I got Molly, while I was taking lessons and getting back into the whole "horse" thing, I wanted a way to keep track of my riding, times at the barn, etc. There is more to riding than people think, and I was extremely rusty and wanted to record my progress as I improved as a rider. I also really like journaling, and tried to journal every time I went riding. It's really a great way to see how you have improved, what you need to work on, etc. Also, if you have a bad day (for example, the other day Molly spooked and I fell off!) you can look back to other good days and remind yourself that it's not a big deal. 

I'm a big believer in the value of journaling-in fact, I really think there are few problems that can't be solved by writing, or a long walk...or both! Though I know most people wouldn't necessarily want to have a horse theme with their Filofax, the idea of a "theme" filofax is something I highly recommend. I like having all my "horse" related stuff together, and it's fun to sit down after I come back from the barn and record everything and make plans for the upcoming days. I am in the process of creating a health/fitness Filofax, too, and will hopefully be able to put up a post about that soon!

So, enough blabbing, I'm going to just get to the pictures!







For my horsey journal I chose the A5 Finsbury in Rasberry. I had initially gotten a Dakota, because I wanted to get the cheapest real leather Filofax I could, just to see if I liked the size, format, etc. The Dakota is not a nice Filofax. It is the cheapest looking/feeling one I have ever seen-the Domino, which is not even leather, is MUCH nicer! Plus, the tab closure on the Dakota started to come apart! So, I called Filofax told them about the problem. I sent the Dakota back, and upgraded to the Finsbury, which I should have just gotten in the first place. Though I usually gravitate towards black organisers, Molly and I have a bit of a pink theme in our apparel, tack, etc, so the Finsbury has been great. 





In the picture above you can see one of the dividers I made from folders I got at Walmart, and the different sections I have for this organiser-they are Monthly, Weekly, Journal, and Goals. I made the labels with my label-maker. 

 You can also see in that picture, nestled in beside on of my standard black Uniball pens, the pink Cross fountain pen I got on e-bay. If there is one thing that rivals my Filofax obsession, it is my obsession with Cross fountain pens. I am going to do a post on them soon, but I have been wrestling with a way to carry my precious pen with me in my Filofax, and I think I have found the easiest way possible-just slip it into the slot reserved for the pad of paper at the back. I've been keeping my pen in that spot now for about a week, and haven't had a single problem.   





Here you can see the pen, and its little black clip, I just slide the clip behind the pocket, and it's in! This particular Cross pen is my favourite type-it is actually plastic, is very sturdy, and comes in a bunch of colours. I splurged on the pink to go with my Finsbury. The top also SCREWS on, which is not the case with all Cross Fountain pens. This makes it perfect for everyday use, and for putting in a my Filo! My main reason for loving Cross fountain pens is the way they write, which is heavenly, so I don't need fancy ones with elaborate casings that cost hundreds of dollars. Those like my pink one are available for under $50.00 on e-bay and are SOOO worth it!






Above you can see the pen clipped in beside the regular pen slot. These Cross fountain pens are way too fat to fit into a Filofax pen loop. I wish the Finsbury pen loops had an elasticised back-in fact, I wish ALL the Filofaxes has an elasticised pen loop!








Above are a couple of pictures to show how well it fits-the pen just snugs in between the other two pens and the paper-for those of you not familiar with the A5 size, the paper and refills are quite a bit smaller than the actual binder.






In my "Monthly" section I keep track of when I ride and go to the barn. I put a "horsey" sticker on the days I do things with Molly, so I can keep a visual record of how often I get to the barn. I board Molly at a barn nearby.









In my weekly diary I set goals and make plans for the week, I decide things I want to work on or do with Molly that week. Then I check them off when I have done them. As you can see, I blinged out my "today" ruler with horsey stickers!







This is a sample of one of my "journal" pages. After much trial and error I decided on the plain Filofax pages. Oddly enough, these pages are compatible with fountain pen ink, whereas the lined, coloured Filofax paper isn't! The lined paper seems to have a sort of "slippery" quality, and the fountain pen ink sort of beads up, instead of sinking in. I can also use my fountain pen on the monthly calendar and the daily diary pages. Maybe it has something to do with the process in making the coloured sheets... As you can see, I just took a paper remnant and made my own "journal" page marker.












These are some images of decorative pages and dividers. In the middle picture is an article that pertains to something I'm working on with Molly. I cut it out of a magazine and attached it to a piece of sturdy scrapbooking paper. Now I can just go to that spot and read the article, instead of trying to find it in one of my many horse magazines! I have it in the goals section, because it's something I want to improve on.

In the image above, you can see how nicely my fountain pen fits in between the pages of the Filofax, and the existing pen loop.






I got a Filofax CD case for my favourite riding DVD-it came with a book but I use the DVD more than the book, so I wanted to keep it in the Filofax. That way, it's always where I can get it quickly.









The polka-dotted pocket is from another organiser I got from Winners, I just took the pocket out of the binder it came in and added extra holes. I keep receipts, info, and other horse magazine articles in there. It's particularly nice because it has pockets on the front and back. I have a few "to do" sheets in this Filofax, again, you can see they are all horse related-things like ordering fly spray and treating her hooves!





I have some Martha Stewart tabs and post-its, and under those is a clear top-opening envelope with all my horse stickers. I like having them in the binder, so that when I am going over my day and recording what I did, they are right there!

As I said, I know most people aren't going to keep a "horse" Filofax, but, like a travel or art themed one, it is a great way to keep track of one specific part of your life!


9 comments:

  1. that's pretty cool! i especially like the mo2p with the horse stickers. that would probably be the most important part of the journal for me if i had a horse. it would just push me to get there everyday or as close to it as possible as i'm sure i'd get soooo attached to my horse. good for you in getting back to a formerly lost passion - may it continue on!

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    1. It has been so much fun getting back into horseback riding. I love using my Filofax to record everything, and to see my progress! Thanks for your comments!

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  2. What a fantastic Filofax! I love the idea of a themed fax. Thanks for sharing it with us.

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    1. The best thing about "theme" Filofaxes is that is gives you an excuse to get more...and more Filofaxes!

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  3. Is the colour more purple than pink? I'm just looking at your post thinking I'd love it in that colour but the one on the Filofax.fr website looks more pink? I assume the Cross pen is more pink than the Finsbury?

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    1. Hi there! I just posted a reply to your question about the colour-I did it in the "regular" blog section so I could include pictures. Thanks for your interest-hope it helps!

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  4. I loved seeing the set up of your horse filo. I have many filos (I love organising) but never thought to have one specifically for my horse so I might give it a try.

    Morag

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  5. i sure wish i would have read your before i ordered my first filofax the Dakota. it is still in transit to me. I hope i like it more than you did if not well wonder if they will take back a 50% off item. thanks for your post.

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  6. What a great Filofax!

    I definitely agree with you RE: elasticised pen loops, as well. Not all of us use pens so thin you need a magnifying glass to see them!

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