Instructables.com bills itself as the world's biggest show and tell. To be sure, a lot of the how-to's lean a little to the ugly side of kludgey, but they really tap into the true DIY spirit. And there's certainly no lack of step-by-step articles for notebook hacks and Hipster PDA variants.

For example, take a look at one that uses our D*I*Y Planner hPDA kit:

http://www.instructables.com/id/My-Hipster-PDA/

Also note the related items at right, and explore from there. You too can have a Moleskine cover made out of a circuit board, suitable for impressing geek friends, scratching the table-top, or --when your loofah is nowhere to be found-- sloughing off dry skin.

So, you've discovered a cup'o'pens at the local flea market, and found that amidst all the cheap Bics and broken mechanical pencils are a few fountain pens. Sure, they're covered with grime, tarnish, and bent bits, perhaps there's a crack or two, but still -- they are fountain pens, a relic from a bygone age when people's worth was often determined by their words, and their words were defined by their pens. You roll them over, shake them a little, inspect the dirty tips. While they'll never sell for much on the market, you suspect that you might be able to get some decent daily writers out of the lot. But what's involved in that? After all, you don't have any fancy pen repair supplies, and don't have the first clue where to begin with restoration techniques.

Restoration, what a scary word. People think of houses, furniture, huge investments of time, effort, outside help, equipment. But despite the fact that some fountain pens can be quite expensive (thousands of dollars is not a rare price to pay), a little bit of skill and a modest investment of gear --much of which is probably already in your home-- can turn a junkyard pen into a writer's best friend, if not a family heirloom.

The fundamentals of fixing pens are not out of reach for even bare beginners -- recognise that I've only been doing this for around a year, but thanks to great books like "Da Book" (Guide to Fountain Pen Repairs by Frank Dubiel) and numerous Fountain Pen Network forums, I've picked up enough basics to restore about 50 or 60 vintage pens and pencils. While I'm obviously not an expert, the purpose of these DIYPlanner articles is to share beginner's tips with you, perhaps whetting your appetite for something a little more advanced. Then Dubiel is certainly your next logical step.

This cardcase can be completed without glueing. Just print it and cut it. Scorch the folds. While cutting, don't forget the small horizontal cut int the most left section, and the two tiny cuts on both sides of the lip. This way the lip will function like a barb on a fishinghook, when you fold the cardcase and put the lip in the cut.

Have fun!

Erik

Now, my father was a decidedly practical man, with little time for "fussin' around," and I suspect that --although he would have certainly used fountain pens during the 40's and early 50's-- he would have dropped them quickly and forever with the advent of the ballpoint pen. But ballpoints, like rollerballs, lack a certain history and mystique that even the cheapest and most utilitarian fountain pens possessed. These queer little objects, found beneath decades-old scraps at the bottom of drawers, or standing in broken crock-pots on basement shelves, have emerged from their dusty hiding places to pique buyers with a newfound appreciation for these old workhorses. And, in the year or so that I've been getting, restoring and researching fountain pens, I'm no longer surprised to hear pens compared to "your father's Esterbrook."

These ubiquitous and (some would say) beautiful fountain pens are inexpensive, plentiful, and offer some unique opportunities to D-I-Y'ers who would not only love to experiment with different nibs, but test the waters of vintage pens without taking out an extra mortgage.

I will start stacking them up here.

I am going to start with Classic size and post both Sunday and Monday first-day-of-the-week documents, by the week, month, and day.

On the assumption that you have a printer that will handle duplex printing, I will be adding an extra leading page since most calendar layouts have to start on the left-hand page.

I am going to (initially) limit the postings to English. If you want something else, "buzz" me through the Contact tab and we can work something out.

Post a comment here if you have a specific request for anything from the Dynamic Templates that I have not covered.

The winter holidays are upon us. Last minute shoppers are out hunting for bargains at the stores and you need a few more items to make your holiday gift list complete. Instead of braving the stores this year, why not give them something different. Something handmade. Like a hand-bound journal, crafted lovingly by your own hand? No, I'm not suggesting that you create some large, artistic, leather tome. That would take quite a bit of time.

Let's think smaller and simpler. Something useful and easy to make. Something that combines the love of reading and writing into one. It's called the Bookmark Book and it squishes the idea of a book holder in with a slim and thin journal. The best part of this project is that you can assemble one of them in just under 5 minutes. Did I mention they make great stocking stuffers for readers and writers alike?

This is the next installment of the Digital Templates, a series of cross platform applications that should ease the load on the folks who make calendar templates. This program generates a single page template of one or two calendar years based upon the settings you choose (date, margins, and so forth), and uses the basic D*I*Y Planner look and feel as designed by Douglas Johnston.

This is multi-platform software. Below are download links for both Windows and Mac OS X applications, as well as the source code. Through the Nordic Magic of the Qt Libraries, both of these applications were built from the same source code. This source can be built on any platform supported for Qt 4.3, including Linux.

Here's a shot of the Mac version:

This is the next installment of the Digital Templates, a series of cross platform applications that should ease the load on the folks who make calendar templates.

This program generates two-page daily templates based upon the settings you choose (dates, margins, and so forth), and uses the basic D*I*Y Planner look and feel as developed by Douglas Johnston. On the left side of the spread is a daily page, dated, with three mini-calendars, an appointments section, a task list, and an expenses area. On the right page is a daily journal for notes and other important information.

This is multi-platform software. Below are download links for pre-built, static, binary applications for both Windows and Mac OS X as well as the source code. Through the Nordic Magic of the Qt Libraries, both of these applications were built from the same source code. This source can be built on any platform supported for Qt 4.3, including Linux.

Here's a shot of the Mac version:

Looking back at my life, I sometimes get so bogged down in the day to day activities that I forget all the good and wonderful things I have done in my life. Sometimes, I need to be reminded of my accomplishments to help get me out of a funk. That's why I sometimes keep a list of all the accomplishments laying around. However, while playing with my mind mapping software, I came up with an alternative idea for visually keeping track of my accomplishments. I call it my Life-map of Achievements.

Keeping such a list can help improve a blue monday mood as well as can also give your life meaning and focus. Have you ever wanted to see a roadmap of all your achievements? To hold in your hands a single representation of every proud moment in your life? In creating your own Life-map of Achievements, you can take stock of what you have done so you can get ideas for what all you could do tomorrow, next year and in the rest of your life. All you need to make one of these tools is your memory, some pencils, pens or crayons, a big piece of paper for space and a little working knowledge of how to create a mind map.