Berlin du bist so wunderbar | DIY NOTEBOOK TAGS

It is official. Ich bin ein Berliner!

That is, on paper.

I spent the past couple of weeks running around Berlin like a mad-person hunting for a new home and now I’ve actually signed up at the registry office. I officially have a Berlin address. Crazy.

Honestly though, I do not feel like a Berliner. Not in the slightest. I’ve never even bought a beer in a Späti and downed it with my drunk friends on the banks of the Spree. I’m not even sure if I want to be a Berliner! – Not the warmest people if you ask me…

And it is surprisingly difficult to get to know people. Not that there aren’t enough of them, because there are. It is more difficult to make new friendships. Ones that will last longer than the course of the evening that is. It is certainly a fleeting city. Those who have not established themselves just yet will find that new acquaintances come by in the wink of an eye, but go just as quickly.

I have, however, had my first proper Currywurst mit Pommes at a Berliner Schnellimbiss late at night not long ago. I suppose that could count as a good first step in my Berliner-in-the-making-process...

Berlin itself is a fascinating city for sure. It’s colorful, it’s diverse, it’s artful. Seriously though, art is everywhere! In the little gallery around the corner or on the side of just about every building! Although, truthfully, it is often a question of perception: art or vandalism?

If you’re not confronted with spectacular street art, you are reminded of the rich German history which, too, is omnipresent and simply intriguing. You see it in the monuments, memorials, buildings. Earlier this week I spent my lunch break wandering through the massive concrete slabs of the Holocaust Memorial – a truly impressive design that evokes feeling, teaches about Berlin’s history and is a beautiful work of art in itself.

I particularly enjoy the diversity of the city, the many international people, the alternative lifestyles, the insane amount of cultural activities on offer. I definitely wouldn’t find those in my home town! You can walk around Berlin with absolutely no particular destination in mind and find something that’ll keep you hooked. Just the other day I happened upon this wonderful street food market entitled Stadt Land Food. Definitely recommendable if you are a fan of this thing called food! Which I am. Big time.

Now finally having moved into a new place (and with absolutely no internet for weeks –eek!), all I can think about is how I am going to decorate this place (mostly for Christmas, but I’m forcing myself not to get the tinsel out just yet) and where to store the tons and tons of wonderful things that I have collected over the years (yes, those might mainly be craft supplies, but no telling!).

Moving house always gives me the opportunity to sort through my stuff, rediscover, throw out and reorganize. And one thing that definitely needs organizing is my collection of notebooks. Now, I have a few because there is a lot going on in my brain and it needs to be brought to paper!

But I have recently been re-buying the same books so that they look neater on the shelf as a collection. However, since they are all black, there is no way of telling them apart! I can never find what I am looking for and spend way too much time leafing through them desperately trying to figure out what I am even looking at.

You guessed it. I need to label these bad boys!

I got some simple gift tags at the stationery shop. And then figured I could have easily made them myself with a bit of craft paper and a hole punch. Imagine the possible colors and patterns…

Since I didn’t have a fountain pen at hand I was pleased to find this clever little thing called a calligraphy pen. It is essentially a regular pen but with a slanted tip which creates the same effect as a fountain pen – very cool!

After labelling the tags, I placed the first on a notebook and shifted it around a bit until I was happy with the placement. I made a few small (hardly noticeable) marks with a pencil to mark where I had placed the tag and glued it in place with a glue stick (using the marks as a guide).

I used a ruler to measure the remaining tag placements based on my first one.

And voilà!

I got myself some clearly arranged, neatly labelled notebooks! Let the note-taking commence!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

- notebooks (mine are from moleskine)
- paper gift tags
- fountain pen or calligraphy pen (I used edding 1255 calligraphy pen 2.0)
- glue stick
- pencil (optional)
- ruler (optional)