Latest Update: Added a link to a Moleskine Hard Drive.

Moleskine? Little black notebooks, with a bookmark, elastic closure, and a storage compartment in the back. Useful little things on their own, but some people feel the need to trick them out further.

• Moleskine Notebooks

Marking Up

Most people just use their Moleskines freeform, scribbling whatever and wherever they like. Some people prefer a little structure…

• PigPogPDA – my very own Moleskine Hack – either a simplified GTD system for those without too much to do, or a slightly overcomplicated capture system to feed into GTD.
• PlannerHack – Mike Rohde’s site, with his tricks for turning a Moleskine into a nice little planner to organise your days.

Add-in Cards and Sheets

• Related: Templates

Not quite the same as marking up your Moleskine pages, how about adding in pre-printed or formatted sheets or cards?

• mGTD from anabubula – a simple next action form with a coloured edge to make it easy to find. Neat idea. (Found via LifeDev.)

Pimp My Moleskine

• Moleskine Hard Drive – increase the capacity of your Moleskine by cutting out all of the paper and stuffing a hard drive in there. As spotted by Merlin
• Moleskine Cover – I love the style of the Moleskine cover, but if you prefer something a bit more colourful and personal, this link may be helpful.
• Moleskine Reloaded – not so much “Pimp My Moleskine” more “Gut My Moleskine”. Via Craftzine.
• Extra pocket – Hello Kitty pocket. Nice.
• Ninth Wave Designs has (quite literally) hacked a Moleskine into Battlestar Galactica style, with chopped off corners.
• Lined Card Insert – lets you write with lines in a plain notebook. (Via Moleskinerie.)
• Tabbed Moleskine – using an X-Acto knife (craft knife) and a label maker. I’ve seen similar things done before, but this looks a bit neater, with the printed labels.
• Home-made City Book – since the City Books aren’t out for a while yet, if you’re in a hurry, see Geoffrey Litwack’s guide to making your own. Could be quite handy for any other sort of project, not just a city visit. (Via Make:.)
• Beribboned – via Moleskinerie. I prefer the simplicity of the clean lines, but if the plain black cover leaves you wishing for a bit of colour, this does look very smart.
• There’s a Flickr set with a few different decorations and replacement closures from Bubi – really nice stuff.
• Moleskine Portfolio – if you prefer using loose sheets, but you like Moleskine paper. (Via Moleskinerie.)
• Tim’s Moleskine Hack – using Post-it Notes attached to the first two or so pages as a makeshift Hipster PDA. Stupidly simple, but not a bad idea. I’m trying out using pencil and just erasing and rewriting, but lots of people hate using pencil, so this could be a good alternative. (Via Moleskinner.)
• 43 Folders on Moleskine Hacks – an excellent collection of tricks and hacks.
• Tim Baynes’ Trick for Numbering Pages on Moleskinerie – using an automatic numbering stamp and making an index in Excel – by page and by subject.

Pen Holders

• A nice simple elastic pen holder from Paul at Active Voice. Being elastic, it should be able to stretch to different notebooks, too, as long as you stick to almost the same size. One that fits a large Moleskine should work out ok with most A5 books.
• How about a leather pen holder? Simple to do, and just takes an offcut – handy if you’ve worn out your leather trousers, and are looking for a way to reuse the scraps.
• Nargalzius has seen all the pen holder hacks, but still put together their own design, using cardboard and duct tape.
• A very classy twist for the Pocket Reporter from Sanctum mekkanicum, made with laminator sheets.
• One that’s similar to the ones you get on Filofax binders and similar – step-by-step pics at Flickr – via Moleskinerie.
• Pencil Storage and Sharpener – attach a pencil safely to your Moleskine, and be able to sharpen it on the go too.
• Pencil Holder – an improved version, with a video of the process.

Labelling

• You could label them with art stickers.
• Debossing a Moleskine – marking your moleskine in the same way as the ‘Moleskine’ logo on the back, using an old electric typewriter font wheel. Classy, but probably not too readable.
• Labelling with a Label Maker – using a Brother P-Touch labeller or similar.

Cases

• Kody’s Moleskine iPod Hack – needs a few fairly specific items, but might give you some good ideas if nothing else. A case that holds two Moleskines and an iPod video, with a bunch of pens and pencils and spares. (Via Moleskinerie.)
• Knitted Moleskine Case – along with a few other knitted projects. Doesn’t include any instructions or pattern, but it doesn’t look too difficult. If you know how to knit, anyway, I doubt I’d get far with it.

Repairs

• Emberlexi has put together an excellent set on Flickr, showing how to do a proper job of repairing the spine. Spend a bit of time on her other crafty pics, whilst you’re there – there’s lots of stuff there. Via Moleskinerie.
• Repairing a Loose Elastic Band – if the elastic that holds your Moleskine shut comes free from one of the holes, let Steve guide you through fixing it.

Alternative Uses

• Jazzmasterson has come up with an interesting hack – turning a Moleskine into a HipsterPDA case.
• Moleskine iPod Case – use an old Moleskine to hold your iPod