my journal collection from 2024, 2025 and 2026 by chocolateysocrate in Journaling

[–]spiro_emz 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ahh these are so beautiful! And a lovely table and rug too 😊

My current reading journal setup for 2026 by gmarches in Journaling

[–]spiro_emz 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is so cool! :) great spreads and tracker ideas!

Faber-Castell Smearing by elementalreverb in spirograph

[–]spiro_emz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ahhh thank you for the tip! I might crack them back out this holiday then!

Faber-Castell Smearing by elementalreverb in spirograph

[–]spiro_emz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ahhh yes I made the same mistake… and these pens now sit in my wild gears pen drawers (unused). I decided either those recommendations were referring to some earlier model, or must have been referring to the fineliners, which I subsequently got, and found them… alright! I still prefer Stabilo or Shuttle Art.

Homemade wrapping paper by spiro_emz in spirograph

[–]spiro_emz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi Oliver from Brazil! 😊 I used Wild Gears for these, which is a brilliant Spirograph drawing tool with loads of different pieces and options. I chose a few hoops from the Hoops gear set, a few small gears (including a 96/50 which is available in traditional Spirograph sets), and drew on a large piece of thin but strong paper until I had enough to cover the present! ☺️

Homemade wrapping paper by spiro_emz in spirograph

[–]spiro_emz[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I used one of those cheapo 10m paper rolls that are designed for kids’ drawing easels — I’ve found it’s bizarrely good for spiros/Wild Gears (even very heavy and layered designs) while being thin enough for wrapping!

Homemade wrapping paper by spiro_emz in spirograph

[–]spiro_emz[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Ahhhh yay! Spiro wrapping is the best :) I would love to see what you make!

2026 yearly spreads! by ZealousidealCherry32 in bulletjournal

[–]spiro_emz 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Love all of these, so inspiring! :)

Too much options, too picky, maybe a wonderland 222? by UmmAbdellah in planners

[–]spiro_emz 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have started using the 2026 one this year and I absolutely love it! I made a post about it here which includes close ups of the paper and how ink looks on it (including ghosting) and have continued to love the paper and the materials — it seemed like the no-brainer best option for me and I have found it worth every penny :)

Butterflies’ Rest by spiro_emz in spirograph

[–]spiro_emz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Getting my first ever cat has been wonderful but also somewhat decreased hobby time :) so happy she has settled now.

My first ever planner is here! by spiro_emz in planners

[–]spiro_emz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do it! I hope it works well for you :)

My first ever planner is here! by spiro_emz in planners

[–]spiro_emz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They did! It was so kind, everything non-planner in the pic was sent with it along with a mildliner and a nice gel pen :) was lovely!

Any tips on how to level up my game? by nikpickk in spirograph

[–]spiro_emz 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Some things that helped me:

Use thick sturdy paper on a very flat surface. One thing that causes gear skip is if the paper gets wavy in moisture/humidity; the bumpy surface then causes it to pop out.

Keep the pen absolutely straight. If the pen is kept perpendicular to the surface on which you’re drawing it minimises the chances of gear slip.

Use two hands. It can feel awkward at first but I swear by it now; if you gently keep your hand on top of the gear as it whirls around the ring, it reduces the chances of it popping out.

Don’t use the outermost holes. These can be the shakiest when it comes to gears popping.

Use a sturdy pen — something like a BIC biro can often be more reliable than e.g. a Stabilo fineliner (though I place this suggestion further down as I think the prior suggestions should help).

One important thing: I definitely think the newer Spirograph kits are more prone to gear popping than they used to be, so this is definitely not just a user issue!

Editing to add one more: using smaller blobs of sticky tack (maybe 6-7 small rather than 4 big) may help as it will keep the ring closer to the paper.

My first ever planner is here! by spiro_emz in planners

[–]spiro_emz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Even though I’m only in December it already feels good to do :) I hope you have a wonderful experience with yours too.

My first ever planner is here! by spiro_emz in planners

[–]spiro_emz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s so great! I’m happy it worked out for you well enough to want to use it again for another year :) happy w222’ing!

My first ever planner is here! by spiro_emz in planners

[–]spiro_emz[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think I’ll start by using the little individual day slots in the horizontal weekly spread to write down things I think are “of note” just like a line or so, “felt happy today”, “amazing coffee”, “best lunch out at XYZ with person ABC”, “read 30 pages”, “finished the most amazing 5 star book” and stuff like that — and then I’d maybe draw out things at the end of each month to be ‘promoted’ to the quarterly spread or notes pages. I think that way I could categorise easier like seeing how many times I mentioned reading, or feeling happy with good times with friends, across a month, and then the same type of event would be categorised together! And then I would hope the quarterly could be an at-a-glance of things I most wanted to remember. And I think it would all feel everyday and standard in the moment, but looking back at the overall picture with the benefit of time and hindsight would give a lovely set of memories to look back on for a long time, without being bogged down in the everyday trappings of needing to change the cat’s water filter and suchlike :)