Post-it Doodle Pad Tabletop Easel, 563R-DP

Our family relies on post-its to stay organized. As I sit here in my office, I can count at least 5 different varieties. Tiny ones that fit inside my Giant Calendar squares perfectly. Various colors corresponding to each type/persons event. Standard squares for short notes. Lined quarter sheets for daily task list to make sure things get done. Full sheets of conference room size peel and sticks for brainstorming sessions hanging on the walls. We used these at the beginning of the summer during a family meeting to map out ideas for things we wanted to do, to learn, people to visit, trips go go on. I think it may have been our most accomplished summer yet. So much less nagging because by the end of the second week, they new that come Saturday morning, they would each get a chance as we went around the table to add any ideas for additional things they had thought of. More recently we have been using these large sizes to track the potty training efforts of our youngest two. We just wrapped up the Christmas Can-Can challenge(Because they can use the can…) Basically, Fun doodle at the top, their names in two large columns, and then fun stickers they get to add on their side each time they successfully use the toilet. What can’t you do with these things.

No on to these. In my mind, I was assuming these would pretty much just be a slightly smaller version of the large ones we have come to love. And a two pack…it would take us a year or more to go through them. Not really thinking about the whole built in easel thing. Plan was to give one pad to the tiny humans, and the other for me. Yeah, what I realized is that, unsurprisingly, they can fill a page with scribbles in about 10 seconds, call it done, and demand a clean sheet. If I’m not quick enough, then we get to endure the sounds of ripping paper, followed by tears as their pink tornado of marker(a bunny) has been torn in two. They can as easily be delighted coloring the inside of the amazon box the doodle pads came in, for a fraction of the price. So, as far as kids doodle pages, at nearly $2 a sheet, there are many more affordable options out there. Still loving using it for larger family planning lists though. kind of nice to not have immediate anxiety about ruining the super huge pages as soon as I start writing and mess something up.

We usually meet in a location without a whiteboard. These are the next best option when we do group activities and need to share info.

3M makes a few different oversized Post-It products that use the same adhesive as the familiar little yellow notes. They may seem a bit expensive at over a dollar a page, but they are a unique specialty item that carries its value in its versatility and convenience. This type comes as a flat pack that unfolds and then folds backwards to form a table top easel – very handy for business meetings but also as a serious art supply. For a meeting, you can write on the sheet that is on the easel, and when the page is full, you can stick it to the wall so everyone keeps those notes in mind as you move to the next topic. When you’re done, you can collect the notes back onto the easel, and close the box to keep the notes flat and clean. Later, you can set the easel up elsewhere and photograph the notes one page at a time to send to your colleagues. Stick the notes back on the easel and fold it up for safe long term storage until no longer needed. For an artist’s purposes, these are great for doing study sketches and details. You can take your sketches off the pad to stick them on the wall of the studio, take them down and put them back in the foldable easel package repeatedly as needed. Again, the cardboard portfolio provides perfect storage for your sketches. The safe, reusable adhesive allows you to reposition them a number of times before it becomes useless. If you’re careful to use it on clean surfaces, you can reuse it many times. You could buy much cheaper paper, but if you damage a wall with tape once, you’ll wish you bought the Post-It product. You could risk looking like a fool in a meeting, using masking tape to mount notes. This is probably not the economical solution for giving your kids drawing paper, especially if they really love to draw a lot. This is a professional product for business people and artists, and those who see the potential uses will recognize the value. If you don’t, that’s fine. We don’t use these things for all of our drawing paper needs, but they are perfect for the kinds of study drawings we use when painting on canvas. The ability to move them around quickly, put them away, and get them out again, with little or no hassle to distract from the work at hand is what makes them fabulous.

I had no issue with the product. My only issue was that I paid a premium and it did not arrive when it was supposed to. In fact it arrived after it was needed!