Hello!

As I mentioned in my last post, I have really gotten back into planning over my winter break. However, every time I try to go back to sticker planning I end up abandoning the system. A lot of why I wasn’t keeping up with my planner was because I couldn’t find a planner that worked for me entirely. Academic planners are often too simple, and standard planners don’t work as well for students. Many YouTube videos later, I decided on bullet journaling. If I couldn’t find my perfect planner I was going to make my own! I’ve never even attempted anything like this so I decided to purchase some new pens and supplies to get started.

Obviously this is probably excessive for a beginner, and the pens I already have are definitely sufficient, but I really want to incorporate calligraphy and doodles into my journal, so I thought I might as well stock up.

As I’m writing this, I am still waiting on a Recollections planner in the mail and some Washi tape from Amazon, so I will likely write a new post when those come in to focus in on the planner itself.

I got these from Target, Michael’s, and Amazon. I will try to link them, but some of the Michael’s and Target items are in store exclusives. In that case, I will try to find the same item on amazon, and link that as well.

Let me know if you got any of these, and what you think! I haven’t tried any of it yet, so these are just my first impressions!

Planners!

First thing I purchased was this Emily Ley hanging wall calendar for 2019. Last year I got my gold foiled calendar from the Target dollar spot for $1, and I LOVED it. When I went back this year, I wasn’t very impressed with the calendars, so I purchased one from their stationery aisle.I keep this hanging over my desk to write down important dates as they come in. I couldn’t find this online at either Target or Amazon, but at the time I purchased it, it was $5.99.

What drew me to this particular calendar was the navy pattern with the gold foil throughout. My room at school is very navy, teal, and white so I thought this would fit in well. Taking it out of the packaging, the paper is really nice, and it has a cardboard backing to keep the calendar’s shape. The hook is super important to me as I frequently take the calendar off the wall to plan.

Next purchase was from the dollar spot, and it is this very thin planner booklet with dated 2019 monthly spreads. Target’s dollar spot planner supplies have gotten a lot better throughout the years, and I was really excited to find this for $1. They had loads of other designs, but I loved this cover with the font on the inside. I don’t usually take my planner to class with me because I track my assignments digitally, and my planners are far too bulky to carry around. Last semester I used a spiral monthly planner I got for free from my school to carry around in my backpack to keep track of non-school events, but this is so light and inexpensive, it’s a better and cuter alternative. I like the sidebar for monthly to dos, as I usually have tasks that I can’t delegate to a single day. Once again, I couldn’t find this for purchase online, but definitely check your in-store dollar spot! What has been your favorite find so far? I love trying their stationery!

I am SO excited for my next item. For my bullet journal, I chose the Artist’s Loft Dotted Journal in Dark Teal. I was planning on getting the bullet journalist classic, the Leuchtturm 1917 dotted journal, but I saw a lot of videos on YT comparing the two, and I decided to start off with something inexpensive in case I don’t stick with it. I’m planning on using this for just the first semester (Jan-June) so if I decide to upgrade, I will definitely have the opportunity to. I personally prefer the whiter pages in the Artist’s Loft over the Leuchtturm’s cream. This is $5 in store and online at Michael’s, however it is considered an “Everyday Value” item so you won’t be able to use a coupon. Still for $5 this is a fantastic value, and I’m super excited to get into it. I chose this color again because it goes along with my room aesthetic, but they have loads of different options including patterned covers at no additional cost. It comes with an elastic to hold the pages together and two ribbon markers inside. I recommend this video if you are unsure which journal is best for you! I will definitely post an update after using it for a month or so to let you know my thoughts, as I haven’t seen very many people bullet journal with this.

Pens!

As mentioned, I am interested in learning how to hand letter. After watching tons of bullet journal and lettering videos, I found that the Tombow Fudenosuke pens were very popular for lettering in small areas. I got the 2-pack of the hard and soft tip, and I’m super excited to try them out. They also come in a colored set, and if I really like these and stick with it, I will definitely purchase the full set.

Next is another Artist’s Loft product. I’m not sure if this brand is Michael’s in house brand, but I have seen this brand on Amazon before, so I’m not sure. This brand seems to “dupe” popular stationery brands, and as you may tell these are their version of the Tombow dual tip brush pens. Again, I watched lots of comparison videos on YouTube, and a lot of artists enjoyed these, so I thought I would give them a try before diving in and investing in a bunch of Tombows. I got this set for $15 on sale at Michael’s, but even if it isn’t on sale, you can use a percent off coupon on them to get a better price. Michael’s also has a price match policy, so see if you can find them for even cheaper! Once again, I want to try lettering with these, and for the price, I couldn’t resist. They come in larger and smaller packs, and some Michael’s stores will sell them individually. I actually purchased just the black to test out before getting the full pack, and I recommend trying the same if you can! You can find them at Michael’s or on Amazon.

I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this on the blog before, but I have been using the Staedtler Triplus Fineliners for almost three years, and I absolutely love them. Because they only come in one size, and I only really need a black for bullet journaling, I thought to check out another youtube favorite, the Sakura Pigma Microns. I got this 6 pack with loads of different tip sizes, perfect for bullet journaling. They also have a 3 pack that I nearly bought but decided against last minute so I could have more size options. Colored fineliners are available as well, but I prefer my Staedtlers for that. Michael’s does sell them individually, but I found it was cheaper to go with a pack.

In the same Amazon order, I threw in this 3 pack of the Sakura Gelly Roll pens in the classic white. It comes in three sizes, which I think will come in handy when bullet journaling. I’m not the biggest fan of Gelly Rolls as gel pens because of how thick the formula is, but in this case I think it will be beneficial for correcting mistakes and lettering over black ink. There is a pack from sakura that comes with one white gelly roll,  four black Pigma Microns, and a brush pen, which is actually great for anyone interested in starting to bullet journal. But because I already had my brush pens purchased, I elected to buy each separately.

Extras!

This next item is super basic, but I decided to include it in this haul since it relates to lettering. I read online multiple times that lettering over normal printer paper damages the brush tip, and Tombow’s website recommended the HP Premium Choice Laserjet paper. I got a ream off Amazon to practice with, but I’m sure if you’re interested you could find this at any office supply store.

I know this next item looks a little out of place in this haul, but I really want to get in to doodling and coloring in my journal, so I got some old school Crayola Colored pencils to get me started. I got them at Michael’s using a 50% coupon, but they are also available from Amazon at a reasonable price. You could also find them at any Target or office supply store.

 

Another Target Dollar Spot find! I was very happy to find these as they were in the 50% clearance bin the day after Christmas, so each roll was $.50. I went back to another target to see if they had any and they had been wiped clean. Both are red glitter tapes, and one has a repeating red heart pattern as shown on the packaging.

I also wanted to include some of the items that I ordered that haven’t come in yet, and may not for a while since they’re coming from China. I ordered these calendar stamps off  Wish along with an acrylic block and a black ink pad. I thought these stamps could speed up the process of drawing in habit trackers and monthly overviews. They’re on Etsy, but I had some Wish credits I needed to use. As always with Wish, exercise caution and read reviews. I’ve had problems with Wish before, but their customer service is always really good, and they have refunded me when the wrong item was sent. Because Wish links are hit or miss, I’ve attached a screenshot for reference.

I also got a pack of metallic washi from Amazon, but they won’t be coming in until after this is posted, so I will attach an image as well. I’m really excited to get these, as I only own a few Washi rolls including the red glitter tape shown above. I’m hoping these will add some color and decoration to my spreads.

Be sure to comment and let me know what stationery you’ve added to your collection for the new year!

Thanks for joining, and I hope to see you again soon!

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*Every product shown was purchased by me unless explicitly noted otherwise