What I am currently using to bring my bullet journal to life.

Bullet journaling continues to be a fantastic creative outlet for me. The last few months have been stressful for all sorts of reasons, and this has been my way to escape all the stuff that’s been going on.

Some of these items are total throwbacks, while some are new!

Paper Mate InkJoy pens

These continue to be an every day staple. They follow me to work, they get used all the time at home — and the writing is still as smooth as ever. There are a few colours that I don’t like; the orange, for instance, is a little tough to read and doesn’t write very smoothly. For one pen to be moderately okay to use, though…I’m fine with that.

In my first bujo, I made the mistake of using gel pens (I’ve linked the exact ones here). These aren’t great when you spill liquids all over your bullet journal! These pens make for clean writing and I’d purchase them again if they even went dry or ran out.

Sharpies

I mentioned these as part of my current favourites piece. They are new to my collection (I’ve had them for about two weeks as of publication) but they’ve already made a dent in my bullet journaling game! They also write smoothly…and they don’t bleed in my beloved Leuchtturm 1917! If you can, though, try to find them on sale. They were regular price $25 when I got them, but they were on sale at my local Staples for about half the price. I still like my metallic sharpies, but only when used sparingly as transfer between pages is still a bit of an issue.

Washi Tape

I’ve found more uses for washi tape since I first started using it: I’ve learned how to fold page markers to stick into other notebooks (not in my bullet journal though!) and have come up with other ways to decorate my bujo. For this month, I created “presents” in one of my layouts by cutting the tape into different lengths and shapes. One thing I’ve learned: don’t just freestyle rip your washi tape! Make sure you have scissors on hand to create a smooth, clean cut. (That’s even if a brand promises you a clean tear!) The majority of my collection is from MT Tape, (if you are in Vancouver and go to Paper-Ya on Granville Island, you can find MT brand tape there) but you can also find some washi tape gems through 3M.

Stickers

The best part about stickers: they don’t have to be fancy! I’ve purchased stickers through dollar stores, fancy Japanese dollar stores…all the way up to Etsy shops! As long as you find stickers that work for you and your budget, there’s no end to what you can create.

Watercolour Paint

I’m trying to get better with my watercolour paints, but it’s a lot of fun to paint a bullet journal! Just make sure you give your painted pages at least one night (overnight) to dry, then leave them closed for as long as you can so that you can keep the pages flat. I would recommend not skimping out on the quality of the paints; you’ll probably want to get something that’s a bit more durable, vivid, and that won’t bleed too much onto the other side of the page.

What are your current bullet journal favourites? Let me know in the comments section!