TOP TEN BULLET JOURNAL SUPPLIES
As someone who LOVES stationery, forcing myself to pick only ten of my favourite supplies to use in my bullet journal was cruel— but here they are! Stationery is a very personal experience because everyone has different pen/marker/paper preferences, but if you’re looking to try some new things out, these are some of the supplies I adore.
1. Sakura Pigma Micron Pens
These pens are popular for a reason! I’ve been using them for years in my journal because I can always rely on them to deliver clean writing and doodles. They come in a variety of different sizes (my favourites are 03 for writing and 05/08 for creating boxes/tables).
Alternatives: FaberCastell PITT artist pens are also a great line of black pens. For a budget-friendly option, check out BIC Itensity Fineliners or Paper Mate Flair Felt Tip.
2. Circle Template
Circle templates make adding circle designs into your journal easier than ever. Circles make great sections for to-do lists, mood trackers, and decorative touches. It’s an inexpensive supply to get, but the fun you can have with it is endless.
3. Clear Ruler
The clear ruler is the queen of rulers (I joke…but also not really because the clear ruler truly is superior). When creating tables or header boxes, the transparency of the ruler will make it easier for you to line up your borders and see your dotted/grid paper. I am a fan of all forms of clear rulers, but this one has grid lines that can come in handy.
4. MUJI Gel Ink Pens
These pens are praised by many for being one of the best basic black pens for note-taking (and, bonus, they're inexpensive too)! I used these all throughout university and loved how neat they made my notes look. 0.38 is one of their most popular sizes, but if you’re not a fan of super skinny ink, 0.5 is a great option. They’re available in a variety of colours too so you can easily colour code events in your journal.
5. Dotted journal
I have to mention the dotted journal on this list because it’s been my go-to paper style for my bullet journal since the beginning. I love how dotted paper helps keep my handwriting straight, while also not making my pages look super busy. All paper is good paper though— lines, blank, graph, coloured, textured, etc. There is no “right one” to use for your bullet journal, there is only a right one for YOU.
If you’re interested in a dotted journal, there are MANY on the market that come in a variety of price points. Here are some of my favourites:
The budget-friendly option: This journal from Peter Pauper Press is only $11 and I am so impressed with the quality of it. The paper is super white, the dots aren’t too distracting, and I didn’t find too many issues with colours bleeding through the pages!
The classic : The leuchtturm1917 notebooks are a popular one in the bullet journal community—I myself have used a handful of them for my own journal over the years. They come in lots of fun colours and have become more accessible to buy in stores (to my Canadians out there, if you want to start a bullet journal TODAY, you can find lots of options at your local Indigo)!
The All-Star: Archer and Olive journals are something extra special. The paper quality is one of the best I’ve come across—just to give you an example, I’ve painted with acrylics in my Archer and Olive journal and nothing bled through. The covers for these journals come in many stunning colours and designs. The only downside to these ones is the price tag for Canadians when you factor in the shipping costs, duties and exchange rate (if you’re able to split the shipping costs with a friend, that helps lower the cost a bit).
6. Black washi tape & white pens
Technically these are two different things, but I truly believe these guys are soulmates because they just work so well together, haha; anyone who’s watched one of my “plan with me” videos knows I have an unhealthy obsession with them! Black washi tape is an easy way to spice up your spreads— simply write on top of the washi tape with a white pen for a gorgeous header in seconds (one of my favourite white pens is Sakura’s Gelly Roll pen in size 08).
7. Brush Markers
When making spreads in my bullet journal, I tend to create more minimal designs—but I love finding ways to add pops of colour! Brush markers come in handy whenever you’re looking to draw drop-shadows or do some colouring. You can also use them to brush letter and make fancy titles (here’s a great set of black brush markers).
For coloured options, the Tombow Dual Brush Pens are incredible (check out my favourite set here). You can also save yourself some serious $$$ by purchasing only the colours you think you’ll actually use individually, as opposed to a set. I highly recommend colours 553, 772, 992, and 026.
Crayola also has a line of brush pens that work really well from their Signature line. If you really want to get some good bang for your buck, check out Crayola’s Super Tip markers. They’re not traditional brush pens, but they can still be used to brush letter! On Amazon you can find a 50 pack for a bargain!
8. Glue Tape
One of my favourite 2019 discoveries was the use of glue tape. Whenever you come across something you want to paste into your journal— whether it be a photo or cute piece of paper— using glue tape will make the process much cleaner than a traditional glue-stick. No more sticky glue fingers! *cue the confetti*
9. Sticky Notes
Sticky notes are an easy to supply to use to create quick and cute lists. One of my favourite colours of sticky notes is black— if you use a white gelly roll pen to write on them, they are so much fun to experiment with. These black sticky notes from post-it changed my life.
10. Highlighters
Important deadline? Highlight it……Friend’s birthday? Highlight it……Upcoming vacation? Highlight it!
Highlighters these days come in so many different styles and colours! Some of my favourites over the past couple of years are the Zebra Mildliners (these are also dual-ended so they can be used as a highlighter or as a marker), and the Stabilo BOSS pastel highlighters; both of these highlighter sets not only deliver beautiful highlights to your planner, but they also make your pencil case look aesthetically pleasing!
For a traditional highlighter set, I love Sharpie’s Clear-View highlighters. The clear tip allows you to easily see exactly when you need to stop highlighting (I LOVED using this in textbooks/school notes because it kept my highlights super clean).
As I mentioned at the start of this post, stationery is all a matter of personal preference so I’d love to hear your favourite bullet journal supplies in the comments below!
Until next time, Xo —C.
