Review: Washi Tape Stickers from Wal-Mart

I recently found these Pen + Gear washi tape stickers at Wal-Mart. At the time, I was looking for a theme for the next month, so I was happy to go with flowers.

So, what did I think of them?

PROS

• As you would expect, they're repositionable.
• The designs are detailed and lifelike, which is a preference of mine.

CONS

• Since they're repositionable, sometimes the edges pull up slightly (see photo below - it might be hard to tell, but it's there). I didn't have any fall off all month, but I doubt they'll be there if/when I go back to reference this journal in years to come.  

• Like most washi, they're a bit transparent. When I drew lines on the paper before laying down the stickers, you could faintly (and sometimes not-so-faintly) see the lines after laying down the sticker (see photo above). In the photo above, I was using a highlighter for the lines behind the sticker.
• There are only four of each flower design, and they're not all grouped together. Since I used one on my monthly layout, and since some months have five weeks, I had to choose coordinating flowers and alternate them each week. I also had to go through the whole roll of stickers, separate them by flower, and then reassemble the roll. (Why, yes, I do lean a bit toward OCD about some things. What makes you ask?) ;)

The Verdict

I will definitely use up the roll, but I doubt that I'll be choosing more washi stickers in the future - unless I find some gorgeous ones that I just can't resist. Since I love flowers, I'll probably find some traditional flower stickers I like for my theme each month. Who knows, though? I'm a woman, and I change my mind now and then. 

As an amusing side note, although I can't name many of them, I love flowers. I can identify cabbage roses and double peonies, simply because they're my all-time favorite flowers. However, I can't grow flowers to save my life - or theirs! I've joked with people that flowers shrivel up and die overnight when they realize they're in my house.

Review: Artist's Loft vs. Exceed bullet journals

I recently finished an Exceed bullet journal (from Wal-Mart) and had to decide whether I was going to stick with it or go back to an Artist Loft bullet journal (from Michaels). In this process, I wrote out the pros and cons of each. Just in case it helps someone else, I thought I'd share my thoughts in a blog post.

Some people may be wondering why I'm comparing "bottom of the barrel" journals, as some would call these. If you're a paper snob, use fountain pens, or have loads of money to throw around, you may want to consider the $20+ journals out there. I go through a journal about every 4-5 months and don't have a large disposable income. I appreciate decent quality in a price range that works for my budget. My theory is, "Why spend $20+ when a $5-7 notebook will work just fine?"

Both of these journals have stood up to daily heavy use - including being shoved into my full purse with keys banging against them. They both also lie flat while open, which is a must-have for me. While I'm at home (which is most of the time), I keep my bullet journal open to the day's entry so I can be reminded of what I'm supposed to be doing.

With that said, let's get on to the reviews.

Artist's Loft dot grid notebook in pale pink

ARTIST'S LOFT 

This was the first bound book that I ever used for a bullet journal, so I'll start with it.

Pros

• bright white paper (see the difference in the following photo)

Exceed notebook (left) vs. Artist's Loft notebook (right)

• wider pages
• smoother paper
• can now be purchased with a coupon for around $4.20, instead of $5 [Hey, a penny saved is a penny earned!]
  

Cons

• thinner paper
• Marvy markers tend to bleed [I got a great deal on a pack of these, so this might matter.]
• plain white border at top and bottom
• need a blotting sheet with my preferred gel pen (Uni-Ball Signo 207), since it takes awhile to dry on this paper 

Exceed dot grid notebook in yellow

EXCEED

This is the book I just finished up. It was my first time to use this brand, and I picked it because they had it in yellow - the one color Artist's Loft doesn't carry but I absolutely love.

Pros

• thicker paper
• can use most markers without bleeding
• dots go to the edge of the page (i.e. no borders)
• ink dries fast

Cons

• cream paper
• narrower pages (see the size difference in the following photo)

Artist's Loft notebook (bottom) vs. Exceed notebook (top) for paper size

• rougher paper (hard on markers) 
• pages too narrow for my preferred sleep tracker layout

Please note that I customized both of these journals with vinyl cutouts, using my Silhouette Cameo. They come with plain covers.

Ultimately, I decided to go with Artist's Loft again. Right after I purchased it, Exceed came out with some new colors - including plain white. Sigh. I may try another Exceed notebook when I'm through with this one. I really love plain white.

Keep in mind, these are just my opinions. You may feel differently about features (considering one of my "cons" as a "pro" for you), and that's okay. That's the beauty of a bullet journal - you create your perfect planner.

Have you tried either of these notebooks? Do you have a personal preference for one over the other?

December 2018 Bullet Journal Setup and New Bullet Journal

My new bullet journal - Exceed brand from Wal-Mart

I'm a little late showing you my bullet journal setup for December, but we were on vacation during the first week and I tweaked a few things the second week. So I'm finally ready to show you what's currently working for me in my bullet journal.

First of all, I needed a new notebook this month. It's a little odd to switch notebooks in December, but hopefully somewhere down the road I'll switch at a more normal month.

I do like the Michaels Artist Loft notebooks, but I saw this yellow Exceed notebook at Wal-Mart and just had to try it. I love yellow, but I don't want to have to pay $20 for a yellow bullet journal. (Michaels doesn't carry their notebooks in yellow.)

I personalized the outside with a vinyl monogram an online friend made for me.

I'm also carrying my bullet journal without the Create 365 organizer I've been carting around that holds all of my pens and markers. I like being able to just throw this in my purse and not have another handle to hold onto. So far, the elastic loop is holding up well having it double as a pen holder (see the picture above). My last Artist Loft notebook elastic snapped pretty fast when I tried this.

New sleep log

This notebook is a slightly different size than what I was using, so my old sleep log layout wouldn't work. There aren't enough spaces horizontally to fit every hour of the day, as well as the date and day. (There are only 24 spaces across.) So I decided to track the number of hours I sleep, rather than the actual hours. It works for this notebook, although I have to admit that I like the old layout better.

I'm trying an entirely new layout for my weeklies. Since I'm trying to be more mindful of my health, I decided to track everything I eat in a day. I can't eat a lot at one sitting, so I tend to eat smaller meals - and more than three a day. This gives me space to record six meals/snacks. It has been working perfectly for me these last two weeks.

I love Dutch doors for my dailies, and I really love having tabs to make it easier to turn the pages.

I used some Christmas car/truck accents from a $5 Hot Buy paper pad from Michaels. The washi tape is from Dollar Tree, if I remember correctly. It's been awhile since I bought it.

After all of my dailies, I have space to record my daily workouts. I'm not into working out like some people, so this amount of space is perfect for what I need.

The rest of the elements (to-do list, menu and small calendar) are carry-overs from previous weekly layouts that I liked.

So far, I'm enjoying this notebook. The pages are more cream than white, and I thought that would bother me. But since my preferred pen (Uni-Ball Signo 207) doesn't stay wet for any length of time, it's a good trade-off in my mind. I used to have to add blotting pages in my Artist Loft book every time I wrote something and then had to turn the page within a minute or so.

I'm also enjoying the dot grid pages rather than the graph-lined pages I've been using. I'll probably be sticking with dot grid from now on. I like how the dots give me enough structure to design my pages and write straight, but they don't get in the way visually.

I'm already having difficulty drawing my lines at the spine of the book, so we'll see if that gets worse or stays about the same. If it stays the same, it won't be a dealbreaker. If it gets worse, it will be.

I hope you've enjoyed the peek into my new bullet journal!

Homeschool Bullet Journals, Part 3

Last week I showed you the beginnings of my son's homeschool bullet journal for this year. This week I'll show you the beginnings of my daughter's.

I let her choose a washi tape that coordinated with the journal color she chose. From there, I picked the marker color and coordinating washi tapes. I still took a minimalist approach to the decorating, but she can fancy it up if she wants to.

I started with the same printable year sticker for the front cover so we can keep track of the days she's done schoolwork.

My daughter turned 13 this year. She has been planning her birthday party on my Pinterest account for a long time now. I created a spread where she could choose her favorite ideas so we could narrow them down.

Here is her book list. I'm sure we'll need several of these spreads. My kids each check out about ten books every time we visit the library, which we try to do every two weeks.

And here is one of her "grade sheets". Hers are just slightly fancier with the addition of gold washi tape.

And there you have it - simple, but effective. At some point, I'll have to update you on how they've worked for us now that we've been using them for a few months.

Homeschool Bullet Journals, Part 2

I thought I had already posted a follow-up about our homeschool bullet journals. Then I found these pictures, searched through my blog archive, and realized I had never written up this post. So today I'm going to give you some more details about them.

The first thing I did was create a spread in my own bullet journal to plan out the basics of what I wanted to include in each of the kids' individual bullet journals. If you notice those blue "smudges" at the bottom, I just blurred some personal information.

Today I'll show you the bare bones of my son's bullet journal. I picked two marker colors to use in his journal, and I chose browns.

To start with, I created a printable calendar on sticker paper and adhered it to the front cover. We'll be highlighting each day that we do school work. (Obviously I took these pictures several months ago, before we ever started our schoolwork for the year.) Since we have to do schoolwork for 180 days in Pennsylvania, this is an easy way to do keep track of that.

Since my son has a bank account, I figured it was a good idea to teach him to keep track of it. I think it's much easier to track in a big spread like this, versus the tiny checkbook register that comes with your checks. Bonus: If you make more electronic transactions and deposits than you write checks, this helps a lot!

One of the other requirements for homeschooling in Pennsylvania is keeping a running book list. My kids are both avid readers, and I suspect we'll need several of these spreads before the year is out.

Lastly, I created a spread like this for each of his school subjects. It's like a teacher's grade book, but obviously just for him.

I didn't get any pictures of his daily logs, since they were begun after I took the pictures. They consist of a simple date and a listing of what all he did that day. It's very much like the original bullet journal concept. No surprises there, since Ryder Carroll (the inventor of the bullet journal concept) is also a guy. As much as I enjoy decorating my own bullet journal, I have to admit that I enjoyed the minimalistic approach in this one.

I also enjoyed working with the dot grid paper in his journal. I've been using graph paper in my journals since I began bullet journaling. After working with his, I picked a dot grid book for my next journal. We'll see which I prefer after I use it for a few months.

I hope you've enjoyed this peek into our homeschool bullet journals. I'll show you my daughter's next time. If you keep a homeschool bullet journal, I'd love to hear about it or see it (via a link) in the comments.

November 2018 Bullet Journal Setup

I searched high and low for a Thanksgiving theme for my November bullet journal layout, but I couldn't find any that clicked with me. So I hit up all the craft stores and dollar stores in search of fall-looking embellishments that I could use. This is what I ended up with - $4 worth of new supplies from JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts. (Also pictured: markers, a pen and a washi tape roll that I already had on hand.)

I laughed out loud when I saw several YouTubers choosing a woodland theme the week after I had designed this. (I designed it early, since I knew this week would be busy.) It would have saved me a lot of time if they had released their videos sooner - or I had simply waited a few more days. Oh well, this is now my original design, which is just fine since a bullet journal is a design-your-own planner anyway.

I used the (6x6") woodland animals paper for my cover page and then simply lettered the month into the middle. It's tricky to get just the right size of letters for me and my Tombows. This was a bit large for me, probably because I have child-sized hands. I'll file that away in my memory bank for the future.

I changed up my monthly layout because I'm working on getting back in shape starting this month, and I have more that I need to track as a result. It was just a little too much for my previous monthly design. I really like the fact that the calendar doesn't split over the two pages, since that makes it hard to write neatly.

As you can see, I already started filling in a few trackers. I didn't get a chance to take pictures before I needed to start using it. As a side note for those of you who know me and are concerned that I'm tracking my weight, let me assure you that I'm not anorexic and will not be starving myself. I'm just curious how getting back in shape will affect my weight. I'm only recording the results once a week, so I listed the dates to help me remember.

The top header is paper from the fox and mushroom paper. (I used the foxes elsewhere.) The bottom washi tape is one that I already had on hand from a washi tape color-themed tube.

This is my first weekly spread. I love Dutch doors, although I accidentally cut them a bit narrow this month. I should have paid more attention. I just cut them at the half-page mark, completely forgetting that I didn't need that much space for my to-do list and menu.

I added brown gingham washi (from JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts) to the cut edge of the Dutch doors. This helps me to see it better when I need to flip it over. Otherwise, it blends in so well that I'm constantly fiddling with it to get it to turn.

The leaf washi tape was also from JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts. It came in a pack with the brown gingham and coordinated with the paper pad I bought. The sticker was a freebie I found online (from Victoria Thatcher) and printed as an experiment to see how my printer works with printable stickers. Notice that I ended up buying a paper pad and washi tape instead. My printer doesn't produce stickers with the vibrancy that I want.

I'm staggering the Dutch doors again this month, in the hopes that this will reduce the "valley" effect created by cutting Dutch doors in the same place every week.

The fox border is cut from the paper pad. The mushrooms from my monthly spread came from the same paper.

This is very similar to the last, just with the Dutch door at the top instead of the bottom.

Lastly, this is very similar to the previous side-Dutch-door layout, with the exception of a different free printable sticker (also from Victoria Thatcher).

So, what are my thoughts about using decorative paper and stickers in my bullet journal? At first, I was conflicted. I doodled last month because of the bulk that washi tape tends to create. However, I like my planner to be pretty, and I really like how this turned out. After seeing several YouTubers' bullet journals that are nearly bursting their bindings, mine seems downright thin. So I decided I'm not going to obsess about it. I'll just do what I feel like doing from month to month and enjoy the process.

October 2018 Bullet Journal Setup - Sunflower Theme

If you know me, you might know that one of my favorite colors is yellow.

When I thought about a theme for October, sunflowers came to mind. Now, before we go any further, I should explain that I am no gardener. I admire flowers (especially roses, double peonies and sunflowers), but I cannot grow a flower to save my life. Flowers practically wilt overnight when they find out they're at my house. Well, maybe not quite that bad, but it seems like it sometimes.

Anyway, I said that to say this: I have no idea if sunflowers are still blooming in October. I just like them, they are a fall-ish color, and they're not difficult to draw. So that made them a perfect theme for my first attempt at drawing in my bullet journal.

 Why did I decide to try drawing in my bullet journal?

First of all, if you've noticed the bullet journal themes I've shared in the past, I've been using washi tape as my main accent and taking colors from the washi tape. However, washi tape - even when used only on every other page - tends to make the pages quite thick by the end of the journal. That can't be easy on the spine.

Secondly, when I'm very busy, I don't always have time to spend on creative pursuits. Creativity recharges me, and I feel restless when I can't do something creative for weeks on end. (If you don't understand, that's okay. Fellow creative types will understand.) However, when I'm busy, I rely heavily on my bullet journal to make sure I get everything done. So if I can work some creativity into my bullet journal, I can still have a creative outlet on my busy weeks.

Thirdly, I enjoyed trying a doodle challenge last month. It made me realize that I can draw simple things if I concentrate on the shapes and details. This made me wonder just how much I might be able to draw if I practiced and concentrated. Hence the desire to try out drawing in my bullet journal.

Inspired by @chrochlo on Instagram

I really love how my title page turned out!

I'm a math geek at heart, and I love it when I can find a pattern to make something that puzzles me. I used a protractor to make sure my petals were spaced evenly (one at 90 degrees, one at 45 degrees, etc.). I used a ruler to make sure the petals were all the same length.

I did freehand the shape of the petals, which is pretty obvious if you look closely. They vary a bit. The inside of the sunflower is filled with tiny little circles to mimic the seeds. It seemed like there were a million of them when I was drawing them, but I really like the finished effect.

The monthly spread was inspired by one I found on Pinterest. Unfortunately, the pin only led to the image, which had no watermark on it. If you recognize this spread, I'd love to credit the original designer.

I changed it up a little bit by adding my trackers on the righthand side and then filling in a few bare spots with partial sunflowers.

I used the same basic sleep log and budget page as usual, but I added a partial sunflower to the pages to dress them up and make them fit in with the theme.

I left my check register page without any sunflowers, since I really need all the space on this spread. I brought in the theme simply with the colors.

In case you're wondering, yes, I keep my checking account register in my bullet journal. In this age of debit cards, I burn through the check registers from the bank way too fast otherwise. I keep all of my bullet journals anyway, so it makes sense to keep my check registers in them, too.

Another big change I made this month was to try out Dutch door layouts and actually layout the entire month at once.

I discovered that I was using the same number of pages for each week, so why not make it look pleasing to the eye? The Dutch door feature ensures that I can see my weekly menu the entire week, instead of having to flip back whenever I go to the next page.

Here is a closeup of where the Dutch door is on my page, since it isn't very obvious from the first picture.

Notice on the far right of the picture that I didn't cut the paper the whole way to the spine.

Many people have noted that cutting the whole way to the spine weakens the binding of the journal and eventually makes the facing page loose where the cut was made. To prevent this, I simply cut up to the very last partial square near the middle - and then left it intact from there. In real life, it blends in. You wouldn't notice it at first glance unless I told you.

Another thing many people have noted about Dutch doors is that they tend to make mountains and valleys in the journal when too many are used back-to-back. To counteract this tendency, I'm experimenting with staggering where the Dutch door is placed from week to week.

On the first week, I placed it at the bottom. For this second week, I placed it at the side. On the next week, I placed it at the top. Cycling through this pattern should help to avoid having huge dips where I've cut out the Dutch doors.

On this particular layout, I was able to include my "to do" list on the lefthand side, which meant I had an extra block where the days are. I simply used it for a "brain dump" section, since I find those are helpful to include on a regular basis.

This is the last of the Dutch door layouts, this time with the cutout at the top. Other than that, it's basically the same layout as the one where I had the cutout at the bottom.

Once again, you can see the "Dutch door" part a little better on a closeup.

I'm excited to try this out for a month! I'll try to remember to update you next month on how it went, what I liked, and what (if anything) didn't work so well for me.

Coloring Pages as Bullet Journal Monthly Cover Pages

I recently found this book at my local Ollie's store. If you don't have an Ollie's store near you, the motto is "Good Stuff Cheap," and that's about what you can expect. The store has a warehouse feel to it. You're getting a good deal on the merchandise, partly because they keep overhead costs to a minimum. I especially enjoy their book section, since I can usually expect to find books at 75%-off the regular price. I've found a nice selection of adult coloring books there in the past year or so.

This book caught my eye because it's about the same size as my bullet journal. I looked through it and discovered that I like most of the images. Most of them would work as monthly divider pages - also known as cover pages - in my bullet journal. I've been looking to branch out of just washi tape decorating my bullet journal, and this seemed like a good place to start.

I don't know about you, but I can't color well in a bound book this thick. So I took a utility knife to it and cut all the pages out.

I cut as close to the spine as I could, and it worked perfectly. Now I have a whole book full of coloring pages that will stay flat while I color them. I was inspired to get started on one right away.

This is the finished product with the pencils I used and my homemade blender (on the far right). When I first looked at the blank page, I wasn't sure what colors to work with. But I started with the obvious - the leaves. Then, since I know virtually nothing about flowers, I searched online to find out what type of flower has five pointy petals. I found a yellow one with an orange-red center. That color scheme works perfectly for this time of year, so I went with it.

I enjoyed blending the colors a bit - something new for me (at least without using baby oil). I outlined each letter in red, then colored it in with orange. It created a lovely, blended color.

My baby oil is long gone, so I used some vitamin E oil that I had on hand to blend the flowers a bit. It didn't turn out exactly like I had envisioned, but it will do. I'll get better with practice.

I'm envisioning cutting around the outside edge - letting the leaf and flower edges spill out onto the page. I don't want to do that until it's time to paste it into my bullet journal, since I don't want to risk having the leaf and flower edges bent or torn.

I'm not sure what to think about adding it to by bullet journal with the oil blending. I didn't think about that part until after I did it ... I may put it between two pages until next month to see if it leeches any oil. I'll keep you posted!

Bullet Journals, Homeschool-Style

Bullet journals have revolutionized my life by helping me to get organized again. So it makes sense that I'd want to teach my kids the same efficiency and organizational skills. Hence, the Homeschool Bullet Journal ...

There are a few other blog posts out there about how other moms have incorporated bullet journals into their homeschool routine, but most of them are using Classical Conversations. I've never used that curriculum [we use My Father's World with Math U See], so I'm taking a few ideas from theirs that transfer to general homeschooling and making it work for us. I intend to share the journey here on my blog, as it unfolds.

Right now, we made the first step by purchasing bullet journals. I took my kids to Michaels and let them pick the color they liked from the Artist's Loft journals that I like so much and use for my own bullet journals. You can't beat them for $5 each!

My son was the one that was a hard sell for bullet journaling. "I don't want girly stuff in mine," were his exact words to me. So I was relieved to find a gorgeous brown leather-looking dot grid version for him. I'm not sure if it will show up well in the picture or on your screen, but it's not just a brown journal. It has texture worked into the color. They were definitely going for the leather look, and they did a good job!

I've always used the grid-lined versions, but he really liked this cover and it was only available in dot-grid. I promised to design the first few layouts for him until he finds his groove, so to speak. Who knows? I may end up liking the dot-grid better.

The other problem with "girly stuff" is what goes inside. I anticipated this problem and didn't plan to add much decoration to the insides. However, I gathered some of my washi tape that I thought would work nicely for a more masculine look, and he did like them.

All of these but the plaid came from Ebay. The plaid washi came from Target Dollar Spot last year.

 So hopefully I'll have some pictures of actual layouts to share in the days and weeks (and months) ahead. I'm still debating what role these will play this year. I have all kinds of ideas - record keeping, daily logs, daily math work that won't fit on the regular worksheet, book lists, and many more.

November Bullet Journal Layout

I know it's late in the month, but I thought I'd share my November bullet journal layout with you.

I'm a "cozy minimalist" (a term I found on Pinterest that fits me quite well) when it comes to bullet journaling. If I were any good at drawing and lettering, I could easily see myself doing a lot of decoration as a creative outlet. But I'm no good at drawing and only working on the basics of lettering. So, for now, I'm a minimalist.

Washi tape gives me some artistic flavor without any effort on my part. It also helps me to create a pleasing color scheme for the month.

I found this washi tape on Ebay. I'm pretty sure it took more than a month to get here from China, but I knew it would be awhile when I ordered it. The important thing is that it came in time for me to use it for the month I wanted to use it for. I was so impressed with this roll that I bought several more (different designs) from this same seller and can't wait for it to arrive.

I think there were 7 meters on the roll for right around $1, give or take ten cents (and with free shipping). I'm not only a minimalist, but a cheapskate as well, so that's the price point and length I look for when I'm buying washi tape.

I used some of my Artist Loft brush markers (store brand of Tombows) and some felt tip pens that I really like from Dollar Tree (also available at Dollar General in a multi-color pack).

I mainly used the smaller end of the brush markers for this month, although I did use the brush end of the sage green color to act as a highlighter on my mini monthly calendars in each weekly layout.

I hope Dollar Tree continues to carry these felt tip pens because I tend to go through about one a month, regardless of whether I'm buying the Staedtler Fineliners or these much cheaper ones from Dollar Tree (3/pack). I also like the slightly wider point on these (0.5 mm compared to 0.3 mm on Fineliners).


As for the layout, I'm sure I was inspired by Pinterest and Instagram. I tend to pick one thing I like from one layout, one or two things from another, and mesh them into something that works for me. And I have a really bad memory. So if you inspired me, thanks so much! I wish I could remember who to credit. If you'd see the size of my Pinterest bullet journal boards, you'd understand!

I'll be making a few changes in December, but I'm still in the pre-planning process for December pages right now. I'll share when I have the changes finalized.

I love the ability to tweak my layouts each month (or week, if I want to) to something that better suits my lifestyle at the moment.