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?

Etsy Spotlight: Take Time to Smell the Flowers 6x6" Mini Album

Today I'm spotlighting another 6x6" mini album from my new Etsy shop.

Since you can only share ten photos on Etsy, I figured I'd do a flip-through here, in case anyone wants to see the full album.

Because of the tags and flaps throughout, this album will fit up to 31 photos of varying sizes.

This shows the insert folded up and pulled out slightly.

This page features a tuck spot with a tag (shown pulled out in the next photo). 

This is another insert that can be pulled out.

Here is another tuck spot with another tag (shown in the next photo).

This is the last insert that can be pulled out.

... And the last tuck spot with a tag.

I thought this image that looks like embroidery was a perfect image for the back cover.

The spine is covered in a coordinating print.

You can find this album in my shop here.

Cards from JoAnn's Small Paper Pads

If you enjoy cardmaking and have never looked up Kristie Marcotte on YouTube, you owe it to yourself to do so. She is an absolute genius when it comes to making cards in bulk and using up a whole 6x6" paper pad. I never saw the potential in 6x6" paper pads until someone pointed me in her direction.

I don't like to spend a lot of money on my materials, so I was happy to find a 5.5x7.5" paper pad in the $1.99 bins at JoAnn recently. It's not 6x6", but I liked the prints and figured it would still work just fine.

On a separate shopping trip, I had picked up about 12 sheets of individual papers that look like seed packets but are small focal point images for cards. I think they're by American Crafts, but I threw away the identifying strip before thinking about recording it.

In one of those "happy accidents," I discovered that two of the seed packet greetings went beautifully with the paper from this little paper pad.

Inspired by Kristie Marcotte's process, I picked a card sketch. Unlike Kristie, I don't mind making a bunch of cards that are almost exactly the same. (I'm a little boring like that.) So I just used one card sketch and made as many as I could with the papers I had.

The sketch I used was Reverse Confetti #27, a sketch I found through Kristie Marcotte.

I was so happy with how these turned out! I'm not always confident when mixing patterns, so I love it when I find a paper pad that has done the mixing for me. 

If you've never done something like this, I'd encourage you to try it just once. You may find that it's addicting, like I found. Or you may find that it's just not your thing. That's okay, too.

I'll be sure to share what I do with the rest of the paper from this little pad once I use it up.

Etsy Spotlight: Hello Darling 6x6" Handmade Mini Album

Today I'm spotlighting a 6x6" handmade mini album from my new Etsy shop.

I love the color scheme of this album!

I also love paper lace. Can you tell? ;)

There is room for up to 31 photos of varying sizes, thanks in part to the tags and flaps throughout.

Here is the rest of the flip-through, page by page.

This is the back cover.

And here is the spine.

If you'd like to find this in my shop, it's right here.

(Masculine) Cards from 6x6" Paper Pads, part 3

When I do something, I tend to do it in multiples. Hence the "part 3" of this post.

I was running low on masculine birthday cards and decided to use one of my recently-acquired 6x6" paper pads to get my stock back up ... Twenty-five cards later, I think I have enough to last me awhile!

I relied heavily on Kristie Marcotte's 6x6" paper pad tutorial for these cards. I just used the sketches of hers that I liked, and it made it so easy.

Since I wasn't working with a 24-sheet paper pad like she was, I chose 12 papers from my stash that worked well together and pulled 2 sheets of each of them. (I think an extra one may have slipped in about halfway through.)

What can I say? Masculine cards don't always come easy for me, so when the ideas are flowing, I make as many as I can.

This is the 6x6" paper pad that I used for the papers. It's more of a memories/travel theme paper pad, but quite a few of the prints and colors seem masculine to me.

Since I mainly make masculine cards for our church parishioners, I kept that in mind when choosing stamps. There are a few guys in our congregation that might remember this style of old truck (and besides, it's just plain cute!), so I figured it was a safe image to use when I couldn't think of anything else that might interest them.

I used Operation Write Home sketch #123 for these.

This airplane is appropriate for birthdays or graduations, so I made some of each. We have several graduates from our church this year. Our graduation party theme will be along the lines of exploring and travels, so these cards will work perfectly with the theme.

I was inspired by the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #220 for these, but I changed it to suit my images and paper.

We have several college professors in our congregation, so I thought these old-timey globes would be appropriate for them.

I used Reverse Confetti Sketch #21 for these.

We have a retired photographer in our congregation, so this camera stamp was perfect for him.

I used Reverse Confetti Sketch #53 for these.

Ships are always a safe masculine image. These are pretty detailed and are meant to look a bit "sketchy".

I used Operation Write Home Sketch #218 as my inspiration for these. I adapted it a bit.

Trains are another "safe" masculine image.

This was inspired by Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #232. I didn't have room for the fishtail banner at the bottom, so I left it off.

Lastly, we come to the cards that feature a sentiment. These are simple cards, designed to highlight the textured wood-look background paper (thanks to an embossing folder).

Hopefully you can better see the texture in this closeup.

These were based on My Favorite Things Weekly Sketch Challenge #227.

I inked the embossing folder on these, just to see what it would look like. It highlights the woodgrain look.

These were loosely based on Operation Write Home Sketch #160.

Lastly, I used up a good bit of the scraps on these cards. I still have some scraps left, but I didn't feel compelled to use them all right away.

These scraps cards are based on Operation Write Home Sketch #154.

I hope these have inspired you to create some masculine cards. Do you have a card style or recipient that is challenging for you to work with?