We love stationery! Blogposts weekly every Friday and free printable monthly.

Friday, December 31, 2021

Friday, December 24, 2021

Review: Kutsuwa Culicule Coloured Pencil

 


There's a lot of nostalgia inducing stationery these days, 
I would say the Kutsuwa Culicule coloured pencil is one of them.

The Culicule coloured pencil comes in sets of 3, each set has a theme/name. 
There are currently 6 sets, I picked up 2, lalala aurora and royal moon. 



Why do I say the Culicule is nostalgic? 
The pencil is a thick piece of lead in a plastic holder, to retract it, you twist the white end of the holder until the pencil lead comes out. 
To store it, just twist the white end in the opposite direction. 

I remember stationery like that from my childhood and to me that's nostalgic. 


The packaging for the pencil sets are so pretty. 
They've been well thought out and incorporate colours from the pencils. 

Also, why coloured pencils? 
Well, they don't bleed like pens so are great for journaling. 


I decided to test the pencils to see how they would do over different media like pens, permanent marker and a brush pen. 

Both sets had different results. While the media worked with lalala aurora, royal moon was more opaque and appeared to cancel the media so I would say put down the coloured pencil before writing. 


There are examples on the back too. 
The shading looks good but I didn't feel confident so I'll give it a try another time. 


By the way, if you buy 2 sets, both will fit in one of the plastic sleeves. 
The plastic sleeves have a zipper so it's useful for long term storage. 


Finally, I tried it over some printed test and the result was similar to the ink media. 

Overall, I think these coloured pencils are fun. A bit expensive for a set of 3 but the colours are pretty.
I'd be interested to see what other sets will come out in the future. 


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Friday, December 17, 2021

Review : BIC Intensity Aqueous Dual Tip Marker

 

I'm always interested in trying new brush pens so when DAISO started carrying these, I knew I had to buy them ^^

BIC Intensity Aqueous Dual Tip Marker

There are 12 colors in all [according to the website] and I picked 3 of them up to try!
Reminiscent of the tombow dual tip markets, one end has a brush nib and the other is a 0.7mm felt tip pen.
Swatches for BLACK, BROWN and PEACH

Since the brand promises vivid intense color, I've decided to match it up against some of my go-to brush pens. 
To be fair, only the black ink pens will be compared.
As you can see from the swatches above, the BIC intensity marker is indeed one of the darkest black inks. (Surpassed only by the Copic Multiliner Brush Pen)

Not only is the color vivid, it writes just as smoothly as the more costly brush pens. I highly recommend trying these out if you find them!
What do you think? Have you tried them out?



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Friday, December 10, 2021

Review: Sharpie S-note Highlighter

 


It's another highlighter review! 
 
I'm a bit fan of highlighters so when I saw the Sharpie S-note , I had to pick them up. 


Sharpie as a brand sells great markers so I had high hopes for these. 

Each highlighter is in a sharpie signature marker case. 

It has 1 end but in usual highlighter fashion, the nib is flat angled which means you can use it to highlight test or turn it to the pointy end and underline text. 


I tried it on a travelers notebook insert and it didn't bleed. 

It worked well with written text too but remember to let the ink dry before highlighting. 


Here's a comparison with mildliner highlighters. 
The sharpie colour is deeper and not as bright as the mildliner, which I think is really nice. 


and finally, I tested it on printed text.

I have to say, I like the colours of this highlighter, especially the yellow. 
The highlighters glide over text easily too and the colour is consistent. 

If I had a complaint, it would be that the cap doesn't close with a satisfying click.
but that's just being nitpicky. 

I would also like to see more colours added to the highlighter range. 

Have you tried this highlighter? what are your thoughts? 

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Friday, December 3, 2021

Review : Pentel Lightwrite Ball point pen

I'm always keen to add something unique to my pen lineup so when I chanced upon this, I thought I buy it to try ^^

ZEBRA: Lightwrite Ball point pen

How it looks out of the packaging

The pen has a 0.7mm nib but I did not think it was as smooth to write as 0.7mm nib pens from other brands like Pentel or Bic.

So what makes this pen so unique? 
Well here is the answer:
Yes it lights up! 
And when you do not turn the light on [by clicking the pen twice], the nib actually glows in the dark as well making it easy to find.

Needless to say, there are many instances whereby one can use a light in the dark when writing. So though the pen is not as smooth to write as many others, it is still a good addition to one's pencil case or travel pouch!
What do you think? Would you buy a pen that lights up?

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Friday, November 26, 2021

December 2021 Printable

 

So it is finally December's printable again!
2021 is almost over but not quite yet...there is still time...a month to be exact! So get planning with our free printable ^^
Download HERE.


Netprint (Japan) and IBON (Taiwan) details can be found on our instagram.
Do tag us in your creations! We would love to see them!

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Friday, November 19, 2021

Review: Isshoni. notebook and cover

 


This is part 2 of the Isshoni. review. 



As mentioned in part 1, I also purchased a notebook and a notebook cover/pouch.


The cover fits A5 sized notebooks (a midori A5 notebook fit perfectly)
It has 2 inserts for you to slip your notebook cover into that double up as pockets.
It also has another pocket and a pouch for pens, memo paper, whatever you might need to journal.

After you slot a notebook it, you secure it with a button, which I think is a great detail. 





The pouch is quite a good size, it carries a lot of things.  

The plastic is nice and thick, doesn't feel flimsy at all. 



I also bought the desk notebook, it sits nicely under a keyboard and is supposed to stay there while you work. 

I think it's a cute idea. 

It comes in 2 sizes and few versions, including the day planner above, a lined version and grid version. 

There's also one with less pages if you want to switch it out often. 

This collection is great for wfh or even normal office use. 
Definitely check it out. 







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Friday, November 12, 2021

Review : レポチケ Report Ticket Note (Ticket storage file + Event journal)

 

If you are like me, you must have tons of used tickets lying around. Be it flight tickets, event tickets, venue tickets or even just movie tickets. I always thought I might put them in a scrapbook someday but it has never happened. But now there is a quick way to store them, jot down memories and the tickets are kept pristine in case you ever want to scrapbook them in the future.

Introducing the レポチケ Report Ticket note.

The book consists of a page with an attached clear pocket and the other side, a dot grid page for you to write your thoughts/experiences in. The paper is very smooth and nice to write on.

It is also available with different color binder rings to match the colors of your favorite groups, clubs or members. 

The cover is clear hard plastic. So you can decorate the first page as you please as well.

Overall Thoughts : A very useful way to store precious memorabilia. Not only can you store your tickets, you can also slot in any other receipts or cards from the day as well. I also like the dot grid page making it very easy to write in it tidily. 

Have you tried anything like this? What do you think?

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Friday, November 5, 2021

Deco Rush Renewal

 


There are so many choices of journal decoration out there. 
The Deco Rush by plus is one of our favourites, cute designs in a correction tape format. 

Plus recently released a renewal of the Deco rush, a simpler packaging with cute and versatile designs.
The new tapes are distinguishable by the off white cardboard packaging and new logo.


Inside, each tape dispenser is a block colour, again with the very aesthetic new logo and the tape design in a simple label. 


The renewal tapes are 6mm, which is between what previous tapes have been (anywhere from 4.5 to 10mm)

The size is perfect for planners, small enough to fit in between lines and small squares. 

I picked up 6 designs, which is all I could find as they appear to be really popular!
I like how they're all perfect for planners, coffee, car, cat, journalling and game controllers are definitely ones I will use a lot. 


Left: 10mm Petit Deco Rush, Right: Deco Rush renewal


The tape fits well in my Midori professional planner. 

I'm going to keep my eye out for other designs but since some are limited, it might be difficult. 

What are your thoughts on the Deco Rush renewal line? 








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Friday, October 29, 2021

Friday, October 22, 2021

Review : PENTEL Black Colors Collection [20th anniversary Limited Edition]

 To celebrate 20 years of ENERGEL pens, Pentel has launched a new limited edition collection.

Black Colors Collection

"The black ink with a hint of colors"

They are sold both separately and individually.
Available in both 0.5mm and 0.7mm.
Refills are also available and sold separately.

A known ENERGEL fanatic, I've picked up both sets to review. 

The pens are retractable and write with the ease that we know of ENERGEL pens. They are also fast drying just like all ENERGEL pens. Simply perfect for lefties like me. 

Here are the swatches

Though new to ENERGEL, the varied black ink colors is not a new concept. I previously reviewed SAKURA Craypas version here

Here's a comparison of the colors between the two. I've tried to pick colors as close as possible but there was no comparable color for the mocha black.
As I previously mentioned, I'm a total ENERGEL fanatic so there was never any possible way I would dislike these pens but in all honesty, the colors are really usable and since its Limited Edition, I'm going to buy a stash of the refills too.
What about you?


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Friday, October 15, 2021

Review: Isshoni. fusen roll tape and fusen index #workfromhome

 


I stumbled upon this line of stationery at the store. 
It's called Isshoni. by Daigo. Isshoni means together in Japanese.

The concept of Isshoni. is to aid work life balance:

1. enjoy work
2. execute plans successfully
3. make less mistakes
4. seamlessly switch between work and personal life 

The collection consists of a series of notebooks, notebook covers and fusens. 
I only picked up a few items. 

I'll review the notebooks and covers in a future blogpost. 

In this post, we'll discuss the fusens. 


The fusen comes in 2 versions, a regular fusen mounted on a plastic index card, and fusen in roll tape form. 

The regular fusen I bought is the mini version, it's 75 x 50mm and mounted in a plastic index card that works well as a bookmark and has a mini ruler. Also, the 20 sheets of paper is in grid layout.

The paper is cream, it's close to Midori cream paper and I really like the red accent. It's soft yet suitable for professional work. 
The paper is smooth and writing on it is comfortable. I would say the paper is comparable to Midori paper.  


I picked up 2 of the roll fusen. 1 of each size. 

The roll has perforations so each piece is easy to tear off. 
The smaller size is 15 x 51mm and there are 50 sheets. It comes in 'goal', 'don't forget' and 'must'. 
The bigger size is 40 x 64mm and there are 40 sheets. It comes in 'schedule', 'limit' and 'to do'.  



The paper is the same as the regular fusen, cream, grid paper with red accent ('limit' and 'don't forget' have pink accents)

The perforation tears cleanly and the adhesive covers the whole piece. 
The adhesive is closer to fusen strength than washi tape, which means it is easy to relocate but still holds well. 


All the fusen stick well on paper and various work surface (like my computer here) 

Overall, I really like this collection. 
The fusen index might be a bit too thick to fit into my notebook but the paper size is just nice and very nice to write on. 

The roll fusen are great for keeping on the table due to the ease of tearing and sticking. 
I'll definitely use them in my planner and during my daily work. 

Stay tuned for the notebook/notebook cover review. 

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