April 2021 Printable

April is upon us! And we love the sakura season so much, we decided to do another month's printable based on it. This time round, we thought we would showcase sakura at night [known as yozakura in Japan] !

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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Review : Kokuyo GLOO series (glue stick)

Functional and beautiful. 

That is the mission statement of the GLOO range by KOKUYO. Amongst the many items produced, the glue stick is the most popular. 

It has won many stationery awards including the grand prize at 2019's The Best of Stationery.

At first glance, it is quite obvious how it is different from the usual glue stick. The square shape helps one apply it easily right up to the edges/corners of paper. Not only that, the quadrangular shape ensures a good grip and will not roll off the desk easily when not in use. 

The cap has a larger edge making it easier to open with just one hand and you can also close it easily by simply pressing the main part against the cap. 

The overall design looks extremely sleek as well and will look good on anyone's desk.

Functional and beautiful indeed. 

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Review: Deli Cream Correction Tape

 

Midori notebooks with their signature cream coloured paper are a staple here at TN5C. 

Mistakes when writing are inevitable so having to use a white correction tape on the cream paper can be very frustrating. 

There are a few options for cream coloured correction tape out there but some are difficult to procure. 

These deli ones were the easiest for me to purchase. 

I bought 2 different types, a regular tape which is 5mm wide by 10m and a 2 sided cream/white tape where each side is 5mm by 5m. 

The colour of the cream coloured tape matches the midori paper really well. 

Above you can see writing,  and below after the use of the correction tape. 

It blends in so well. 

The tape quality is good too, no peeling and the surface is easy to write on. 

There are a few cons, the first is that after using the tape, the ink is not as pigmented as before. 

The other con is that it only comes in a 5mm width, making is difficult for people with smaller handwriting or smaller notebooks. 

Overall, I use this tape quite often, I no longer get annoyed by the mismatch of white tape on midori paper. 

I highly recommend buying cream coloured correction tape if you're a fan of cream coloured paper!

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Review : Sakura Craypas Ballsign iD [6 types of black color]

Sakura Craypas [Japanese stationery brand] has launched a new line of gel ink pens to the evergrowing stationery market in Japan. It is the "Ballsign iD" series.

These pens are refillable and the body features a hexagon type shape to make it easy to hold [and to prevent it from rolling away]. The sharp edges are also rounded to make it more comfortable to grip. 

Here is the display in store [in Japan]

There are 6 colors available;

•  Pure Black (Black Black),
• Night Black (Blue Black),
• Mocha Black (Brown Black)
• Forest Black (Green Black)
• Cassis Black (Red Black)
• Mysterious Black (Purple Black)

I picked up 3 of them in 0.5mm to try. 

Its also available in 0.4mm and the body is a light gray unlike the dark gray 0.5mm line.

The colors are very interesting and subtly different from just black to add to one's writing without an overbearing presence of color. 

Overall, I'm very pleased with how smoothly they write and the matte body of the pen looks stylish as well. I'll be picking up the remaining colors soon!

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March 2021 Printable

 

It's our favourite season of the year, Sakura season. 

We hope you'll enjoy this printable. 

Download here: Link

For ibon/netprint information, please see our instagram. 

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Review: Fusen Marker by Kanmido

Highlighters, there are a lot of different kinds on the market. 

This new release is a highlighter but with one difference, it's not a pen.

The Kanmido fusen marker is highlighter in tape form.

I was very intrigued when it came out and I decided to pick it up. 

It comes in many colours like pink, grey, striped and of course, the standard highlighter yellow, there's also a version for studying/memorising. 

First impressions, the packaging is aesthetically pleasing and compact. 

The tape dispenser and small and flat, similar to a correction tape dispenser. 

 

The instructions are neatly tucked into the packaging.

How to use the tape? It's not as straightforward as using a correction tape dispenser.

It can be a bit tedious.

1. Pull the tape out of the dispenser

2. Align it to the text

3. 'highlight' whilst still holding on to the end of the tape

4. Angle the dispenser to cut the tape

The process can be pretty annoying if you have a lot of text to highlight or if you're using it for an extended period of time. 

So why should you buy this fusen highlighter?

It's removable. 

Should you buy it?

Yes if the removable feature is important to you. 

Otherwise, it would be too much effort to use this fusen highlighter, buying a pen highlighter would be preferable.

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Review : みんなのツバメノート (Everyone's Swallow Notebook) Mook

Have you heard of Swallow Notebooks?

They are known as one of the most classic luxury Japanese college notebooks in Japan and are well loved by many stationery enthusiasts. So when they released a mook, I simply had to buy it!

There is a small booklet featuring the history of the notebook and various other related information.

However, the multi-use case is what I was really after.

At first glance, it is obvious the case is very well made. The design, a replica of their famous notebooks, is gorgeous to say the least. 

The case is lightly padded and the book bind doubles as a pen holder. There are also two zipper pulls featuring some beautiful rose gold charms of their logo.

The inside is light grey nylon with a detachable pencil case. It will fit an A5 notebook comfortably as well as many other things in its numerous compartments.

A beautiful functional piece which would be at home in anyone's stationery collection. 

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Review: Animal Crossing X Gelato Pique Special Book (with Tote and Pouch!)

Animal crossing on the Nintendo switch was a big hit in 2020. 
I played it almost everyday in 2020. 

It's super cute and fun, there's a lot of merchandise being made for Animal Crossing but this Gelato Pique special book collaboration is probably the cutest. 

Besides a catalogue of the brand's collaboration items available for sale, the book includes a bag and a pouch for your switch. 

In usual Gelato Pique fashion, the collaboration items are adorable and cozy-looking. 

Also, I love that it all features the adorable twin Nook's Cranny owners, Timmy & Tommy. 

It wouldn't be a collaboration without their own designs which you can download via the creator code.

The code is: MA-6057-8170-1209 (internet access and Able Sister's store required)

You're probably wondering why we've chosen to review this on the blog. 

We've noticed on instagram that even non-game players have been purchasing this and using it as storage for their notebooks. 

You could use the pouch as a case for pens and other stationery too. 

The charm detail is so cute. 

And of course, it fits the Nintendo Switch perfectly. 

The bag is a compact open top tote bag. 

The lining is adorable and features a myriad of some of the more popular villagers of Animal Crossing. 

(The inside of the pouch also features this print!)

There are 2 big compartments, 4 internal pockets and 1 external pocket. 

Along with the switch, you could a lot of notebooks/folders as seen above, the small pockets could also hold things like washi tape, cards, paper and other things for journalling on the go.

Or use it at home to keep your table organised!

Isn't it cute? I think I'll get a lot of use out this bag. 

If you're an Animal Crossing fan, you need this!

You can find this book at your local Japanese book store, amazon japan and other similar stores. 

 

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February 2021 Printable

Not quite spring yet but how about a plethora of spring like colors to brighten your month? Here is February's printable!

For those who might own a 7/8" circular craft punch, you can make short work of cutting them out this month.

February usually signifies the start of the year for many since January just seems to go by so quickly each year. Hope this printable can help you organize your time efficiently!

Download HERE.

Netprint (Japan) and IBON (Taiwan) details can be found on our instagram.

Do tag us on our IG or with #tn5cprintable so we can check out your creations!

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Review: Pentel Illumina Flex Highlighters

There are so many highlighters out there, it's difficult to pick a favourite. 

Mildliners, Stabilo are all popular choices. 

These Pentel Illumina Flex highlights caught my eye at the store and so I picked them up. 

I like the simple pastel design of the pens. 

They each have a highlighter side and a small marker side.  

 

I had originally only purchased 2 but I liked the colours so much I went back and bought a further 4 colours. 

However, this isn't the full set, there are 8 colours in total which are available. 

The colours are simple and understated, and not overly pigmented, which can be a problem with some highlighters as that leads to unpleasant bleeding in the paper. 

I was a bit skeptical of the flex feature at first, I thought it was just a gimmick. 

However, I think it really reduces the amount of skipping on paper, which means very smooth highlighting. 

This is fast becoming my highligther of choice.  

Have you tried it? What do you think? 

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My top 5 favorite stationery items of 2020

The first blog post of the year and to kick us off, I think it is a good opportunity to share my top five fave stationery items from 2020.

Please note that this ranking is not in any particular order and is my own personal opinion.

1. Pilot+Lihit Lab A4/A5 Folder

See review HERE

2. NICHIBAN Masking Tape Dispenser/Cutter

See review HERE

3. Tombow Air Touch Range

Tombow PiT AIR Glue Tape + Tombow MONO AIR 5 Correction Tape

The most effortless tape dispensers ever. The resistance on the surface you are applying to is so low, it is like running it on air. (See what I did there)

4. Pentel Energel Range

I don't know what else can be said about this amazing range from PENTEL. The smooth flow of ink makes it my absolute favorite to write with and my fairly large double digit collection of them shows it.

5. PLUS WHIPER Cream Correction Tape

When these were released, I scoffed at them. I wondered who would ever need cream colored correction tape just so it would match the cream paper they used. Well, as it turned out, that person was ....me. Now the white correction tape just looks absolutely glaringly out of place and I can't go without my cream correction tape. A case of "you never know what you were missing out on till you tried it."

What are your top 5 stationery items for 2020??

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January 2021 Printable

 

I can't believe it's 2021 already! 

We've been loving this romantic pink/grey colour scheme in 2020, we had to bring it back again. 

May your new diaries be productive and your year amazing. 

Happy New Year!

Download here: Link

See instagram for netprint/ibon details. 

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Review: Thermal Printer, Paperang V1

You might have noticed thermal printers like the one above appearing all over social media. 

They come in many shapes and sizes, different types and colours of paper and some even do labels! 

I purchased the paperang V1 a while ago, there has since been a few updated models.

The basics are similar, it's a printer that uses thermal paper (like the ones stores use to print receipts on)

There's an app, you connect via bluetooth and you print. 

The biggest difference between this version and a newer one, that I can see, is the dpi quality.  

Also, a thermal printer only prints in 1 colour, it's usually black and you can get a different colour by buying specific paper. 

I have normal paper, it looks and feels like a receipt. 

I also have sticker paper, the same as above but with an adhesive back. 

and my favourite of all the papers, semi translucent sticker. 

Everything you print looks prettier on this paper, great for overlays and layouts with ephemera. 

If you were thinking of buying a thermal printer. I highly recommend buying semi translucent paper. 

Other than the paper, the printer is easy to use though the app is quite limited. 

Also, as it is only 1 colour, things like pictures might be difficult to print although not impossible, all it takes is trial and error to get the right settings. 

Do you own a thermal printer, what do you like about it? 

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