March 2022 Printable

Our March printable is here, we do so love this season. 

Soft, pink, subtle. I'm feeling spring, how about you? 

 

Please enjoy all this pink and do tag us in your social media posts. 

Download here: link

Ibon/netprint info on our instagram 

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Review: Lihit Lab Hinemo Wide Open Pen Pouch

 

I'm always on the lookout for interesting looking pen cases/pouches.

I have so much stuff in my bag recently that I've been looking at pen pouch to store some loose items. 

This pen pouch from Lihit Lab's Hinemo line looked interesting and I really like the colour. 

This pouch comes in 2 sizes, I bought the smaller version and it claims to be able to fit around 20 pens that are 15cm or shorter (we'll test this below) 

The dimensions are 200 x 95mm and there's a big zip going across the case diagonally. 

It's made of a canvas called 'Fuji Kinbai' which is woven in Japan. 

The diagonally placed zip is it's main feature, it slides easily and without getting stuck. 

The pouch opens nice and wide and it's very spacious inside. 

As a bonus, the yellow canvas matches my yellow Delfonics pouch pretty well. 

I decided to test the 20 pen claim, here are 20 random pens I pulled from my desk. 

Only 17 fit, but as some pens are wider than normal pens, it's totally understandable. 

17 is still very impressive! 

At the moment, I only keep a few pens, correction tape, a paper clip and mini swiss army knife in my pouch. 

To conclude, it doesn't look bulky, the yellow makes it easy to spot and it holds quite a few things. 

In my opinion, this is a good pouch for your EDC. 

What do you think, is this the pouch for you? 

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Review: DECO RUSH Wide 10mm Tape 2022 Collection

A while ago, we reviewed the Deco Rush renewal series [here] and today we are going to review the 2022 new WIDE TAPE collection ^^!

There are 8 new designs

And we picked up 3 of them to review!

Note: These new tapes are not limited edition and are WIDE [aka 10mm width]

Here's how they look like

These new designs are very versatile and look good on their own or used together.

They also work well with previous releases such as the deco rush renewal series or the mizutama series.

 Have you tried them out? What do you think?

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Review: Kokuyo ME Mechnical Pencil

A good mechanical pencil composes of 2 things, a good holder and good pencil lead. 

I reckon you get what you pay for when it comes to mechanical pencils. 

The mechanical pencil from Kokuyo's ME range of stationery is decently priced but it has a feature that really caught my eye. 

It's the eraser at the end of the pencil. 

An eraser at the end of a mechanical pencil is not new but the Kokuyo ME one is retractable and it's a decent sized too. 

First up, I tested the pencil lead. It's really smooth to write with and doesn't break easily, which can sometimes be a problem with cheaper pencil lead. 

I tested the eraser next. 

To retract it, you twist the top until your preferred amount of eraser has been retracted. 

The eraser works really well too. Much better than any other eraser that I've found attached to a mechanical pencil.

It reminds me of a full size retractable eraser. 

If you are in the market for a new mechanical pencil and don't want to be carrying a separate eraser, I think this is a great pencil to buy. (I haven't looked into the eraser refills yet unfortunately)

Definitely get the Kokuyo pencil lead too, it's buttery smooth to write with and would be great for drawing as well. It's a great pencil to travel with too. 

 

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February 2022 Printable

How is your 2022 going?

February this year brings about many good tidings such as lunar new year and naturally valentine's day ^^ So with that in mind, we have designed this month's printable with a simple red line theme which reminds one of the asian folklore "the red thread of fate"

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: Ita Notebook Cover (痛手帳カバー）

Today, we're looking at an Ita notebook cover from Seria. 

If you haven't heard of it, Ita bags are bags with a clear window and covered in anime/manga charms/plushies and other fan merchandise. 

This is a notebook cover version of those bags. 

The cover fits A5 notebooks and the packaging has some helpful guides on how to use it and sizes of things that can fit. 

This insert sits behind the clear window and you can hang 3 keychains and attach badges too!

This is what the inside looks like. 

The left side is where the insert goes and the right side has slots for cards and postcards. 

The back of the cover has more slots for cards/postcards.

Here's how I did up the insert. 

I could've put a few more badges but this looks like a good start!

The cover fits an A5 notebook nicely, I used the Midori A5 notebook here. 

Also made use of the back pockets. 

Overall, if you're someone who collects anime/manga/fan merch, this is a great way to show off your collection. 

The neutral colour of the cover means it's great for personalising. 

It also has a ton of features/pockets, so you can really get creative. 

I'll definitely keep adding to mine and swap stuff out too. 

What do you think? Is this a notebook cover you can see yourself using? 

 

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January 2022 Printable

 Happy New Year! 

We're looking to the skies in our January printable. 

Stars, clouds, moons, pretty things.

Download here: Link

Netprint/Ibon info is on our instagram.

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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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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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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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