December 2022 Printable

Its the season to be jolly and we hope you feel that way when you see our latest printable!

And you can use it for more than just your journal!

How about making your own Christmas advent calendar?

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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Midori Decoration Crayon - Marble Color

 

I've seen this Midori Decoration Crayon in stores and it's very eye catching so I decided to pick one up. 

I  purchased the pink/purple from the Marble color line.

There is also a neon colour line and refills are available for all colors. 

It's a really simple crayon in a retractable case and it's roughly 7cm in length, which makes it very portable and compact. 

It works similar to a retractable eraser, the mechanism is smooth and there are no snags. 

The holder will also prevent dirty hands from having to hold the crayon directly. 

The crayon is colourful, easy to use. 

You can pick any side/corner to write with and the color combination changes all the time which is really fun! 

The crayon itself is good quality, as expected of a Midori product. 

There is no residue, it doesn't smudge and you can write over or under it without affecting the ink from the pen.

It can also be used with another Midori product, the paintable stamp, which we've reviewed previously. 

The Midori Decorative Crayon is very versatile, you can use it to highlight, to decorate, to color, it's a great addition to any stationery kit. 

What do you think? Will you be picking this up? 

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Review: Okazaki Plate for masking tape

 Here at TN5C, we have both been traveling quite a bit~ Its always exciting to do journaling on holiday...but not easy to bring all the supplies we want to use. So when I chanced upon this, I decided it was worth a try!

Plate for Masking Tape by Okazaki

Each package contains 

• one black front cover
• 3 plates in white
• one gold ring to hold them together

The plates are made of ABS resin and are very sturdy/tough.

They measure 85mm by 35mm each.

Each plate can hold up to 4 different rolls of masking tape [15mm width]

After you have added the masking tape, the front plate looks extremely cute too! 

But it is not just for looks, the black front plate has jagged edges on both sides to make tearing the masking tape a total breeze. Being left handed, I totally appreciated the fact I could tear from either side.

And thanks to its compact size, it fits in the smallest of pencil cases; making it very easy to bring the masking tape you want on a trip without having to over carry!

What do you think? Will you try this out?

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Review: Kyoei Orions Belt LOR Ruler

 

When I have time, I like to take my time to look through the out of the way corners of the stationery stores. 

That's how I found this ruler. 

It's a Left or Right ruler by Kyoei Plastic Co Ltd. 

It's not just a product for left handed people, I think there are great real world applications for this sort of ruler. 

Let me explain. 

I purchased the 15cm plastic version of the ruler. 

It also comes in 20cm and there is an aluminium edition as well. 

As you can see above, one side looks like a regular ruler, 0 on the left all the way to 15cm on the right. 

Flip it around and you get the ruler in the reverse,  which is pretty interesting. 

I sometimes have to measure stuff backwards and I think the reverse side is really useful. 

It has 2 other features:

1. The material is an acrylic that has an anti viral coating

2. You can use it to read lines of text more easily

I think it's a really interesting product, suitable for both right and left handed people. 

What do you think? Is this something you might use? 

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November 2022 Printable

 

I can't believe we're at the tail end of 2022 already! 

Hope you're in the festive mood.

Please enjoy our November printable. 

Download here: Link 

For ibon/netprint information, please see our instagram. 

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Review: Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen 10 Color set

 I loveeeeeeee brush sign pens. But it is usually only available in just black ink [or red at most]. So when I found out Tombow Fudenosuke pens were available in a 10 color pack, I snapped it up immediately!

Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen 10 Color Set

Each pen is single ended with a hard elastomer tip.

The pens feature everything the standard Fudenosuke pen is famous for ; 

• long lasting pen nib that is good for lettering and drawing
• water resistant ink [after drying]
• water based ink
• fade resistant

Here are the swatches!

Identical looking when compared to the usual fudenosuke brush pen [the pen caps are colored to reflect the ink color]

If you are a fan of the standard brush pen, you definitely need to check out the other colors!

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Midori Double Schedule 2023

 

It's time for the 2023 diary/journal releases.  

I used the same one from Midori for the last 2 years but I’ve changed my workflow recently so I decided it would be time to try something new. 

 I wanted something smaller, lighter and I didn't need a weekly layout anymore. 

The Midori double schedule seemed to fit those needs and it had an October start so I picked it up. 

The double schedule refers to a Monthly appointments layout and a Monthly To Do layout. 

The notebook is B6 sized, comes with a plastic cover (which is always appreciated) and has it's title in simple gold printing on the front.

I should mention that the title is on the plastic cover and not the notebook itself. 

Inside is a page explaining the suggested use for the to-do layout, which is the unique selling point of this notebook. 

Also, there is a ribbon bookmark, I like that this is a standard item in all planners/diaries. 

First up, we have the monthly appointments page layout. 

This has the month set out on 2 pages, it's meant to be an overview for your month, a quick way to see what's going on. Other than a title, it's a bit difficult to write descriptions or even time but I definitely appreciate being able to see everything happening in the month. 

After the monthly layout is the to do layout. 

It is also monthly set out in 2 pages but the month is set out on the top in a linear view. 

Above that are 2 lines with check boxes, these are your goals for the month. 

The linear month view is more suited to the Japanese language or similar languages where vertical writing can be used. It's a bit awkward to write english vertically but if you use abbreviations, it's definitely usable. 

Under each week is a column for to do items, this is my favourite part. 

I write constant lists, I use so many list apps and I need them to function. 

Separating the to do lists into weeks makes it easier for me to make sure things get done, planned, or scheduled.

The check boxes can be used in a bullet journal type situation, using symbols to mark items as in progress, done or to be moved to the following week. As a former bullet journal user, I took to this really quickly. 

My one gripe is that the spaces are a bit small which has meant I have had to write smaller and learn to use less information.  

Finally, there are 16 blank lined pages at the back for random note-taking, I've started using this feature more and more over the years because I don't like carrying too many notebooks. 

Midori even thought about how to separate the 2 layouts and there are notches in the pages so it's easier to flip between the monthly appointments and monthly to do pages.  

I really appreciate this feature although it might take me some time to get used to. 

As this is a notebook without a weekly layout, it is pretty thin, which makes carrying around in my bag pretty easy. 

I added a Leuchtturm1917 adhesive pen holder and it perfectly holds my pen. 

Together with my pen, the notebook weighs 137grams. Nice and light. 

Overall, I am extremely happy with this purchase, if you like bullet journalling but don't have time to set up the layouts every month or just need a basic monthly and to do list layout. This is a great notebook. 

Also, this uses Midori's classic creamy paper, which means less bleed and easy writing, the yellow paper is also easy on the eyes. 

If you're looking for a new journal/diary for 2023, definitely check this out! 

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Review : ZEBRA Clickart 36 colors + swatches

One can never have enough pens. So when I received this big box of markers for my birthday, I was thrilled XD Believe it or not, I have never owned a single clickart pen!

They come in this nifty carrying case which also doubles as a pen stand!

Each pen features a one button "click", making it very easy to switch colors without having to cap them after use.

The pens also promise to be less prone to drying out

Despite being water based, they do not cause your usual pen ink to run/bleed when you use it to color over them. This is a great feature for those who like to draw in their journals or scrapbooks.

Here are the swatches

Overall, I am in love with these pens! They are super streamlined as well making it easy to fit a lot of them in my pencil case ^^.

Have you tried these?

What do you think of them?

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Review: Daiso antique colour stamp pad

Daiso continues to surprise me with their stationery selection. 

I picked up this stamp pad because the colours stood out to me and I wanted to find out if the colours were as pigmented as it looked in the packaging. 

There are 6 colours embedded on a single plastic holder. 

This means it’s a bit finicky if you have a bigger stamp and want to use one colour, it’s probably best to use smaller stamps with this. 

The 6 colours are 2 yellows, 2 browns, a blue and green. 

The yellows are a bit light as expected, the browns are much darker and the blue and green are pretty pigmented. 

The colours compliment each other well and the ink pad is easy to work with. 

I really liked the colours when they are used together. 

What do you think? Is the stamp pad colours ‘antique’ enough? 

Would you purchase this? 

 

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October 2022 Printable

October is one of our favorite months.

The cooler months have started and the holiday season is almost upon us ^^

So we have come up with a cute printable featuring some cool tones!

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 : AMIFA Sticker Collecting Sheet

 I love stickers! Whilst we tend to think about them for just journaling or scrapbooking, I've found myself reaching for them to decorate many other things like birthday cards or packages. Needless to say, I've started to carry sheets of them even when I go on trips. But this can get heavy esp when many of them are repetitions of the same things. So how do I "decant" them?

One of my favorite methods is to use the sticker release paper we stock in our store. Fully customizable down to the size you would need or even holed punched! (The store also offers custom TN sized booklets made with this paper. Check the listing ^^] See here.

A slightly less cost effective option would be to try these sticker collecting sheets!

Each package comes with 8 sheets which measure 9cm by 6cm.

They are made of a card like material making each sheet very thick [thicker than a standard name card]

As the name suggests, they are good for rolling out masking tape as well as stickers you want to bring on the go.

You can file these cards in any 6 hole binder. However due to their thickness, it is difficult to file more than 2 cards at a time without adding way too much bulk [even more bulky when you roll a lot of masking tape on it]

Overall, I prefer to use the sticker release sheets we have as it is less bulky, cheaper and has more surface area. However, one good use for these small cards would be how well they fit in one's wallet. You can easily collect stickers you encounter on your trip for scrapbooking or journaling later. 

What do you think?

Would you try this?

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