Review: MARU liner by Kobaru

 

I picked up these pens by Kobaru on a recent trip to the stationery store. 

The colours caught my eye so I grabbed a few to try out. 

I purchased 2 versions of the pens. 

The entire range is called MARU liner and there's a regular version and thin version. 

The regular version is similar to a highlighter. 

The tip is round and fat and the colours are semi opaque, just like a highlighter. 

There's also a 2 pen set that comes with a connector so you can use both pens at once or for quick switching between colours. 

I found that quite interesting. 

The 4 colours I picked.

 Standard pink and standard purple were part of a set with the connector. 

The olive was a bit too neon for me but I like the 3 other colours, florida pink is nice and soft and would suit any light pink bullet journal or journal layout. 

The connector works like this, the pens are also connected so less chance of losing one pen cap at a time. 

Slotting/removing the pen is a bit tricky at first but once you do it the first time, it becomes easier. 

You can use both pens at once, or use one colour and then quick switch to the other. 

The pen tip itself is soft but not too soft. 

By adjusting the pressure when using, you can vary the size of the circle/highlight area 

The other pen is the thin version, which is similar to a sketch pen. 

I really like these 2 colours, they're pretty unique. 

The pigment is similar to the regular version so great of underlining or marking out things without it becoming too overpowering. 

Oh and you can also use the connector for these, or switch it up and have 1 regular, 1 thin pen at the ready. 

I like these pens for the unique connector and colours but as someone who owns a lot of other highlighters, I probably wouldn't buy more. 

But if you're someone who needs some small lightweight pens and the convenience of the quick switch connector, these would be perfect for you. 

They're great for study or for marking documents. 

Would you buy these? Let me know in the comments. 

Read More

Review: Oitoco Smartphone Stand Pen Case

Here at TN5C, we are always interested in the unique and slightly different stationery items. And lately, I've purchased a new pen case that fits that description.

Oitoco Smartphone Stand Pen Case

Size: diameter 58 x height 170 mm

As the name describes, it is a pen case where the lid can be used to hold your smartphone.

Examples of usage

• online classes
• time display
• watching videos
• video conferences

And you can also use it to hold cards etc

It has a large capacity as well and I was able to fit 11 mildliners in it with ease.

What do you think? Is this something you will find useful as well?

Read More

May 2022 Printable

Hello May! 

We're feeling the dreamy chill vibes here and thought we would share it with you in our May printable. 

 

Looking to the sky for inspiration, we went with these beautiful blues and elements of clouds and stars.

Blue layouts are so calming aren't they? 

Netprint/ibon information is available on instagram

Remember to tag us on instagram if you do use the printable!

Download here: Link

Read More

Review : Zebra Mildliner New Colors 2022

 Here at TN5C, we love our highlighters and especially the Mildliner range by ZEBRA. So when they released new colors in 2022, we simply had to add them to our collection.

There are ten new colors which you can buy in 2 separate packs. Gentleness mild and Natural Mild. 

We picked the NATURAL MILD pack

Here are the new colors 

From top: Mild Dusty Pink, Mild Cream, Mild Beige, Mild Olive and Mild Cool Gray 

Like the original mildliner, they are water based and there is both a thick and thin end

Here are some swatches

As you can see, the colors live up the mildness of Mildliners we know and love.

I picked out some common colors from my collection to see how they compare.

So what do you think of them?

Will you be trying them as well?

Read More

Review: Daiso Stand Pouch

 

Stand pouches have been around for awhile. 

Many brands, like lihit and kokuyo, make them in a variety of shapes and designs. 

This one from Daiso only comes in 1 size/colour but at Daiso prices, it seems like a great deal. 

This design reminds me most of Kokuyo's stand pouch, with the front folding flap and 3 inner pockets (though not as many as Kokuyo's)

The pouch is 19.5cm wide 16cm tall and the base is 5cm deep.

Quality wise, it's what you would expect for the price you say. 

The material is scratchy and think and you can clearly feel that both faces of the pouch has a plastic board insert. 

However, with a top handle, all around zip, one pocket in the fold down flat and 2 inside, it's pretty practical so it's good value for money. 

Once you fill the pouch with items, it stands pretty well. 

I managed to fit a notepad, some pens and other accessories and I definitely had space to fit more things. 

It won't fit an A5 notebook but would make a great companion for one. 

The base for my pouch didn't flatten completely but that might be something that will go away the more I use it. 

Stands on it's own pretty well. I can imagine decorating that front flap with some cute badges/pins. 

and the handle, small but functional. 

All in all, if you don't already own a stand pouch, I recommend the Daiso version. 

It's a good introduction to the stand pouch before deciding if you want to upgrade to a better quality version. 

I hope they release it some new colours (hint hint yellow)

What do you think, is this something you would buy? Let us know in the comments below. 

Read More

Review: Nakatoshi Metallic Color Brush Pen

Details: 

Brush Size: 2mm
Size of Each Pen: 8 x 8 x 164mm
Ink Type: Water based 
Number of colors available : 6

The brush is quite fine and not super flexible.

Swatches below

The pen writes smoothly and the shape of the pen ensures it does not roll away when placed on the table. Slender in width, they are easy to hold even for those with small hands. Ink colors are extremely pigmented, show up very clearly and there is no distinctive smell present.

Have you tried these pens? What do you think of them?

Read More

New in store! Cherry blossom stickers and photostrips

 New to our Etsy store. 

Cherry blossom sticker sheet and photostrip set. 

The sticker sheet contains elements that are great for journalling. 

10 'cut washi tape' that are about 12-15mm tall. 

7 flowers and 8 petals, great for filling in spaces. 

8 round stickers, 30mm wide, 

Each sticker is kiss cut and the sheet is available in either gloss or matte. 

Personally, I prefer the matte XD. 

All the colours complement each other, it works well with our April printable too!

The photostrip set includes 4 photostrips with photos by us! 

Each strip has 4 photos, and the text is kiss cut too so you can use it in your journalling.

Also available in gloss and matte, we recommend gloss for more vibrant colours. 

Check out our store now. 

Read More

April 2022 Printable

With April coming up, Spring is truly here! This month's printable features our ever favorite spring flower; Cherry Blossom! 

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!

Read More

Review: Hapila! Sheet Seal Collection Refill

 Nothing is more fun than stationery shopping...well maybe except the organization of stationery *_* If you are like us, you will have tons of stickers in your stash and it is just too easy to forget about them. So when Hapila! released a sticker filing solution, we simply had to check it out!

Each pack comes with 5 sheets and each sheet is A4 with 30 holes. 

There are 3 pockets [single sided opening] and each measures 98cm X 210cm.

This makes it large enough to file your sheet stickers in its original packaging. Plastic sleeve and all!

To file these sleeves, I used an A4 30 rings binder from MUJI.

It took me a while to file everything but here is a video it done ^^

What do you think? How do you organize your stickers?

Read More

Review: Kamio Piritte Masking Tape

 

 Tape, there's no such thing as too much tape! 

There's so much choice when it comes to tape, what makes Kamio's Piritte line of tape different? 

 The piritte masking tape is described as 'cellophane-like'. 

It's clear and matte, which is something you don't see very often.  

Each roll of tape is 20mm wide and 4m long. That''s wider than a regular roll but shorter than say, MT tape. 

I picked up 2 designs to try out. 

The top one is 'otona no zukan' (adult illustration) stationery edition, the bottom one is 'frames story' cafe edition. 

Both designs are really pretty, and very usable, and as you can see, does not reflect light which makes it easier to photograph. 

The cellophane-like texture is unlike any other tape I've tried before. 

I did find it that it warps a bit when you use it, and it's prone to getting caught on other parts of the tape, the longer you unwind it. 

However, like washi tape, it comes off of paper easily so it is easily adjustable. 

The designs are very usable, I used the cafe ones in this brown layout. 

and I cut up the stationery designs for use in my diary, it looks quite seamless here, like I drew the designs myself. 

I really like this series, other than the minor annoyances such as the warp, which can be helped by unwinding the tape slowly. 

Other designs include sea creatures, musical instructions, even characters such as moomin and peanuts, something to appeal to most people. 

Mostly importantly, it photographs nicely, which when taking pictures of your daily journal, is an important trait to have. 

What do you think? Would you purchase this tape?  

Read More

Review : Hapila! Tsuku log - Masking Tape / Flake Sticker / Marker Collection Card

If you are like us, you must love collecting stationery. 

So when it comes to cataloguing them, what do you do? 

Japanese stationery brand Hapila! has come up with a new solution.

Introducing Tsuku Log Collection Cards!

Here are 3 I picked up to try

Each pack has 30 sheets [printed on both sides] and they are B6 in size.

They are also made of fairly thick paper so that the ink does not show on the other side. This is particularly useful for the marker collection card when you are swatching multiple markers. 

Flake Seal Collection Card

Masking Tape Collection Card

Marker Collection Card

These sheets can be stuck inside a diary or simply holed punched to be used inside a binder; making them very versatile.

Its really quite nice to be able to see at a glance one's stationery collection.

Will you be trying these out?

Read More