As a stationery addict and connoisseur, I was fortunate enough to be asked by Stationery Pal to review some of their products. I picked out the supplies I was interested in and have been testing them for about a month. I am glad to have a lot of time to use the products, because now I can give a pretty accurate review of everything.
Here is a time-lapsed video of creating my bullet journal spreads using the products
I used almost all the products creating my September bullet journal spreads. I am so happy with how it turned out, and the products were wonderful to use for the most part!
I planned out my September bullet journal spread ahead of time when I was picking out the items in an effort to use as many as I could. I went with a vintage aesthetic theme, so I tried to stick with a neutral/brown color scheme and vintage looking items such as dip pens and stamps.
All Products I received from Stationery Pal
Product Reviews
Fine Liners
I already own Fine Liners from Marvy LePen (they only come in 0.4 tip, but I own all the colors) Sakura Micron (all sizes) and Uni Pin (all sizes), so I opted getting the Drawing Pen in 4 sizes:
I am so glad I used these for a month testing them out! My first impression was not that great, I compared the pens to my sets mentioned above. The Marvy Drawing Pen is the widest of all the sets I own, which I really like - it makes it more comfortable to hold.
What I did not like, is it felt a bit too light for the size, it felt a bit like a cheaper pen when I first picked it up. I also did not like that the cap did not snap on with that satisfying click - if you have other stationery pens, I am sure you know what I am talking about. It also did not sit as nicely on the back of the pen - I like to put the cap on the back when I am using the pen. If I shook the pen with a bit of force, the cap would fall off the back - that does not happen with the Microns or Uni Pins.
If I tried these pens out in a store, I would probably pass on them from just a few seconds of use, and go for another set - this is why I say I am glad I received these pens and was able to try them out for a while.
That being said... I LOVE THESE PENS! I think they are the best fine liners I own right now! My only regret is I only got 4 sizes, my next stationery purchase will 100% be the rest of the 8 sizes. Looking past the meh packaging, this pen is a dream. The width is perfect for me, I prefer a bit of a wider pen, and it just fits really comfortable in my hand. The lightness of the pen makes it almost unnoticeable if I work for a long time - it does not make my hand cramp like the thinner pens do after a few hours of drawing. The ink flow is phenomenal, it is extremely rich and black and the pen is just super super juicy without bleeding/spreading out on the paper. It leaves a shiny black line that dries incredibly fast to matte.
The tip is rounded on these pens, where the microns are more of a flat tip - this allows more smooth end points on my lines for my illustrations. I notice the Sakura Microns as well as the Uni Pins are a bit of a lighter black, and I have to go over my lines more often - this may also be due to the fact I have had those sets (and have been using them) for a year now, so it may be just a bit faded with age and the Marvy Drawing pens are brand new.
Now I am not saying that the Microns and Uni Pins are terrible - I still love those pens, I would give the Microns a 9, Uni Pins 9.5 and Marvy Drawing Pen a 10. The Uni Pin pens come in light grey, dark grey, and sepia which I really really love - and the Marvy Drawing pens do not. You cannot go wrong with any choice of these 3 fine liner options. I know that the Sakura Microns are available in many more places, and I find it hard to locate the Marvy Drawing pen - which is probably why I haven't tried them out until now.
The brush pen in this set is the only one that was meh to me. It is not beginner friendly at all, I prefer a bit of a stiffer tip when it comes to large brush pens. I couldn't get as smooth transitions as I normally do with something like a Tombow Brush Pen. That being said, the color of the ink is very rich and juicy, I will use this pen to fill in large areas, just not as a traditional brush pen.
Dual Lines Pen (Set of 6)
I got this item not expecting much - I just wanted to try out this pen, it seemed really unique, fun, and gimmicky (not in a bad way). I really like adding lines as finishing touches to my illustrations, and these worked out incredibly well for that. I love the color combos, and its a fun way to add little accents to illustrations. I used them as part of my checkered table cloth pattern in my bullet journal cover page.
I wouldn't say these are an essential every-day item, but if you are a stationery lover like me, and already own many other products, this is a really great 'support' item to your collection. I attempted some calligraphy with these, and at my beginner - intermediate skill level, there is a bit of a learning curve. I have been playing with them for a month now, and still having fun.
The plastic feels a bit cheap, and I can tell if I am not careful, the plastic caps could get cracks in them - I've had that happen to a few other pens I own. But... they are less than $5 USD (I am actually impressed the quality is much better than expected) for the set of 6, and that is a great great price for what you get. I am not disappointed.
Brush Pens
Tombow Dual Brush Pen
I already own a bunch of these brush pens, so I did not get these in the haul. I still wanted to include the markers in my review because I love this product so much and they are available on Stationery Pal in all colors.
These are the colors I used in my bullet journal spread this month:
I use the Tombow dual brush pen for everything! I own enough colors that I can color match to any theme and any other marker or color pencil I am using. My favorite uses for these pens are gradient or checkered backgrounds, calligraphy, and adding shadows. I mainly use the brush tip because I prefer a thinner fine liner for line art and end up using other markers.
The brush tip is a bit stiff, so it is very beginner friendly for anyone that is starting out learning calligraphy.
They are water-based markers, so they end up being a bit tricky to blend if you are not careful, and the paper can pill up underneath if you go over the same area multiple times. I find that I get nice looking gradients if I am able to find colors that are very close together and try to do as few strokes as possible while still blending the colors together.
Dip Pens
Rohrer & Klingner Glass Dip Pen - Blue Red Grid
I was... and still am... the most excited about this item. I had wanted a glass dip pen for quite some time now. I think they look so cool and always wanted to know what it felt like writing with one. This was the first product I tested out - and my very first time using dip pens for anything. I have been learning calligraphy and cursive/script for over a year now - I have been sticking to fountain pens, gel pens, and brush pens. I had a lot of fun trying this pen out, I felt so fancy!
The twisted tip allows ink to collect in the grooves, and you can get a lot longer use time than any other dip pen. I was able to write an average of 25 words per each time dipping into the ink - the trick is as the ink starts to run out a bit, you turn the pen to allow the ink to go down another groove.
I probably don't have the best hand grip on this pen, so my hand did get tired after writing for a while, but it is one of those items that I want to keep using every day. I really like the effect that using ink on paper, and if fit perfectly with my September journal theme. The pen comes with a protective plastic case and a little foam piece inside the cap so the pen does not break. I am now looking for a cute glass pen holder/ink well so I can display this pen on my desk. It is beautiful as well as functional.
Calligraphy Dip Pen (Set of 7 Nibs)
At a price point of $4 USD, this is amazing. I have another set of pen nibs that are nearly identical, however, these nibs have an extra little metal piece that help hold more ink. It is something I would expect on a more expensive set of nibs. The nib holder that comes with this set is comfortable to hold, but it is not fancy. It is light and plastic, but come on, its $4! I am honestly amazed at how good the quality is for that price - I was not expecting much.
These are calligraphy pens, but they are not a pointed/flexible nib. I was expecting that to be honest when I got these (not disappointed though). I had fun getting the hang of writing out different calligraphy styles with the different nibs. My favorite are the 2 with the black metal shield on top and the rounded tip (the top 2 typeface nibs) - I really like using them to produce a rounded monoline style.
Just a normal oblique plastic nib holder - nothing special, and not bad at all. Comparable to the speedball plastic nib holder (which is more expensive). I think this is a great purchase if you are trying out dip pen calligraphy as a beginner and don't want to spend the money on the really expensive 20+ dollar nib holders. They work the same, and you can find out for $2 if you like it or not.
Stickers
These are the coolest stickers I have ever seen! The material is a thin washi tape paper (matte and translucent) so be careful if you have dark or patterned paper where you want to stick these. I usually write a big number date in my weekly spreads, and these stickers are a big time saver, I mentioned the paper is a bit translucent, so it blends in really well with the paper underneath creating a much more seamless effect than using a shiny sticker. I really liked the font style too - perfect for this month's theme. I wouldn't use this if I was making a bubbly/kawaii theme in my journal, but I would say these would be fitting in to at least half of my themes.
I like the attention to detail, each sticker comes with the month, day, and even days of the week - which I am guessing you can circle if you don't want to write out your own days. The only mystery to me is there is a 'bonus' date in every month - that come on a red background. 10/10 will purchase when I run out of these sticker sheets. They can be used any year, so I can skip months and use them in the years to come.
Washi Tape
Stamp Washi Sticker - Coffee
I loved this washi tape! I saw it and immediately had the idea of vintage stamps in my spread. The coffee theme is adorable, and mixed with my bonus coffee themed stickers I received in the haul, it worked out so well.
As with any washi tape, the paper is very thin, so be careful if you are using your hands to rip on the perforated seam, it's easy to tear. I tore a few pieces a little bit, but being washi tape, it easily 'mended' itself when I stuck it down on my paper. Don't be lazy like me and use some scissors :D
Grid Pattern Washi Tape - Set of 6 - Brown
This tape set was my least favorite item in terms of functionality. The pattern is adorable, and it went with my vintage theme perfectly - so I made it work.
The Pros are:
it comes in 4 different sizes
the patterns are very cute
I liked to mix and match the patterns together, and they didn't clash, it made my theme more cohesive especially as I was able to repeat different combinations on different spreads in my journal
My first gripe with it was there is just a tiny amount of tape on each roll. I used the smallest size as accents on a few pages, and as a color fill area around 3 sides of my small 'weather' section on my 5 weeklies. I am almost completely out of this tape, I just wish that more tape came on each roll
The biggest problem I had with the tape, was the glue being very strong, so If I wasn't careful, I would rip the tape off in pointed strips. I had to be very careful and pull the tape at just the right angle and very slowly.
All those cons being said, this set of 6 is only $1.20 USD. For that price and the patterns, you can decide if it is worth the headache of trying to make it work. I will use this tape until I finish it for sure - and there isn't much of it. I personally would rather pay $1-2 USD per roll of tape in these patterns if they came with more tape and were more user friendly, however, if this tape was my only option in these styles, I would buy it.
Loved this tape! The pattern is adorable, lemons are timeless, modern, retro, classy - what is not to love? The tape was great quality and you get a lot of tape per roll.
This was the most unique washi tape I got in this haul - and now ever own. It is very thick and has a bit of a shiny finish to it. It is also really wide so you can use it decorating large portions of your journal in a grid pattern, or cut it up in pieces for accent decorations. I love the little detail of the string around it. Easy to use, comes on a sticker sheet backing, and the tape is just the perfect amount of sticky. Very satsifying.
Gingham Washi Tape - Orange
Good quality, gingham, AND orange - love it a lot. Orange is my favorite accent color and gingham is always classic, can't go wrong with this tape. It comes in a lot of different colors and is great quality.
Grid Dot Twill Stripe Patterns Washi Tape (Set of 4)
I own a lot of washi tape, but somehow never owned any grid tape - until now! I love this tape so much, its great to use as accent pieces and worked really really well with the other tapes I got. I finished every spread by decorating with at least 3 different tapes from this haul, and they all matched really well together. Great quality tape as well.
Stamps
Clear Stamp - calendar
I really appreciate that this stamp set comes with a M-S option. My weeklies start on Monday, and I owned a few stamps where I either had to cut up and move the Sunday to the back, or just color around it omitting the days.
These stamps are a bit on the wider side, so just barely fit my 8 square wide area I usually designate for my calendar on my weekly spreads. I had a bit of a hard time getting the center numbers to be as dark as the outside ones when I was stamping. I had to fill in a cluster of numbers around 2, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15 using a fine liner after I stamped. I didn't use this stamp as much as I tried the other supplies, so it is likely user error. The other calendar stamp I own is a san serif style, so I think this is a great addition to my collection.
My issue I had with this set, is the section of carets under the days of the week was part of the days of the week. Easy fix, I just took a pair of scissors and cut it off, so I was able to add the days of the week directly above the numbers when stamping.
Texts + Dates Stamp - Pink
This is a really cute stamp, I unfortunately couldn't think of many ways to use it in my spread. I tested it out and the stamp worked fine - I like the different options you can rotate through and the date goes up to 2031. I found it to be a bit tricky to clean, thats about it.
Eraser
Uni Pencil Type Eraser Ek-100
I love this eraser! It is great quality and a good size for medium precision erasing. As with the 2-line pens, I would consider this erase as a companion/support item. I wouldn't get this as my only erase for drawing because it isn't great to erase large areas with it, but it was great at erasing pencil lines from smaller areas. I sketched out all my days of the week before writing them out in my journal, and this eraser was perfect to erase the pencil lines there. A larger eraser might have damaged the washi tape dates of the week, but the Uni Pencil Type eraser fit perfectly.
Glue
Kokuyo Gloo Glue Stick - Large, Blue
My favorite glue stick I have ever used! It takes a little bit longer to dry and remains tacky long enough that I can cover a large area and half of it isn't dry by the time I am ready to paste. I got the blue color one, and I really like that it remains blue until it dries. 10/10 will purchase this when I run out for sure! I like glue sticks more than craft glue because it doesn't bubble/warp the paper nearly as much, but all the other glue sticks I owned dried way too fast.
The Kokuyo glue stick has a tackiness that you can reposition without too much trouble - as long as you didn't fully press it on - and dries with a great hold. I haven't had any issues with anything coming unglued after using it for a month.
Bonus Items
I received a huge amount of extra sticker packs and adorable erasers in the box that arrived with my items.
I was pleasantly surprised by the stickers, not only was I not expecting them, but the stickers themselves are printed on washi tape paper which gives them a matte and slightly translucent finish. I find this type of paper perfect for my journal as I find the more shiny stickers stand out a lot more on the spread, and my whole intention is to have them blend in as much as possible. I use a lot of washi tape to decorate, so these stickers match perfectly because the material is consistent.
I used some of the sticker sheets decorating my journal for my September spreads (and will continue in future spreads).
I love using stickers because it saves so much time drawing and I am still able to achieve a cute and artistic results. The main areas I like to use stickers, is decorating my weeklies and sometimes as small accents in my cover spreads and calendar spreads.
The bonus erasers, pins and the little star bell were such a sweet addition. I have used them in several flat lays already as little decorative elements around my journal. I have a little container where I collect cute knick knacks to use in my flat lays and these adorable pieces are now part of that rotation.
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