I've been bullet journalling for a fair few years and I'm not saying I'm an expert but I enjoy sharing what works for me and from my previous posts I know you enjoy it too! That's the thing I love about bullet journals; you can personalise it to your tastes and what works for you. So bullet journal tips and tricks posts are so useful as you can try out all the tips and keep what works!
If you need something more of an intro I've got a post over
here with the details of my bujo. But today is all about the tools to get started. Obviously, all you need is a notebook and a pen to get started but if you want to upgrade your journal then here are some fab extras!
THE JOURNAL
If you've clicked on this post you've probably seen a few bullet journal posts before I'm guessing, so you probably know about the King of journals -
the Leuchtturm. Almost everyone posting 'plan with me' videos on youtube and beautiful spreads on Instagram have one of these. As frankly they're made for the job. But team, you don't have to use them! I'm currently using a $9 leather bound lined notebook from Warehouse Stationary and it's doing a pretty decent job! However, when I finish this I'm going to upgrade to a
Leuchtturm solely because of the dotted grid ones. Kiwis I've found them in Gordon Harris for a little over $39, so rather affordable compared to all the ones online + shipping. So my advice? Use what you have, if you want to splash out go for a Leuchtturm!
ALL THE PENSSSS
Now you have your notebook, you need things to write things with. I know pens are a very personal thing and what writes nice for one person may be the pet hate of another person so here's what I use. Try them out for size but also try a whole lot of others out to see what suits your needs, art stores are great for this as you can try in store, just make sure to test how much they bleed through the page! To write all my standard notes I use a regular boring Bic ballpoint pen, my personal preference is black so you can add all the colour in easier. For the coloured details I use an array of
Staedtler triplus fineliners in various colours of the rainbow, these are lovely and great to write with so are perfect for headers and underlining. Then for the larger detailing, lettering and colour washes etc, I use either
pastel highlighters (mine are Faber Castell),
Tombow two-sided brush pens, or your standard kids
Crayola Supertips. Each is great at various things. I also sometimes use a
Tombow calligraphy brush pen with a soft nib for brush lettering headers (the other Tombow brush pens and Crayola Supertips are great for this too!).
AND THE EXTRAS
Now here's the fun stuff! The journal and a pen are sort of mandatory to start a bullet journal but the extras are what makes it fun and aesthetically pleasing. Basically, the extras are all up to you, whatever you have lying around or want to spend your hard earned money on! A little tip for you though, Wish and Aliexpress and those types of websites have great cheap washi tapes and stickers. Just make sure you aren't buying rip-offs of independent artists work which I know is hard to recognise but do try. Magazines that you've previously read are great for cutting up and sticking in. I have a clearfile full of bits and pieces I've chopped out of old magazines and the larger images are perfect for full page inspiration. Polaroids of your best moments, cinema tickets and train tickets all make great additions to fill gaps or form collages. Use your bullet journal to store your best memories not just your daily tasks, they're lovely to look back on. Also if you're a perfectionist, get yourself a ruler!
Do you bullet journal? What's your favourite tool?
