My Bullet Journal Must-Haves

Hello, gorgeousness! Today I have a very highly-requested blog post and that is my bullet journal must-haves. I always get tons of questions about what I use so I thought I share them here and have a chit-chat about some of my faves. 

Things I am going to talk about are pretty much a necessity for me and beginner-friendly too since I am still a beginner myself. Disclaimer: you don't have to have all of these in your collection y'know. Most of these are just my preference and I have loved and used them for years. The bare bones of bullet journaling is literally a pen and a journal and you're good to go. 

So here are my bullet journal must-haves:

the journal

I currently use an A5 dotted journal that I bought off Shopee that's under RM30 — happy! They're extremely high quality and hardly bleed on me. The key is to search for ivory paper with 120 gsm. It's quite a challenge to find one on Shopee but you gotta do what you gotta do. 

The one I am using, in particular, has a faux leather hardcover that is soft to the touch and comes with an elastic strap to secure it, 3 bookmarks and a back pocket that's so handy to keep all my receipts. I have lots of A5 journals in plain and marble patterned (I am still obsessed with marbles, please don't judge me). I personally love a dotted journal and would definitely recommend them for beginners. 

the pens

I always get questions like “What are the best pens for journaling?”

Honestly, you will end up with 10 different answers. There are no right or wrong pens to use. Just use whatever speaks to you and is comfortable to use most of the time. I have jars full of artist pens that I love the most. When it comes to pens, I don't really buy them because of the hype. I know for a fact it's going to end up collecting dust so I will buy the ones that are reliable, comfortable and easy to use. 

fineliners

These are what I use most often in my journal, and all for different purposes. I can't live without fineliners. 

The Artline Drawing System Pigment Ink is one of my most used. I have it in 0.1mm, 0.2mm, 0.3mm, 0.4mm. This is what I use for drawing lines, illustrations, and headings on pages. It's such a lovely pen to use, it's really smooth, doesn't bleed or smear and is quick drying. 

I also have the Pentel Pointliner in most thickness, especially 0.05mm! It's not a pen everyone would need and use in their journal, but sometimes you just need a suuuuper thin line and this one is so good. It's what I use the most to create a small little calendar. Perfect for that clean, minimalist look. The only downside of it is that it's not quick drying.

Then I have the BEIFA Gel Ink Pen in 0.38mm that I use daily for bulk writing of my daily logs, notes and so on. It's a great gel pen, but it's not quick drying by any means. It's great because it doesn't bleed, writes really smooth, has the perfect thickness for my handwriting and it's super cheap. You can find it at Mr D.I.Y or Shopee. 

tombow dual brush pens

I am really into calligraphy and brush lettering so this is a must for me. The Tombow brush pens are definitely an investment but they're so good and they will last forever. I mean, it's pretty giant compare to other brands so you do really get your money's worth.

I really love the fact that these are sold individually and in packs as well. I just love to get the ones in the pack. They have a lot of colour assortment and they cater to every colour you could think of that's more vibrant or pastel or neutrals, you name it. 

zebra mildliners brush pens

These are one of the first brush pens in my collection. I would say they're really great to achieve beautiful calligraphy and stuff but the tip is not as sharp as the Tombow brush pens. They can be a little bit blunt after many use so the edge is not as clean but it's a great option for cheaper brush pens. 

zebra mildliners highlighters

I also love these Zebra Mildliners highlighters that are also dual-ended. They have a chisel tip and a fine tip. I use these a lot for colouring, highlighting and stuff. I have them in a very muted colour I would say, it's not super bright or harsh. I bought these in packs so I am not sure if it's also sold individually. 

other supplies

Generally, my bullet journal is fairly simple. I don't use a lot of stickers. I tend to carry my gel pen and my chosen brush pens for the month with me and I am good to go, but I do have some other supplies I use when I am setting up some spreads.

• A good clear, transparent ruler - I just freehand my straight lines most of the time, I just love the look of a slightly wonky line that's “natural”. But there are days where I want a very clean straight line, that's when my ruler comes in handy. I can be picky with my ruler. It has to be a clear, see-through ruler so I know exactly where to start and end my lines.

• Paper adhesive - Sometimes I like to paste things into my journal so this is my favourite. It's the Tombow Pit Air glue tape. It's really handy to have and it's not messy. I remember back in the day I used to use a glue stick and stuff. Those are super messy and I hated it.

• Correction tape - This has never been a thing for me but over the past few years, I just hated seeing unwanted mistakes on my bullet journal so this has quickly become my must-have. I got it from Mr D.I.Y. Super cheap, it comes with a refill and it covers everything perfectly.

• Soft rubber eraser - I use these Faber Castell Dust-Free erasers in pastel colours because they're cuter and they don't break apart. Don't you just hate it when that happens? Anyway, it does a great job at making it look like nothing was there before.

*Some links used are affiliated links, which allows me to earn a small commission when you buy the product using my link. Please note that no commission is earned through clicking links. Thank you~

Do you keep a journal? What are your must-haves?

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