what notebook do you use for your journals?
Well, I have used a different kind of notebook for almost every single one of my journals!Â
For my first 2 journals, I bought Moleskine cahier gridded notebooks, because so many journalers use Moleskines. But I hated them. The paper in Moleskines is thin and very smooth, the best way I can describe it is slippery. So I was constantly smearing ink all over the pages, and I’m not even left handed. Not only that, despite the smooth finish it bleeds very easily. Just about the only advantage (in my opinion) of their paper is that it rarely rips when you pull up washi tape or other adhesives to adjust them.
After deciding that I didn’t want to use Moleskine anymore, I found the journal featured in my video at Barnes and Noble, and that is where I have been buying them since. I don’t care much about having gridded paper, and I like that the paper absorbs the ink so it doesn’t run so much. It does rip easily when pulling up adhesives, though, which is the only drawback. My 3rd and 4th journals were a part of Barnes and Noble’s Punctuate brand stationary. The one in the video is 7.5x9.5 inches, which is HUGE for a bullet journal, but I loved it because the extra space gave me more creative freedom. Then I went back down to a 6x8 because it’s not so heavy and easier to fit in my purse.
My newest journal is also from Barnes and Noble, but it is by a stationary company called Studio Oh! I love the cover, it’s probably my favorite out of all my journals. But the paper is somewhere between the Moleskine and Punctuate journals, so I’m having trouble with smearing ink again. It’s also only partially lined, with blank margins on either side as well as the tops and bottoms of the pages. So I will probably go for another Punctuate journal next time.