I have been writing for as long as I can remember; in notepads, on scrap pieces of paper, in the margins of my books, and even in my graphing calculator when I could get away with it at school. I started journaling more consistently in May of 2016. My first “bullet” journal was a black Moleskine with square grid pages. I experimented with layouts, scrapbooking, junk journaling, etc. My first journal is full of doodles and poetry in the margins around my wish lists, daily tasks, and the like.








While doing all this journaling and doodling, I had the opportunity to test out a number of different notebooks and journaling supplies from various brands. I would like to share some of my favorite products with you in this post. Please note that I am not getting paid to recommend or review any of these items.
Notebooks

Pink Mackerel by Tekukor
A5 160 gsm Dot Grid Notebook
I use this notebook for daily journaling. It is my favorite notebook for the following reasons:
- Thick, bleedproof, smooth paper (do not expect your alcohol-based/copic markers, to work with this, however)
- 5mm dot grid that aligns well across pages
- Beautiful hardcover design
- 3 color coordinated satin bookmarks
- Well constructed material
- No unnecessary index/key pages
- Numbered pages
- Back pocket and pen loop
- Elastic cover band
For a more in depth review, see this post.

Leuchtturm1917 – A4+ Master Slim Dotted Notebook – 100 gsm
I use these notebooks for my work journal (lesson plans, tasks tracking, etc.) and scrapbooking. The size and paper weight make it perfect for those uses.
Pens

Sakura Pigma Micron 05
I have all of the colors of this pen, and use it daily for journaling. It dries very quickly, and doesn’t smudge. If you prefer gel pens instead, I would recommend the Pilot G2 series.

Staedtler Triplus Fineliner
Excellent pen for coloring and daily journal use. Dries quickly and lasts a long time.
Highlighters

Zebra Mildliner Double Ended Highlighters
These highlighters comes in beautiful colors and do not bleed through.
Brush Tip Markers

Tombow Dual Brush Pens
These pens work very well for brush lettering. They have an excellent assortment of colors.

Prismacolor Brush Tip Markers
These markers are easier to use than the Tombow pens due to their size, but do not offer much variety in color. The tips are resistant to fraying, unlike the Sakura brush pens.

Zebra Mildliner Brush Tip Markers
These brush pens are dual tipped. They offer beautiful pastel colors for journaling.
I know most of these products are already crowd-favorites, but I still wanted to share my all-time favorite journaling supplies with you. I did not include any links, because my aim is not to make money off of this post. You can find them all on Amazon.