Washi Tape Logs
Journaling accessories ... stickers, pencil boards, scissors ...oh my!
Firstly, a HUGE THANK YOU to all of my new subscribers. Welcome in and enjoy.
Journaling has been a part of my life since I was was teenager in high school. Journaling was a way to get out my thoughts and work through all that teenage confusion, trying to find myself. I typically used a big Mead 5-star notebook, lined and most likely a uni-ball vision. I would write and write and write filling a notebook over a year or so. I'd never stick with it though for various reasons here and there; and over time I would stop. Eventually I’d pick back up again, using another 5-star notebook until it was filled. In the early days, I'd usually write with blue ink and that was the extent of my creativity. My journal was really a place to just get thoughts out of my head.
Fast forward to last year around June 2024, something compelled me to purchase my first fountain pen. It was love at first fill! I've always carried a notebook for work to jot down notes from meetings or work out deployment plans and such. However, shortly after I got that first pen, I picked up journaling due to losing our beloved Benny cat unexpectedly. It was extremely helpful to be able to work through my grief in this way and the first thing I did was get a bottle of Wearinguel's 'I am a Cat' as a celebration for Benny since he was grey and the gold shimmer reminded me of him in a better place over the rainbow bridge.
As the summer went on, I kept up with the journaling habit. It felt good to wake up early and spend an hour writing in my journal. Now here's where the accessories come in! My wife gave me a bunch of planner stickers that she wasn't using any longer and I discovered washi tape. YES! I knew of washi tape and had heard the term before, but had no idea what to use it for. Well ... turns out I love decorating pages of my journal with it. I like to tie it to the season or my mood or maybe I'm feeling spicy and want to use 'AARG ... Possum' washi tape, LOL! My wife bought me a huge set of washi tape for my birthday last year and I was off to the races. I had wondered, do people catalog their washi tapes? Do they keep a log of them? I didn't know but I thought it was cool. It took a while to do but I got a Kokuyo Sketch Book to make a washi log. It's neat now to look at and easily pick out which washi to use for the day.
Other accessories that I started using was blotter paper because I noticed in some of my notebooks that my fingerprints would get on the page and ink wouldn't lay down right, so I picked up some vintage blotter paper from The Well-Appointed Desk. I've not tried other blotter papers so I cannot compare. I think I got a pack of 3 or 4. They are nice and sturdy and feel velvety under my hand. They slide down the page with ease. I never thought I'd be writing with blotter paper under my hand, that's for sure.
In addition to blotter paper and washi tape, I've also started using small little scissors, the Allex Slim 100 to cut my washi tape. This is totally unnecessary, it just looks better for my brain, and these little scissors are so cute! I really was surprised by how tiny they are. The notebook cover is from Lochby. I really like it. I can take my notebook out to a cafe while I wait for my step-son to finish guitar practice or sit on the porch without worrying (mildly) about my notebook getting dirty. Plus it has some pockets to store little accessories, like the small Allex scissors and an A5 pencil board that I got from The Paper Haunt.
So that's it, along with a TON of stickers. These things help me to add some flair to my pages and help me combat my wall of words syndrome. Which sometimes if I'm feeling alot of anxiety and just need to spit out words, I forget the fun stuff. That’s OK! Sometimes, I'll go back later in the day, and add in ‘messy head’ stickers or I’ll leave it the way it is, it doesn't matter. My journal is mine and yours is yours. Our journals can be whatever we need them to be.
What accessories do you use in your journal?
PS - All items have been purchased with my own dollars and no link is an affiliate link. I really like using these products and supporting these small shop owners and makers.
Love the washi swatch book… and that argh washi tape is the BEST! Great post- thanks!
I've seen a few mentions of people swatching their washi tapes, but I haven't done this yet. I think I will start. Your washi log notebook looks great! 🙂