If you are brand new to bullet journaling you probably need help deciding what supplies to get. This is where I come in. I’m giving you tips to getting the best bullet journal supplies for beginners. You don’t have to spend loads of money to start bullet journaling and this post will teach you how.
When you first start bullet journaling you don’t always know if you are going to stick with it. You don’t want to spend loads of money on a hobby you might not follow through on, right? Well this is why I recommend you get a cheap composition notebook and a pen and just start keeping simplified bullet journal.
Once you realize that you like this and it’s something you enjoy doing then you can start purchasing loads of products. Not everything is for everyone all the time and I am not someone to high pressure you into needing a bunch of things if this hobby is not for you.
After that initial bullet journal habit creation practice with cheap notebook and pen we can start the process of purchasing items to make things more worth it. This is your guide to getting the best supplies while you start practicing. Later you can build up to the more expensive stuff.
Best Bullet Journal Supplies for Beginners
There are really only a few things that you will need when you first start bullet journaling. The list isn’t huge or super expensive.
Best Bullet Journal Notebook for Beginners
Hands down it’s the Essentials Dot Matrix Notebook. This is the one I currently use and may continue to use. It’s an A5 size with 192 dot grid pages. There may be some shadowing or bleeding on the pages if you have a heavy hand, like I do.
The binding on this journal holds up really well. Get ready to cringe, I am a binding abuser. I am pretty much a bullet journals nightmare but this one has stood up to my abuse. Now, I don’t care my bullet journal around with me everywhere I go. It pretty much stays on my desk all the time as that’s the best place for me to keep it.
As far as features this bullet journal has one ribbon and an elastic band to keep it closed. It also has a nifty pocket in the back that can hold stencils. This is convenient if you have certain stencils you use often.
I give this journal a 4 out of 5 stars only because there is some bleeding with my heavy hand. It’s a great starter journal for the bullet journal beginner.
This is a heavy design but as you can see on the next page that is unedited for the soul purpose of this post there is some shadowing but no bleeding.
Good Pens For Bullet Journaling
There are two pens that I recommend for bullet journaling. A good ball point pen is your best bet for everyday writing. The ones I recommend are the PaperMate Profile Pens. They write extremely smooth in the above and even work well for tracing lines.
You can get them in black ink here or even in an assorted ink like these. These are fantastic for the beginner and experienced bullet journalers. I will probably order up a huge stock of these soon as my last one is getting pretty low.
If you are looking for a more marker appearance in pen I recommend these Fine Point Pens. They are great for small designs but be extremely careful trying to color in with these, they will bleed through anything. They are best for outlining and creating lines like in the image below.
Best Markers For Bullet Journal Beginners
For a beginner I recommend the Crayola Super Tips. I recently purchased them on a whim and I love them. Not only can they be used for modern calligraphy, which I’m still practicing, but they color in without bleeding or leaving a heavy shadow.
Best Brush Pens For Bullet Journal Beginners
If you really want to go all out hand down the best brush pens are the Tombows. The tip bounces back quickly after writing giving you smoother and better results with your calligraphy. Tombows are also blendable and have a watercolor pen to make softer designs and effects.
A good middle of the road brush pen though is the Scribbles That Matter dual brush pen. You get 60 colors and while not as good as the Tombows they are more affordable and still a good brush pen.
Best Bullet Journal Stencils
When it comes to stencils I recommend this set here. There are 12 total stencils in the set and have icons, squares, rectangles, banners, and more that you can use to help create a gorgeous bullet journal spread. While I rarely use stencils anymore and they are absolutely not a mandatory tool, they can be useful to those who need the extra help.
The trick with stencils is to always use a pencil and lightly outline. This way you can adjust as necessary. Once you have your design the way you want it you can outline with either the PaperMate Pens I recommend or the Fine Point Pen Set.
(((Picture)))Best Washi Tape For Bullet Journals
Finally we come to washi tape. While I have my favorite patterns washi tape is one of those things that once you start collecting it you will continue to collect it. Additionally, my patterns aren’t always going to work well for you or be your style.
So I did the next best thing. I narrowed down an Amazon search result to show you the best rated, prime eligible, washi tape selection. If you don’t have Prime and plan on starting this hobby I highly recommend signing up now. Amazon has some of the best prices on bullet journal supplies and most of them are prime eligible which means you get them shipped to your home in two days.
Bullet Journal Supplies Organization
I used to be an Ipsy subscriber so I got all those cute little bags filled with makeup. Well those bags are now my pen bags holding the different types of pens I own. You can also try these cute boxes for pens.
Many people get a small book bag like this to hold all their supplies, they usually call it their bullet journal bag.
Others create a cute little space with pen organizer and ribbon holders or washi tape storage boxes for their washi tape.
As a bit of a minimalist my bullet journal supplies are minimal. I get only what I need to create the journal I want and that is it. You can always follow suit with the same approach.
As with any type of arts and crafts bullet journal supplies will need to be refilled so make sure you pin this post or bookmark it so you can order again in the future.
Which supplies are you looking forward to using in your bullet journal? Let me know in the comments below. Do you have bullet journal spreads you would like shared? Email them to Crystal@BulletJournalAddict.com and they may be featured on an Instagram post and/or to the blog. Please leave your IG Username so I can tag you in the posts. Follow me on Pinterest for more like this and pin this to your Bullet Journal boards.
Related Posts:
- My September Bullet Journal Setup
- What Is A Bullet Journal?
- How To Use Travelers Journals For Bullet Journaling
- An Honest Review Of Scribbles That Matter Brush Pens
