While bullet journaling only requires a pencil and a notebook, it can be hard to resist the allure of nicer pens and supplies. If you’re looking to add to your stationery arsenal, keep reading for our pick of the best bullet journal supplies.
Notebooks
A staple of your bullet journal is your notebook. Traditionally many gravitate to a dot-grid book, however, it’s also possible to bullet journal on lined, graph, or blank paper! Here are some of our favourite notebooks for bullet journaling:
Perfectly Penned Dot Grid Notebook
Of ourse we think that our notebooks are the best, otherwise we would be in the business of making them.
We offer a 256-page dot grid notebook with 120 gsm, acid free, FSC certified paper, available in a multitude of colours: black, brown, grey, pink, and turquoise.
Perfectly Penned Lined Notebook
Prefer the look of lines? With the same colours and features of our dot grid notebook, you can easily bullet journal in this ruled journal!
Pens and Pencils
After you’ve picked a notebook, you need something to write within it! Here are some of our favourite pens and pencils for bullet journaling.
Pencils
If you like to sketch out layouts beforehand, or you know that plans might be changing, we recommend having a pencil on hand when using your bullet journal.
If you typically lean towards mechanical pencils, I suggest these mechanical pencils from Bic. They are fine point (0.5mm) which can allow for very detailed lines and sketches. Otherwise, if you aren’t picky, you can’t go wrong with a #2 HB pencil!
Pencil crayons are a fun way to colour in doodles or add some artistic shading into your bullet journal. For the budget conscious person, I recommend Crayola pencil crayons. If you’re willing to splurge a little bit, Faber-Castell has a great collection of coloured pencils.
Pens
When you’re ready to add a pop of colour or some permanent writing into your bullet journal, you’re going to want to have some pens on hand.
Gel Pens
My favourite gel pens are the Papermate InkJoy Gel Pens. They come in a pack of 14 different colours, which makes it easy to colour code! If you’re colour coding your future log, these are a great pen to use.
Another favourite in terms of gel pens is the Zebra Sarasa Gel Pens. In my opinion, these are one of the smoothest pens I’ve ever written with. They’re a great choice for your rapid log!
Ballpoint Pens
If you’re not a fan of gel pens due to possible smearing, I’d suggest ballpoint pens. My go to ballpoint pens have always been the Paper Mate Write Bros Ballpoint pen, or the Bic Round Stic Ballpoint Pen. Ballpoint pens are great to carry around for brain dumps or jotting down quick notes.
Fountain Pens
Looking for something a bit fancier? Many bullet journalists love to use fountain pens. While they can get quite expensive, a commonly suggested fountain pen for beginners is the Lamy Safari Fountain Pen. Another popular pick is the Pilot Metropolitan.
Erasable Pens
Want the colour that comes from pens, but nervous about making a mistake? Many bullet journalers swear by the Pilot Frixion Retractable Pens because they’re erasable! The only thing to be cautious about if using these pens to write down important reminders is that if you leave your bullet journal in the sun, the ink may disappear.
Fineliners
Black fineliners are a welcome addition to your collection of bullet journal supplies. Make clear lines in your calendar spreads, or create crisp headers. Fineliners are available in a multitude of tip sizes, which can help you create lines of different widths. Here are some of our favourite fineliners for use in a bullet journal:
Sakura Pigma Micron
A popular choice in the bullet journal community, these fineliners come in many different sizes: from 0.2mm to the thickness of a graphic marker. Grab the assorted pack and figure out which thickness you prefer!
Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens
I love Pitt Artist Pens for the vibrancy of the black ink. The assorted pack comes with 4 pens, the smallest has a tip size of 0.1mm, and the largest is 0.7mm.
Tombow Mono Drawing Pens
Another fineliner option is Tombow’s Mono Drawing Pens. I’ve experienced zero skipping with these pens, which is useful when you’re drawing long straight lines!
If you enjoy the feel of writing with a fineliner, but want to add some colour, here are a few of my favourite coloured fineliners:
Paper Mate Flair
For a smooth writing experience and 20 different colours, there’s a reason these pens come recommended in the bullet journal community.
Staedtler Triplus Fineliner
If you want a pen in almost every colour imaginable, you’ll want to get your hands on the 42 pack of Staedtler Fineliners. These are great for headers, colour coding, or colouring in doodles in your bullet journal.
Stabilo Point 88 Fineliner Pens
For a thinner coloured fineliner (0.4mm), I recommend the Stabilo Point Fineliners. They come in 30 different colours, so you’ll be sure to have all of your bases covered!
Markers
Markers are popular in the bullet journal community for many things: brush lettering, drop shadows or doodles. If you’re wanting to incorporate markers into your bullet journal, be sure that the ones you pick up are water-based, as anything alcohol-based (like a traditional Sharpie) will bleed through your paper! Here are some of our favourite markers for bullet journaling:
Crayola Supertips
These markers are affordable (under $20USD for 100 markers), come in a plethora of colours, and don’t bleed through most notebooks. They’re a great choice for faux hand lettering!
Tombow Dual Tip Brush Pens
If you want to spend a bit more money on a great product, I recommend these brush pens. They’re dual-tipped (brush marker and fine tip), are perfect for blending colours, and produce a vivid and vibrant colour. With 108 colours, the possibilities of what you can create are endless.
Other Popular Tools
Zebra Mildliners
Mildliners are a muted highlighter, which is easier on the eyes, and a popular choice for adding colour with many bullet journal enthusiasts.
Stabilo Boss Pastel Highlighters
Another popular pastel highlighter is these from Stabilo, and they’re a fantastic way to add some drop shadows or a pop of muted colour to a spread.
Watercolour Pencils
If you’re interested in adding some watercolour to your bullet journal, a controlled way to do that is through watercolour pencils. A popular choice is the Arteza Professional Watercolour Pencils. If you’re going this route, I also recommend the Pentel Aquash Water Brush Pen to blend the colours.
Embellishments
These following supplies on our list are by no means a requirement of bullet journaling. However, if you are also looking for a creative outlet they could be handy for finding your artistic side while using your bullet journal.
Washi Tape
Also known as decorative tape, washi tape is a painless way to add colour and pop to your bullet journal. It can also be used functionally, to tape in reminders, receipts, or notes.
Stickers
Within the planner community as a whole, stickers are very popular. From reminders, calendars, headers, to purely decorative, if you can imagine it there is likely a sticker for it.
Sticky Notes
Many bullet journalists use sticky notes for various planning, such as meal planning. By writing meals on sticky notes it gives the flexibility to rearrange them easily within a spread. Traditional Post-it Notes are a great option and are available in a variety of sizes and colours.
White-out/Correction Tape
Mistakes are inevitable, and if there’s one that’s really bugging you it could be important to keep correction tape on hand! One important thing to remember is that most bullet journal notebooks have cream/ivory coloured pages, and white-out is a pure white so it won’t be completely unnoticeable. However, it still may be a preferred solution to use the tape as opposed to leaving it!
Tape Runner
If you like to attach memorabilia or keepsakes in your bullet journal a tape runner is a good thing to keep on hand. In my opinion, it is superior to using a glue stick, as it is thin, easy to apply, and very sticky! The Tombow Mono Permanent Adhesive Applicator is my favourite tape runner of the brands I have tried.
Conclusion
While at the end of the day all you need is a notebook and a pencil, your bullet journal is a fantastic place to find a creative outlet. If you’ve been looking to add some colour to your bullet journal, or simply have been on the hunt for a new fineliner, I hope you’ve benefited from our pick of the best bullet journal supplies!
What bullet journal supply could you not live without?