Hello, dears!

Yayyy, I’m so excited for my second Notebook Therapy review post! After my first one, they contacted me and asked if I wanted to review more things and I was like… YES PLEASE. They sent me these journals, a pencil case, and a new tote bag for free in exchange for this review, but of course I’ll give you guys my honest opinions on what I review however much I pay. *nods*

If you like aesthetic stationery supplies, bunnies, or the color blue, follow me! 😀

Yay, the review bunny returns! Basil (and Megan) helped me out with a few of these photos since, you know, I just wanted to add some extra cuteness to your day. 🙂 Let’s inspect what she’s guarding, shall we?

Ahh, THE BEAUTY. Notebook Therapy sent me these grid journals and a Tsuki pencil case, but this lovely company always includes a little gift with each package: in this case, a habit tracker with the journals and a sticker page with the pencil case. 🙂 ❤ So fun!

The journals and pencil case are both part of NT’s new “Tsuki” line: luxurious, quality stationery stuff in cohesive shades of blue, pink, and white; all featuring a signature gold moon. I use my Tsuki bujo every day and absolutely LOVE it, so I was super excited to expand my collection – and I wasn’t disappointed! Everything is so aesthetic and well-made.

So first up… can we talk about how aesthetic these journals are?? *heart eyes* The colors and the tiny moon and just the whole design… ❤

You can get this pack of four A5 journals for $26, or about $6/journal. To be honest, that seems a tad expensive to me. They’re definitely high quality, but the journals are paperback, and quite small at 24 sheets/48 pages per journal.

Buuut when you consider the fact that NT is based in Japan and yet everything ships free internationally… well, basically, they just lump the shipping price in there which makes it significantly more expensive (but so much more straightforward, which I’m a fan of!).

You can buy these journals with dotted or grid pages; since I already have the dotted bullet journal, I decided to try out grids. The lines are narrow, which I like, and light, but definitely visible (a bit more so in real life than in these pictures).

It’s definitely easier to write neatly and uniformly on grid paper vs. dot paper, in my opinion. You don’t have to connect the dots in your mind as you write because they’re already connected!

I decided to use one of these four journals as an art journal, thus my very original title. 😛 I made just the cover page for this post, but stick around for more art journal posts I have planned for the future!

I also discovered that grids are super helpful for sticking on washi tape; particularly the narrow kind. You can line everything up so nicely! I attached some dried thyme for texture with a little banner sticker I made. Ha! Unintended wordplay: I have to create time to art journal, right? 😉

I kept this first page quite minimal, but I like how it turned out. By the way, that bluebird sticker is off the free sticker sheet they sent and it’s so pretttyyy!

I used watercolor and marker intentionally, to test how the paper held up. I didn’t honestly have very high expectations for such a small journal, but wow, the paper was amazing! The pen didn’t bleed through and the watercolor only rumpled the page a bit! Maybe they ARE worth $6; most small journals like this have terribly thin paper.

Okay, Basil really wants to move on to the pencil case now, since that’s apparently her favorite. *nods*

In short: GUYS, I LOVE THIS PENCIL CASE IT IS AMAZING. What makes it different from the million other cute pencil cases you can buy is its super neat “pop-up” design. You can use it like this, as a pouch for supplies…

Or you can “telescope” with the tabs at the side to pull the top down and turn it into a “pen pot” for easy access to everything inside. ISN’T THAT GENIUS?

At first I didn’t see why the pop-up design was so exciting, but it really is most helpful. I hate rummaging around in pencil cases for the supply you need; that’s why I use mugs or jars instead, so everything’s on display. But… a jar isn’t that portable or easily closed. This pencil case really combines the best of both worlds into a super cute, sturdy, corduroy and faux-leather design.

Although you can’t tell from the pictures, you can seriously fit a TON of pens in here, since it’s flexible and has a stand-up base. The interior is lined with canvas-like fabric, and divided into a main pocket and three smaller ones along the side.

You can buy this for $20, which seems quite reasonable for how well-designed and beautifully made this is. If I didn’t get it for free, I probably wouldn’t buy it, but only because I’m cheap and don’t like spending extra when I can buy something cheaper that still works, you know? XD However, it’s so clever that I’d likely end up putting it on my wishlist or something. 🙂

Overall, I absolutely LOVE it and think it’s totally worth your money if you’re interested in more than an ordinary pencil case. It would make an excellent gift, especially when paired with the journals, or, let’s be real, almost anything on their site. 😉

The last thing they sent me was a new and improved tote bag! (Side note: The extreme photogenicness of these products made it WAY hard to narrow down the 150+ photos I originally took, so apologies if I’m rambling. O.o We’re just about done!)

So, NT asked if I would review their updated tote bag and I was like, sure, yay! But then I got it and… it’s basically the same?? I mean, I chose another color, obviously, but it seems practically the same as the first one I got (see that review here).

The one difference I noticed was the bag’s lining. It’s really hard to show in photos, but the new bag (on the right) has slightly thicker, less plastic-y fabric. I was pleased to discover this, since, as you might recall, I didn’t like how flimsy and crinkly the interior was last time.

So yeah, the new tote bag design is much nicer to use – it doesn’t sound like a paper bag every time you move it, and the inside feels sturdier and more quality as well. *nods* I still would prefer actual fabric inside, but I’m sure that would be much more expensive. (Right now it’s $24.)

Yep, it still has this label on the front, and I would still prefer it without the quote. But also I’m getting used to it and it just seems like part of the design, now. (Side note: ooh, corduroy fabric like the pencil case!) I plan on using these totes a lot this year for upcoming trips and events. 🙂

(Yikes, that’s a blue picture.) Welp, Basil is done for the day and that’s all the reviews I have for you at the moment, my friends! I hope you enjoyed them, and please do check out notebooktherapy.com, especially if you’re a girl – or shopping for one. 🙂 Excuse me while I go browse the aestheticness…

Which do you like best: the journals, the pencil case, or the tote bag? Do you prefer grid, dotted, or lined paper? Doesn’t Basil make an excellent review bunny? XD

Thanks so much for reading, dears, and have a lovely day!

***Allison***