Blog

Journaling can be a wonderful way to process your feelings around chronic illness, as well as a creative outlet that doesn’t need you to use a lot of energy or movement. Win-win, right? At its core, journaling is about thoughts, a pen and a notebook — or your phone or computer, if handwriting is difficult. You will never need any of the supplies used by the influencers in is stationery and bullet journaling corner of the internet. But supplies can lend a sense of deliciousness and fun, which may enhance your chances of actually following through with your intention to journal on a regular basis. To that end, today’s post is all about the supplies, including sharing a few of my favourite places to find them.

A quick note on cost. Stationery, pens and stickers are the kind of consumer items that packs a lot of fun into a small cost (and for those of us living in smaller spaces, don’t take up a lot of room). As with anything, being judicious about when you go for the bargain and when you buy quality can make a difference — and in many cases, cheap works just as well is expensive.

Posts in this series:

Part One – How Journaling Can Help You Live Better with Chronic Illness and Pain

Part Two — Journaling with Chronic Illness: My Favourite Supplies

Part Three — Journaling with Chronic Illness: Tracking Your Life

Part Four — Journaling with Chronic Illness: Finding Inspiration for Creativity

Notebooks

Before I got into the deeper end of the stationery obsession pool, let’s talk notebooks. The choice of notebook — or more specifically, the paper within — depends in large part on what you like to do. For instance, certain types of paper work really well for fountain pen ink and other types of paper is better if you like to watercolour or paint in your notebook. That said, here are some more delightful basics to begin your own dive.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you click on the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. 

Read more on my disclosure page. Thank you for supporting The Seated View!

Leuchturm1917. It’s difficult to pronounce, but a fantastic choice. They have an elastic cover band and there is something wonderful about the ritual of removing that as a start your journaling session. There’ss a pocket in the back for stickers, receipts, etc., numbered pages, ribbons for page markers, they are stitched to lay flat (especially great if you have upper body pain, see Part One of this series for more information), and are available in a host of different sizes and cover colours. This brand also makes notebooks that are specifically designed for the bullet journaling system.

Traveler’s Notebook. There’s a bit of a cult devoted to the TN system. These notebooks are designed for portability — traveler’s, get it? — and involve a beautiful leather cover with a selection of inserts in different designs, depending on how you want to use them. The paper can be blank, lined, dotted, fine or regular, white, cream, or black, there are weekly calendars, zippered pockets, beautiful leather coverrs, and the list goes on. It’s wonderfully flexible. I’m currently using one as a photography adventure journal and another for blog idea notes.

Hobonichi. This Japanese brand has a devoted fan club. The thin yet strong paper is fantastic for fountain pen ink, the notebooks are stitched to lay flat when opened, and they have put a lot of thought into designing the layout. I’m especially fond of the A6 Techo (the annual Christmas present from my enabling partner), which serves as my annual calendar/journal, and the Weeks, which I use for work planning, but they have different versions and sizes so you’re sure to find one you’d like. The annual edition comes out around October and the English versions tend be sold in smaller, independent stationary stores (and often sell out fast). If you’d like to shop for this online, one of my favourite stationery shops is Wonderpens in Toronto.

My favorite fountain pens (L to R): Platinum Desk pen, Opus 88 Picnic in blue and green (sadly discontinued, but Opus 88 has other models), TWSBI GO, Lamy Safari  (available in soooo many colours)

Pens and fountain pens

Fountain pens were my “gateway drug” back into stationery supplies, enabled by my partner who loves them. This led to discovering the many beautiful inks of all sorts of colours and textures (including sparkly ones!). Some inks are wetter than others, some the flow better than others, nib size matters – I’m a fine to medium nib kind of person – and the cost of a fountain pen can range from less than $10 to several thousand, using cartridges or needing to be filled with ink. Some fountain pens are easier to write with others – some make my arm hurt, whereas others are easier to use. Try a couple of options within your budget to see what works for you.

If fountain pens are not for you, you can explore ballpoint pens, rollerball pens, and gel pens. If you read the first post in the series, you know that I love gel pens, especially the Zebra Sarasa brand which make writing much easier for my hands, but there are a host of others. I’d recommend exploring Asian pen brands, as they tend to be excellent at the job of writing, while remarkably inexpensive. Muji, a Japanese department store that made it to North America, has excellent pens that cost almost nothing.  (Muji US and Muji Canada)

L to R: Tombow Dual Brush Pen Art markers, Pentel Sign Brush Pens, Tombow Fudenosuke brush pens, Stabilo Pen 68, Zebra mildliners.

Markers

You don’t have to write with a pen — there are tons of beautiful marker pens and brush markers that move smoothly across notebook paper. Brush pens can also help you play with lettering and drawing.

Tombow Fudenosuke brush pens. These are great starter brush pens of fantastic quality. The brush is small and relatively hard, which makes them forgiving when you make mistakes and allows you to write smaller than some of the larger and more flexible brush pens. I love this set with both hard and soft tips — the hard tips are great for writing and the soft hip pen is fun to use for brush lettering practice. They also come in sets of colours. Important note for those of us with hand pain and dexterity issues: the caps are pretty easy to take off.

Sskura Pigma Microns. These come in different sizes from superthin to thicker sizes, which gave you a lot of flexibility if you are creating spreads and designs. Wonderful to work with and great for drawing.

Pentel Brush Sign Pens. Heavenly brush pens in wonderful colours. I have slowly been buying a little collection one or two at a time at my local stationary store. Note: if you’re buying this is a set be aware that the packaging on the Pentel Sign Pens is very similar and is easy to mistake for the brush pens. The brush pens sport a sticker saying ‘Flexible’ and a bit of glimmer on the body of the pens.

Tombow Dual Brush Pen Art markers. These are definitely an investment, but swoon inducing. They have a brush tip on one end and a bullet tip on the other (much like regular marker) come in almost every colour on the planet and sets of 10-12 to suit your particular aesthetic. They are larger brush pen, meaning brush lettering with these pens will be quite large, but they are also a fun colouring option. The brush tip allows you to add colour quickly, even in larger fields, and is a joy when being precise hurts your hands. Note: the caps are difficult to get off the first time. I have a couple of sets and hand mine new Tombows to have The Boy, asking him to uncap all of them. After that initial pull, the caps are easier. Pro tip: sign up for the Tombow USA email newsletter and watch for a good sale — they happen pretty regularly and can mean big savings. I got my latest set on a 40% off sale and there’s free shipping to both the US and Canada.

Washi tape and stickers

I was introduced to washi tape by my friend and sister-in-law Janet (of the Medicated Babbling podcast). Washi is essentially decorative masking tape that comes in small rolls of happiness. More precisely, small rolls of anywhere several metres worth of beautiful designs. All for (usually) less than $4! You can make designs with or write on them, use them for backgrounds and headlines, decorate cards and gifts, and so much more besides.

If you have spent any time checking out the planning community, you’ll know that washi tape is closely followed by stickers as decorative items of choice. Stickers also come in all shapes, styles, and sizes and can really add fun and beauty to your pages.

More essentials

Double tape dispenser. If you like to make collages using different paper, stickers or to add photos or other mementos (a special note, ticket to an event, and so on), you could buy a glue stick. Or you can buy a double-sided adhesive tape applicator. Which is a long name for a tiny little thing that has changed my life. You run it along the edges of the thing you want to glue onto the paper and then it sticks. It’s wonderful, fast, non-messy, and really easy for those of us with dexterity problems.

Organizer. It’s easy to accidentally with a lot of stickers, washing tape, and pens. My theory is that it all procreates in the dark. So you will need storage and this makeup organizer with three drawers is one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. I like the clear version, because it allows me to catch sight of my multitude of washi tape as I pass and that makes me happy, but it comes in other colours, as well. I actually have a few of these, as it works great for makeup and other doodads, too. It’s a little too small for pens, but this organizer container can hold a lot of pens (stored sideways), markers, and other stuff besides.

Where to buy washi tape, stickers and other supplies

Wonderpens. My local purveyor of everything stationery, with a wonderful selection of pretty much everything. I love this shop (follow them on Instagram for stories with updates on stock, the family, and Chicken, the famous shop cat.

The Washi Tape Shop. A wonderful selection of quality washi tape, with great sales. Ships quickly and for those of us in Canada, it appears that duty/customs is not required.

Etsy. This has become my go-to place for buying washi tape and stickers. There are so many vendors who sell every kind of theme and colour of washi tape and stickers. Do a search for anything, including for instance, “science washi tape” or “Art Deco stickers” and something pops up. Fantastic source of inspiration and temptation.

What are some of your favourite journaling supplies?