The Well-Appointed Desk

Sometimes, there are a hand full of small, quirky products that don’t need a full, long-form review but are worth mentioning so I thought these products were worthy of a little notice.

I recently got an order from JetPens that included:

• Shachihata Allemore Nototo Join Stamps – Daily Log ($10.25)
• MU Print-On Transfer Stickers – Lunar – 2 Sheets ($3.35)
• Mark’s Masté Perforated Writable Washi Tape – Dates Pack of 3 ($6.95)
• Bande Washi Tape Sticker Roll – kalo – Flower Garden – Set of 2 ($9)
• Movic Studio Ghibli Notebook – B6 – Graph – Princess Mononoke ($6.50)

So, let’s do a little run down:

Shachihata Allemore Nototo Join Stamps: Daily Log

The Shachihata Allemore Nototo Join Stamps – Daily Log has a rather long name for a small, pocketable stacking stamp set. The set even includes a small pipette filled with extra ink to re-ink your stamps as needed. The instructions on the back of the packaging has images showing cutting the tip off the pipette to release the ink and apply to the face of teh stamp to re-ink. The stamps do come pre-inked so the pipette is just for later use.

The four click-together stamps with the cover measure 1.2 x 2.3″ total in size and each stamp fits into a 5mm tall grid block and occupies less than 4 grid blocks (20mm). The black, water resistant ink is very fine line and looks clean and neat on the page.

The four designs are weather, moods, star rating and a progress bar. We of the Midwest joke that no one ever includes a tornado in the weather icons and its a missed opportunity!

The view from the back of the stamps on Stalogy paper (which is similar to Tomoe River) is quite good. I’m giving this set two thumbs up!

MU Print-On Transfer Stickers – Lunar

I trained as a graphic designer at the same time that dry transfer lettering was just starting to fall out of use. So, we were often able to pick up sheets or Letraset dry transfer,  rub-on lettering for a deal and we’d use it on all sorts ot things but it does start to dry out and crack when you try to apply it. So, knowing that, the revival of dry transfer for planners, journals, scrapbooking and crafting is a great chance for people who never got to use it in the past can use it and now its color and includes gorgeous designs and graphics beyond lettering and dot patterns.  MU Print-On Transfer Stickers – Lunar – 2 Sheets ($3.35)  is watercolor-style leaves, butterflies and planets on two sheets. The boho inspired art is pretty and very translucent.

If you’ve never used dry transfer before, a quick review: cut out the piece you want to apply. Have a popsicle stick, bone folder or old credit card handy to use to help rub down the designs.

Peel the waxy paper off the back of the design before placing the design onto your paper. Then use your rubbing tool to rub down the design. When you feel you’ve rubbed enough slowly peel  from one edge slowly, if the clear film does not easily lift, rub some more and try again.

You may need to put a pencil board or piece of firm cardboard under your design to make it easier to apply pressure to your design when transferring it.

I did try applying a design to my leather notebook cover but the artwork is very translucent so it’s not very visible. This set of designs works best on light colored papers and the art is stunning so its worth using it on light papers to see all the details. It’s a great set. Add it to your next order for sure.

Mark’s Masté Perforated Writable Washi Tape

I am really liking the washi tape sets that are being released these days. The rolls are smaller which means I have more likelihood of using them up and the rolls coordinate together so they work well in my current planning set-up. Mark’s Masté Perforated Writable Washi Tape – Dates Pack of 3 ($6.95) is hand drawn numbers for dates in your bullet journal or planner and an additional roll of frames for months, page titles, etc.

The individual dates and frames are micro-perforated so they are easy to tear cleanly with your fingers which is AWESOME! I always forget to pack scissors. I did discover that the frames will require seeking out  different pens — maybe a Sharpie Pen or Staedtler Triplus will work better. Regardless, this set is fun and playful and feel creative with minimal effort. The delft blue color will also work for many times in the year, IMHO.

Bande Washi Tape Sticker Roll – Flower Garden

Can I gush? When I saw the Bande Washi Tape Sticker Roll – kalo – Flower Garden – Set of 2 ($9) I literally squealed. It’s so genius and makes me so happy. The idea is that the two rolls work together. You get to pick the container — an assortment of vases and flower boxes and then there are washi flower bouque flakes that can be “put into” the container. I love this idea! I want to make flower bouquets in boxes, vases, and so much more. I love that there is some creativity and play in this set and highly recommend it.

Movic Studio Ghibli Notebook – B6 – Graph – Princess Mononoke

The last product that I got is the Movic Studio Ghibli Notebook – B6 – Graph – Princess Mononoke ($6.50). I grabbed this for two reasons: (1) I am a huge Ghibli fan. Who isn’t? and (2) its a B6 notebook and that is my favorite notebook size so anytime I can grab a B6 notebook to supplement my Stalogy, I will grab it.

I cut to the chase and tested my daily fountain pen on the paper inside the Princess Monoke notebook and was pleasantly surprised that I had no issue with it. From the reverse, there’s hint that this paper might not be great with a super wet or wide nib fountain pen but with EF, F and M, this paper should be fine and allow you to use both sides of the paper. But for $6.50 for 48 pages its a great value.

Bonus: Kodama tree spirits are lightly printed on the bottom corner of the left hand pages and fill me with endless joy.

I’ll probably go back and order all the other designs (Kiki, Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away and Castle in the Sky) if they are still available.

Okay, that’s the whole haul! Lots of great “basically under $10” products to spark a little excitement in your planner or journal habit. What’s your latest under-$10 purchase for your planner or journal?

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DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.