My A-Z of stationery

This post is inspired by Stationery & Art’s newsletter

I can’t resist an A-Z list but there are always some letters which prove problematic, whatever you’re writing about (except when it comes to film titles – I slay at that game!). I like stationery, writing, and a challenge, so here goes!

A is for accessories

Whether it’s washi, stickers, paperclips or sticky tabs, we all have our stationery fetishes. I’ve got dozens of rolls of washi. What’s your accessory of choice?

B is for brush pens

If you’re a regular around these parts, you’ll know that I’ve been learning to letter this year and I’m working my way through various brush pens. So far I’ve tried Staedtler, Spectrum Noir, Stabilo, and Pentel, and I’ve got reviews of Tombow and Zebra on the way.

C is for children

I love sharing my stationery addiction with Jenson. He’s collaborated on a few reviews with me, including Stib pencils, and letters to and from Father Christmas.

D is for dot grid

Since I started getting pretty serious about bullet journaling last year, I’ve found that I don’t like to use anything other than a dot grid; it’s just so flexible, whether you’re writing, doodling, or drawing out a table or graph.

E is for eco-friendly

We’re in a climate emergency and it’s important now more than ever that we’re careful about where we spend our money. Fortunately there are plenty of stationery brands making positive change, from Uni-ball’s plastic-free packaging, to VENT‘s pencils made from recycled CD cases, and Dingbats‘ vegan notebooks.

F is for fountain pen

I avoided fountain pens for years after being put off them in my school days. My recent adult life has seen me fall for the likes of the Lamy AL-star, Manuscript CalliCreative, Opus 88 (pictured below), Zebra Fuente fountain pen, Fountain Pentel, and Manuscript Clarity.

G is for gsm

You know what’s almost as important as a dot grid? The gsm. I normally like a 100gsm minimum but the Rhodia paper (Clairefontaine 90gsm ivory brushed vellum paper) has become my favourite for daily journaling.

H is for highlighters

I much prefer pastel to neon but now I’ve also become rather fond of glitter. You can never have too much glitter.

I is for ink

Now that I’ve been playing with different pens (brush, watercolour, dip, fountain), I’ve been paying more attention to ink. I really want the Diamine Inkvent Advent Calendar…

J is for journal

I flipping love journals! Even though I bullet journal, I do like a guided journal too. The Leuchtturm Change Journal is fantastic.

K is for kawaii

The cuter the better, right? Pango (pencil case pictured below) sells adorable stationery. I’m also a sucker for anything with Totoro.

L is for letter writing

I haven’t had a pen pal for years, but I do like taking part in Jocelyn‘s swaps, and I like to pop cards in with my giveaways. You know what makes letter writing even more fun? Wax seals! Fancy AF, ammiright?

M is for memories

Whether you journal or scrapbook, there are so many lovely products out there to help you treasure those all-important memories. I love the ‘one line a day‘ diaries. They last five years and I’ve been writing something down every day since Jenson was born.

N is for National Stationery Week

My favourite week of the year! I’ve been running campaigns on here for a few years now and visited Stationery Show London for the last two years. I can’t wait for the next one.

O is for organised

I took the below picture over a year ago and it hasn’t looked that tidy since! I really need to take the time to reorganise everything, as I have so many notebooks and packs of pens scattered about. At least I can find everything at the moment.

P is for pencil case

You can find out so much about a person from their pencil case. I recently started a new series on the blog called ‘What’s in my pencil case?’ and my first few guest bloggers have been Sarah from Stationery Magpie, Katie from Find the Good Everyday, and Danielle from Under the Rowan Trees.

Q is for quill

You know what’s even fancier than a wax seal? A mother flippin’ quill! I first tried using this months ago and need to give it another whirl.

R is for Ryder Carroll

Ryder is the Father of Bullet Journaling and his book really helped me reprioritise my journaling habits this year.

S is for subscription box

There are some really cracking subscription boxes out there, included Papergang, SherbetBox, Spotlight Stationery, Oops a Daisy, and loads more.

T is for trends

The trends display at Stationery Show London is great and it was really interesting to see so many fun and sustainable products featured this year.

U is for university

You’re never too old for back to school stationery shopping. I had fun putting together this wish list earlier this year.

V is for vegan

As previously mentioned, Dingbat’s journals are 100% vegan. All V-Label products must contain no animals, parts of animals, or animal byproducts, and must not be created with the help of animals in any way. They also must be free from GMOs and, where possible, use organic raw ingredients.

W is for watercolour

Once I’ve got the hang of basic lettering, I quite fancy having a crack at watercolours too. I played with some Staedtler watercolour brush pens earlier this year and I’m going to learn to get to grips with my Ecolines next.

X is for x-rated

I can’t resist sweary stationery and, fortunately, Calligraphuck keep creating more products.

Y is for YouTube

I’ve avoided YouTube for a long time as I know I’ll just end up stuck down a rabbit hole. I think I’m teetering on the edge after coming across this lovely tutorial which was linked up on Instagram. The internet is a wonderful but addictive thing.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v9g9xkbqRc]

Z is for zzz

Can’t sleep? Writing can help. I like to journal every night before bed, releasing all the rants I’ve held on to through the day, as well as practicing gratitude. Some people prefer morning pages. What might help is leaving a notebook and pen by your bed should you be overcome with anxiety.

I did it – the whole alphabet applied to stationery products. How wonderfully nerdy of me!