My 2025 Stationery Faves (So Far)

A couple months ago I was talking to some friends about possibly doing a Stationery Faves of 2025 (or just a Stationery Faves) post in the near future and then I saw there was a non-bookish freebie when I checked the upcoming Top Ten Tuesday topics. It was clearly a sign from the universe for me to talk about my love for journaling and all things stationery instead of making a draft and putting it off.

Journaling has always been an integral part of my life, and over the years, my journaling methods and supplies have changed as I’ve changed. This year I started a Commonplace Book again after doing it for a semester during a class, collecting all the quotes and lyrics that resonated with me, and I recently started a physical journal again as a companion to my usual digital journal and five-year memory book.

Some day, I plan on writing a post about how my journaling and planning styles have changed over the years and possibly talk more about stationery*, but for now, I’m going to share some of my current favorites that I use!

*Ironic considering I was just talking about overconsumption last week, but hey, I’m actively using these items at the time I’m writing this post!

Midori Chiratto Index Clips (JetPens)

I think these Chiratto Index Clips from Midori might be my absolute favorite from this list. I’m not sure how I found them exactly — it might have been a casual browse of JetPens when I first came across the site searching for something else or a Reddit post I stumbled across while searching journaling ideas. Either way, I’m so glad I came across them because they’re so handy to have and they’re reusable.

I mainly use this for my therapy notebook, which I use a Rocketbook Pro (mentioned later!) for. I use them to know which notes are for which session and rotate them out as I erase. I also use them to tab out where I started my memory book and the beginning of the year in my Commonplace book. I use enough that I’ve gotten another pack recently.

The only downside is they’re small and have a tight grip, so you might want to be careful if you use thin paper like the ones in Hobonichis. I like keeping the original paper it comes clipped to in an adhesive pocket I stick into some of my notebooks so I can easily access them and they don’t get lost due to their size. The other downside is more personal preference, but given they’re metal, they do change color over time. I personally don’t care for the color change, though, but your mileage may vary.

Book Darts (JetPens)

Book Darts are another recent discovery this year I’m glad I came across! It might have been from a Discord server or while browsing JetPens, but I gave them a try since I enjoy annotating books but I don’t want to write in the book itself (mostly so I can resell them when moving if I no longer find joy in them). It turns out they’re ‌handier than I thought!

Outside of marking my current reads sometimes (especially nonfiction or anything with longer paragraphs/smaller typeface where I could easily lose my place), I’ve been using them to help guide people to where they need to draw their attention to and marking my favorite spreads in my journals so I can easily get back to them if I decide to bring back my journaling and planning post that I did back when I was bullet journaling instead of going through so many pages.

I also gravitate to my book darts rather than paper clips sometimes — I like that they don’t leave an indent like a paper clip would sometimes leave.

Kamio Japan Turn Open Pen Case – Sanrio – Cinnamoroll (JetPens)

This Cinnamoroll Kamio Japan Turn Open Pen Case is more for my personal joy and sharing cuteness because Cinnamoroll is one of my favorite Sanrio characters (along with Kuromi); I originally was looking for a Pikachu pen case when I came across this. JetPens didn’t have the Pikachu version in this design, sadly.

I actually like this pen case a lot because of the divider and it’s not as big as some of the pen cases that I have at home; it’s one I currently carry around daily. In one section I carry the washi tape I’m currently using or plan to use and the other I carry my daily pens and the Tombows* or other writing utensils I’m using for my current layout/the layout I’m working on. It also fits really nicely in the corner of my tote bag.

*It’s hard finding a case that fits Tombows because of their length. :c

Rocketbook Pro and Sticky Notes

Rocketbook’s premise is purchasing one notebook you can reuse repeatedly, which is exactly what caught my eye back in college when I was browsing the stationery section and they were a relatively new company. Their notebooks use a specially coated paper that is waterproof, and you write your notes using a Frixion pen before scanning it with their app and sending it to your chosen destination(s). You can then spray water and wipe it with a microfiber towel so you can reuse the pages again.

At that time, I got a Mini, and I used it to write any notes that I needed to remember for school or my to-do list – sometimes I wrote my shopping list if I couldn’t find the time to pull out my phone to write it down. I used it less after I finished school, but I started using them more frequently once I moved to a hybrid working environment at my previous job to keep track of emails to follow up with and other work-related things I needed to remember – I got a Core to keep track of those eventually so I could have more writing space.

Earlier this year I got a couple Rocketbook Pros on sale, which I use for therapy notes, brainstorming sessions for work programming, and lists of books to gather for work displays. I ended up retiring my Core to leave at home for home-related things and for venting my frustrations – it’s pretty therapeutic to let it out, let it sit for a few days and then just wipe the pages. It’s on the person I write about if they choose to invade my privacy and read it before I erase it. (I could talk to them about it, but sometimes that’s already been done and it doesn’t work, so here we are.)

I also got their Sticky Notes, which I use in place of post-it notes when I can or when I’m not sure which notebook I want to use it in (or when I don’t have the notebook with me!)

While I love the Rocketbooks I have, there are definitely some downsides: the cover of the Mini warps over time*, although this wasn’t noticed during my use in college since textbooks constantly flattened them and my laptop being lugged across campus. I have a cover for my Rocketbook Core, so that one hasn’t warped since it’s closed when not in use (it’s also pretty bulky).

*They recently redesigned the Core and Mini covers and paper, so I’m not sure if this has been fixed. I’m also just a bigger fan of my Pros and use those more often these days, which seems to have more durable cover.

If you’re like me and press hard when writing, the pens leave a small indent in the paper. I don’t find that it bothers me and haven’t seen an issue when I scan notes, but your mileage may vary. The ink takes time to dry, usually about 10-15 seconds, so if you’re writing super fast and flipping pages just as quickly, your writing’s going to smudge. I already pause when I write, so it’s really just the pause between page flipping unless I’m writing angy thoughts, then I don’t care outside of letting my feels out.

Frixion pens use Thermo-sensitive ink, so if you leave your Rocketbook in a hot place, the writing will go away. You can get it back by putting it in the freezer for about 20 minutes, but it’s not a guarantee.

I’ve never noticed with my usage, but I’ve heard the ink goes out quickly. That being said, ink refills are affordable and about the price of a regular ballpoint refill, and sometimes you’ll catch them on sale for cheaper. I feel like the ink goes about the same amount of time that I would use with a regular gel pen, but I also use a variety of pens. While I might use one type of pen over another more often, I don’t have a specific daily driver.

Besides their own website, they also have some of their products on their Amazon storefront (affiliate link).

Undated Planners (Wonton in a Million)

I was minding my own business searching for Sailor Moon stationery when I came across Wonton in a Million and went down an absolute rabbit hole. This site’s absolutely adorable, and I especially love the food-related wordplay throughout the designs on the site like Steam Team for Dream Team and 7 Wontonders of the World for 7 Wonders. There’s even a whole Dimsum Town!

I didn’t need a planner at first, but recently I started finding a need for a planner again. The last time I used a bullet journal/planner was way back in 2022, which I stopped around March since that was when I started working from home most of the week and I didn’t need it. Based on the usage then and what I felt like I needed, a bullet journal wasn’t something I needed and I didn’t see a current need for a weekly one either that most planners default to. However, I did notice Wonton in a Million had a 12-month planner where it was just a yearly overview, pages for notes at the front and back (2 each), 12 monthly calendars, and 2 pages after each month.

I got the B6 Sakura one to give it a go for the rest of the year and half of next year, and so far, it’s perfect for my current needs. It gives me a yearly and monthly overview and some notes I can fill in for each month with things I need to keep in mind, schedule adjustments and other things in my life.

The downside is the 2026 planners are the last time they’re doing planners (absolutely valid), so now I’m on the hunt for a new one that has a similar function (I’m going under the assumption the other planners won’t be restocked). I might decide to give the Midori Monthly Diary from JetPens a go, but I’m not a fan of the note pages being possibly at the very end rather than between each month. The Laconic Style Monthly Notebook is another I’m looking at, but I also run into the same issue. That being said, they’re minor issues since I can use one of my Midori Index Clips I mentioned earlier to direct me to the notes for the month.

Another alternative: going back to bullet journaling and creating my own layouts (the notebook size doesn’t work for me, though), pulling out my discbound notebooks from college (same issue), or grabbing some blank Kraft notebooks (most likely something I’ll go with). I might also shop around Daiso and see if they might have something available.

(In the time between my taking these photos and the post going live, a good portion of the stickers has been used.)

STICKII Club

I love planner stickers for their variety, but I also hate how a lot of them include planner specific stickers that I’ll never use, so I’m stuck throwing them away most of the time (sometimes I have a friend or two that’ll happily take them, but there’s only so much they’ll take). I ended up checking out STICKII Club after seeing they had a sale for their 9th anniversary and loved the selection they had, so I eventually decided to go try out their subscription after browsing around.

They also sell their stickers individually if you use them more sparingly. I use stickers a lot, so while there’s a lot in given a month, I usually get through most of them. For items and sheets not my style, I send them off to friends who might like them or put them up for grabs at a stationery swap.

I especially love how there are three different packs and they provide spoilers of what each pack’s theme will be along with the stickers that are going to be included (and their artists!) rather than just a few teasers. They don’t reveal everything included – I’ve noticed they provide spoilers for all the sticker sheets but not the stationery items – but it’s enough that I can switch or skip if I prefer another pack or don’t like any of them.

BUKE Notebooks

No stationery/journalling related post is complete without talking about notebooks, and I do love a pretty notebook.

I stumbled across BUKE Notebooks (Amazon Affiliate Link) when I was searching for one I could use for Commonplacing, and both the cover design and edges of this particular one stuck out to me. I usually go for Notebook Therapy ones, which also have some pretty ones, but I personally feel like BUKE has more elaborate designs sometimes. Alternatively, there’s also Tiefossi, which I got one on Amazon (affiliate link) when I was getting my BUKE notebook, but I’ve not used it yet and can’t speak of my experience. The covers seem much sturdier than Notebook Therapy and BUKE, though. I also think some of their designs have too much going on, but that’s a personal preference and they have a couple more that’s my style.

These use bamboo paper, which is believed to be more environmentally friendly, and the notebooks generally come with 160gsm paper. I got the 180gsm one since a few reviews mentioned the 160gsm had slight ghosting – while I’m generally okay with ghosting and could test it out, I didn’t want to risk it for the usage I wanted it for.

The paper holds up pretty well! I’ve noticed pencils tend to erase cleaner and writing feels smoother; blending or layering with Tombows do cause pilling, but like with a lot of papers of similar thickness, it takes a few layers to start causing this. I don’t use fountain pens, but I have a few brush pens (aside from the dual brush Tombows) and they’ve all yielded good results when I tried them out for a few layouts.

They also have black paper journals as well, which I got in addition to the regular one. I haven’t used it yet, but I do have some Sakura gelly rolls that I used for my 2022 blackout journal in the few months I used it for, so I’m planning on using that after I complete my current one.

More Stationery!

I have little to say about the rest of my picks, so I compiled them into a section as a list. Most of these are washi tape, so the designs are subjective to your own personal tastes. (Although if we want to be honest, some of my other picks are also pretty subjective to your tastes. I just had more to say for them.)

Note: There are a few Canadian artists and small businesses listed here; please note they may suspend shipping to the US (temporarily or permanently) due to tariffs and the uncertainty regarding those.

• Prismacolor Kneaded Rubber Erasers (JetPens)
• BGM Washi Tape – Life – Puppy – 15 mm x 5 m (JetPens) – Like the Cinnamoroll case, I shared this because it was adorable.
• Milkteanco Washi Tapes – Milkteanco also has magnets, apparel, notebooks, and tote bags. Note that they’re based in Canada and don’t have free shipping.
• The Coffee Monsterz Co – It’s hard to choose which ones to feature since a lot of TCMC’s stuff goes out of stock quickly unless they’re during the preorder period or sticker sheets. So if you’re looking for washi tapes outside of that timeframe, they’ll likely be out of stock. TCMC is generally my go-to for plastic envelopes, folders, large doodle or icon stickers, and journaling cards. Like Milkteanco, they’re based in Canada and don’t have free shipping.
• Paper Echoes – Paper Echoes is a recent discovery of mine, and I think they may become one of my favorites — I love their art style. They also have notebooks, planners, washi tape and stickers. Like Milkteanco and TCMC, they’re based in Canada and don’t have free shipping.

I have a few more favorites as well, but I think I’ll save the rest for a possible future post!* (It’s kind of ironic I’m writing a post about buying things when I was just talking about overconsumption the other day…)

*An October Top Ten Tuesday non-bookish freebie would’ve been the perfect opportunity, but I’ll be on break. Next time, then!

What about pens and other writing utensils?

Like washi tapes, pens and writing utensils are super subjective — while a 0.5mm pen might work for me, it might not work for you! There’s a lot of content out there regarding good journaling tools and frankly, I don’t want to add to that because they’re already saying what I want to say.

(Then again, this post is kind of adding to that, but at least I feel like I’m adding something somewhat new to the conversation.)

I also want to encourage people to use what they have already before upgrading rather than getting what everyone else seems to be getting, especially if you’ve not journaled before. There’s genuinely nothing wrong with using Crayola SuperTips or Pen + Gear Fineliners. If you do want to dive right in, I usually get individual pens in the color I often use if I can rather than a whole pack so I can give them a try and see if they’re something I want to use.

Let’s talk!

I could yap all day about the writing tools and stationery I use for journaling! I’ll probably talk a little more about some of my current stationery favorites (and about pens!) in a future post about how my journaling styles have changed over the years, assuming that post doesn’t sit in the drafts for eternity.

Until then, let me know about your stationery favorites! Or if you have alternatives to the monthly planner since I’m hunting for one… I prefer B6 or A5 sizes. I think B6 might become a favorite, though.