Tumbitri Meri Notebook Review

July 9, 2020 Leave a Comment

Tumbitri Meri Notebook Review

Here is my thorough review of the Tumbitri Meri dot-grid notebook. I’ll answer if it’s good for bullet journaling and watercolor for creative planning. Plus let you in on all the statistics. Love an unboxing video? Check out the video below + bonus pen test results.

I’d love to know if there are any features you want me to test or describe. I hope you enjoy this product review!

Tumbitri Meri Notebooks

I’m always on the hunt for a new quality notebook. Someone in a Facebook group mentioned Tumbitri Meri, and I decided to check them out on Amazon. The book was reasonably priced, especially considering that it came with a metal ruler specifically designed for Bullet Journaling (or creative journaling whichever way you look at it).

Based on the pentest and first impressions, I’m excited to use this notebook for the next few months, and if all goes well, I’ll reorder it again!

FYI: This post is NOT sponsored. I purchased the notebook with my own money with the intent to use the notebook as a bullet journal for the next few months.

Overall Impressions of the Tumbitri Meri Notebook:

Tumbitri Meri Notebook (in purple) Review with box & ruler | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #notebookreview #productreview

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the Tumbitri Meri notebook. And impressed with the quality of the paper. The only bleeding issues I had would be easily avoided and would not be an issue for daily use or under most circumstances.

UPDATE: After regular use of the notebook & creating several spreads, I found that using a water pen with watercolors and markers caused some bleeding. It also bled slightly when I was too heavy-handed with Tombow Dual Brush Markers.

The Tumbitri Meri notebook would be great for Instagram photos since the pages do not ghost and are already bright white with their small, medium gray dot grid.

The pages are smooth and luxurious to the touch. The notebook has more pages, 220, vs. 160 in most other journals.

*Side note: they have 180 page / 120 gsm notebooks as well. I did not test that version.

The available colors are limited, but I read in the Amazon description that a one-woman show runs this notebook/company. It’s not a big corporation, so I get why there are limited colors/versions and I like to support small businesses.

Positives:

Tumbitri Notebook Review - 220 Pages + small medium-gray dot grid with 160 GSM thick paper - sounds like a great combination for Bullet Journals | ChocolateMusings.com #productreview #notebookreview #tumbitirmeri

I love the ruler that comes with the planner. It is specifically created with 5mm dot grids in mind so creating spreads in your bullet journal is a breeze!

The paper is so smooth and bright. It holds up to most pens and markers, and they glide beautifully on the sheets. The dot grid is just subtle enough to serve as a guide and doesn’t stand out when taking pictures.

With no ghosting or bleeding under regular use, I’m looking forward to painting, planning, and doodling in this notebook. With 220 pages, I know that I’ll get some great use out of collections as well.

Gold Metal Bullet Journaling Ruler comes with the Tumbitri Meri Journal - Check out the Notebook Unboxing & Review | ChocolateMusings.com #notebookreview #pentest #unboxing

Negatives:

Golden Ruler! This notebook rules with it's golden ruler + ruler pocket | ChocolateMusings.com #productreview #ruler #goldenrule

Tumbitri Meri Notebook - Blank Outlined/Lined Index Page | ChocolateMusings.com #bulletjournal #index #productreview

Tumbitiri Meri Notebook Review - Dark Numbers on each page | ChocolateMusings.com #productreview #notebookreview #bulletjournal

The index pages are darkly lined and outlined. I also did not like how dark the numbers were in the corners of the pages. My preference is that all markings in the book are subtle enough to be noticeable when I want them, but fade away when I don’t need them.

One other thing I didn’t like was that the front pocket for the ruler makes the first few pages a bit bumpy. But once you get 10 or more pages in, you don’t really notice it unless you are related to the princess and the pea. Ultimately, none of these factors are game-stoppers for me.

Watch the Unboxing & Pen Test Page Results Below:

Review of Tumbitri Meri Notebook Statistics:

*Anything Marked CM are my own assessments

Notebook Size: I would dub it as A5+ (measures just larger than the usual A5 notebook but has the same grid size as A5) – 5.5 inches wide x 8.25 tall.
Measurements: Each sheet measures 14 cm x 20.9 cm (140mm x 129mm) or 5.5 x 8.25 inches.
Pages: 220
Numbered Pages: Yes (the numbers are very dark on the page)
CM Page Smoothness Scale: 95/100
CM Page Brightness Scale (how white the pages are): 95/100
Dot Grid: yes
Dot Size: Small
Grid Darkness: Medium
Pen Loop: Yes (on Spine)
Page Markers: 3
Back Pocket: Yes + BONUS front pocket for the included metal ruler
Index Pages: 4 (Lined within an enclosed box)
Key Page: No
Designated Pen Test Page: No
Owner/Contact Info Page: Yes
Page GSM: 160
Dot Grid: 27 dots wide per page x 39 dots tall per page which is 26×38 spaces per page or 52×38 spaces per spread
Binding: Stitched Layflat Binding
Cover Embellishments: Debossed symbol on the front painted in gold and debossed brand name on the back
Removable Pages: No. The listing on Amazon said the last eight pages were perforated and detachable. The notebook I received did not have perforated pages. But I don’t care about that. I never remove pages anyway.

Extras: The book I bought came with a gorgeous gold-colored metal ruler with shapes designed specifically for bullet journaling. I’m excited to try it out!

** Please note that there are other versions with different paper options (page numbers/gsm) available from this seller.

Pen Test Result:

Bleed: Yes – minimal (see below)
Ghosting: No

Need to know what the difference is between bleeding and ghosting? Check out this post.

Disclaimer: I don’t use fountain pens, so I don’t test for fountain pen usage. But I do watercolor and blend with markers, so I use a heavy hand on my pen test pages, so I know what the limit is while using the notebook regularly.

As long as you don’t multi-layer Tombow markers and try to blend them with the colorless blender or water pen, a single marker layer doesn’t bleed through to the other side. In addition, if you don’t slather your page with water before using watercolor pigment, these pages seem to stand up wonderfully to everything else.

The page bled when I layered multiple dark Tombow Dual Brush Marker colors and tried to blend them with the colorless blender and with a water pen. It also bled when I tried a wet wash on the paper with just water.

When using watercolor pigment and a large amount of water, the paper did not bleed, and the colors seemed to blend nicely on the page. I added multiple layers of watercolor while the page was wet and was pleasantly surprised that it held up and did not bleed.

Products Used on the Pen Test Page:

Tumbitri Meri Notebook – https://amzn.to/3fZAlmk
Tombow Dual Brush Pens + Colorless Blender – https://amzn.to/2YBw0QG
Water Pen – https://amzn.to/3g3Se3v
Pentel Sign Felt Tip Pens – https://amzn.to/31nAImU
Zebra Rollerball 0.5 mm pens – https://amzn.to/2VrsfLs
Papermate Inkjoy – https://amzn.to/387jH1o
Sakura Micron Pen – https://amzn.to/3ibdDJS
Zebra Technical Pen – https://amzn.to/2CEvJDR
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen (black) – https://amzn.to/31uo45k
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen (colors) – https://amzn.to/2Nzmc3f
Zebra Brush Pens + Highlighters https://amzn.to/2B8kXFP
Pentel Sign Brush Pen – https://amzn.to/2VqeTzd
Pentel Milky Pop – https://amzn.to/3i4nwcB
Sakura Gelly Roll White – https://amzn.to/2B6aVF7
Marie’s Watercolor – https://amzn.to/3dFCK40

Would I recommend Tumbitri Meri Notebooks?

After I reviewed a Tumbitri Meri notebooks, I would say yes! I would absolutely recommend a Tumbiri Meri journal to bullet journal enthusiasts. You could use it for everyday use as a bullet journal & creative planner. You could successfully use it as a doodle book with all types of technical pans and light painting. Overall the review on the Tumbitri Meri book is outstanding!

EVO Planner Review

September 5, 2019 Leave a Comment

EVO Planner Review

In this post, you’ll find my initial EVO Planner Review as I start using it for the next 90 days. This post is not sponsored – all opinions expressed are my own.

I’m a sucker for planners, notebooks, and school supplies in general. I love trying out new planners and journals. Honestly, the stacks of notebooks I’ve acquired don’t bother me. I came across the EVO planner, I was intrigued. They have four different types of planners suited for different brain types. I did the free assessment and discovered that I am an alchemist.

EVO Planner Review: What is it & Why is it Different?

The EVO Planner started out on Kickstarter, after funding, they moved it to their website and Amazon. The EVO Planner has 4 different planner types – one for each brain type. I have to admit that it is the part that really intrigued me. I have trouble starting too many projects and finding shiny objects to distract me regularly.

EVO Planner Review – 4 Brain Types

To determine which type of planner you receive, first, you’ll take an assessment to determine what your brain type is. I am an alchemist. There is also Explorer, Oracle & Architect.

An alchemist needs novelty, discovering patterns, exploring different possibilities, inventing and creating original work, competence across many areas. Some strengths: Creative problem-solving, inspiring others, playing multiples roles at once. Weaknesses: getting bored & distracted quickly, always wanting to switch to a new project, putting things off, restricting structure imposed by others, starting a project, and not finishing them.

Well. If we haven’t been introduced, then this little book just exposed my darkest and deepest secrets to the universe. So it seems they got something right.

Take their free quiz from their website projectevo.org to find out what your EVO Planner brain type is – you’ll likely learn about yourself. My husband found out that he was an Architect brain type. Which, according to the brain type assessment means we work together well.

FYI – They will add you to their marketing list, and if you don’t want to hear from them again after your assessment, unsubscribe. You can also check out the EVO Planner on Amazon. It comes with access to their app since promotions change, you’ll need to verify if access to the app is still free with the purchase of the planner.

EVO Planner Review: Planner Layout

Since there are four different planners, each will be structured a little differently. This is my experience with the Alchemist planner.

EVO Planner - A Peek Inside | ChocolateMusings.com #evoplanner #productreview #plannerreview

Planner Stats:

Each planner starts with an overview of the brain types and how to use the book. The planner contains:

Monthly Calendar for 3 Months (actually it has 4 months, but it’s intended to be used for 90 days)
14 Weekly Planning & Review Pages
90 Daily Planning & Review Pages
9 Notes Pages at the End
2 Bookmarks – one labeled weekly & the other labeled daily to keep your place within the book
Unnumbered, Undated Pages
App for Scanning Your Daily & Weekly Progress. It will keep track of the scores you give yourself and give some incentive for continuing in your goals.
Dimensions 8 3/7″ x 5 1/8″ or 21cm x 13cm
Colors Available – at the time: Navy with Copper Accents & Copper Guilded Pages

On one of the first pages (after they give a breakdown of how to use each page), you pledge to use the planner for the next 90 days and using their app. I signed my name, so I was committed.

They bind you by your own word to use the planner and app for 90 days. I have to admit, that’s the reason why I came back to this planner after I signed it because I figured I’d already committed to giving it a go and if I’d like to order it in the future.

Find more plan with me ideas | ChocolateMusings.com #planwithme #ideas

Here are the Pros and Cons (so far) of the EVO Planner

EVO Planner Brain Types - Planner Review | ChocolateMusings.com

Pros (What I Like)

A big plus for me when using the EVO Planner is how much I actually focus. This notebook makes you sharpen your attention. You have to decide what is most important, and then it makes you accountable for how much time each activity will take.

I habitually over-plan and carry my to-do list over though the week and sometimes month. Knowing how much time an activity will take upfront made me set real priorities. I didn’t add an item to the to-do list unless it was a true priority and I could reasonably get it done. Once finished, there’s a feel-good checkmark box to move on to the next task. (I think this is different in each brain type planner).

Daily Section: Gratitude

Something that I’ve wanted to start is a gratitude journal. Each EVO Planner has a section for gratitude every day. You may find it a little awkward to sit and think of something to be grateful for each day, I find that it adds mindfulness to the start of each day.

Daily Gratitude | ChocolateMusings.com #productreview #evoplanner

Daily Pages

I’ve never used a daily planner, only weekly planners – so completing one page daily was a little different. But I really liked it! It might be something I will include in my planner in the future.

Daily Quote

They say that each daily quote is specific to your brain type. I like quotes and I like the ones in my planner so far.

Cons (What I Don’t Like)

The App

The app scanner was slightly off. I scribbled in a 7, and it gave me an 8 or 9 instead. Correcting it within the app at the time of scanning, however, was very easy. You just change the rating. I didn’t find that you could change the scan once you’ve saved unless you scanned it again and overrode the daily submission.

There was a spot on the daily scan called “monthly ritual” I wasn’t sure what that was until I downloaded the app. It’s basically a monthly goal you want to do daily to help you achieve a bigger purpose. Mine is to write for at least 10 minutes every day.

What I Miss

What I miss about my bullet journal are my future logs, habit trackers, and journal pages. I also feel like some of the to-dos that aren’t as urgent could get lost. Although there are small areas for notes and ideas and places to write about your wins & plans for the day and week personally, I like to record deeper feelings and events with my family. I would need to have a secondary notebook to keep alongside this notebook.

EVO Planner Close Up | ChocolateMusings.com #evoplanner

Want More Product Reviews? | ChocolateMusings.com #productreviews

EVO Planner Review: Conclusion

In conclusion to my EVO Planner Review, if you were to ask me right this minute if I would buy another planner for the next 90 days, I would say probably not. Only because I miss my other pages so much even though I can tell that I have a greater focus on the projects I want to finish.. We will see as this experiment goes on!

What Else Should I Review | ChocolateMusings.com #productreviews

Hustle Co Notebook Review

January 3, 2019 2 Comments

Hustle Co Notebook Review

Confession

I’m addicted to buying and trying new notebooks. In search of the perfect notebook that will withstand my heavy-handed marker blending and watercoloring (find out how I use markers to watercolor here!), I decided to buy a notebook that advertised thick pages. Spoiler: I’m still searching for my perfect notebook and late setting up my January bullet journal!

This particular notebook is by Hustle Co & the pages are very thick and smooth but do not have any coating on them, so any blending or heavy use with markers bleeds through. I can see the markers or the water soaking into the pages on the first stroke.

Test Page Result

You can see on my test page, all the markers bled through. Crayola markers, Tombow Dual Brush Pens, and water pens all have a significant bleed. That’s a deal killer for me.

Other Features – is it all BAD?

The Hustle Co Notebook has 160 numbered pages. The one I purchased is A5 with a 5mm dot grid pattern. The grid is 26 spaces wide by 39 spaces tall per page. (I call spaces the middle parts between the dots). For a spread, it is 52 spaces wide.

The pen loop is on the spine of the book, which I think is really innovative. There is one bookmark, an elastic band to close the book. On the back cover, there’s a pocket for keeping loose papers. Mine came with a plastic ruler with centimeters & inches. The texture of the cover almost feels rubbery, the spine is dark blue and the front and back covers are matte black. The pages are off-white, just a shade darker than the Scribbles That Matter notebooks, but about the same color as a Leuchtturm.

The pages are very thick and it feels like a great notebook! It did withstand the Dr. Ph Martin’s Copperplate Gold I painted on the key and there was no bleed with the ink on the reverse of the key page.

What Didn’t Bleed

Papermate Flair pens, Pigma Micron pens & Tombow Fudenosuke pens did not bleed and there was minimal ghosting with the thickest lines from the Fudenosuke pens. I think it can’t handle anything water-based with a lot of ink flow.

I inked a couple of fountain pens with Noodler’s purple ink (a Lamy Fine point & a medium nib Konrad Flex Demo). The fine nib didn’t bleed, the medium nib wanted to bleed, but didn’t. I think it would bleed if you applied any more thin-ink to the page.

I also tried gel pens & some new Bic Roller Glide pens I found one day (which bled through horribly in all my other notebooks). Both the gel pens and the roller glide pens were great!

In Summary:

I really wish this notebook didn’t bleed! Since this notebook won’t work for my daily needs, I’ll have to postpone my January Bullet Journal set up. I thought I found a gem when I bought it because of the advertised thick pages. If you don’t blend Tombow Markers or use multiple layers when coloring with Crayola Markers, the price is very good for the thickness of the paper and might work wonderfully for you.

I decided to turn it into a book-reading log instead of wasting the notebook and will be very careful when I watercolor on pages and skip a page between if needed. I’ll post a video set up of the reading log this week – which I am very excited to share with you.

Oh Well…On to the next notebook to try!

What notebook do you use? Do you love it or does it flop? I’m on a search to find the perfect notebook that withstands Tombow Marker blending, light watercoloring with water pens. Leave a comment with your suggestions. I’d love to check them out!

Check out the products I used/referenced here:

Product Review: The Black Page Journal

September 27, 2018 3 Comments

Oh my goodness! It’s been a while. After an unexpected break from all things (except surviving and trudging through the days) in my life, I am so glad to sit down at my computer and write my thoughts. The last couple of months have been a whirlwind of emotions and adjustment. It took much longer for my kids to get acclimated back to school and figure out a schedule. I think it’s safe to say we have our schedule pretty well figured out, just in time for it to change for the holidays. But to the real reason for this post – a Product Review for The Black Page Journal.

Product Review for The Black Page Journal

I’m excited to do something a little different – a product review of the latest notebook I’m trying out! It’s a black page dot-grid notebook, larger than the normal A5s and a really fun experiment. I thought it was completely appropriate for October & Halloween. I planned on using this notebook for September and October. This notebook was purchased with my own money, and all opinions are mine, I was not compensated for my opinion.

Watch the Product Review below – and subscribe to my YouTube Channel!

Book Stats – The Black Page Journal:

Roughly 7×10 inches or 180 mm x 255 mm
100 un-numbered pages
30 dots across per page x 45 dots down per page
- I count square sections made by dots not dots themselves – so to me, it is 29×44
Approximately 5mm dot grid with gray dots (the grid is not precisely 5mm)

My Thoughts:

The quality of the journal could be better – a majority of the pages were cut at a slight angle, so there are some white edges on a lot of the pages. Some cuts are worse than others. Having run a copy center for 9 years, I know the process and would have made one of my employees redo the job or adjust the cuts if possible. However, if this were a white-page notebook, I wouldn’t have been able to tell.

You can’t use a pencil to sketch out your designs because the eraser leaves marks on the page, so everything had to be freehand. Later, I discovered that I could use a black pen to replace my correction tape in my regular journals and correct mistakes. Which, if you’ve seen my YouTube videos, I try to leave any and all mistakes in the editing. One reason to show how to fix mistakes and the second to show you that I’m not perfect, nor do I claim to be.

The pages are a little rough in comparison to the notebooks I typically use. I wouldn’t use a brush pen on them anyway since it’s a black page journal, so that doesn’t really matter. White gel pens stood out, and so did other colors. (I linked the products I used below – check them out). After doing the video review, I used Prisma colored pencils and was astonished at how well the colors stood out and popped off the page. I would definitely use more white and pastel colors for future pages of color pencil.

Conclusion – Would I buy it again?

All in all, I paid about $5 USD for the book. It was a great experiment and if I wanted a black page journal again, I would probably buy it for the same price, but I’d think twice if the price went up and I knew the quality stayed the same. I loved the color pencils and how the gel pens contrasted with the black pages and want to try out some more dark paper specifically for the pens and pencils. If you buy one, make sure to carry a gel pen so you can use your notebook anywhere!

By the way, if you want a good laugh, look at the description on Amazon for the book. I didn’t read it before I bought it, I got a good chuckle from the description.

Products Used on the Test Page for the Journal (affiliate links):

(** are products I like the most on this journal)

Black Page Journal

From the Pen test Page:

**Metallic Bullet Pens – Classy Shop – bit.ly/cm-metallicbullet use Choc15 for 15% off discount
**Metallic Brush Pens – Classy Shop – bit.ly/cm-metallicbrush use Choc15 for 15% off discount

Pilot Silver Marker
Pentel Gold/Silver Gel Pens
Sharpie Metallic Fine Point Markers – Copper, Gold, & Silver

**Uniball Signo White Broad Pen
**Pentel Milky Pop 4-pack Gel Pens
Sakura Gelly Roll

Prismacolor Pencils

**Helix Circle Maker – One of my all-time favorite products
Pentel Click Eraser Stick
Eraser
Kneaded Eraser
Micron Pens

Chalkboard Sticker (desk)

——–
Logitech WebCam
Microphone Blue Yeti
Camera Tripod
Adobe Premiere Elements/Photoshop
——–

How to Turn a Ring Planner into a Traveler’s Notebook for $12

April 15, 2018 3 Comments

Traveler’s Notebook

So, I did a thing. I’ve wanted a Traveler’s Notebook ever since Kara from BohoBerry.com introduced them on her channel. If I logged my hours looking at different options, well, I don’t even want to know how much time I’ve spent. That’s why I didn’t record my hours. (Watch the video on her channel here).

I could never convince myself to just to buy one, without testing it out to see if I liked it. I create my own pages sometimes, and especially for my blog, it is easier to use printed templates than it is to recreate it every time (trackers which are big and cumbersome on a page).

Separation of the Journals

This month, I separated my long-term collections from my planning journal so I could keep the collections for a more extended period and hopefully stretch out the planner journal longer too. (Read the post here.) But how great would it be to have a financial planner insert, current travels insert, maybe an art journal or a doodle calendar insert?

I had pushed aside the thoughts of buying a traveler’s notebook and thought I was past it. Until we ran some errands today and stopped at Hobby Lobby. That store and Michael’s are the bain of many well-crafted financial spread trackers. I wandered down the tote aisle, and I found a planner tote. Had it been black and white, I would have bought it. I thought I was safe, but then I turned around.

But it Has Rings!

Then I found a planner (with rings) that was on clearance for $10 when it was usually $40. Remembering a video that I had seen a while back from Alexis (strangecharmed.com) on how she removed the rings from a binder and used it for her disc-bound system. Even though it’s a how-not-to video, I followed what she did, and it was perfect. (Watch that video here.)

The Process Before & After

Alexis’ process of removing the rings worked perfectly. I didn’t even have to hammer as she did (probably because my planner was more cheaply made than hers). I didn’t have the little discs on the outside, but they were glued on the inside to some cardboard. They were quickly removed with a pair of pliers.

Once the rings were removed, I still needed to thread the elastics through. I thought about poking a hole through the outside and feeding the elastics through those holes (and it would have been easier if the holes went all the way through the cover). But I didn’t want to poke holes if they weren’t already there.

How I Threaded the Cord Through

This is where it got a little complicated. I measured the cords (and actually measured them way too long to start). There needed to be a way for the ties to go through one hole and out the other. I found some bamboo skewers in my kitchen drawer with a pointy end and fed it through the hole.

Well, that worked, but how do I get the laces through? I tried to tape them to the skewer. The tape came free in the middle while I was lacing it. Again, hubby to the rescue! He got a tiny drill bit and drilled a hole through one of the skewers so I could thread the stick like a needle. It worked perfectly.

Now for the Rest

So I pushed the skewer through the slots again and pulled the cord through. Yes! I had one elastic for my notebook. Well, I tend to go over the top with everything I do. I wanted 6 inserts because I’m crazy. I tried the needle trick again, but it got stuck in the wrong place! Hubby suggested I tie the one already pulled through to the others and just drag them. It wasn’t the prettiest solution (the knot was too big), but it worked.

Tie It Off

After consulting my friend, Patti, (asarye.com) who has a ‘real’ traveler’s notebook (by the way it is GORGEOUS check it out) on how tight the bands were, I tied them off and added my journals. For $12 and a little finagling, I think it worked out great! I love the black and white stripes on the outside and the polka dot on the inside.

How I’ll Use It

I added one A5 notebook to the inside. I could comfortably fit two notebooks (without any inserts) if I wanted. Or I could just have one journal and {up to} 5 inserts. It looks like I’m going to have to get designing some inserts! One other amazing thing about this cover is now I can take my journals from Ampersand By Kiki B out and about with me – they will be all snug in their cute, striped cover.

The Result

I am super thrilled with the way this turned out. Loosening those top ‘buttons’ I thought was going to be the hardest thing, but that turned out pretty easy with the mini-screwdriver. Hubby was a fantastic help and threading the laces through using the skewer was such a good idea!

My only concern is that the inside will tear as the bands are slightly tugged on, I will have to think about that!