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Home » Hustle Co Notebook Review

Hustle Co Notebook Review

January 3, 2019 2 Comments

 

 

Hustle Co Notebook Review

Hustle Co Notebook Review Heavy Bleeds for Crayola, Tombow & Water Pens is a Deal Killer | ChocolateMusings.com 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!

Hustle Co Notebook Review is it the perfect Bullet Journal? | ChocolateMusings.com Review

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.

Hustle Co Notebook Review Heavy Bleeds for Crayola, Tombow & Water Pens is a Deal Killer| ChocolateMusings.com Review

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.

Hustle Co Notebook Review - What Ink Works Well | ChocolateMusings.com Review

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!

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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:

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Chocolate Musings by Tricia Murdock
YouTube Video UCefWa0NWVt5a_q9LWofOWhw_yIQ4ggBQBsg From the Archives: Fun & Whimsical Bullet Journal Set Up - Ideas and Plants - Loose floral wreaths
Lots of spring-inspired doodles with pastel colors. I changed it up this month with horizontal weekly layouts.


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____________________


Products I Used: 
Daniel Smith Watercolor: https://amzn.to/3Ip8xbD
Princeton Velvetouch Paint Brushes: https://amzn.to/42IVnPQ
Archer & Olive A5 Dot Grid Notebook: https://archerandolive.refr.cc/triciam
Helix Circle Maker Tool: https://amzn.to/49kx5xY
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen: https://amzn.to/42MogKR



Video Set-Up:

Photography Lights (I use these for my everyday drawing). They're amazing https://amzn.to/2shdb4j
Canon PowerShot G7x Mark III Digital Camera https://amzn.to/3yt2lb4
Blue Yeti - USB Microphone https://amzn.to/2SNwb6a
Scissor Arm Mic Stand https://amzn.to/2CcGgm0






Contains affiliate links - if you use them, I may receive a small commission at no charge to you.
00:00 Introduction
00:12 Sneak Peek
00:33 Welcome Page
01:26 Monthly Calendar
02:42 Brain Dump
03:34 Weeklies
05:35 Journal
06:17 Habit Tracker
06:55 Flip Through
From the Archives: Fun & Whimsical Bullet Journal Set Up - Ideas and Plants - Loose floral wreaths
Lots of spring-inspired doodles with pastel colors. I changed it up this month with horizontal weekly layouts.


____________________

Brain Dump Names: https://chocolatemusings.com/different-names-brain-dump/

Social Links - Let's be Friends!
Website: http://ChocolateMusings.com
Shop: https://chocolatemusings.com/shop/
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChocolateMusings
Instagram: http://Instagram.com/chocolatemusingscreates
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ChocolateMusings/

____________________


Products I Used: 
Daniel Smith Watercolor: https://amzn.to/3Ip8xbD
Princeton Velvetouch Paint Brushes: https://amzn.to/42IVnPQ
Archer & Olive A5 Dot Grid Notebook: https://archerandolive.refr.cc/triciam
Helix Circle Maker Tool: https://amzn.to/49kx5xY
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen: https://amzn.to/42MogKR



Video Set-Up:

Photography Lights (I use these for my everyday drawing). They're amazing https://amzn.to/2shdb4j
Canon PowerShot G7x Mark III Digital Camera https://amzn.to/3yt2lb4
Blue Yeti - USB Microphone https://amzn.to/2SNwb6a
Scissor Arm Mic Stand https://amzn.to/2CcGgm0






Contains affiliate links - if you use them, I may receive a small commission at no charge to you.
00:00 Introduction
00:12 Sneak Peek
00:33 Welcome Page
01:26 Monthly Calendar
02:42 Brain Dump
03:34 Weeklies
05:35 Journal
06:17 Habit Tracker
06:55 Flip Through
From the Archives: Fun & Whimsical Bullet Journal Set Up - Experimenting with Watercolor Leaves in my Bullet Journal. Featuring 2-to-a-spread weeklies and a loosely painted watercolor theme - I hope this planning session inspires you to paint or to try something new.


00:00 Introduction
00:15 Welcome Page Wreath
01:41 Monthly Calendar Page
03:04 Habit Tracker & Monthly To Do Pages
05:47 Gratitude + Week 1
06:35 Weeklies
06:52 Brain Dump
07:15 Journal
07:42 Whoops! Adding a Page
09:06 Final Flip Through


____________________

Social Links - Let's be Friends!
Website: http://ChocolateMusings.com
Shop: https://chocolatemusings.com/shop/
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChocolateMusings
Instagram: http://Instagram.com/chocolatemusingscreates
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ChocolateMusings/

____________________


Products I Used: 
Daniel Smith Watercolor: https://amzn.to/3Ip8xbD
Princeton Velvetouch Paint Brushes: https://amzn.to/42IVnPQ
Archer & Olive A5 Dot Grid Notebook: https://archerandolive.refr.cc/triciam
Helix Circle Maker Tool: https://amzn.to/49kx5xY
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen: https://amzn.to/42MogKR



Video Set-Up:

Photography Lights (I use these for my everyday drawing). They're amazing https://amzn.to/2shdb4j
Canon PowerShot G7x Mark III Digital Camera https://amzn.to/3yt2lb4
Blue Yeti - USB Microphone https://amzn.to/2SNwb6a
Scissor Arm Mic Stand https://amzn.to/2CcGgm0






Contains affiliate links - if you use them, I may receive a small commission at no charge to you.
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Here's another #minimal #weeklylayout idea - use t Here's another #minimal #weeklylayout idea - use these cute day-of-the-week stickers, add the dates, and VIOLA! Your weekly setup is d.o.n.e.⁠ ✔️⁠
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Looking back at this February calendar page 📅 S Looking back at this February calendar page 📅 Sometimes simple is best!
Here's an easy-peasy heart layout. Add some paint Here's an easy-peasy heart layout. Add some paint splatters for extra color and fun!⁠
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Music: Walk⁠
Musician: @iksonmusic
What is your "Go to" word for lettering? Many peop What is your "Go to" word for lettering? Many people write "hi" or "hello". Love is the word I choose! 💗💖💗💗💖

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Happy Valentine's Day! To celebrate here are some Happy Valentine's Day! To celebrate here are some lovely strawberries and a pun 😅
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2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Bullet Journal, Get Inspired, Get Organized & Start Planning, Notebook Reviews, Product & Book Reviews Tagged: Bullet Journal, honest opinion, notebook review, product review, review, tombow markers, watercolor

Comments

  1. Ani says

    January 4, 2019 at 5:50 pm

    That’s one of the reasons I stopped using the tradition bullet journal notebooks and went to happy planner. Their paper is magical, and nothing bleeds through it. I hate bleeding and ghosting. I know a lot of people say they are ok with ghosting, but it just irks me. And bleeding is even worse than ghosting. Still I love to see your lettering 🙂
    Ani recently posted…December 2018 Recap – Ending the Year StrongMy Profile

    Reply
    • Tricia says

      January 6, 2019 at 9:30 pm

      Hey Ani! I had a happy planner once, and I didn’t have much to plan so I felt like there were so many unused pages. But I might have to get my hands on some paper to try it out.
      I am one who is ok with ghosting, only because I know how abusive I am to my paper.

      Reply

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About Me


Hi! I'm Tricia, the creative behind ChocolateMusings.com, I know how it feels to lose your inner muse. After years of darkness (which I call the dark ages of my life), I found my inner muse hiding in the forgotten corners of my soul, I vowed never to lose sight of her again.

Bullet journaling helped reignite the passion for art and living life again while organizing my days. I also discovered modern calligraphy and watercolor. Since then, my use of the bullet journal system has evlolved and I call it 'creative planning'. Here on the blog, I show you how to use your planner to ignite your inner muse and explore creativity and art while staying beautifully organized and living a joyful life.

I invite you to grab some good chocolate and dive into my musings. Let’s ignite your inner muse.

Read more on the about me page. You can also find my policies and disclosures here.

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