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

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:

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:

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.

Negatives:

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.

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.

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!