advice for a newbie?

[tinkaton]

Hello! So I recently discovered the concept of a commonplace book, got really excited about it because I haven't journaled by hand since high school and every previous attempt of mine at keeping a planner/bujo has failed, and have now ended up here looking for advice. I've watched a bunch of YouTube videos of people showing off their own commonplace books to get ideas on content, setup, etc. and am curious what kind of supplies you guys would recommend for somewhat casual journaling? There's a lot more to consider about notebooks/pens than I realized before looking into the subject and I have basically no knowledge of paper types and fancy pens and whatnot.

For reference I've done a little browsing and I'm eyeing things like this Hobonichi Plain Notebook or this Leuchtturm1917 Hardcover (I'd probably want something medium size, with dot or grid paper), but I'd love to see what you guys prefer, or what pens you'd recommend, that kind of thing! Any advice you'd give for someone who's only previous notebook concern was whether the cover was cute or not lol.

(Any tips on commonplace books or journaling in general is welcome too! I love seeing how people prefer to set up their journals/how they like to decorate/etc.)

Comments

[havocthecat]

I do have excessively dry skin, so the amount of lotion I have to slather on daily is insane, I guess I should get lucky in one thing somewhere? I mean, I believe you in that it's a thing that happens! I'm just saying that I think I'm a statistical outlier and this is why. Though the blotting paper is a good idea on the ink transfer, I usually just deal with it by closing slowly and I don't always have time to.

[lunabee34]

*nods nods nods*

Which now that I've linked to an article that suggests buying fancy blotting paper, I feel compelled to say for anyone who might not know (which I know you do) that you don't need to buy blotting paper ever. You can just use a sheet of notebook paper or whatever.

[havocthecat]

It's true! You only need fancy blotting paper if you want fancy blotting paper!