KiddyQualia Review: A5 Lined Rainbow Paper

I was in need of some more lined paper for my Filofax and decided to go with KiddyQualia's A5 36 sheets planner lined notepaper from etsy. I purchased the notepaper on February 15th and they were dispatched on February 23rd, I received the order on the 3rd of March. On the order it says she usually ships within 4-6 business days which is reasonable.

So this is what I received along with the line notepaper: a Ben Franklin quote, heart glitter stickers hamster sticker, bear sticker, and rabbit stickers. I really like when sellers/shops include a little thank you note or gift with your purchase, it makes it feel more special :)

These are all the lined notepaper colours, 2 pieces in each colours so 18 colours in total. They are a lot more sturdier than the Filofax notepaper, and the lines are slightly darker and go right to the edges of the paper.

A close up of the KiddyQualia blue lined notepaper on the left, and the Filofax blue lined notepaper on the right.

Here is the light and darker green pages from KiddyQualia in my Pink A5 Finsbury

The 36 pieces of notepaper don't take up too much space in my Filofax, and are quite pretty to view when the Filo is closed.

So overall I am happy with the purchase from KiddyQualia, and I would purchase from her again. The paper was £3.07 and the shipping was £5.52, with an overall price of £8.59. The only thing that slightly put me off from purchasing more was the shipping prices, but next time I will definitely email her about possibly combining shipping so I can get more for my money. The quality of the paper is a lot better than the Filofax paper, the colours are brighter, and the lines are darker and easier to see. I will definitely be buying her notepaper instead of Filofax notepaper from now on!

Have you ordered from KiddyQualia? What was your experience like?

Handwriting Training In My Filofax

I wasn't planning on doing a post about this as I didn't think people would be very interested, but I seem to have been proven wrong! Several people have requested to see my handwriting paper to help me train to write neater and in different styles. I only did this recently but it's already proving to be a big help as I can easily flick to the page when I feel my handwriting skills are slipping and I need a reminder in how I want to write >.<

So the first writing is called DigitalLove and it was from DaFont (this is a wonderful website filled with thousands of free fonts of all designs). I loved the simplicity of the font, the upper and lower case is the same design which was very handy as I didn't have to write two alphabets down.

The second writing is called TakeMeAwayBabe and is also from DaFont (FYI: I get all my fonts from here). Again this font is very simple, with the upper and lower cases are the same. I tend to mix both designs of DigitalLove and TakeMeAwayBabe together in order to create more of a personal handwriting style.

The third writing is called KG Eyes Wide Open and is also from DaFont. I wanted to find a neat and easy to read elegant handwriting which I could use as my 'fancy' handwriting (thank you notes etc).

The fourth and fifth writings are from a lovely lady called Suusi (WinterVictorian/Quiet Feather). She has one of the most beautiful, interesting, and unique handwriting styles I have ever seen! I am lucky enough to be her penpal and receive beautifully written letters from her. She posted a photo of her handwriting on Instagram which showed both her upper and lower case alphabet, and that is where I copied it from and got the inspiration. I mainly write my m's the same as her, but I still cannot master the e and s!!

This is the IG photo of Suusi's handwriting in both upper and lower case

So, do you use anything similar to help you practice your handwriting? It's a great and easy tool to help you practice and improve :)

My Favourite Pens + Papermate Inkjoy review

I know a lot of Filofax and Stationery users have their favourite pens and pen makes, so I thought I would make a post about mine. I only recently found what pens were my favourite, and I've also seen a few other Filofax users comment about how good these pens are too.

First up are my Papermate Inkjoy 100 1.0mm assorted pens which I bought from Staples last August. I bought them for a great price of £2.32 (the cheapest I can find on eBay is £3.35) and was very happy with the quality of the pens. I have never used the Papermate brand of pens before these, and they definitely made me a fan!

This is a review of all the pen colours. They write very smooth and don't smudge easily. Personally I find my handwriting changes with each pen I use, but these pens make my hand feel very comfortable and I tend to write neater with these pens. You don't have to press hard for the ink to come out either. The colours are bright but easy on the eye. I would definitely recommend these pens to everyone as they are very cute, easy to use and are a great price for 10 pens. And the pens fit inside my A5 Finsbury pen loops!

My second favourite pen is the Papermate Inkjoy Quatro 4 fun multi-colour of pink, purple. blue and lime green. I bought this pen from Morrisons for I believe £3.50 (but the cheapest on eBay is £3.34) Again this pen is very comfortable to use and my handwriting is generally always neat and easy to read with this pen. I am currently using it in my food diary (pink for the date, blue for the times, purple for what I eat, and green for how I feel). 

The above is the colours in writing. They are very easy to write with and are very smooth, the ink doesn't seem to dry up too quick so you don't have to check they work before writing. You don't have to push down hard for the pen to come out. When I bought this, it was an impulse buy in a "Ohh I've never tried these before but I've heard some good reviews on them so I'll try it out" way, and it definitely paid off! I am very happy with it and would recommend it. The only thing is the pen does not fit into the A5 Finsbury pen loops!

So what are your favourite pens to use? 

My Week #10

This week I loved my layout (if I do say so myself), and I apologise for the terrible lighting. I used the bunting washi tape I bought from chaoticstationery on IG which I love! I also got a bunch of goodies in a RAK which I'm also using (rainbow striped deco tape, floral and heart sticky notes). The heart stickers and two kawaii stickers were free in my order from KiddyQualia, the kitty sticky flags were from eBay (just search cute sticky notes and you'll find a bunch!) and the owl sticky note was from WHSmith.

How was your week?

Small Stationery Haul

So today I decided to go for a walk around my small town of Hereford. It doesn't have many shops so finding good stationery at reasonable prices is quite small. I spent around 3.5-4 hours walking around from shop to shop, looking for new stationery to try out. I bought 9 items which all added up to just under £16. I will talk you through what I bought and where I found them. The only thing I haven't photographed alone is the clear pocket which is in the first picture underneath everything else. I got it for £0.50 from Wilkinsons and I'll be using it for my Samaritan's training handouts and notes.

I have been searching for these awesome Knock Knock brand of sticky notes both in stores and online, with no success. But when I walked into Waterstones, I found several different designs for £2.99 each! Okay, it's pretty expensive, I would've preferred £2 or less then I would've bought more designs, but seeing as I cannot find these anywhere else I thought I'd get a pack of the design I liked the best. The other designs they had were Note To Self, OMG, and the Someday set. The sticky notes itself seems to be good quality and is able to stick well to my Filofax pages, however there isn't a great deal of space to write.

 I am still interested in getting more designs but I'd prefer a lower price... If you know any sellers or stores online, or if you're willing to send me some, please leave a comment or email me! 

This beautiful owl sticky note set was found in WHSmith. They had a range of cute stationery but their prices are way too high to buy them all (otherwise I definitely would!). I walked around the store looking for mainly sticky notes and stickers to use in my Filofax, or to send to penpals, and I found this one for £3.49. The price is very high, but I couldn't resist it. Owl stationery is VERY hard to find online and in stores, so I couldn't pass it up and I knew I would use it regularly. 

They seem to stick well to the pages, and have enough space to write on without having to write very small. I would recommend them, but make sure you are going to use them so not to waste that much money.

These washi tape sets were both from Wilkinsons and have been available for quite a while. My local Wilkinsons only open late last year, so I've only been to the store 2-3 times, and each time I would pick the washi tape up and then put it back down. I've seen other people use them with fairly good reviews. The sets cost £1.75 each which is reasonable as you get two washi tapes of different designs and sizes. They had 1-2 other designs but they weren't as nice as these two. 

When I stuck them down to my desk, they seemed to stick well and weren't very thin which is good. I definitely am going to use them in the future, and I am glad now I bought them. I would recommend them.

This cute pen is also from Wilkinsons and was a very good price of £1. I wasn't looking for pens specifically, but they were just too cute to pass up! Wilkinsons have other notebooks, notepads, pens, letter sets and so on in this design, and I would definitely recommend them. I don't use notebooks very often, but if I did I definitely would buy them!

The pen itself is comfortable to hold and write with, and the ink flows very nicely, but the ink doesn't dry very fast so it will likely smudge. For the price and the design, I would definitely recommend the pen for anyone who loves wildlife (and cute designs in general ^_^).

I have been looking for a nice white or clear pen holder to go on my white desk from Ikea, but I couldn't find anything big or nice enough. However, today I found this very nice pen holder in Wilkinsons for £2.50. I think this is a great price for the pot, seeing as plain and not as appealing pen pots in place such as Ryman and WHSmith are double the price or more. I have put the owl pen in there to show you how much room it has, but in the future I will be doing a desk tour post and it will feature the pot being fully used :) Wilkinsons also has other products in this design such as paper holders and magazine racks.

These simple address sticky labels are also from Wilkinsons at the price of £0.60 for 30 labels. They are going to be great for my penpal envelopes and were an unexpected but happy find! Whether you send out mail regularly, or just now and again, I would definitely recommend to get some of these because I guarantee these will come in good use!

And lastly, I bought these three lip balms from Wilkinsons for £0.99! ( know they're not stationery, but I thought they were a great and cheap find that I thought I would share. They come in the flavours strawberry, watermelon, and grape. I've currently tried the watermelon flavour so far and I can say that the lip balm is not too thick or watery, and the flavour isn't too overpowering or weak. I would definitely recommend them for people who get dry lips like myself :)

So that was what I spend nearly 4 hours buying, and I am pretty happy with all of the products. They are all going to come in handy and be put to good use. Let me know if any of you have bought things from either the stores mentioned (whether it's the same product I've bought or different) I would love to hear your reviews on them, and how you use it :)

10 Facts About Me!

I personally like to know people who run the blogs I like (not that I know of anyone who likes my blog ^.^) so I thought I would do a facts about me post so you can get to know me :) Any questions feel free to comment or email me!

1. I am currently 19 years old.
2. I live in a rural part of the UK on the borders of England and Wales. It takes about an hour to walk through the entire city, so you can imagine how small it is! There aren't very many shops here, so it's very hard to find stationery you're looking for.
3. I am in my last year in college studying Public Services and aspiring to become a qualified Paramedic. I feel I have a passion for first aid, and I love helping people in anyway I can.
4. I have 6 cats called Oki, Pepper, Shiloh, Penny, Luna, and Mila (I am not a crazy cat lady I must state!).
5. I don't drink, smoke, or take drugs.
6. I have recently started to read a lot, including the full Harry Potter series, and a few Stephen King books. Currently I have roughly 65 books.
7. I have had my tonsils removed in 2011 and appendix removed in 2013.
8. I have always had a big interest in stationery, planning, and organising. I found out about Filofaxes in the end of 2012 and bought my first one in January 2013 which was a Black A5 Identity (it now has a new owner in America). I bought my second and current Filofax in June 2013 which is a Pink A5 Finsbury.
9. I dye my hair very often, and I learned how to cut and dye hair at a young age.
10. I am a recovered anorexic and bulimic; I also have been diagnosed with depression and chronic anxiety which I take regular medication to control. I don't speak often of these issues, but I am more than happy to answer questions or share my experiences in order to help others understand what is it like to live and deal with one of those disorders everyday, and to help people who are struggling today.

My Week #9

This week was quite busy as you can tell. I had the day off work Monday which was nice.  I also received a RAK from Stephanie in Germany on Wednesday which was such a lovely surprise to come home too! I'm half way through my Samaritans training which I am enjoying so much, I've learned so many skills already :) I had to go on a long hike Thursday through muddy fields, forests etc and now I have a cold and cough :( I received my washi tape order from ChaoticStationery from Instagram which I will also have a review post for anyone thinking of ordering from her shop :)

How was your week? Did you do anything interesting or new?