What excites you? What things or activities give you that extra boost in the morning to help you wake up?

For some, it is the thought of going to their new job. For others, it’s exercising to be fit. I know people who starts their day dressing up and looking good to help them face their day better. It gives them that extra motivation to start their day.

For crafters, new supplies make them kilig. Kilig: that unexplainable, excited feeling that makes you want to make a happy dance. That feeling that makes you want to jump, scream, and talk about the thing over and over again. Yeah, like what I’m doing now. So, let me show you some craft items I got recently.

FIRST CRAFT HAUL | ERASABLE GEL PENS

Why? Because I have kids who are now using pens and sometimes, they just need to erase what they have written and using the white correction pens make it even messier,  to the point that it sometimes makes a hole, you know what I mean? So, erasable pen it is.

Does it really erase the gel pen ink? 

Yes, it perfectly does its job well on the erasing part.

However, there’s one thing I’m not fully happy about it. I’m not sure if you will mind it, though. The thing is, the ink is lighter than the usual black-inked gel pens. I am looking for a deep black, but what I saw when I started trying it on the paper was a bit of a grey color. I will still use it for all the other extra things I do like quick notes and scribbles, but I won’t be using it as my main pen for writing on journals and important information. 

SECOND HAUL | STICKERS

I saw these travel stickers on Shopee while trying to add something to fill my cart. I’ve always wanted this vintage look, but the theme seemed something I wouldn’t be using because I am not traveling anymore—my thoughts started floating.

So, I kept thinking.

Maybe there’s a way on how I can use these stickers in a different way.

Okay, I’ll just use them on my journal as prayer points for countries. I imagined smoothening that Japan sticker on the upper left side of my notebook and then bullet points of things I could pray for about Japan under the sticker. You know, when you want something, you’ll find anything to justify your purchase. I just chose a higher cause, I wanted to pat myself on the shoulder for thinking well, but at the same time hit my head with a hand fan for using prayer as reason to buy the sticker. 🤣

Oh, well. It is now here. To pray, I shall go. 😁

This travel pack is still vintage. Have I told you I like vintage? In this set, I just really wanted the earth, camera, and compass. I don’t know where I’ll use the rest. I can’t use it for prayer, I have used that lifeline for the first set stickers. The rest are related to traveling and famous landmarks in the world like Taj Mahal, London telephone, Paris, etc. I’ll post it once I have used it.

Or maybe you have ideas? Write them in the comment section. Don’t say bucket list, though because even if many people go there, it has never crossed my mind to add them in my bucket list yet.

I’ve use the stickers in my previous post BOOK| 100 YEARS FROM NOW.

THIRD CRAFT HAUL | KRAFT NOTEBOOK

Brown kraft notebooks have been my go to for journals lately. I always buy the dotted notebooks to help me have a guide for lines when writing.

I like that it is not thick. It is enough for a month or two if you are using it for journal or planner. I used to have a thick dotted notebook, but I had a hard time bringing it with me because it fills my entire bag. Plus, it is heavy. Thin ones are great if you need something that you can bring outside or in meetings.

You are probably wondering why the need for a specific notebook? Can an ordinary notebook do? Magsusulat ka lang ang dami mo pang arte. (You are just going to write, why all the fuss?) You probably want to say that to me. Well, I keep telling that to myself as well. One must remember though, that every person is different. You might like a specific brand of t-shirt, or you might want to have that smooth feel as you type on your keyboard, or a distinct smell in your car —that’s you. I find it fussy, because I don’t mind all those.

For someone who loves writing, the quality of pen and paper matters. We can write and finish what we need to do without the other craft supplies, but we can also write happily with them. There’s just this satisfying feeling when you have both.  

FOURTH HAUL | DOUBLE SIDED TAPE GLUE ROLLER

When I was living in Saudi Arabia, buying craft materials was really difficult. Before it becomes available there, new products have already come out. If we ship from China, the shipping costs higher than the product. Now, buying craft materials are way easier. I type the product and almost all the time, the products appear in Shopee. This double sided adhesive roller is an example. No one was selling it there back then. I think even in the Philippines, they are not selling it in the bookstores.

Anyway, I’ve seen this in most of the craft videos in Youtube and since I don’t like working with liquid glue or glue stick, especially for small paper, then this is something you need to add to your cart. No mess at all. It is like a correction pen, but instead of white, a very thin double-sided sticky tape adheres to the paper and then you can press on top of it the paper that you need to stick. They are so clean to work with.

How about you? Do you also like notebooks, pens, and other craft materials? If not, what items are not needed by others, but gives you excitement to have?

Browse other people who journal with stickers:

• Aina Kristina (One of my favorites)
• Journal with me | Aesthetic Vintage Spread
• Constance Goh
• Printables & Inspirations

Where to buy the products in this post:

• Erasable gel pens
• Dotted kraft notebooks
• Double sided tape roller
• Travel Stickers