Creative Kit for Journaling — the Basics

If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you know that I’m in the midst of moving apartments. And even though I’m technically moving to a larger space with a real studio, I’m doing a lot of downsizing. And I mean a lot of downsizing. Collecting clutter sort of comes with the territory of ADHD, whether related to a difficulty focusing for long enough periods, or to the desire to have all of the things whenever you take on a new hobby or craft. Raise your hand if that I will immediately become an expert in this desire has ever gripped you in its powerful talons.

No, not your particular brand of neuro-spicy behavior? Well, maybe this visual will help me explain.

Oh, you expected to see a neat, clean, minimalist craft cart? No, not in this house. At least, not before a lot of work. What this cart represents is my #plannerlife journey up to this point, including through the pandemic and now two moves, and all the little obsessions I’ve had along the way. Pens and markers, washi tape, stickers, inserts and worksheet pages, specialty journals, and then inevitably as I moved on to the next shiny thing that didn’t actually fit on my cart anymore it became a DOOM Pile (Didn’t Organize, Only Moved), and you’ll see an old external hard drive, lanyards, and some miscellaneous craft items that didn’t have a home ended up there, too.

So I’m going back to basics. As I declutter this cart and make it useful in my studio again, I thought it would be good to lay out exactly what those basics are. If you’re just getting started with journaling for creativity and mental health, what exactly do you need without going overboard?

Standard disclaimer applies: These are only my recommendations, and there is no right or wrong answer here. The best tool for you is the one that you’re excited to use. But if you vibe with my suggestions, I’ve included links to my favorites. This is not a sponsored post, but as an Amazon affiliate and Silk&Sonder ambassador, I may earn a small commission on some items.

Let’s get to it!

1. A Guided Journal

If you’re just getting started, I cannot stress enough the benefits of picking a planner with a selection of different guided prompts, such as Silk&Sonder. This gives you a chance to explore different aspects of journaling, such as habit trackers, guided writing prompts, coloring pages, daily-, weekly-, and monthly layouts, and finance planning. You may not use every single page, or you may repurpose some of them — for instance, these days I turn the sleep tracker in my Silk&Sonder journals into a workout log.

But by getting yourself one of these, instead of a standard bullet journal that can give you blank-page-paralysis, or a specialty planner related to only one topic, you get the best of all worlds. A little bit of everything so you can see what you find joy in and what helps the most. The other great thing about Silk&Sonder compared to other planners that I’ve used, especially as it relates to ADHD, is that you receive monthly journals, rather than purchasing one yearly planner. This means you get 12 separate start points, and if you fall out of the habit for a while it’s much easier to pick it up again when a fresh journal arrives.

2. Marker or Gel Pens

A good pen makes all the difference in finding joy in hand writing. Memory time: I used to pick out pens everywhere I saw them— Michael’s, office supply store, grocery shopping, dollar tree at the mall. My favorite then and now are Pilot G2s. Perfectly minimalist, very smooth writing, but still available in a variety of colors.

For a more colorful journal experience, you’ll want markers. A good highlighter set is a must, but for the most part my marker collection consists of Tombow Dual Brush Pens. The brush tips are moderately firm, ideal for hand lettering. They also come in just about every color under the sun, including pastels that can double as highlighters if you prefer a non-traditional (less neon) color pallet. They are available as single markers, or in packs of 6, 10, and 20 colors. If you’re following my Instagram right now, you’re seeing the Just Peachy set. On the other side of the dual-tip is a fine-tip monoline good for underlining if you prefer that to highlighting.

New to my kit, but definitely ranking high enough to list here, are my Primrosia dual-tip brush pens. At $44 (at time of writing) for 100 colors, these are significantly less expensive than the Tombows, and while otherwise very similar, these have one great advantage for the beginning journaler: their fine-tip monoline is significantly finer, resembling a pen more than a marker. Now, I can’t speak to the longevity of these as I haven’t had them as long as my Tombows, and some reviews do mention that they dry out, but if you’re brand new to journaling and looking for one multi-use tool, this would be my pick.

3. Stickers

This is probably the easiest thing to go overboard on if you start collecting. I certainly did, and this is what I found: Different sticker sets will compliment different planner styles. There are so so so many talented independent sticker artists out there, and some will even specialize in specific planner sizes and layouts. And while I would love to partner with some to highlight their work in the future, when it comes to just getting started, I recommend a good sticker book with a theme that speaks to you.

In my experience, Happy Planner provides the most bang for your buck, with each book containing a variety of square blocks that fit most planners, die-cut illustrations, motivational phrases, and even specialty finishes. Right now I’m using the book Wild Jungle to compliment my work journal (from Passion Planner), and while I’m also eying Celestial Elegance, Made to Bloom, Moody Florals, and Softly Modern, I’m holding back for now. At least until I use a little more of what I’ve accumulated.

And there we have it. Still probably more stickers than any reasonable person really needs, and we don’t have to talk about how many markers are in that top bin, but hey, if they’re being used and the finished setup brings me joy, I’m feeling okay about it.

Now I just need a reward for myself that isn’t a new set of markers.