Simple Helpful Journal and Planner Accessories

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Journal accessories (like repositionable tabs, DIY ribbon page bookmarks, no-bleed markers . . .) can add ease, efficiency, and enjoyment to the use of journals and planners. I tested a bunch to review and let you know what works and doesn't work.

Repositionable tabs turned out to be as advertised and very useful. DIY ribbon bookmarks are supper easy to make. But some of the so called no-bleed markers were too-much-bleed for me.

What's in This Post

Repositionable Tabs

Colored Pencils

No-Bleed Markers

Elastic Band Page Keeper

Weighted Bookmark

DIY Ribbon Bookmarks

Silver Lining Journals, Workbooks, and Planners

Repositionable Tabs

Love using these tabs! You can place them anywhere you want to mark the pages you want to find your way back to quickly and you can move them!

Repositionable tabs come in different sizes depending on your personal preference. Add them to the edge of pages to mark different sections in your journals or planners. They are inexpensive, can be written on, and are repositionable and reusable.

Avery Ultra Tabs, 2.5" x 1", 2-Side Writable

Post-it Tabs with Dispenser

Colored Pencils

Colored pencils are a great choice for no-bleed coloring in journals and planners.

After sorting through reviews on Amazon, I tried two brands: Amazon Basic and Prisma.

Prisma colored pencils are a premier brand so may not be the cheapest option, but I've also noticed Amazon running sales at times that make them closer in price to more inexpensive brands. I gave them a test drive. I enjoyed using them--but not as much as the Amazon Basic pencils. You can purchase them on their own or in sets with sharpeners, etc.

I tried the Amazon Basics colored pencils after the Prisma pencils. Color me surprised! I actually like the Amazon pencils better! They seem softer than the Prisma pencils. It seems like the color goes on smoother. The testing of these two brands showed me that I prefer the feel of coloring with the softer pencils.

Amazon Basic colored pencils

Amazon Basics Colored Pencils

No-Bleed Markers

It can be fun to add a little color to your journal and planner pages with markers but you don't want the color to bleed through and ruin the next page.

Highlighters can serve the purpose but even some of these leave too much color and bleed through.

I tried 3 brands with mixed results.

Sharpie highlighters were promising but some of the darker colors bled through.

Dual Markers Brush Pens by Sutoroo that claim to be no-bleed have a brush tip and a fine point on each marker. The fine point lived up to the no-bleed promise but the brush tip tended to supply too much ink and was too difficult to use lightly.

Zebra Pen Mildliner Double Ended Highlighter Set is a winner. It has a broad point end and a fine point end for each highlighter. It provides a nice amount of color and if you use a light touch (which is pretty easy to do with this brand) it doesn't bleed through. It comes in different pack sizes so you can decide how many colors you want and how much you want to spend.

Zebra Pen Mildliner Double Ended Highlighter Set, Broad and Fine Point Tips

$15 - $34 depending on number of markers in set

Elastic Band Page Keeper

Note: I'm thinking that I prefer the book weight that I talk about in a minute as a method of keeping my planner open to the page I'm working on, but I still included this elastic band idea for you to consider.

I hunted around a bit to find a large rubber band for holding my journal and planner open on the page I'm using. Some items that are made for this purpose seem too wide for what I was wanting them for. I want them to be holding the page I'm using but not take up a bunch of space.

I found that the Alliance File Elastic Bands work great for my 6" x 9" books. They start out at just over 7". No doubt there are other similar products that would also do the job. While they're inexpensive, I ended up with a lot of them. It will be interesting to see what other uses I find for them.

UPDATE: Using these rubber bands holds the page you're on open, but tends to make the book resist closing when you want to close it. You can then use the band to keep the book closed, but it does make the book bulkier.

Alliance Rubber 07800 Non-Latex Brites File Bands, Colored Elastic Bands, 50 Pack (7" x 1/8", Assorted Bright Colors in Resealable Bag)

Alliance Rubber Non-Latex Brites File Bands, Colored Elastic Bands, 50 Pack (7" x 1/8", Assorted Bright Colors in Resealable Bag)

Weighted Bookmark

Weighted bookmarks are another useful accessory for keeping your planner open on the page you're working with. I only recently discovered these handy page keepers.

I see that there are lots of different ones on Etsy, so I'm guessing that they are quite popular.

This one from Amazon is the one that I tried out with good results. It's flat in the middle and weighted on the ends. It holds the open planner pages flat for viewing and making entries while the flat part in the middle makes it easy to write my to-do's in my planner.

DIY Ribbon Bookmarks

DIY journal diary planner book ribbon

I've been adding ribbon bookmarks in my planners and journals for years. There are some DIY videos out there for gluing ribbons into the spine of hardcover books, but I have found that they stay put by simply tapping them inside the back cover on the last page.

Supplies:

3/8 inch satin ribbon (i.e. LaRibbons Satin Ribbon in assorted colors)
scissors and tape
optional: a candle for melting the end of the ribbon

1) Make a diagonal cut to a piece of ribbon that is about 6" longer the the length of your book. (Long enough to hang out the bottom of your book by about 3" and a few inches for insertion on the back page.)

2) The diagonal cut will help the ribbon not fray, but you can add additional assurance by lightly melting the cut end. Bring the end close to a candle flame -- barely touching it as you quickly swipe back and forth for a few seconds. When the end is melted, you'll see a slight bead form on the cut edge and a slight darkening in color.