The last 160 GSM notebook left on my list to review is Notebook Therapy! Let’s take a look at the tskui ‘dolphin days’ dotted notebook and the tsuki bullet journal stencils set.

I purchased the notebook and stencils myself and all opinions are my own.

The planner and stencils arrived in gift boxes which is great for gifting and making sure the items aren’t damaged in transit.

Quick facts

• Size: I chose the A5, but B5 and 135mm x 195mm are also available
• Hardcover (but feels like velvet!)
• Sewn binding
• 160 GSM  bright white paper
• 5mm light grey dot grid
• Page count:
  • 135mm x 195mm = 128 pages
  • A5 = 176 pages
  • B5 = 176 pages
• Pages lay flat
• 2 bookmark ribbons
• Storage pocket at the back
• Gold dolphin paperclip

Price: $28 USD + FREE shipping worldwide (no minimum spend). As someone located in Australia, free international shipping is very much appreciated!

The set of 6 stencils was $31 USD + free shipping

Let’s take a closer look!

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The Cover

There are plenty of cover designs to choose from, I had a hard time choosing! I ending up picking the ‘dolphin days’ notebook. Note: the teal is much darker in person than the image looked on their website.

I also considered the ‘Gentle Giant’ (whale) and ‘Falling Star’ cover designs.

The cover is as sturdy as a hardcover but feels like velvet. I think I prefer a traditional hardcover as the velvet attracts lint.

Just under 1″ thick which is a typical size for a dot grid notebook

Dot grid pages

In the A5 page size version I chose, there are 176 dot grid pages. The dots on the grid are light grey.

The dot grid is the usual 5mm spacing you can find in almost all dot grid notebooks.

It’s 6mm from the edges of the page and the dot grid on all sides, so not so close that your ruler will slip off the edge of the page when drawing up spreads.

The pages mostly lay flat on their own. If you break the notebook’s spine then they lay completely flat.

Pen Testing

The paper quality… is disappointing. For being 160 GSM there was some feint show through for all pens, highlighters and dot markers. I’d still write on the back side of the pages but there’s usually no show through on 160 GSM paper.

Pros of the Notebook

• 3 page sizes to choose from
• Plenty of covers to choose from in colours and designs not offered by other brands
• Bright white paper that is smooth and easy to write on
• Reasonable price for a notebook with 160 GSM paper
• FREE shipping worldwide (no minimum spend), orders of $40+ come with free tracking
• Bright white paper
• Pocket folder
• Comes with a dolphin paperclip

Cons of the Notebook

• No page numbers
• The cover attracts lint
• Ribbon bookmarks are the same colour
• The pages had light ghosting for the highlighters, pens and dot markers

Would I use this notebook?

Maybe I’m just getting pickier the more notebooks I review, but I was a bit disappointed by this one. No page numbers and the paper quality was not on par with other 160 GSM notebooks I have.

My personal preference is a hardcover, not the velvet cover (as it attracts lint).

It’s a good notebook, I’ve just seen other notebooks that suit my needs better.

If you’re looking for different cover designs and are located outside the USA (where most dotted notebooks seem to come from with expensive shipping rates), or need a B5 notebook (which is not easy to find), then Notebook Therapy could be worth a try.

If you don’t want a velvet cover and are ok with pages that a more yellow than white, then the Dingbats notebooks may be a better option for you (they have animal themed cover designs too).

The Stencils

I also purchased the Notebook Therapy stencils for bullet journaling. The set of 6 stencils comes in 4 colour options: blue, yellow, purple and green.

Each stencil measures approx. 10cm wide x 18.5cm high (4″ wide x 7.25″ high) and feels like hard plastic.

They come in a storage box so they don’t get damaged (and which is nice enough for gifting), and a free sticker sheet. The stickers are not crisp – the graphics on them are blurry. If it wasn’t already included I wouldn’t buy the sticker sheet.

Each of the stencils come with a ruler (in centimetres) and have a range of shapes including:

• Circles
• Banners
• Bunting
• Flags
• Honeycomb
• Checklists
• Lines
• Arrows
• Weather
• Hydrate tracker
• Page borders

I’ll be sharing a spread I’ve made with the stencils in another post.

I tried the stencils with my Frixion erasable pens. For the larger shapes it was fine but the tip of the Frixion is too fat for some of the detailed shapes like the stars. I think these stencils would work best with needle tip pens.

More bullet journal notebook reviews:

• Amanda Rach Lee (160 GSM paper)
• Vivid Scribbles Dot Grid Notebook (bleedproof 140GSM paper!)
• Archer and Olive Dot Grid Notebook (Is the 160 GSM Paper Worth the Hype?)

Planning Tips:

• How to use the Helix Circle maker
• Best stencils for bullet journal daily, weekly and monthly spreads
• The best time saving row and column stencils for bullet journaling

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