A reasonably priced dot grid notebook with page numbers, good quality paper and without a boring cover? That’s my dream combination for a dot grid notebook. Let’s see how close the Make it Happen bullet journal by The Paper Studio comes to ticking off each of those.
Read more: How to choose the right bullet journal notebook for you (10 things to check)
Quick facts
- Size: 15cm wide x 20.3cm high (6″ wide x 8″ high)
- Hardcover
- Sewn binding
- 5mm dot grid (192 pages)
- 40 dots vertically x 30 dots horizontally
- Comes in one cover style only
Price: $25 AUD at Carefully Crafted
This brand also has plenty of sticker books – my favorites are in the photo above: calendar foiled, chores, bullet journal and home life foiled.
Let’s take a closer look!
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The Cover
Usual hardcover typical of sewn bound notebooks. At least this one is navy blue instead of black and has a motivational phrase on the cover instead of plain.
Approx, 0.75″ thick (1.8cm)
With 192 pages the planner isn’t heavy, but you will notice the weight of this if you carry it with you in your handbag.
Inside Pages
There are no pre-printed pages in the notebook – it has a 5mm dot grid on every page.
There are 40 dots vertically (plus 2 extra that are cut off due to the curved edges of the notebook) x 30 dots horizontally.
The dots are printed very close to the edge of the page and the spine of the notebook which (for me) is problematic when trying to draw lines and keep the ruler straight. There is also a miss-alignment of the dots on some pages.
Read more: Comparison of 30 Dot Grid Notebooks for Bullet Journaling (Buying Guide)
I often get comments about how bold / dark the dots are in notebooks. This one has bold medium grey dots.
Pages lay mostly flat on their own
Pen Testing
I tried all the usual ballpoint, gel and fine tip pens I use when pen testing all bullet journal notebooks.
There was some minor show through for marker pens and stamps, but not enough that would deter me from using the back side of the page. For the price of this notebook, the paper quality is good.
Highlighters had some light ghosting (much less than dot grid notebooks usually have), however my favorite Tombow dot makers bled through the page.
Related post: 7 Ways to use dot markers in your planner or bullet journal
Pros of the Notebook
- Portable size
- 5mm dot spacing
- Cheap
- Less boring cover than most dot grid notebooks
- Good paper quality
- Pages lay mostly flat
- Bright white paper
Cons of the Notebook
- Only 1 ribbon bookmark
- No page numbers
- Dot grid is cut off on the rounded corners
- No pocket folder
- Misalignment of the printing of the dot grid on the pages
Would I use this Notebook?
I like the notebook and will use it. It’s unfortunate that there are no page numbers, there’s a misalignment of the dots and that the dots are printed so close to the edge of the page. The paper quality, while not perfect, is far better than a lot of other dot grid notebooks I’ve seen (including ones that are more expensive).
I don’t know if other people do this, but I’m a sucker for notebooks with motivational phrases on the cover like this one’s ‘make it happen’ as I like to dedicate these ‘themed’ notebooks for different purposes e.g. project planning, travel planning back when I used to do that on paper etc.
Paper Studio – Agenda 52 stickers
I showed some of this brands sticker books in the video, here’s a preview of some of the pages. Lot of functional stickers and bright colors!
My favorite sticker books from this brand are:
More bullet journal notebook reviews:
- Dingbats* Notebook for Bullet Journaling Review (super smooth paper!)
- Nuuna dot grid notebook (3.5mm grid)
- Amanda Rach Lee (160 GSM paper)
Planning Tips:
- Best highlighters for bullet journaling
- 7 Useful washi tapes for bullet journaling
- 10 Bullet Journal Daily Scheduling Layout Ideas
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