Hello everybody!
My favourite thing about back to school is all the new stationery! It definitely makes the idea of having to do work so much better! There’s nothing like writing in a blank notebook for the first time with a brand new pen, so here’s some of the stationery I have bought ready for the new school year:
Pens
For most of my notes I use Black Bic Cristal pens. The pens are really good quality and have a good ink flow, but they’re also quite plain and not too expensive so it doesn’t matter if you lose one. Although I like writing in blue ink, at the moment I’m trying to write more in black ink as for most exams you can only write in black so I feel it helps to make me focus. I have also bought two pens; one with cupcakes and one with ponies, from Paperchase for my revision at home. I really like the patterns on these pens; they’re so cute and will really cheer up my desk. I have decided not to take these to school as I’ve had teachers in the past who’ve confiscated people’s pens for making the ‘click’ noise, and also as they cost me £2.50 each, I don’t think it’s worth the risk.Pencils
In my pencil case I have two different kinds of pencils. My favourite are the Papermate Mechanical Pencils; I find mechanical pencils are the most practical as they don’t need sharpening. I always keep a pink one in my ‘exam pencil case’ as it’s really pretty and I like that all the stationery it that pencil case matches (it definitely makes me feel more relaxed in exams (I think I have a stationery OCD?!)). However I’ve found mechanical pencils don’t fit into a compass in Maths, so I also keep an ordinary pencil in my pencil case too. Recently I’ve been opting for Bic Evolution HB pencils. I really like the light teal colour on the outside which contrasts well with my pink stationery. I prefer to buy the ones with erasers on the end as it’s much more practical than reaching back into the pencil case to find an eraser. One strange fact about these pencils is that because they are made from recycled plastic rather than wood; they’re bendy!! This is also fun in class cos it can make you look super strong.
Highlighters
This year I have two sets of highlighters; one for school and one for revision at home. I really love this set of Stabilo Boss pastel highlighters! The colours are so pretty!! I used to have over 8 colours of these highlighters in my pencil case but it made it very bulky so it wasn’t really practical. So this year I’ve decided to keep them at home to make making my revision notes much more fun. For school I have a smaller set of Stabilo Flash highlighters. The shape of these highlighters fits much better into my pencil case and it includes enough colours for use in class (though I mainly just highlight in pink or yellow).Paper
I don’t really need notebooks for school as depending on the subject we either work in exercise books that we’re given or on lined paper in ring binders/lever arch files. I buy Oxford Refill Pads as the paper is really good quality; it’s soft and smooth, and thick enough that you can write on both sides without the ink coming through or any dents. There is also a space to fill in your timetable and details on the inside cover which is really useful as you can check what lesson you’re going to next whilst writing your notes in class. One mistake I’ve made is bringing the whole pad with me at the start of term: it’s really heavy! Especially when you’ve got other exercise books and text books to bring with you too! I find it’s much easier to put about 10-20 sheets in the subject ring binder until you’re about halfway through the paper.Ring Binders and Lever Arch Files
Last year I overestimated how many lever arch files I would need, so this year I’ve bought just a couple so that I now have the same amount of ring binders and lever arch files to use this year that I actually used last year. My favourite stationery range this year at Tesco is Woodland Wander. I really like the pale blue background colour and the illustrations, especially the tiny white rabbit as it coordinates well with my other stationery. I also think this lever arch file coordinates well with the two I have left over from last year, one is floral (similar to the ring binder) and the other is cream with gold dots.
Rose Gold!
There’s been so much more rose gold stationery available this year! Last year I bought a rose gold pack of paperclips from Paperchase and I still have loads left! Yay! And they’re still available in-store and online, inside the handy little pouch there are both small and large paperclips which are really useful if you’ve got a lot of pages.
I used to really struggle with binder clips, but this year I found out how to use them correctly, and they’re actually really helpful! So I decided to buy these rose gold binder clips from Wilko and I really love the little rabbit on the lid as it goes well with the rabbit stapler and rabbit hole punch that I bought last year! Although, online the binder clips are pictured with an owl lid, I don’t know whether someone may have switched them in-store, but if they did, thank you because the rabbit is so cute and much more me.
Lastly, on my most recent trip to Paperchase I bought a rose gold sharpener. I’ve been doing a lot of pencil drawings in art recently and over the summer, so a sharpener is handy, I didn’t necessarily need a new one but its rose gold! It also has two holes so I can sharpen big and small pencils, and hopefully the larger hole will be much better for sharpening my charcoal pencils. What’s really funny is that literally the day after I bought my rose gold sharpener, the first few images from the new Zoella Lifestyle Christmas range were released, and I couldn’t believe it when I saw a rose gold sharpener! At least I don’t need to wait until Christmas as I’ve got one already, but some of the other stationery in the Zoella Stationery Bento Box is really cute too so I might add it to my Christmas list anyway!
Little Notes
Post-It notes are really useful for revision. You can leave notes around of what you’ve got to revise, you can write your revision notes onto them and make a post-it wall or you can use them to cover your work when you’re learning keywords and meanings. I saw this pack of rainbow sticky notes in Sainsbury’s a couple of times and eventually I could not resist – I just had to buy them! They’re packaged so cutely with a pink string bow (aww) and the actual rainbow and cloud post it notes are so darn cute!!I was looking for a birthday card for my friend in Card Factory when I noticed the Cat Note Set in the new Cattitude range! The cat illustrations are so adorable! The larger pink ‘List’ notes will be great for writing shopping lists and lists of things I need to do, the smaller blue ‘Notes’ will also be great for writing down things I need to remember or to help with my revision. I really love the colours of these notes and the gold foil on the packaging is so cute I just can’t throw it away!
Finally . . . Somewhere to keep it all
To keep my desk tidy, I bought a rose gold desk tidy from Wilko (I also bought the matching pen pot but I currently use it for my makeup brushes). And for school I’m currently using a simple clear pencil case from Morrisons. At the moment I prefer using these as I can see what’s inside so it’s easier to find what I’m looking for.
I hope you enjoyed reading my post! What is your favourite thing you bought for back to school? Mine has got to be either the pastel highlighters or the rainbow sticky notes! Follow me on Instagram @emily.m.adventures and @princessemily_m for daily updates, and Twitter @EmilyMAdventure for info on my next blog post.
Emily M x
Hello, I've nominated you for the Liebster Award because I love your blog! Here's the post-https://molliewesthead.wordpress.com/2017/09/11/my-honest-experience-of-blogging-ft-liebster-award-2/ x
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Omg! Thank you 💕
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Great haul! Love stationery!
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Me too, I love cute notebooks and pens ☺️ Thank you so much for reading and commenting 💛
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