The Most Underrated Bullet Journal No One's Talking About: An Artist’s Loft Dot Grid Journal Review

Bullet Journaling’s Hidden Gem

While you may know several brands for bullet journaling, there’s one brand I haven’t seen pop up, but it’s one really worth considering.

In this post, I’ll do a deep dive into an Artist Loft’s dot grid journal that would be a great journal to consider for your next bullet journal.

This post is specifically for Artist’s Loft Level Two Journals, this brand has a Level One journal that’s slightly cheaper and with thinner paper. This brand also refers to Level Two journals as Premium journals. For the rest of this post, I may or may not specifically mention “Level Two” or “Premium” when talking about Artist’s Loft journals, but you may assume I am talking about Level Two or Premium journals.

Where Can You Find Artist’s Loft Journals?

Artist’s Loft Level Two Journals are available at Michael’s Craft Stores. If you have a Michael’s store locally, you can save on shipping to find a journal you want. These journals are usually found in the same section as sketch books.

Last time I was at a Michael’s, the selection was quite limited but there’s a bit more choice online. At the time of this writing, you can find these journals through this link, which has the search results already narrowed down as much as possible.

Let’s go through everything that makes Artist’s Loft journals an excellent choice for bullet journaling and a couple reasons that might give you pause. Starting with the good, let’s get right down to it!

The Pros: What I Loved

Affordability

The price of this journal is really attractive. At the time of this writing in March 2025, Artist’s Loft journals go for $9.99. This is a really economical price, especially compared with other higher-end brands that go between $30 and $40. Shipping will of course add to the price if you decide to purchase online.

Cover Features

Hardcover journals provide a bit of extra protection to your pages, and this journal will provide that. These journals also come with either linen or vegan leather (plastic) covers. I’m partial to linen covers since I don’t like the flaking plastic bits of vegan leather covers, and both of my linen-covered journals still look great even though I’ve used them over the last 2 years.

Journal Features

There are some exciting features in this journal that I was surprised about considering the price! These pages are numbered, and those numbers do not start with the index or key, but on the first blank page. You read that right: these journals include both an index (labelled Contents in the journal) and a key!

The index spans 3 pages and each page is split into columns so you can take note of the subject, the page number, the color code (if you use one), and additional notes. The key is on the page after the index and has a box where you can write a symbol or color in, color code, bullet code, and marking code.

I do want to note that for the numbered pages, the bottommost left or right dot (depending on odd/even pagination) is replaced by the page number.

At the back of the journal is three pen test pages! Another lovely feature of this journal is its lay-flat design, similar to many other bullet journal notebooks.

Journal Size

The most common size for bullet journals is A5 (approx. 5.8” by 8.3”), but these Artist’s Loft Level Two Journals are slightly different. The journal itself measures 6” by 8” by 7/8” which is slightly wider and slightly shorter than a standard A5 journal.

I personally really enjoyed this size, it’s similar enough to my other A5 journals that I can’t really tell the difference. And the extra width translates to extra spaces! This journal’s dot grid is sized at 29 spaces horizontally and 38 spaces vertically and these dots go pretty close to the edge of the paper so you’re able to use as much of the page as possible.

For comparison, my current bullet journal is in an Archer & Olive journal where the grid size is 26 by 38. Those extra 3 boxes across is especially noticeable in a weekly spread with 3 columns: having one extra box in each column really makes a difference!

Paper Quality

Artist’s Lofts journals are called premium and their paper quality supports that! These journals have bright white 120 GSM/80 lb paper that can take a beating. I’ve used acrylic paints, gouache paints, and water-based markers without ghosting. Juicy markers tend to ghost a little, but to me it’s more obvious in photos than in real-life.

Like with any journal, using water/paint will crinkle the page a bit but I found that it can take paint really well, especially if you’re careful with the amount of water you’re using.

While some of the journals in this brand are lined or blank, the journals in this review are dot grid with a standard 5mm size grid. This journal contains 180 numbered pages which gives plenty of room for monthly and weekly spreads.

Ghosting

Despite my heavy use of paints, highlighters, and water-based markers, there is little to no ghosting! I’ve had to switch out of a journal since ghosting bothers me so much (looking at you Leuchtturm!), but I’m still happily using this journal.

Extra Stuff

While I consider the items mentioned in this section as “extra stuff”, it’s become pretty standard for journals marketed towards bullet journaling. So it’s no surprise (but still pleasant) that this journal has a pen loop, an elastic closure, a back pocket, and two ribbon book marks.

I don’t use the pen loop on any of my journals, so I can’t attest to the strength of it, but it is the same elastic that is used for the closure. The elastic closure feels a little loose, but it still holds up well to everyday use for me.

Brand Reliability

I know and understand the Michael’s brand. I know what to expect from it and I know that they’re always running sales. It’s one of the few craft stores that I frequent (especially now that Joanne’s is shutting down - I’m still not ready!) so I am comfortable handing my payment information over to them.

The Cons: What I Didn’t Like

Cover Options

The cover options for this journal are really limited. None of these journals have a design on them. There are several journals from Artist’s Loft that do have designs, but these journals have a different GSM so they may not stand up as well to bullet journal materials.

All (except for one, noted below) of these journals come in one solid color, and on top of that there aren’t even a lot of options to pick from. At the time of this writing, the colors that are available are:

• Black (vegan leather)
• Taupe (vegan leather)
• Blush aka Pale Pink (vegan leather)
• Wine (vegan leather)
• Brown (vegan leather)
• Gray in a warmer tone (vegan leather)
• Gray in a cooler tone (linen)
• Teal with “IDEAS” in gold (linen)

Nameplate

One of the most exciting things for me when I get a new journal is to write out my name on the nameplate page and add some stickers that fit the vibe. These journals do not have anything on the inside cover, opting to leave the nameplate page blank. This is easily remedied with DIY’ing your own nameplate page though!

Availability

At the time of this writing, there’s at least a few cover colors that are no longer available. I have a brown linen journal that is no longer offered. They also used to offer gray in a cooler tone in vegan leather as well as a sparkly red journal and a white journal both in vegan leather.

What’s available in store may also differ from what’s online so you may not find the color you want when you go in-store.

Bleed Through

When coloring an area with a water-based marker and a few passes, there was some bleed through to the back of the page. With 120 GSM paper, it’s not thick enough to prevent all bleed through but the bleed through wasn’t that bad. And I think it would’ve bled through less if I was more patient with drying time.

Sharpies, as always, bled through the worst. And my juicier markers also bled through, particularly at the end of a stroke. These pictures make the ghosting look more dramatic than in real-life. 

Where Can You Find Artist’s Loft Journals?

Artist’s Loft Level Two Journals are available at Michael’s Craft Stores. If you have a Michael’s store locally, you can save on shipping to find a journal you want. These journals are usually found in the same section as sketch books.

Last time I was at a Michael’s, the selection was quite limited but there’s a bit more choice online. At the time of this writing, you can find these journals through this link, which has the search results already narrowed down as much as possible.

Could This Be Your Next Bullet Journal?

This journal is packed with features that are comparable to more expensive journals. Its bright white paper and numbered pages have kept me organized as a commonplace journal and a research/development journal for spread testing.

Considering all the wonderful features for this journal, I would be happy to save some money and make this my next journal, if only for the covers! The cover selection is the only thing that holds me back, especially since I personally choose not to use vegan leather/plastic covers and will not buy new ones.

However, if the cover limitations don’t bother you, the Artist’s Loft Level Two Premium Journals are an amazing and economical choice for your next bullet journal. Have I convinced you? What do you think of this journal? Let me know in the comments below!

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