First Impressions & Review: Michael’s Journal Covers

For better or worse I know the cycles of products at the local Michael’s stores around here and was so excited to see a whole new line of lettering and planning supplies. About two years ago, Michael’s entered the world of notebook covers with a basic 2-insert cover with a tie wrap. They’re at it again with new journal covers for Bible journaling and other creative journaling. I snagged two different covers and am sharing my first impressions, comparisons, and review of them.

Please note that I purchased these myself, not sponsored by Michael’s – these honest thoughts are my own from my own experience!

MICHAEL’S JOURNAL COVERS

At a glance:

Featuring: notebook covers from Michael’s, squishy kitty from a random Asian website, and beautiful petrie dish from Josie Lewis Art

Both of these covers are $15 USD – and with a 40% off coupon, they are a steal at Michael’s.  They may be in a center aisle, or in the side. It’s a huge display of dozens of covers!

The floral pattern comes with a SINGLE strand and thick with some pockets. It includes a narrow few sheets of ruled paper and a small pen loop. The gold is part of the Bible Journaling line, is a quad-strand, quite thin, with a front pocket and pen loop. It comes with a hallelujah notebook insert.

Want to know more about notebook covers? I talk about them here, here, and here

Quality:

The quality of these notebook journal covers varies. I’m going to really concise and direct!

The gold quad-strand has a super thin cover that shows the bends however you set it up, the elastic is very flimsy, has a front pocket with 3-4 card slots. It fits 4 A5 inserts (like May Designs) very comfortably and actually fills it out really well. If you can re-string the elastic, it can be a more sturdy closure. The pen loop can also fit a variety of pens just fine.

The floral patterned cover is much thicker, sturdier. However, it’s only meant for a single notebook. When I put my A5 May Designs into it the notebooks go all the way to the edge and fits snugly into the cover. If you use the narrower traditional traveler’s notebook size this should fit just fine. The frustrating part for me is that once I put the A5 notebook inside it covers up the pen loop – AND the pen loop doesn’t fit any pens I tried to put in it LOL.

Review:

Overall if you’re looking to get a traveler’s notebook, the quad strand (part of the Bible journaling line) is a great starter option. It’s not the most durable, but its overall structure is a great affordable choice.  I would tend to not choose the floral pattern line because it’s not as functional with my needs (it just fits one notebook, to narrow).

But what do you think? Do you have questions? Your own experience? Let me know down below!