Under The Rowan Trees – Stargazing

Stationery goodies are always a marvellous treat! Under The Rowan Trees sends out a themed monthly box of all things stationery related. The contents vary from month to month, but can include such lovely things as washi tape, stickers, postcards, paperclips,  pens and pencils, and more.

Subscriptions start from £18 per month, with the price reducing for longer subscriptions.

The box is flat enough to fit through your letterbox, and comes in a mailing bag to keep it all together. The mailing bag is purple, which gives you a lovely pop of colour to start with!

Everything is organized nicely, and inside the lid of the box is a list of this month’s goodies.

The theme  for this month  is Stargazing, which certainly sounds enticing! There is also a featured artist, Hattie Buckwell.

There are a remarkable amount of Galaxy Stickers inside that box on the left. They’re all different planets in lovely pastel shades, and look rather like watercolour patterns. Very pretty!

On the right is the Galaxy Washi Tape. This has a similar pattern with blended blues and pinks, but with tiny little gold stars as well.

All those stars on the left is the Decorative Garland. Little cardboard stars in different shades of blue all sewn together into one long string.

The Planet Bookmark is on the right. This is a clever and whimsical little bookmark: the tab at the top slides onto the page and the planet and star chains hang over the edge.

This month’s box contains a blank greetings card  designed by Hattie Buckwell. I’ve left it unfolded so you can see the full pattern of the solar system, which covers both the front and back. It’s a really lovely card, and the illustrator is really worth checking out!

On the card is a little bag of Glow in the Dark Stars. They come with a little strip of adhesive pads so you can stick them anywhere you like.

Moon Sticky Notes are always a useful thing to have around, and it’s nice to have a different shape from the usual square! The moon pattern is attractive but is pale enough so it doesn’t interfere with any writing.

We also have a couple of cute Star Paperclips and the Constellation Propelling Pencil.

Finally, we have a Calendar Page just in time for March, and a sheet of Intergalactic Vellum, which is hard to see but has a marvelous pattern of gold speckles and stars.

The star garland and glow stars are nice, and fit well with the theme, but I’m not really sure they are of much practical use. The garland is sweet but looks rather homemade, and being cardboard and sewing thread doesn’t look like it will last (plus it gets tangled immediately), so didn’t appeal to me. The glow stars would be fun for a child’s room, but there are only ten of them, so would only be good for a small space. Ultimately I don’t either of them quite belong in this box.

The blank card is absolutely lovely, and it’s very useful to have spare cards around for greeting emergencies!

I adore washi tape, and this one is very pretty, it’s a great addition to my collection.

Because of the themed nature, I can definitely see this being useful for scrapbooking. Items like stickers, washi tape, and vellum are great for creative uses, and would also work very well in a journal. You could develop a nice monthly theme around the box each month. The bookmark is also perfect for your planner.

Based on this box alone I would say this might be a fun gift for a teenager who would appreciate the items in the box, including the garland and stars, but too many of the items make me think of party bag fillers, and it doesn’t feel like you get much bang for your buck.

However I’ve had a good look at the previous boxes listed on the Under The Rowan Trees website, and I don’t actually think this particular box is up to the standard of others. The past boxes I’ve read about have the same whimsy and lovely themes but the actual contents are more substantial and generous.