I decided I waatned to try some of the more unusual Japanese markers and pens. My first purchase was the Sun-Star Dot é Pen Square Markers ($2.45 each, also available in sets). These pens are a cube-shaped tip on one end and a fineliner one the other.
I purchased colors I specifically thought I’d like best: grey, brown, mint, violet, beige and pink.
The cube-shaped end is particularly unique. The samples showed that it could be used like a giant pixel to create 8-bit style doodles.
On Tomoe River paper, there is a bit of pooling of the color when used as a pixel dot. The cube end, when used like a marker, creates an interesting chisel tip.
When turning the cube end so the corner rests on the page, the line width is similar to a bullet tip pen. I played with altering the angle to get different effects. Its kind of fuck to play with the cube end.
The fineliner works similarly to a Triplus or LePen which is great for different line weights. The Beige which looks more like a mossy green was a bit too light overall but the other colors were all usable.
I enjoy these pens. For the price, I recommend adding a couple to your next order. They are just weird enough to inspire some writing, doodling and pen play.
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
I am headed to Charm City tomorrow to help the Dromgoole’s at the BWI Pen Show. But I gotta ask, why isn’t the Baltimore Pen Show called The Charm City Pen Show? That just seems like such a fun name for a pen show?!!?
Come find me, say hello and bring me your most challenging ink questions. I love to match ink to a pen!
I will then be in my home office for one week before I head off to the Chicago Stationery Fest. This will be the third show in 6 weeks and I think I’ll look forward to a bit of time at home once these are done. I guess its a good thing I never decided to be a fight attendant. Too much travel wears me out!
Any tips for keeping your energy up when you travel a lot? I could use all the help I can get.
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I really wanted to title this post “EUREKA – I found it!,” but I understand that’s not the best for anyone to find it later, so I went with our traditional headline. But I’m here to say I think I found an ink that is an amazing match for the Pantone color of the year, Mocha Mousse. Please meet Vinta’s Liquid Sepia Isabela (30ml for $17).
This ink is really kind of amazing. It’s brown, except it’s pink, and it has gold sheen. It looks like that amazing photo of the chocolate mousse in with the light glinting off of it, a bit of a different color every way you look at it.
Of course it’s a bit tamer in writing samples, and I realize I can’t always lay down fat droplets on Tomoe River paper to see that sheen.
And I don’t have anything to compare it to. I pulled out Pilot Iroshizuku Tsukushi which leans a little red/pink, but it’s not the same at all.
And photos just don’t do this ink justice. Rarely have I been talked into buying a full bottle of an ink this quickly. Trust me. It’s gorgeous!
DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
I need to start by saying that my February started off with a lot of enthusiasm and then kind of went off the tracks within two weeks. The trip to LA for the pen show threw my schedule off quite a bit and then I had some personal upsets that left me feeling a little despondent and my journaling and keeping track of rojects sort of fell apart.
Rather than giving up or blaming my planning system on my failure, I am going to forge ahead for March using my same system with renewed resolve. If anything, I fear I may have been making my system more involved and complicated than it needs to be.
I added the Hobonichi Weeks into my process this year to be the repository for my “Gamify My Life” project but I may have made documenting this process more complicated and less fun than it should be. I was trying to track what I was doing in both my B6 Stalogy and in the Weeks and ended up feeling like double accounting. As a result, starting this month, I am going to go back to tracking my day-to-day activities in my B6 and then I will use my Weeks to tally the results of my game and what my points and loot will be for each week.
In my efforts to reset my system this month, I chose a spring green and fairy theme for my monthly calendar. Patrons are able to download this insert for free with their membership in A5, B6, A6 and Weeks sizes.
The pens I selected were all warm golds and green, many I reach for month after month. I just love that olive green Pentel Sign Brush Pen. I added several new options from the Zebra Journaling Set I picked up last week. Each month, I just pick and choose from my collection of pens. Color coordinating makes for less daily friction when writing my daily info. I do tend to pick a few too many pens and markers but its still a smaller assortment then having to choose from my WHOLE collection. I limit the collection to what will fit in my pencil case. I want the whole system to fit in my daily carry without requiring a pack horse.
For my fountain pens, I used some of the same pens I have been using: a couple Sailor ProGear Slim models with some of my favorite ink colors: Pen BBS #342 and #224 (no longer available. Other suitable options: Sailor Shikiori Wakauguisu or Sailor Manyo Nobiru), Kaweco Caramel Brown, Monteverde Birthday Cake (the color doesn’t match my theme but the color just makes me happy).
I pulled a few rolls of washi tape like these from my shop as well as some rolls from the bottom of my washi drawer that probably date back from the 2010s and were most likely purchased fro JetPens or a local craft store. I selected some sticker sheets to add some zing and fun to my monthly pages including the Date Dots in green, a few sheets from Stickii and a couple bits and pieces out of the one of the volumes of the Peter Pauper sticker books (probably the Celestial Wonders)
While blank pages can often be something that can make us anxious. For me, in March, I am looking forward to a clean start, a chance to make a fresh Spring start. Sometimes, just turning the page of our journal, calendar or planner can be our very own way to start over.
Next week is Mardi Gras and while I won’t be attending any events locally, I may purchase a delicious King Cake which is my favorite little luxury to celebrate Mardi Gras. I used to order them directly from a bakery in New Orleans but nowadays, I can pick one up at my local bakery. Might not be as authentic but its a heck of a lot cheaper.
So, if you want to feel the fun and magic of the Mardi Gras in your stationery products, we got you covered.
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Zebra put together a massive 33-piece journaling kit ($19.97, approx. 0.68 per pen with the washi and journal being free) from Costco stores:
Standard Mildliners with chisel tip and bullet tips (set of 10)
Mildliner Brush markers (set of 5) with flexible brush tip on one end and the bullet tip on the other
Clickart Retractable Marker Pens (set of 6)
Sarasa Clip Gel Pens (set of 5, 0.5mm tip)
Kirarich Glitter Marker/Highlighter (set of 3, chisel tip)
3 rolls of washi tape
A5-sized blank hardcover journal
The Washi Tape:
First I tested the 3 rolls of washi tape which are pastel pink, pastel purple and bright, sunny yellow. Lo and behold, this is authentic washi. The tapes are 0.5″ inch wide and tears easily. As such, the only pens that can be used on the tape is alcohol markers like Sharpies. It’s a nice bonus in a kit purchased mostly for the massive quantity of pens.
The Pens & Markers:
Clickart Retractable Marker Pens:
The Clickart markers were the most surprising set in the kit for me. These are actually retractable markers! Think of a Sign Pen but retractable! There were six pens in the set — Red, Light Blue, Lavender, Yellow, Light Green and Black. The tips are 0.6mm and water-based.
I really like using them. The tips are fine and the color is juicy and easy to use. On some papers, there may be a delay in dry times because how wet these pens are.
The packaging claims that the inks won’t smudge each other. I’m skeptical.
I tried duplicating the doodle on the back of the package to test the smudge-factor. I probably didn’t let it dry for long enough so I got a little smudging.
Overall though, the colors are sharp and bright and the tips are fine enough to use for titles, detail elements and doodles in the average journal. This set has made me want to invest in a larger assortment of colors of the Clickart markers and that is a good thing. I particularly like the DK Set.
I’m not sure how long they will last with the retractable tips but I’ve heard from others that they are holding up well so I will probably order some other sets.
Mildliner “Creative Marker” and Brush Markers:
The 10-count Mildliner Creative Marker (the standard highlighter chisel tip and bullet tip on each end) and 5-count Mildliner Brush set (flexible brush tip and the same bullet tip on the other end) are similar in overall quality.
The Brush Set includes pastel colors: blue, grey, pink, green and blue. I tested some of the Mildliner Brush pens recently and fell in love with them so I was delighted to pick up a few more and only duplicated the green and gray markers which are probably the most used anyway. If you have not tried the Mildliner Brush pens and want to play around with doing more decorative titles or handwriting, these are great for that.
The 10-count pack has slightly brighter colors and all different: dark grey, cyan, summer green, citrus green, lemon yellow, apricot, coral pink, marigold, fuchsia, and lavender. These are the original and classic highlighter and marker pens but the colors are more uncommon and probably the most unexpected choice in a big box store set. With the apricot, summer green and marigold are not common or “crayola”-like which is such a treat.
These markers are water resistant, not waterproof, dependent on paper and dry time. I know a lot of bullet journalers will use these colors to create alternating rows like a paper spreadsheet to make a chart a little easier to read.
These can be used as highlighters for books, textbooks, etc or adding decorative details in a bullet journal. This set is worth it just to get these 15 markers.
Kirarich Creative Glitter Markers:
I have owned only ONE Kirarich Glitter Marker for almost ten years. For the record, it still works. So I was excited to try a couple new colors: pastel purple and pink as well as the original highlighter yellow. I was delighted to discover that these markers are water resistant. In the writing sample above, I applied water brush over the large swatches and had no shift. Kind of cool for a highlighter. Of course, applying these markers over water soluble ink will make a mess but over printed words, like highlighting a book, that glitter ink isn’t going anywhere.
The Notebook:
The notebook journal has a pale grey PU leather cover with metallic foil “NOTES” printed on the cover. The notebook has a vertical elastic to keep the book closed. The notebook includes 2 grosgrain ribbon bookmarks, and a gusseted pocket in the back.
The paper is unprinted, bright white and a lighter weight than I expected. There are no specifications on the box or on the book telling the paper stock so I will I have to guess. Compared to some Field Notes, I’d say this paper is about 50# text weight, maybe 60# max.
I was very suspicious how well this lightweight paper would perform. I hoped if would be okay with the pens included in the kit but was not holding out hope that it would do well with fountain pens.
Writing tests on the Notes notebook
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the Zebra pens and markers did not feather or spline on the paper and the assortment fountain pens performed well as well. Shocking with such light paper!
When flipped over, the Clickart markers did get some show through, a couple of the fountain pens also had a little bit of show through and the Kirarich glitter highlighters had a touch of show through. But it was not as bad as I would have predicted.
I consider the notebook and washi to be free add-ons to the pen set so I think they are nice add-ons. I will probably use the notebook for desk-side doodles and notes and probably just use one side of the pages. Since I don’t have a lot of money tied up into it, I will just use it and not worry about if I’ve “ruining it”.
Final Thoughts
Overall, this Zebra Journaling Set is a fabulous value and if you haven’t experimented with Zebra’s most popular pen offerings, waste no time getting to your local Costco and grabbing it. It’s a great way to try them out at a reasonable price and a nice variety of options.
This week we have a little good news and a little bad news. In the good news catergory, there are some great recaps of the California Pen Show down in “Other Interesting Things”. It seems that a good time was had by all this year and the show was a welcome respite from climate issues (fires, snow, ice, etc) and political strife (pen lovers talk pens, not politics).
Also in “Other Interesting Things” is the bad news. There are some changes that might affect the USPS as a result of the new administration’s efforts to cut costs. As a loyal postal patron (I am at my local branch at least once a week and know both my carrier and the counter clerks by name), I am a strong supporter of the staff and the hurdles they face in handling deliveries, customers and general bureaucracy. I know a lot about the struggles they face and how hard they work. I am rooting for the workers at the USPS and hope that the agency remains an independent government agency as we move forward. (For the record, the report cited in the NYTimes article linked below is dated from 2021! A more current report of USPS earnings from first quarter 2025 suggests slight improvements in earnings which is a good thing.) Regardless of the iffy reporting, taking away the postal service’s autonomy could be catastrophic.
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