A few weeks ago, Ana and I realized we were both interested in doing some “blind dates” or mystery boxes for all of you.
So today, I’m doing what she did about a week ago and offering TWO Mystery Boxes (only one box per reader). Inside these boxes you’ll find tons of different papers to try, along with a writing implement and some other fun items I’ve thrown in. They are all new, or were tested for reviews only. Some are still in the original shrink wrap! Mine are also loosely themed:
- Did you head to the funnies page first on Sunday mornings? This one is for comic strip lovers!
- Fancy yourself an ink master? This one is geared for swatching and trying all kinds of paper!
TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell us which box you would like to win and what you might do with the mystery contents. Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person.
If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site. Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give the monkeys some time.
FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Sunday, May 31, 2026. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Instagram, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Monday, June 1. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 5 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.
Oooh – Box number 2 interests me most. Inks and their characteristics are at least half the fun in this hobby!
I would adore the swatch box, please. I LOVE swatching inks and it kinda peeves me that I have to go to work while my beautiful inks sit at home waiting to be swatched. I really need to figure out how to get paid to play with my fountain pens, swatch ink and read all day…
Would love the ink one- I would love to try different inks and use gloves to make sure I dont spill
I love trying out different kinds of paper.
I am now, as always, a lover of paper and ink. I have a small business and enclose a personalized note with each order. I also love to send notes to friends, although have been falling down in that department lately. So box #2 is of greater interest to me. Thank you!
Comic strip lover here! I do read the comics first thing in the morning and put some of the funniest in my art journal. Thanks for the chance to win this giveaway.
Ink master sounds like a gauntlet thrown that I would be willing to take up! I’m starting to plan to try to set myself up for success to participate in zine month (July) and Inktober (October), so I think that’s what I’d use them for.
This is so fun and exciting! I’ve always been a fan of comics and I would love to win the “comic strip” box. Thank you for this giveaway!
Wow, blind boxes or mystery boxes are so much fun. I have a stressful job right now, and swatching inks is a balm to my nerves after work so I would pick -“swatching and trying all kinds of paper” box.
Thanks for you generosity.
Swatching is my cup of tea
How cool! Hm – difficult choice; honestly I’d love either but I’ll choose chaos today and vote for the comics box. Thank y’all so much!
What a great idea! I’ve always loved paper, paper, paper – so #2 would be my first choice
The comic strip lovers sounds like tons of fun. Of we go into the wild blue yonder
Comic Strip Lovers box for me; this would totally go into my junk journal!
Both of these sound amazing! My daughter is huge into comics right now and your post reminded me of all the comic strips I read as a kid so I have to throw a vote in for that one. And it makes me want to add more comics to my journals!
I like ink! So would love to try the 2 nd box. Thanks for the giveaway!
The different inks would be awesome! I have a smaller collection of inks so I’m sure the samples will be new to me!
I am always game for trying inks and paper! Have a slew of pen pals and the pens don’t matter as much to them–lol!
BOTH! But if I must choose, #2.
I started my sketchy hobby with pen ‘n ink. Took a dive into watercolor, but am back to ink experiments, fountain pens, and dip pens. I love taking ink outside and using native materials (sticks, seed heads) to sketch.
I read the comic pages any chance I get. I would love to win the comic pages!! Thanks
I’ve always been a comics kid. It’s still the main section I read on Sundays. (The rest of the week I’m looking through the classifieds…)
Thanks for chance to win
I am leaning towards #2 all the way
Happy Summer
Sunday Comics was the first thing read.
I would love to take a paper-testing staycation and try out all the different kinds of paper!
comics! I wish I could draw my dogs, they would make a good comic!
I like comic strips, I recently reread the entirety of Digger by Ursula Vernon over the course of two afternoons a few weeks ago.
I think I’d have fun with box 2. I find that I tend to get lazy about swatching on different papers, but I’m thinking this would leave me no more excuses. lol. Thanks for these fun giveaways!
Swatching box appeals to me most. I’m always making collages and paper patchwork is something I enjoy almost as much as working on envelopes. Sewing on paper is another reason for my choice.
Another hard choice but I am in need of a bit of levity in my life so I think I will go with the comical theme.
I would absolutely love to win the ink one- I just started getting into fountain pens about a month ago and am OVERWHELMED by the inks on the market.
I usually turned to the funnies first thing, looking for Mother Goose and Grimm, Garfield, The Phantom, The Born Loser, and Andy Capp.
I would love the ink one! I’m obsessed with all the different inks and papers. I love experimenting with fountain pen friendly papers for sketching and making little notebooks.
Oh, both are amazing sounding, I love the comics, but on the other hand, I AM a cartoonist, so I crave paper….. oh heck… I’d go with comics….
The ink box. 🙂 I certainly don’t need more inks, but they are really fun.
#1 for me. At the age of 10 I became a hardcore comics (then sports, and finally) reader. Done before heading off to school. Frequently accompanied by cinnamon toast. I’d love a trip down nostalgia lane.
Ink swatching is one of my favorite pastimes, using a glass dip pen to swatch and then keeping a record of all the inks feels like the ultimate display of stationery affection. I would love the second box!
I am definitely a comic strip lover!
Do I know how to send a comment to your address? Can I figure out how to enter so if I win (hah!) you can contact me? Unlikely on all counts, but the inky adventure sounds cool. So box #2 would be Choice #1. Thanks!
I’d opt for Box #2. Although not quite an ink master, I do aspire to that level of greatness. For now I would love the opportunity to swatch several of my inks that are still in their sealed boxes. Oh the horror! That’s like having clothes hanging in the closet with the price tag dangling sadly in despair.
Call me Ink Mistress! Swatching is peaceful for me, so box 2 is my preference! I’ve swatched various ways during my pen journey, and really love the Col-o-Ring method, allowing me to organise my inks on the ring by colour! That Illinois specific one for the Chicago Pen Show was…. chef’s kiss
I’d love to explore new ways to organise my ink swatches – been meaning to get an ink bottle stamp one of these days and do that, but I haven’t yet. Box 2 would definitely put a spring in my step in anticipation!
Oh comic strips, funnies first to reset the brain and then onto the serious stuff.
Fingers crossed that I win the swatching and paper box! I’ve got so many inks I need to do more with and that would be just the thing to test them out and manage my collection. 🙂
I am NOT an ink master. I loved the Sunday comics. I love inks. Either or, best of both worlds. Love your posts. Thank you.
Paper, paper, paper everywhere…yet I always want to try something new, something different. Perhaps find the holy grail of paper for my fountain pens to enjoy, to be worshipped.
Oh, yeah. Box #2 would be my jam.
I’m new to the game and would love box 2 as I’m learning what I like in inks and paper and would love to keep trying new inks!
They both sound cool, but I’d go for the comics box. I do remember picking out the comics from newspapers on Sundays. We got at least 2 different newspapers back in the day, so plenty to read.
#GoodTimes
Both are appealing, no doubt. And swatching made a certain amount of sense, until I realized that I really don’t need more options to pull me away from my main swatching project(s). lol So, I’ll take the funnies/comics strip box (#1) if chosen by the randomizing monkey!
I haven’t gotten to try many papers yet so box 2 would be a good choice for me. This is cool thank you both so much!
I would love the swatch box as I own more ink than a print shop!
Thanks for the chance.
I am totally a comics first newspaper reader. Got the habit from my father. Into his old age we would cut and send strips we liked to each other. He sent me a typed letter every week for 40 years!
I would love for it to be a surprise on which one I win. I would also use the papers for a collage a draw on top of it in my sketchbook. Thanks for the chance and I hope you have a wonderful day!
This is a hard choice but I think the comic strip option would be more fun. I loved reading the comic strips as a kid and I still enjoy reading manga now.
Ink Master – I have been keeping track of inks and swatching for a few years now but haven’t tried a lot of the products available like a Col-O-Ring. I would definitely put the items to good use.
Although you can’t exactly call it a comic “strip”, it was a comic nonetheless. I’m referring to The Far Side. I was completely obsessed with it back in the ’90’s. I loved that it was short and sweet, but mostly that it was dark, sarcastic and oh so dry humor. That being said, I would love to win the mystery box for comic strip lovers! Thanks and good luck to all.
I would go with the ink swatching box #2 (even though I have fond memories of fighting over the Sunday comics in the Chicago Tribune).
Definitely Box #1! I’m a fiftysomething corporate exec who adores Snoopy and Calvin & Hobbes, and Cathy (oh Cathy!) and Nancy. But my all-time favorite — I’ve even been to the Charles M. Schulz museum in Santa Rosa, CA — is Snoopy. I have no idea what’s in the box, of course, but I would probably just spend an entire day decorating my Hobonichi and writing letters to my best friends.
I’m going for Option 2 here Bob. So many times I’ve discovered inks that act so differently on different papers. I bought a Sample paper pack at the last pen show and HOLY SMOKES Batman (box 1 reference) it was a lot of fun to play with!
This is a fun contest! I”m gonna say comics for me. It’s been so long since I read them in the paper!
I would choose option #2. I love trying out different papers.
I’m not an illustrator, but I I do enjoy comics so I’d pick that box. Though I do love trying my PENCILS on different paper 😀
I so need to make sample pages with all my inks, so the #2 option would prompt me to actually pull out all my inks and make some color sense of it all!