Link Love: Be Creative!

There’s a bunch of travel reports from folks visiting favorite shops around the world, mid-year reflections and lots of creative ideas this week. I think my interest in more collage-y, art journaling projects is that these can be created with things I already have — reuse and repurpose — in a time that making something beauitful on a budget is a great way to spend time.

Pens:

• Fill Me In! A Guide To Fountain Pen Filling Mechanisms (Part One) (via Pen Boutique Blog)
• Jinhao 20 (via Crónicas Estilográficas)
• Mad Science Pen Co Beta Type-P and Diamine Lady Grey review (via Casual Crossings)

Ink:

• Piper Trading Company Ink Review (via The Pen Addict)
• Van Dieman’s Tasmanian Lavender (via Inkcredible Colours)
• Weenk No. 8 Dry Persimmon (via Inkcredible Colours)

Pencils:

• Uni Kuru Toga Metal Mechanical Pencil Review (via The Pen Addict)

Notebooks & Paper:

• A complete guide to paper and notebook sizes (via The Pen Company Blog)
• Unique Japanese Notebooks (via JetPens Blog)
• 5 Creative Ways JetPens Team Members Use Small Notebooks (via JetPens Blog)
• I Have to Get Creative to Use This Book (via Dime Novel Raven)
• The A24 Movie Log: A Brief Review (via The Cramped)

Art & Creativity:

• Giving Old Packaging New Life: Creative Ways to Reuse High-Quality Box (via Archer and Olive Blog)
• 5 Art Journal Ideas That You Can Do in 10 Minutes (via Archer and Olive Blog)
• Making a collage in 7 steps (via Flow Magazine)
• Watercolor (and other paint) Classifications- Pro, Student and Beyond (via Comfortable Shoes Studio)
• [CENSURED PAGE] (via José Naranja:
• 30×30 watercolour challenge: 2026 edition (via Liz Steel)
• #30×30 2026 : Simplification from Reference (via Citizen Sketcher)
• Making Patterns! (via Jane Blundell Artist)
• Review: Indigraph ColorClip watercolour box (via Parka Blogs)

Other Interesting Things:

• Visit to Office Vender Stationery Forest in Sendai, Japan (via Inkcredible Colours)
• Construct Your Own Miniature Paper Brutalist Circuses with ‘Cirk’ (via Colossal)
• Sixth Anniversary (via Inkcredible Colours)
• Visit to Traveler’s Factory Airport, Japan (via Inkcredible Colours)
• The Best of Bungu Joshi Awards 2025 (via JetPens Blog)
• 9-Year Blogiversary (via Rachel’s Reflections)
• How Much Is That in Blog Years? — June Notes (via Line Variation)
• Fountain Pen “Quickie”: Recent Acquisitions (via CJ’s Wunderkammer)
• This is the best fountain pen accessory AND it only costs $1 (via Extra Fine Writing)
• The NYT Summer Reading Challenge (via Writing at Large)
• 2026 Mid-Year Review: 5 Favorite Posts From the First Half of 2026 (via The Gentleman Stationer)
• An interview with Charlene Oesch, typewriter ribbon manufacturer (via The Typewriter Revolution blog)
• Made in America (via JetPens)
• In a (summer) funk (via Austin Kleon)

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