In Pen Review

Pen Review: Writech Retractable Highlighters (6 Color Set – Neutral)

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Pen Review: Writech Retractable Highlighters (6 Color Set – Neutral)

I am such a sucker when it comes to unusual colors in pens and highlighters. So when I saw the Writech Retractable Highlighter (6-Color Set – Neutral) ($13 per set) I knew I had to give them a whirl. The set was particularly interesting because the pens are RETRACTABLE! I don’t think I’ve ever used a retractable highlighter. If you use your highlighters for actual highlighting in textbooks or for annotating books, then a retractable highlighter might be just what you need.

The knock does require a bit more oomph to press it completely than a regular gel or ballpoint knock. Its not hard to do, just a little longer. I think of it like the difference in the clutch in my MINI vs the long clutch in my husband’s VW. Neither one is better, just difference.

The colors in this set are not as “neutral” as the name would imply. The colors are more what I’d compare to the Mildliners than the Stabilo Boss NatureCOLORS. The set includes Antique Purple, Aqua Green, Dahlia Pink, Grape Green, Olive Green, and Pale Green. Its a bit surprising that the set includes three shades of green, one bluish and a pink and purple.

I dug around in my stash and found the Stabilo Boss NatureCOLORS and the Zebra Mildliners that were laying about (probably not all the ones that were in the Natural color set. I did think the comparison would help show the color similarities and differences.

The Writech Retractable Highlighters are a bit more bright compared to the Stabil Boss set but kind of similar to the Mildliner color. I have purged a lot of the Mildliners that I had so I probably have a milder Mildliner collection. Overall though, I think the Writech Retractable Highlighters are a fun color range.

Mildliners do come with two tips though which make them a bit more flexible to use. They can be purchased with either a chisel tip and bullet tip or with a brush tip and a bullet tip which gets a bit more punch per pen. But they don’t retract.

On an actual textbook, the colors are overall pleasantly light. Not glaring except for the first green at the top of the page which quite grassy green. I like the other colors for highlighting.

I don’t know if the neutral color set will be the favorite for most but there are six color options: mild, neon, vintage, pastel, natural and this neutral set. Maybe the natural set will be more “neutral” to me. Great. I guess I’ll buying another set.

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.

In Link Love

Link Love: Read All The Things

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment
Link Love: Read All The Things

I finished the Orilium Fall Equinox Magical Readathon Challenge this weekend. Its another in a long list of ways I’m gamifying my life. The challenge started on September 1 and is filled with various RPG-style challenges to inspire participants to read more.

I read about eight books so far (the seven shown above as well as an extra credit read) and am trying to work through the Spring prompts as well in hopes to complete two semesters of prompts in one month. Yes, I am an overachiever.

While the September challenge is almost over, the same team hosts a “Lightfall” event in December and a Spring Equinox Readathon if this is something you might be interested in participating in in the future.

I like the game aspect, the group activities on Discord and getting to build a character to work through this readathon world. If gamification is something that might inspire you, consider participating in one of the future events.

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In feature

Yarn + Ink: A Pink Chicken?

Author Laura CameronPosted on 3 Comments
Yarn + Ink: A Pink Chicken?

The chicken knitting business is winding down, so I’m seeing lots more interesting colored chickens with bits and bobs of leftovers. This week’s chicken is PINK with a smattering of other dusty tones.

The inks I found that sort of went along with the theme are:

Have you ever seen a pink chicken?

In feature

Challenge Results: How did my Starter Pens Week go?

Author AnaPosted on 4 Comments
Challenge Results: How did my Starter Pens Week go?

Last week I decided to take on the challenge to use only “starter pens” for a week. I picked out all the Platinum Preppy pens I have and a franken-Pilot Prera. I tried to follow a similar process to Derek’s original challenge but had to modify it a little bit to make the challenge work for me and make sure that I could stick with it for a whole week.

Overall, I didn’t do as much writing or drawing as I’d hoped to do last week but I did use the “starter pens” throughout the week — I put my fancy, higher-end pens out of reach and only had the Platinum Preppys and the Pilot Prera (similar to a Pilot Kakuno in terms of nib material and size). I talked a bit with Derek who created this challenge and we both laughed that using what I have (specifically my franke-Pilot) is a great solution to the challenge.

One of the things I discovered is that the Platinum Preppy with the 03 nib is too wide for the small Hobonichi and Stalogy grid papers — at least for me. The 02 Extra Fine Platinum nib worked well for me but I only had one Platinum with this nib. The Pilot F nib which was installed in my Prera was fine enough to use with the tiny grid in my planners. What’s surprising is that the 02 EF Platinum nib is about the same width as the Pilot F. So, if you prefer wider nibs, go for the Platinum 03 or a Pilot M. I’m surprised I didn’t notice this difference sooner.

Most used pens: Platinum Prefounte with 03 F nib and Monteverde California Teal ink and the Pilot Prera with F nib and Kaweco Caramel Brown. Note the difference in the line widths.

The slip-n-seal caps of the Platinum meant there was never a hard start. Okay, that’s a lie. I have one dud Platinum. I think I let ink dry in it and cleaned it twice and still couldn’t get it to perform consistently. So, life lesson — clean your pens regularly. I will need to pull out my sonic cleaner and see if I can get it going again. It was my spare black ink Platinum and the wider 03 nib so I didn’t really miss it from the rotation.

I am glad I went ahead and syringe-filled the cartridges (or scavenged a converter) for these pens so I could use the ink colors I’d selected for my September planners and keep the overall look and feel of my planner, even though I switched pens mid-month.

As this week has come to an end, I’ve decided to continue using these pens through the end of the month. I’ve enjoyed using these little gems. Yes, the Prera breaks the below $20 level of the other “start pens” but since I didn’t own a Kakuno, it was the closest substitute for the challenge and provided me the finer nib size that I prefer overall.

Again, the Pilot prera with F nib and Kaweco Caramel Brown was used most. Its probably the most similar to my go-to Sailor Pro Gear Slim with F nib.

All of that said, I think we tend to put a lot of prestige on higher-priced, fancier fountain pens but this week proved to me that these budget-starter pens still bring a lot to the table. I hope it makes getting in to fountain pens less financially intimidating if someone is just starting out. These are GOOD pens.

In my Hobonichi Weeks organizing my Gamify points. I used the Platinum Preppy 02 with black ink and the Platinum Prefounte F nib with Monteverde California Teal.

I enjoyed this challenge so much I confess I did place an order for a couple of Pilot Kakunos so that I can try this again with the true “starter pens.”

Its not necessary to have under-$20 fountain pens to do this challenge. If you only have Kaweco Sports or Lamy Safaris, you can try this challenge with those pens as well. You could even use a combination of whatever “starter pens” you bought early in your fountain pen life. Do you like them as much as you did when you first discovered fountain pens? Do they still fill you with that sense of joy and adventure or have you realized that the nibs or shape isn’t your favorite? Its such a fun experiment. Let me know in the comments if you try this yourself.

In Pen Review

Why the Pentel Sign (Fude Touch) Brush Pen is my Favorite Brush Pen

Author AnaPosted on 7 Comments
Why the Pentel Sign (Fude Touch) Brush Pen is my Favorite Brush Pen

I have reviewed a few sets of the Pentel Sign Brush Pen ($2.50 each) over the last couple years including the Fluorescent and the 2020 Special Color Set. What I’ve never ‘fessed up to publicly is that I have slowly been adding individual markers to my collection until I essentially have almost every color.

Close up of tip and a detail of the shimmery barrel!

I love the firm, fiber-based, brush tips on these pens. They are perfect for adding headers to my planner or in my notes. The tips are firm enough while having a fine point that I can use them in a wide variety of ways. With a light touch, I can add a small sub-header. With a firmer touch, I can create thicks and thins for a fun title. With full pressure, I can make broad strokes, color in an area or block out an area on my page.

The colors available for the Pentel Sign Brush Pen offer both traditional colors, fluorescent colors and more unusual, subtle or complex colors. My favorites are the Olive Green, Grey and Violet. I probably use them the most. The Emerald Green and Turquoise Green are new to my collection and I think I’ll use them a lot in the coming year.

I love to color coordinate on my inks and pens to my monthly planner theme and picking one or two Pentel Sign Brush Pens it perfect as an alternative to my finer fountain pens or gel pens.

There have been a couple pens with colors too light for regular writing for me: Pale Blue and Light Grey. I usually have a high tolerance for lighter colors but I’ve found that these are difficult to use for writing. I think I just threw the Pale Blue pen away because it was too light to be useful. If your goal is to color or highlight text, they may work better.

I’ve been using some of these pens for months and months so I like they are quite durable and the inks have not dried out.

An example of how the Pentel Brush Sign Pen is used in my monthly planner set-up.

The dry time is a bit longer than I expect so be aware that the Pentel Sign Brush Pens may take longer to dry on paper like Tomoe River or lightly coated stocks (I smudge on envelopes ALL the time).

Proof that the Olive Green Pentel Sugn Brush Pen pretty much gets used every month!

Upon posting this review, I added four more pens to my cart: Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Brown and Black. I think that will complete the set for me. I don’t need EVERY color but I do like having a range of options for my rainbow year.

So, the reason I love these pens is the price, the color options and the sturdy-yet-fexible tips. And they are sparkly on the outside so that’s the BONUS.

If you haven’t tried the Pentel Sign Brush Pens, I can’t recommend them enough. If you have used them, do you love them as much as I do? If not, is there a brush pen you prefer?

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.

In feature

In The Shop: Gamify Your Life Zine

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
In The Shop: Gamify Your Life Zine

We have just listed our new zine: Gamify Your Life Players Handbook (2nd Edition) ($12 for zine, $20 for kit)– “Make it Fun to Get Sh*t Done”. This zine was created to accompany my workshops of the same name but I’ve packed it full of enough information that I think it is a great jumpstart into the gamification of your life planning.

The zine is designed to provide the framework of my gamification process — a method that uses the principles of D&D, RPG and tabletop and video games to help prioritize your tasks and reward yourself when you’ve accomplished them.

The system is flexible and will allow you to modify it to align with your gaming language and your goals.

To jump start your geeky planning life, the Gamify zine can also be purchased as a kit which includes two sheets of stickers (one sheet of our A Little Dicey sticker sheet and one sheet of our Roll for Initiative sticker sheet) PLUS a randomly selected set of dice (a full 7-die set of D&D dice) to get you started on your Gamify journey. Sticker gremlins and dice goblins delight!

This 20-page full color zine was written and designed by Ana Reinert of The Well-Appointed Desk and includes worksheet pages, quest lists and prompts.

I’ve also added a handful of new sticker designs to the shop:

In Link Love

Link Love: Fake Fall Faked Me Out

Author AnaPosted on 4 Comments
Link Love: Fake Fall Faked Me Out

We had a few lovely, cool mornings about a week ago and I got so excited that Autumn was finally here. But no. I live in the Midwest and that was FAKE FALL. The temps have zipped back up to 90ºF for the past week and, even as a human lizard that prefers warm weather, I’m over it. I want bowls of steaming soup, a steady stream of spicy teas and a chance to wear even one of the dozens of sweaters I’ve knit.

I want to plan my final months in my planner and get excited about cracking the covers on new 2026 planners. But no. Instead, I have the kind of malaise that can only happen when you’ve been slow roasted for the better part of the last FIVE months. Its gotten so bad, I’m actually excited to see that the temps might drop to the mid-80ºFs at the end of the week. I think my brain has melted.

Send me cool weather wishes, rainy days and cozy memories while I slowly bake into shriveled pink jerky.

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