In Pen Review

Finding Mocha Mousse Gel Pen Options

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Finding Mocha Mousse Gel Pen Options

I was inspired by Laura’s Pantone Color of the Year Mocha Mousse ink experiments and decided to try to find the most Mocha Mousse-ish pen to use in my journals. I thought it would be fun to see how these pens looked when compared with the Pantone Color of the Year.

Our favorite ink to use for comparison is the Endless Alchemy Mocha Mousse Delight to use as a color comparison.

I had a few brown gel pens and markers in my stash but I also ordered a few new ones in hopes of finding the most chocolatey colors.

The pens in the running:

Mostly the pens I tested were gel or fiber-tipped but I threw in two marker/highlighter pens just because I wanted to see how they looked next to the more writing pens.

I really thought the colors in the gel pens would be closer to a chocolatey tone. Some colors leaned more purply and other were darker, more espresso colored. The Zebra Mildliner and Pentel Brush Sign Pen were no where near the Mocha Mousse Delight but it was nice to see them in comparison.

Despite the name, the UniBall ONE Cappuccino Brown was too light.

I think the winner is the Pilot Juice Up in Brown. Its chocolatey with that hint of golden undertones. The color is the warmest without edging into a reddish hue.

I think the Pilot Juice in Brown is a close second but is a bit darker. Sakura Ballsign iD 0.4 Mocha Black and the Pilot Juice Up in Classic Glossy Brown is tied for third being much darker in color but feel like a dark, 75% cocoa style mocha mousse.

Do you have a favorite brown gel pen or marker?

Tools:

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: Triangle Show Weekend!

Author AnaPosted on 10 Comments
Link Love: Triangle Show Weekend!

Today’s Link Love is being written from my basement while the tornado sirens are shrieking above me. The likelihood of a tornado hitting us is probably (hopefully) pretty slim but, boy, does it make me think about how fragile our world is.

I didn’t “go-bag” my pens or ink or even my journal when I ran down here. I grabbed my phone, my laptop and the cats. Oh, and my cup of coffee, of course. I am reflecting on my lack of planning as I would be very sad if I lost my journal and many of my pens but I’d be devasted to lose all the products in my shop all stored in my studio. But I supposed if my house blew away, I’d have way bigger problems to worry about.

I know that wherever you are when you’re reading this, there is some severe weather that you fear from personal experience. I hope that you are safe and comfortable wherever you are and that the sun is shining or the stars are twinkling. Stay safe, have a plan for severe weather and remember that you and your family are more important than pens but you might want to pack one or two, just in case.

(Oh, side note: If I don’t get blown away, I’ll be in the Raleigh-Durham area for the Triangle Pen Show this weekend. Come see me at the Dromgoole’s table where I will be slinging ink and notebooks. Please come and say hi!)

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

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In Book Review

Book Review: Letters from the Ginza Shihodo Stationery Shop

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Book Review: Letters from the Ginza Shihodo Stationery Shop

If you’re looking for a cozy book all about the love of stationery, look no further than Letters from the Ginza Shihodo Stationery Shop by Kenji Ueda!

This book, told in a series of five vignettes, is a story of how ordinary people interact with and love their stationery. At the center of the story is the proprietor of a well-stocked stationery shop in the Ginza district. He’s surrounded by other lovely shops and people whose aim is to make your day more pleasurable. There are lots of little stationery details: specific notebooks and fountain pens, paper and envelopes that make people’s hearts sing.

If you want a feel-good, slice of life book, I can heartily recommend this one!

DISCLAIMER: The item in this review include affiliate links. The Well-Appointed Desk is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. Please see the About page for more details.

In Planners & Organizers

Video: Mid-Year Techo Kaigi

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Video: Mid-Year Techo Kaigi

As we have reached the mid-point of 2025, I thought I’d do a little Techo Kaigi to check in with where I am at with my planners,  journals, and notebooks.

“Loosely translated [from] Japanese, Techo Kaigi is a journaling or planner meeting that you have (with yourself) where you reflect on what you’ve been using and whether you want to continue that into the next year.” (From Pen Addict)

I am currently using two books on a daily basis: my B6 Stalogy for my page-a-day journal/brain dump and my Hobonichi Weeks that I use for my Gamify My Life project. Then I have a 3-pen case from Galen Leather for my fountain pens currently inked and the Hobonichi Pocket Drawer that I keep markers, gel pens and ephemera.

My additional notebook options: an old Leuchtturm 1917, Endless Explorer B6-sized cover made from cactus leather and an A6-sized Lauren Phelps Designs notebook with custom cover.

I also have been using a repurposed Leuchtturm1917 A5-sized notebook for a reading journal. This is the first year I’ve been trying to do a reading journal so this has been an experiment and I am working to streamline my book journaling process.

I am considering switching to the Lauren Phelps Design A6 planner for my book journal. It would also be a re-used/repurposed notebook and would give me them option to create a page-per-book instead of my current 3 books-per-page set-up.

And the Endless Explorer Cactus Leather cover is a really cool cover option and I would love to use a non-animal material cover more (as a vegetarian, it seems on-brand). I discovered that the cover is B6-ish sized which means that I have lots of inserts I can you use with it so I am really excited to start working with it more. I have inserts from Studio Ghibli, Midori and more that would all fit into the Explorer cover. As it is right now, I use a Ghibli B6 for day-to-day work notes so maybe the cover can be used as my “work notebook system”?

Finally, I discovered that I have a brand new, unopened Traveler’s Notebook in Camel and a ridiculous quantity of inserts that would fit into it. I would like to find a good use for it.

So, overall, I think my current system is working pretty well but I would like to use more of the massive stash of notebooks I have so I need to figure out good uses for some of these notebooks and journals.

Products mentioned in the video:

All my notebooks and planners in my “house purse“.

DISCLAIMER: Some items in this post include affiliate links. The Well-Appointed Desk is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. Please see the About page for more details.

In Planners & Organizers

June Planner Set-Up: Strawberry Daze

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
June Planner Set-Up: Strawberry Daze

 

This month for my June Planner & Journal set-up, I created a video that walks through my steps of picking out colors, ephemera and inks to match my theme.

My actual page-a-day set-up has not changed much throughout the year, just the themes so if you want to check out previous posts and videos:

The Basic Supplies:

Stickers & Washi:

Pens & Ink:

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purpose of review. Some items were purchased with funds from our amazing Patrons. You can help support this blog by joining our Patreon. Please see the About page for more details.

In Link Love

Link Love: In My Strawberry Era

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Link Love: In My Strawberry Era

I am 100% embracing strawberries as my icon, favorite fruit and vibe for June. If you are a Parton, you’ve already seen our strawberry-themed printable for June. My planner set-up video for June will post tomorrow and its also all strawberry vibes. Strawberries are happy for me.– a symbol of the first fruits of the year and give me such joy. We all need some joy right now. What’s your vibe for June, your favorite fruit or something you’re looking forward to in June?

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

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