In Link Love

Link Love: Gift Guides & WTH is a Trigg?

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Link Love: Gift Guides & WTH is a Trigg?

This week we have more gift guides from around the pen community (and satellites) plus two posts about the Trigg Life Mapper, a new planner on the scenes. There are two new guides from JetPens blog this week, one for heavy handed writers and an overview of fountain pen inks. If you’ve never check out JetPens resources, I recommend clicking on one or both of these links!

All our regular favorites are here too: ink reviews, notebook reviews, and more. Once again, my apologies for the delay. Hope you got a chance to listen to the Pen Addict Gift Guide episode I recorded with Brad and Myke yesterday. There’s lots of great ideas plus a special coupon code* for listeners for The Well-Appointed Desk Shop!

Gift Guides:

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

*Okay… I can’t keep a secret. If you listen to the podcast, there is a 10% off all merchandise in our shop. The secret code is PENADDICT. Code is good through 12/15/18.

In Art of the Day

Eye Candy: Stamping Fountain Pen Inks in Col-o-ring

Author AnaPosted on 7 Comments
Eye Candy: Stamping Fountain Pen Inks in Col-o-ring

One of my pen club pals Katie, swatched all the inks at our local pen shop using a rubber stamp. The effect is eye-catching and makes a quick way to show ink without using a big brushy swab.

 

swatches stamps Col-o-ring

While in Canada I found a couple stamps from Chamilgarden at PaperPlusCloth. I found a checked pattern similar to what Katie used and a dot design. Using a paint brush, I brushed ink onto the stamps and then pressed them into the paper. Some inks filled in a bit, others kept the stamp design more cleanly. It could also be a user error since I don’t work with rubber stamps ad fountain pen ink much. Though it was a lot of fun to try and each result was a little different and unique.

swatches stamps Col-o-ring

The sparkle ink I tried filled in a lot more though I suspect is had something to do with the gold particles. It gave a nice representation of the ink including shading and the sparkle. The other tests I did showed variety in the ink and the checked pattern stamp mimicked varying line widths nicely. I need to improve my implementation though.

While Chamilgardden stamps are pretty hard to come by, a search on Etsy for “grid rubber stamp” or “background rubber stamp” offers some other options.

In Paper Review

Notepad Review: Minerva Switch by Nava Design Studio

Author Laura CameronPosted on 2 Comments
Notepad Review: Minerva Switch by Nava Design Studio

Review by Laura Cameron

I have had these delightful notebooks in my possession for several weeks now, but have been remiss in reviewing them. If you’re still looking for the perfect stocking stuffer these Minerva notebooks ($3.00) are just the ticket!

These mini pocket notebooks from Nava Design Studio in Italy come in 12 bright, fun colors with funny and sometimes naughty pairs of words on the front.

The notebooks are put together matchbook style, and contain inside them 24 sheets of 3mm gray-lined grid paper. The pad is perforated at the top, so these little 4.7″ x 2.8″ sheets are perfect for dashing off quick notes, to do lists, shopping lists, or leaving your loved one a morning greeting.

 

The most exciting part for me is that they are FOUNTAIN PEN FRIENDLY! Yes you read me correctly. These tiny notebooks performed amazingly well with all the inks/nibs I threw at them. The paper didn’t feather or bleed, and there’s only a bit show through on the plain back. What more could you ask for in a funny notebook sure to be a conversation starter?

 

The only question is whether I can fit all 12 into my stocking in addition to all the chocolate and ink samples, right?

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Vanness Pen Shop for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Art of the Day

Eye Candy: Rolling Stamp Collection

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Eye Candy: Rolling Stamp Collection

It turns out that I have accumulated quite the rolling stamp collection. I collect vintage and modern rolling stamps. Most of the vintage stamps are either dater or numbering stamps, usually simple type with only numbers and possible dollar signs or punctuation. The modern stamps feature everything from phrases to lines and arrows to check lists.

Rolling stamp collection

I like to use the modern stamp for undated planner pages and envelopes and the vintage stamps for price tags and, occasionally, dates for letters.

The vintage stamps were found in antique malls and the modern stamps came from Studio Calico, Webster Pages, 7 Gypsies, Heidi Swapp and other scrapbooking companies.

In Link Love

Link Love: Gift Guides Go!

Author AnaPosted on
Link Love: Gift Guides Go!

The first round of Gift Guides and year-end round-up posts are out this week. This is how I know its the holidays! There will probably be more in the coming weeks… it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Gift Guides & Holiday Posts:

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

In feature

Our Holiday Wish List: What we want for the holidays

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments

Following yesterday’s Gift Guide, we thought we’d share some of our holiday wishes — some attainable, some not-so-attainable.

Ana:

This wish list has my stationery lusts on it but I also have a few non-stationery things I’ve been wanting (like this amazing wool shop handbag and a Sphero BB-8 to keep my R2 company) as well as entirely intangible wishes as well (like more time, more calm and more bliss in the world). We can all dream, right?

  • Demylee X CWPE Women’s Pencil Sweater ($284) When Caroline and Co. showed me the sweater they had made for the holidays, I knew immediately that it would rocket to the top of my holiday wish list. I mean, I already have pencil socks so, of course, I need a sweater to match!
  • Shiny silver Ink Bottle Enamel Lapel Pin ($8.63) I am a sucker for enamel pins and if its even marginally related to fountain pens, then I really want it.
  • Frannerd Open yearly planner – YEAR TWO ($29.22) I need another planner like I need a hole in my head but I am such a fan of Fran Menses that I would love to have one of her new planners. She has done such great artwork and worked so hard to develop it that I would love to have one in my hands and experience it first hand.

Laura:

  • Platinum 3776 Century Fountain Pen Kumpoo ($260 but out of stock)- It’s my color and I love my other Platinum 3776 (Chartres Blue). I couldn’t justify it when it came out, but I’ve used Ana’s and I have a serious case of pen lust.
  • Fringe Supply Company Field Bag, Waxed Canvas, Plum – Honestly I’m not sure what’s the most ridiculous part of my wanting this bag. It’s a knitting bag, and while I know it’s of amazing quality, I want to spend $75 on a bag to hold my knitting! And it happens to be sold out everywhere in the newest color (Plum) that I desperately want. And I’ve never actually held one in my hands so who knows if I’ll like it when I get it. See? Replace the word fountain pen with knitting and it’s the SAME THING.

Tina:

What do I want for the holidays? Hmmm. That’s a question that can be interpreted many ways. If I were making a wish list for the day I win the lotto, these items would be on it:

  • Nakaya Dorsal Fin Version 2 Aka-tamenuri ($1,500 + $100 for two-tone extra-broad nib) That barrel shape is what my fountain pen dreams are made of.
  • Sailor King of Pen Red Urushi ($1,900) Of course, it must have a Naginata Fude de Mannen nib, which doesn’t exist as an option, but I’ll fly to Hiroshima and wait for them to make it for me.
  • A full subscription to the 500-color Felissimo colored pencil set (¥2,808 per month x 25 months = ¥70,200 or about US $622; volume discount available!) The website says: “A color for every happiness in the world.” Beat that!
  • Faber-Castell KarlBox Colours in Black ($2,850) Truth be told, I probably already own most of the contents of this box, so owning this collection in the KarlBox would be like the piano some people keep in their parlors without ever playing it. I promise to dust and polish it weekly.

Then there are the items on my wish list for before I win the lotto (which looks very much like my Amazon and Blick wish lists):