Lynda sent an email asking where she might find the Tea Cup Caddy featured on the blog back in January 2012.
I tried to email Lynda back directly but the email address must have been mistyped so I’m posting the reply here.
The tea cup caddy was sold through Black + Blum and is listed in their Design Archive so, as far as I can tell, the item is no longer available. For other interesting pen cups, you might check on Modcloth or at Anthropologie.
I was so excited to get a bottle of Noodler’s Bad Green Gater ($12.50 for a 3 oz. bottle). A bulletproof green? This should be a win-win for me. But I have to confess that I was severely underwhelmed by this ink. Yes, it is waterproof. Yes, it is green. But the color is very flat and dull. It lacks a richness or a pizazz. When its wet, it has more depth and zing so I had such high hopes. When its dry, its just BLAH. The hunt for the perfect green ink continues.
This ink was tested with a hacked Pilot Prera with a Plumix calligraphy nib on Rhodia plain paper pad.
I just wanted to check that you had heard about the new Erasable podcast? It is hosted by Andy of Woodclinched, Johnny from Pencil Revolution and Tim from Writing Arsenal (formerly The Daily Carry).
Sunday, March 30th is Pencil Day and there will be a special episode broadcast so you’ve got time to listen to the first two episodes and get caught up. Enjoy!
Lots of great stuff being given away this week. I found a few great chances to try a new product or two and rounded them up here.
Pen Chalet is giving away two e-gift cards on their site. There are multiple ways to enter to win either a $50 gift card or a $25 gift card. Enter early, enter often!
Word Notebooks Giveaway at The Pen Addict. Five sets of notebooks will be given away. Enter before Saturday for your chance to win.
European Paper is offering free shipping on orders of $45 or more through April 1.
Quo Vadis is giving away three Habana notebooks. Enter to win at the bottom of the review.
My Pen Needs Ink is giving away a cool retro pen holder made from an old Hardy Boys book. Enter before Saturday to win.
NPR recently did a report about the value of cursive in child’s brain development. By their best calculations, all fine motor skill activities are valuable to brain development, be it printing, cursive or keyboarding. But the best option is for kids to be doing all sorts of fine motor activities.
This story, however, does not address the issue of legibility, speed of writing or not writing like a 6-year-old when you’re forty.
Opinions?
(via NPR.org)
Zack was curious:
Re: Federal Supply Service Notebook
I was wondering if you have ever seen one of those books in a golden color? I have one ins the green but would love to have a few golden colored ones.
It appears that like Henry Ford might have said, “You can have any color Federal Supply notebook you want as long as its green.” That said, if you’re looking for a durable notebook in a golden color, you might want to try Rite in the Rain.
Rachel asks:
I love the stamps I bought at your store!
I’m a stamping neophyte and have two basic questions about care and storage. What is the best way to clean a rubber stamp when I want to use a different color ink? How should I be storing my stamp pads? I have rubber bands around them now to keep the lids on, but wonder whether I should have them in some sort of air-tight container to keep them from drying out.
Thanks, Rachel! I’m so glad you like the stamps.
To clean stamps, I use a damp paper towel on a ceramic plate to clean my stamps between colors. After stamping, I wipe the stamp gently on the wet towel and then use a dry towel to remove any excess moisture. If a stamp gets left with ink on it, I will add a drop of dishwashing liquid to the wet paper towel to loosen up and remove the dried ink.
I do not recommend submerging the stamps in water or ever using any harsh soaps or detergents to remove ink.
On a particularly crusty stamp, dip an old toothbrush into a cup of water with a couple drops of dishwashing liquid and then gently scrub the stamp to remove ink build-up.
If you use a stamp pad regularly, keeping the lid closed and stored flat, should be enough to keep the pad from drying out.
As for storing stamp pads, I either use a rubber band to keep the lids sealed or bits of tape, depending on how often a particular stamp pad is used. I store my large stamp pads on their ends so tape or rubber bands are a must for keeping them from drying out. But stamp pads, no matter how they are stored, will not stay fresh indefinitely so use them up and re-ink when possible. Happy stamping!
PS: You might enjoy my post about different types of stamp pad ink.
Paper Pastries just created some new custom, hand-lettered return address stamps featuring animal silhouettes. Margaret asked if I’d be a volunteer address for her new creations since she knows I’m a cat lover. She created a lovely hand-lettered rubber stamp with my return address inside a big fluffy cat silhouette. Looks like my big ol’ Maine Coon Milo!
Paper Pastries has a dozen different, animal designs available: cats in various poses, dog silhouettes, and even a bunny! Or you can send her a clear photo of your pet to be turned into a custom silhouette stamp. Then she’ll hand letter your address and make this fabulous wood, art block stamp for you. Each stamp will cost $70 but they are original designs, made just for you and, seeing one in person, it’s clear that its a great value.
Paper Pastries also has state silhouettes, custom calligraphy and unique hand-lettered rubber stamps available as well.
DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Paper Pastries for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
