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 Leave a 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:

Have you joined our Patreon? Patrons get a bi-weekly podcast, early access to sales, a newsletter and more. Your patronage supports this site (and the furry beasties that live here). Without you, the beasts would be hungry. If you are a Patron, thank you! Purrs and biscuits to you!

In Fountain Pen Review

New FPD: Sailor x Mizutama Profit Junior Limited Edition Fountain Pen

Author Laura CameronPosted on 1 Comment

I had a birthday a few weeks back, and a bestie who is into pens with me sent me a fun gift, a Sailor x Mizutama Profit Junior Limited Edition Fountain Pen. I had never heard of this pen before, but I’m always game for a Sailor!

This particular limited edition collaboration is between Sailor and the Japanese illustrator Mizutama, whose drawings are whimsical and fun! The collaboration features three resin bodied pens (in Orange, Aqua and Cream) along with a matching converter, and a 10mL bottle of ink.

The Profit Junior pen (also called a Compass and a Junior 1911 in other places I’ve found) is a smaller model of the Sailor 1911, with a cigar shape. The pens feature steel nibs (a MF in my Aqua version), metal trim and a cute illustration. The Aqua features a girl reading a book with a plane flying overhead. The other interesting thing is that the feed mechanism is clear. I wish I had shot a photo of it before I loaded the ink because now it just looks blue!

The pen writes pretty smoothly. It definitely doesn’t have the feel of my favorite Sailor Pro Gear Slim, but it is nice and firm. The smaller size might be meant more for students, but it fits my hand really well and I know this is a pen I can use without hand fatigue. The nib, while an MF, is actually quite fine for me and the ink is the perfect blue to match it.

I think it might be a good color for me eh?

DISCLAIMER: I received the Sailor x Mizutama from a friend for my birthday. Some of the other items in this review may have been provided to me free of charge for the purposes of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Ink Review

Ink Review: Dominant Industry Little Craft Fest 2025 Exclusives

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Ink Review: Dominant Industry Little Craft Fest 2025 Exclusives

While I was in Houston, I grabbed the Little Craft Fest exclusive ink colors from Dominant Industry. The irony was that the first day of the show, they did not have swatches of the colors to show so I went back the second day and someone had swatched them. One of the bottles in clearly labelled on the box and the bottle as A Day in Arpril (yes, there’s a typo). I will refer to it by the misspelled name since that is what is printed on the bottle and the box. It may be listed elsewhere with the spelling corrected to A Day in April if you are searching for more information, FYI.

From a quick glance the inks: A Day in Arpril (sic) and A Field of Bluebonnets are remarkably similar. Bluebonnets appears to be the same color ink with shimmer and Arpril (sic) is just a shading blue lavender ink.

Both bottles are 25ml. Arpril (sic) is $17 per bottle and Bluebonnets in $20. To be honest, the bottle of Bluebonnets I got did not have much shimmer particles in it making the upcharge not worth it particularly. Also, buying both bottles seems unnecessary as the base ink color is the same.

When compared with other inks in my stash, I discovered I have a lot of inks in this family of mid-tone blue lavender shading inks. Clearly, its a color that appeals to me.

Pen BBS inks are hard to find these days and Bungbox/Bungubox inks are much more expensive so the Dominant Industry inks are a good alternative if you’ve been looking for a dupe for these other inks.

Ink colors from top to bottom: Dominant Industry 107 Manschurian Violet, Troublemaker Ink Milky Ocean, Dominant Industry Little Craft Fest A Field of Bluebonnets, Pen BBS #182 April Diamond, Dominant Industry Little Craft Fest A Day in Arpril (sic), and Bungbox / Bungubox Omeazaki Sky.

All these ink colors have a little multichromatic effect that causes the colors to range between the bluer violet tones to the more pinky colors depending on paper, saturation and nib size. If you own any of these other colors, it might not be necessary to purchase the LCF 2025 edition inks. But if you don’t have any inks in this family, the price is right for the Dominant Industry versions.

Despite the typo on the bottle, I would recommend the A Day in Arpril from this limited edition release. There is just not enough sparkle in the Bluebonnets to make it worthwhile (YMMV).

Tools:

DISCLAIMER: Some items in this post 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: 8 Years & A Mountain of Ink!

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Link Love: 8 Years & A Mountain of Ink!

This week, let’s all wish Kelly of Mountain of Ink Happy Anniversary on 8 years and over 2700  ink reviews! her dedication and consistency is unrivaled in the pen community and a true treasure for us all.  Thank you for all you do, Kelly! You are the inky queen!

Link of the Week:

Pens:

Ink:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

We have been here, bringing you stationery content, for 15 years and we would like to be here for another 15. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support by joining our Patreon. You will unlock our exclusive podcast, free printables and more. Without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!