In feature

Hot Dang Press Iron-On Transfers Insanity!

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Hot Dang Press Iron-On Transfers Insanity!

While at the Chicago Stationery Fest, we met the delightful couple who runs Hot Dang Press and we acquired a couple sets of their iron-on transfer sheets for future use. Well, it wasn’t that far in the future before I grabbed my trusty ironing board and iron and went transfer crazy!

Bob bought the I Heart Chicago Sheet Set but proceeded to leave it at the shop so I was left with the Linocut Sheet Set in Cream I bought. Each set sells for $22 and includes TWO sheets (one for you and one for a friend?!?!)

Once I got started, nothing was safe!

Step 1: choose location for iron on transfers
Step 2: cover with Parchment paper and press with medium-hot iron for 20 seconds.
Step 3: LET COOL! Peel gently (if the plastic oversheet doesn’t lift easily, reapply heat). Then cover with parchment and press with iron to set.

The process to iron the transfers on is super easy. You cut out your chosen design, heat your iron to medium-high (I set mine to the cotton/linen setting) with no steam. You then lay the transfer sticky side down, plastic side up, cover with a piece of baking parchment over the transfer and then iron it onto your chosen surface. You press for about 20 seconds and then LET IT COOL before peeling. If the transfer does not peel off easily, iron it again and LET IT COOL again. Once it peels successfully, cover the transfer with your parchment paper again and iron it again to set it. Done. Repeat on the next item.

And did I ever repeat! I transferred on to canvas bags, poly-cotton pouches, totes, and leather notebook covers.

The Totes:

I added a bird to my favorite Oxford book tote (from Levenger many years ago) to start.

Then I added and all-seeing eye to my favorite travel bag from Fjallraven (The Totepack No. 1) which is already covered with patches. (Please overlook all the damn cat hair! It’s shedding season!)

And this LL Bean tote that I bought for $3 at a yard sale seemed like the perfect place for the skull and stars. (Similar to the Boat ‘n’ Tote).

The Leather Goods:

The only oopsie in my whole process was the fish I added to the top of the navy Traveler’s Notebook above. I melted the fins just a little bit. The shell transferred just fine. I just over ironed the fish.

I added a leaf shape to my 5th anniversary Traveler’s Notebook Passport that I use as a wallet. LOVE!!!

The above Traveler’s-style Leather cover got the Chicago Flag transfer at the event by the team at Hot Dang but I added the flaming heart and flower.

Then I took a chance and applied the moon and stars transfer to my beloved Galen Leather 3-Pen zip case in crazy horse leather. Tip from me: be sure to cover the whole surface of your surface because I did end up getting some lines on the leather from my iron because I didn’t cover it completely with parchment. You’ve been warned!

Defacing NockCo Cases:

This. This cracked me up. I added this bow transfer to the 2017 Pen Addict-NockCo Kickstarter pouch above the snap. How could I not?!?!

I think it looks perfect.

My used and abused Brasstown (its been through the washing machine after a nasty pen leak) seemed like a perfect candidate for a mushroom — right next to more ink stains.

Other Pouches:

I knew the cat transfer had to be on this black Nomadic PW-11 Boat Shaped Pen Case.

Looks pretty cool, huh?!?!

On the side zipper pocket, I added a rainbow design to this EASTHILL Big Capacity Pencil Case.

The most challenging case that I tried to add a transfer onto was the Raymay Clam Pencase because I had to turn it inside out and find a firm shape to put under the area I wanted the transfer to stick.

After repeated efforts, I did get it to work and I love it so it was 100% worth it.

Final Comments:

So its safe to say I’m a big fan of Hot Dang Press and iron-on transfers. I still have a few left in my set and eventually Bob will bring that Chicago set home and then I’ll start covering his stuff with iron-ons too.

I suspect all be ordering more iron-on transfers from Hot Dang in the near future. I really like the Stationery Addict Sheet Set and the All Cats Sheet Set.

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. 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 feature

Giveaway Winner: Virtual Chicago Stationery Fest Kit

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments
Giveaway Winner: Virtual Chicago Stationery Fest Kit

Thanks to everyone who played along and shared their most recent pen show, pen meet-up or pen shopping trip. I got to virtually shop with all of your and it was a blast.

The winner of our  Virtual Chicago Stationery Fest Kit is:

Cograts, DeeOrbra, I have emailed you directly so check your email today and I can mail your kit out this week.

Thanks to everyone and stay tuned! We have plans for another giveaway soon!

In Fashionable Friday

Fashionable Friday: Everyday is Caturday

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Fashionable Friday: Everyday is Caturday

This has been a week so I though maybe a little Cat Love is what we need today. As I write this, I have a big tabby cat passed out on my lap so I think he approves!

Thanks to my sponsors for providing some of the images I use for Fashionable Friday. Please consider making your next purchase from one of the shops that support this blog and let them know you heard about them here. Thanks for your support and for supporting the shops that help keep it running.

In Link Love

Link Love: Once again, with more sneezing!

Author AnaPosted on 4 Comments
Link Love: Once again, with more sneezing!

I think I’m jinxed. I got ANOTHER cold while traveling to the Chicago Stationery Fest. Between being tired from the trip and catching yet another cold, last week was a blur of sneezing, sleeping and tissues. Today is the first day that I am starting to feel human again. I might venture to the grocery store. I feel like this is a turning point.

In other news, it looks like I’ll be attending the Little Craft Fest/Houston Stationery Fest after all. The kind folks at Dromgoole’s have asked me to help at their tables and I’m thrilled to visit Houston for the first time. I’ll have more information in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

Event Wrap-Ups:

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

Thanks to all our Patrons who keep this site running. Without you, we could not continue to do what we do.  You too can be an active part of this stationery community by joining our Patreon today. You’ll get access to free printables, a bi-weekly podcast and more. Thank you!

In Ink Review

Ink Review: Ferris Wheel Press Steeped Umber

Author Laura CameronPosted on 1 Comment

I sort of wanted to title this post “Another Swing, Another Miss,” but I figured it was better to make it searchable right? I’m referring, of course, to my quest for the perfect brown matching the Pantone Color of the Year Mocha Mousse (spoiler: this isn’t it).

This is Ferris Wheel Press Steeped Umber ($3 for 4ml), and while it is not Mocha Mousse, it is a lovely brown that leans red.

I’ll be honest, I have not been terribly impressed with Ferris Wheel Press inks in the past. Most of the ones I’ve tried have feathered and bled on my papers (old Tomoe River and Maruman – see details at the bottom of the post for paper specs). This one didn’t do that at all.

This is just a nice rich brown, with a hint of red. Umber is a pigment, and steeped makes me think tea?

One of the things I love when I start looking for Pantone color dupes is that I end up building a nice collection in whatever that shade is. Here’s quite a few of my browns. Some lean yellow, some lean red, some lean pink…. none of them look exactly alike. Is that a win? I don’t know!

Overall I like this one!

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In feature

Giveaway: Virtual Chicago Stationery Fest Kit

Author AnaPosted on 61 Comments
Giveaway: Virtual Chicago Stationery Fest Kit

I picked up extra goodies from the Chicago Stationery Fest to share with one lucky reader.

  • Paper & Pencil Canvas Mini Tote (AKA “a house purse” purchased at Paper & Pencil)
  • Endless Recorder STEALTH “Chicago” Notebook (donated by Retro51)
  • Pouch Magazine (purchased at Paper & Pencil)
  • Chicag-o-ring Special Edition Col-o-ring Ink Swatching Book (donated by me!)
  • Roll of Inky Dreams Washi Tape (donated by me!)
  • Stickers, postcards, event brochure with all vendors listed and assorted swag

I hope that our winner will like this little bundle of goodies as much as I do and gives you a little bit of that “I went to a Stationery Fest” without having to travel.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell me what the last pen show, pen event, meet-up or pen shop you visited. If it hasn’t happened yet, what event are you planning to attend this year? Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person.

If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site. Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give the monkeys some time.

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Friday, April 4, 2025. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Monday. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 5 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.

In Planners & Organizers

April Planner Set-Up: Pink Moon

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
April Planner Set-Up: Pink Moon

March, for me, was a bit of a planner/journal mess. I traveled a lot in March which threw off both my rhythm for regularly updating my planner while I was on the road but also made getting caught up in the time I was home difficult because I was also trying to catch up on work. Oh, and I caught “con crud” — twice. So, that also threw my cadence for keeping up with everything way off.

I tell you this to encourage you not to give up or blame your planner or system. Sometimes, stuff just gets in the way. My solution for planner/journal mess-ups are as follows:

  • Try to do a little back filling: if you can remember something that happened on a particular day that you can go back and add in your journal or planner, do it. Even if there are 4 blank pages or slots in between. It’s better to document a few things then nothing at all. As you add in those one or two things, other memories might come back to you. Maybe you have to jump around. “Oh yeah, we ordered that delicious take-out on Thursday and Tuesday I spent an inordinate amount of time on hold with tech support.” Maybe there’s nothing for Wednesday? That’s ok.
  • If you are traveling or sick or something else majorly disrupts your regular writing, go to those days and just write “SICK!” or “In Chicago”. Later, it will at least trigger reminders of the big events, even if you weren’t able to remember anything else.
  • Use the start of a new month, or your birthday, or the day back to school after Spring Break as a chance to renew your commitment to keeping up your journal or planner or memory keeping.
  • Find the right time to write. Some people are morning people and want to get all their to-do’s into their planner first thing in the morning. Some people just want to drink coffee (that’s me). I find I am most planner productive at lunch. So, I grab my lunch and my journal and sit somewhere that is not my desk and update whatever I need to. On particularly busy days, I may wait and do it after dinner. I have a lovely lap desk that I will set on my lap while sitting on the couch in the evenings and add doodles and what not while watching an episode or two of a favorite show.

The bottomline is that you want to write or doodle or memory keep or whatever brings you back to those lovely paper notebooks, pens, washi and whatnot. So let yourself love the time you set aside and don’t punish yourself or throw the planner out with the bathwater (that sounded better in my head) just because life got away from you.

So with all that said, this month, I will walk you through my not-so-well-done planners and give you a little insight on how I plan to reignite my planner passion in April.

What am I using:

Notebook:

Pens & Ink:

Stickers, Washi Tape, Etc.

DISCLAIMER: Some items in this post include affiliate links. Also, some items were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. 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.