In Paper Review

Daigo Tea & Diary Time – Review and GIVEAWAY

Author Laura CameronPosted on 19 Comments
Daigo Tea & Diary Time – Review and GIVEAWAY

A few weeks ago when I was browsing JetPens, my attention was captured by the Daigo Tea & Diary Time diaries ($11.50-12.50). These looked like the perfect little books in which to record a few simple thoughts of the day. Since I’ve written many times about how I struggle with daily journaling, I wondered if this might be the key!

I ordered three versions: a Morning Diary, an Evening Diary and a Weekend Diary. I chose to test out the Weekend version for myself.

All the books are A6 size which translates to 5.75″ x 4″ (15cm x 10.5cm) which makes them somewhat pocketable, and definitely purse friendly. The covers are cardstock. They come encased in a thin plastic which may just be for packaging, but I decided to sticker mine up and leave it on to protect the cardstock. Inside the books are filled with Daigo Diary Paper which is ivory and lined. While I can’t find a GSM for the paper, it is thicker than Tomoe River, but lighter than most of my preferred papers. Page amounts vary – for the weekend there are 110 sheets (for 2 years worth of weeks), and for the morning/evening there are 192 sheets (for approximately 6 months of days).

How is the paper? I enjoyed writing on it. I was using a Pelikan M205 Fine, which is a wetter writer. I didn’t see any bleeding or feathering. The writing did show through the opposite side more than I would like, but that could be fixed with a lighter touch and a slightly finer nib. Or it would likely be perfect for gel pens.

I’m kind of charmed by the fact that the writing spaces are so small that I really only have time for a few important thoughts. Like knitting with friends is super fun, but sometimes you will make mistakes and have to rip out your work later. Or being seated at a table next to a couple loudly breaking up next to you in Panera is quite awkward. Or that early voting has opened in your state, and it’s time to go! Clearly the deepest thoughts!

Ok it’s too far down the page and I haven’t even mentioned the giveaway. Let’s do this!

THE GIVEAWAY: You are entering to win a Tea & Diary Time Diary. I have one of each: Tea & Diary Time Evening Cafe Au Lait/Calming and Tea & Diary Time Morning Coffee/Blue. I will select two winners; each will win one journal plus a few SWAG items from me and The Desk.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell us whether you’re a morning pages or a night owl journaler? 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 Sunday, July 26, 2026. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Instagram, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Monday, June 1. 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.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review and giveaway were purchased from JetPens using my own funds. Please see the About page for more details.

In Ink Review

Ink Review: Taccia Ukiyo-e Ink Hokusai Sabimidori

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment
Ink Review: Taccia Ukiyo-e Ink Hokusai Sabimidori

I was so excited to try a new ink from Taccia. I picked up a bottle of the Hokusai Sabimidori (40ml bottle for $32). First, I have always liked the work of Hokusai and this ink collection includes four inks inspired by the Ukiyo-e prints of legendary artist Hokusai. I was able to see an exhibition of Hokusai’s work this year at the Nelson-Atkins Museum. Ukiyo-e is a style of Japanese printing from the Edo-period (17th century) that focuses on everyday life, a trend that continue to inspire artists today.

In order to fit my bottle into my quart-sized travel bag, I had to give up the beautiful box with the Hokusai artwork.

So, let’s get into the specifics of this inks.

This ink is very sheeny but is unusual in its hue. The base color is a very dark bluish green with reddish sheen. The green seems to only show on some papers, with the bluish hue becoming more vivid on others.

Swatch on Iroful paper. Much bluer than on Col-o-ring paper.
Again, on Cosmo Air Light, Sabimidori looks much more blue than green. Crazy, right?
On Tomoe River 68gsm, more of the greenish hue is visible but still very greyish — not a vivid green.

Ink Comparison

I have a few green-to-red sheening inks but the Taccia Sabimidori is distinctly different in both base color and sheen.

Stacked swatches from top to bottom: Octopus Gremlin, Van Dieman’s Sea Turtle, Vinta Inks Andrata Teal, Diamine November Rain and Taccia Sabimidori.

Octopus Inks Gremlin is a green base with a deep blue sheen, November Rain, Sea Turtle and Andrata Teal are all a green base with reddish-pink sheen. Sabimidori almost has a coppery vibe in comparison.

Final Impressions

Overall, Tacci Sabimidori is a very unusual ink. It looks different on different papers and at different angles. Just when I think I figured it out, it seems to shift. As a result, the longer I use and the longer I stare at it, the more I like it. It’s definitely worth trying it out as it is a truly unusual color.

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

In Ink Review

The Hunt for the Perfect Green Ink Continues….

Author AnaPosted on 7 Comments
The Hunt for the Perfect Green Ink Continues….

I have been using a very specific ink for the past few years. The ink is Pen BBS #224 Leo Tolstoy which was released a few years ago never to be seen again. It’s a dark yellow-green that has low saturation but a dark enough ink for a fine Japanese nib. It’s not a bright grassy green but more of a brined olive color. I love this ink and keep a pen filled with it, all the time. Which means, there’s not much left.

I have made an effort to find a replacement over the years so that I can continue to write in my signature green color but results have been mixed. There have been a few similar-ish but brighter, or darker, or more yellow-y. So, last weekend while I was in Portland, I decided to make another effort to find a good alternative.

Swatches on B6 Slim Cosmo Air Light
Swatches on B6 Slim Cosmo Air Light

I grabbed a ridiculous amount of ink at the show and ordered a few additional options. So here’s the list:

  1. Amarillo Stationery Not Too Much
  2. Sailor Studio Ink #970
  3. Sailor Studio Ink #370
  4. Colorverse USA Special Great Plains
  5. Vinta Inks Leyte 1944 Sea Kelp
  6. Octopus Inks Goblin (Violet sheener green so I knew it was a long shot, but c’mon, for the name alone!)
  7. Troublemaker Hanging Rice

The inks I collected range from bright grassy greens (Amarillo No Too Much!) to more moody, murky yellow-greens (like Sailor #970 and Colorverse Great Plains). They are all pretty and have potential in my collection but aren’t necessarily a replacement for Leo Tolstoy.

As expected, Octopus Inks Goblin is nowhere near Pen BBS #224 but I couldn’t resist an ink called Goblin with a green base and violet sheen. Yum! So, as much I like it, it will not replace Leo Tolstoy. But that’s okay.

Ink swatch samples on Iroful paper in my bible-sized Plotter.

I have been experimenting with swatching on some different papers and you’ll see that the inks look quite different depending on the paper. Iroful definitely switches ink colors in ways I find extremely unexpected. Colors seem to look a little lighter overall and in some cases, the colors shift a bit. So, beware when you are testing different inks and papers that YMMV.

I did find a few inks that I think might be good options moving forward, even though they are not quite the same hue as my beloved Pen BBS #224 Leo Tolstoy. Sailor Studio #370 is pretty close, a tiny bit lighter. Vinta Inks Leyte and Troublemaker Hanging Rice are darker but I quite like them and I think I might test these out in the next few weeks and see if I like them.

Do you have a favorite ink that might be impossible to replace? What’s your plan? Eat it up like the last slice of birthday cake or hoard it like the last piece of Halloween candy? What’s your plan? I think I’m a “use it up” kind of person but I am getting a little verklempt about using up the last of the Pen BBS #224.

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

In Paper Review

Notebook Review: Midori A6 Commonplace Book (How NOT to Commonplace!)

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Notebook Review: Midori A6 Commonplace Book (How NOT to Commonplace!)
The cover is a simple, cardstock cover with simple gold foil lettering on the cover.

I picked up the Midori “Commonplace Book” ($5 and available in 2 colors) . This A6-sized, 61-numbered-page mini notebook includes a paper bookmark that is printed with lines to add your own key, a place to store your key in the book, and a 2-page spread index that is numbered to match page numbers.

The Commonplace Notebook Features

There is a little brochure included with the notebook that includes information on how to utilize the notebook. Unfortunately, the brochure is written in Japanese so I am following along with the pictures to try to best understand its use.

Brochure included with Commonplace Notebook
Close-up of brochure included with the Commonplace Notebook
Example of color coding index

The idea is that users will utilize the margin area on each page to color code the content in the main area to the key.

Bookmark wrapped around the cover of the notebook
Index Pages

Then you can use the Index pages to annotate more specific information about what appears on each page.

2.5mm grid

Then the main part of the notebook includes 2.5mm grid on smooth, cream Midori paper with numbered pages.

Page numbers

There is a solid (-ish) line about five grid spaces from the left edge on each page. This area  is designed to be used to color code your notes.

Margin line on the left side and one of the dots that help divide the page into quarters

How NOT to Commonplace

The more research I did about this notebook, the more complicated it seemed and the less confident I felt about using a commonplace system like this. This notebook made me realize I am not great with Commonplace notebooks. My brain is not that organized.

I collaged the cover of the Midori Commonplace Book so it is now just “Book No. 3” — a random sticker I found in my stash.

But its a nice, pocketable notebook with great paper and a stellar price point ($5 for 61 pages of Midori paper!).  So I wanted to figure out another way I could use this notebook? So I turned it into a junk journal! And by junk, I mean I started gluing in quotes, scraps, stickers, washi and random bits. I typed out quotes I like on my old manual typewriter and cut and pasted them into the book. I wrote things in from books and ideas I heard in podcasts.

Collage pages in progress.

So in the end, it did become a sort of commonplace book but not one that was stringently organized, color-coded or indexed.

So, if you are curious about this notebook but don’t think you are a “commonplace book user” don’t fret. Just stick a sticker over the title on the cover and chuck the bookmark. Make your own magic on lovely paper with. micro grid. Don’t feel constricted by the original intent. Make the notebook yours. There is no Notebook Police that will hand out citations for misuse of a notebook and if there is, kick ’em in the shins. Their laws don’t apply to you!

DISCLAIMER: Some 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: Celebrate The Wins

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment
Link Love: Celebrate The Wins

Laura and I were really excited to see the MDK post about celebrating the wins. I have seen this concept on YouTube as well recently. The idea is to reserve a page in your planner or journal to create a “wins list”. And it doesn’t have to be a list, it could be a garden of flowers, a bunch of award ribbons and trophies, it could be donuts or kittens or other images that make you happy and then fill each shape or spot with your wins and they will be different for everyone and even different depending on the day, season or life phase. Today for me, a win would be a shower and getting some laundry done because I am still dragging ass from the PNW Pen Show. I think my awards would be cups of coffee. What are your wins and how would you award yourself on paper?

Link of the Week:

Only Ten Pens:

Pens:

Ink:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Books & Bibliophiles:

Other Interesting Things:

Check out our Patreon where you can get inspiration, gossip and free printables that include a biweekly podcast and more. Your patronage supports this site. Without them, and without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!

In feature

What’s Up with Sailor Studio Inks?

Author AnaPosted on 4 Comments
What’s Up with Sailor Studio Inks?

There have been lots of rumors floating around about the Sailor Studio Ink collection and I have all the details for you.

First, if you don’t know what I’m talking about, Sailor released the Studio Ink collection several years ago with 100 unique ink colors in 20ml bottles. Some of these inks were wildly popular (123, we are looking at you!) and others clearly were not as popular. I think, at the time the collection was released, it was a little overwhelming for people to choose which of the 100 ink colors they needed or wanted and this collection also came out as the popularity of shimmer ink was on the rise. And Sailor, at present has no shimmer inks for fountain pens. This might change at some point but, at the moment, the only shimmer inks Sailor has released have been the Dipton collection for dip pens.

As a result of trends in the market, and the success of some very specific colors, many of the Sailor Studio Inks sat on the shelf, unloved. Some of this may have been a result of the rise of new brands like Wearinguel which hit the market about the same time that the Studio Ink line was released.  The Studio collection also included inks  that were not hugely dissimilar to each other or to an ink one of Sailor’s other lines –Shikiori, Manyo, special collections like the US 50 State series or the Yurameku series which offered a lot the multichromatic and sheening inks that had been some of the biggest sellers in the original Studio Ink line-up.

So, Sailor decided to keep 40 of the most popular colors from the original Studio Ink line, discontinue 60 of the colors and bring in TEN NEW colors. Some of the decision might have come from the contest they held in January about which shades were peoples’ favorites. You can check out the results and see if you agree. All the winners seem to be quite light, low saturation colors.

I have confirmation on the 60 colors that have been discontinued, listed below.

In order to keep the swatches, which I painstakingly added to this spreadsheet, I had to upload them to the site as screenshots. If you want to download and reference this spreadsheet yourself, here is a link to the spreadsheet (PDF).

From this list, you’ll see that many of the most popular colors will remain. Of the Sailor Studio Inks we have reviewed here, only three have been discontinued: No. 442,  No. 341, and No. 653.

The new colors were shown in a slide on an Instagram post so I’m including it here for reference:

 

The new rollout for the Sailor Studio Ink collection will also include new packaging (pictured above). As a result, most retailers are making an effort to sell down their stock of original Sailor Ink Studio inks in preparation for the newly designed Studio Inks which will hopefully arrive in the US soon but I couldn’t find any definitive info about when the new bottles are expected to ship.

Full 50 colors in the line-up of Sailor Ink Studio colors for 2026

Overall, I think there are other solid alternatives already in the market for many of the colors removed. I counted and about 19 shades of blue were removed but there are strong showings for blues elsewhere.

As a Sailor ink lover, I am disappointed that they have chosen to take such a giant chunk out of this collection. I have found The Studio Ink collection to be a particularly good collection to shop when people are looking for an ink to match a specific pen. However, I think Diamine has an equally wide range and can help fill in any gaps that might now exist as well as all of Sailor’s other lines.

A few of the bottles of Sailor Studio Inks I picked up this weekend.I was able to grab a bottle of 564 and 341 which are on the chopping block but I grabbed a few others because I was feeling extra inky this weekend.

Check out some of our reviews of ink from the original Sailor Studio Ink collection.

Images used in the spreadsheet came from Pen Boutique, Dromgoole’s, Goulet Pens, Sakura Pen Gallery, Larry Post Australia, and whatever popped up when I searched for a swatch. If you want to purchase one of these inks before they are gone forever, buy it from your favorite authorized Sailor dealer while supplies last. 

Finally, big shoutout to the folk on r/fountainpens on reddit for bringing this to my attention.

In Planners & Organizers

July Planner Set-Up: Art Deco Mermaid

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments
July Planner Set-Up: Art Deco Mermaid

I know its a little late in the month to talk about my planner set-up but with the long weekend and my impending trip to Portland for the PNW Pen Show, things have been a little topsy turvy.

 

This month, I built another mermaid theme for the Patrons and myself. I feel like no matter where you live, July is a perfect time to get in touch with your inner merperson. Cool ocean currents and the deep sea is just the relief most of us need in the northern hemisphere as we slowly roast in the summer heat. Those in the southern hemisphere can dream of the upcoming warmer temps.

Pens & Inks:

It took multiple tries to get the right combination of nibs and inks this month. I , of course, treally wanted to use my Sailor PGS “Follow the Mermaid” fountain pen but the nib seems finer than a standard HF so I needed a bit darker ink to get the right contrast and usefulness from it. I ended up using the Colorverse Pillars of Creation which is a sheening reddish purple ink. I also really wanted to use my Platinum 3776 Kungpoo with the UEF nib but just couldn’t get an ink that was ocean-y enough for my theme AND dark enough for the needlepoint nib. In the end, I took the Kungpoo out of rotation for this month and put in a pen with a slightly wetter nib in the form of my Platinum Prefounte with an 03 nib and filled with Colorverse Morning Star.

Ephemera:

I was spoiled for choice when it came to ocean-themed ephemera. Both sticker books were filled with a wide assortment of options from sea life to vintage bathers and pirates and I used a little of all of them. I love the giant Mystical Ocean PET tape but I did need to get creative in how to use since some of the stickers are quite large. What do you expect of whales? Of course they are big. There is amazing silver foil details that look great so I made these giant sticker work.Even using them liberally, I didn’t use a full repeat from the roll and the roll has at least 5 repeats of the designs so I think these big guys will come up again next year!

Do you theme your planner or journal by the week, month or year? What kinds of themes do you use?