Earlier this month I went to quilt guild meeting and a fellow knitter/spinner/quilter/pen-lover came up to me and handed me a ziplock bag full of ink samples to try. I had brought her 2 little vials, so the trade was quite uneven, but I was delighted. (Thank you K!)
Since then I’ve had fun getting out my swatching equipment and seeing what she shared. So far that Dominant Industry Sunset has stolen my heart, but I’m enjoying a variety of seasonal colors and I’ve got lots more still to swatch.
Is there anything better than pen friends?
(PS I’ll be busy filling up vials of samples for her until the next meeting!)
Recently, Wirecutter published an article about 118 Things to Do Instead of Doomscrolling. I’ve been trying to reduce my phone time and all things subcription-based, alogrithmically-based and “social media”-based so I was curious about their suggestions.
Some suggestions are exactly what I would pick but others still have an internet component. Like the suggestion to find a new recipe it says “Research a new-to-you recipe.” with a link the NYTimes Cooking section. Instead, I think it should say something like “grab that cookbook in your kitchen and pick a recipe.” The other cooking suggestion like “make some pasta” or “churn some ice cream” feel like filler to get to that whopping 118 Things. The tip to research a new restaurant is also likely to lead to grabbing your phone and getting lost on an app. But a tip to “walk around your neighborhood and try a new-to-you restaurant” or “ask your friends/family to recommend a restaurant” is less tied to social media and the doomscrolling suck.
Some suggestions seem written for anyone inclined to procrastinate or fighting their ADHD demons like “schedule an appointment you’ve been putting off” or “check the batteries in your smoke detectors”. I feel scolded by these. I read this post looking for a way to spend time when I am looking for entertainment, not my phantom inner-critic reminding me I’m goofing off when I should be “maximizing my time”. Ugh! If you are triggered by these too, replace them with something you like to do but haven’t done them lately like “spend 10 minutes chilling with a face mask on” or “grab a puzzle book and do one or two.”
Overall, the suggestions inspire me to get up and do something. Just don’t get caught by the links in the post though or you’ll be down a different internet rabbit hole.
I pulled a lot form the list, wrote a few of my own and ended with a list of about 33 things I could do instead of doomscrolling.
I suggest taking the list from Wirecutter and cherry-pick some of the items that resonate with you. It could be 10 things or 100 things. Maybe add your own ideas. Write the list in the back of your notebook, planner or journal to inspire you when you need it most. If you pick 6, 8, 10, 12, 20 or 100, you could turn this into a “Roll for Initiative” and grab your DND dice bag and roll the appropriate dice when you need some help making a decision.
How do you fight the urge to doomscroll? Give me your best your suggestions in the comments.
On the left, the Aura Estelle I’ve been using all year. On the right, a great system with the Owl Paper Co and Lauren Phelps A6 notebook that just didn’t work for me.
Only two weeks into my October Planner Set-Up where I changed everything, I realized it was a mistake. Not that the planner was bad but that I had a system in place. When I say system, I mean I had a personal process that I used in how often, when and where I used the planner. So I want to start by saying, the issue was NOT the actual planner but the way I use it. So, in switching up my system, I had to change where I was storing data, when I was using it, what reminders were stored there or somewhere else and then remember where to find it.
What I learned on the accidental two-week test? I am an ONE planner person. All the to-dos, reminders, projects need to be kept in the same place or I lose track of everything. I made my new system too complicated and found that I was letting two or more days pass without documenting my days. I was not using this new system even though I wanted to use them.
The whole point of a planner/journal is to document, record and remind myself of tasks and with my new system, I was not using them.
One big book vs two smaller books. For some, like me, you need ONE NOTEBOOK TO RULE THEM ALL and others do better with a work planner and a personal journal. Do what works best for you, not just what looks cool on social media.
I love the paper in the Owl Paper Planner but I have been living in the Aura Estelle for the last nine months. It’s like buying a new pair of boots. Anyone who ever wore Dr. Marten’s will know what I mean. The first couple weeks are painful. You get blisters no matter what you do. But once they are broken in, they are your favorite boots. That’s how I am feeling with my Aura Estelle planner. The Owl Paper is a good planner. The paper is lovely, the design is clean. However, I think I can get a few more months (or years) of wear out of the Aura Estelle. I will consider switching when the Aura Estelle is no longer meeting my needs.
The beautiful Owl Paper Co planner and the A6 Lauren Phelps on top of my VERY chonky Aura Estelle in its leather cover
Sometimes, a planner will no longer meet your needs. It’s okay. It happens — life changes (babies are born, jobs change, people retire, etc) and that is a good time to re-assess your planner or journal system. But choosing to switch for arbitrary reasons is a recipe for disaster.
Since only a few days were added to the new Owl Paper Co Planner (on the right), I have been slowly copying the contents to my Aura Estelle Planner.
Once again, I continue to be your cautionary tale. Don’t be like me and be swayed by the shiny new.
Bob and I are headed to Nashville this weekend for the On The Paper Trail LIVE event. I am frantically packing and trying to get everything organized for our tables and the workshops I’ll be teaching. We can’t wait to see everyone at the event.
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Do you have a favorite color? Does it show up all over your hobbies? I’ve always had a thing for teal – yarn, ink, pens…from aqua to deep dark teal, I love all the shades.
I had to run some errands today and one required that I go to my local art supply store, Blick Art Materials. While there, I wandered down the pen aisle and remembered why I love shopping at art supply stores. First, there are individual pens and pencils available for purchase and scrap paper to test the colors and nib widths. The staff and clientele all love pens, paper, ink and other creative tools so they are always fun conversationalists. And finally, it is instant gratification for just a few dollars.
I looked for new and unusual colors in the felt tip pen aisle — one of my favorite types of pens. Since I was able to swatch the colors, I was able to get colors I actually liked (I put several back because they were too light, too similar or not unique enough from my collection) from my favorite brands: Staedtler Triplus Fineliner, Stabilo Point 88 , Faber-Castell Pitt Brush Pens and Marvy LePens.
All pens tested on 68 gsm Tomoe River paper
I grabbed a few fun colors. I particularly like the Staedtler Triplus Fineline in “Brown” which looks like a deep pumpkin orange to me and the “Olive Green” which is in the range of my favorite murky swampy green hue. The Stabilo Point 88 Olive Green looks more like a deep forest green or a green black but I like it. The Pitt Brush pen is a light mossy green but called “Earth Green”. There were so many unique colors to choose from and the Pitt Brush Pens I own currently have lasted forever so I might get a couple more colors next time I pop into Blick.
I continue to add to my Marvy LePen collection with the Pale Mauve –quite a bit lighter than I expected–but it adds to the collection and the Sepia and Black to round out my assortment. I think there are only a few colors in the LePen line I don’t own yet. It was a childhood favorite and I still love them. Some of that love is probably nostalgia but they keep making good pens, in good colors at good prices so how can I resist?
The selection of rollerball and gel pens at Blick was a bit lacking so I didn’t find anything else I wanted but I was tickled to see that they are starting to stock things like Tom’s Studio pens, Platinum Carbon Black ink and an array of converters including Pilot, Sailor and Platinum!
And I couldn’t resist adding a mini Blick bucket to my purchase. They are silly but so fun.
In closing, sometimes its okay to add more of what you love to your stationery collection. And also, its okay to add to your collection one pen at a time. Sets seem like a great deal but if you end up with colors or nib/tip sizes you won’t use, its not the good deal you thought it would be. Local art supply shops are great options for finding open stock (items available in bins, not in sets or in blister packs) pens and pencils and they often will allow you to test the nibs and colors on sample papers or in your own notebook.
Maybe you don’t have an art supply or stationery shop near you to peruse but maybe the local office store, big box, drugstore or dollar store can provide a little stationery delight for you. We all love expensive grail fountain pens, fancy inks and high-end notebooks and planners but we also have a soft spot for the pens we loved as a kid, composition notebooks or stickers from Daiso. Its okay to splurge if your splurge is under $20.
The items featured in this review were purchased with my own money. I am not an affiliate and receive no compensation for this post. I just like my local Blick Art Materials store.
After too many pen shows and a long bout of flu/bronchitis, I finally got enough time to finish some stamps that I’ve been wanting to make for ages. I hope you are as excited about them as I am.
There are also two new sticker sheets: Happy Hour and Lover’s Eyes. Happy Hour is perfect for upcoming holiday season and Lover’s Eyes are inspired by Georgian miniature paintings often in decorative frames.
There are also two new sticker sheets: