I cannot believe that it’s only two weeks until the Chicago Pen Show!
I am working on new sticker designs (proofs soon!) and we have a limited edition Col-o-ring available at the event as well. The design for the “Land of Inkin'” Col-o-ring came from my very first license plate. I hope it will be as nostaligic for other Illinois natives as it is for me and that it will be a fun keepsake for any visitors’ trip to the 2026 Chicago Pen Show.
Come visit us and all the other awesome vendors who will be at the event!
I also wanted to remind anyone attending that I am teaching two workshops over the weekend: Gamify Your Life and Sigils: Make Magic with Pens & Ink and there are still spaces available in both! Find new ways to use your planner or journal with fun or a little magic!
And just weeks later will be the St. Louis Pen Show with more workshops and chances to visit, meet and chat with pen fans!
Good News: Since the safe return of the Artemis II astronauts, photos and stories of the success of the mission and beautiful images of the moon, earth and space are being seen around the internet. Bask in the good space vibes. Links below.
Bad News: There’s a link below announcing price increases for postage stamps in the US starting in July. Starting April 26, all parcel shipment prices will increase by 8% and are expected to stay at this higher level through January 17, 2027. Be prepared that this will affect all shops small and large.
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!
So lately I’ve been diving headfirst into gel pens. If you love gel pens, but miss some of the sparkle/shimmer/sheen of fountain pen inks, this might be a set for you!
The Pentel Hybrid Dual Metallic Gel Pens are available individual or in sets, like the 14 pen Original + Fantasy set ($35) that I purchased. The pens are plastic barreled pens, with slightly faceted edges, and fitted with snap caps. The points are 1mm which provides for a “smooth and juicy” writing experience – the marketing nails that one.
In my set there were 14 colors available – 6 of the original darker colors with one metallic sheen, and 6 of the “fantasy” colors (they read more pastel) which each have two metallic sheens. The final two pens are Silver and Gold.
Overall the writing experience for me is mixed. I love the tips and that they lay down a nice amount of ink, but the faceted barrels aren’t super comfortable to write with.
I do love the color variety in the package. It’s a little strange writing with the pens at first. The ink lays down almost murky or a little dirty (you might be tempted to think you’ve mixed your fountain pen inks accidentally), but as it dries you start to see the metallic sheen of the second (or second and third colors). I don’t think my photos do them justice.
Overall, I don’t find them nearly as comfortable to write with as my Pilot G2s, but I appreciate the additional colors options. Now I just need a coloring book to sit with!
DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge by JetPens. Please see the About page for more details.
While I know Moleskine is not a beloved brand with most fountain pen users, these notebooks are fabulous! I need a notebook for pencils, right? Inspired by the Artemis II voyage, of course! Ad Astra Per Aspera!
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.
DISCLAIMER: Some items in this article 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.
Do those words make you anxious or calm? Up until March, I had planner peace.
I’ve stuck with my franken-bullet journal for 4 years now. It took me many years to figure out a system that worked for me. I have a stack of used A5 Breeze TRP68 notebooks from Taroko Stationery archived. Each notebook lasted me 3 months so I went through 4 a year. My system worked so well for me, I bought the notebooks in bulk!
My main priority for my planner was flexibility. I stopped using dated planners for multiple reasons. I never used the weekend pages so I hated that they went to waste. I also need pages for my monthly goals, weekly reflections, and monthly recaps. If I went with a dated planner, I’d need two notebooks. I didn’t want to juggle multiple planner-ish notebooks so franken-bujo it was.
The last weekly page in my franken-bujo
I loved the process of sitting at my desk on Sunday evenings to reflect on the past week and to set up my bullet journal for the week. I drew a simple weekly spread to map out my schedule and priorities for the week. It was my time to play with my fountain pens, stickers, and washi. (My daily pages were made on the day of and pretty minimalist.)
So what changed? Me. I changed.
Due to my chronic illness, I’ve had less energy to draw weekly spreads as simple as they were. A good friend suggested tipping in a printed weekly spread. I tried that for a couple of weeks but it took so much effort to do that. I’d rather use the little energy I had on the planning process and not drawing spreads or taping pages into it.
My first month in the undated Wonderland222
After a bit of research, I settled on the A5 undated version of Wonderland222’s All-in-One Unstacked planner (2025 edition). It uses 52gsm Sanzen Tomoe River Paper. After poking around in some planner groups, I felt confident that it wasn’t part of the bad batch that plagued a lot of planners, including Hobonichi.
Still figuring out my daily format
The undated version gives me the flexibility I had with my bullet journal. At first I use stamps to set up my April monthly pages but that took too much time and energy. I switched to writing in everything. Because of the planner’s thickness (576 pages), the pages were so cushiony to write on, even with my EF fountain pens.
I’m still adjusting to the new format and system, but I feel good about it. Most importantly, I’ve found joy in my planning process again.
Have you switched planners this year? Tell me more!
Our house has been all about the current Artemis II voyage around the moon. We cried when they named the crater after Wiseman’s late wife. We cheered for their efforts and sang along with their wake-up tunes.
I’m pretty sure all this would fit but boy, that is limited space for personal items! I hope a felt tip pen would work in space. Does anyone know? I don’t like the ink in the Fisher Space pen.
I realize I couldn’t take my cats with me but Ollie is volunteering to be the first cat in space.
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!
I spent the better part of yesterday absorbed in NASA’s live stream of the Artemis II mission as they flew around the back of the Moon and entered the return trajectory to Earth. The day was full of inspiring moments, the absolute best of the human spirit and it made me feel hopeful in a way I haven’t for a while now.
During the stream, there were several moments where the scientific reporters involved talked about various aspects of being an astronaut and being on mission. One of those is that each astronaut is allowed a personal preference kit (PPK). The size has varied a bit over the years, but the current size of the PPK is a rectangular box measuring approximately 5 inches by 8 inches by 2 inches (12.7 cm × 20.3 cm × 5.1 cm).
So here’s the question. If you were on a mission to space, what would you put in your PPK? Here are my answers.
I’d want to bring a fountain pen, but I don’t know how well those would work in space, without gravity. So maybe I should bring a Fisher Space Pen?
My selection for a notebook is gonna be pretty predictable too. While I’m tempted to bring a journal with more pages for all my amazing thoughts about the experience, I might need to bring one of my cherished Field Notes Lunacy notebooks with me, right?
Field Notes Lunacy
Something crafty. That box is SMALL. Yarn is squishy, but what do I bring for days away in space? I’m thinking a good pair of socks (one skein of sock yarn, and 5 double pointed needles – though heaven help me if I let go of one and it floats away!) What yarn? Maybe Deep Dyed Yarns Dark Side of the Moon?
