I love to read and I love to gamify my life. I like to play for “imaginary internet points” and just generally find new ways to trim down my ever-growing TBR (to be read) list. So, when a friend of mine introduced me to the World of Aeldia and the Orilium Fall Equinox Magical Readathon, I knew this was going to be something I would enjoy.
The Orilium Readathon occurs twice a year for one-month at a time (there are some bonus activities like the Year of Aeldia challenge, House monthly challenges and other side quests), the Autumn Equinox in September and Spring Equinox in April. So, while the “requirements” can look a little duanting, its just for a month at a time, so I find it doable.
The concept for the readathon is a fantasy world called Aeldia where there is a university/academy of study called Orilium where you create your character, pick your calling (there’s about 25 or so) and then your calling will determining which prompts you will have to complete in order to earn your “imaginary internet points”. You also choose a house which will allow you to participate in a House book club selection as well.
There are other activities like “reading sprints” hosted by the creator on YouTube where you can “read along” live. It sounds a little odd but its a lot of fun. In between sprints (usually 30-45 minutes at a time with an on-screen timer), G plays games and gives out points. These imaginary internet points can then be used in the Emporium to purchase Scrolls — these can be bought for swapping out a book for another book if you can’t find anything that fits the challenge, for a book you DNF (did not finish), if you started a book before the readathon started, etc.
I started this challenge last September and participated in the Spring as well so I am on my second year. My character is now an apprentice!
You may be asking what does this reading challenge have to do with stationery!?!?
Since the challenge requires keeping track of points, the books you’re reading, page counts, imaginary points, etc. I, of course, need a dedicated notebook to keep track of everything this month. And I decided to use one of my handmade field notes (not a branded notebook so its lowercase!) to track my adventure this year.
I had made a notebook from mostly black and white papers which I thought would be a good basis for this fantasy-themed, book project. I plan on having a tutorial video posted in a week or so on how to make your own junk-journal-style field notes.
Over the weekend, I added my prompts, book selections and decorated the book with stamps, washi and stickers. I left blank pages to fill in my reviews and any other writings I want to mix into the project.
If you decide to try this readathon challenge too, you can find in the House of the Arcane in the Discord group and my online name is Wellapptdesk!
I’m in the last-dash packing stage getting ready to fly out for the SF Pen Show. I’m excited to spend time with my West Coast Pen Friends and see how crazy the SF show will be this year. If you’re coming to the show, be prepared for the crowds. Deep breaths, pack snacks and water and try out your own slim, low-profile Pen Show Bag (see link below!).
I’ll be working at the Dromgoole’s tables this year so I hope to see you there! Please come by and say hello.
Patrons, check our Patreon page (or your email) for info about meeting up.
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I am many things, but for the purposes of this post the important thing to know is that I collect notebooks and I am a compulsive maker of lists. The first is probably just a side effect of writing for The Desk. I’m always up to try a new paper or notebook format. And, while I have plenty I don’t want to use going forward, those emotional support notebooks do stack up.
As far as making lists, that has been going on forever. I’m someone who suffers from a lot of anxiety. I think making lists solves two problems for me. One: it allows me to have some control over the things I do, writing them down and prioritizing them. Two: it allows my to quiet my brain, knowing that the things I am trying to remember, or worrying about, are down on paper where they won’t be forgotten.
I have lists for EVERYTHING. Work tasks, projects (Knitting, Quilting, Spinning), reviews for the Desk, things I’m going to take on vacation, gifts for people in my life. You name it, I have a list for it.
Several months ago, Ana added the Mark’s EDiT notebooks to the shop. I was interested and I’m not going to lie, I really liked the A5 with the plastic cover. The grid inside isn’t my fave (that’s dot grid!) but it’s not obtrusive enough to bother me. This, I decided, this was a book for lists. And so I started writing. I’m giving myself permission for this to be a mishmash (like the inside of my brain) and a place where I store all those things I want to remember to do, and read, and make, and more.
I recently picked up a bottle of Dominant Industry Leaf Green ($17 for 25ml bottle — $1.47 per ml). I must have been inspired by the Oregon landscape with this deep green, forest-y vibe ink as I had just been there for the PNW Pen Show.
When swatched, the ink is deep green with a little shading that shows a tiny bit of a yellow-y undertone. I love a lime/olive/yellow-green.
I then tested the ink with a variety of pens, dip pens, muddler, and actual filled fountain pens. What I found with this ink and many others is that my penchant for very fine nib pens often makes inks much lighter than they appear in swatches. The two pens I filled, the Kaweco Marble Ocean with a F nib and my trusty Nagasawa Sailor Pro Gear Slim with H-F nib is that the Leaf-Green ink looks almost like two different colors. In the PGS, Leaf-Green is a brighter shading ink but in the Kaweco Sport, the ink looks darker and more solid in overall appearance. Despite appearing from their labels as having similar nib sizes, these two pens result in very different ink looks.
Don’t be fooled! Inks will look different in a wet writer (in this case, the Kaweco) versus a dry writer (the Nagasawa Sailor) and depending on the nib size (a fine Japanese nib versus a fine European nib).
If you don’t like an ink color or wish it was lighter or darker in color, try putting the ink in another pen. Switch to a wider or narrower nib, a wetter nib or a drier nib. So, if at first you’re not happy with an ink color, try it in a different pen.
With the Leaf-Green, I like the ink color in the PGS (Pro Gear Slim) for everyday use and in the Kaweco Sport for a darker, wintery vibe.
Compared to other inks:
I have several “dark green” inks in my stash including one of my very first ink purchases (bought even before I started this web site), Noodler’s Army Green which I bought at our local pen shop. Crazy that my search for the best green ink has been going on for a long time. Vinta Carlos and Kuretake Art Nouveau Zsolnay Green are quite similar in the swatch to Leaf-Green. Brothers Grimm from Montblanc and Noodler’s Army Green are both a bit lighter.
The swatches are darker than how the inks look in a pen but this at least provides a ballpark for the color, if you own any of these other inks.
Since a lot of my green ink purchases have been in an effort to find a new ink to replace my almost-empty Pen BBS No. 224 Leo Tolstoy and No. 342 Matcha Ice Cream which are both either discontinued or just too hard to find another bottle. So, I thought that Leaf-Green, though a little darker than the other two, might be a good alternative. Unfortunately, while I really like Leaf-Green it feels more bright green than Leo which is a little muddy yellow-green. Matcha is a little brighter and cleaner than Leo but is my green ink “runner-up”
When loaded in the “right pen” — Nagasawa Original Pro Gear Slim (Gakuen-Toshi Fresh Green) — of which I have two, seeing what the writing looks like, the more forest-y green is evident. I do really like Leaf-Green and think it may be a good option in the winter months. If anything, it will give me an alternative to the Leo Tolstoy so hopefully, it will last a little longer!
If you have unused bottles of Pen BBS No. 224 Leo Tolstoy and want to send them to me, let me know! Until the ink fairy shows up, I’ll keep using the Dominant Industry Leaf-Green to tide me over.
Final Impressions:
I continue to hunt for a replacement for my beloved Pen BBS Leo Tolstoy but I think the Dominant Industry Leaf-Green stands on its own as a very usable everyday green ink. It’s light and springy in fine Japanese pens and dark and luscious in a wider nib
DISCLAIMER: The 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.
For those who don’t know my history before becoming a full-time content creator and stationery maker, I worked as a graphic designer for Hallmark Cards for almost 20 years. I worked with some of the most talented lettering artists, illustrators and writers. I went on to work for two other companies as a product developer (not digital products but a design of physical goods like tea sets, Christmas ornaments, home decor goods and more) where I had the pleasure of collaborating with artist and illustrators as well as creating my own artwork. I believe artists should be paid for their work and credited.
I have been writing The Well-Appointed Desk (for better or worse) since 2010. I have written every word in my posts and reviews, typos and all.
So, it’s surprising when people ask whether my zines were created using AI. This question has come up a couple times about the Gamify zine and I felt like I needed to be absolutely sure about every aspect of the publication.
In writing the Gamify zine, I researched and typed every word myself. My kind husband was my editor and proofreader and he is really good at it. At no point did I ever use ChatGPT, Claude, Midjourney or any other AI software in any part of my production process. I laid everything out in InDesign and, where necessary, I used stock illustration sites with good reputations to purchase illustrations to zhoozh up the whole piece.
But because I’ve had multiple questions, it made me wonder if maybe, some of the artwork I bought utilized AI and didn’t mark it as such so I decided (a year after originally designing this in June of 2025) to go back to the original stock houses and verify that I had done my due diligence
Let’s dig into it:
In early 2025 when sourcing artwork, I turned to Shutterstock and Creative Market, as the stock image sites allow searching with a “no AI” button turned on which I did because I support artists who make art. I choose sites like Shutterstock in order to do my due diligence and utilize the authorship verification standards that sites like Shutterstock and Creative Market stand by.
Starting with the art I used for the cover which came from Shutterstock, the artist posted in his personal description that he does not use AI. I added a border from my vintage art collection so this is 100% original art. Textures and patterns were added to the inside and end papers that also came from my collection of vintage, out-of-copyright art collection.
This is what info I’d see, looking up images on Shutterstock and Creative Market:
This is the screenshot from Shutterstock of the art used on the cover of the zine.
I was able to click on the artist’s link and see that they stand by their no AI artwork. Yay!
The artist’s statement from their Shutterstock “about me” page.
Betrayed by the system:
After getting a few emails wondering about AI content this year, I revisited my artists’ sites because I know I did the diligence earlier. My husband and I, along with our many friends who are working comic illustrators, often discuss AI all the time. To find AI artwork in my Gamify zine would be unthinkable.
So I went back to Shutterstock and Creative Market and dug up info on every piece of artwork used in this zine. And this month I was shaking with rage when I found out that the Creative Market ‘NO AI’ feature had let me down, as I found that one artist is NOW flagged as having AI artwork. Their spot illustrations are kinda dispersed through the zine, and now the artist is even talking about their AI usage. I totally would not have used this artwork at all, despite how cute it is.
Screenshot from Creative Market taken in August 2026. I did not think to do a screenshot of the page when I purchased the art in 2025 but it looks different now with a distinct “AI” tag at the top under the title. The artist’s statement about their “Creative Process” at the bottom is also new.
What the ever-loving F*** is that “AI” tag doing there?!?! It was not there when I purchased the art nor was the statement from the creator at the bottom. I cannot tell you how angry I am that this was not on the art when I purchased it. I, of course, have no proof that the art was not flagged when I purchased it so you will have to take my word for it and know that I did not intentionally lie or try to circumvent the beast that is AI.
It goes without saying that I sent a strongly worded letter to Creative Market for not advising previous purchasers that the status of this artwork had been changed.
I know that in today’s current climate, it is hard to assume anyone has good intentions but really, I did not use AI artwork knowingly. I even credited the creator of the illustrations in the zine so I was not trying to hide where I got it.
Needless to say, I have pulled the Gamify zine out of the shop until I can determine the best way to proceed. I did pay a printer to produce the zine so I am now sitting on a pile of inventory I don’t know what o do with. Do I offer a “I get duped by AI” fire sale? Do we just ritually burn them in the back yard and hope that the gods of creativity smile down on us and rain money on our heads?
As next steps, my goal is to create new illustrations for the inside of the zine and publish a new edition, 100% free and clear of AI. Once the new version is completed, anyone who purchased the original version can request to be sent a digital copy of the new edition (or a discount code to buy a new, no-AI).
I am sorry to anyone who feel like they got duped. I feel it too. I am trying to do my best to fix the situation but I know I can’t undo what has been done. Just know that none of this was done intentionally. I know that doesn’t make it right. But I hope I can make it better.
I am eagerly awaiting fall. I’m not a summer lover. Sure those first few sunshiney days of spring are amazing after a long winter. And I do love a good summer vacation, but mostly it’s hot and humid and I just want to cuddle up and stay indoors with my woolens and my hobbies.
So today’s yarn + ink palette is fall inspired. The yarn has dark dark browns, oranges and peaches, a few spots of gold where the colors mix, and a minty green. I have all but that green nailed in some of my ink colors:
With every week that I do Link Love, I see and feel transitions in the types of posts I find. Lately, I’ve seen a shift towards the paper part of our hobby. As the vessel for our thoughts, ideas, plans and memories, paper can often be the most important part of the stationery hobby. Whether you are looking for notecards or writing paper for letters, notebooks for ideas and projects, journals for memory keeping or planners for (finally) getting your life in order, paper is the key.
We can feel like we have enough ink, enough pens and enough ephemera but do we ever feel like we have enough notebooks? In every size, configuration or possible paper to fulfill every possible writing, drawing or notetaking need?
Are you already plotting your 2027 planner, seeking out a new notebook or stockpiling your favorite notebook in case it ever gets discontinued? Leave me a note in the comments. I’d love to hear about your notebook stash!
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