Notebook Review and Giveaway: Write Notepads

Review by Laura Cameron

I have reviewed a few different products from Write Notepads & Co. over the past few years so when The Gentleman Stationer started carrying their products we grabbed several to try and give away!

Personally, I was most excited by the Dot Grid Steno ($14) since I have a deep and abiding love of dot grid!  The Dot Grid Steno is a 5.5″ x 8.5″ steno pad with 120 pages of 70# paper with a light gray dot grid. The heavy cardstock covers are available in both Pistachio and Black.

This pad is totally my jam. The paper is great! I tested a variety of fountain pens, fine liners, gel pens, pencils, Sharpies and fountain pen ink swabs. Of everything I tested, only the Sharpie bled through and there was barely any ghosting of any of the others. I also love A5-ish size notebooks and that beautiful dot grid! Based on how I use my notebooks, I’m sure this one will get lots of use (which means you’ll be seeing it in reviews to come…)

But now we’ve got some fun notebooks to share with you! Up for giveaway to one lucky winner are:

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell me what you’re snacking on while staying at home. I’ve become a devotee of cheese and crackers! 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, May 24, 2020. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winners will be announced on Tuesday (Monday is Memorial Day and even in this time of COVID-19, I want a cocktail and a cheese platter in my backyard). 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(s) do(es) 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.

Giveaway: Faber-Castell Grip Fountain Pens (Pearl Mint Green, Turquoise and Rose)

I really need to put together a revised Top 5 Fountain Pens Under $25. I would definitely include the Faber-Castell Grip in that list. I reviewed it last year. This year, Faber-Castell released three new colors for this pen: Pearl Mint Green, Pearl Turquoise and Pearl Rose. All three models are available in EF, F and M. The pen is a snap-cap, European cartridge converter and slides just under the $25 mark.

Faber-Castell Grip Pearl Fountain Pens

The new colors are spring-tastic! The rubberized, rounded grip is confortable to hold, the slightly triangular shape and rubberized dots keep the pen from rolling, with or without it’s cap.

Faber-Castell Grip Pearl Fountain Pens

The new colors are a nice addition to the dark colors they already have in the line.

For our giveaway, sponsored by our good friends at Goldspot Pens, we have three pens to giveaway. They are available in these configurations:

  • Faber-Castell Grip Pearl Fountain Pens

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell me what other color you think Faber-Castell should make the Grip Fountain Pen (and which one you’d like to win). Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person. We will select three winners, each winner will get one pen. If all the winners select the same pen, they have to play Rock, Paper, Scissors for who gets which one.

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, May 24, 2020. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winners will be announced on Tuesday (Monday is Memorial Day and even in this time of COVID-19, we still want to sit in lawn chairs in our backyard and drink beer, okay?). 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(s) do(es) 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.

Pen Review: Zig Clean Color Dot Double Sided Markers

Kuretake Zig CleanColor Dot Double Sided Markers

I was absolutely tickled to find the Kuretake Zig Clean Color Dot Double Sided Markers recently. There are 12 different colors available (available in a set for $35 or individually for $3.30 each). I decided to just try a few colors to start. Usually, I’m inclined to get the whole set, every color, but this time, I decided to try a little restraint and just get a few of the colors I’m most likely to use. I got:

  • Salmon darker and pinker than cap suggests
  • Island Coral cap fairly accurate to fine tip but dots tend to be a bit darker
  • Summer Sun bright golden yellow, cap color is a fairly accurate representation of color
  • Kiwi (of course) best described as a fresh spring green, not as light as the caps suggest
  • Ocean the fine tip is a little lighter than the cap and the dot end seems a little bluer than the caps suggest

Kuretake Zig CleanColor Dot Double Sided Markers

So, what makes these markers different? Well, one end has a small dauber like a bingo marker. When tapped onto your paper with varying amounts of pressure, you can make dots of varying size. The dot end can also be used as a regular marker as well for coloring, highlighting or underlining. But let’s be honest, its making dots that is the real reason I bought these.

Kuretake Zig CleanColor Dot Double Sided Markers

The other end has a 0.5mm fine tip marker which is good for writing or drawing. It would be perfect for titles in a bullet journal, addresses on envelopes or details in coloring.

Kuretake Zig CleanColor Dot Double Sided Markers

As you can see the colors are bright and vibrant and quite Spring-y.  I think these are really fun and I have been bopping dots on anything that wasn’t moving. The pens are water-based pigment so the ink isn’t permanent. It won’t move like watercolor but if it gets wet, it will bleed to a certain extent. If you’re dotting on everything, it means you should be able to clean it up… hopefully.

Tools:


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.

Product Preview: Ink Bottle Rubber Stamps (Shameless Plug)

Product Preview: Ink Bottle Rubber Stamps (Shameless Plug)

Following discussions and suggestions from friends and followers of the blog, we are introducing two new rubber stamps in the shop this week. This post falls clearly in the category of shameless self-promotion so proceed forewarned.

short bottle stamp art block

We created two different ink bottle rubber stamp designs. The first stamp is based on a classic bottle design ($14) used by many companies. The stamp measures 1.5″ x 1.5″ and fits easily on a Col-o-ring card, Col-o-dex Card, or Col-o-ring Oversize page.

short bottle handle stamp

The stamp is available mounted on wood as an “art block” (no handle) or with a blonde wood handle.

short bottle stamp rubber view

The stamp is thick red rubber, mounted on cushion foam and the design is laser etched on the top to make it easy to identify.

tall bottle stamp art block

The second design is a tall faceted bottle stamp ($14) based on a vintage bottle design. It is 1.25″ x 2″.

tall bottle handle stamp

It is also available as the “art block” (no handle) or with a blonde wood handle and laser etched on the top with the design.

tall bottle stamp rubber view

The stamp features the same high quality as the short ink bottle stamp.

permanent stamp pads black

We recommend using a waterproof, archival stamp pad if you want to swab your ink samples over the stamp. Below we have demonstrated tests using the Avery Carter’s Stamp Pad, Office Depot Stamp Pad and Ranger Archival Stamp Pad. The Avery Carter’s and Office Depot came from Office Depot. Similar big box office supply store stamp pads should work as well. Look for a pad that says “dye-based” not “pigment-based”. The Ranger Archival pad came from JoAnn’s hobby store. Again, any stamp pad listed as archival, waterproof or dye-based should work.

tall bottle stamp on Col-o-ring card

tall bottle stamped on tomoe river

The sample above shows the three black stamp pads used in a Nanami Cafe Tomoe River Notebook. The Ranger pad seems darkest but all three pads have been in my possession for sometime and the quality may be a  result of age.

short bottle stamped on Col-o-ring Oversize

Above, the same three stamp pads are used in a Col-o-ring Oversize. Again, the darkness of the ink from the pads may be a result of how old the pads are though my inclination is to guess that the Ranger pad may be of slightly higher quality as it’s designed for craft purposes.

tall bottle stamped in color

Don’t think you have to limit yourself just to black stamp pads. There are lots of different color options in the Archival stamp pads and it could make for some really fun looks in your Col-o-ring Ink Testing Book or other notebook. Here, I used a Ranger Archival green stamp pad with Vinta Sirena green ink. I think it looks pretty cool.

short bottle stamped in color

I tried a similar technique with an Avery Carter’s red stamp pad and Ferris Wheel Press Lady Rose ink and I got a little bleeding of the red ink. It could be a reaction between the ink from the stamp pad and the fountain pen ink or that the stamp pad ink is not as waterproof as the black ink. I’ll have to test it further to find out. I still think it looks pretty.

tall bottle stamp Col-o-ring filled in

Finally, back to using a black stamp pad and Colorverse Crystal Planet. I left the label open to maybe write the color name in once the ink is dry. So many options!

I hope you are as excited about these new stamps as we are. If these stamps are well-received, we may introduce more ink bottle shapes. What do you think? Do you like them?

Link Love: (Week Eight) Pen Show Updates

Link Love: (Week Eight) Pen Show Updates

On Sunday, Laura and I started going through the Pen Show Schedule and trying to figure out how best to update it. Many shows have already announced postponed dates or cancellations due to the pandemic but some, that are a few months out, are still listed as “on schedule”. I confess, I’m skeptical that any shows will go forward this year. Most cities have said that re-opening economies will be slow and the last aspect of that will be allowing large events. Most people think of “events” as concerts, sporting events, graduations, weddings, etc. We among us who are “pen people”, of course, think of pen shows.

Since pen shows, clearly require a lot of people to be in a small amount of space, many traveling long distances by plane, there is not a good way to make them happen without putting people at risk of COVID-19 unless the illness has been eradicated.  I don’t think most US shows will be able to happen this year. And it’s probably largely unlikely that worldwide shows may face the same issues.

I know that, short of a vaccine for COVID-19, I’m very unlikely to travel this year. So much for my frequent flyer mile status.

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

Pen Review: Iconic 2-Way Marker Pens, Pastel Colors

Review by Laura Cameron

I always love new office supplies so I was happy to put a set of the Iconic 2-way Marker Pens in Pastel Colors ($8.00) in my cart and give them a whirl.

These Korean Markers are double-ended, giving you a variety of options. One end has a chisel tip, great for highlighting or laying down a heavier line, whereas the other end has what they call a “bullet tip,” a fine liner.

The Iconic 2-way Marker Pens come in 3 sets (Retro, Pastel and Deco) of 5 markers each. From the photos on Jetpens, it appears that the Deco Set produces the most saturated colors.

I like the colors in the pastel set, and I feel like they’d be great for highlighting, but I’m less sold on the fine liner use since the colors are light enough that I think they’d be hard to read in any large amount of text. I did also find while doodling a bit, that the ink in these pens needs some time to dry – I smeared one of my sad little drawings right away.

Overall this was a fun set to try, but I think I’d pick up the Deco set if I wanted to use it for any kind of writing because those colors would be saturated enough to read easily.


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.

Product Review: Stickers from JetPens

Product Review: Stickers from JetPens

JetPens offers a wide variety of sticker sheets that can be used in planners, bullet journals, notebooks or on letters and correspondence. I thought I’d try a few of the different brands of stickers that they carry to give an in-depth review. Stickers are fun and right now I think we all could use some fun in our lives.

Midori Animal Stickers

Most of the planner and sticker-sheet stickers are printed on clear acetate and kiss-cut. Some of the stickers have had the additional top paper/acetate removed so the stickers look die cut and then floating on a sheet of acetate. Most of the stickers also included a pass of opaque white ink so that you may apply them and not see lines or dots from your notebook or planner through the stickers. Other stickers are left purposely translucent so they may be applied over printing in a planner (like bubbles over key dates) or to create a more watercolor effect.

The first sheet I have to show is from Midori. It is the removable achievement Exercise Animals ($3.80/sheet). They are designed for planners and are removeable so that if  plans change, you can move the sticker as needed. I just thought the little animals were too cute to pass up. Since there are not many other activities in my planner, I don’t feel bad utilizing space with cute reminders to exercise. The small images like the fruit and avocado are also stickers that can be used to brighten up your bullet journal or planner.

Close-up sticker die cut

The image above is a close-up of the kiss-cut diecut around the edge of a sticker.

Sticker Marche Tea

Also from Midori are the Sticker Marche Tea set ($3.80/sheet). These stickers printed on translucent washi-like paper and are die cut. There is a triangle cut-out in the lower righthand corner of the backing card to show the translucent quality of these stickers. When I ordered them, I didn’t realize quite how translucent they were so the pastel color will definitely look better on white or light colored paper.

Sautelier Bread Stickers

Suatelier makes some of my favorite stickers available through JetPens.  While the shelter-at-home world is taken with bakin’, the Suatelier I Like Bread stickers ($2.50/sheet) seemed like a perfect addition. The stickers are die cut to the edge (no clear edges) and are opaque white so no paper will show through.

Sautelier Drop Stickers

While on the topic of opaque white stickers, the Suatelier Rain Drop stickers ($2.50/sheet) are one of my favorites. The white rain drops look particularly nice when applied over color and the little expressions on the faces are adorable.

Sautelier Kokeshi Doll Stickers

I originally bought a sheet of the Suatelier Kokeshi Stickers for my friend who collects kokeshi dolls but when they arrived, they were so cute I knew I would have to order another sheet for myself. Like the Rain Drop stickers, these stickers have no clear edges, the die cut is flush with the designs so they look so good when applied. The white flower stickers look great on a colored envelope or over an ink splash.

Spring Day Stickers

I’m not sure that the Suatelier Spring Day stickers ($2.50/sheet) serve any purpose other than they make me smile. Like the other Suatelier stickers, they are printed on white and die cut with no visible trim edge so they look great when applied. Honestly, I’ll probably buy another sheet of these, just for the monkeys.

Sautelier Puffy Panda Stickers

Oof, the Suatelier puffy pandas ($.250/sheet) make me feel like I’m back in grade school — in a good way. These rolly-polly puffy pandas printed on opaque white vinyl are so cute. They definitely brighten my day. Are they useful? Not in the least but I don’t care.

Schedule Stickers

The Pine Book Poyo Animals Schedule Stickers – Annual & Daily Events ($2.65/sheet) are brightly colored and printed on clear acetate with a die cut edge but these are tiny stickers designed to fit into your planner or bullet journal. There are some holiday related critters though some may relate more to Japanese holidays like cherry blossom festival but they are still so stinkin’ cute and include critters that could be used for birthdays, outings (if we can ever go out again) and exercising piggies (again with the exercise, clearly a theme is developing).

Another set of Poyo Animals Mark & Line stickers ($2.65/sheet) are designed specifically to annotate planners, calendars and bullet journals. The majority of the stickers are translucent so that they can be used across days on a calendar page or over the dates to indicate a special day or activity.

I absolutely had to get another sheet of the Pine Tree Event & Corner Schedule stickers by Panda Life ($2.65/sheet). If you didn’t know, I really like pandas so I had a sheet of these a couple years ago and I’m glad they are still available. The sheet is essentially two small sheets repeated on one page. If you notice the large “corner peek” pandas, you’ll see where the repeat starts. The teeny, tiny dancing pandas can be put throughout your planner and the “corner peek” pandas fit in the edge of your calendar blocks or the edge of your page to make you smile. I’ve already used one as you can see in the right hand photo — I swiped the corner panda who looks a little stressed. It seemed to fit the overall vibe for the month.

I’m pretty happy with all the stickers I got. The Midori stickers are a little pricey considering they are the same size as the others. Suatelier are probably my favorites in terms of overall aesthetics. For functional and fun, I really like the Pine Book stickers for annotating planners. The Sticker Marche is probably the only ones I was a little disappointed about simply because I didn’t realize they were going to be washi-style and very translucent. Had they been planner stickers this would have bothered me less but since the Sticker Marche set was purely decorative, I’m not sure I’d buy another sheet of those. Once stuck in my planner though, they look pretty good.


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.