In Link Love

Link Love: It’s My Birfday! You get a treat!

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments
Link Love: It’s My Birfday! You get a treat!

Today is my birthday so I thought I’d let you celebrate since I can’t give everyone a cupcake like grade school. I don’t normally do sales on the shop but for one day only, everything* is 20% off.

Use the coupon code: MYBIRTHDAYTREAT on any order over $20
(*Sale does not include De-stash. Offer expires Jun 13, 2025 @ 12:00 AM Central)

Pens:

Ink:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

A real birthday treat would be if you considered becoming a member of our Patreon. Your patronage supports this site and keeps me in the occasional birthday cupcake. Without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!

In feature

Yarn + Ink: Yellow!

Author Laura CameronPosted on
Yarn + Ink: Yellow!

Do you have any colors you dislike? If I’m being 100% honest I’ve never been much of a yellow fan. Sure it’s sunny and bright and happy, but somehow I just never cared for it much. In recent years I’ve come to appreciate a good honey or mustard, but they’re never my first choice.

This week’s chicken knitting is yellow. I didn’t pick it, and it wouldn’t be my first choice, but it got me thinking about yellow yarn in my stash, and yellow inks.

Do you use yellow inks? Some of the light ones are so light that they’re not super legible. I can get beyond a deep honey or gold ink though. Yellow is definitely a color that I don’t stock up on. Here’s what I seem to have in my stash:

  • Ban Mi Yellow
  • Vinta Hanan
  • Papier Plume Yellow
  • PenBBS No 134
  • Robert Oster Aussie Cold
  • Platinum Classic Citrus Black
  • Colorverse Gluon

And those last two? I’m not even sure they’re yellows – they sort of stray into the more green area.

Do you have any colors you dislike?

P.S. Oh how embarrassing. Apparently I already did this post a few years ago!

In Tools

MT Upcycle Washi Tape

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
MT Upcycle Washi Tape

I love the idea that washi tape could be made from recycled materials (though washi paper is probably recyclable as is) so I was excited to see that MT is making Upcycle washi tape which is made from 70% recycled paper including coffee filter scraps.

The Upcycle washi tape is sold in kraft bags which would be challenging to figure out the colors of the tape in the bags if we were purchasing them in store but luckily I ordered them online. There are two rolls in each pack and there are currently 6 different packs available in solid colors. One pack is two rolls of natural colored tape but the other sets include two different colors. I purchased the Rose Pink x Uguisu (Pink & Green, $7 per set). I like all the other color options too so it was very hard to make a decision.

The Rose Pink is a warm, coral-y pink and the Uguisu is a lovely mossy green color.

In my first uses of the tape, the quality is on par with every other roll of MT washi tape I’ve ever used. IT tears easily, is good and sticky and the rolls include 7m (21 feet of tape on each roll) of tape.

Overall, I hope to see more recycled paper products especially for ephemeral items like washi tape. Thanks MT, for raising the bar.

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.

In Fountain Pen Review

Pen Parade: Kaweco x Hello Kitty Limited Edition Sport in Stardust Violet

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Pen Parade: Kaweco x Hello Kitty Limited Edition Sport in Stardust Violet

I love Kaweco Sport pens. It was one of my first fountain pens and I continue to acquire them when I find a design or color in particular.

So, today I thought I’d show off my latest acquisition: the limited edition Kaweco x Hello Kitty Sport ($80) called Stardust Purple. It is transparent purple embedded with silver glitter. The nib is engraved with Hello Kitty’s adorable face. It came with a little acrylic keychain with Hello Kitty riding a unicorn and a charm with a purple bow. I immediately stuck the charm onto my pen show badge holder. It made me so happy to have this silly little Hello Kitty charm. Deep down, I am a nine-year-old girl.

This pen was only available with a F nib, or that was what I was told when I purchased it. Luckily, I prefer the F nib on Kaweco so it just meant I didn’t need to make any decisions.

I, of course, put my favorite purple ink into into the pen: my Monteverde Sweet Life Birthday Cake. I think it’s a perfect match.

I picked this up at the Houston Little Craft Fest and it was 100% an impulse purchase. It’s pretty and makes me smile but it is ridiculously expensive for what should be a $30 pen. Would I do it again? Yeah, probably. But I feel like I restrained myself since I didn’t buy a Hello Kitty AL-Sport ($185) which is even MORE expensive. But if I won the lottery, I would 100% buy one… or all of them.

My takeaway: there is no price tag on happiness. Buy what you love and love it.

In Pen Review

Finding Mocha Mousse Gel Pen Options

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Finding Mocha Mousse Gel Pen Options

I was inspired by Laura’s Pantone Color of the Year Mocha Mousse ink experiments and decided to try to find the most Mocha Mousse-ish pen to use in my journals. I thought it would be fun to see how these pens looked when compared with the Pantone Color of the Year.

Our favorite ink to use for comparison is the Endless Alchemy Mocha Mousse Delight to use as a color comparison.

I had a few brown gel pens and markers in my stash but I also ordered a few new ones in hopes of finding the most chocolatey colors.

The pens in the running:

Mostly the pens I tested were gel or fiber-tipped but I threw in two marker/highlighter pens just because I wanted to see how they looked next to the more writing pens.

I really thought the colors in the gel pens would be closer to a chocolatey tone. Some colors leaned more purply and other were darker, more espresso colored. The Zebra Mildliner and Pentel Brush Sign Pen were no where near the Mocha Mousse Delight but it was nice to see them in comparison.

Despite the name, the UniBall ONE Cappuccino Brown was too light.

I think the winner is the Pilot Juice Up in Brown. Its chocolatey with that hint of golden undertones. The color is the warmest without edging into a reddish hue.

I think the Pilot Juice in Brown is a close second but is a bit darker. Sakura Ballsign iD 0.4 Mocha Black and the Pilot Juice Up in Classic Glossy Brown is tied for third being much darker in color but feel like a dark, 75% cocoa style mocha mousse.

Do you have a favorite brown gel pen or marker?

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.

In Link Love

Link Love: Triangle Show Weekend!

Author AnaPosted on 10 Comments
Link Love: Triangle Show Weekend!

Today’s Link Love is being written from my basement while the tornado sirens are shrieking above me. The likelihood of a tornado hitting us is probably (hopefully) pretty slim but, boy, does it make me think about how fragile our world is.

I didn’t “go-bag” my pens or ink or even my journal when I ran down here. I grabbed my phone, my laptop and the cats. Oh, and my cup of coffee, of course. I am reflecting on my lack of planning as I would be very sad if I lost my journal and many of my pens but I’d be devasted to lose all the products in my shop all stored in my studio. But I supposed if my house blew away, I’d have way bigger problems to worry about.

I know that wherever you are when you’re reading this, there is some severe weather that you fear from personal experience. I hope that you are safe and comfortable wherever you are and that the sun is shining or the stars are twinkling. Stay safe, have a plan for severe weather and remember that you and your family are more important than pens but you might want to pack one or two, just in case.

(Oh, side note: If I don’t get blown away, I’ll be in the Raleigh-Durham area for the Triangle Pen Show this weekend. Come see me at the Dromgoole’s table where I will be slinging ink and notebooks. Please come and say hi!)

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

I might need a new pair of ruby slippers to get me out of Kansas (or more specifically in case I get blown into Kansas) so consider joining our Patreon. You will get an exclusive podcast, free printables, and more. Your support keeps us in “no place like pens and home”. Thank you!

In Book Review

Book Review: Letters from the Ginza Shihodo Stationery Shop

Author AnaPosted on
Book Review: Letters from the Ginza Shihodo Stationery Shop

If you’re looking for a cozy book all about the love of stationery, look no further than Letters from the Ginza Shihodo Stationery Shop by Kenji Ueda!

This book, told in a series of five vignettes, is a story of how ordinary people interact with and love their stationery. At the center of the story is the proprietor of a well-stocked stationery shop in the Ginza district. He’s surrounded by other lovely shops and people whose aim is to make your day more pleasurable. There are lots of little stationery details: specific notebooks and fountain pens, paper and envelopes that make people’s hearts sing.

If you want a feel-good, slice of life book, I can heartily recommend this one!

DISCLAIMER: The item in this review 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.