In photo

Yarn & Ink: Hot Chocolate and Marshmallows

Author Laura CameronPosted on Leave a comment

The days are perfect in Kansas City right now. Chilly mornings and evenings, and glorious 50’s and 60’s during the day. But those freezing mornings do make me want a cup of hot cocoa, which goes perfectly with this week’s knitting! While I found plenty of rich chocolate browns in my ink swatches, I don’t seem to have a perfect milk chocolate color. Hmmmm…

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In feature

Stocking Stuffer Ideas

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Stocking Stuffer Ideas

I know this is a little early but with Thanksgiving and the official Black Friday start to holiday shopping just around the corner, I thought it was as good a time as any to talk about how awesome stationery supplies are as stocking stuffers.

Whether you are filling a stocking for a pen collector or your cousin, there is a stationery option of everyone. With washi tapes and stamps, you can find something that aligns with their hobbies or interests. Do they bake? There’s a washi for that! Love cats or dogs? There’s stamps and stickers for that!

If you are participating in a gift exchange or Secret Santa, a mini notebook and a good gel pen would make a great gift.

Mini Notebooks:

A7-sized notebooks are the perfect size for pocket, bag and stocking. The Apica C.D. A7 Ruled Notebook A7 (4-Color Bundle for $7.50) will fill several stockings. Add in one of these Pentel Mattehop 1.0mm Gel Pens ($2.50 each) to make a fun little gift set. There are so many other options but if you’re shopping for a pen friend, you can’t go wrong with a Col-o-ring Ink Testing Book ($12 for 100-sheet pad)!

Washi tapes & Flake Stickers:

It would be impossible to list all the possible options for washi tape and flake stickers but here are a few of my favorite right now. I love the Bande Washi Tape Sticker Roll ($6 per roll and 12 designs to choose from). These are “flake stickers” so they come on a roll like washi tape but are individually die cut designs and there are lots of choices from flowers (shown) to toast and pancakes and snowflakes,  soap bubbles, and more. I think just about anyone would like a roll of these.

King Jim Kitta Washi Tape ($4.55 each and dozens of styles available) are sold in little packets that fit inside a planner pocket or tucked into a backpack pocket. These are small, pre-cut strips of washi tape on peel-away paper so they are easy to use on the go. There are even sticker binders to hold the many, many packets you may collect or give as a gift.

The BGM Washi Tape ($6.50 per roll, lots of designs to choose from, Shooting Star Deep Sky design shown) are painterly and really varied.

Rubber Stamps & Stamp Pads:

I love the Iconic Diary Stamps ($6.40 each, 26 designs available, “Finishing Work” shown above). They are self-inking and have the kookiest line art drawings on each one. They add some humor to anyone’s day-to-day note taking and planning.

MU Clear Splice Stamps (start at $4.40, Whale & Moon set no. 13 shown, don’t forget to add a clear acrylic block, starting at $4.60) are sets of clear acrylic stamps that are stuck to a thin piece of plastic and can be peeled off and attached to an acrylic block to provide stability and stamping. They are less expensive than woodblock or self-inking stamps and store in a smaller space so they are good for travel.

If you are shopping for someone who loves art supplies, the The Daily Grind Series 3: The Art Dept.
(four designs, $11.00 each) are a great option.

If you’re purchasing a rubber stamp. be sure to grab a stamp pad. If you’re looking for water-soluble stamp pads, I recommend the Tsukineko VersaMagic Dew Drop Ink Pad Sets (starting at $11 for a 4-pack, Jewel Box Set shown). For water resistant colors, I recommend Ranger Tim Holz Distress Archival Ink Stamp Pad Mini Kits (Set of 4 for $14.00, multiple different sets available, Kit No. 6 is shown).

What are your favorite stationery goodies to give as a gift? Which of these items do you hope to see in your stocking?

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this post are from affiliate vendors (we receive a small subsidy for any products ordered from some vendors) and other links are self-promotion links to our own shop. Please see the About page for more details.

In Link Love

Link Love: Is it Black Friday Already?

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Link Love: Is it Black Friday Already?

Has anyone else noticed the “early Black Friday” sales that have already started? With the state of the economy, inflation and world issues, companies big and small are hoping to boost end-of-year sales. From my own personal experience, as well as my jobby-job, I can tell you that sales for products are down about 20-25% for most businesses. Maybe not in the must-have areas like food and such but all the “little extras” are being postponed or skipped this year and retailers are hoping sales and deals in November and December will help their bottom line.

Black Friday
Is it sale season already?!?!

What’s your plan for the holiday season this year? Are you and your family spending more or less this year? Are you putting more money towards dining, cooking and activities and less to material goods? Are you feeling the pinch financially this year? Leave a comment and let me know how you feel about the state of spending and the earlier-and-earlier “Black Friday” sales.

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In news

Winner: Fountain Pen Day Pilot Custom 74 Giveaway

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Winner: Fountain Pen Day Pilot Custom 74 Giveaway

Thanks to everyone who shared their Fountain Pen Day activities with us. It was a joy to live vicariously through every one of you. I did a little online window shopping at the various sales, followed Brad Dowdy’s adventures in Chicago at Atlas Stationers and wrote in my journal with my favorite pens.

And now for the winner of our giveaway!

I hope you had a great day, John, and this week will be even better when you will have the opportunity to use your new Pilot Custom 74!

 

In Tools

Inky Hands: Private Reserve Ink Zero, Luxury Professional Hand Ink Remover

Author Laura CameronPosted on 3 Comments

The Tuesday confessional is now open and I hope y’all will gather round and listen. I was the kid who never wanted to play in the dirt, or get in the sandbox, or finger paint because I didn’t like to get dirty. While I’ve relaxed a bit over the years, I still don’t love it. So getting ink stained hands isn’t my favorite past time, but it does happen quite a bit these days. Ana truly loves me – when she came home from the San Francisco Pen Show she brought a jar of Private Reserve Ink Zero (4 oz for $23) for me to try.

A blue jar with a silver cap reads Private Ink Reserve Zero Luxury Professional Ink Remover

As today was pen cleaning day, I decided to give it a whirl. First I needed to clean out two pens, both of which had pink inks. I find pink/red inks don’t stain as much as some of the other colors, so I decided to test an ink that I knew would give us a graphic demonstration. We all have that bottle of ink. You know the one – the one that spilled once and no matter how much you’ve cleaned the bottle, it still stains your hands every time you open it. The ink that is a GORGEOUS color that you can’t get enough of, but also can’t stop wearing. For me, that ink is Papier Plume Ivy Green.

A white hand holds two fountain pens (one coral pink, one clear and white with rose gold accents) and a jar of green ink over a sink.

A hand holds a pen under water, with a bit of bright pink ink flowing from the nib.

Since we were going for obvious, I just went ahead and dunked my fingers in the ink. Why not go for broke eh? I let the ink sit for a minute or two on my fingers before I couldn’t stand it and had to clean it off.

An open hand where the first three fingers are covered in a rich grassy green ink.

First up, I did a quick was with regular handsoap and warm water.

An open hand, with fairly obviously green ink stained fingers.

That took the stain to a dull roar, but then I gave the Zero a try. Zero is a white-ish formula made with a variety of alcohols and other ingredients. There is a full list on the package, and it touts itself as a “luxury professional hand ink remover with 100% natural silica microspheres.” I don’t know what that is. What I do know is that it’s gritty, like an exfoliant or a sugar scrub.

A blue jar filled with white hand cream.

The instructions say to apply a bit of it to the ink stains on dry hands and rub gently. Then add just a bit of water and keep scrubbing. Rinse if necessary, and repeat. (I only had one go at it this time). There is a subtle smell – it doesn’t seem like an added fragrance, but more likely the ingredients themselves. It is mild, smells fresh, and fades fairly quickly after a rinse.

Green stained ink fingers are covered in a white gritty ink stain remover.

The results are pretty darn good. I can still see a faint hint of the ink, but I’m pretty sure that will be gone by the time I do dishes tonight. The package does note that the formula may work slightly different depending on the exact ink formulation.

Three fingers, previously ink stained, are now all clean. There is a very faint hint of green on one finger.

Overall, I’m pretty pleased with Private Reserve Ink Zero. It’s not inexpensive, so I’d probably save it for those really troublesome ink stains – the ones in deep colors that refuse to let up. Many inks can be removed fairly well with just water and soap alone, so I’d be inclined to try that first. But for someone who doesn’t love ink-stained hands, keeping a jar of this on hand is a great idea!

DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Yafa Brands for providing the Private Reserve Ink Zero  free of charge for the purposes of this review. Please see the About page for more details.

 

In Fountain Pen Review

Pen Upgrade: Pilot 912 with Custom Nib Studio Spencerian Nib (and Flexible Nib Factory Feed)

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Pen Upgrade: Pilot 912 with Custom Nib Studio Spencerian Nib (and Flexible Nib Factory Feed)

Sometimes, the best pen is the one you already have. But maybe, it just needs a little “something something”?

In this case, the pen in question is the Pilot Custom 912 ($240) which originally shipped with the FA/Falcon nib — its considered one of the softest Japanese nibs straight out of the package. It did have some nice flex but the feed could not keep up with ink flow and the nib just wasn’t flexy enough.

So, I enlisted the help of nib magician, Gena Salorino of Custom Nib Studio to modify the nib to her legendary “Spencerian” nib modification ($120).

I also reached out to Flexible Nib Factory for a red ebonite 3-slot feed replacement ($42).

Looking at the original plastic feed next to the ebonite it is clear to see that the Flexible Nib Factory nib will move a lot more ink!

I realize that the investment in both time and money for this pen may be more than what many folks can comfortably spend on a pen alone but I spread the expenses over the whole year making it a little less sticker-shocking.

But when we get past the cost of the pen, can we talk about how beautifully it works? The nib is so flexible. Next to a vintage “wet noodle”, the Spencerian grin on the 912 is the most flexible, accommodating nib I’ve ever used. And its smooth at the same time. Unlike writing with a dig nib which can be pokey, especially on toothier paper, the Spencerian nib grind on the Pilot 912 is smooth and silky while also being bouncy with a wide line width variation and character.

Check out the original post about the Custom 912 with the unmodified FA nib to see the difference in the line width variation.

The feed really helps the ink supply keep up with the nib’s needs. After writing for awhile, I did need to pause and let the feed keep up but I really put it through its paces. I basically covered a 12″ x 16″ page with ink. In more daily writing or a smaller scale page might have better results. I kept a scratch pad to rest the nib on to help the ink flow stay consistent.

The range of line weights and the light hand needed to create the line variations is mesmerizing. I had such a fun time just testing and writing all the sample text.

Super special nibs like this Spencerian grind is worth the investment, at least for me. If you have a dream for a special nib, save your pennies and prepare to wait (I handed my pen over to Gena in late June at the St. Louis Pen Show and I picked up the adjusted nib in San Francisco in late August). The wait is totally worth it!

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In feature

Happy Fountain Pen Day! (Giveaway & Special Offer)

Author AnaPosted on 178 Comments
Happy Fountain Pen Day! (Giveaway & Special Offer)

Happy Fountain Pen Day, friends! I hope you are having a chance to play with your pens, get a good deal from any of the many vendors offering special pricing, and all the wonderful things.

In honor of Fountain Pen Day, we have a special giveaway!

We are giving away (1) one Pilot Custom 74 in Blue Stone with a Medium nib (MSRP $176USD). This is a beautiful pen with a slightly bouncy 14K gold nib.

AND any orders placed on Etsy or Big Cartel this weekend (through Sunday, November 5, 2023) will a free Shark Pen and ink sample (while supplies last). No coupon needed.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell us how you are celebrating Fountain Pen Day — or how you wish you could celebrate. Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person. Multiple entries will be disqualified.

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 themonkeys some time.

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Monday, November 6, 2023. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Tuesday (or Wednesday). 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 does 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.

Oops! Forgot to mention: DISCLAIMER: The items included in this post were provided at a discount by Gentleman Stationer for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.