Wordless Wednesday

Shades of Tuesday

Anderson Pens Podcast: I Am Le Guest.

Hey folks! Join the hilarious Brian and Lisa Anderson of Anderson Pens Tuesday night at 8 pm CST for their live broadcast of their podcast. You should already do this, but you should do it even more so because...

Whoop whoop! That's right! I'm the guest!! So join us for a good time - and you can jump into the chat for some extra fun!

The live link will be tweeted as soon as it's ready, so make sure you follow me and such. Watch it here!

Sunday Reads - July 28. 2013

• Exploded highlighter art. 
• From The Pen Cup: The TWSBI Micarta 2 Saga.
• Ink Of Me Fondly shows off Diamine's Kelly Green. I want it. 
• Lamy Safari pink is back. I have two. But if I didn't...
• The Fantastic Imagination of Illustrator Simón Prades, at Colossal. 
• Ed Jelley reviews the adorable Pilot Petit1 fountain pen 
• Independence reviews Franklin-Christoph's Olde Emerald writing fluid - lovely colour. I like peculiar greens.

Lisa's Birthday Bash Sale at Anderson Pens!

In celebration of Lisa’s Birthday on Monday, Anderson Pens is having a sale!  All offers are good from now through Monday night... Check out the awesome deals going on over at Anderson Pens!

Whiskers & Paws: July 2013 Edition

I wonder if this should be THE NAP EDITION.

Review: Schneider Xtra Document 0.6mm Rollerball Pen - Blue

Thanks again to Kerry from Stride for sending this liquid ink rollerball pen for review! I like liquid ink pens, especially for doodling!

ABOUT

Price: $27.50 for pack of 10
Where to buy: OfficeMax

APPEARANCE

The Xtra Document rollerball pen is a pretty decent looking pen, with an interesting carbon fiber-themed barrel, a solid chrome clip, and blue end plugs. When uncapped, the grey rubbery grip is easy to spot and there are little ovals in it through which you can see the feed system.

PERFORMANCE & USE

These are pretty decent pens and as far as liquid ink pens go, they are quite desirable. They have permanent ink that is bold and crisp, with a smooth and consistent delivery system. The pen is comfortable to hold and use, especially with the rubber grip section, but also because of its weight and shape. I love posting it to write. The ink dries really fast on paper, but when left uncapped, it can still be picked up and written with. It's a well-designed pen.

PROS

• Smooth writing.
• Comfortable rubber grip.
• Water resistant ink.

CONS

• Disposable.
• Not inexpensive (but they do have a lot of ink).

OVERALL

The only thing I don't like is that it's disposable. Highly recommended, especially if you like the choice of fine and medium points for your liquid ink rollerball pens. Great ink, smooth and controlled delivery when writing, and very comfortable. Nice color blue, too!

I received the Schneider products mentioned in this post from Stride in order to facilitate my review. Opinions expressed in this post are 100% my own. I have not been compensated for this post in any other way.

Wordless Wednesday

Ink Splatter

Made a mess. But it looked too cool.

Mailbox Goodies: Tea & Toy

Ahhh my Paper Tramp sent me goodies!!! Of course, a portion of it has been taken over by a certain someone... you'll see below.. Thank you Jennie!

This tasty Twinings Lemon & Ginger tea has been sold out at my store. I kid you not. I even took a picture of the ridiculous empty shelf. What gives? I love lemon. I love tea. Especially herbal stuff (because caffeine likes to kill me so I have to watch it). Um. And I love cat stickers.

And without further ado...(he's obsessed with the feet). Koa really likes to sit next to this dude.

Sunday Reads - July 21. 2013

• Nakayas, under the hood.
• Inkdependence shows off the gorgeous Diamine Graphite - which I must get.
• Watercolour eye candy, at Jenny's Sketchbook.
• Heather at A Penchant for Paper presents five disappointing pens.

Review: @CoolPencilCase Lovable Animal Sticky Note Tabs - Strawberry Bunny

These adorable strawberry bunny lovable animal sticky note tabs are from CoolPencilCase! Possibly the home of all the cutest things ever.

They're small and sticky. And have happy little bunny faces and hands, holding strawberries. I'm not sure how much more I can describe this to you. They can be removed and reapplied a few times if you should wish, but they're not extremely sticky.

For $3.25, it's hard to say no to these. And there's other designs that are very, very hard to resist. They're just so cute. They're easy to pop into your pencil case - of which there are no shortage of at CoolPencilCase.Or your binders, folders, whatever you carry around - daily planner, maybe? Perfect for that. That's where mine are stored - in my Filofax.

No affiliate links, but I was provided these adorable sticky notes for review. I was not compensated monetarily. All opinions are my own.

Koa Hates This Lemon Wedge

Self-explanatory by the end.

Review: Omas Hong Kong Red (1997) Fountain Pen Ink

This unique and rather interesting ink was a sample sent to me by Steven - thank you! This is Omas Hong Kong Red - released in 1997 and only 1997, so I am lucky to get to try it. 

ABOUT

Color: Red
Bottle:
Price/Where to buy: Irrelevant as it is not a current inventory ink!

Pretty sure that 50 second smudge on the wet line was an anomaly.

Quite vibrant in broad nibs and the flow keeps up well. Much deeper in a really, really wet nib.

PROS

• Nice shading. 
• Fast drying time.
• Good flow.
• Looks great in broad/wet/flex nibs.

CONS

• Fairly light in fine nibs
• Not a very versatile colour.
• Not water resistant.

OVERALL

This is a very interesting colour. I'm not entirely sure I would have purchased a bottle when it was available without having tried it, but I am certainly pleased to have tried a sample. I do not dislike it - I've never met an ink colour I don't like - I think it's wonderful in the Waterman 52V. It has some very nice shading qualities and great flow. Given that it's not available anymore, if a bottle became available at a reasonable price, I'd probably get it. But I'm an Ink Harlot.

Thank you again, Steven!

Wordless Wednesday

Sponsor Highlight: @AndersonPens !

Lovely readers! I know most of you are fountain pen crazed. I know this because I am. And I spend hours staring at them online because I have problems and petting them because I have even more problems. If you don't already know about the lovely team of Brian and Lisa Anderson, of Anderson Pens, I present... well... Brian and Lisa of Anderson Pens!

At Anderson Pens, you will find many goodies, such as:

• Pen storage
• Pens
• Nibs
• Ink
• Paper
• Repair
• Writing Accessories

Check them out - they have a great variety of things you won't be able to resist (I know this because I don't resist), and you can also contact them with any inquiries and they'll be awesome and super happy to help you out or point you in the right direction if they can't. Like, if you ask where to buy an elephant or something. Well, maybe they can't help you with that. But I bet Brian can help you find a pen without a nib.

Follow the AndersonPens blog, Twitter, and Facebook! You can also catch the hilarious duo on their Tuesday evening podcast. (Really...they're hilarious.)

No affiliate links. Just love them.

Mailbox Goodies: Kawaii & Ink

Oooh good combination - kawaii and ink. The kawaii of this title comes from CoolPencilCase, and I'll be doing reviews of these adorable goodies!

The ink comes from Tanja, my pen pal! (Thanks Tanja! I am putting together some stuff for you!)

Sunday Reads - July 14. 2013

• Gentian tries various G nibs - and of course, it looks awesome.
• Do you have any stories about a higher end pen that disappointed you? Check out Bob's story at My Pen Needs Ink.
• Ed Jelley shares cheap DIY pen storage! (Yes, yes, I know I need to do this).
• I'm still on a no-dessert thing - it's been almost two months now. Which means I'm still dreaming about things like chocolate chip cookies. 
• Grab a towel because you'll need it to mop up your drool: Leigh shows off Nakaya pens in a row. And then look at this.
• Mary shows off Mike Dudek's very, very cool pen Block! (I need.)

Waterman 94 Music Nib + Rohrer & Klingner Alt-Goldgrün

What's that? Another video with this pen? Well, yes. If you're sick of it, you don't have to watch. But I'm not sick of using it just yet.

What To Do With A @Retro1951 Tornado Tube?

If you happen to have a Retro51 Tornado pen, you probably have one of these tubes. Unless you have one of the new ones... but if you're a true fan, you already have one, so you have one of these tubes. In which case, you can reuse it. I have used mine for several things that are not entirely useful but they're fun. Such as: toting ink sample vials, and toting loose tea.

Review: @SulaJaneandEarl 4 Pen Wrap - Kelly Green

When one has pens, one needs pen carrying items. When one has many pens, one needs many pen carrying items. One of said many items is this brilliant kelly green Sula Jane and Earl leather writing sheaf/pen wrap. Thank you Kelly for sending this over for review!

ABOUT

Size: 6.25" x 10" with a 12" tuck-in strap
Color: Kelly Green
Price: $42.00USD
Where to buy: Sula Jane and Earl

APPEARANCE

This four pen writing sheaf is lovely. Lying flat, there are four compartments with a secondary flap that covers them partially. The wrap can be rolled up and closed with the tuck-in strap. The edges are hand-stitched with color-matched thread and the edges are color-matched to the body as well. The SJ&E logo is debossed on the back, in a corner of the pen wrap. It is very tasteful and elegant. The kelly green color is brilliant and gorgeous! (Of course, so are all the other colors...)

PERFORMANCE & FEEL

Like the single pen sleeve, the writing sheaf has really nice, lightly pebbled leather that is awesome to touch. It is soft with solid construction. It is supple enough to bend around and wrap and roll up without a problem. The pen compartments are snug and will hug your pen safely, but also stretch to accommodate larger pens. The upper flap seems unnecessary because the compartments are so snug, I highly doubt any pen would ever fall out. It also makes it impossible to remove a pen without unwrapping the whole sheaf.

The pen wrap held my Pelikan M1005 - a pretty substantial pen, and a fountain pen as slim as my Pilot Cavalier. Even full of pens, the wrap is not bulky. The leather molds around the pens and squishes nicely. Oh man I love it.

 To maintain the supple feel and lovely appearance, the pen wrap can be cleaned with mild soap and water. Use a leather conditioner, as needed. 

PROS

• Lightly pebbled, all natural leather construction.
• Hand drawn, cut and sewn.
• Made in the USA.
• Available in many (gorgeous) colors. 

CONS

• This information is from Goulet Pens: Each pen sheath is made of genuine chrome-tanned leather. Chrome tanned leather may tarnish silver and other metals prone to tarnishing if a writing instrument is stored in them for a prolonged period of time. Using the products to transport for daily use, however, should not result in tarnish or wear to the metal. 
  

OVERALL

Once again, another gorgeous product by Sula Jane and Earl. These high quality, hand made leather pen wraps would be a wonderful accessory for yourself and your pens, or as a gift for a pen-crazed friend (or just a whole bunch for yourself). There's a color available that is sure to make everyone happy!

Follow Sula Jane and Earl
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This brilliant pen wrap was sent for review by Sula Jane and Earl. I was not compensated for this review. All opinions here are 100% my own and not influenced in any way. Except by the awesome product.