Whiskers & Paws: September 2017 Edition

Ink Shot Review: Abraxas Turkisblau of Switzerland @laywines

Laywine's is carrying a new ink line from Switzerland - Abraxas Inks! They come in cute little bottles with corks and wax seals. The four inks I have tested are all scented, and there are many more colours in the lineup. You can contact Laywine's for more details or to purchase your own. They're premium inks with a hefty price tag of $29.00 CAD + applicable taxes.

Abraxas Inks describe these inks as the Classic Line, available in many colors - some are safe for fountain pens and others are not. These ones are! Thanks to Laywines for sending this for review!

ABOUT

Color: Turquoise
Bottle: 30 ml
Price: $29.00 CAD + tax
Where to buy: Laywines

PROS 

• Beautiful and classic turquoise color.
• Well behaved.
• Shades well.
• Light scent is a treat - it's not gross and it doesn't stick in your pens long after cleaning. 
• Very elegant presentation! Classy as heck.
• What a gorgeous gift this would be, both for a friend and for yourself!

CONS

• Pretty expensive for such a small bottle.
• Cork is a pain to replace once you have uncorked it.
• Bottle mouth is not very wide so it can be difficult to fill larger pens from. 

OVERALL

This is a pretty classic turquoise blue with lovely shading and gorgeous presentation. It's not a particularly special turquoise though, and at this price and with the amount of turquoise inks I already have, it has to be. As I said with the Violett, these inks are premium, spoil-yourself inks, with their classy presentation, light scents, and hefty price tag. The bottles themselves are not ideal for filling from, especially if you have larger pens. It's sort of a silly ink in terms of price and practicality, but it's always fun to try new inks. I think this would be an excellent gift or treat, but not a daily use ink based on the price and bottle size.
























I received this item/these items free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion.

Wordless Wednesday

Ink Shot Review: @ScriptusToronto 2017 x KWZI 150 Confederation Brown

Last year, I reviewed the KWZI Northern Twilights for the Scriptus Toronto 2016 show, and this year we have another intriguing and rather wonderful ink made exclusively for the show by KWZI! The Scriptus Pen Show in Toronto takes place this year on October 29, 2017 from 10 am - 4 pm. More information can be found on the Scriptus site!

What the heck is 150 Confederation Brown? Confederation is a long word to write and I could not fit it on my pages properly, so you'll have to suffer my Confederate Brown writings. Ignoring that, 2017 is the 150th year of Canada's confederation.

Why am I torturing you with an ink you can only get at the Scriptus Toronto pen show? Well to convince you to attend, obviously.

Swabbed on a Col-o-ring

Rhodia dotPad No. 16

Rhodia dotPad No. 16

ABOUT

Rhodia dotPad No. 16

Color: Olive...golden green... Brown?

Bottle: 60 ml

Price: ~ $ 16.00 CAD - quoting last year's LE ink price

Where to buy: Scriptus Toronto Pen and Writing Show 2017

Rhodia dotPad No. 16

Rhodia dotPad No. 16

Leuchtturm1917 A5 Notebook

Leuchtturm1917 A5 Notebook

Hobonichi Cousin - Tomoe River Paper

Hobonichi Cousin - Tomoe River Paper

Hobonichi Cousin - Tomoe River Paper

PROS 

• What a stellar, strange, unique, and complex color! Wow.
• Work appropriate.
• Appears to have different tones depending on the paper and depending on what other colors surround it - ranges from olive green, brown, golden green, and more.
• Stunning with as an ink wash.
• Great label with hand and artwork by Alannah/IAmJoopiter - the skilled daughter of BauerInks.ca - and calligraphy by Salman Khattak.
• Bottle is easy to fill from.
• Bottle is tinted to save your ink from UV. It also comes in a box.
• Easy to store on your shelf in the box.
• Shades beautifully.
• Your purchase and attendance at the Scriptus Pen Show helps support the current show and the future of it as well!

CONS

• Exclusive to the Scriptus Toronto Pen Show for 2017 - in limited quantities.
• If you use the ink in a very wet application, it won't dry. The areas that would otherwise show sheen remain wet and smudgy, but only under very generous applications. With regular use, this isn't an issue.
• KWZI inks have a particular smell - some describe it as vanilla. Myself, I do not like it at all. I suffer the smell for the joy of their colors. Fortunately, the smell does not linger, but I feel I must warn you in the event that you find smelly inks off putting. 

OVERALL

Scriptus has launched three exclusive pen show inks in recent years, all produced by KWZI, including this year's. Every single one has been gorgeous, and this one is no exception. This is the sort of complex, strange color I expect to see from Kingdom Note in Japan - a totally non-mainstream color with wild shades and tones. I love it. It's crazy and cool.

I received this item/these items free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion.

Sunday Reads: September 24. 2017

Stuff I Looked At Elsewhere

• I love when paint looks like this: Giant Dabs of Thick Oil Paint Captured as Hyperrealist Colored Pencil Drawings - Colossal.
• Blueberry lime poppy seed cake - A Cozy Kitchen.
• Winners and Honorable Mentions of the 2017 Bird Photographer of the Year - Colossal.
• Make your own floating terrarium - A Beautiful Mess.
• How to create colorful pages - Sketch Book Skool.
• Make your own sprinkles - A Cozy Kitchen.
• Anderson Pens reviews the Kobe Arima Amber ink and I really like it. Darn.
• 42 of the world's most radiant animals - Nat Geo.
• The Postman's Knock creative calligraphy challenge.
• Lavender mint lemonade - How Sweet It Is.

Stuff I Apparently Did This Week

• Ink Shot Review: Diamine Music Schubert
• Wordless Wednesday
• Ink Shot Review: Montblanc for Unicef Ink

---

If you're doing any browsing and shopping, please do check out my sponsors in the side bar, because they help make all this possible. Some of these links are affiliate links, which provides me with a small commission but does not add any extra cost to your purchase. Some links are just referral links, but there is no obligation to purchase through any of these links. Your purchases through my links help support this blog and allows me to fulfill review requests. Either way, I appreciate your readership and your support so much, so thank you!

Discount codes here!

Ink Shot Review: Montblanc for Unicef Ink @AppelboomLaren @Montblanc_World

Thanks to Appelboom for sending this bottle of ink pretty much as soon as they were launched! I've shared the ink in use on my Instagram but here's the actual review!

The colour of the Montblanc for Unicef collection is inspired by the Unicef blue. It’s a special packaging with the printed pattern designed by Montblanc and inspired by the first letters children learn at school in the six most used alphabets in the world. 

ABOUT

Color: Turquoise
Bottle: 50 ml
Price: €28.93
Where to buy: Appelboom

PROS

• Nice color, very legible. 
• Pretty bottle!
• Bottle is easy to fill from.
• Easy to store/stack on your shelf.
• Easy to clean.
• Shades beautifully.
• Larger bottle of ink is nice - more ink than the little Special Edition bottles!

CONS

• Larger bottle of ink costs quite a bit.
• The color looks best in wide, wet nibs. Perhaps not outstanding for a fine writer!
• Nice color but it's not unique - there are similar shades of this blue out there. 

OVERALL

I like this kind of blue - it's a light turquoise that shades well and looks great in wide, wet nibs, which comprises most of my pen and nib hoard! Montblanc inks are not inexpensive but I like them a lot - they clean well, behave well, and look pretty good.


I received this item/these items free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion.