I feel like I am  still feeling the lingering effects of the eclipse. The magic of doing something with hundreds of thousands of other people, witnessing a cosmic wonder, and just playing hooky from work or school to do so has really fueled my last week. I hope you are still feeling the cosmic wonder this week too. (photo shown above was from the 2017 eclipse but the spirit of the eclipse lives on!) Eclipse After Effects: Viewing the solar eclipse deep in the heart of Texas (via Urban Adventure League) Solar Eclipse 2024 (via Apple-Pine) Dallas, Part 2: Eclipse (via Fueled by Clouds & ..read more

A few weeks ago I was browsing through JetPens and came across a notebook I hadn’t tried. I’m always up for testing new paper so I ordered a Sakae TP Iroful Notebook ($9.75). This slim volume is composed of 96 pages of 75 gsm white paper with a 5mm dot grid in Indigo (it also comes in plain and graph if you’re interested). The cover is cardstock, and the binding is held together with thread and glue. The name Iroful is a playful combination of “colorful” and “iro,” the Japanese word for color, and the paper promises to be wonderful with all different kinds of inks! I have to say – I’m suitab ..read more

For some absurd reason I got it in my head that I’d like to pare down my ink collection to 100 bottles or fewer. This random number, 100, seems like more ink that I could ever use in my lifetime or need, right? Thinking about the ROYGBIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet) color spectrum — that’s seven colors and if I add brown, black and grey to this, then that’s 10 color groups. If I select 10 bottles in each group (and really, who needs 10 blacks and 10 greys?!!?) then surely 100 bottles  is enough to have a wide variety of shades and hues while, theoretically, making ..read more

I have always been a fan of Opus 88 pens for their look/style. Unfortunately, they’re also often quite large pens which makes them not as comfortable for me to use. So I was thrilled a few weeks ago to find out about Goldspot’s Opus 88 Mini Fountain Pen in Sakura Cherry Blossoms ($79) and ordered one immediately. The Sakura Cherry Blossoms is made much the way other Opus 88 models are. It features and acrylic resin body with color printed design. The mini features a #5 Jowo steel nib (available in XF, F, M, B and 1.4mm stub) and silver-colored hardware (ring and clip). It also features Opus ..read more

After humming and hawing for months about getting a Plotter, one magically appeared in my mailbox. (The Plotter fairy knows who they are and I am eternally grateful!) The binder came in a bright orange, paperboard box with glossy black foil logo and branding. The box is sturdy and worth holding onto to store your inserts. I chose the Bible size (aka Personal size, if you speak Filofax) Horse Hair II 6-Ring Leather Binder PLT5016 ($149) in green (I know, shocker!). The Bible size binder is approximately 7.25″ x 4.5″ (180mm x 115mm) and the insert papers are about 6.75″ x 3.75″ ((170mm X 93mm ..read more

Last week, I wrote reviews about the new Ajoto Pocket Paper Notebooks and the newly updated Endless Recorder Regalia notebooks. Having written these while I was ill I was not as thorough in my reviews as I normally try to be. Luckily, kind readers requested some additional details about the paper performance so I thought I’d do a little follow-up specifically about how these two products handle fountain pen inks. Ajoto Pocket Paper Notebooks: Let’s start with the Ajoto Pocket Paper Notebooks. The full review included regular daily writing samples but I forgot to do big swatchy ink tests. How ..read more

My favorite part of the fountain pen hobby isn’t the pens, it’s the ink. While fountain pens aren’t required in order to enjoy ink, paper is necessary. Typically my ink reviews will use several types of paper – I believe that gives a more in depth understanding of how the ink will behave in any situation – but I stick with the same 3-4 notebooks and rarely branch out. But I’ve found something new. Dominant Industry just released an Ink Archiving book. This book started life as a Kickstarter project and recently became available to the general public – however, there is only one retailer in th ..read more

With just days left at my jobby-job, I see both adventure and (a little) terror in my future. I have been making lists of projects big and small to tackle in the coming weeks and months. Some would say that I am starting a new chapter, but it feels like I am opening the first pages of a new book of my life. What first steps would you take if you had a chance to start a new chapter (or new book) of your life? Pens: clone wars: majohn A2 fountain pen review (via A Fleeting Ripple) Pen Porn: Stanford Pen Studio Little Women (via Rachel’s Reflections) Video-Review: Leonardo Momento Zero Grande (S ..read more

I feel like Ana and I are sort of running on the same wavelength. Each month she prepares for a new month by pulling out her best supplies, and making small changes based on what worked the previous month. I decided that since we’re just past April 1 (no fooling!) that I’d check in and share how my journaling project is going. January and February were GREAT! I wrote in my journal most days and developed a look and feel I enjoyed. There was washi tape, there were different colors of ink, and I think I captured some great moments and thoughts. And then in March the wheels fell off a bit. I sti ..read more

I have enjoyed sharing my monthly planning set up and tools with you. I hope you find it inspiring or enlightening too. I have been starting each month with a “color of the month”. March was purples which I enjoyed so much. I got to experiment with new brush pens and some gel pens that I hadn’t used before. For April, I want all the tender greens. My soul colors. The color of new shoots and spring leaves. It’s time to get fresh with green for me. By limiting my choices at the start of each month, I take a lot of the decision making out of my day-to-day planning and allows me to make sure I hav ..read more