Addicted to Pens and Paper

Envelopes

2014-03-27T10:21:00.001-04:00

I get the gorgeous Philatelic catalog from the USPS. Once I am through looking at it and deciding which pretty new stamps I need, I usually toss it in the recycling bin. This time I decided to upcycle it instead of recycle it - so I turned some of the pages into envelopes. The paper is sturdy enough and I understand that as long as there aren’t any postage stamp size images on it, it should go though the postal service just fine. I’ve sent out 2 letters in them and there haven’t been any complaints so far.

The ones with the square flaps were made with a template I created and the one with the pointed flap was made using the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board. I love to use that for envelopes because it is so quick and easy, but I haven’t figured out how to make envelopes with the design going a straight across like the other ones rather than sideways. So, sometimes my own template is the way to go.

The paper is a coated glossy paper, so I use my ATG adhesive. Glue sticks wouldn’t work very well with this type of paper, I think it would come unglued before long. That would make ME come unglued!

If you will excuse me, I must get busy. I have more envelopes to make. No rest for the wicked, as they say ;-)

I recently won some goodies from JetPens.com - woohoo!! - so I will be back with a review as soon as they arrive.

Lots of Notecards

2014-03-27T10:06:00.001-04:00

I got a new stamp and actually inked it up the next day! My usual method is to drool over something, procrastinate about buying it, give in and buy it, then let it gather dust for weeks on end. Not this time, though. I’m proud of myself :-) I saw this stamp and knew it would be perfect for my letter writing. I used some patterned paper that is white on the opposite side for the notecard base. I have plenty of that, so there’s no reason I can’t make lots of these.

Hero Arts Hello Grid stamp and Green Hills Mid Tone ink.

Same stamp and Hero Arts Orange Soda Mid Tone ink.

I bought a package of kraft notecards at Hobby Lobby a while back just for the envelopes, only to find that they aren’t the right size for a standard A2 card. I can use them for letters, though. I had no intentions of using the notecards until I received a letter from a pen friend with a cute typewriter embossed in silver on the front. A light bulb went off in my poor little brain.

Since I’m too lazy to get out the embossing powder, anti-static pad, and the heat tool, I just grabbed my Hero Arts Black ink and went to town. Figuratively speaking, of course. I couldn’t actually stamp on the way into town, could I? That would be dangerous. No stamping and driving. Promise? Good.

I’m not sure about the neon dots on this card. I only used them on one, and left the others nekkid - well, aside from the stamp. So maybe they’re semi-nekkid.

Next time I will stamp this one vertically and add the “Hello” stamp from the card above, so it looks more balanced. I love this Kliban cat.

This little kitty is just too cute. He would look better embossed in clear, but my black pigment ink pads may have dried up from neglect. I’ll check on that and report back.

That was my project for today. I stamped several of each design so now I have a nice stash of notecards. I have some new things coming soon, so I hope to knock the cobwebs off of this blog and post a little more often.

GrandLuxe Notebooks

2014-03-10T16:48:00.000-04:00

I was a lucky winner of 3 notebooks from the Notebook Stories blog and even though there is a review there, I thought I’d share my own opinion here.

These are the ones I received -a Monologue Jotter, a Monologue Sketch Pad, and a Déjà Vu Notebook. Although it doesn’t say it on the label, Made in Malaysia is printed on the back of the last page of the books.

First, the Monologue Jotter. The cover is a soft suede-like fabric. It has a nice elastic closure as well as an attached ribbon bookmark. It retails for $30.99 in their online store. They are $18.50 - $25.15 on Amazon, depending on color.

It has 96 pages, 48 lined and 48 blank. I thought that was a bit strange, but the blank pages would come in handy for drawing and sketching, I guess. The lined pages are lined on both sides. You may think that’s not necessary to say, but the Déjà Vu is a bit different. Read on :-)

The pages are a nice cream color, not too thin, and fairly smooth. The odd thing was this cut out for the pen loop. Mine didn’t come with a ballpoint pen, which was fine with me because I would have given it to my husband straight away. The pen loop seems to be made from the same fabric as the cover and has no give to it at all, which limits the size of pen that will fit in it. I forgot to do some writing samples in this one, but the paper is the same (80gsm) as what’s in the Déjà Vu notebook, so I expect the results would be the same. The Déjà Vu review is at the bottom of the post - fountain pen ink spreads quite a bit and also shows through to the back of the page.

I tried several pens and the only one that even came close was my Mach 3. Even then it was just weird trying to get it in and out of the loop.

I had to lift all of the pages up to make it work, and then it was too long. It didn’t fit in the cut out space.

There is an expandable pocket in the back, but the pen loop interferes with it a bit. Yes, that’s an ink pad, and I know it’s meant for notes, receipts, and the like - and would work fine for those. I just don’t really understand the thinking behind the design. I’m not sure I would pay $18 or more for this notebook, given the quality of the paper and the odd little “features”.

Next up is the Monologue Sketch Pad. I really like the cover of this one. It has a subtle texture and those lines etched into the cover are quite pretty. Retail is $11.99 in their online store, around $12 on Amazon.

The pages have a texture similar to a lightweight cold press watercolor paper. I couldn’t capture it in a photo, so I scribbled a bit of pencil on the paper in an effort to show the texture. If you look at the left side of the photo you can see it is a pretty thick sketch book. The bad news is that it’s not refillable, the notebook is glued on to the back. Not terribly environmentally friendly.

The label states that it is suitable for drawing with charcoal, chalk, graphite, pencil, pastel, oil pastel, was crayon, red chalk, collage, oil, marker, spray, and tempera. Well, I had some markers and a pencil. And some watercolors, which is not listed as suitable. They worked fine, except the watercolor wrinkled the paper quite a bit. Fair enough, it didn’t say it was suitable for watercolors.

I had to try my Lamy Safari, of course. Fine nib, inked with Noodler’s Shah’s Rose. Yes, I do love that color and use it excessively. It actually looks pretty good on this paper. I wouldn’t necessarily use it for letter writing, but it’s heavy enough to be stamped or doodled on and used as a postcard. The pages are easily removed, too, so using them as single pages outside of the notebook is a possibility.

I can’t think of any reason why they named this one Déjà Vu…but they did and who am I to argue. It is a bright orange, with a velour-like cover over what feels like thin-ish chipboard. There wasn’t a page count on the label, but it’s very thick. So thick that it will not lay flat for writing, it has to be held open. I didn’t find it for sale on their website, but Amazon has a grey one for $10.50.

The pages are also cream colored, lined on one side and blank on the back. No idea why.

Again with the pen tests. Fountain pens, gel pens and even a hybrid ballpoint. The paper is really smooth but the fountain pen ink spread a lot.

The Lamy EF nib looks more like the F nib should.

Almost all of the ink shows through to the backside of the pages, especially the fountain pens. Maybe that’s why they didn’t bother to print lines on the back, you couldn’t use them anyway.

I will definitely find a use for these, it just won’t be with my fountain pens. Although maybe other ink will perform differently on this paper. I have learned that much so far - pen, ink, and paper combinations can produce very different results. I should probably keep track of those results, but where’s the fun it that?

Furrow Books Review

2014-03-07T13:53:00.001-05:00

Aaron Zeller of The Zeller Writing Company is starting a new company called Furrow Books. The notebooks are made right here in the US, in Omaha, Nebraska. I was recently selected as one of the beta testers and I’d like to share my review with you. They are starting a Kickstarter campaign in the next week or so to get the ball rolling.

The one I received is 3-1/2” x 5”, the same size as a Field Notes pocket notebook, but they will also be available in a larger size. There are 48 pages, folded and put together with 2 staples. I was told that they might consider stitching it instead of using the staples, depending on the feedback from the testers. I would prefer the stitching, but we’ll see how that goes. The cover is a nice weight beige card stock, with speckles in the paper. It will be left blank and you can, of course, either leave it that way or customize it with your own artwork, collage, stickers, etc. There is a stamp on the back which will be replaced by a printed logo and name in the final version. Keep in mind that this prototype is handmade and a bit rough around the edges, but the final version will be pure perfection.

It comes with an insert that is printed on one side with lines and the opposite side has a grid pattern. It can be used behind the pages as a guide and it works quite well. I’m not sure I would use it very often just for quick notes or lists, and I would probably lose it at some point, so I would prefer the lines or grids be printed on the page. It is a nice option to have, though.

The paper is an off white and very smooth. I like the off white, I think it’s easier on the eyes than a bright white. I used several different pens and it worked well with all of them. I don’t have very many fountain pens, so I can’t testify as to how a wetter or broader nib might perform, but I am quite happy with it. The fountain pen nibs glided smoothly across the paper, even the EF nib. The Pilot Precise and Mach 3 were very smooth, too. The Pilot Juice is a little scratchier, but it’s that way on almost all of the other paper I have so that’s the pen, not the paper.

You can barely see the writing on the other side and I wouldn’t have a problem using both sides of the pages.

The only one that showed through enough to make the back of the page unusable was the Sharpie, but I expected that. They show through nearly everything.

I didn’t notice any feathering or bleeding of the fountain pen ink.

I tried a pencil, mostly to see how it would erase and if it would leave any residue or damage the paper. It erased cleanly with no damage to the paper at all. It would depend on the quality of your eraser, I’m sure. The hard orange ones on the wood pencils might not work as well, but who uses those anymore?

Here is a little more information provided on the sheet that was enclosed with my notebook.

All in all, it is a really nice little notebook. I have no idea about price points, but I’m sure it will be competitive with similar products. The fact that it’s made in the US is a definite plus for me. I look forward to seeing the finished product and I wish Aaron all the best in his new endeavor!

Incoming and Outgoing

2014-03-04T11:07:00.001-05:00

During the Month of Letters challenge I received some lovely mail, some of which I posted previously. This one arrived after that posting and I wish I had thought to take a photo before I opened it, but I love getting mail so much that I tend to get impatient to see what wonderful words await me inside. I was careful with this one, though. I didn’t want to destroy her drawing!

She knew I was missing the ocean, so she drew a seascape scene for me on the envelope! How sweet is that?! The letter is from a lovely girl that was in a car accident just a few days after this arrived. She is doing better now, after surgery for a broken hip. She will need physical therapy and the road to recovery may be long, but she’s young and the prognosis is very good.

I sent a letter on on of these 6 x 6 multi fold cards to a pen friend and she asked if I sold them because she wanted some. No, I don’t’ sell them, but I was more than happy to make some for her. I made matching envelopes that are 1/4” thick, because the cards are thicker than a normal card. The envelope for the first one has similar colors but doesn’t match the card because I got the idea for matching envelopes AFTER I made the cards and then realized I didn’t have any more of that paper.

There are 12 panels in all for writing on and I couldn’t find a good way to photograph all of them, but this is one section. The other sections are the same. I cut 5” x 5” pieces from thinner white card stock for the panels on all of the cards but one, which was plain green on the opposite side. You can’t really write a letter on patterned paper :-)

I’m sure you recognize the “hello” die, and I used washi tape for the stripes.

This “hello” die is from the same die set by My Favorite Things. More washi tape. The edge of the card looks like it’s dirty, but it’s actually part of the design in the paper. It’s a Basic Grey design and although I love their paper, I wish they would leave off with the “distressed” edges.

This one is made from some Stampin’ Up patterned paper I couldn’t live without quite some time ago. I love the design, but never found a good use for it, until now. I don’t have any brown washi tape (oh, NO, Mr. Bill!), so I used strips of the same paper on the front of the card. I haven’t actually seen much brown washi tape, but I will keep looking. This situation must be remedied!

The Month of Letters challenge was wonderful and I have found several new pen friends. I am still a little behind in replies, but I’m working on it. There are still several more people I want to write to, as well, so I guess I should get busy!

Thanks for stopping by. I know we will all be glad when this winter is over - stay warm!

Washi Tape Cards and Lovely Pen Friends Letters

2014-02-08T18:33:00.001-05:00

I have expanded my washi tape collection and needed a few cards I could use for the Month of Letters challenge, so I whipped these up the other day.

They are just so easy to make - a little washi tape, my favorite hello die, and a bit of card stock and voila - done!

I have been receiving lots of fun letters from current pen friends and new ones, as well. I don’t usually post things that I’ve received but these were too wonderful not to share.

I won’t post any names, but if you read my blog you know who you are :-)

First is a fabulous watercolor and calligraphy card from a calligrapher pen friend. I love this! It almost makes me want to get my watercolors out and play. Of course, there would be stamps instead of calligraphy on anything I made - I admire anyone who can write this beautifully.

This card came from an overseas pen friend. The card is beautiful and inside were the little Eiffel Tower post it flags! They are so cute!

Last but never, ever least is this wonderful package from a sweet pen friend in Oregon. Her envelopes are always decorated so beautifully and they make me smile even before I open them.

This little dimensional sticker was on the outside and survived the trip intact!

Inside was this booklet letter, complete with a pretty satin bow. It’s awesome!

I love going to my mailbox - well, sending my husband to the mailbox - and finding letters. They are beginning to outnumber the junk mail!

Month of Letters 2014 has begun!

2014-02-01T16:55:00.000-05:00

I am well aware that this blog has been sadly neglected and for that I apologize. My plan was to photograph and review pens, paper, ink, etc., but it just hasn't happened for a while. One reason is that I haven't gotten very much new stuff to review, or if I have gotten a new pen someone way more popular and more widely read has just reviewed it, so what's the point? Ok, maybe that's more of an excuse than an actual reason.

Anyway, I plan to participate in the Month of Letters challenge again this year. Last year I connected with a lot of new pen friends, some of which have turned into ongoing postal - and personal - relationships and some fell by the wayside, but it's all good. It's a bit like dating, in a way. You exchange a few letters and things seem to be clicking, but after a while you run out of things to say and find that you didn't have as much in common as you thought. Or life gets in the way and people get busy. That's ok, it's just the way it works, I think. I enjoyed every single letter I received and I hope mine were well received, too.

Over the past year I have acquired some lovely pens, made a LOT of envelopes, created some of my own stationery, jumped on the washi tape bandwagon (quick and easy way to decorate envelopes and stationery), discovered a lot about fountain pens and their quirks, and even bought 2 whole bottles of ink. T W O! Woohoo! It's a commitment, and one not to be taken lightly, mind you. I buy a sample vial from Goulet Pens to test it out or, in the case of the 2 bottles I purchased, a friend will use a particular ink in a letter and having seen it in person rather than on a computer screen, I must have it!

If I have any readers left (thanks for hanging in there!) that are not already involved with the Month of Letters, click the link above or the image on the right sidebar for more information on this wonderful project. InCoWriMo gets a lot of publicity and it's a wonderful idea, but MoL is definitely worth investigating if you are in the market for some new pen friends.

Happy Month of Letters, everyone!

Happy Fountain Pen Day

2013-11-01T16:03:00.001-04:00

In celebration, Pen Heaven has some interesting and fun fountain pen facts for you today.
Click here to check out their blog. I hope you are all showing your fountain pens some love today.

Fountain Pen Day

2013-10-28T12:06:00.001-04:00

Who knew that fountain pens have their own day? It seems perfectly sensible to me. Lots of other things have their own day - donuts, bosses, talking like a pirate - fountain pens are better than any of those (well, let me think about the donuts). Anyway…there is, of course, a Fountain Pen Day website right here - Fountain Pen Day.

This is the second official Fountain Pen Day and it is always celebrated on the first Friday in November, which happens to be November 1 this year. There were approximately 600 people participating last year, and the number has grown to over 2000 in 2013! That’s good news! As for how to celebrate this auspicious occasion? Well, the Fountain Pen Day website has some suggestions and you are welcome to come up with your own creative way of celebrating.

Here are some ideas for celebrating the day!

Write a letter to someone with your favorite fountain pen and ink. Under your signature you can write the pen & ink you used.
Go through your stationary collection and use some of those you have saved for a special occasion. Surprise a friend with that vintage paper.
You can make up a FPD “intro to fountain pens” pack for a friend like this.
Post on your favorite forum or blog by writing it out with your fountain pen. Then take a picture of it and post it. Again, under your signature write what pen & ink you used.
Instead of typing Facebook status updates and tweets on Twitter, write them and upload a picture of them (mention the reason that you’re doing it at well.)
Take one of the pens you don’t use anymore and send it off to a friend with a handwritten note. If you don’t have any pens you want to part with you can shop one of the online retailers and have it sent direct to them.
Make that the weekend you have your pen club meet up.
Turn off your computer and put down the phone and spend some time writing.

There are also 51 vendors participating. Some are offering discounts, specials, and even giveaways.

So click on over to the Fountain Pen Day website and browse around. Enter a giveaway. Leave a comment on their blog. Check out a new vendor. Visit their Facebook page. But above all, be sure to show your fountain pens some love this Friday!

Four Words, Four Worlds Giveaway

2013-09-17T09:37:00.000-04:00

Danni is hosting a very nice giveaway going on over on the Four Words, Four Worlds blog. You - or I :-) - could win a J. Herbin Rollerball pen, one cartridge of every color (30!) J. Herbin ink, one of the author's lovely handmade rainbow pocket notebooks, and a brand new Leuchtturm1917 Neon notebooks in orange, donated by lovely folks over at Bureau Direct.

It's easy to enter, just answer a couple of questions and your name is thrown into the hat. The giveaway ends September 25. Hop on over and sign up!

Fun reading

2013-07-31T10:08:00.001-04:00

What does your handwriting say about you? The study of handwriting is called graphology, and how you write can indicate over 5000 personality traits. Check out this infographic from Pens.com.

A Little Organization

2013-07-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

I’ve been searching for the perfect storage solution for my address labels, stamps, return address labels, etc. and I think I may have finally found it. I tried boxes, envelopes, CD sleeves… none of them worked for me. Then I remembered this pretty little treasure. It was right here all the time. Yes, Dorothy, right in my own ~~backyard~~ closet.

You see, I had big plans to be an extreme couponer once upon a time. You know what I mean, you’ve seen the show, right? One of those people that buys a van full of groceries for $3.57. It never really worked out that way for me. I didn’t have enough coupons for one of those humongous binders, but I had too many for just an envelope. I wanted something pretty, something that I could carry in my purse. So I sat down one day, drew out a pattern, bought some pretty fabric, and whipped this up. Well, maybe it didn’t go as smoothly as all that, but I did manage to get a presentable finished product. I used it for quite a while, it worked well, but eventually I gave up on the whole extreme couponing dream. I downsized my coupons to a plastic organizer from Staples and stored this away. Once I remembered I had it, then it was time to play another rousing round of “Where the Hell Did I Put It?”. That took a little while, but find it I did. Never give up, never surrender (name that movie). I just changed the words on the dividers and Voila!

I’ve got everything neatly divided into sections - forever stamps, international stamps, postcard stamps, misc. stamps, address labels, etc. - and it’s portable. It has an elastic closure that slips around the bottom to a button on the back. I could clip a pen or two on there if the mood strikes.

I like the fact that it isn’t a rigid plastic. It’s soft, somewhat expandable, and holds more than I thought it would.

I keep stamps in these little things. They started out as zippered pockets for stamp sets, but I never used them for that purpose because the zipper was too hard to open and close. So I just zippered them shut and cut off the bottom to fit in the organizer. They are made of pretty sturdy, semi-soft plastic and it’s easier to keep them in there than to file them loose in the bag, even with the dividers.

I keep a stash of these in there, too. They are Super Sticky 3M labels that I use to address my handmade envelopes.

I bought these before I found the pretty colors - at least these have lines. You know how I love lines. (Apologies for the blurry photo)

This is what my stationery collection has expanded to these days. The box on the left is just for envelopes and stickers, and I have some sealing wax (which I always forget about) in that little tin. The one on the right holds my paper & postcards - most of it, anyway. At the far left is where I keep my stamp organizer bag. It’s an evolving system and subject to change at any time, but it’s been this way for several months. So far, so good!

How do you organize small items like stamps and labels? I’m always open to new solutions. Hit me with your best shot!

Look What I Found!

2013-07-27T09:00:00.000-04:00

I was searching for who-knows-what in the closet and I found this baby!!

Yes, it’s a small wooden lap desk which was a gift from a friend at least 10 years ago. She painted it, stamped it, and put a durable lacquer finish on it - it looks like the day I got it! I had completely forgotten about it and I was so glad to find it that I totally forgot whatever else it was that I was searching for. I’m sure I will remember someday, but for now I am enjoying a visit with this lovely piece of functional art.

She even painted my initials on the inside of the lid and there is a cushioned felt pad in the bottom.

Here is a closer look at the stamping. Isn’t it gorgeous? It measures 11-1/4” x 9-1/2” and is 3” tall in the back. It slopes down slightly in the front, the way a good lap desk should. It sits perfectly on my lap and is just the right angle for writing comfortably. It’s a little tricky to use full 8-1/2 x 11 sheets on it, but it can be done. I don’t think you can even buy unfinished pieces like this any more. It may have come from a Hobby Lobby, or some similar craft store, but I haven’t seen one in any craft stores in recent years.

Inside, I found this. Yep, writing paper - with lines, thank you very much. I have NO idea where I bought this, but since paper like this seems to have gone extinct I can only guess at its age. It’s old. very old. Sorta like me :-)

I’ve never been one for plain ol’ white paper and I know I bought it because of the lovely rainbow colored sheets. It’s thin, cheap paper but I imagine it came from somewhere like Eckerd’s or maybe even K-Mart back in the day, and was probably pretty inexpensive. Not meant for fountain pen ink, I’m sure. But it will get used soon. Gel pens should work just fine on it.

I am off to write some more letters… I’ll see you in the mailbox.

Happy Mail

2013-07-25T16:45:00.000-04:00

This is one of the many reasons I am so glad I started writing letters and having pen pals again. It’s such a delight to find a letter in my mailbox, and doubly delightful to find letters with envelopes such as these in the mailbox!

This is original artwork on the envelope, she is so talented! It’s beautiful and I just want to frame it!

A sweet pen friend visited The Wizarding World of Harry Potter recently and sent me a letter from there, written on Owl Post stationery and enclosed in this wonderful envelope:

Complete with a faux wax seal on the back. Perfect!

I’m smilin’.

More…yes more… letter cards and some new stationery

2013-07-24T12:31:00.001-04:00

I’ve been making more letter cards, this time with just a die cut or two and some washi tape. No stamping at all. So quick and easy - I love it! Yes, I am a fan of bright colors, can you tell?

These do have some stamping on them. They were made with the same die cut and some stamped images from my wonderful stampy friend Leslie, of The Crooked Stamper.

I also wanted to let you know about Miraculous Mosquito’s new website, where she has some wonderful stationery made with her original artwork. They are PDF files that you can purchase and print as many as you need. Her prices are more than reasonable and many of the items come in sets, with more than one design in the set for just a couple of bucks. She is in New Zealand, so the paper is A4, which is 8.3 x 11.7 inches and prints out like the first image. I changed the size to fit on an 8-1/2 x 11 piece of paper and it worked fine. The A4 prints out fine but I am a little obsessive about having the edges as even as possible, and I didn’t want to have to trim every one of them. And yes, I know the edges are not even on the first one - I need to remedy that ASAP!

This is my favorite so far. I suggested that she create some mailing labels to match the stationery sets, so we’ll see where that goes. I’d love to have matching labels to put on my handmade envelopes. Her sets come with a printable envelope, but they don’t feature the artwork on them. Yet.

Please do stop by and check out her site soon. I’m sure she will be adding more items as soon as she can, but there is a very nice selection already there.

Robert le héros notebook

2013-07-15T13:42:00.001-04:00

The Quo Vadis blog had a giveaway a week or so ago and I was one of the lucky winners! I won a lovely Quo Vadis Robert le héros lined notebook. It is a lovely shade of pink, with gold and silver flowers on the front and back. At 4” x 6-3/8” it is the perfect size to carry in my purse.

The cover is soft and feels lightly padded. The notebook has an elastic closure, as well as an attached bookmark.

Since my writing tends to get a bit unruly (Pun intended. Get it? No “ruled” lines? Work with me here.) without lines, I love that it has lined pages, too. I tried out a few of my favorite pens and inks and I have to say that I am impressed. The Clairefontaine paper is so smooth, it is a pleasure to use. I’ve heard of this paper before but I haven’t used it myself. I am a believer now!

No messiness on the other side of the paper.

It also has a wonderful little pocket in the back which would be perfect for stashing receipts, business cards, store loyalty cards, etc.

The back is just as pretty as the front! I am happy that it is made in the USA, and with paper from certified sustainable forests (that what that little PEFC logo means). Good job, Quo Vadis!

Thank you Quo Vadis and Exaclair for this perfect little notebook. Maybe I will use it for making notes while writing my memoirs….which I know will be at the top of the New York Times Bestseller List someday. Don’t laugh, stranger things have happened.

Hometown Memories

2013-07-10T09:04:00.000-04:00

A wonderful pen friend from St. Augustine sent me this wonderful pop up card a few weeks ago.

I see the Castillo de San Marcos (commonly know to the natives as just The Fort), the Lightner Building, Flagler College, the City Gates, one of lions from the Bridge of Lions, Colee’s Carriages, and the St. Augustine Lighthouse. Oh, and palm trees and a little bit of beach in the background, of course!

I absolutely love it and it now holds a place of honor on my bookshelf in my craft/computer room - high up out of reach of any curious kitties. Thank you, Juli!!

Card making and letter writing united

2013-07-07T18:56:00.001-04:00

Thanks to a recent letter from a friend, I’ve found a way to satisfy both of my addictions - card making and letter writing. A2 cards don’t have enough room to write much, so I usually end up adding extra pages inside. That works, but I like this plan better. Here is the letter/card I received.

A gorgeous photo of poppies on the front -

Opened up and laid flat it looks like this on one side:

This is how it folds:

She included some lovely photos from her recent trip, and there was still enough room to write a short letter. Since I am usually a bit more long winded in my letter writing, if I leave off the photos there is plenty of room for writing a long, rambly letter! It’s an 8-1/2” x 11” sheet of card stock, scored down the center both ways - at 5-1/2 on the 11” length, and 4-1/4 on the 8” length.

I made a couple of really simple card fronts and added them to different card stocks. White would, of course, work best, but any plain colored card stock would be fine. So, I made one from some yellow card stock and another with white.

Here is the yellow one opened up - maybe this will make more sense about how to cut and fold it. After scoring it, just cut in half way on the 5-1/2” score line.

This one is made with some Lasting Impressions card stock, patterned on one side and white on the other, but still not too busy to write on.

They will fit in a standard A2 envelope and may not even require extra postage! It would be a great way to include some photos in a card and still have room for the writing. I will have to practice writing straight without lines, but I think it’ll be ok. I could have printed lines before scoring and cutting, and I might try that at some point but for now I’m happy with this design.

Thanks for the inspiration, Stephanie!

Stamps - Hero Arts
Dies - Hero Arts (speech bubble), My Favorite Things (hello)
Ink - Hero Arts Mid-Tones: Bubble Gum, Field Greens, Butter Bar, Cornflower

DIY Fold and Send Stationery

2013-06-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

I found these cute little Fold and Send Letters at Target a while back. I posted the first one I found back in February on this post. By the time I went back for more this one was the only one left, and it was on clearance. I know, it has a cartoon dinosaur on it, but it was on clearance - what was I supposed to do?

This is what the back looks like when it’s folded, before it’s sealed.

On the front there are lines on which to write the mailing address, along with a few dinosaur tracks :-) He should have wiped his dirty little green feet before tracking across my paper! Bad dinosaur!

Since Target no longer carries it and I haven’t seen it anywhere else, I thought I’d try making some of my own to use once this is gone. It’s pretty simple, actually.

You will need a 12” piece of paper. I may see if I can make it work with 8-1/2 x 11 paper later, but since I have a L O T of 12 x 12 paper, I started there.

Cut the paper to 7-3/4” x 12”. Measure in 1/2” on each 12” side and use a pencil and ruler to mark it. If you have one of those paper trimmers with the single sliding blade and a ruler on it, that makes it a lot easier. If you have one, you know what I’m talking about. If not, you can see one here. That’s what I used to cut these because I am NO good with scissors and you wouldn’t want to see what it would look like if I tried to cut a line that long with scissors.

Cut off that 1/2” down to 7” on each side, and up to 1-1-4” from the bottom, leaving 3-3/4” flaps like you see on the dinosaur paper in the first photo above.

Either fold or score the paper at 3-3/4”, 7”, and 11”, and fold in the side tabs. I rounded the corners with a corner rounding punch, but you can leave them square.

I cut the ends of the flaps at an angle, making it easier to fold in.

You should end up with something that looks like this:

A lot of the 12 x 12 paper is double sided, but if it just has a color on the opposite side, it shouldn’t be a problem for writing on at all. The other side of that paper is white, but this is a light purple on the other side.

I know, there aren’t any lines :-(. I probably could print some after cutting it but before trimming out the tab, and I may try that if my writing gets too messy. Anyway, all you have to do is write your letter, fold it up and seal it with some tape or glue, add a label for the address, stick a stamp on it and pop it in the mailbox. I usually end up adding a few extra folded sheets because I am a long winded letter writer (say that three times!) most of the time.

If you’ve got some 12 x 12 paper laying (lying?) around, give it a try and let me know what you think. If this is too difficult to understand, please let me know and I will make clearer instructions.

Have fun with it!

Ampad Versa Crossover Notebook

2013-06-19T09:00:00.000-04:00

I was on of the lucky winners of an Ampad Versa Crossover Notebook from the Shoplet blog recently. What is a crossover notebook, you ask? I wondered the same thing. I have heard of crossover vehicles, but never a crossover notebook. The information on their website say this about that:

The old way of organizing your notebook is a thing of the past. The Versa™ Notebook's "cross-over" design takes the best of notebooks, binders and dividers and puts it all in one.

Write in it like a notebook. Move things around like a binder. Find and add notes as needed. It's your organizational destiny.

And on the Shoplet website it says:

Updated "crossover" design features the best of a notebook, binder and divider in one. Reposition materials without opening or closing rings. Dual pocket poly divider holds papers, lists or references while three additional dividers help separate subjects or indicate next clean sheet. Includes 30 sticky notes and 105 flags to quickly highlight or label high-priority tasks and to-do's. Fold-out back cover with built-in storage pocket.

Mine is navy blue and measures 6-3/8” x 8-3/4” and the pages are 5-1/2” x 8-1/2”. The front and back covers, as well as the dividers are made of sturdy heavyweight poly. Unfortunately it isn’t recycled material.

Sticky notes and flags for organization.

Wide ruled pages that are perforated, so I can use them to write letters, too. I hate the ragged edges you get when you tear pages out of spiral notebooks. Even though these come out without being torn, I still prefer a clean edge on the paper. Don’t judge me :-)

I tested some of my favorite pens on the paper and other than some feathering and a little bleedthrough with the Platinum Preppy, I am really happy with it. It’s very smooth, not flimsy or thin at all. Some notebook papers are too lightweight for anything but taking quick notes with ballpoint pens or pencils, but they didn’t skimp on the paper in this one.

You can barely see the bleedthrough from the Preppy here:

Three dividers in the back that can be positioned and repositioned as you like.

Two storage pockets in the back.

I really like this little notebook and I think it will come in very handy - whether it’s keeping notes, keeping track of a budget or organizing a daily schedule, or even using it to write letters and make notes about my pen friends. Refills are available in either wide ruled paper or graph paper. The notebook isn’t inexpensive, at $11.56 from the Shoplet website, but once you have the notebook all you’d really need to buy are refills.

Thank you, Shoplet!

Yet another giveaway!

2013-06-17T11:50:00.001-04:00

This one will last all week, with a different prize each day. I have been reading The Well Appointed Desk blog for quite a while and she has lots of great reviews as well as other pen and paper related news.

So, click on over and check out her blog, and while you’re there be sure to enter the giveaway. Look at the goodies up for grabs!

Today is the lime green giveaway:

Good luck, everyone! And if this is your first visit to her blog, please let her know you found it here.

Writing Desk

2013-06-15T09:00:00.000-04:00

As I walked into Hobby Lobby a couple of months ago, this beauty caught my eye. It’s a writing desk! I didn’t even know they still made these. I’m not sure if it’s made from real wood or something that passes for real wood these days, but it’s very pretty just the same. I would love to have something like this (or this!), but I’ve discovered that there is not a good place to put one in this house. I’d want to have it under a window, preferably looking out into the back yard, and I just can’t make that work. So, as lovely as it is, it will have to go live with someone else someday.

Two drawers on the front, 4 drawers and a cubbyhole with the top open. I can’t remember the exact price, but it was somewhere in the $200 - $300 range, I think. If you are in the market for one, Hobby Lobby might be a good place to look.

The photos were taken with my phone, so I apologize for the quality.

‘Tis the season…

2013-06-12T18:09:00.001-04:00

for giveaways, apparently. Ed Jelley is giving away a Pilot Prera, courtesy of Goldspot pens. I’ve had my eye on one of these for a while, and sharing this giveaway is a little like shooting myself in the foot, but what the heck!

He is also going to thrown in some ink samples and a paper sampler for me the lucky winner ;-) So hop on over and thrown your name into the hat.

Good luck!

INDIARY Journal Review

2013-06-11T23:36:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago I was contacted by the folks at INDIARY and asked if I would like to review one of their handmade leather bound journals. Well, this blog isn't named Addicted to Pens and Paper for nothing. Of course I'd love to review a handmade journal!
I chose the Leather Shuffle journal. It is 6"x4"x1", with 200 pages of luscious handmade paper. The paper is soft, with a little bit of texture and lots of pretty flower petal inclusions on the pages. The buffalo leather cover is embossed with the INDIARY logo and features an elastic closure which wraps around the leather button. The leather is very soft and supple, and who doesn't love the smell of leather?

It is entirely handmade, from the cover to the binding to the paper. The binding adds a beautiful accent to the outside and the inside, as well.

Handmade paper can sometimes be a little stiff and hard to write on, but this paper is very soft and supple, with just the right amount of texture. I couldn't stop touching it, it feels so good! It has 5 signatures, each with 20 sheets, folded in half for a total of 200 pages. It doesn't lay flat for writing, simply due to the way it's made, but it's very lightweight and easy enough to hold open, unlike hardbound journals. The size makes it a good candidate for carrying in a backpack or purse.

Here is a close up of the texture and one of the many flower petals

I tried a few of my favorite pens, and they all worked pretty well.

There is a little bleedthrough with fountain pens, depending on the ink and size of the nib. My Lamy Safari has an EF nib and the bleedthrough was not bad at all, but when I tried my Platinum Preppy it was considerably worse. The paper is pretty absorbent and the Preppy has a medium nib, and writes a little wetter than the Safari.

I love my Hi-Tec C Maica pens but the tip is so fine and it was a little scratchier on this paper, I worried a bit about the fibers getting stuck in the tip. I don't even know if that's possible, so I'm probably just being over protective of my pens :-) The Uni-ball Signo 207 and the Pentel Energel worked very well.

Next, I tried writing and a bit of goofy sketching with one of my mechanical pencils, the Pentel Twist Erase 0.5. I was pleased with the results. Just be really careful when erasing, it would be easy to rub a hole in the page.

All in all, I found this to be lovely journal, for which you might expect to pay big bucks. Au contraire. At the usual price of $29.99 it is an excellent deal, but right now it is on sale at Amazon for $25.00, with free Super Saver Shipping!
DISCLAIMER: The journal was provided to me for review free of charge by INDIARY and I was not compensated monetarily for my review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

JetPens is having a giveaway

2013-06-11T11:41:00.001-04:00

But you have to hurry, it ends June 16. So click on over to their blog and throw your name into the proverbial hat.

Click on the image to enter:

Good luck!