Spotlight Stationery

          I guess I've skipped doing unboxing for a bit, but that is because I'm currently working on a project that is close to my heart. I will tell you about it later...now it is time for my awesome subscription box from Spotlight Stationery. The theme for this box is Cartoleria: Beautiful stationery from Italy. As always the purchase price of this box includes a donation to a charity and this time it is to From Me To You, a charity that encourages people to write letters to Cancer patients.

          As soon as I opened the pretty heavy box I realized why it was so heavy...but I am getting ahead of myself. The first thing I always look for in the box is the envelop that has my name on it. I always know I'm going to find some awesome artwork/postcards. The information about the artists is in the card below, please check them out.

           The Legami pocket notebook is really cute. It has 80 pages of 100gsm lined paper. I've yet to try but I think it might be suitable for fountain pen use.

          The box also included some interesting pens from Castelli and on multiple-colored pencil from Legami, which I can't wait to try out.

          Finally, the reason why the box felt so heavy. A beautiful journal with ruled, plain and squared paper. Some of the papers are detachable, plus there is a ruler bookmark included. Also it just might be fountain pen friendly but it needs to be tested.

          As usual Spotlight Stationery have gone above and beyond with what they have included in their box, plus the quality is amazing as usual. VERY please with my box...again as usual 😜

OWLCRATE - May 2018

          I’m very excited by OwlCrate’s May box, both for the theme and the fact that the box had something different from usual (at least since I have been subscribed).  May’s theme was “Fight Like A Girl” , so let us get into the box. 

          From Evie Bookish comes this wall hanging, which was inspired by Feyre from A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Mass.

          This bath bomb is created by Whipped Up Wonderful and is inspired by the character of Zéilie from Children of Blood and Bone. 

          Indigo Eleven created this double sided bookmark. It was inspired by both The Wrath of Dawn and Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh. 

          I really love this print. Mélanie Bourgeois illustrated this art print and was inspired by Inej from Six of Crows. 

           Catching Stars by Cayla Keenan it is a story about a powerful witch who is just trying to survive in the grim city she calls home. Her path crosses with Maddix, a young man who is wrongly thrown in prison and has just escaped. They become the most unlikely allies. This is an exclusive from Oftomes Publishing. 



 

          Finally, the main book for this box, Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young. This story is about Eelyn, who grows up as a member of the Aska clan of warriors. Loyalty is everything to her. She ends up facing her brother on the battlefield, a brother that she thought was dead. This battle takes her to live with a rival clan, and there she learns things that will change her life forever.

           I’m very excited by the fact that this box contains two books instead of one. ☺️

Fountain Pens and Inks, OH MY!!!

          As you have may have guessed from the title of the post, I'm going to be talking about my collection of ink and fountain pens...not all of them though just my favorites and the ones I use the most. So let's get started.

          My story with fountain pens started when I got my first pen for school. I still remember that it had cartridges of course but I don't remember what brand it was. I continued to use them on and off into adulthood; however, it wasn't until 2011 when I got really serious about using them. By the end of 2016 I was done with cartilages and had moved on to convertors and inks. I’m going to start with my favorite inks.

1. Pilot Iroshizuku Inks

I got this on Amazon: 18.89$
I could not find the exact shade on Goulet pens but I did find a different shade: 19.99$

I got this on Amazon: 19.05$
On Goulet Pens: 19.99$

I got this on Amazon: 19.07$

On Goulet Pens: 19.99$

       
I've tried a lot of Blue, Black and Red inks but these three are by far my favorite. The red is called Yama Budo, the black is Take-Sumi and the blue is Shin-Kai. I find that these inks dry faster than anything that I have tried so far.

2. Lamy Inks

I got this on Goulet Pens:12$
On Amazon: 13.95$ but it doesn't seem to be the same shade of green.

I got this from Goulet Pens but it seems to be out of stock so no price is listed there is a LAMY Turquoise: 12$
On Amazon:  13.93$

So far I've only tried these two colors from the brand Lamy, which is a German brand. The colors are vibrant and look really good on paper. But the do need around a minute to dry.

3. Assorted Inks

I got this from Goulet Pens:  19.95$
On Amazon:  21.50$  

This color also looks good on paper. The same as the Lamy Inks it does need about a minute to dry so try not to touch it while writing.
     

I got this from Goulet Pens: 12.50$
Amazon: 12.50$

This one is one of the inks I have a love hate relationship with.  I bought this because I loved the color, but it takes forever to dry. Some times as long as half an hour before I could close my journal. It smudges easily. BUT, I have used it in a painting once as a substitute for the watercolor I would have used as sunset. It took 3 days for the painting to dry but the effect was just so beautiful!

I got it on Goulet Pens: 30$
On Amazon: 31.49$

As browns go this one is one of my favorites. It drys within half a minute and it looks good on paper.

I got this on Goulet Pens: 12$
On Amazon: 12.96$

If I am in the mood to write in real black then this is my go to ink. It does take about a minute to dry which is why I don't use it a lot.

I got this on Goulet Pens: 15$
On Amazon: This shade is not available on Amazon.

This brown actually looks more black on paper, as you can see I used it to write the names of all the inks on the swatches. However, it does dry super fast and looks really good on paper.

          Now let me talk you about my favorite pens, you’ll notice that I have quite a few from the same brand and that is because after you work with fountain pens for a while you tend to pick favorites based on your personal needs and how a pen feels in your hand. You also tend to pick favorite types of nibs (the metal bit you write with) that work with your handwriting. So let’s get started. 

1. Assorted Pens

This Faber-Castell pen is a real pleasure to write with even thought it feels scratchy sometimes and that is because it has a fine nib which I don't like to use much and it was the only one available to use with that pen at the time of purchase all others were sold out. Goulet Pens: Out of Stock but there is other colors that cost around 55$

This Pilot Prera is small and it fits in the hand very well, unfortunately the nib which is medium is leaking and it can be unusable because of that, as you can see from when I tried to write its name on the paper and from the nib.  I'm not sure if it is a problem that happens often with this pen or not. Goulet Pens: 56$

This is a new acquisition and so far I love it. I love the way it handles and I love the why it writes. It gives me a lot of control and that is important to me. Goulet Pens: 13.50$

2. TWSBI Pens

This was my first TWSBI and I was so proud of it in the beginning, but now I'm not so sure. The bit where I fill in the ink now leaks in a bad way and it is getting really annoying to me. Goulet Pens: 50$ (back then I bought it for 65$)

This was my second TWSBI and it works great, it is also lighter that the Diamond and easier to handle. Goulet Pens: 28.99$ (apparently now it is a special edition and it is out of stock)

This is the baby of the TWSBI family and I never expected to like it after I held it in my hand, but it has become my favorite TWSBI now. Goulet Pens: 50$

3. LAMY Pens

Goulet Pens: 29.60$

Goulet Pens: 167.20$

Goulet Pens: It is no longer on Goulet pens

Amazon: 39.24$

Goulet Pens:  29.60$

Goulet Pens: 29.60$

Goulet Pens: Closest I can find is Graphite color for 37.60$

I got this pen from LAMY Kuwait and can't find the same exact one anywhere but on the LAMY website, so if you find where it can be sold online let me know in the comments.

If you can't tell how much I love LAMYs from the number of LAMYs I have then allow me to tell you I LOVE LAMYs. They have a good price range, they work really well, and they look good on any paper it doesn't have to be fountain pen friendly. My current favorite is the LAMY 2000 but this is just for this week, last week it was the LAMY accent LOL.

You may have also notice that in almost all the pend I either have broad or medium nibs and that is because this is what works best with my handwriting and how I hold the pen to write. Fine nibs end up being scratchy and not easy to use for me but that is my preference only, your milage may vary.

Some Advice:

1. How to choose inks. Instead of getting a whole bottle and finding out that you hate the way the ink looks on paper or the time it takes to dry get ink samples of the inks you want to buy first. I get mine from Goulet Pens. They are really good about selling samples for you to try.

2. How to choose nibs. Try all type of nibs to see which ones work for you and the way you write best. be adventurous lol.

3. Make lists. Always swatch your inks, write the names under them and any notes that you notice when using that ink. Things like does it dry quickly, does it smudge easy, does it leave gunk on the pen? Some ink compositions are heavy and can wear a pen out fast. Also always keep a record of which ink was used in which pen.

4. Invest in watching some fountain pen cleaning videos and 101 videos (Goulet pens has the best ones I think) and have a cleaning kit around. You can get one from Goulet pens.

Spotlight Stationery

          I don't think I laughed as hard as this when reading any note card from a subscription box before; however, as soon as I read the theme from this box of Spotlight Stationery I burst out laughing. It tickled my weird sense of humor. The theme was "From the Sea: Stationery for foodies!" Even before I really looked at what was inside the box I was wondering how they were going to pull that off and they did not disappoint!

          The personalized envelope with the beautiful post cards came first. These featured interesting pieces of art work from illustrators as usual but I'm not sure that they really fit in with the theme of the box. I still enjoyed them very much though so no worries!

          The next thing that caught my eye is the pens and pencil. You know me, I love pens and pencils. I can never have enough of those. There was a Blackwing pencil in pearl color so I guess that is the bit that had to do with the sea lol. Here is the thing, I've been meaning to buy one of these pencils and now I don't have too!!!!!

          Next up are the cards. Both had lots of sea life on them and yes! I started to feel a craving for some fish 😜

          There was one final goody in the box and that is a notebook from Poach My Lobster. It has a...you guessed it, lobster on the top and it is in a pretty color that I like. It will be used with relish!

          As usual the curators of the Spotlight Stationery box have done a great job with their selection of items...some may not have exactly fit in with the theme of the box but most did and all the items in the box were something that I would not hesitate to use.