Monday Miscellany

Tags

bbc news magazine, endpaper, johnston sans, london underground, paperblanks, quill pen

I’m always looking for ways to improve my lettering and this article from Endpaper, the Paperblanks blog, has some great tips. And don’t miss their Peek Inside series, mentioned in the first paragraph.

I really enjoy typefaces and why certain ones appeal, their history, etc. This article from BBC News magazine tells the history of Johnston Sans, the typeface used by the London Underground for their signs, since 1916 (with some enhancements in the 1970s). Imagine going into such detail about how to print a capital E! Lovely. Not so lovely his association with weirdo sex addict Eric Gill but the article’s interesting for sure.

And finally a very cool video on how to make a quill pen. Enjoy!

Monday Miscellany

Tags

endpaper, jenny reich, msn.com, paperblanks, thestar.com

Everyone hits the MSN.com homepage sooner or later. It has articles on every conceivable topic, some helpful and some not. I found a surprise in this article, 9 Things Science Says Your Home Needs If You Want To Be Happy: #5 is a journal! So what we do is one secret to a happy home! We all knew that, didn’t we?

“…the very nature of letters invites a particular closeness.” So says Jenny Reich in her post Why I Won’t Declutter My Treasure Trove of Handwritten Letters for thestar.com. I loved this article, and not just because I’m trying to write about 20 letters this week. I love going through old letters, especially those penned by those no longer with us. Re-reading them is, indeed, listening to a long-ago conversation, at times bittersweet but always heart-warming. Great read.

And something from Endpaper, the Paperblanks blog: 5 Quick Ways to Warm Up Your Mind Before Writing. I like the idea of stretching before writing, just like with exercise. And the images are great – I printed them out for my journal. Enjoy!

 

Journal Field Trip

Tags

cadence, earl grey latte, good earth, healing through writing, monteverde prima, paperblanks, parker urban, pierre belvedere, prayer journal, seven seas writer, staples optiflow, stations of the cross, theory of everything, twsbi eco, ventaglio rosso midi

Do you ever have those days, where you are constantly replaying conversations in your mind and carrying around an anxiety about a certain situation? Well that was me on Saturday. And I knew I had to write it out or it would just fester. But I had lots to do outside of the house so I went on a Journal Field Trip.

I packed up my messenger bag with the supplies: journals (Seven Seas Writer, Paperblanks Ventaglio Rosso Midi, Pierre Belvedere Green), pens (Cadence, TWSBI Eco, both Parker Urbans, Monteverde Purple Prima, 4 different colours of Staples Optiflow, pencil case and some markers), glue runner, paper inserts, and scissors. My aim was to figure out why I was carrying this anxiety around but I also had projects to distract me if the words just wouldn’t come.So I ran a few errands, which included returning a movie to the library (The Theory of Everything – great film). I noticed my favourite library carrel was free so I settled in. I didn’t feel ready to confront the issue in my journal so I thought I would play with paper and glue for awhile. I’m going on a spiritual retreat soon and I printed the prayers for the Stations of the Cross for my Prayer Journal (I am using the Ventaglio Rosso Midi for this purpose). I grabbed the journal and the prayers but realized I had forgotten the glue runner and the scissors. That also meant I couldn’t work in the Pierre Belvedere journal either (keeping track of the solicited reviews for the blog). I still really wanted to write so I had no choice but to jump right in to what was bothering me.

Forty-five minutes later I stopped and re-read my journal entry. I felt freer, lighter. I checked in with my anxiety and found peace. This has happened to me before, of course, as I know the power of journalling to clarify thoughts and feelings and to let resentments and upset go. But this was a complicated burden I had been carrying for a while and I wasn’t sure one 45-minute session would do it. But it did. I left the library with new resolve and a much better frame of mind.

I ticked a few more things off my list and then I was finally able to go to my favourite coffee shop, Good Earth, for an Earl Grey Latte. My reward.

This time I found myself writing about the previous evening we spent with a friend, eating spaghetti, watching a movie and laughing. And of our plans to take some vacation in September and how excited we are about a last-minute treat David and I have planned for our birthdays. I spent about an hour an a half writing. By the time I finished the latte my hand and shoulder were cramping.

Two different writing sessions, same journal, same pen even. One intense, short and focused, the other carefree, long and playful. The second wouldn’t have been possible without the therapeutic first. I am just so grateful that I have this outlet and can soothe myself with words when needed.

I hope your journal can do the same for you.

 

 

Shakespeare in the Open Air

Tags

de atramentis, monteverde tiger eye, paperblanks, shakespeare on the bow, the tempest, william shakespeare

A couple of weekends ago I went to Prince’s Island Park for a performance of The Tempest by local theatre group, Shakespeare by the Bow. The group is made up of up-and-coming artists who are mentored by members of Theatre Calgary. Each performance is pay-what-you-will and is a really lovely way to spend a summer’s afternoon. I went with friends and we settled on the grass for a picnic and a show and tried to stay cool under the blazing Calgary summer sun.

In addition to blankets, fruit and water, I brought a special notebook with me, one I have mentioned on this blog a couple of times. In this post from June of 2012 I wrote of my search for the Paperblanks William Shakespeare journal and my enjoyment of that years’s production, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (they were called Shakespeare in the Park at that time).  And then in March of this year, in this post, I wrote about finding the Paperblanks Shakespeare journal at Reid’s and how in love I was with it. So it was more than fitting to bring my Shakespeare journal with me to watch this year’s performance of The Tempest.

I realize I should have taken a picture of it “in the wild” as it were but it was so hot that day I was worried my phone would melt. I paired my De Atramentis William Shakespare ink with my Tiger Eye Monteverde pen and I think the combination is just stunning. I talked about this ink in 2014 in this post.

I put this quote from my fave Shakespearean play on the first page. After that I recorded my thoughts about this year’s production of The Tempest, and I made some notes on a television show I had watched the night before discussing the play and how it was so autobiographical. I intend to put any Shakespeare-related writing in this notebook. I thought I might print out pictures of the performances I see as well. I also took a neat quiz that determines what kind of Shakespearean character you are. You can take the quiz here. I got Ophelia. Luckily I know how to swim. 😉

Monday Miscellany

Tags

all things stationery, edelstein topaz, hemingwrite, paperblanks, pelikan, the desk of adam, writer's circle

All Things Stationery reviewed the Paperblanks Fortuna notebook. What a stunning cover, as usual. Love those notebooks. And she got it sent to her for review! Lucky.

Adam over at The Desk of Adam reviewed Pelikan’s Edelstein Topaz ink. I don’t think of aqua blue when I read the word Topaz but apparently Adam and the folks at Pelikan do and that’s the colour of this gorgeous ink.

And check out this way cool digital typewriter at Writer’s Circle called the Hemingwrite. Cool writer’s gear. I journal by hand but I write with my keyboard, if that makes sense, so this is very appealing to me. Imagine, an electronic device devoted to writing, and nothing else. No sneaking off to Facebook or YouTube!

 

Paperblanks, Winnable and Plan Ahead Journals at Reid’s

Tags

paperblanks, plan ahead, reid's stationers, sir thomas more, william shakespeare, winnable

So last Saturday I found myself downtown and decided to visit Reid’s Stationers, my favorite pen shop in Calgary. I still had a Christmas gift card to spend and what better place than one filled with notebooks, pens and ink?

This was a journal-finding mission, for no other reason than I was in the mood to buy journals. So many choices. But I narrowed it down to three.

The brown on the bottom is a Winnable Executive Journal. The orangey one in the middle is a Paperblanks William Shakespeare Sir Thomas More Ultra Journal. And the blue one on top is a Plan Ahead Journal.

The Winnable Executive Journal has a leather-like cover with stitching all around the edges. The covers must have a layer of foam as they are rather splodgy (if that’s a word).

Nice dedication page.

The cream-coloured pages have a 0.65 mm ruling, which I prefer.

I did a pen test (which I don’t always do but I was feeling ambitious). You can see only the De Atramentis ink in the Monteverde Prima with a 1.1 italic nib showed any feathering. Please disregard the Monteverde Prima above it; I think the Green Swirl is running out of ink. I always have difficulties with that pen. 😦 Anyway, the ink test did really well on this paper. It’s not exactly the same as my Winnable Leather Journal but it’s close. The 1.1 italic feathers on that paper too.

Show through is rampant, with the Pilot Metropolitan being the worst culprit. I suspected as much as the paper is super thin. This journal retails for $21.95.

Next up is the Shakespeare journal for which I have been searching a long time. The cover is a facsimile of one of three pages of the play Sir Thomas More, of which Shakespeare was considered to be one of the authors. Experts have determined the pages are Shakespeare’s own handwriting, and the fly leaf shows one of the six known (and authenticated) signatures.

I get chills just looking at it now. I almost squealed when I saw it in the shop!

No surprises on the inside. Standard cream, lined paper with a 0.8 mm ruling. And the ever-present red ribbon.

Lovely inscription on the back.

Here is another pen test on the Paperblanks. No feathering whatsoever with the italic nib, which one would expect because of the better paper.

And no show through at all. Very nice. Exactly what one expects from Paperblanks. This journal retails for $24.95.

And finally a journal I’ve never seen before: the Plan Ahead Journal. This small journal retails for just $8.99. At that price I couldn’t resist.

Nice endpapers.

Cream-coloured paper once again, with a 0.65 mm ruling. Lovely navy ribbon.

Another pen test and interestingly, not as much bleed through on the Prima italic as with the Winnable Executive.

Pretty much identical to the Winnable for show through. If show through is important to you the Paperblanks is the clear winner there. And it’s also the winner for no feathering. But for value for money you can’t beat the Plan Ahead Journal. None of them had pen loops, which was disappointing but hey you can’t have everything.

I hope you enjoyed sharing my little shopping trip. If you ever have a chance to visit Reid’s Stationers in Calgary, Alberta, Canada do not pass it up. Wonderful selection and amazing staff. And they do not sponsor me in any way; I purchased all of these items and all of my opinions are my own.

🙂

Monday Miscellany

Tags

diary, jennibellie, ny times, paperblanks

I really thought this article in the NY Times on diary keeping was interesting. It makes a good case for writing things down as a kind of therapy, but it takes things further by saying the practice is much more beneficial if you actually take the time to re-read some of your journal entries, so as to relive the moments and enjoy them all over again. Good advice!

I subscribe to jennibellie’s youtube channels and I’ve looked at her journal workshops a few times now, and haven’t taken the jump. I wonder what I’m waiting for? Maybe this winter I will enroll. They look like so much fun.

Finally this post on the paperblanks blog contains some great printables for your journal. Good advice all.

Until next week, happy writing.

Journal Writing Wednesday: 8 pages

Tags

jinhao x450, paperblanks, parker blue quink

Journals I’m currently using: the Paperblanks Blue Filigree, the Happiness Journal and the Winnable Leather Journal

Total pages written since last JWW post (Aug 6): 8

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 522

Total pages written in 2014: 467

Total number of notebooks/pens/ink bought since self-imposed spending freeze (Jan 1/14): 23

• 1 pen + 1 bottle of ink = 2 items in a gift set on Jan 14
  
• 1 bottle of KoninginneNach-Blauw from Akkerman on Feb 5
• 1 Visconti Rembrandt Calligraphy set in Red = 2 items (pen and ink bottle) from Goldspot on May 15
• 1 bottle of J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche from Goldspot on May 15
• 1 bottle of De Atramentis Heather Violet from Goldspot on May 15
• 5 pens, 4 notebooks, 3 tins of ink cartridges from Reid’s on June 14
• 1 Jinhao X450 from ebay; received on June 19
• 1 bottle of De Atramentis William Shakespeare ink from Goulet Pens; received on June 25
• 1 Winnable Leather Notebook on July 10
• 1 Wreck This Journal on Aug 2

Some topics covered this week:

• Spotted in a restaurant during the lunch rush: Paperblanks Silver Filigree Natural Ultra. Beautiful journal on the table beside me. A young lady was very enthusiastically tapping the journal while conversing with her lunch partner.
• A friend of mine got in touch this week; she was in town for a course. We had a phenomenal dinner on Friday night and spent Saturday night with my Dad and then out to watch my husband’s band perform. It was a real treat to spend time with her. Love you Lori!
• The ink in my Jinhao X450 ran out so I put in some Parker Quink Erasable Blue. What a transformation! I like the pen so much better with different ink. I wonder if the J. Herbin ink I put in this pen originally was not good. Oh well I’m very happy with this pen/ink combination.

Until next time, happy writing!

Paperblanks Maya Blue Filigree Ink Test

Tags

blue filigree, cadence, eclat de saphir, endpaper, hero 6021, j. herbin, jinhao x450, maya blue ultra, paperblanks, plum, private reserve, silver filigree

I have to apologize for the lack of blog posts this week (Thursday and Saturday). I’ve been quite ill with a ferocious summer cold; I lost my voice on Tuesday and I really haven’t recovered it yet. Lots of coughing with very little sleeping makes for one grumpy girl. But I wanted to write something tonight and I was reading JJ’s comment to my Stamps, Boxes and Filigree Blue post of June 1 and I thought why not do a quick ink test on my Paperblanks journal. So here it is.

I started out with fountain pen ink and then tried a few others. The Hero 6021 is running out of ink and I didn’t take the time to refill before starting to write; sorry about that. But you can still make it out.

I was really impressed with all the fountain pen ink I tried. The only one that showed the slightest feathering was the J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir in the Jinhao X450 with a broad nib.

Above you can see all the other fountain pen inks I tried showed no feathering whatsoever. I think they all look amazing, with the exception of the Eclat de Saphir in the Jinhao Broad, and even then the feathering is not overwhelming. You can disregard the small blue dots; they were the result of some scribbles on the facing page which apparently I did not allow to dry before closing the journal.

I had a happy accident with the Private Reserve Plum in the Cadence pen. I couldn’t get it to write so I coaxed some extra ink out and then a big blob came out. I quickly wiped it away but the damage, as you can see, was done. Surely that will show through! Well…

Nope! This is the back of the ink test page. You can barely see a whisper of the ink that is on the other side.

And here is a close-up of the page which corresponds to the ink drop on the back. Sorry for the blurriness but as you can see there is no sign of the ink. Amazing.

So to sum up the paper in the Paperblanks journals is very friendly to fountain pen ink. I searched for info on their paper on their blog, Endpaper: The Paperblanks Blog and found this post titled Our Paper Quality. It seems in 2008 they changed their paper to a higher quality paper to improve how fountain pen ink took to it. And as you can see from my first photo above, with one exception every ink I tried took to the paper wonderfully. Rest assured your favourite pen will take to this paper too. Try them out and let me know what you think!

Journal Writing Wednesday: 10 + 8 + 8 pages

Tags

blue filigree, ebay, fairmont banff springs, goldspot, paperblanks, silver filigree, studio oh!, visconti

Journal I’m currently using: the Embossed Italian Journal – but more on that below

Total pages written since last JWW post (May 28): 26

Total pages to date since project inception (Dec 11/13): 366

Total pages written in 2014: 311

Total number of notebooks/pens/ink bought since self-imposed spending freeze (Jan 1/14): 7

• 1 pen + 1 bottle of ink = 2 items in a gift set on Jan 14
  
• 1 bottle of KoninginneNach-Blauw from Akkerman on Feb 5
• 1 Visconti Rembrandt Calligraphy set in Red = 2 items (pen and ink bottle; not going to count the extra nib!) from Goldspot on May 15
• 1 bottle of J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche from Goldspot on May 15
• 1 bottle of De Atramentis Heather Violet from Goldspot on May 15

Topics covered since last update:

• My sister’s birthday is coming up; we are going to the Banff Springs Hotel for Afternoon Tea
• Got a call from Asha at Goldspot – she clarified exactly what I needed for the Visconti and it’s in the mail!!
• Ebay packages: stamps and pen loops!
• My young friend’s cancer diagnosis
• I was unkind to a good friend and I tried to work out why
• There was a flood at work; a faulty urinal on the 8th floor has spread damage all the way to the 2nd. I’m on the 5th floor and it’s an adventure to visit the ladies’ washroom as they try to clean up the mess
• Journal fail. I really struggled with my journal this week. I want to love the Embossed Italian, I really do. It’s gorgeous and it was a gift. But I found myself avoiding it because it’s just not fun to write in. The covers are getting really banged up and some say that gives character but to me it just looks messy. And it’s so floppy! I like to write whenever the notion pops into my head, which means I write while sitting on the couch and in bed sometimes. The Embossed Italian needs a desk to write on. And I was missing using some of my favorite fountain pens because of the feathering. It was slight but it still bothered me (holy cow I’m picky!!) So mid-week I grabbed the first journal I laid my hands on: the Happiness journal by Studio Oh! The hard covers are great and the paper is surprisingly fountain pen friendly. I started writing in it and didn’t want to stop. Even though I was loving the Studio Oh! journal I couldn’t get the Blue Filigree out of my mind; writing about it on Sunday just fuelled the fire. So now I will have two everyday journals on the go at the same time. Call me crazy, I don’t mind a bit. 🙂

The source for tonight’s post! A happy jumble of journals.

This journal has been sitting on my shelf since early last year I think. I forgot about it actually until desperation made me close my eyes and grab one.

It’s interesting that the inside cover should have a quote from Maya Angelou, who past away almost a week ago today. Incredibly talented writer, mourned the world over.

 

Playing with stamps in the new Blue Filigree. I’m loving the paper and everything about it. I’m sad to leave the Embossed Italian behind but I may return to it one day.