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Month: December 2024

My Pen Collection Stats – End of 2024

Posted in Fountain Pens, and Non-Fountain Pens

Another year, another overview of my collection. This is still one of my favorite posts of the year. Based on metrics, you all seem to prefer the “highlights” infographics version of this that I did last year over the in-depth dashboards I’ve put together previously. So, I stuck with that style.

For anyone who needs, or wants, an accessible version of the graphics below, I put together a text-only PDF version of this post. I’ve also made sure that the most important data in the graphics is also in the text of this post. So, you can choose the method of reading this post that most appeals to you: text, graphics, or PDF.

24 Days of Dupes 2024 – Wrap-Up

Posted in Ink

Phew, that’s a wrap on the first 24 Days of Dupes! Please let me know in the comments if you’d like to see me match the 2024 Inkvent calendar; it would probably be in late February into March.

As I mentioned in the opening post, Colorverse has no plans to release the full line of Colorvent inks like Diamine does with Inkvent. However, Colorverse does plan to release the “top 3” inks. More on that in a bit.

24 Days of Dupes 2024 – Week 4

Posted in Ink

Hello, welcome back to 24 Days of Dupes 2024. Below you’ll find the inks for days 19-24. If you have a suggestion for a possible dupe for any of these inks, let me know in the comments, and I’ll add it to the wrap-up post.

Some info:

  • You can click the swatch images to view them larger.
  • I swatched each ink with a small (#2) paintbrush and wrote with a Sailor Compass Hocoro Dip Pen.
  • All inks are swatched on Muji A5 loose leaf paper in dot grid ruling
  • While I try to edit the images so they look as close to real life as possible, I can’t guarantee that the color you see on your screen will be true to life. However, with all the dupes on the same page, you’ll see how the colors look in relation to each other, which is the main point of these posts.
  • I can’t fairly call any ink a perfect color match, as I’m not comparing them scientifically, I’m just using my eyes. Therefore, I won’t be going any further than calling an ink a “near-perfect color match.”
  • Reminder: I’m not attempting to dupe the special properties of the inks — sheen, shimmer, etc. — only the base color.
  • When I mention “writing samples,” I’m talking about where I’ve written 2024 Colorvent (Calendar) on the right-hand side of the page.

Enjoy, and happy inking!

Makeup Stationery Tag

Posted in Stationery

This post is a little different than my standard tag post. I found A Clockwork Reader‘s video Makeup Book Tag! first, which gave me this idea. In the description of that video, they list “Creator’s video: no longer available.” However, Angelica Nyqvist recently posted The Makeup Book Tag | MY FAVES FROM BOTH WORLDS 😱 to her second channel where she credited Belle Terese‘s video makeup book tag! 💋📖 | bookmas day 7 ❄️ (2024) and sarawithoutanH‘s video MAKEUP BOOK TAG (2016), neither of which credit a tag creator. All that to say, the original idea isn’t mine, but I have adapted the idea to the stationery world.

Since I’ve unintentionally gotten known for #MakeupMonday and #FPCosplayFriday, this seemed like an appropriate tag to do. I had to seriously change some steps, because I just don’t use those makeup products, but I made this work for my routine. Without further ado, let’s jump in.

Year in Review – 2024 Pens

Posted in Fountain Pens, and Non-Fountain Pens

I’m proud of myself for coming in under my fountain pen purchase limit this year! Even if I count my two reserved pens — a Nahvalur and my in-progress Stanford Pen Studio commission — I only acquired 27 pens this year, 9 less than my limit. Go me!

Like last year, I’ve included photos so you can see the pretties. Where possible, I’ve also linked to my dedicated blog posts. Now, enough chit-chat, onto the ranking!

24 Days of Dupes 2024 – Week 3

Posted in Ink

Hello, welcome back to 24 Days of Dupes 2024. Below you’ll find the inks for days 12-18. If you have a suggestion for a possible dupe for any of these inks, let me know in the comments, and I’ll add it to the wrap-up post.

Some info:

  • You can click the swatch images to view them larger.
  • I swatched each ink with a small (#2) paintbrush and wrote with a Sailor Compass Hocoro Dip Pen.
  • All inks are swatched on Muji A5 loose leaf paper in dot grid ruling
  • While I try to edit the images so they look as close to real life as possible, I can’t guarantee that the color you see on your screen will be true to life. However, with all the dupes on the same page, you’ll see how the colors look in relation to each other, which is the main point of these posts.
  • I can’t fairly call any ink a perfect color match, as I’m not comparing them scientifically, I’m just using my eyes. Therefore, I won’t be going any further than calling an ink a “near-perfect color match.”
  • Reminder: I’m not attempting to dupe the special properties of the inks — sheen, shimmer, etc. — only the base color.
  • When I mention “writing samples,” I’m talking about where I’ve written 2024 Colorvent (Calendar) on the right-hand side of the page.

Enjoy, and happy inking!

2024 New Pen Releases, The Tag

Posted in Fountain Pens, and Ink

Time for another addition to this yearly tradition. If you’re curious, you can check out the 2021, 2022, and 2023 entries. This idea was originally based on the “New Makeup Releases | THE TAG” video from Angelica Nyqvist.

This tag is about evaluating the releases — in this case pens & inks — from the past year. But, this year, I have to add a caveat. My focus has been on indie makers, and I’ve mostly ignored mainstream manufacturers. I had to do some research to find the answers to many of these questions. Let me know if you agree or disagree with me.

My 2024 Brand “Discoveries”

Posted in Fountain Pens

Can you believe it’s already the middle of December? I don’t know where this year went, but it’s time to start my end of year retrospective posts.

Before I dive into this post, I want to remind you all that I “discovered” these brands like Columbus “discovered” America. That a brand is on this list doesn’t mean that I didn’t know it existed before this year, it means that the brand did not have any representation in my pen collection before 2024.

Continuing the trend I started last year, I once again purchased from less new brands. Technically, I only bought from two new-to-me brands: one pen, and one ink. However, among other “unique” situations, I gave a brand I’d written off a second chance, and I bought my first modern pen from a brand.

24 Days of Dupes 2024 – Week 2

Posted in Ink

Hello, welcome back to 24 Days of Dupes 2024. Below you’ll find the inks for days 5-11. If you have a suggestion for a possible dupe for any of these inks, let me know in the comments, and I’ll add it to the wrap-up post.

Some info:

  • You can click the swatch images to view them larger.
  • I swatched each ink with a small (#2) paintbrush and wrote with a Sailor Compass Hocoro Dip Pen.
  • All inks are swatched on Muji A5 loose leaf paper in dot grid ruling
  • While I try to edit the images so they look as close to real life as possible, I can’t guarantee that the color you see on your screen will be true to life. However, with all the dupes on the same page, you’ll see how the colors look in relation to each other, which is the main point of these posts.
  • I can’t fairly call any ink a perfect color match, as I’m not comparing them scientifically, I’m just using my eyes. Therefore, I won’t be going any further than calling an ink a “near-perfect color match.”
  • Reminder: I’m not attempting to dupe the special properties of the inks — sheen, shimmer, etc. — only the base color.
  • When I mention “writing samples,” I’m talking about where I’ve written 2024 Colorvent (Calendar) on the right-hand side of the page.

Enjoy, and happy inking!

24 Days of Dupes 2024 – Week 1

Posted in Ink

Hello, welcome to the first post of 24 Days of Dupes 2024. Below you’ll find the inks for days 1-4. If you have a suggestion for a possible dupe for any of these inks, let me know in the comments, and I’ll add it to the wrap-up post.

Some info:

  • You can click the swatch images to view them larger.
  • I swatched each ink with a small (#2) paintbrush and wrote with a Sailor Compass Hocoro Dip Pen.
  • All inks are swatched on Muji A5 loose leaf paper in dot grid ruling
  • While I try to edit the images so they look as close to real life as possible, I can’t guarantee that the color you see on your screen will be true to life. However, with all the dupes on the same page, you’ll see how the colors look in relation to each other, which is the main point of these posts.
  • I can’t fairly call any ink a perfect color match, as I’m not comparing them scientifically, I’m just using my eyes. Therefore, I won’t be going any further than calling an ink a “near-perfect color match.”
  • Reminder: I’m not attempting to dupe the special properties of the inks — sheen, shimmer, etc. — only the base color.

Enjoy, and happy inking!

Paper System Changes, Update #2

Posted in Paper

I meant to write this post a couple of months ago, around the beginning of October. But, hey, better late than never, right?

I’ve divided this post into four major sections, so if you’re only interested in some of them, feel free to jump directly to them. Each section has a short update to my previous paper system changes post, followed by the new information.

Topics: Sizes & Uses | Paper | Layouts | Accessories

The short version of this post — the TLDR, if you will — is that things are going significantly better, but I still have a few issues to work out.

As a short aside, I’ve gotten used to bringing multiple binders when I go to work. It no longer bothers me. But, I rarely bring more than my blog binder with me elsewhere. I need to get back into the habit of bringing my Mini 5 (M5) binder with me more often.

2̶5̶ 24 Days of Dupes 2024 – Intro

Posted in Ink

We have a new calendar this year! Colorverse debuted their foray into the advent calendar world, Colorvent, and I snapped one up, because I love Colorverse ink. I’m considering duping the Inkvent Calendar sometime early next year, let me know if that’s something you’re interested in seeing. Of course, because it’s a completely different calendar, there will be some differences, but there will also be a lot of similarities.

What’s the Same?

As I have the past couple of years, I will be posting once a week with all of the inks from that week, with the day based on Christmas. Since Christmas is on Wednesday, my Colorvent posts will be on Thursdays. My first dupe post will be on the 5th, with the inks from December 1-4. My final dupe post will be on the 26th, with inks from December 19-24. And I’ll have a wrap-up/reference post on the 27th linking to the 4 dupe posts and listing the best dupe for each ink.

Changes

The biggest difference is the number of days. The Colorvent Calendar has 24 days to Inkvent’s 25. However, I don’t want to post on Christmas day, so the final weekly post, as I mentioned above, will still be on the day after Christmas.