DIY Fold and Send Stationery

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

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!

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

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…

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

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

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!

A couple of random things

Michael’s has some interesting things in their bargain bins sometimes, which is where I found this colorful paper. It had magnets on the back, which I removed and saved (obviously in case of a magnet shortage someday), and I use it for writing letters. It does limit the ink colors that can be used, but I pretty well have that area covered. It is NOT fountain pen friendly, though, it’s much too thin and absorbent. I love the colorful parrot and the variation of colors behind the lines. Not a bad deal for a few bucks.

I was just browsing, window shopping if you will, at JetPens.com and came across a few things I needed. I have several Pilot Maica pens, but didn’t have a green one - that will never do. Add to cart. It’s a lovely shade of green, too. Then I saw that they had new colors of Pilot Juice pens - well, what was I to do but add them, too? I wish I had paid attention to what I was doing because I meant to get them both in the .5mm tip and ended up with the Rose in .38mm. No worries, I love them both and will use them both. The turquoise looks more blue than my idea of turquoise, but it’s still a pretty color. I have a wish list at JetPens.com a mile long, and it gets longer every time I visit. It’s good to have something to look forward to, don’t you think?

Until next time…happy inking.

Winning notebooks and a couple of cool postcards

I wanted to show you these cool postcards received from a pen pal. She did the artwork herself and I love her “berds”. They are 2 separate postcards - one asks the question, and another answers it. Apparently the postal service machines got a little over aggressive with the first one - why put the postmark on the wrong side of the card? Great job, PO!  At least they got the second one right.


A month or so ago, I entered a contest on the Office Supply Geek website - and I won! What did I win, you ask? Why, I won these cute little notebooks. They are made by Ink Journal and there are 3 of them, all the same. They’re just the right size for carrying in a pocket or purse, as you can see by the business card next to them for reference.

I suppose they are meant for cataloging one’s ink collection, but mine is pretty nonexistent at the moment. I have a couple of sample vials from Goulet Pens and some cartridges. Not exactly a collection. But they are good for taking notes, making short shopping lists, adding to one’s wish list…that sort of thing.

Instead of lines, they have lines of dots on the pages - pretty close together lines, too. I used one for writing a letter to a pen pal a few weeks ago, but I had to ignore the dotted lines. I can’t write that small for long. I think they are more of a suggestion than a rule (yes, pun intended). The paper is very nice, smooth and fountain pen friendly. So, thank you, Brian Greene, Mr. Office Supply Geek! Hop on over and check them out. He has reviews for all sorts of writing paraphernalia and he has a monthly giveaway, too.

The Pen Addict is have a Pilot Iroshizuku ink Giveaway

I don’t have any bottled ink - yet - but with any luck, I might soon :-) Brad over at The Pen Addict is giving away one bottle of Pilot Iroshizuku ink, in your choice of colors. Isn’t this a gorgeous photo? Just look at those beautiful bottles of inky goodness!

Click on over and throw your name into the hat, too.  Click here to enter - be sure to enter soon, the giveaway closes on Thursday, June6 at 11:59pm Eastern Time.

Good luck!

Trying my hand at a calligraphy pen

I found this really inexpensive (less than $10) Manuscript brand pen set at Hobby Lobby and because the smallest nib looked smaller than the Schaeffer ones I have, I thought it might be fun to practice with. This nib is described as .85mm, as opposed to the normal 1mm or 1.1mm small nibs on  a lot of other fountain pens, so it is a little more narrow. I am slowly learning that the paper makes a lot of difference, too. Paper that is too absorbent causes the ink to bleed more and the lines to be way too bold, so I needed to find a good paper for letter writing with this pen. I used the 28# paper mentioned in the previous post and it works pretty well.

It’s inked up with a J. Herbin Rose Cyclamen cartridge instead of the black ink that came with it. I’m not all that crazy about the color of this ink, either, but it’s more fun than plain ol’ black ink. This is the ink I mentioned in a previous post - I expected more of a rose color, but this looks like fuchsia to me. The pen is made with a pretty cheap plastic, and both the cap and the barrel are threaded. It would be easy to cross thread them if you’re not careful. The benefit to the cheap plastic is that it’s very lightweight.

The set includes 3 nibs. I haven’t tried out the wider ones yet, I’m still getting familiar with the small one.

It’s a fun pen to play with and a nice way to practice with an italic nib to see if I like them, before getting into more expensive nibs and pens. I didn’t expect to have beautiful calligraphic handwriting right off the bat…well, actually I did, but it didn’t work out too well. Practicing is not my favorite thing by any means, but I realize it takes a long time to get good at this. I don’t like it, but I’ve resigned myself to it.

Doodled Stationery

In my ongoing search for stationery, I became a little frustrated at the lack of pretty writing papers out there. I found some cheap writing paper here and there, some printable papers online, and tried to create something cool on my computer, but it was way too much work.  So…I took some smooth text weight paper and began to doodle. I am not an artist, which is why I love my stamps, but doodling is pretty simple. No rules, just play. With no real goal in mind and inexpensive paper, I couldn’t really fail. This is what happened:

I used a Pigma pen for the doodling and Copic markers for the coloring. Hubby scanned it, we color corrected it a bit, added some lines (not shown here, but I’m sloppy without them), and took it to a local printer to get copies made. Voila! Custom stationery! They used a 24# bond paper and I wish I had found the 28#  paper before I had them printed. The 24# is not fountain pen friendly at all, I’m afraid, but the 28# is pretty good with fountain pens. I did print a few on our color printer, but ink for that thing is so pricey and the colors didn’t print as vibrantly, so I didn’t go too crazy with it. The paper is a Staples brand, Bright White Laser Paper. I was a little surprised at the quality, it’s a really nice paper at a reasonable price. If I need any more copies of this stationery, I will take my paper with me.

I’m looking forward to doing a little more doodled writing paper soon. You should try it. It’s lots of fun and you might be surprised what you come up with.