Category Archives: LOVE

INK REVIEW: Noodler’s Heart of Darkness

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ink swab – Noodler’s Heart of Darkness

Almost Wordless Wednesday

This is one crazy black ink!

Noodler’s Heart of Darkness Writing Sample

Tested on Rhodia Dot Pad.
I thought this reminded me of Invincible Black – but it’s blacker (more black?) than that and there’s nothing about this ink that felt..scary.  Just perfect, perfectly saturated black. BLACK.

 Revised Bottom Line:   It’s love! Woooo!!

Oh..and apparently, I had more to say about Heart of Darkness than I thought I would – so much for Wordless Wednesday!   Guess I’m just pentulant that way 😉

INK REVIEW: Diamine Flamingo Pink (Second Look)

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Diamine Flamingo Pink

Woooo!!!

This is my second look at Diamine Flamingo Pink.  Here’s my first test run of this fabulous color.

Dude.

Go buy this ink.

Flamingo Pink Ink Swabs (3, 2, 1)

I really didn’t think I’d ever buy a pink ink. I mean, seriously? Pink?

But how could I resist this perfect color? It’s bright! Bold! OMG! Serious color.  Seriously serious color.

And do you see it?  That pink-to-orange shading?  It may be glowing a bit in my scans, but the color is there – it’s an orange-ish pink. And it is…wow. I’m swooning over here.

Handwritten Review of Diamine Flamingo Pink
Can you spot the write-o?

INK REVIEW: Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun

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Oh. Goodness.

Gracious. Me.

Oh. My.

Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun Swabs (3, 2, 1)

Have mercy.

Fuyu-syogun Shading
Not too light.
Not too dark.
Nothing but gray. No icky red or green undertones.
Gorgeous shading. 
Decent dry time.
Writes beautifully.
I’m in love.  In love. Head over heels.
If this ink isn’t in your collection, it certainly should be. Certainly.
Have a look at my other grey/gray ink reviews and then run out and get this one.
Seriously, I have nothing negative to say about this ink.

INK REVIEW: Rohrer & Klingner Morinda

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Dear Roher & Klingner Morinda,
I like you.  It definitely wasn’t love at first sight.

But the more time we spend together, the more I liked you.

You were a bit wet in the Lamy Safari with a broad nib, but who isn’t?  You were a little smeary, but I can deal with that.

But here’s the thing. You wrote great. And the water test? Holy smokes.

And you’re pretty. Oh-so-pretty. Just a tiny bit orange to make you softer than other reds. Totally different from Noodler’s Red.

The truth is, Morinda, after visiting with you for a week or so, I might be in love with you.  We’ll see – I’m not quite ready to commit to just one red, but maybe…just maybe.

Love,
Pentulant

P.S. I am just about at the end of the reviews that I scanned before the highlight test – thank goodness. And, yes, I am just lazy enough that I didn’t go back and fix the issue. Haha.

Just for Fun: Tomoe River Paper Swabs

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Oh.My.Goodness.
Tomoe River Paper isn’t for ink/paper/pen newbies. It can be difficult to deal with – it’s super-thin, wrinkles easily, needs to be stored carefully, and wrinkles easily (worth mentioning twice).  It’s expensive, ghosts like a sonofagun, and wrinkles easily (that’s three).
But.
Oh.My.Goodness.

The above swabs were done as one of my earliest experience with Tomoe River Paper.  I did these (as I do all of my swabs) with a cotton swab saturated with the ink and the “scrubbed” onto the paper.  Even though the paper is super-duper thin (and wrinkles easily) , there was zero bleed-through. None.

And.

Oh.My.Goodness.

The colors just…pop!…from this paper.  This is the way the ink manufacturers must mean for their inks to be experienced.

Here’s a link to the full-size image. It’s big. It’s worth the load time.

Check this out…

Diamine Majestic Blue

And this…

Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu Syogun

So. If you’re in love with paper and inks and pens and such – Tomoe River Paper is a must try. It’s definitely not an everyday paper for me (wrinkles easily, you know), but wow. Wow.

Have you tried Tomoe River Paper?  What other papers do you love?

INK REVIEW: Diamine Majestic Blue

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Diamine’s Majestic Blue is not a perfect ink.  If you’re looking for an ink that is fast-drying and water-resistant, you should move along because this is not the ink for you.

However.  If you’re looking for a blue ink with absolutely fabulous color and saturation – this may be the ink for you.  It is for me.

I love Majestic Blue.

The ink is rich with color. Not so bright that it cannot be used in an office environment. Not so dark that you question if the ink is blue or black. This is blue.

I actually wrote this review awhile back (using my old and kinda misleading form) and loved it so much that I ordered a full bottle. I’ve used it nearly every day since then and am still in love with it.

The fascinating thing to me about this ink is that sometimes, in the right light, at the right angle, there is a red sheen. I’ve not been able to photograph it, though.  But, man, it’s special – and it’s not an intrusive sheen like some of the other inks about there.  
This is my blue ink. I am also realizing that I’m a huge fan of Diamine inks.  It’s all about the color to me – I can be (at least somewhat) flexible on other issues, but not color. No way, Jose.
Oh oh oh..and look, I’m working on a much more casual format for testing inks.
Casual. That’s me. 
Well, sometimes.

Some Things Were Just Meant to Be

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Waterman 52 / Private Reserve Spearmint / Clairefontaine

My posts have been a bit sporadic over the last few weeks.  I was just a little busy.  Getting married!

It’s true! Mr. P. and I finally tied the knot last week and we couldn’t be more happy.

I wrote the above several weeks ago and the following just one day before the wedding.

A small peek at our invitation below. We sent around twenty invitations. Each was individually calligraphed by someone we found on Etsy. I love the way they turned out. Perfectly us.
The day before the ceremony, we went to Max’s Opera House Cafe.  Following is a quick picture of their menu. Green + Typography + Darling = Perfection.  (Did you know my new last name is Darling?)
When we checked into our hotel the night before, we had no idea we would have a view of San Francisco City Hall where we would be married. I took this picture in the morning when the fog was still laying low.
I have to admit – looking at all of this makes me a bit teary all over again. Such a happy day. So perfectly us.

PEN REVIEW: Waterman 52

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On Friday, I shared some recent purchases including this little gem I acquired from VintagePen.

Going to (mostly) let the pictures do the talking here . . .

That’s a little nib creep – not rust or anything icky like that
love the gentle chevron – so subtle

And now . . .

Sammy is one of our three (!!) dogs.

My handwriting needs a bit of work, but man-oh-man, I am digging this pen. So much so that some of my other favorite pens have been sitting around unused in the short time I’ve had the Waterman 52.

It’s a little skinny, a little short – neither of those things are a bother to me. It writes wonderfully – perfectly smooth, easy to flex. It’s not even a little scratchy and it doesn’t skate uncontrollably across the paper.

The lever-fill is easy to manage – perhaps a pain to clean and ink capacity seems a bit low, but I can live with those things.

I love everything about the pen except there’s no clip on the cap – making the pen very likely to roll around. I hope so much that I never inadvertently set it down and have it roll onto the floor. Yikes.

This is a pen that will stay in the house because I really would be heartbroken if something happened to it.

It’s love! True love.

INK REVIEW: Diamine Flamingo Pink

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O.M.G.


Other than Pilot Iroshizuku’s Momiji (which I did not love even though others seem to wild about it), I’ve not tried any pink inks.
I’m not sure I need to try any other pinks. This may be it. This might be (dare I say?) love. 
See it even bigger.
I used this ink for a week and totally loved it. Fun, bold, happy times. Yeah, there’s not much of a practical use for it – you’re not going to sign important legal documents with it – but so what. Use it for your grocery list, leave a note for your honey, embrace the pink!
Diamine’s Flamingo Pink is gorgeous! The name 100% fits the ink (and you know how much I love that!). It writes great, too – smears a little and isn’t perfect in a water test – but there are much more boring colors that do this, too.
Hello Spring! Welcome back! 
I love you!