Being an unemployed slacker has a few perks. The main perk is simply not having to go to work and dealing with stupid people. But the "shop whenever I want" perk is a close second! I was at Hobby Lobby today for no other reason then to look at pens. And I found three interesting things.
The first pen is a .25 Slicci. They were being sold in black, red and green. I didn't have one in the color green yet so I decided to pick it up. What I found interesting about this pen was the packaging. It is definitely marketed as a "green" product. Since I have purchased all my others Slicci pens at jetpens.com, I had never received one in cardboard before, maybe in Japan the marketing is also geared toward the recycling crowd.

The next pen is a Pentel Sign Pen. I haven't seen these anywhere before, which means I am required to buy them. It is the school supply dance code. This pen is basically a felt tip, had I read the package I would have realized that though. It is ok, it doesn't bleed through my Piccadilly DIY planner, which is nice. I can see a use for it with outlining or things that require very bold ink. If you click on this picture you can see a closeup of the sign pen tip. It is like a mix between a felt tip and a brush pen tip. It is not a solid tip pen, it seem like it could be easily damaged.

Last and kind of least is the mechanical pencil set. I bought a Pilot Color Eno from jetpens awhile back and I liked it a lot. The mechanical pencil set has 12 refills at 2mm each, including a regular pencil lead. The main negative I saw is that the color inks aren't erasable. I worry this set is going to be somewhat low quality, but I haven't tested it yet, so I can't say for sure.

Would you like a free pen?

As it turns out, another perk of being unemployed is having time to go to the post office. That means if I want to do a pen giveaway I can ship it within a reasonable time frame! I would love to send one lucky winner this right handed, Pelikano Junior fountain pen. It will also ship with five full and one empty purple ink cartridges! I bought this from jetpens and never loved it. I always felt like the tip wasn't lined up with the grip, which is why I don't like it, but I know someone else can give it a good home! It is for right handed people, but if you are a lefty you can still leave a comment, I am sure you know a righty or two. (Also in this picture is my planner page for next week, feel free to comment on how awesome it is!)

Giveaway rules:

Comment on this post by 11:59 PM Central time on 11-27. Make sure you include a way I can contact you to claim your prize. I will do a random number generator either online or having my dog pick a number out of a hat. Probably the online number generator... I will post the winner on the blog and contact you on 11-28. You have until 12-4 to send me your address or I will pick a new winner. I will ship to anywhere in the world so everyone should sign up! Feel free to advertise this giveaway on your blog too!

I have at least two more giveaways planned in the near future so keep checking in. There are also some great giveaways over at Journaling Arts and the Pen Addict. They end soon though so don't delay!

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Well for the last several weeks I have been continuing to create my own planner. I have tried some new layouts and kept changing things up. Here are the results. You can click on the pictures to see an extra large version.

9-28 to 10-4
10-5 to 10-11
I am not a huge fan of this layout, I probably won't use it again.
10-12 to 10-18
I really liked the lettering on this page, but I wish it would have turned out better. I created this by printing the words out and basically making carbon paper with pencil on the back of the printed sheet. Then I traced it onto the page and colored it in. It was far more work than it should have been. I don't know that I would do it again.

10-19 to 10-25
The curved boxes were a pain to make and then trace over so I don't think I will use this layout again.
10-26 to 11-01
I used stamps that I had for this week. I liked how it turned out but the stamps were a little too big.
11-2 to 11-8 blank11-9 to 11-15 blank
On this one, I bought some small day of the week stamps. This worked pretty well and I thought it was nice for a change. I plan on using the stamps more often.
So far I have only reused one weekly layout. I feel like I have exhausted most of my ideas for new layouts, but I will keep rotating through the ones I like the most. Does anyone have any ideas for more?

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I was exploring a new mall when I came across these three Rhodia notebooks! I thought each one was unique so I had to pick them up. The only Rhodia notebook I have had in the past was a quad rule legal pad type. I rarely come across them in stores, but I check them out online quite a bit.

The orange legal pad has yellow paper, which I have not seen before, except on the Rhodia website. The lines are still the light purpleish that the plain white paper has. It was 9.99. This was the one I was most excited about because it was yellow!

The smaller book is an A5 exercise book with the standard white paper. This was only 2.99.

The largest notebook is the A4, four colors book and it was only 9.99



I didn't really need these notebooks right now, but I have a paper addiction, so I really couldn't help myself. I think if I ever get a new job, these three notebooks could be put to good use.

I also just saw that Rhodia Drive is giving away some Rhodia Webnotebooks! Enter the contest over at Rhodia Drive!

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In my never ending quest to find more planner page layouts for my awesome homemade planner, I stumbled across a pen related organizer at DIY Planner. I figured my fellow pen aficionados may be able to make use of this or have it spark your imagination. This Pen and Ink Inventory is a great idea for keeping track of all your pen, pencil, highlighter and marker purchases. I wish I would have found it earlier as I would have used this format in my DIY Planner.

An organized list like this may also help me keep my jetpens.com purchases organized. My current system of throwing them in a drawer has led to purchasing the same pen in the same color two or three times or buying multipen barrels but forgetting the ink. I am sure I can find a purpose for a list like this eventually.

I hope someone else can find this useful. If not just head over to DIY Planner and browse. I am sure there is something there that will be of interest!

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In the past I have flirted with making my own planner. In fact, last fall a co-worker and I devoted many hours to creating the perfect planner that we would have printed and bound. We managed to waste quite a few hours on it before we both just settled on the Uncalendar I previously reviewed.

In August, I had purchased a Quo Vadis planner and used it for a bit, but I stumbled across a group dedicated to organizers and it rekindled my interest in creating the ultimate planner. This has consumed a lot of my internet browsing time and creative energy for at least three weeks.

I really wanted a planner that I could use a lot of color in, customize the pages and not be afraid to scribble all over it. I wanted to feel like the space could be used for more than just the standard to-do list or appointments. I wanted to blend space for doodles, assignments, memories, quotes/lyrics and space for to-do lists into one planner. But having the space for those things is only the first step, the next is actually using the planner to record those items and not fall into just the "to-do" trap.

I feel like I am relearning how to document all of these things, as I haven't done it as extensively in previous planners. Something about the rigidity of a preprinted planner is like a coloring book, I don't want to write outside of the lines or doodle. It feels like I am messing it up. So for this first week, I tried to think about what I want this planner to be and attempted to record items in a way that supports that vision. Hopefully I can become more creative with how I incorporate all of this as the weeks go on.

I used a large, hardcover Piccadilly notebook I had around the house. The first page is the standard "if lost" info, so I left that out.

Here is the first week (blank):

And here it is, after a week of use. I created and glued in the 4x6 index card to keep track of what jobs I have applied for and if I have heard back from them.

This is next week:

And the rough outline of weeks 3,4,5

As you can see, I am trying a different layout each week. I want to see what works the best and then I might stick with it for a few weeks in row.

Week three is a copy of a planner page I saw at Barnes and Noble, it is very hard to see right now, but once I get it completely filled in I think it will be pretty cool. It is the only one where I have used a two page per week format. Week four is a basically a copy of how a Moleskine planner is setup and week five is basically an outline of my ruler, seven days and one for notes.

Here are the pens I have used somewhere when documenting this week. There may be afew more, but these are the only ones I can remember using. I only used a few of the Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Set though.

Purple preppy sign pen

3 ink Hi-Tec-C, with orange *reviewed*

.25 Blue Black Slicci

Pink Le Pen

Grey Hi Tec C

Blue Sharpie RT Pen

Color Pencil Like Frixion Tea Brown

3 ink Slicci, used Lime Green

.3 Hi-Tec-C Venet *reviewed*

Sarasa .7 orange

Color Pencil Like Frixion Mustard

Sarasa .7 lime green

Lamy Safari, blue ink, extra fine fp

clicky eraser

Sarasa .7 cornflower blue

Pilot Color Eno .7 purple pencil lead

Brown Le Pen

Maroon Le Pen

Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Set

Also at the very back of the book is an area where I tested many of my pens to see how it would work with the paper before I started outlining. I wanted to avoid a lot of bleed through. I left several pages blank for this purpose, as I know my pen collection will continue to grow.

So, what do you think? Any advice on future layouts?

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You only have until tonight at 11:59pm to leave a comment on the PREVIOUS post to win the giveaway.

Also check out the great giveaway over at the pen addict!
http://www.penaddict.com/2009/08/giveaway-lots-and-lots-of-pentel-pens.html

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I was really excited when Nathan from www.pen-sleeve.com contacted me about reviewing the pen-sleeve! The pen-sleeve comes in three colors: white, black and red. The pens that come with the product are standard ball point pens that are just fine for everyday use. The best part is that the pen-sleeve will work with any pen that has a clip so many types of pens will be compatible with the product! The only pen I couldn't make it work with was my Lamy Safari fountain pen, simply because its barrel is bigger than the sleeve. But my Hi-Tec-C Coleto (3 colors) fit without a problem.

The back of the sleeve has adhesive covered by plastic. The plastic is split in the middle of the sleeve to make it easier when pulling the plastic off. That seems like a small thing, but I get frustrated when peeling a label or something that refuses to separate.

I decided to put the white sleeve on my school planner. The back cover of my planner is a coated/slick cardboard. The adhesive on the sleeve did not have any problems adhering to the material at all. In fact, you will want to make sure your placement is right the first time because I don't think the product could be moved. It adheres to the surface almost instantly.

This seems to be a permanent solution to having a pen handy, especially on notebooks, files or cardboard based clipboards. I suppose you could use an an exact-o knife to cut the sleeve off and leave the adhesive section on your item, but you'd be better off just being sure you really want the sleeve on there.
When the cover is closed, the pen-sleeve is flush and doesn't get in the way of the cover at all. Everything still lays flat and closes correctly.

I can think of many places this product could come in handy. At my previous office, it was a never ending battle to keep clipboards and pens together. The admin assistant would tie the pens to the clip board with ribbon. Then on a daily basis, I would absentmindedly fidget with the pen and wrap the ribbon around the pen making it unusable. This annoyed her. I would guess that the pen sleeve would have saved her some grief. I would have also stuck a pen-sleeve on my filing cabinet, it would have came in handy when working in the files. Also, I think this would be a great product to give out with a corporate logo on them. Especially if you include a pen with the company name as well.

I could keep all the pen-sleeves to myself, but I am going to take a cue from some of the other pen bloggers out there and offer them up as a giveaway. Nathan was nice enough tot send them to me, I want to share as well. I will send the other two sleeves and pens to one person who comments on my blog by Thursday at 11:59 PM. Then I will randomly pick someone and contact you to let you know you are a winner! All I ask is that once you receive the product you drop Nathan a line to let him know what you think!

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Something kind of crazy that I have been very interested in over the past few years is what kind of school and office supplies to people use in other countries? What does a high school student in India use versus a one in Russia? Are there different sized binders, notebooks and systems of organization? I know what we use in America: mead 5 star notebooks, yellow pencils and bic pens-general wal-mart fare. Obviously jetpens.com has access to pens that American's often don't have access to here and some notebooks that are hard to find, so obviously there are choices available. The French ruled Clairefontaine notebooks are a great example of this, the French use a completely different system for lining their pages! Who knew?

But because I am curious about how other places stock their offices and book bags I try and find the right search terms to come up with foreign school supply lists. That hasn't been very productive. What I basically need is a school supply kit from every country in the world, where they are using products they buy locally. I am sure I would end up with a few bic pens and mead notebooks, but think of the other items that would be in those packages! It would be awesome. I would settle on hearing from anyone out there that has direct knowledge of how the supplies may differ and what is the same.

On a totally different note, I made a jetpens.com order a few days ago. To be fair the Lamy and Hi-Tec-C and inks are for my husband. I think I am finally getting him addicted to pens like I am! The rest of the pens are for me...

Products

1 x	Uni-ball Style Fit Gel Ink Multi Pen Ink Cartridge - 0.38 mm - Mandarin Orange	$1.50
1 x	Uni-ball Style Fit 5 Color Gel Ink Multi Pen - Pen Body with Clip - Silver	$3.75
1 x	Uni-ball Style Fit Gel Ink Multi Pen Ink Cartridge - 0.38 mm - Brown Black	$1.50
1 x	Uni-ball Style Fit Gel Ink Multi Pen Ink Cartridge - 0.38 mm - Blue Black	$1.50
1 x	Uni-ball Signo Broad UM-153 Gel Pen - Dark Blue Ink	$2.25
1 x	Uni-ball Style Fit Gel Ink Multi Pen Ink Cartridge - 0.38 mm - Baby Pink	$1.50
1 x	Lamy Fountain Pen Ink Cartridge - Blue Black - Pack of 5	$3.00
1 x	Lamy Fountain Pen - Safari Model - Extra Fine Nib - Charcoal Body & Black Clip	$26.00
1 x	Uni-ball Style Fit Gel Ink Multi Pen Ink Cartridge - 0.38 mm - Violet	$1.50
1 x	Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto 4 Color Multi Pen - Pen Body - Black	$3.00
1 x	Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Multi Pen Ink Cartridge - 0.4 mm - Blue Black	$2.00
1 x	Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Multi Pen Ink Cartridge - 0.4 mm - Green	$2.00
1 x	Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Multi Pen Ink Cartridge - 0.4 mm - Red	$2.00
1 x	Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Multi Pen Ink Cartridge - 0.4 mm - Brown	$2.00
1 x	Sailor Ink Bar Disposable Fountain Pen - Fine Nib - Black	$2.70
1 x	Sailor Ink Bar Disposable Fountain Pen - Fine Nib - Blue Black	$2.70

Any review requests?

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I noticed most of my pen reviews have been of Pilot. I thought I would review another line of pens that I love. I have several Uniball Signo DX 0.38 pens. This one happens to be in Bordeaux Black, which is basically maroon. I must say I am a sucker for any pen with two colors in their name, so in this pen I also have the green/black, brown/black and emerald. I have the blue/black in my shopping cart. :)

The writing sample is on Myndology paper, which is several steps above your average spiral bound notebook quality. Unlike some other pens with a narrow tip, I never encounter scratchiness, even on the lowest quality paper. I also do not get a lot of push through or pressure marking on the back side of the Myndology paper. Often I write very hard and with regular notebook paper it can be a problem. In general the ink flows so smoothly on this pen that I don't feel the need to use so much pressure when writing.

I feel this 0.38 writes more like a 0.4. It is great for journaling and doodles. I switch pens a lot so gauging how long the ink lasts can be difficult, but I think the ink life is average. The ink dries quickly and I have experienced very little smearing.

The pen body is lightweight and comfortable to use. I appreciate the rubberized grip and that there are not pronounced bumpy areas in the transition from grip to silver tip. When the pen is posted the balance also seems fine. I could write with this pen for hours and not experience any hand fatigue. That is one thing I always worry about when ordering fountain pens from the internet is the weight. I definitely prefer a light weight pen body in all pen types.

I really have nothing bad to say about this pen! I basically want one in every color imaginable.

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I have been off the pen scene for awhile! Spring went by so quickly and now summer is half over. It is amazing how busy one can get when moving across the state, leaving a job, setting up a new home and recovering from a hard drive crash. I did manage to keep up on some of the new items at jetpens.com but instead of my two orders a month, I only managed to make one in June. I think I have some shopping to do, because I gave most of my pens away!

Right before I left my previous I donated almost all but 20 pens from a huge Rubbermaid container I kept hidden in my office closet. I kept one or two of some pens from various multi-packs and some that I just couldn't part with. However, these were all department store type pens. I did not give away a single jetpen! I just realized that most of those other pens were inferior and not needed. Rest assured I have plenty of pens to review that are all neatly (not really) tucked away in my desk drawer. I am in love with my new Pentel Sliccies 3 Color Gel Ink Multi Pen! Except I am almost out of ink, I need to order more refills. I am also in love with the idea of the Metaphys Locus 3Way Multi Pen but the price tag is too high! Especially since I just bought a new pen/pencil bag!Ok, so it is for more than just my pens, but I bet I can fit a lot of jetpens in there! It is roomy enough for a little notebook, my kindle, a Quo Vadis Textagenda and wallet. I am sure I can even fit my journal in there and still have room for a mini pencil case.

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