Friday 15 September 2017

PENS

Hi there scrappy friends! Today the team are having a chat about pens...



Laura: I’m a stationery junkie ... I own hundreds of pens.  I’ll share a few of my favourites with you. Generally, for journaling, I want a fine tip.  I love OHTO Graphic Liners for a rich black waterproof ink.  I have them in every width but tend to use the narrowest nib 005 and the widest 10 the most.  I also have a fun novelty kiwi pen that writes beautifully.  For ink that is not black, I reach for my Pigma Micron in blue and brown or my Stabilo Fine Liners which I’ve had for more than a decade! I have a few more favourites too ... a Slick Writer from American Crafts for writing on photos, Pilot Silver and Gold Markers for a touch of metallic (also work well on photos), Faber Castell PITT pens for brush lettering and finally, Derwent’s Graphik Paint Liners.  These are my favourite for art journaling, they are slightly unpredictable and can be ‘incontinent’ which is great for splats and splodges and generally inky fun!




Emma: I’m with Laura, I LOVE stationery - always have, always will! Let’s be honest, there’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of writing with a good pen is there?... No?... Might just be me then - haha! For the rare occasion that I do actually journal on a page, I reach for my Uni-Ball Uni-Pin pens (a bit of a mouthful, I know!). I bought them in a pack of 5 with a range of widths from 0.1mm to 0.5mm. They’re a black, waterproof ink and they write beautifully on cardstock and on glossy photo paper - for me, they’re a good ‘all-rounder’ and I reach for the 0.1mm the most. The Holy Grail of course is The White Pen!  This is a tricky one and it depends what you’re after. I wanted an opaque, bright white pen that would write on cardstock and glossy photo paper and wouldn’t be a pain in the backside (I can say that right?) in terms of smudging. I originally bought the Sakura Gelly Roll pen because so many people had good things to say. However, I made the mistake of buying the Gelly Roll Soufflé pen which writes kind of translucent, goes bright white when dry, which takes ages, and is also kind of raised when dry too. It’s OK for some things but not quite what I was looking for. It also has quite a thick point, making small writing difficult. For a white pen, I would actually recommend the Uni-ball Signo Broad white gel pen. I bought mine from Paperchase but they are widely available I believe. The Signo Broad is the best white pen I’ve found. It writes smoothly. It dries pretty quickly. I have used it on glossy paper with no problems. Although it’s called broad, the tip isn't so big that you can't write small. It’s a nice, opaque, bright white and I would thoroughly recommend!


Michelle: It’s funny that I’m answering this now as I’ve been on the look out for a white pen to write on my photos and have been having a hard time choosing, thanks to Emma I now have a Signo Broad on its way to me which I am super excited to try out! As for what I currently use on my layouts ... I’m not really fussy about brand but it does have to be a gel pen with a fine nib, my writing is awful and that stands out when I use thicker pens. My favourite brand of pens are the Coleto by Pilot and I use a 0.4mm nib for standard journaling. However lately I have fallen in love with brush lettering and although I’ve not been brave enough to try it on a layout I have been adding it to my art journal. I use calligraphy ink, gold is my favourite to use ... it’s so shiny,  and a good quality paint brush, I’m by no means an expert but it does add an interesting dimension to the page!


Lisa-Jane: Another pen hoarder here ;-)  I’m always on the look out for the perfect pen and I actually know what I want, it just doesn’t exist yet!  My favourite pen to write with is a random floral fine tip that I had in my shop last year.  I wouldn’t normally choose a thin pen because I like something more substantial to get hold of but once I used these I fell in love.  Before that I was a huge fan of the common Bic Biro for writing and I will reach for that most often for anything other than on a layout.  The pen I use most often for journaling on my layouts is a Pilot Frixion which can be erased when you make a mistake!  A pen that rubs out??!!  Yes!  Genius!  My only issue with it is that the nib isn’t fine enough for my liking, especially when you are journaling in a small space and have a lot to say.  Ideally I would have a pen that writes like the skinny floral, feels like the Biro, yet has the ability to be rubbed out - if someone could arrange that thanks (or enlighten me as to their existence!).  Colour wise for me it has to be black, I hate writing in any other colour.  I have used a white pen on a black background and I once used a friend’s grey pen on a layout but nothing feels quite right compared to black.


Sarah T: My go-to pens for journaling on my pocket page spreads are definitely my Uni-Pin Fine liners. I use the 0.1 - 0.5 tips as they're super smooth for writing with, I even use them for doodling. I also use the Stabilo coloured pens if I want to journal or doddle in a different colour.


Gemma: So I may not have the pen knowledge of the other Scrap Addicts, but I love to use pens on layouts. I like to outline, add doodle borders and faux stitching in different colours on pages. My favourite pens in my collection are the American Crafts precision pens, Uniball Eye Micro, and for coloured pens I have the Staedtler Triplus fineliners. They all sit in a pen stand on my desk, within arm’s reach.




So there you have it fellow scrappers - the Pen Queens have spoken! 

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