The pen is mightier

A impromptu Friday dinner with my friend Dhany at a tze char place (mmm, marmite ribs) turned into an impromptu trip to Mustafa in the middle of the night.

I'd mentioned that I wanted to look at some stationery but that Popular was closed, and he suggested going down to Serangoon Road to look at what the selection was like.  (Dhany was just pretending to be serious.  He is normally the guardian of funny faces).

I was wearing a loose striped batwing type number with my new Casio watch (looks like something James Bond would wear and has exciting flashing lights and four time zones, all for $62) and my fleur-de-lis ring.  I bought the ring several years ago and then it got swallowed up by the messy depths of Dhany's room (he wanted to wear it as a pinky ring, don't ask) until last night.  

As you can probably tell, writing is important to me and I've kept a hard copy journal since I was 12.  My current journal is a cheap A5 sketchbook and I'd been wondering how to make it look a little prettier.  I'd tried a few types of markers, but everything seemed too dark and bold for the style I was attempting and after I purchased my Mildliners, I realised that I was actually looking for markers in lighter, pastel tones.

It's hard to find marker sets that only include pastel tones and that won't bleed through all kinds of paper, so I decided to put my own kit together.

From left to right: Clean Color double-sided markers in muted colours (I love these because the wash on the lighter ones is fairly gentle but also quite buildable), Lyra coloured pencils, Micron 0.05 waterproof pens, Sakura Tiara pens, pastel Post-its with sweet patterns.

I have to talk about the Micron pens for a second.  Hitherto, I've always used the Uniball Signo 0.28 or 0.38 pens because the line is so fine and they are the only other pen that I've found to be waterproof.  But these Microns really give them a run for their money.  If you like fine nibs and you've never written with a 0.05mm before, please, try it. Even Dhany was shocked at how sensitive and controlled they felt.

There is something wonderful about being able to make tiny drawings with loads more detail than you would normally be able to get in.  Admittedly, they don't write as smoothly and they can blot a bit on thirsty paper, so I won't use them for quick writing or work, but I think for journalling purposes, they'll do just fine.

Writing in a journal helps calm me and give me perspective on things, to say nothing of how well it works as a memory keeper of sorts.  If you'd like to start, or haven't been able to continue, spending a bit on awesome stationery like this can give you a bit of a boost.

I'll leave you with this really cool video that I watched yesterday.  I'm not sure Smashbooks would be my thing because I'm very writey as opposed to picture-sticky, but I can imagine that lots of people will enjoy them, and they look to be convenient and loads of fun!  (Available online)