Pens to plan with

One thing I've learnt is we all have different pens we love to plan with. Before I received my planner, I bought a selection based on what I could see other people using and have used them with varying degrees of success. Likewise, there are pens I adore that have also been used with varying degrees of success. 

The frixion pens are the main ones I use, I like the fact that they're more like felt pens and there's no bleed through the paper. Likewise the frixion colour come in a good variety of colours so I can match them to my planner themes each week. I got them from Amazon, the only downside is they take ages to get here as they're imported.

Poppy liked helping me give the frixion ball pens a use. These again come in a variety of colours and have no bleed. They are however a little pricey for what they are. I prefer these for my work planner as they feel a bit too sensible for a fun pen.

My staedler fine liners are great, lovely and bright but there is a slight bleed through the page. My writing also looks tiny in them in my A5 where there are bigger pages and spaces to fill. These are ideal if you need to maximise space and aren't too bothered about covering the bleed with stickers. Personally, I prefer these for note taking.

The gel pens are one of my favourites and I own an insane amount of them, but on the whole I prefer these for my work planner or making notes. There is no bleed through and the colours are nice and bright. If you've got a good pen they're lovely and smooth to write with, but I've going there tends to be inconsistencies between pens and some are a bit scratchy. I don't want this going on in my planner. 

Fountain pens are my absolute favourite thing to write with ever. I've been using them since I was about ten years old and I love the way you can get different nibs and inks, not to mention styles and colours. There's just something that feels really grown up writing in a fountain pen I feel. 

The only time I will absolutely not use fountain pen is when I am writing in my planner. Whilst the writing looks gorgeous, the bleed I get from them is really heavy. I learnt this the hard way earlier this year and spent the following week strategically placing stickers, tape and sticky notes over blotches of ink. 

How about you, what do you like to write with in your planner? 

Out with the old in with the new?

So, before Christmas I shared my Lamy with you and promised to do a comparison between that and my reliable Parker pen that saw me through GCSE, A level and even my degree. I've been
a Parker pen girl since I was 11 and started secondary school but then Lamy came into my life. Please note that both pens have been purchased as gifts for me by my family to indulge my love of stationery and are compared as such. 

Size wise the Parker is slightly lighter, although both are a good weight for writing, not too heavy and easy to grip. I've opted for a clear Lamy, although the colours available are akin to a sweatshop whilst I've seen little variety with the Parker.

The nib on the Parker is slightly rounder which helps give a smooth writing line, although there was little difference in the smoothness when writing with these pens. I found the Lamy slightly smoother and found the grip more comfortable to write with. 

The ink deposit was slightly heavier with the Parker but again for me, the difference was minimal. The ink flow was steady and smooth on both pens. 

So can a leopard change it's spots? I'm personally still sitting on the fence. I adore the Lamy and the beautiful way it writes, but I wouldn't replace old reliable either. My Parker pen is going to be side by side with my Lamy for many years to come! 

Lamy Love

So after being treated last week to a beautiful new Lamy pen it seems I am well and truly in love! I treated myself to another pen which came with a pouch, box of cartridges and an ink eraser. I bought from Webster's Pen Shop via Amazon and it came to less than buying the safari on it's own in store! I'm not one to grumble as these will certainly make a permanent and much loved addition to my collection!

I also bought a bottle of ink and a convertot for this little beauty as I'm not a huge fan of disposable ink cartridges... I'm never even sure if they can be recycled? I ordered some turquoise ink for my first Lamy as well but I'm waiting for a replacement as unfortunately the first attempt resulted in my receiving the box only. Strange. 

Stationery Friday

Mr S has outdone himself this stationery Friday and I'm feeling like a very lucky and spoilt little starlet right now. We'd been reminiscing about fountain pens when he picked me up so he decided to treat me to something special. Normally I'm a devout Parker pen sort of gal, but after this I might just be a Lamy convert!

The packaging is lovely and I don't think I'll be getting rid of the bag anytime soon. It felt a little bit like Christmas getting it out of the bag!

See how pretty it is? I loved the fact that it was see through as it's just something a little bit different to my Parker collection.

It truly is a beautiful pen, I'm certainly in love. I picked some turquoise ink as it has a see through barrel and have already requested a second to fill with pink ink for Christmas. This pen writes like an absolute dream!

I can tell already that my Parker pens are going to get jealous so I feel a post comparing the two and subsequent penmanship coming up in the next few weeks.