GIVEAWAY/CONTEST: Diamine Ink Samples!

Diamine recently released a set of eight inks to celebrate their brand's 150th (!!) anniversary.

I ended up buying all of the bottles for myself - and got a set of samples for you!

The set includes 2 ml samples of the following inks . . .

• 1864 Blue-Black
• Blue Velvet
• Carnival
• Regency Blue
• Safari
• Silver Fox
• Terracotta
• Tropical Green

Well, except Tropical Green. I spilled about one ml of the ink. Arrgh.

How to win?  

Come closest to guessing (over is fine) the number of inky cotton swabs in the gallon-sized bag shown below.  If more than one person guesses right on the number, the person who entered first will win the samples.

These are nearly all of the swabs I used during 2015. It's been a busy year! Last year, the jar I use was only about half full, this year it overflowed with inky goodness.

I'll be back after the beginning of the new year to announce the winner.

Until then...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

So, what's your number?  

Contest open to US/CAN only.  Sorry to my friends in far away lands!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


This isn't a sponsored post. The samples (and my bottles) came from Goulet Pens, but they don't know what I'm up to over here today. 

FOUND AROUND FRIDAY: Winner Winner Edition

I'm happy to say that Francesca is the big winner of the bottle of Diamine Sepia ink pictured above. Francesca was randomly chosen from all of the entrants and I've already contacted her to arrange getting the bottle of ink off to her.  Yaay!


Here's some of what I've been reading this week . . .


Well Appointed Desk and how Crayons are Made. I love crayons. The smell.

Fountain Pen Physicist unboxed her Hobonichi. I did, too, I just didn't get pictures ;)

Inkdependence reviewed Caran d'Ache Ultra Violet ink. I'd expect SCREAMING color with that name, yes?

Inklode showed us Pelikan Edelstein Turmaline. Not really a color I'd considered before seeing this review.

Pen Addict took a close look at the Sailor Lecoule. I have one of these and had it inked last week - it was a terrible writing experience. Maybe I'll have a look at the nib and see if I can do anything about that.

The Unroyal Warrant had a paper review for us. I think paper isn't given nearly the attention it deserves in the pen community. Oh..and did you get your Unexposed Field Notes?

The Clicky Post asked Hobby or Obsession?  Yes.


Hope you all have a great weekend!

xo

FOUND AROUND FRIDAY: Winner Winner Chicken Dinner Edition

Waterman Expert c.1980s

After tossing all of the wonderful entries up into the air, Onder C was randomly selected as the big winner of the $50 gift certificate. As you probably remember, Onder can choose a $50 gift certificate from either Amazon or Goulet Pens.  Thank you for playing and keep an eye out for future giveaways!

Some small news items for you . . .

I've owned Pentulant.com for quite sometime, but only recently got it set up. This means that instead of going to the Blogger URL, you can just come directly to Pentulant.com and see everything. Go ahead, check it out, click the link. Fun, right? My hope is to have a redesigned site sometime around the beginning of January - we'll see how that goes ;)

I'm listed on Pennaquod. It's a search thingy powered by Google just for pen nerds and their blogs. My stuff doesn't come up very often - sounds like it's a Blogger thing and hopefully that will be fixed when I move to my own site.

TWSBI has re-released their Classic Fountain Pen. Gorgeous pens and now able to be posted. I asked on Instagram and I'm told that there will be a kit available for those of us who bought the unpostable (it's a word!) version. I'll be first in line for that kit, yo.

I ordered a Hobonichi 2015 Planner and cover earlier this week. I'm not 100% sure it's going to work for me - doesn't the show-through of Tomoe River Paper make it difficult to use? Brush Dance Planners (120 gsm paper!) and Date Books (not as fountain pen friendly) are super-nice and I use them all day, everyday. (I'm the president of Brush Dance, but they are really terrific items.)


Annnnnd here's what I've been reading this week . . .

Mr. Mike Dudek of The Clicky Post shows us the Pilot Murex with an integrated nib.  Love.

FP Physicist reviewed a Quiver - she wasn't crazy about it.

Gourmet Pens took an in-depth look at the Taccia Savanna. It's made of BUFFALO HORN! Who knew!

Inkdependence shows off the Franklin-Christoph music nib. I want. I don't like stubs. I want. I really thought it would be more - it's $35.

Annnnnnd....I'm still fascinated with The Impulsive Buy. It's just so...wrong.

Some of my most recent posts over on Instragram for your viewing pleasure . . .




Noodler's Liberty's Elysium . . . 


Montblanc's newest inky release - Daniel Defoe - Palm Green . . . 





Hanging on to summer with some sweet Lamy Safari Fountain Pens . . . 



That's it from me this week!

What have you been reading?

TWO YEARS of POSTS & A PENTASTIC GIVEAWAY!

Today is my two-year blogiversary!  

Let's celebrate with a leisurely stroll down memory lane and a fantastic giveaway . . . 

Have you read the story about my first fountain pen? That's it above. The Waterman Expert. Swoon!

OK, that's enough strolling for one day - let's get right to the giveaway!

Here's the scoop . . . 

One randomly chosen reader can choose either a $50 gift certificate from either Amazon.com or GouletPens.com.

Use the Rafflecopter widget thing below to enter. 

Follow me on Instagram for an additional entry.  (If you're already following, that counts - just be sure to enter your user name below.)

And for an additional extra entry, post a picture of one of your favorite pens on Instagram, tag @pentulant and use #pentulantgiveaway. Whew...that's a lot. 

This giveaway isn't sponsored by anyone. Amazon doesn't know who I am and Goulet Pens didn't know I had this up my sleeve.

I'm trying out Rafflecopter (see below) for contests because I hear it works great.  (If the widget below isn't visible, please be patient while it loads.)

Thursday, September 4 is the last day to enter.  Go, go, go!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GIVEAWAY: Apica Notebooks

Last week, I reviewed the super-posh Apica Premium C.D. A5 Notebook.  While preparing for that review, I searched my stash and found, these smaller (and slightly less posh) Apica Notebooks and decided to give them away.

Here's what you'll get . . .

Apica CD-11 Notebook - A5-sized - 28 lined pages
Apica CD-5 (Wee Little) Notebook - 36 lined pages

In it to win it? Leave a comment below.

All Kinds of Disclaimers and Stuff:  Your entry must be received by July 16. Winner need not be present to win (please don't come to my house, that would just be weird). Open to entrants with mailing addresses in the US and Canada. I bought and paid for these notebooks.

WINNER WINNER: Lamy Safari Neon Coral

Wooo!  So happy to announce the winner of the Lamy Safari in Neon Coral!

Congratulations @squishymochii - I'll send you a message and get the pen right out to you!

GIVEAWAY: Last Chance to Enter

Just a really quick reminder that your last chance to enter to win a Lamy Safari in the bold new Neon Coral color (pictured above) is coming right up.

Read all about it and join the fun right here.

GIVEAWAY: Lamy Safari Neon Coral Fountain Pen

Woooooooo! My Lamy Safari Fountain Pen in the new (SCREAMING) Neon Coral color arrived Saturday.

Lamy Safari fountain pens are wonderful for a whole lot of reasons and this is a GREAT color. I'm totally excited about inking it up and taking it for a spin.

Before I do that, I wanted to let you know that I ordered TWO of these pens.  One for me to keep and love forever and one to give away!

One winner will be chosen at random from all of the entries. US only (so sorry, international friends).

Leave a comment here before next Monday - May 12, to be entered to win. (One entry per person, ok?)

And...seriously seriously, tell me how to get in touch with you. I'll try like crazy, but if I can't find you with you within three days of the drawing, someone else will get the pen.

(In case you're wondering...this isn't a sponsored post. I bought the pen with my own saved up pennies.)

xoxo

WINNER WINNER

I've tried and tried and cannot get in touch with the winner of the above items.

I've chosen another at random and hope to hear back soon and get these prezzies off to their forever home!  ;)

Wheee!

If I don't hear back, I'll roll these items up into my next giveaway.

WINNER WINNER GIVEAWAY WINNER

Congratulations to Tamz - winner of the items pictured above!

Tamz, I'll try to contact you on Instagram, too.

I'm so excited for you and hope you love love love each of the items.

In other news - I've been away all week - a short vacation to Mendocino County, California. Oh my goodness, it was perfect and I even managed to get some time to play with pens and ink. You can see all of my pictures over on Instagram.

What are your weekend plans? We're picking the dogs up from boarding today (w00f!) and have a whole lot of nothing planned.

xoxo

GIVEAWAY: Last Day To Enter

Happy Monday!

Today is the last day to enter to win the above items....

...a wonderful Brush Dance Journal / Notebook featuring the artwork of the incredible Mary Anne Radmacher
..an adorable set of sticky notes
..a Hero Fountain Pen

See details and enter to win today.

I'll be back later this week to announce the winner!

GIVEAWAY: Hero Fountain Pen, Sticky Notes, Brush Dance Journal

Oh yeeeeah....I'm giving away everything you see in the above image. (Not the table, don't be silly.)

Let me tell you how this all came together.

Sometime in January, I went in search of Hero 359 fountain pens. I needed to have that pen in purple and the deal on all five was pretty good - so why not?

Hero 359

I ordered from Amazon, but sadly when I received the order, the purple was missing and there was a BLACK pen in its place (oh, the horror!). The vendor was super-duper quick and kind about sending me the correct pen and allowed me to keep the black pen.  I'm passing along my good fortune and giving that black pen to one of you. (The purple is mine, yo.)

My understanding is that these pens are very much like my beloved Lamy Safari. I can't attest to that myself because I've yet to ink a single one of these pretties. Crazy. Crazybusy.

And then....last month, I was in Seattle for business (it's a rough life) and met up with one of the artists/writers I work with, the fabulous Mary Anne Radmacher. We had a delightful afternoon together - lunch at Pike Place Market and then shopping at Kinokuniya Bookstore (where I spent entirely too much money, but my goodness).

One of my finds there was the packet of sticky notes above. How adorbs are they?  Three sweet designs, twenty sheets each. I thought you'd love them. 

And, finally, the Brush Dance Dreamer Journal featuring the art and words of Mary Anne Radmacher. Because...why not? And that quote?  "Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'"  How true is that?

So! You can enter to win all three of these items - the Hero 359 pen, the sweet sticky notes, and the Brush Dance Journal.  What a great stash!

Leave a comment below to enter. (Be sure to tell me how to contact you, duh.) One entry per person. However, if you Tweet, Instagram, or Pinterest the top image from this post - come back here and let me know and you can have up to FOUR entries.  Just use #pentulant so I can find the entry. US/CAN only - sorry friends, I know it sucks. Deadline for entry is next Monday, March 24.

And...a small disclaimer...I'm the president of Brush Dance. I didn't buy the Journal, but that doesn't mean it's not pretty terrific.

Wheee!

GIVEAWAY - Winner Announced!

Wooo Hoooo!

Congratulations to Janel!

Janel is the big winner of an (almost) new bottle of Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-ryoku

I've already emailed Janel and can't wait to hear what she says about this fabulous (but not quite for me) ink.

I have many more giveaways planned. Lots of ink samples, maybe a fancy pen or two, stick around, you never know what will show up!

xox

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Fountain Pen Edition

Noodler's Blue Eel Ink Swab

Time for another fabulous Throwback Thursday!

But first - it's almost Valentine's Day - are you celebrating by going to the LA Pen Show?

Also, don't forget, I am giving away a bottle of (almost new) Pilot Iroshizuku Shin ryoku. You still have time to enter. Go go go.

Last year around this time, I was going on about Noodler's Blue Eel. I didn't love it - too wet for my needs, but seeing the color sure makes me want to try it again. I also might be missing my review forms - probably not enough to start using them again right away, but maybe..someday. We'll see.

Here's what others were talking about....


Brian Goulet from Ink Nouveau was showing off Apica Notebooks. (I ended up getting a few of these - they're nice!)

Inktronics gave us a first impression photo of an ink I know nothing about.

The Pen Addict reviewed the Platinum Balance. This is a pen I have, but haven't written about yet. It's love. Serious serious love.

Gourmet Pens had an in-depth review of another ink I know nothing about. (Do you love black inks? I'm not wild about them.)


And, finally, Ed Jelley reviewed an ink that I know and adore - J Herbin 1670 Rouge Hematite.

GIVE AWAY: Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-Ryoku

It's true!  I'm giving away a mostly unused bottle of Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-ryoku.

Bottom Line:  Leave a comment below to be entered to win. Do it before next Thursday, February 20. And, omg, please please leave a way for me to contact you - you know, in case you win.

Details: About 100 years ago (more like May of last year), when I was on my honeymoon, I was shocked to see the Paradise Pens in Las Vegas was closing. They had a deal on inks and I bought a few - mostly on speculation - including this one.

Got it home, inked a pen (I never ever dip right into the bottle, no contamination here) and realized that, omg, I don't like this ink. I stuffed it into my ink cabinet and haven't bothered with it since then.

In fact, how funny is it that my very first ink giveaway (implies there are more to come, hm?) also happens to be the very first ink I ever reviewed?  (That review was from a sample.)

I don't have the box or the fancy hang tag, but the bottle and its contents are in good shape. There are maybe 3 ml missing from the bottle, but probably not even that much.

So! If you'd like to enter to win, just leave a comment below before next Thursday (the 20th) and I'll announce a winner (chosen randomly, of course).  Hopefully, I'll get my act together enough to ship the ink pretty quickly after that.

Fun, right?

No enter to win! Do it!

GIVEAWAY: Dreamer Journal from Brush Dance

Always Journey Journal from Brush Dance

First, a disclaimer:  I'm the President of Brush Dance and Brush Dance supplied the Journal for this giveaway.

Second, I love this Journal.  It's really more like a notebook in that it's super-portable (5" x 7") and can used for so many purposes. At 120gsm, it's great for fountain pens and even pretty darn good for Sharpies.  Wire-O binding, elastic band to help you keep your stuff together, and a great stay-clean cover that's silky smooth to the touch.

Features the art of Sugarshot Studio

You want one of these. And, conveniently, I have one to give away.

beautiful

Just leave a comment under this post by this time next week (Tuesday, November 5) and I'll choose one person to receive this lovely.

Oh, the places I want to go

I understand that you want your anonymity - but you can't have that and this great Journal. Please leave your name with your post and tell me how to find you, ok?

an inside look

To summarize....

...leave a comment below to be entered to win this gorgeous Brush Dance Journal
...do it before next Tuesday, November 5
...US shipping addresses only (so sorry)
...Brush Dance is my wonderful employer. They supplied the Journal. You'll love it.

Oh..and here's a link to the Brush Dance site and to the Journal in question. Free shipping with purchases totaling $25 - not like that crazy Amazon place that just raised their minimum purchase.

GIVEAWAY: Winner's List!

Thank you to everyone who entered to win a Brush Dance Journal.  I was so happy to see so many people enter.  In fact, we had so many entries that I'll be able to give away four of these amazing Journals.  So excited!

Kathryn - Collage Diva

Nancy - from St. Petersburg, Florida

Arlie

Gingin

Unfortunately, the only person I can find a way to contact is Kathryn. I'm hoping the others see their names and get in touch with me. The deadline for doing so September 15, 2013.  If I don't hear from the winners, I'll recycle the prezzies and add them to a future giveaway.

Thank you again for entering. It was fun!

GIVEAWAY: Last Day to Enter

Today is the last day to enter to win a Brush Dance Journal.

Brush Dance supplied the Journals, I'm the President of Brush Dance, I'm biased, these Journals are AMAZING.

Comment below to be entered to win one of these pretties.  Winner will be chosen randomly from all who enter. We're giving away one Journal for every ten entries - up to ten winners!

GIVEAWAY: Brush Dance Journals

Last week, Brush Dance (how I make money to fund my pen/ink/paper addictions) announced the release of eleven beautiful new Dreamer Journals. While we're calling them Journals, they can also be used as a handy everyday notebook.

I am thrilled to have a bunch of these to hand out as prezzies - keep reading to see how you can get in on the action. Full disclosure . . . Brush Dance supplied the Journals for this giveaway, I had a hand in the design, I am biased, but really - they are pretty incredible and I know you're going to love love love them.

You probably can't read the teeny tiny text above in that top image, so let me tell you what it says....

Dreamer Journals from Brush Dance combine eye-catching modern designs with incredible functionality. Use as an everyday Journal or as a perfectly-sized notebook that will fit easily in most handbags.

Yum!

But wait...there's more!

..136 lined pages
..high-quality 120 gsm interior paper
..wire-o binding 
..stay-clean cover
..elastic band
..5" x 7"
..Retail $11.95

Seriously, the only way you're going to be disappointed is if you don't win one of these pretties. Even then, you can go to the Brush Dance website and get one of your own for just under $12 - even less if you hurry because they are on sale as of this writing.

Here are some detailed pictures of some of the covers.

The interior pages are lined in a color that coordinates with the rest of the book - no basic black here.

Always Journey

Courage Doesn't Always Roar

Paul Bond Art

Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Renee Locks

I have up to ten of these great books to give away. For every ten people who leave a comment here, I will give away one Journal, but the maximum number of Journals I have is ten. In other words - if 50 people leave messages, I'll send Journals to five lucky people. If 10,000 people leave comments (yikes!), I will send Journals to ten lucky people. Makes sense, yes? Winners will be chosen randomly, of course.

Because my blog is a tiny hobby and I'm convinced that only Mr. Pentulant reads it - I'll leave the comments and contest open until Tuesday, August 31. Please only enter once - and, Mr. P., you are not eligible to win.

Leave a comment - be entered to win! Yippy!