Current Journals:Uses: Flip Throughs

[@MummyBrown]

This is so fun! I love seeing the different ways people use their notebooks. The Happy Mail one is something I need to start. I have kind of a "paste up" journal that I use for more visual art when I'm feelin' more creative in that way. That's where I'd glue my Happy Mail pieces that I've been collecting, but I never thought of a special Happy Mail journal. Very cool idea! Side note: WOW. Vinta Inks really are outta this world. I mean, they are almost alien in their attributes 😍One thing is for certain: you sealed my need for a full bottle of Platinum Citrus Black.

[@HandmadebyLorelei]

YES PLATINUM CITRUS BLACK is so so cool. I love how it goes onto the paper yellow but then slowly turns murky. It's fun.Thank you for stopping by my channel! I think you should definitely try out a happy mail journal!

[@twisteddyekitchenmyfiberjo4577]

Never heard about Trouble Makes ink! Love the catalog ing too😉😍😍

[@HandmadebyLorelei]

Troublemaker inks are a company out of the Philippines I think? It's hard to come by in the states because they only send companies here very small batches. I find a good selection at Stationery Manor. The bottles are pretty big too.

[@ramonafirehorse]

Your desk calendar is so pretty! Thanks for making this video. It gave me a bunch of ideas. I want to stop hoarding my good notebooks and start using them.

[@HandmadebyLorelei]

Glad I could help 😂

[@HandmadebyLorelei]

Thank you! The desk calendar is from my very talented friend Shawn Braley Illustration. 😊 Check him out!

[@cydniehoughton]

All the swatches of your inks in one book is fun to look at. When you use a bottle up you could write over the swatch with something to indicate it's gone, like Used, or Enjoyed, or just different words, if it's written on, it's gone. Fun to see how you're using your journals 😄

[@HandmadebyLorelei]

It is really fun to flip through I am really loving all the colors together. I like this idea of writing over the color- ENJOYED love that. thanks for catching up with me here. :)

[@MummyBrown]

I keep a similar ink sample book, a Col-O-Ring swatchbook, and a pen log . My ink swatch book I use as my "ink record keeper". I have an index listed in the front of the book where I paint a small sample of the color with the page number that color can be found, then I record that ink name with a bigger sample on the left hand side of the spread, and I record the inks attributes with every pen I ink it with on the right side of the spread. That's where I make notes of what pens this particular ink works best with. This has been a BIG help in learning what pen/ ink combo is the best and what to never do again. I never white out anything or cover up. They are a nice reminder of the past. I think It'll also be helpful to see that there are some inks you keep coming back to so you can finally buy it as a bottle, or so you don't repurchase what you maybe didn't care much for before. My Col-O-Ring swatches I use as a quick flip when I'm trying to decide on the best ink color combos to next try as a group that harmonize well. I'm a big time color nerd that always has about 8-10 pens inked at the same time. They are with a variety of nibs that I then love using together for my journaling to give my spreads a nice harmonious pop of color. This helps me choose my colors accordingly. When I make my swatches, I wet the upper halves of the sample card then lay down the color with a paintbrush. That acts as a "chromatography" of sorts so I can see the colors it splits up into. That's helpful to know when choosing an ink for my artwork. I also use these cards as samples to compare ink colors that I mix up to duplicate existing colors that I don't care to buy a full bottle of, but I want that color NOW for an inking. For example: I see that Pilot Ina-Ho is a yellow/ green/ brown of sorts and I want to dupe that. So I take my Diamine Sepia and add a touch of green to it and compare it to see how close I can get to mixing a color that's similar to Ina-Ho. Make sense? My pen log is very similar in concept to my "Ink record keeper." I note the pen at the beginning index with the page number it's on for easy reference. I use this log to label each pen I ink, to keep track of the inkings and what inks play well with that pen and what don't. This feeds my need to see how many times I ink each pen in a year and if I have a specific Ink I like to regularly use with it. I note my experiences with the special attributes of that pen and note any maintenance I do to it such as nib tuning or greasing of pistons. I even note the dates I do a deep cleaning so I always know I'm on it. I got the general idea from Rebecca Logan, but I bumped it up a notch to include my maintenance notes.

[@HandmadebyLorelei]

WOW- You have definitely thoroughly thought this process through! Thank you for sharing your thoughts - I love reading how other people manage this cataloging I am having fun figuring it out.