Scrapbooking basics. A good ruler, some scissors, some paper, and a great pen. Or perhaps a whole bunch of pens. Mmm. Pens. Lovely pens. Would you like some new ones? Aren't you glad it is
For our giveaway today, we are offering you the opportunity to go on your very own shopping spree with Jet Pens.
Jet Pens was founded by three college friends who started their online company in 2004. They began selling high-end but affordable pens and notebooks. Many of their pens are imported from Asia and different from those you find here. They have a wide range of pens and pencils, with many of them available for just a few dollars. Today one of you will receive a $25 gift certificate so that you may have a chance to try out their pens. To help you decide, Jet Pens sent Monika and Marnie a handful of pens to try out and report on.
Here is what Monika had to say:
One of my goals this year has been to “explore” my artistic side. (I don’t know that there is an artistic side to Monika, though I do think I have a creative streak running through me! Ha, ha.) In preparation, I purchased this art journal from Etsy and have had it sitting on my craft desk. It’s been staring at me. Mocking me. Begging me to pick it up and create. I’ve been held back by my fear of doing it wrong. And making a mess of it. And imperfection. It’s that whole Type-A, first-born thing.
Tada! a finished page. Whew, took me long enough. The first of many, I now know. There was nothing to be afraid of, silly me. I love it all. Well, except for the words “art journaling” that I stamped in the upper left hand corner, but I have plans on how to make it better just as soon as I finish this note.
So, let’s break down this art journaling creation so that I can share with you which pen, all generously provided by Jet Pens, I used.
To make the doodled border, I used this pen in black by Uniball Signo. I am a big fan of the Uniball brand and I’ve used them in the past. The pen has a good ink flow and I knew it would draw a full, bold line for me.
To fill in the doodled border, this Pentel pen was used. It was my first time trying out this type of pen and I was impressed that it filled in the border so nicely for me, just the way I wanted it to look. It is double-tipped, with the other end being gray, so that you can use it for shading purposes.
For the sections doodled in white, I used the Uniball Signo, the same as the black one, except in white this time. Wowsers! LOVE that white pen. The BEST white I’ve ever used. You won’t be disappointed.
See the words I’ve written? I wanted a very thin, fine line for most of the words and to achieve that look, I used a Pilot pen. This was definitely a good choice for me. Sometimes when I am journaling on a scrapbook layout, I have a lot to write in a very small space and this pen will be my new go-to for just that purpose. The words in bold (let go, explore, fun for example) were written with a Pigma Micron which is no stranger to scrapbookers around the world. Always a good choice.
(As a side note, my one little word this year is joy...do you see how I snuck it in on this page? I used letter rub-ons from American Crafts for that word.)
I have only good words to say about my purchasing experience with JetPens.com. The ordering process was smooth. The order was received in a timely manner. The packaging was safe and secure. And the big bonus and what will make me want to order what I have in my cart over there? I can use my PayPal account for checkout. Yep, love that feature. I encourage you to become a JetPens.com purchaser today.
Marnie loved them, too:
First, I must admit that I have a bit of a thing for office products, especially pens. I love them. My order included all sorts of different pens. First, I bought my favorite journaling pens in five new colors.
I do lots of journaling on strips, and these pens are extremely narrow allowing me to fit more journaling on each page. That matters to me. If I use a fatter pen, I can write smaller, but it loses its legibility. The Pilot HiTec C pens do not. If you are small handed, the click model is great. If you have bigger hands, you may want to try the capped pen.
Then I saw that they have an entire category for white pens! Seriously? I brought home these three: a Pilot .07, an Uniball Signo .07, and the Uni-ball Signo Broad UM-153, the mother of all white pens. (You may just want to order the ten pack!!) You can see all three together here:
They are all great, but I must say that the Signo Broad was my favorite. It is smoothest flowing. Though certainly wider as well.
I used it again.
And again.
And it is going to be perfect to finish up the Valentine's Day cards this weekend!!
Having a love of grey pens (which are hard to find if you aren't looking for something silver), I ordered the Zebra Serasa. I totally love the color.
And it did a better on textured cardstock than my grey Copic does.
and look how many colors I can buy:
But my favorite new find is the Pilot Frixion pen. It is erasable. Truly erasable. Had I known, I might have just ordered the 12 color set. Or maybe the 24:
I love these pens. They let me make mistakes and not have to start all the way over. Check it out!!
The last things I need to tell you about aren't pens. Though one holds them. I got this and love it.
My goal is to buy another in a different color (there are 13 to choose from!) and separate out my pens my use between the two colors.
Lastly, I got these:
They cut through a glue dot like butter. (If only my fry pan could be so non-stick!!) And see that inner black part? It provides a sort of suspension to ease the burden on your fingers. (But beware of how they close--I caught my finger a time or two between the bottom of the handles before I got the hang of it.)
I love my products. Ordering was slick as a whistle, and my package arrived sooner than expected and packaged with care. Jet Pens was already my goto store as it is the only place I have found my HiTec C's, but now that I have found a few new favorites (white Signos, and those amazing Frixions) I now have even more reason to love them. Please take some time to click through their selection. I was amazed, not just by the different kinds of pens they carry, but also in the wide range of colors and thicknesses. And don't forget to order the 10 pack of the Signo whites!! :)
If you would like to be considered for today's giveaway, please take a minute and browse the selection at JetPens.com. Then stop back and leave a comment telling us what color of pen would best represent your mood today! And if you were so inclined, you could sign up as a JetPens Facebook fan or join the JetPens Flickr group. One more place of inspiration and one more way to save money!
Comments will remain open until 8:00 pm 9:30 pm PST (due to the technical difficulties, the post this morning was 1.5 hours late, therefore we we leave comments open for 1.5 hours later than normal. Sorry and thank you!). One lucky number will be drawn at random and posted tomorrow. Please remember it is your responsiblity to check back and claim your lucky number before midnight Saturday!!