Ink Review #2022: Van Dieman's Spring Cloudburst

Van Dieman’s Spring Cloudburst is from the Tassie/Seasons collection. You can find this ink for sale at Vanness Pens.

The color:

Spring Cloudburst is a deep royal blue.

*For my swab cards I use a Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress, a medium Pilot Ishime and a Mabie Todd Swan.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has a bit of shading.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

*For my writing samples I use:

• EF Pilot Vanishing Point

• F, M, B Pilot Ishime

• Vintage Mabie Todd Swan (flex nib)

• Rhodia Goalbook

• Taroko Enigma notebooks (68gsm TR)

• Leuchtturm A5

• Pen & Gear Paper from Walmart

Dry time: 20 seconds

Water resistance: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: low shading, no sheen, and no shimmer.

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had some feathering and a few dots of bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Spring Cloudburst is closest to Diplomat Blue. Click here to see the blue inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Pilot VP Twilight with a broad nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, this is a lovely blue ink, well-behaved and a nice color. The downside is that there are a lot of nice blue inks out there similar to this one. There’s nothing about it that stands out as a must-have.

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.

February Hearts & Flowers

I have a love/hate relationship with February. By now it always feels like winter should be over but it’s not. I love having flowers in the house during February just because it makes winter feel a little lighter.

Valentine’s Day is halfway through February, but it’s also my birthday. I always try to make cookies with my kids on Valentine’s so they have fun decorating and I get a birthday cookie out of the deal.

My in-laws gift my kids with Conversation Hearts every February. It’s a fun tradition that the kids love. Everyone agrees that the pink ones are the best, right?

At the end of February I’m just ready for spring to come already, and flowers are usually the first sign.

I hope everyone is having a great February! What’s your favorite ink today? Let me know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own. This post does not contain affiliate links and is not sponsored in any way.

Winter Blues Ink Palettes

We are knee-deep into January which means I’m reaching for icy blues, dark greens, gorgeous blue blacks and cool greys. The weather has been cold and snowy, and we are spending most of our time inside.

I love the color of this water-it’s teal and gorgeous while still being wintery. As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to use Papier Plume Lake Michigan Winter to match it, but let’s face it, I’ll use any excuse to pull out that ink. Someday they’ll make me happy and do another run of it. There are a lot of other inks that would work as an alternative to Swan Illusion like Kyo-iro Stone Road of Gion or Sailor Ink Studio 373.

I’m still crushing hard on Sailor’s Sailor-it’s so gorgeous and has the prettiest shading. Sou-boku, Smoke Noir and Thunderstorm have been long-time favorites of mine.

I would love to live here-a cabin in the middle of nowhere, as long as I get to keep my inks with me.

I hope everyone is having a safe January! What’s your favorite ink today? Let me know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own. This post does not contain affiliate links and is not sponsored in any way.

Holiday 2020 Inks

Yesterday we covered my current favorites and an inky gift guide, today let’s talk about inks that are great for the coming holidays!

These metallic inks are perfect for any holiday from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. No matter what the occasion, these inks always add the “wow” factor.

• Platinum Carbon Black

• Robert Oster Gold Antiqua

• Robert Oster African Gold

• KWZ Old Gold

• Bungubox Ebisu Gold

• Robert Oster Heart of Gold

• Nemosine Coalsack Nebula

• Monteverde Smoke Noir

• Colorverse Anti-matter

• Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-same

• Diamine Grey

• Diamine Snow Storm

While our Thanksgiving is going to look very different this year, I still reach for specific inks each November (this one is KWZ Honey).

Browns and reds are my favorites this season, especially those with fabulous shading like Colorverse String and Taccia Tuchi Golden Wheat.

• Colorverse String

• Taccia Tuchi Golden Wheat

• Robert Oster Caffe Crema

• Monteverde Scotch Brown

• Robert Oster Toffee

• Monteverde Pumpkin Cake

• Diamine Oxblood

• Robert Oster Astorquiza Rot

• Diamine Mulled Wine

• Diamine Burgundy Royale

• Robert Oster Maroon 1789

You can’t go wrong with oranges and yellows in November.

• Diamine Autumn Oak

• Kobe Arima Amber

• KWZ Butterscotch

• Robert Oster Terracotta

• Montblanc Red Fox

• Monteverde Fireopal

• Kobe Taisanji Yellow

• Robert Oster Honey Bee

• Jacques Herbin Ambre de Baltique

• Franklin Christoph Honeycomb

• KWZ Honey

Christmas is my favorite holiday! There are so many great Christmas greens and reds that I couldn’t limit myself to just a few.

Dark green inks are perfect for Christmas.

• Taccia Midori Green

• Robert Oster River of Fire

• Robert Oster Spearmint

• Montblanc Irish Green

• Robert Oster Peppermint

• Diamine Woodland Green

• Diamine Holly

• Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-ryoku

• Robert Oster Evergreen

• Robert Oster Emerald

• Diamine Ultra Green

• Diamine Sherwood Green

Not only do I love the dark greens for Christmas, but there’s always room for some lighter brighter greens and of course some shimmer inks as well.

• Robert Oster Peppermint Candy

• Diamine Golden Ivy

• Diamine Magical Forest

• Diamine Golden Oasis

• Robert Oster Fizzy Lime

• Robert Oster Ryde Green

• Blackstone Lemur Lime

• Diamine Kelly Green

I have a love/hate relationship with red inks. I’m always on the lookout for my perfect red, so far the closest I’ve found is Sailor Jentle Irori, but it’s still a bit too bright for me.

• Diamine Matador

• KWZ Maple Red

• Sailor Jentle Irori

• J Herbin Rouge Grenat

• Monteverde Cherry Danish

• Robert Oster Red Candy

• Diamine Firestorm Red

• Diamine Crimson

• Monteverde Love

• Diamine Red Dragon

• Diamine Noel

• Robert Oster Clay Red

• Robert Oster Blood Rose

• Robert Oster Red Gold

I posted my favorite Christmas inks last year, and had a lot of requests to include Hanukkah inks this year.

I wanted to include a range from black to silver even though I know the traditional colors are only blue and white. White inks are almost impossible in fountain pens (yes, I know some actually exist I just haven’t tried them yet).

• Sailor Kiwa-guro

• Sailor Nano Souboku

• Robert Oster Tokyo Blue Denim

• Sailor’s Sailor

• Robert Oster Blue Water Ice

• Colorverse Horizon

• Diamine Moon Dust

• Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun

• Diamine Silver Fox

What are your favorite holiday inks? Let me know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: all photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page, and this post is not sponsored in any way.

February Pinks

I had this master plan to get this post done and published on Sunday, but sometimes my plans go out the window, so it’s happening today instead. In February I reach for a lot of pinks and purples. By the end of the month I’m so ready for spring I could scream. I live in the Pacific Northwest, and so far this month has been nothing but rain and snow. This first palette is all about the purples. I love all five of these inks-Sailor Jentle Black is one of my go-to basic blacks, and it pretty much lives in my Pilot Custom 823 (one of the best pens ever designed).

Pink is rather cliche for Valentine’s week, and since my birthday is on Valentine’s day I grew up hating pink, but it has really grown on me. Sailor Peche is too light for me to use in small nibs, but it works in a flex nib or for sketching. I’m pretty sure I use Robert Oster Cherry Blossom and Pinky every spring, I just love the colors.

And we’re back to purples. Pilot Iroshizuku Take-sumi is another of my go-to black inks. It behaves so well and is a great basic black. I love that Sailor Jentle Chu-shu rides the line between grey and purple.

I try to bring flowers into the house, especially at the end of winter to help beat back the winter yucks. Lilies are my favorite, and I couldn’t pass up these vibrant pink ones. Monteverde Moonstone is one of my favorite brown inks, and I use Papier Plume Garden District Azalea often. What inks are you loving this month?

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and this post is not sponsored in any way.