Posts filed under Inkvent

Diamine Inkvent Calendar Day 23

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

December 23 is the day my husband and kids deliver Christmas Candy to neighbors and friends. I’m usually frantically making the last few batches, plating the candies, running out of Saran Wrap, and drowning in chocolate (not a bad way to go, by the way).

Today’s ink is . . . yet another brown! Hurray? Roasted Chestnut is a beautiful brown. I like it much better than Gingerbread. It’s a standard ink with good shading and a deep reddish tone.

On Rhodia paper it seems a bit lighter. I wrote with standard nibs during my nib testing (I use a dip pen with a flex nib for the Col-o-ring Card samples). Plus, I think the photo is a bit washed out. If you like brown inks, this is another good choice.

We always call December 23 Christmas Eve Eve. This is a tradition my mom started, and it was always the day my parents threw their Christmas Party. I loved that party. Neighbors and friends came over, everyone bringing yummy treats and drinks. Then my mom would play the piano and we’d all gather around and sing Christmas songs at the top of our lungs. My dad and I would compete for the highest notes on O Holy Night (him in falsetto), and I think he usually won.

Merry Christmas Eve Eve, everyone!

(Cult Pens provided the Diamine Inkvent Calendar to Pen Addict free of charge for review purposes.)

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Posted on December 23, 2019 by Susan Pigott and filed under Diamine, Inkvent, Ink Reviews.

Diamine Inkvent Calendar Day 22

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Happy Winter Solstice!!! I know, I know. If you’re an American, the Winter Solstice happened yesterday the 21st at 10:19 p.m. Central Time. But, if you’re British, the Winter Solstice comes December 22 at 4:19 a.m. And, Diamine is, of course, a British company, so they scheduled this ink for Britain’s Winter Solstice day.

Winter Solstice is the perfect color for celebrating the shortest day of the year. It’s a black (or a very dark grey) shimmer ink that evokes the night sky. I absolutely love that Diamine chose a black/grey ink for the Inkvent Calendar. I’m a big fan of the Ruth Galloway mystery series by Elly Griffiths. Her character, Cathbad, a Druid, always celebrates the solstices. This ink is a sparkly and beautiful tribute to the Winter Solstice.

The color looks good on white Rhodia paper and it works well in all nib sizes. But if you really want the shimmer to sparkle, I suggest using this ink in a super wide nib or a superflex nib.

Maybe, since I never did get my Christmas cards done, I’ll surprise my family by giving them Winter Solstice cards written in this ink! I also think it’s time to start a new family tradition of giving each other fountain pens on the Winter Solstice. I’ll let you know how that goes.

(Cult Pens provided the Diamine Inkvent Calendar to Pen Addict free of charge for review purposes.)

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Posted on December 22, 2019 by Susan Pigott and filed under Diamine, Inkvent, Ink Reviews.

Diamine Inkvent Calendar Day 21

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

One of the rituals of Christmas morning growing up was Mom making a fire in the fireplace. Us kids would wait anxiously in the hall with cold glasses of orange juice while she set the logs, stuck wads of newspaper in between, and lit matches. She’d use the old-fashioned bellows to try to coax the fire into action, but usually her ministrations failed and the house filled with smoke. She was relentless, however, and we had to wait, and wait, and wait, until the piñon logs started crackling. Then we’d hear the wonderful tones of “Here Comes Santa Claus” by the Ray Coniff Singers and that was our signal to come into the den to open stockings (and to sneak a peek under the tree to see what Santa had brought us).

The Inkvent color for today isn’t exactly a “traditional” Christmas color. It’s a fiery orange called “Fire Embers.” But I like that Diamine chose to include it, because a cheery fire in the fireplace is one of those things that made our Christmases special. This is a standard ink color, so it doesn’t have any sheen, nor does it offer shading.

It’s a vivid orange that looks good in any size nib. Some oranges are too pale to write with, but this one is dark enough that it has presence. It would definitely be a great color for artwork as well.

Even though The Embers is not a color I’ll be using for any Christmas writing, I like the shade. It looks like a perfect match for my Sailor Tequila Sunrise Pro Gear.

(Cult Pens provided the Diamine Inkvent Calendar to Pen Addict free of charge for review purposes.)

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!