introducing: nina and other little things

My main gripe with UK stationery is that the range isn't as extensive as what can be found in Hong Kong. Over the Christmas holidays, I was spoilt for choice with at least one little family-run stationery boutique in pretty much every street with all items priced extremely cheaply too - notebooks were less than £1!

Anyway, when I was introduced to Nina and Other Little Things, my first initial thought was just how cute and beautiful the illustrations are. When the package arrived, the packaging didn't disappoint - the illustrated address sticker and the cute red dot pattern complement the equally beautiful products inside which held a notebook, three postcards and a postcard-sized poster.

Each and every item is illustrated beautifully with, for example, one of the postcards showing Nina sat on top of a pile of books. There is a line of text that accompanies the illustration above it and the other side is just as beautiful too.

The notebook came with a postcard sized leaflet that adds a story to the character behind the brand - a neat little touch. The notebook has a hand-stitched detail in the form of Nina on a swing and the notebook is hand-stitched together too.

The first page is just as beautiful as the outside:

All too often, I've found that beautiful notebooks are let down by the poor paper quality but I'm happy to report that on this occasion, this is not true. The paper is thick enough and exhibits no show through with the majority of pens (with permanent markers being the exception) and unless you are using a particularly wet nib, there is no bleeding either.

Earlier, I mentioned that the package included a postcard-sized poster that is made of thick cardboard (about 0.5cm in thickness!) and is designed to be hung up. I thought the quote lent itself quite nicely to a place on my bedside table so I've placed it against my lamp.

Personally, I think all of the products are fantastic. The quality of them back up the amazingly beautiful illustrations and would make brilliant gifts.

Thank you, Eloise, for sending me these samples - I think Nina and Other Little Things may well be my new favourite character and brand at the moment!

NB: Although I received these products as review samples, I have reviewed them just as I would have if I had paid for them.

stationery addicts anonymous, meeting #11: Jennifer

As you can see, I have tweaked my blog layout once again. For some reason, I felt really unhappy with how it looked yesterday so decided to change a few fonts and do some minor editing of the layout. I am still unsure about the font - I'm not sure if it is too small?

Anyway, onto this week's SAA meeting :-)

Today, we have Jennifer from Behind My Purpley Life revealing her three stationery items that she couldn't live without.

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Hello. My name is Jennifer and I am a stationery addict. As early as I could remember, my addiction started when I was in about the second or third grade. It all began while having to buy supplies for school. My first stationery items were mostly Lisa Frank and Sanrio. I had to have the coolest folder. I had to have a cute pencil/pen box. Remember those, the one with a lock on it so no one else could steal your pens & pencils, or the ones that had built - in compartments, sharpener, etc. As I got a bit older, I got into the sticker craze. I would have those sticker books, and girls would either trade or show off their collections. My addiction grew in high school and into college when I wrote love letters to my boyfriend- now husband. It was then that I collected cute kawaii stationery paper and glitter gelly roll pens. I still have paper that is too pretty to write on.

This post took me a while to write because I have too many favorites and narrowing it down to my top three items was definitely a challenge.


First, I chose Washi/ Paper Tape. This has been my latest addiction. I currently own 197 rolls of tape. Wow! That's a alot, I know! I use them for mainly decorating my Filofax, card making, and crafts.

Secondly, I love PENS!!! Just look at all those colors. Also, I am picky with the pens I write with. That's mainly why I have so many. I won't even bother to count them, there's just that many! These are my current favorites: Pilot G-2, Pilot FriXon Ball Reractable, & Pilot Hi-Tec C Coletos.

For my third item, I chose stickers. I use lots and lots of stickers for many different things as well. I take my daughter to buy stickers so that I can use it as an excuse to buy stickers for myself.

Thank you, Angela for allowing me to share my addiction with you and everyone else. Come see how I use these items at my blog or find me on Twitter or Instagram @purpley3!

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Thank you, Jennifer, for speaking out about your addiction. I love those Frixion balls - I want a set of each colour too now!

stationery addicts anonymous meeting #10: Gina

This week, we have another addict willing to share their story. Welcome, Gina, to the world of being a stationery addict.

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Helloooo guys! I'm Gina. I'm very excited to be featured in "Stationary Addicts Anonymous" hosted by Angela (thanks for including me!). So here are my "three" favorite items.

MONAMI Plus Pens

I caught these pens on sale on ebay and had fell in love with them ever since. The colors are just so perfect and they can be written smoothly on any kind of paper. I usually use them to decorate my journal entries or highlight important stuff in planners. Plus, they never seem to run out of ink ;)


Sticky notes and stickers

(And again, these are for my journal and planner.)

1. Mini sticky notes. They fit perfectly well in a square in calendars so they come really handy in planning.
2. & 6. Little stickers for expressing emotions and sometimes for example when I want to write "milk", I'll just a sticker of milk instead. Fun!
3. For bookmarking a special event or important stuff.
4. Masking stickers for decorating.
5. I usually keep one washi tape in bag because they're just so easy to use! And sometimes for decorating my journal.
6. Hello Kitty sticky notes. I actually bought this set in 2006 (woah). Yeah, you see how I almost never use them. They're too precious ;)


Notebooks

I have exact three stacks of notebooks, used or unused. But I thought I'd just show you guys my current ones.

1. Plain pages inside and this is a really thick one. I use it as a drawing book. Doodling, sketching, painting or designing... all inside!
2. My journal. I love blocks!
3. A typical lined notebook but with a lovely cover. I jot down my random thoughts, ideas and anything comes to mind in it.
4. Planner. My dad's friend's company designed and made this for their workers. They give my dad one which had his name printed in the corner. Since my dad is a so-not-organized person, he gave it to me. I used the masking sticker to cover his name. Inside is the monthly planner for 2013.

So what do you think? My "three" favorite stationary items :]

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Thank you, Gina, for being brave enough to share you story with us :) Would you like to be featured one week? If so, email me :) paperlovestory @ outlook.com

Remember, there are worse addictions to have ;)

stationery addicts anonymous meeting #9: @purplebag2

Apologies for the gap between these meetings. I have had a backlog of posts of publish and so that is why this meeting comes two weeks after the previous one. Before we get started this week, I just want to say that if anyone wants to talk about their addiction in an upcoming meeting, please email me at paperlovestory @ outlook.com :-) You are free to remain anonymous, of course.

This week, we hear about @purplebag2's addiction. She is choosing to remain anonymous, bar a Twitter handle, but I can definitely vouch for how nice she is (and that she is real!) :) thank you, for sharing your three favourite items this week :)

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I have been an addict of stationery for as long as I can remember, buying pens, notebooks, stickers etc with my pocket money as a child. There are so many things I have that I could write about including my Muji erasable pens but I wanted to be good and just stick with 3. These are my current 3 favourite stationery items, it took me quite a while to decide but these are the things I use and like most at the moment.

1. Sheaffer Delta grip ball point pens

 I found these in Partner’s (a stationery shop no longer trading) a few a years ago and bought a couple because I liked the look of them. After using them and realising how good they were and the price dropping to 49p I stocked up. I use them everyday both at work and home and think they are great.

2. Washi Tape

I found out about washi tape through twitter and blogs including Angela’s. It’s brilliant for sticking things in notebooks, my filofax etc. I love that there are so many different designs and colours and the usefulness of it. Most of mine was brought from Prints International in London and the Moomin one was from Artbox.

3. Mini Memo Pads

I only found these recently but think they are so useful to use in my Midori and Filofax. Sticking them in using a bit of washi tape instead of sticky notes works out cheaper and they are so lovely to look at. I got mine from the Artbox shop in Covent Garden which I love.

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I love the look of those Sheaffer ball pens. I'm not a big ball pen user but I do pick one up from time to time. I love how colourful they are :)

Thank you, once again, @purplebag2, for sharing your three favourite items (and possibly feeding some of the readers' addiction too!) :)

Would you like to be featured one week? If so, please email me at paperlovestory @ outlook.com :)

stationery addicts anonymous, meeting #8: Femke

After a few weeks (weeks'? week's? I'm unsure which one is correct here) break, I am back with this week's meeting. This week, Femke of Deligted runs us through her three stationery staples. Thank you, Femke, for having the courage to step up and speak about your addiction :-)

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Thanks Angela, for letting me be a part of the Stationery Addict Anonymous! Because I really need to admit that I’m a stationery addict. Always have been, always will be. My planner obsession is somewhat like Laurie’s, from Plannerisms!

Now, without further ado, my three biggest collections. I have to admit that my planner obsession will not be featured because it was too much of a mess to photograph!

 1. My pen collection. 

I don’t think you can be a stationery addict without having a pen collection. I keep them all on my desk and I use pretty much all of them.

 Stored:

And my favorite ones: 

 

   

2. My post it collection. 

I’m obsessed with post its. Not that I use them very often, but just looking at them is enough for me. 

   

These are my favorites: 

   

3. Washi/Masking tape 

Most recently I found the wonderful washi/making tapes.

   

And that’s not good because I’m addicted. It’s this bad that recently I bought 30 rolls of it during a sale of one of my favorite Dutch Stationery shops. 

I was going to sell some of it on Etsy, but I’m not sure yet.

Of course this is just a tiny bit of my stationery collection, which also includes notebooks, planners, folders and boxes, but that’s a whole different story ;-) 

Hope you liked my collection and thanks again, Angela for featuring me!

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Thank you, Femke, for agreeing to be featured this week :-) Do you have a stationery addiction? Would you like to be featured one week? If so, please email me at paperlovestory @ outlook.com :-)

stationery addicts anonymous meeting #7: Imy

Today, I have a special Stationery Addicts Anonymous post for you all! It's from Imy of Imysworld and she's done a video instead of a written post!

Hope you enjoy watching this as much as I did :D

stationery addicts anonymous, meeting #6: Rebecca

This week, I really do have an anonymous addict ;) She goes by the name Rebecca (real name or not, I'll leave that for you to decide) and there are no links to a Twitter account or blog ;)

Without further ado, here is Rebecca's three favourite stationery items.

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I found it hard to choose three favourite things but I just eventually thought what would I pretty much always buy when I see it in a shop!

1. Japanese Paper Pads

I love these little pads! My dad gets them for me when he goes to Japan with work, Every page has a different design on it and they come with a page of stickers in the front. The problem is I don't want to use any of them cause I can't get them back!

2. Cute Sticky Notes

I love love love cute little sticky notes in the shapes of animals or in bright colours. I use them in my work or through my diary. I tend to get these from Japan too or from shops like Artbox.

3. Composition Books

The final thing which I love are marble fronted composition books. They're great as journals or for taking notes at uni. They're not the best quality but I just love the classic design of them.

And that's it. The the three stationery items I am most addicted to along with many many more!

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I am really envious of these three choices! The Japanese pads are so cute and the notebooks - oh my, wouldn't you just love to see a bookshelf full of these with all of them filled?! I would!

Thank you, Rebecca, for being brave enough to talk about your addiction :-)

How are you all coping with your addiction? It was Christmas yesterday (this is a scheduled post, I'm not posting this today as today is actually my family's Christmas day as my mum was working yesterday. As a result, we are doing Christmas today!) so the question is, how many of you received stationery items for Christmas ;)

stationery addicts anonymous; week 5: Mai

Another week, another meeting. I hope you all find solace in the fact that you are not alone in this addiction :) This week, we meet Mai; a self-confessed stationery addict. 

Remember, the first step to conquering this addiction is to admit that you have one. Moreover, if you find your addiction getting worse in these initial stages - don't worry: it has to get worse before it gets better :)

So without further ado, let's hear Mai's story of her addiction.

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I'm only going to show you one component of my addiction. Just this one image alone can tell you that I'm an addict. As you can see, I have an addictive personality (only for stationery...and coffee). I have a love for washi tapes. I use them for scrapbooking (I'm an untraditional scrapbooker, it's more like tape cool stuff on a page rather than decorating it all pretty). I use them to decorate my planner. I use them to decorate my knitting tags that I attach to my projects. I use them to make personalized cards. Washi tapes are AWESOME!!!!!!!

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Thank you, Mai, for sharing your story with us. Hopefully, through empathy, we will all be able to conquer our addiction ;)

stationery addicts anonymous, week 4: Kate

Hi guys. Welcome to the third meeting of SAA. If you're are not familiar with this by now, please take a look at the minutes of the previous meetings: one / / two / / three.

This week, we meet Kate. Say hi to Kate :) We will now hear her story.

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Hi, I'm Kate and I'm a stationery addict!!

I can't remember when I first got into stationery, but at school I always had a few favourite pens, which were like my comfort blanket. I remember during a fire drill I dropped one under a table and I had to go and get it, even though the rules were to leave all our belongings in the classroom! My mum used to buy me pretty stationery, e.g. notebooks, pencils and erasers from museum gift shops etc, but I could never use them because I thought "Once they're used up, they're gone!"

When I was about 11 or 12 I got about £5 pocket money per week, and we moved to a town with a W H Smith, so every weekend I used to buy a new pencil case and folder- I had quite a collection! Ever since, I have loved stationery so much. When I lived in France during my teens, I couldn't buy much because I didn't visit shops very often, but the stationery I did have (like a folder with a picture of an x-ray of a hair dryer with little gremlins hidden inside) were my pride and joy!

When I was preparing to move to university, one of the things I was most excited about was stocking up on stationery! I decided that it was best to buy great quality stationery less often, rather than cheaper quality items very often because they were rubbish!

Since then I have discovered the world of Filofaxes, and all the cool stationery things that go with it! In the past year and a half I have discovered and bought some amazing stationery, and I love them so much! Here are 2 of my favourites (unfortunately, I couldn't choose a third that stands out about the rest of my rather large stationery and craft stash!!)

Lamy Fountain Pens

I love these pens! I have 6 Lamy FPs in total, but I could buy a lot more! I have 2 types, the Safari (plastic) range and the Al-Star (metal) range, but I guess the Vista (transparent) counts as a separate type, and I also have a red Safari mechanical pencil!

I love these pens because they are lightweight, perfect for my little hands, and are so cheap! I'm not scared about damaging them like I would be if it was a £100 pen! But they are so cheap that I can buy lots in different colours!

My pens have different thicknesses of nibs, because I selected which nibs I wanted when I bought them- from Extra Fine, to the standard Medium- I think this is ones of the beauties of the Lamy range, where the nibs are so cheap and easy to replace!

I use bottled inks in them, except for the Apple Green pen, in which I'm using the standard blue cartridge you get when you buy a Lamy FP. I love playing with fountain pen inks in proper bottles, which you put into a converter into the barrel of the fountain pen! Many a messy finger!!

These are the Lamy FPs I have:

• Aqua Safari, my first one!! I think it is 2011's limited edition special one! This currently has an EF nib, which is actually quite scratchy- I need to use it some more so it softens up! It has my beloved Diamine Registrar's ink in its coverter, but I find that the colour of the ink comes out a bit lighter than I would like!

• Pink Safari- I just love the colour of this one! It has a Fine nib, which I think is actually very similar to the Medium nib. I have a Diamine Cerise ink in here, but I don't really like the colour of this ink.

• Apple Green Safari- this year's limited edition colour! I love this colour- I was so annoyed that I had missed the lime green coloured pen from a few years ago, but when I bought the Apple Green I was really happy, because the colour is much nicer than the lime green Lamy, which is actually quite a yellow colour in comparison!

• Lamy Vista- this Lamy range originally served as a demonstrater pen, so that people could see how the pens worked- but they were so popular, they made them into a real range of pens! I mixed the ink myself, from the Diamine Cerise mixed with some Waterman purple, which has produced a nice dark pink colour. This has a Medium nib, which makes the ink come out a bit too thick for my liking!

• Black-Purple Al-Star- This is a lovely pen! I use it in my purple A5 Malden Filofax, with Waterman purple ink- I have had a real purple thing going on for a couple of years! It currently has a Medium nib, which makes the ink colour come out less deep than with a F or EF nib, so I might change it!

• Raspberry Al-Star- This is my main pen, with my favourite Diamine Registrar's ink in it, and an EF nib. I use this for my normal writing (unless I am using a cheaper pen).

It is my dream to eventually use up my cheaper pens, so that I only have my fountain pens left to use as my every day pens!

Sticky page tabs

I love these things- they are so useful! I use them in my Filofaxes, notebooks and uni books to mark sections, show where I finished my work, or as a 'Today' marker. I like using them on dividers instead of proper tabs because they are so flexible.

The beauty of these things is that they are completely movable. They aren't permanent, they are easy to remove or add as necessary, easy to carry so you can use them on the go, or you can build up quite a collection at your desk!

I use ones mainly from Avery, including the pink and blue medium sized ones, and the Martha Stewart for Avery tabs, which are a lovely range of pastel colours. They come in a range of sizes, from tiny to large. I also use some from 3M Post-It notes.

Here is a photo of my collection!

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Thank you, Kate, for being brave enough to talk about your addiction this week :) Aren't you just jealous of her Lamy Collection? And also those sticky tabs! A girl can never have too many ;)

Together, we can fight this addiction (or enable it hehe). If you don't already know, Kate blogs over at The Life of The Perpetual Student and also tweets as KateB_TPS, and she is lovely (trust me on this!) :)

stationery addicts anonymous, meeting 3: Millie

Welcome to this week's meeting. I hope that as time goes by, you become more willing to accept your addiction and may even pluck up the courage to speak about it at one of these meetings :)

This week, we meet Millie. *collectively* Hello Millie. Without further ado, let's hear Millie's story :)

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Hi all!  I'm Millie, and I blog over at Planet Millie.  Whilst my blog is a lifestyle blog, I talk about stationery a lot, so I guess it's natural that Angela has asked me to take part in this series on stationery!

I don't really have favourite stationery items, so this list was hard to compile.  Over the years, I've recycled quite a few items (and bought a lot more!), but I guess I don't really have many stationery items that I get attached to these days.  In the end, I could only identify two items that I love and would be sad to lose in a fire.

1.  Red Plaisir fountain pen.  I seriously love this pen (more than my Lamys!).  The pen is lovely to hold, it's pretty and the nib is a pleasure to write with.  This pen is new to my collection - I only bought it this year, but it was an excellent purchase!  Red is my favourite colour (along with orange) and the pen is such a vibrant, shiny colour.  For bonus points, this pen is dead cheap and can use a converter.  After a bit of experimenting, I've inked it with orange.  It's a match made in heaven!  This is my go-to pen for writing!

2.  Harley Davidson Waterman ballpoint.  My second favourite stationery item is a pen too!  But this is a ballpoint.  I use it mostly for scribbling and throwing in my handbag (never throw a fountain pen in a handbag!).  I've had this pen since I was a teenager, and it is one of my favourites for a number of reasons.  Firstly, my Mutti bought it for me! :) Secondly, it's a Waterman and so writes really nicely.  I don't really use ballpoints (this is one of only a handful I own), but Waterman do make good ones.  Like my Plaisir, it has a lovely smooth finish and is satisfying to hold.  Lastly, it's a limited edition Harley Davidson tribute, with flames on the barrel.  It was a present when I was going through my teenage motorbike phase (everyone has one of those phases, right?).  Sadly, I never did get a motorbike, but this pen is definitely a pen I would consider saving in a fire.
 
And for those wondering, my heart belongs to the BMW touring bikes range, but I won't say no to a Harley!

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I love love love the Red Plaisir fountain pen - the colour and the design is just droolworthy. Millie's blog is definitely worth a gander for more things relating to stationery, notebooks and also some interesting posts about the environment. And the best bit? Not only is the blog really, really well-written, Millie also lives in Lincolnshire (only the best county ever to live in).

Thank you, Millie, for being this week's addict. Remember, you are not alone. Together, we can overcome (or carry on enabling) this addiction we all share. :)

stationery addicts anonymous, meeting 2: Vanja

Another Stationery Addicts Anonymous Meeting, another addict to introduce :) This week, it is Vanja who blogs at Vanjilla. :) Enjoy!

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Hello, my name is Vanja and I'm a stationery addict - and it's calming to be in Angela's SAA group! :)

It all began early, when I was 5 or 6 years old and my mum took me on our regular Saturday's shopping mornings to a small nearby town in Austria (you must understand those were the 80's and while there was just the plain office stuff in our shops, they already had huge counters of colourful, fruit - scented pencil erasers from Japan - dreamland for a kiddo)!

I got to pick one from time to time (if I didn't already get a Kinder Chocolate Egg or a Milka or something else that day - I was much more disicplined back then, hehe) - and it was a truly happy event. Most of those erasers were never used, they were just too pretty for that and most of them are still kept in a box at my parents' - OK, some of them were eaten later by my younger sister, but please let's don't get into that traumatic part of my addict history...

So, for your eyes only - a glimpse of my beloved sweet smelling pencil erasers - mind you, they're over 25 years old! :)

My next love have always been pens. Never enough of them, my only condition was blue ink in them. You can ask my colleagues about the tantrums I throw when my current pen disappears - but I sincerely feel there's no greater office punishment than writing with a bad (and don't even mention - ugly??!!) pen.

There, and while there is much to be addicted to in the stationery world, my worst addiction must be notebooks. Any shape or colour, any size, spiral, bound and stapled ones.

Not just because they can be so beautiful but because there's so much you can do with them!

I'm known for turning each and every notebook I use into a planner-journal-my own comments and life's observations-correspondence with colleagues-shopping lists-comic... kind of thing, which is sometimes real fun to read (and sometimes a great horror of mine, when I lend it to someone and only later think of all that is to be found in there!).

I probably already have enough notebooks in my stash to last me for this (and the next) lifetime, but I add regularly; with all this digital thing going on, you just never know. :)

Angela, thank you so much for hosting me on your chic site again... and for infecting me even further with your posts (I honestly hope your next one won't be about Prada handbags...)... oh, and yes... and don't even think of taking my thing for stationery away, OK??   :)

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I love those pencil erasers!! I really want some now hehe. And the pens, whoa, all so pretty and so many different types, and those notebooks! The green tea one looks so cute too! Thanks for being this week's addict, Vanja :) Hope that this addiction long continues as I would never take this stationery addiction away from anyone (as I too, am infected hehe).

stationery addicts anonymous and my favourites

This is the start of a new series :) As you know, I already have the 'My Filofax Week' series going on, but I want to add something new and extra to this blog and so, this spells the beginning of another series. Each week, you will encounter a meeting for Stationery Addicts Anonymous. And each week, you will meet a new addict and then they will tell you what their favourite items of stationery are. I hope you will join me on this series - and also participate too if you feel this is a group you belong to :) Just contact me at paperlovestory @ outlook.com

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Hi, I’m Angela and I will be your group leader for Stationery Addicts Anonymous. Welcome to the group and I hope you will join us for these weekly meetings. I myself am also an addict. I own more pens than your average Joe, more notebooks, more sticky notes and stickers, washi tape, stickers... As a result, I feel I can empathise with your stories too as each week, we will focus on a member of the group.

Today, I will run you through my three favourite items in my collection. 

So first up; my favourite stickers. These are obviously my Rilakkuma ones. I'm looking forward to the day when I can head back to Hong Kong for a few weeks and stock up on more Rilakkuma items. I already have some hangers from there from my trip five years' ago and a key ring from two years' ago but I want to add more Rilakkuma stationery items.

Second, my favourite sticky notes. These are from Paperchase and are SO cute. I love the large, striped ones because they are ideal for writing lists on.

From the left: large, striped sticky notes, two circular ones with faces on, five tabs, two tabs, two mini sticky notes and another large, striped sticky note.

Thirdly, my favourite pens. Don't tell me you didn't see this coming! Muji gel pens. I love the colours, I love how they write and the price is quite decent, especially considering how well they write. I love the minimalistic design too.

Join me next week, where we will meet another addict! Remember, stay strong and together, we can battle (or enable) this addiction together! Until next week :)