Where Has Winnie Been?

You may have noticed that I have not been blogging or visiting for a while.  After Christmas, I fell ill and was hospitalized for seven days.  I spent New Year's in the hospital, ringing it in with my husband and toasting with plastic cups full of ice water,  and it was rather depressing.  Thankfully, my doctor is working on my medications and soon I will be like my old self.  I will never take being home for granted again!

My blog relies on sharing my crafting with you, and since I haven't created anything lately, I haven't been able to share.  I thought I would share the Christmas card I made for my husband.  We both love fountain pens and I gave him two of them for Christmas.   I decided to make a tree out of ink spots with nibs for a trunk.  It was a lot of fun to make and he really enjoyed it.

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts, Hampton Arts
Ink: Wendy Vecchi Ranger Inks
Paper: Gina K Designs
Misc.: Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mirrored Stars, Twine

Speaking of fountain pens, while I was sitting in the hospital, my husband brought his laptop so I could watch my favorite YouTube videos to cheer me up.  I came across one on gratitude by SBRE Brown and after watching the video, I asked my husband to bring my fountain pens and paper the next day, and I spent the day writing thank you letters to various hospital staff who had been so helpful and kind while treating me.   By taking the time to show my gratitude, I feel as if my recovery was made easier.

I hope each of you had a wonderful holiday season.  Thank you all for all the fun and support this past year, and I look forward to sharing more of my cards and my inky fingers soon!!

Sharing Love with Fountain Pens and Ink (Anniversary Fun)

This week my husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary.  You may know my love of fountain pens and ink, but I am happy to say my husband has begun to dabble in the hobby.  For our anniversary, we both gave each other fountain pens and ink.  It was a fun surprise.

I always wanted a Lamy 2000 fountain pen, as I have heard lots of great things about them especially on SBRE Brown's and Goulet Pens website and YouTube channels.  The Lamy 2000 was first made in 1966 and that is the year of my birth, so that really made it special for me.  My husband loves Pilot Metropolitans and asked for a set (fountain pen and pencil). He already had a few of them and so far that is the only fountain pen he is interested in.  You may notice that I picked up a TWSBI USA this week. Lots of inky fun waiting for us to enjoy.

I decided to make my husband a card with a fountain pen theme to go with his gifts. I made a mask of a heart and stamped ink splatters inside for for the heart image.  The fountain pen stamp is by 100 Proof Press.  It was a hit and I was glad that I could merge my two hobbies of stamping and fountain pens.

After we use our pens and ink, I will share how they did!

May your fingers be inky, and your heart happy!

Lots of Inky Fun This Weekend - Went To My First Pen Show!

Did you ever wonder what would happen if you lost television for one day? Well, near the end of last year we did lose our dish for one full day, and my husband has teased me about the aftermath ever since.  During those twenty-four hours I busied myself watching YouTube and stumbled on two fun fountain pen lovers channels (Goulet Pens, SBRE Brown).  I watched them and was fascinated.  I developed a love for these pens and the wonderful inks.   So this weekend my husband and I attended our first pen show (LI Pen Show) at Hofstra University in Hempstead, Long Island.  Well, it was so much fun and I learned a lot.  I thought I would share my adventure with you today.

It was not a large pen show, but perfect for a local, or someone who is a newbie like myself.  I was very glad I got to meet Lisa and Brian Anderson of Anderson Pens.  I have heard their podcasts, and have read great things about them.  Lisa helped me pick out inks and Brian helped with our pen and paper purchases.  I also picked up an amazing leather clutch case after asking for Lisa's opinion.  I can't recommend Anderson Pens enough, as they really are wonderful.

My haul:

As you can see, I picked up a lot of fun things! You may notice that there are also three sticks of sealing wax and a metal seal that is in the shape of a gear which reminded me of my Tim Holtz/steampunk gears. My husband came home and made me a box for my pens using an old tea box I had and this red lining we picked up at the fair. It turned out so nice and I love that he was able to recycle and reuse an old tea box.

Isn't it pretty?  This is going to look great on my work desk and keeps my pens at my fingertips.

I am so glad that I have discovered this new hobby.  I think it goes hand-in-hand with my card making hobby.

Tonight I will be loading up all my pens with my new inks, and can't wait to write some letters. I am having lots of fun writing letters to pen pals, too! Maybe I should turn off the TV more often?