National Stationery Week with Artline - Writing matters

Hello!  Today marks the start of National Stationery Week so you can expect lots of stationery related fun and content from me over the next seven days!

#writingmatters

One of the main ideas behind NSW is to promote the use of pen and paper, to highlight the fact that writing still matters and to encourage more people to get writing.  Cards, notes and letters are so much more personal when they are hand written.  It’s not often I get excited by an email or message online but when someone takes the time to send me a letter or card through the post, that makes me feel very special!

I write for lots of different reasons including communication, planning, pleasure and work.  I send letters to my friends, I plan my life and I really enjoy spending some of my spare time lettering and practising calligraphy.  I can do all of these things electronically on my iPad but it just isn't the same as selecting a pen and getting to work in a notebook or on a nice sheet of paper! 

With that in mind I thought I would talk to you about the different types of pens I use regularly and why writing matters to me.

Every day pens

For general notes, reminders, work and planning I want to use a pen that is comfortable to hold and that writes smoothly.  A pen that skips is one of my pet hates!  Artline’s Ergoline range has an ergonomic grip designed for greater comfort and increased control while writing meaning I can scribble away for longer using these pens! 

Calligraphy pens

I love how calligraphy writing looks, all the fancy swirls and little flourishes make even the most mundane words look amazing on the page!  I have been practising calligraphy, on and off, for years now, it is something I always come back to and enjoy doing.  

Artline's calligraphy pens are great for learning with because you don't have to keep stopping to dip your nib in or worry about knocking over a bottle of ink.  You can just take them out of your pencil case and get started!  The pens come in a range of colours and nib sizes too so you can create all kinds of different looks without having to flush your nibs out or buy a huge collection of inks in different colours.

Brush pens and fineliners

Hand lettering is something else I like to do in my spare time,  I do a lot of it in my bullet journal and like combining different styles and fonts together.  Pairing Supreme brush markers with Artline 200 fineliners always looks fun because of the difference in thickness between them.  The fineliners lend themselves towards little details and patterns whereas the brush markers are great for swirling and swooping around the page.

Writing is a pretty big part of my life, I know I type my blog posts up on a laptop but they nearly always begin in a notebook or inside my planner!  I have written love letters and received them, I have kept cards from special birthdays and occasions over the years and now I can look back at them whenever I feel the need too.  Snail mail and pen pals brighten my days and I hope my letters are received in the same spirit.  Writing connects us all and gives us something physical to hold onto, it becomes a part of our own history and help us plan our futures too.     

Have a great National Stationery Week! 

Artline Tuesday - English Language Day

Today is English Language Day, a day to reflect on the all the things we love about our language and celebrate the written and spoken word.  I thought the best way I could do this would be to select some of my favourite quotes written by British authors and create a spread in my journal to mark the occasion!

Celebrating English Language Day

It feels like it has been ages since I have done any lettering so I dug out my Supreme brush markers and Artline 200 fineliners and started creating my pages.  For the title and date I used a blue fineliner to write the letters and numbers first.  Then I went back over the down strokes with my brush marker in the same colour blue ink to make them look thicker.  Doing the lettering this way was a good way to easy myself back into it as I haven't done any calligraphy practice for a while now and I'm definitely a bit rusty!

If you are just getting started with hand lettering this technique will give your writing the look of calligraphy while you are still learning all the strokes and what pressure to use for them.

Some of my favourite quotes by British authors

My second page is dominated with a quote from JRR Tolkien, I used the same trick to create this with my brush marker and matching fineliner and I'm really happy with how it turned out!

I decided to add a few doodles to the pages before I filled in the remaining space with lots and lots of quotes.  Some of them are from my favourite books and some I found while researching British authors.  I used lots of my fineliners to write the quotes and add some extra colour, I also wrote some of them in different directions to make the whole thing look a little more interesting.

My full spread celebrating the English Language

Have you heard of English Language Day before?  Will you be doing anything to celebrate today?

Thanks for stopping by!

National Stationery Week 2019 - the countdown begins!

Okay, so if you've been here a while you will know I absolutely LOVE National Stationery Week!  It is a week long celebration of all things stationery related and one of it's main aims is to get people writing and rediscover their love of pen and paper.  Well next Monday is the start of National Stationery Week 2019 and this will be my sixth year as a #NatStatWeek blogger!

Some of my NSW photos from the last five years

The sponsors this year are Derwent, Paperchase, Ryman and Stationery Supplies and starting on the 29th April each day of NSW has it's own special theme and hashtag which are listed in the image below....

This year's themes

If you want to get involved this year then here's some more information for you!

If you are a fellow blogger you can write about National Stationery Week and share the details with your followers.  You can review a new piece of stationery or share your favourite items on your blog and social media.  Make sure you use the hashtags too!

If you are a stationery lover then you can treat yourself to some new stationery and join in with the conversation and competitions online.  Also make sure you are following National Stationery Week on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and search for #natstatweek and the other hashtags in the image above.  I have made a note of them in my planner so I won't miss any of them!

If you are a stationery retailer there is a form you can fill in here to take part and give you access to campaign artwork and posters.  You can run special offers to celebrate NSW, host a giveaway or competition, create a special display (if you photograph it and send it to dan@smallmanmedia.com it might be featured on the NSW social media channels!) and join in with the fun online.

Right now I'm finalising my plans for next week, with a fancy pen and lovely notebook of course!  We are down to 6 and a half days until it begins and I, for one, can't wait!

Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Bloglovin' to make sure you don't miss anything and if you can't wait either then you can check out all my previous NSW posts here to keep you going until the 29th!