one pen, ink, drawing and maybe a lipstick at a time

murberdraws

murberdraws

one pen, ink, drawing and maybe a lipstick at a time

Recent Posts

oh I broke a nail. why tonight?

I was all ready to post a nail post for those asking about my nail care routine when I went to the grocery store, unloaded my cart and went to grab it without looking and doh!  My nail broke and I couldn’t believe it because […]

Something blue

I had been waiting for a sunny day to take photos of the Aurora Optima Flex pen, but when you live in Seattle, the sunny days are sometimes few and far between so you just have to make due. The folks over at Kenro were […]

Kyo-no-oto

Kyo-no-oto

Wow, it’s been a while.  I definitely didn’t mean to be away that long, but yay!  I’m back.

Just a short post to stretch the blogging muscles again. Thanks to the furry son (@murraythefurry on Instagram) for keeping me company as I tried to figure out where and how to post again.

I decided to pick up a couple of Kyo-no-oto fountain pen inks to jump start blogging again and while anyone who knows me knows that blue ink just isn’t at the top of my wishlist unless it’s got something interesting going on like sheen or shading, Hisoku looked interesting enough to try and I’m glad I did.

I’ve used and tried Kyo-no-oto inks previously and I like them and knew I had to add No. 6 and 7 to my collection.  (I swatched the others on my IG feed back in February and you can see them here.)  For the newly acquired inks, what drew me to Hisoku was the dusty, mysterious blue that ended up having a bit of shading!  It’s interesting for sure and it reminds me a bit of DeAtramentis Pigeon Blue, just deeper.  (DeA PB is an equally understated blue that often flies under the radar.  Everyone that I’ve sent a sample to has been surprised and has loved it.)

I had Adzuki iro on my list since the first time I saw it earlier in 2016, but it proved challenging to find and for a while I thought I may never see it in person.  Luckily Lisa Vanness came to my rescue!  I added it immediately to the cart and within minutes of paying the invoice, I received a shipping notification!  (Mike Vanness sure does ship quickly.)

Adzuki really does look so much like the actual Adzuki beans that once can find under the Japanese treat, kori or in New Year’s rice or even in ice cream!  I love things that remind me of food.  On Top of Spaghetti was one of my favorite books in my youth.

Must … try … more … inks!

Lisa mentioned she should have more stock of Adzuki soon so be sure to sign up for email notification on their web page!

Chicago PEN SHOW 2017.

Chicago PEN SHOW 2017.

The Chicago Pen show has already come and gone, but I am posting about it anyway because PEN SHOW!  (also, that should always be in caps—once you go to a show, you’ll understand why 🙂)  I’m not sure what happens to an attendee of a […]

bite me.  #thisisnotafountainpen :)

bite me. #thisisnotafountainpen :)

I started this blog to talk about lots of things, but if you know me, you’d know I’m extremely interested in lip products. I wouldn’t say obsessed since there are other things that hold my interest (like fountain pens and inks and watercolors and nail polish! :)), […]

Write it down.

Write it down.

Keep a log.

It’s funny.  I have relatively more time these days and yet if I don’t write it down, I can’t always recall what happened just a couple of days prior.  I’m not sure what that is lately, but I’m going to be more consistent and capture the little moments so I can look back later and laugh…maybe cry–I hope not cry.  I’m not a huge crier–you can ask Mr. Murbers. That’s not to say that I’m not affected by things, I am.  There have been a few things in my life that have drastically changed recently. I’d like to get the the point where being upset could fuel huge, creative bursts of energy!  I’m not there yet, but I’m working on that. 🙂

If you’re like me, you’ve got multiple notebooks (many blank eek!  Two is one and one is none, right?) and lots of versions of the Hobonichi planner (how could you not want the teeny Toast plate?) as well as the Traveler’s Notebook formats. I’m working a lot harder on seeing what works and what doesn’t.  I’m finding the above format is quite good for quickly writing down what I was up to on a given day. The little drawing that’s taped in there is one of my 2-second drawings. I found it while I was tidying up the other day and wanted to keep it.

I’m also debating whether to use one fountain pen for the entries.  In a way I find it very visually appealing and cohesive to have a similar color running throughout.  I do have a week where I forgot my vintage nibbed pen while on a trip and used my trusted Franklin-Christoph 45 (my Cappuccino one) with MCI nib instead of the pen in the photo above (a Shinobi built for a fantastic vintage nib which PEN SHOW vendor Tim Pierson found especially for me) and even though it doesn’t have the magical flex that the above pen does, it still looks like it belongs.

WRT to this blog, the new format and software has a learning curve, but hopefully it will become 2nd nature like flossing my teef every day.  I’m a dentist’s daughter after all, if I can do that, I can do anything.

Hello Pens

Hello Pens

Oooo you’ve found me and here it begins.  My thoughts about a multitude of things will be laid out here…Pens!  Ink!  Makeup!  Drawing!  The Furry Son!  Reviews!  Whatever enters my noggin will most likely end up here.  It’s unusual for me to live out loud, so […]