Free Font Friday - Anydore

This one's lovely, folks! I can't wait to make some fancy planner pages with it!

Get this fabulous font HERE.

Enjoy!

Free Font Friday - Oh Wonderful

It's font time again!

This is sooooo fun!  Get it HERE.

Enjoy!

Pen Review - Staples Felt Tip Pens

I'm a sucker for a pretty pen.

This should come as no surprise to you if you've been around me (or read my blog) for any length of time.  I see those glorious pen bodies, in all the colors of the rainbow, and I must have them!

I was a gel/rollerball pen snob for much of my writing life.  Once I discovered gel pens, I left the world of ballpoints behind for a better way of writing.

Then came 2001.  I started dating my husband, who was taking some college classes at the time.  We swung by the school bookstore one night on our way to dinner and of course, I had to check out the pen section.

In that moment, my life changed forever.

I discovered Staedtler Triplus fineliners.

As I saw the rainbow display boasting 20 colors of inky goodness, I knew I had to have them. (They now have more colors - Yea!)  So, I looked at Charles with my sweetest expression and he dropped thirty bucks on a set of pens.  This was the moment I knew he was truly in love with me, by the way.  I mean - if a man buys you good pens, you've found your soul mate.

From that day forward, felt tip pens (also known as fineliners) replaced gel pens as my favorite.  And 16 years later, they're still one of my most loved sets.

There's a fine line between a good felt tip pen and a fine point marker and every time I see a new brand or style, I must buy them.

Last week, I found these:

They were around $7.00, which is a decent price for 12 pens.

Aren't they beautiful? I know.  It's hard to stop staring.

I opened them up, took pics, then promptly started writing with them.  And they are pretty good.  They are no Staedtlers, but I don't regret buying them.  

One complaint I have is the nubs on the pen body. (As you can see in the pic above)  They hurt!  After just a few minutes of writing, my finger hurt from those prickly bumps.  I don't quite get the point of them - Maybe they're supposed to be a grip?  

As for the ink flow, I feel they're a little stiff but after you write for a few minutes, they loosen up and the ink flows more smoothly.

Would I buy them again?  Probably, but only because my goal is to have a set of every pen at the store.  Yes, I'm serious.  Don't judge me.

I will use them but not all the time.  I cannot deal with those prickly nubs.

And that's my 2 cents.

Some of my favorite fine liners (including the Staedtler's) are:

             

As always, if you use the links above, it helps support Pink and Paper.

Happy Monday!

Free Font Friday - Middle Class Script

Font Friday is back, people!

I used to bring you a fabulous, fantastic font every Friday (say that 5 times fast!) but I got lazy and that was that. Just because I wasn't posting doesn't mean I wasn't finding fabulous new fonts, though!  Here's one of my new faves:

Isn't it adorbs?  I just downloaded this today and couldn't wait to share it.  You can get it from my favorite font site HERE.

Enjoy!

Easy DIY Washi Tape Projects

I {heart} washi tape!  Like, seriously, I love it.  If you're going to have to tape something, why not use fancy tape instead of boring, clear Scotch tape?  My motto has always been "Why be boring?".

Every time I go to Michael's or Hobby Lobby, the washi tape calls out to me.  It's as though it's saying "Cheryl, I'm a sad, lonely roll of washi just looking for a good home.".  And just like stray animals, it jumps into my cart and I just don't have the heart to tell it no.  

My washi collections has grown exponentially over the last few months (thanks to those enablers on some Facebook groups I belong to) and I'm starting to get a good organization plan in place.  

This is ONE of my boxes of glorious Washi Tape!

Because I have so much tape, I decided to see if I could find some uses other than decorating my planner or envelopes.  Here are some great ideas I found:

1. Washi Notebooks and Pencils

2. Washi Tape Bunting

3. DIY Earphone Holder

 4. Washi Covered Drawers

5. Decorative Power Cords Using Washi

6. Chalkboard Washi Tape

7. DIY Washi Tape Switchplate Cover

8. DIY Cake Topper

9. Back to School Washi Tape Command Center

10. DIY Washi Tape Vase

I have several of these projects on my list to try.  I promise I'll share pics of my attempts when I do them!

Before I go, I thought I'd share some links to some of my favorite washi deals. As always, using these links helps support Pink and Paper and helps me continue to share fun things with you!

              

Happy Washi Crafting!

Why Budget?

A few weeks ago, I posted about budgeting.  After staying on budget, our first money goal is to get out of debt.  We still have some medical bills and things to pay off, so we're several months away from being totally debt free....but we're much closer than we were!

I belong to several Facebook groups, one of them being a Dave Ramsey Budgeting group. In this group, folks ask questions and share their struggles and victories with money.  There are several people in the group who have paid off all debt, have several months expenses in savings and are working on the rest of the steps in Dave's plan.

The other day, someone in my group posted about something that happened to her and she gave us permission to share as long as she remained anonymous.  Here's her story...

"Lunch today at Steak n Shake is a reason I'm thankful for DR. I saw a mom with 3 kids, she looked to be down on her luck they were splitting one meal, and she looked to be in a bad way. I sat next to her with my little one in tow, and asked if she was ok, she balled her eyes out that they are on the brink of being evicted if they didn't get the rent money and struggling financially. Her little one is in remission from cancer and she was scared they would be in a shelter. My little one was very sick when she was born, so I felt her pain. I called my hubby and we got their rent paid for the next three months and filled their fridge with food. They aren't even in much debt but medical bills have drowned them, I asked her to meet with me next week so I could help her and her husband get out of the hole they are, she agreed and has already called me 2x to confirm what she needed to bring. My husband even got her husband an interview at a friends trucking company for Monday. DR put us in a position to live like no one else so we can live and give like no one else. I'm so happy we were able to help."

I sat at my desk bawling like a baby when I read this.  This is what it's all about, people! How exciting would it be to look at someone who is struggling and know you can change their situation because you were smart with your money? I CANNOT wait until we are at this point.  We give to a missionary that comes to our church, we donate if there's a family in need and we give to our church - but I've never been in the spot to pay rent for several months and fill up someone's fridge.  

Someday soon, I will.  Someday, I will bless someone with a car. Someday, I'll buy a needy family a TON of groceries. Someday, I'll experience the joy of changing someone's situation when they think all hope is lost.  Jesus said to do it.  That's reason enough for me.

Pen Review - Sweet Secret

More pens to review today...  

I recently placed my first order with AliExpress.  AliExpress sells cheap stuff from China.  I love it!  So far, I've only bought pens and washi tape, but I've been pretty happy with everything I've gotten.

I am a HUGE fan of Pilot Frixion pens, so when I saw these for $3, I had to try them.  They are a knock off brand of the Frixion pens.  I figured if they were crappy, I only lost $3.  But I was pleasantly surprised - I love them!!!!!!!

Here's a close-up of the label.  If you'd like to order them, just search erasable pens and sort by price.  I am not sure of a brand and as you can see, most of the wording isn't in English.  

As soon as I received them, I sat down and tried them out, of course! I really, really like them.  The colors are vibrant, they don't skip and the ink is smooth.  

I feel like they don't erase quite as well as Frixion but they're pretty stinking close!

Although they said they were 0.5 (that's what the package said, but I'm assuming they meant .05), I feel like they write more like a .07 to me.  I feel the Frixion .05 have a much finer line.

If you want cheap pens, you should totally buy these!  I have had them at my desk at work for several weeks and they continue to work perfectly - no skipping or running out of ink.

Until my next pen purchase...

Wonder Woman

On Saturday, I went with some gals to see the new Wonder Woman movie.  Girl Power!

I was born in September 1975. The first episode of Wonder Woman aired on TV in November 1975 and the show ran until 1979. (In case you were wondering....)

I remember as a kid watching Wonder Woman reruns.

I. LOVED. HER.

Like, seriously.

Like most young girls during that time, I wanted to be Wonder Woman.  I had a WW costume, complete with crown and everything and I would just run around in it.  I thought she was so beautiful and so strong.  And who doesn't want a lasso of truth to catch bad guys?

Lynda Carter was so stunning - and still is, for that matter.  Have you seen her now?

  

Impressive!  I'm super jelly of her gorgeous eyes. And the rest of her, for that matter.

Being a lifelong Wonder Woman fan, I was very skeptical when I saw the pics of the new movie coming out.  First of all, I did not like this new outfit.  It was almost too dark for me. 

Second, the new WW seemed like she just didn't have "it".  Don't ask me what "it" is, but it makes sense in my head.  I just couldn't picture this gal saving they day.

After seeing the movie today, I changed my mind.  I really loved it!  She is gorgeous and the outfit grew on me.  I thought it was a great story of a sexy woman kicking some serious butt!  It had a good message as well and I can totally see Gal Gadot becoming a hero to many little girls out there.

She also has really good hair.

And can we just talk about that GLOWING lasso of truth?  Amazing.  I mean, I really want one.  No joke.  If I could buy one, I'd totally hang it on the wall of my craft room.

Now.... What do you think?  Which Wonder Woman is better?

I tend to lean towards Lynda, but probably just for nostalgia.  It's basically a toss up, but because of nostalgia, Lynda eeks out on top.

I'd love to know what you think...