DIY Planner - Confessions of a Gel Pen Addict - Comments

gel pens

John Gray — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 00:43:19 -0500

I invented a solution to gel pens not working.
Get 2 feet of ruber tubing that will slip over the top of the pen..and blow as needed. Really!! don't blow too hard or the end will fly off the gel pen and go everywhere!!!total cost is around a dollar. try it and let me know what you think.

John Gray Canton oklahoma 73724

What I've had luck with

SusanBeth — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:18:52 -0400

Take one of those cotton 'pads' they sell for applying lotions and such, and wet it well with alcohol. Lay it down on a safe surface and try 'writing' on it with the pen.

The alcohol will dissolve any dried ink, and the pressure of writing on the pad gets the ball to roll so as to help the alcohol get to the clog.

Usually it only took ten-fifteen seconds or so to get the ink flowing. With a few it didn't seem to work, so I set those pens aside and did the rest. Then I gave the stubborn ones one last try on the alcohol pad, and all but one came back to life.

If you don't happen to have the cotton pad thingies, I'd guess a small stack of kleenex or even a piece of cloth you don't care about would serve to hold the alcohol and give a bit of friction against the pen's ball.

restart

gill_smoke — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:13:27 -0400

If you can get to the ink tube gently blow into the back, if you can't try a little heat at the ball point. What's happened is a little ink dried behind the the ball so it no longer flows. Once you get it moving you should have no problems.

Gel Pen Advice

Elle — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 04:38:35 -0500

Hi, I was wondering if you could tell me how to get my gel pens to flow. I currently have a set of 60 "Color Essentials by Aurora" and the majority of them do not flow well. Maybe 10 of them do. They still show the clear gel at the end and it isn't as if I used them all up....however, I have had the set for a long time (over 3 years). Is there a way to gain some use out of my pen set? Thanks!

black paper

Vi — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 16:55:51 -0500

Just type in millerpadsandpaper.com and then go to the side and click paper then click on gel ink paper. :D

Try this...

ygor — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 10:01:14 -0400

Link
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"I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." (Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Waterson)

black paper

cindy — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 02:24:37 -0400

I tried the link & could'nt get it. anyway I'm looking for a book, jornal, sketchpad.. anything that has blacl paper it it to use with my gel pens.. Find anyplace to buy them?
Thank You Cindy

Black paper + Circa/Rollabind = Notebook !!

ygor — Thu, 5 Jul 2007 16:22:03 -0400

A simple formula :)
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"I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." (Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Waterson)

suggestions

innowen — Thu, 5 Jul 2007 15:20:32 -0400

Thanks for writing in. Unfortunately, many stores don't carry pre-bound books with black paper any more. In the past, I've gotten mine from general office supply stores and stationary stores.

However, don't let this discourage you. If you go to your local paper dealer (I highly recommend Paper Zone) you can buy packs of black paper in 8.5" by 11" to which you can punch with a hole puncher and put into a 3 ring binder or, given a bit of sewing, you could bind some sheets together to make your own books.

As for the pens themselves, the Y&C Gel Xtreme series is metallic and writes very well on black paper.

Hope this helps,
/innowen

Gel Pens and blank paper

Anonymous — Thu, 5 Jul 2007 13:34:47 -0400

I am an artist and I teach art as well. I love scribbling and drawing with gel pens. I have been looking for a set of gel pens that are either metallic or glazed ink in any variety of colors. I love doodling with them as well. I have been looking all over for a notebook or binder type filled with black paper. I wouldnt mind adding other variety of colored paper as well. Can you suggest where I might find such a binder or notebook filled with black paper suitable for me to doodle away with gel pens?

I used to love gels!

ajay — Tue, 5 Dec 2006 05:42:52 -0500

I went through a huge gel pen stage! I (often actually my mum cos she is a teacher) get a big pack and I pick out colours. I tend to get hooked on one pen at a time. I have found that the more expensive pens (like the pentels you mentioned) are actually quite bad. The cheaper ones (to me anyway) seem to be better!
Being left handed, gel pens can be very horrible. Actually, using heaps of pens is hard, as well as pencils!!!!!!!
Everything seems to smudge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Exactly what I was looking for

PlaneFast — Tue, 1 Aug 2006 23:27:26 -0400

The black gel journal was exactly what I was looking for. But how in the world did you manage to find it? I googled "gel journals" and this site didn't come up.

Anyhow, thanks.

gel pens

Anonymous — Wed, 10 May 2006 12:55:06 -0400

My quirk with gel pens is for doing variety and logic puzzles. This just makes it a little more challenging and makes the puzzles look pretty. There is nothing more frustrating than pens that will write for a minute and then stop. I'm going to look for the Yasutomo and give them a try.

Gel pens & Black paper

Dianeo5 — Tue, 9 May 2006 11:56:42 -0400

HI, I just got off of the phone with Miller Pads and Paper, thanks to a poster above that mentioned their website on here. They are so nice to deal with and I was able to order 10: 4x8 to do lists on black paper with faint white lines and 10: 3x7 of the same. I also ordered 3: of their 3.5 square cube notes in black. They do not carry black post it's, but hey, I'm tickled with what I could get from them!!! They also carry the X-treme gels pens you all like so much, a package of them for $7, I think my total order came to $28 incl. the shipping cost! Not bad, IMO and I was thrilled to find this stuff in black! If you don't order via the net from them, they are alittle hard to contact, but will return your call, we kept missing one another! Just wanted to share this with all of you black paper, gel pen lovers!

Gel Pens and Dark Sticky's

Becky — Thu, 4 May 2006 08:40:32 -0400

Thanks for all the information on what gel pens you have found to be your favorites! If I happen to come across the blue gel pen you are in search of, I will be sure to let you know! I love reading everyone's opinions, and comments, on our favorite gel pens and paper!!!

Through all of your gel pen research, did you find any black sticky notes or pads? I bought some black stock cards yesterday at Target, but the pad is in multi colors, so not very many black ones, and they really aren't very practical for anything, except doodling on. It DID, however make me realize how cool it is to use the gel pens on black!!!! Now I really want to find the darn black sticky notes and utimately the black "TO DO" list!!! I checked one place that another poster told us about, above, called Miller Pads and Paper, cool website, but had a question, so called the number they have posted on their website and only got a recording, so left my name and number and so far no response back from them (that was about 3 days ago), they do have some neat looking things available in the black paper, but since they have not returned my call, I'm kind of leary to order from them....have any of you actually placed an order with them? If so, was your experience satisfactory?

OKAY GUYS! I know there has to be BLACK STICKY NOTES out there somewhere, but I sure have not found them, on the internet or any other place that I have checked out locally (and I live in Houston, TX) so one would think I could find just about anything! ha ha

Thanks again, sure enjoy reading all the posts!!! PLEASE share if you find any of this stuff we are looking for, I'm getting desperate...lol

Confessions of a Gel Pen Addict

innowen — Thu, 29 Sep 2005 05:00:32 -0400

All my writing books, creativity books and journalling books start off the same, "Get yourself a blank book and good pen that makes you happy and WANT to write." The idea behind this is that if you get a book and pen you like, that you'll be compelled to write often with the item you purchased. While it seems a bit capitalistic, I have to agree. As a matter of fact, I am making a public confession. I am addicted to gel pens. Gel pens are my ultimate writer's tool.

It's a horrible addiction I tell you. I write on black paper, with shiny colored pens. My favorite colors include blue and purple and green. The brighter the color, the more neon it can be, the better the ink shows up on the black paper. I'm such a color snob that I remove all the reds and pinks and take those into work. I write notes with those and annoy my coworkers with them as they get stunningly bright, on the white paper, under the fluorescent lights.

I even like gel pens with glitter. Which goes against my Gothy nature. And actually glittered pens work better sometimes. But, the type of gel pen that I love most isn't dependent on glitter or color or packaging. It all boils down to just one thing, the brand. Every trip to the grocery store, every trip to Craft Warehouse or Office Max, is not complete unless I can track down new sources of pens. It's been my quest, for several years now, to find the best, quality and price, set of pens. So far the best pens I have in my collection are Yasutomo Gel Xtreme brand. Stores that sell them make me the happiest girl ever. And I buy the packs in bulk, sometimes decimating the stock in seconds. If they don't, I scowl and am forced to look at the alternative offerings. They work awesome on both white and black paper and they seem to last the longest. The worst of the bunch, so far, are the Metallic Gel Ink pens by Pentel. They hardly show up on black paper and when they do, the color is all washy and you can barely read what is written.

Flying Colors came out with a pack they claim could be used as crayons for coloring in wide spaces. Even though I had already spent $20 on a case of 40 pens made by Geddes (picked up at Fred Meyers) I had to get them. What if they were the best and I didn't get them before they decided to discontinue the brand? As soon as I returned home, I ripped open the fancy plastic lid and started playing with them. They're okay. But they've got the great Crayola tradition of having fun names for all the colors. Colors with fun names like, "electric orange" and "glitter copper" or "plum".

I took the pens with me to one of the weekend artist play days I occasionally go to. The coloring gels were a hit. Everyone wanted to use them. They'd look at the name of the color and then try and explain why they chose it or how the color represented the mood they were in for the day.

The idea of playing with the pens and making them a part of my writing ritual and daily moods, lead me to start switching between colors in writing in my journals. It also gave me the freedom to play with the pens. Playing with colored words then lead me to draw abstract pictures that then became my first attempts at making art journals where I'd draw out an entry, rather than use words to describe what I was doing or how I was feeling. This has expanded my ability to write and draw and be more creative.

While playing with the Flying Colors brand were fun and the ink best suited for coloring in large spaces, they really cannot top my Gel Xtreme pens. I hope that Yasutomo never stops making this line. They've been a part of my writing ritual for years now. Without my pens, things wouldn't be the same and I'd probably be writing less. So, heed the wise words of the writing books and go out and explore what pens turn on your flair for the dramatic and artistic.

D*I*Y Planner - Confessions of a Gel Pen Addict - Comments

gel pens

What I've had luck with

restart

Gel Pen Advice

black paper

Try this...

black paper

Black paper + Circa/Rollabind = Notebook !!

suggestions

Gel Pens and blank paper

I used to love gels!

Exactly what I was looking for

gel pens

Gel pens & Black paper

Gel Pens and Dark Sticky's

Confessions of a Gel Pen Addict

DIY Planner - Confessions of a Gel Pen Addict - Comments