Stationery addicts unite!

[Os]

Okay, for as long as I can remember--and way before I ever got into calligraphy, I've always been addicted to stationery. And not just pretty pens or notebooks! I'm also talking about washi tape and letter sets! I know I'm not the only one, so I started this thread so that we hoarders can share some of our favorite pieces of stationery, from notebooks to letter sets to pens and everything else in between!

Below are a few (keyword: few. I have so many more it's crazy huhu) of my favorites. Okay, I'll be honest, every letter set I own is my favorite! Everything is equal. And another confession: I've never used any of them! Like, ever. I really just hoard them and look at them (( I have a sickness, guys, please send help! 

Most of these are from Japan: some I got during my trip (to say I overspent is an understatement HAHAHA well, to be fair, I didn't know about calligraphy then. If I did, I probably would have hoarded inks, too!), and some I got from my father, who runs a Japanese Surplus Store. Unfortunately, my first letter sets which I bought in my school boutique in my primary years, were damaged during a storm here in my city

Anyway, I would love to see your favorite pieces! I'll upload washi tape too because I love them to bits (I use them VERY SPARINGLY HAHAHA).

[schin]

Those are lovely and you should totally use them.. calligraphy would be perfect on them

[Inked botanicals]

I have a sickness, guys, please send help! 

Oh my god!! Don't you worry, I am here to help! I see that clearly you need to send all your stationery over to me, and I'll sort it for you and only send back your real treasures. All the rest of course, I will destroy! Because there is not that hoarding problem around here, I only have the essentials, you know, the billion essentials writing supplies you need to live... 

[Os]

Those are lovely and you should totally use them.. calligraphy would be perfect on them

Thanks, Schin! I haven't tested them out yet (too scared to! What if the ink the bleeds! Omg virgin stationary! haha ) Most of the letter sets I own only have a few pieces of envelopes and letter paper in them in the first place. I'm thinking of buying cute letter sets with more pieces in them so I won't feel as guilty in using (omg what an excuse to buy haha) them. Just crossing my fingers that they'll be compatible with at least sumi or india ink!

[Suzie L]

Hi Os! Thanks for sharing your lovely stationery. All the designs are beautiful and cute! I understand how you wouldn't want to use them. But I think you will also enjoy using them, maybe for special correspondence with good friends. There's also something very fun and thrilling to see a beautiful envelope stamped, addressed and ready to go into the mail! I agree some of it might not take calligraphy ink very well but even a letter without a calligraphy pen can be wonderful.

[Erica McPhee]

Oh my word! I thought I was the only one! I have a full bin of stationary ... I have trouble sending them too. The cat one you shared! Love! 

I have started to get better about actually using them now though. I think for some time it was a guilt that I didn't make it so I shouldn't send it to someone else. But I'm getting over that. 

[jeanwilson]

one good reason to use up currently treasured stationery is that the styles become a bit dated. there are always new styles coming out that one will want to buy. the stack i kept for 40 years ended up being a nice memory for me to flip through - but dated. my daughter had a huge stack from her teen years. 15 years later - she looked at it and couldn't understand why she kept it - it was no longer something she would use. i sold both collections when i had a booth at a vintage store - where i unloaded tons of old stuff that we had both collected. i was recently visiting her and noticed that she has a new box full of stationery that she has collected in the past 5 years - but she uses it for current thank yous - etc.

[InkyFingers]

I wandered into ROSS, Marshalls, TJMaxx etcc.  looking for $1 to 5$ stationary... they are trophy to use as scraps and practice sheets.  Really nice papers and prints  ... feeling guilty at the same time.

[James P]

Being eternally forgetful, lazy and completely disorganized, I now have a real mish-mash of envelope sizes and a great accumulation of odd-sized Bristol board cut-offs and paper. I often use the Bristol board pieces that are of appropriate size for mailing short letters and notes. I write on one side,  fold them in the middle, write the mailing address on the other side, affix a postage stamp, seal the bottom edge with two pieces of scotch tape and mail them.

James

[Os]

one good reason to use up currently treasured stationery is that the styles become a bit dated.

oh my gosh, yes, Jean, I know what you mean! I remember taking a look at my first few stationary--the ones I bought at our school store--just before they got damaged and thought to myself: "Oh my god, this is ugly." Like, no mincing words at all! =)) My current obsession right now are quirky characters. The Japanese are into characters. They have stores dedicated to characters like Snoopy, Hello Kitty, Pokemon, etc.! It's not something that I see in my country, and I've always been a cartoon sort of girl (in contrast to tv series like GoT HAHAHA), so I was very very fascinated with Japan's affinity for characters!

Oh my word! I thought I was the only one! I have a full bin of stationary ... I have trouble sending them too. The cat one you shared! Love! 

I have started to get better about actually using them now though. I think for some time it was a guilt that I didn't make it so I shouldn't send it to someone else. But I'm getting over that. 

Omg, do share some photos, Erica! I'm more of a dog person, but the cat one was just too cute! Haha.

Much to my dismay, I've decided to take the plunge and use some--especially the ones with a lot in them. Although lately, I've been obsessed with paper marbling, and make postcards with it. God I love paper haha!

[sheila247]

I was lucky enough to be able to go to Italy in 2005.  I still have the stationery I bought in Florence.  It is so pretty......I finally used one of the cards a couple of months ago.   I am not sure what I am waiting on.   It is so beautiful, maybe I think my writing will take away rather than enhance it......  I have no idea.   I really should use it and share its beauty.   Great thread!


Sheila

[Os]

I was lucky enough to be able to go to Italy in 2005.  I still have the stationery I bought in Florence.  It is so pretty......I finally used one of the cards a couple of months ago.   I am not sure what I am waiting on.   It is so beautiful, maybe I think my writing will take away rather than enhance it......  I have no idea.   I really should use it and share its beauty.   Great thread!


Sheila

Would love to see your stationary, Sheila! Post photos if you can ^v^ And yes, I sometimes think that my writing isn't worthy to be put on my pretty stationary HAHAHA

[sheila247]

Here you are.... 

[evjo]

I took a workshop from Heather Held and we learned some techniques for those Italian designs.  Here's what I did.

[sheila247]

That is BEAUTIFUL!!!!  Wow!  I am impressed.