The Japan Rowan Berry Box is here!
See the contents and get inspiration for how to use them.
Do add your own suggestions in the comments too!
Wowee we might have to say that the Japan Rowan Berry box has been one of our favourites! We may have big boots to fill for next months…
This month we dove into all things JAPAN. The box includes…
- Pentel Brush Pen;
- Ceramic pen (or chopstick!) rest;
- Six sushi erasers;
- Ten journalling cards;
- Fifteen sheets of origami paper (also perfect for scrapbooking / journaling!);
- Washi tape;
- Two sticker sheets.
Sushi erasers
Ever had a rubber that was good enough to eat?! Well, now you have. When we saw these erasers we could not help but get them for this box.
WARNING: may bring out feelings of hunger while using them!
This box contains one beautiful roll of washi tape and two sheets of stickers. (Not sure what washi tape even is?! We’ve answered that question here.) The sticker sheets are printed on washi paper which gives them a lovely texture and almost translucent quality. A gorgeous addition to your bullet journal spreads or vision boards (yep that’s right, we’re manifesting a trip to Japan!!)
Origami papers
We couldn’t celebrate Japan without including some beautiful origami papers for you to have a play with. Whether you want to have a go at the art of paper folding or you use them as backgrounds in your scrapbooks - these papers are beautiful enough to keep forever!
Fancy having a go at some origami? Click here to read an article on Origami for beginners.
The Pentel Brush pen
Okay so this *may* have been a bit of an extravagance (RRP £16.65!!) but we just could not resist adding a real Japanese pen in this month's box!! Not only is it refillable with FP10 ink cartridges but the pigmented ink is permanent and won’t fade.
If you’ve always wanted to try your hand at brush lettering then this is the PERFECT excuse!
We would like to input a little note here though as including the pen in the stationery box didn't go as smoothly as we had hoped...
They are designed to be very inky but it seems that the warehouse team at Pentel primed the refill cartridges before sending them to us whereas they are normally sold with the cartridge separately. A few seem to have worked loose in transit causing the issue to escape into the body and lid of the pen! We hope this didn't cause too many issues when opening the box.
Beginners tips for Brush Lettering
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It’s all about the pressure! You can achieve thin lines when you press down lightly and thick lines when you press down harder.
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Use your whole arm to guide the pen - it isn’t like writing with a normal pen where you use your wrist and fingers to do most of the work.
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Practice makes perfect! It’s all about learning to use the pen in your own way. Practice with different movements, pressure and ways of holding the pen.
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If you are going to add more pressure, hold the pen at a 45 degree angle so that you don’t damage the tip.
For more tips on brush lettering for beginners then click here.
And if you have the basics down and you want to up-level your calligraphy, Millie from Brush Lettering wrote a guest blog post on Three Ways To Up-Level Your Calligraphy.
Japanese pen (or chopstick!) rest
When we saw this little addition we couldn’t believe how cute it was! And what better way to incorporate some real Japanese culture into the box than this little pen / chopstick rest. Whether you’re practicing your brush lettering or tucking into some sushi, this little guy will hopefully make things a little less messy!
