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Olive Octopus
@oliveoctopus.ink
290 followers 120 following 100 posts
Lisa, she/her | Fountain pen enthusiast, ink obsessed, practicing watercolor, building Lego, front-end web dev

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There's one day left of a matching donation with $32 remaining, and my custom reward items will be available at least through the end of September!

tiltify.com/@oliveoctopu...
Screenshot of progress bars on St Jude campaign page on Tiltify showing about 1 day remaining with $218 of $250 matching donations used, and $1,742 raised so far with a goal of $1,800.
September 22, 2025 at 12:20 PM
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It's still September and I'm thankful for all who've joined me and @relay.fm to support St. Jude. I've put up a matching donation up to $250 through Mon, sent out several new thank you rewards, and look forward to more special streams this month—come hang out on Twitch!

oliveoctopus.ink/stjude.htm
Handmade A6 booklets made with twelve different fountain pen friendly papers and a medium brown cover, one side has 12 stained glass floral designs to color or paint, and the other side with labeled blank pages for writing tests. Handmade booklets about 4 inches square with a blush cover and two copies each of 12 stained glass floral designs to color or paint, on fountain pen friendly b7 Natural paper. Small papers about 4 inches square with stained glass floral and sea creatute designs to color or paint, printed on fountain pen friendly b7 Natural paper.
September 20, 2025 at 4:02 AM
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This was a recent pen acquisition to celebrate crossing some big things off the to-do list, and some small but cool things that have happened recently.

TGS x Hinze Taschenstift in CrazyFiber Violet Tendencies (M)
Diamine Vivaldi
Uncapped fountain pen, The Gentleman Stationer x Hinze Taschenstift pocket pen in purple CrazyFiber material called Violet Tendencies with dark gray purple metal section and pale lilac anodized nib, sitting on top of A5 notebook with writing sample of multiple purple inks, with the slightly gray purple Diamine Vivaldi ink featured in the center.
June 10, 2025 at 12:32 PM
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Bright inks may not be my wheelhouse, but despite being pleasantly surprised by the character in these TWSBI inks when first swatched I've rarely reached for them since and they deserve better! The bottles are nice too. I used 8 TWSBI inks to paint in the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving book.
Eight 18ml frosted glass bottles with TWSBI fountain pen inks Orange, Prairie Green, Emerald Green, Sky Blue, Navy, Royal Purple, Grape, and Pink. Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, Log of Elixir, open to page with design of roses climbing up a wall and a window looking out to a castle on a cliff, a ship, and the sky filled with a crescent moon and stars, all painted with those 8 inks, and a ceramic paint palette that looks like bubbles with colorful inks in the wells. Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, Log of Elixir, page with design of roses climbing up a wall and a window looking out to a castle on a cliff, a ship, and the sky filled with a crescent moon and stars, all painted with TWSBI inks Orange, Prairie Green, Emerald Green, Sky Blue, Navy, Royal Purple, Grape, and Pink. Closeup of a large rose painted pale orange on a page in the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, Log of Elixir. Eight 18ml frosted glass bottles with TWSBI inks Orange, Prairie Green, Emerald Green, Sky Blue, Navy, Royal Purple, Grape, and Pink, corresponding Col-o-dex ink swatch cards for each ink, and a ceramic paint palette that looks like bubbles with colorful inks in the wells.
June 9, 2025 at 7:16 PM
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<raises hand>
Closeup of a notebook page with a rough sketch of Murderbot, the main character from All Systems Red by Martha Wells, with the quote "I love you, armor, and I'm never leaving you again.", all in red fountain pen ink (Diamine Red Robin).
May 16, 2025 at 10:17 AM
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I painted with three scented inks from Dominant Industry in the Ink Archiving book today.

Bog Sage (Top Note)
Ylang Ylang (Middle Note)
Duftrausch (Bottom Note)

I also used Allegory to have a darker shade to work with.
The Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir open to a page with sketches of birds and a scene of a garden with a large gazebo with trees behind and a pool of water in front with water lilies, a large tiered bird bath, several birds including a peacock, and a cat, all painted with 4 Dominant Industry inks. Next to the book are 3 bottles of fountain pen ink and a paint palette that looks like a cluster of bubbles with the remains of drops of ink. Inks used: Bog Sage (Scented, Top Note), a bright light blue Ylang Ylang (Scented, Middle Note), a bright yellow Duftrausch (Scented, Bottom Note), a muted gray pink Allegory (Standard), a dark indigo gray A closeup of The Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir page with a peacock sitting on a large vase in the middle of a pool of water with lily pads, painted with fountain pen inks. A closeup of The Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir page with four birds on a large tiered bird bath and sculpture in a pool of water with lily pads, painted with fountain pen inks. A closeup of The Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir page with three birds and ribbons around rectangles of ink swatches and the names of each ink written nearby. Bog Sage (Scented, Top Note), a bright light blue Ylang Ylang (Scented, Middle Note), a bright yellow Duftrausch (Scented, Bottom Note), a muted gray pink Allegory (Standard), a dark indigo gray
May 12, 2025 at 12:09 AM
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All my palettes had leftover dried out ink and there are several Yamamoto papers I've only spent a little bit of time with, so I got out a pile of waterbrushes and pencils and pens and ponies and went to town on stream today.

...I've now added to my TGS shopping list, and am off to wash palettes.
A desk top full of ceramic and plastic ink palettes with the dregs of colorful fountain pen inks, several sheets of paper with colorfully painted ink ponies and flowers and an example of a letter with a colorful ink wash background. Other tools on the desk include water brushes and fountain pens.
May 4, 2025 at 7:01 PM
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I used fountain pen inks from my visits to Butler Stationery in Columbia TN for painting today, this page fit the colors and the day.

Troublemaker:
Sinulog Black
Petrichor
Moon River

Diamine:
Twilight
Merlot
Monaco Red

I always enjoy talking to Jonathan, stop by his shop if you ever get chance!
Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir, open to a page featuring dragons, phoenixes, and ornate eggs painted with fountain pen inks in blues, greens, red, pink, and purple. Troublemaker inks: Sinulog Black Petrichor Moon River Diamine inks: Twilight Merlot Monaco Red Close up of flying phoenix and phoenix wing painted in reds and purples in the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir. Close up of dragon with 4 legs, wings, a long tail, and open mouth, an outstretched dragon wing, an ornate egg, and a view of a baby dragon curled up in an egg painted in blues, greens, and grays in the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir. A ceramic paint palette that looks like a cluster of bubbles in varying sizes next to the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir, open to a page showing ink swatches for six Birmingham Pen Co inks and these inks: Troublemaker Sinulog Black, a dark greenish black Troublemaker Petrichor, a chromashading blue, green, purple Troublemaker Moon River, a gray, teal, and pink Diamine Twilight, a dark blue Diamine Merlot, a pinkish purple Diamine Monaco Red, a warm muted
April 20, 2025 at 10:50 PM
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I spent most of my day off today at Butler Stationery's new shop location in Columbia, TN visiting with friends, meeting new people, testing pens and nibs, talking inks, comparing papers, and of course finding some fun things to take home.
Interior of a stationery shop with dark green walls and warm wood shelves filled with inks, paper, notebooks, mugs, leather goods, pens, pencils, and accessories. A large table with chairs is in the back.
April 19, 2025 at 3:30 AM
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This is a great interview by Derek (dwrdnet) with Darrell (D² Arts), who made this beautiful, hand carved fountain pen I got at the Arkansas Pen Show. I talked with Darrell quite a bit at the show, but loved learning more about how he came to make these incredible pens.
youtu.be/dwKfK8bFx6o
A hand-carved, rich blue sparkly resin fountain pen from D² Arts with a spiral carved around the pen from end to end.
April 17, 2025 at 11:46 PM
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Good morning Atlanta!

Getting some fresh air before it gets ridiculously hot for early April.
An outdoor table with an oversize mug with the Relay logo, a manila envelope, small square purple envelope, Atlanta Pen Show badge for Lisa, aka OliveOctopus.Ink, green Newton fountain pen, orange Rickshaw Sinclair pen case, Rickshaw Inktopus Banzai bag.
April 4, 2025 at 1:23 PM
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Time flies but it's been so good to meet people, hang out with friends, and talk ink at the Arkansas pen show.

Yesterday I spent time checking out all the unique hand-sculpted pens from D² Arts and chose this beautiful blue sculpture that happens to also be a pen.

www.instagram.com/d_squared_arts
A hand-sculpted fountain pen in dark blue resin with a long spiral carved from end to end, resting on a pen sleeve of dark gray batik fabric with a pattern of cream color horizontal and vertical lines, and a business card for D² Arts, Darrell Davis.
March 23, 2025 at 2:15 PM
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Good morning, Day 2 of the Arkansas pen show! Let's see if I can level up my purchase yesterday with a new grind. I've been wanting something in this material for almost a year, and the metal accents really make this pen unique.

Magnolia Pen Company pen in Saturn's Storm by Pourly Controlled
Magnolia Pen Company fountain pen in Saturn's Storm resin material by Pourly Controlled, a swirly pearl amd black with bolts of shimmery orange and pink, and thin metal bands of copper, brass, copper accents near both ends of the pen
March 22, 2025 at 2:15 PM
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I picked out the most squirrely of Birmingham Pen Co inks and you'll have to take my word or catch me at a pen show to see how different these inks look in person versus a camera and/or different lighting conditions (not just white-balance)—it's wild.
A page in the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving book, A Log of Elixir, painted with fountain pen ink. The right page has several laboratory contraptions with glass tubes and vials and a cat peering into a large round glass, and the left page has six swatches and closeups of the items painted in monochrome, one for each ink used. Six Birmingham Pen Co inks were used: Ploughman's Pebble Saltmarsh Antique Sanguine Puce Lagoon Royal Prune Wilting Thicket
March 16, 2025 at 9:59 PM
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I needed to do some minor patching on a wall after rearranging things in the room I use as an office, so I decided to repaint with a new color to make it an accent wall. There are so many shades of purple but I think this rather bold shade of red purple will set off the batik curtain nicely.
Photo of the corner of a room with the left wall painted a vibrant reddish purple with a closed closet door painted white, and the right wall painted a light orange with a window and curtains made of an orange and purple dyed batik fabric with a dotted pattern.
March 14, 2025 at 9:31 PM
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As I'm making tea this afternoon I checked and realized I never shared my latest post here. (The RSS feed is way more reliable than I am.)

TL;DR I drink a lot of tea.
oliveoctopus.ink/lvluptea.htm
Tall ceramic mug with tea bags steeping, canister of Republic of Tea Dragon Oolong tea, and electric tea kettle heating water.
March 13, 2025 at 6:17 PM
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Three Taccia Jeans fountain pen inks—none of these are my typical shade of jeans to wear, but I'm really curious to see what Aqua Blue will look like in a pen.
Col-o-dex ink swatch card and sketch of overalls for Taccia Powder Blue, a light periwinkle blue. Col-o-dex ink swatch card and sketch of bootcut jeans for Taccia Aqua Blue, a light blue gray. Col-o-dex ink swatch card and sketch of tapered jeans for Taccia Black, a black ink with sheen. Three boxes of fountain pen inks in the Taccia Jeans series and corresponding Col-o-ring swatches. Taccia Powder Blue is a light periwinkle shade, Taccia Aqua Blue is a light blue gray, and Taccia Black is a dark black with sheen.
March 13, 2025 at 5:16 PM
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I'm two pages into the second volume of the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir, and having a lot of fun with it. Featuring orange cat energy and shimmer that's got me looking around for Link.
Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir, open to a painted page featuring suitcases, a pen and tool wrap, a book with a bandolier of potions, a canteen, an open suitcase with glass bottles, a book, and an upside-down orange cat inside, and a complex telescope tool. Eight Taccia fountain pen inks were used: Koiame (dark orange) Natane (yellow green) Sabimidori (dark teal, but very blue on this paper) Fukaki Hanada (light blue) Ainezu (dark blue gray) Aomurasaki (dark gray purple) Ume Murasaki (dusty mauve pink) Kurocha (dark brown) Close up of a painted page in the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir, showing an open suitcase with glass bottles in multiple colors lined up in the lid, a book strapped on the left side of the bottom section, and an upside-down striped orange cat playing on the right side. Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir, open to a painted page featuring stone ruins including a crumbling domed tower, close ups of a statue and column designs, and a scene of a round building with, pillars, a tall stone arch, and stone wall near the sea. Four Dominant Industry fountain pen inks were used: Allegory (a dark gray thatlooks indigo on this paper) Unknown Land (a shading medium warm brown) Seaweed (a chromashading medium green) Atlantis (a blue green with electric blue shimmer) Close up of a painted page in the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Elixir, showing a white cat snoozing on a short broken pillar amidst ruins of a round building with pillars, a tall stone archway, and a short, crumbling stone wall with water, more land and fluffy clouds in the distance. Electric blue shimmer highlights the designs along and above the top of the columns.
March 9, 2025 at 10:05 PM
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Despite everything, I'm enjoying the Colorverse state inks. I'm up to ten with two new ones recommended by a friend, Tar Heel is a soft gray blue and The America's Dairy Land ink is a unique, vibrant cheesey orange. These are fun to sketch because there's good box art to reference.
Two boxes of fountain pen ink and Col-o-dex ink swatch cards for Colorverse The America's Dairy Land (Wisconsin), a light cheesey orange, with a sketch of a cow and a barn with an orange cheese sky, and Colorverse Tar Heel (North Carolina), a light blue gray, with a sketch of a foot with a dark patch on the heel and faded footprints in the background. Col-o-dex ink swatch card for Colorverse Atchafalaya (Louisiana), a dark green brown, with sketch of trees and a crane in a swamp. Ten Col-o-dex ink swatch cards for Colorverse USA inks The America's Dairy Land (Wisconsin), cheesey orange, Atchafalaya (Louisiana), dark green brown, Blue Crab (Maryland), medium blue, Chesapeake Bay (Virginia), a medium brown gray, Country Roads (West Virginia), a rich orange brown, December 7, 1787 (Delaware), a dusty blueish green, Giant Potato (Idaho), a medium warm brown, Gold Rush (South Dakota), a gray pink brown, Great Plains (Nebraska), a dusty yellow green, and Tar Heel (North Carolina), a light gray blue.
March 6, 2025 at 12:18 PM
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I think the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving books are a great value, but any fountain pen friendly or watercolor paper is a great start, including any abandoned notebooks or planners. Also, when cleaning pens dump any leftover ink into a palette, just add water if it dries out and start painting!
Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book: A Log of Atlantis opened to a painted page of crabs and sea stars, small glass jar of rinse water and glass stir sticks to be cleaned, ceramic paint palette with ink in the wells, sheet of paper with a blank pony outline, sheet of paper with a painted pony, Pentel water brush with fine tip, clean glass stir rod.
March 3, 2025 at 3:14 PM
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The afternoon light is more dramatic! Here is the painted page of starfish and crabs.
Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book: A Log of Atlantis open to a page with a starfish and crabs now painted in with a variety of colors, a ceramic paint palette that looks like bubbles filled with different colors of ink, and a waterbrush. Nine Dominant Industry inks were used: Duftrausch (scented gray pink/purple), Ylang Ylang (scented bright yellow), Bog Sage (scented light blue), Arizona Sky Crimson (mauve), Earl Gray Tea (bright orange), October Leaves (shimmer yellow brown), Dusk (dark periwinkle with shimmer), Sunset (pink and purple with pink shimmer), Winter Night (Dark Blue Gray with shimmer)
March 2, 2025 at 8:51 PM
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Sunday Fountain Pen Painting stream starts right now! Today I'm using Dominant Industry Inks in the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book: A Log of Atlantis.

twitch.tv/oliveoctopus...
Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book: A Log of Atlantis open to a page with a starfish and crabs, a ceramic paint palette that looks like bubbles, glass bottles of Dominant Industry fountain pen ink, a waterbrush.
March 2, 2025 at 3:04 PM
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One of my first memories from the '24 Atlanta Pen Show was a big hug as soon as I saw her in the lobby, bookended by a meaningful conversation as things were wrapping up Sunday. Somewhere in between I got ink and this notebook I've carried to a couple more pen shows and many pen club meetings since.
A closed spiral bound notebook with a picture of the silhouette of someone looking up at an intensely starry sky, an Evoke notebook with Tomoe River Paper from Smruti Pens.
February 26, 2025 at 3:45 AM
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Today's Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book (Log of Atlantis) Sunday painting session used inks I got at the California Pen Show, I love these colors.
Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book (A Log of Atlantis version) page with a sketch of sea creatures including a lobster, cuttlefish, and several large, ancient sea creatures painted with fountain pen inks in shades of green, blue, yellow, brown, and purple. Inks used are: Lennon Tool Bar Wenshan Pouchong Tea, a dark gray green, Kobe Taiwan Alishan Green, a light dusty green, Sailor Mint Jelly, a light blue green, Colorverse Tar Heel, a medium blue, Ka-Ku Matchmaking of Money, a dark yellow, Lennon Tool Bar Sesame Oil, a medium yellow brown, Lennon Tool Bar Brown Sugar, a dark gray brown, Ink Mazeru M. Lovewell A Sweet Treat, Kobe Ginza Gold Sepia, a dark yellow-green brown, and Robert Oster California Pen Show 2025 Show Ink Golden Coast Amethyst, a dark purple with gold shimmer. A closeup of a page in the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Atlantis, with a sketch of a lobster and cuttlefish on the rocky sea floor painted with fountain pen inks. A closeup of a page in the Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book, A Log of Atlantis, with sketches of large swimming sea creatures painted with fountain pen inks in shades of dusty green, blue, and brown. Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book swatches page with 10 ink swatches. Lennon Tool Bar Wenshan Pouchong Tea, a dark gray green, Kobe Taiwan Alishan Green, a light dusty green, Sailor Mint Jelly, a light blue green, Colorverse Tar Heel, a medium blue, Ka-Ku Matchmaking of Money, a dark yellow, Lennon Tool Bar Sesame Oil, a medium yellow brown, Lennon Tool Bar Brown Sugar, a dark gray brown, Ink Mazeru M. Lovewell A Sweet Treat, Kobe Ginza Gold Sepia, a dark yellow-green brown, and Robert Oster California Pen Show 2025 Show Ink Golden Coast Amethyst, a dark purple with gold shimmer.
February 23, 2025 at 11:45 PM
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The Ink Pony Club welcomed some new members at the late night pen show hangout!

oliveoctopus.ink/inkponyclub....
Coloring sheets with the outline of a prancing pony painted in with fountain pen ink in varied colors.
February 16, 2025 at 8:27 PM