As a child we went on holiday every year in August and it would always be around my birthday. Some kids might have been upset at this, as it meant I never had parties but I loved being away on my birthday, as it resulted in a beach day, ice cream, the penny arcade and shopping.
I've loved to shop since quite a young age and when I was a kid the summer sales always happened around my birthday, so it was a joy to take my birthday money and buy myself a few treats. One of the things I always bought each summer was new stationary to take with me back to school in September.
It's always been a bit of a ritual for me to choose all the new things I needed for school - bag, pencil case, rubber, calculator, maths set, sharpener, pens, pencils and the like. I truly loved it and its a love I seemed to have passed on to my girls as well.
When I told them that STABILO wanted to help them get ready for going back to school, they were both very excited. The reason being, that they both received a pack of STABILO Pen 68 felt-tip colouring pens for Christmas three years ago and some of them are still working. When else, have you ever heard of well-used pens lasting for that amount of time?
STABILO is a name we know and trust as creators of cult writing instruments for more than 160 years and the company is still family owned which always says a lot about a company, so we were excited to see what they sent though to us to try out.
BL@CK + Rollerball Pens
We received a wallet of 4 rollerball BL@CK + pens, these are red, black, blue and green and have a medium width nib but they also come in fine width. I'd have loved these pens when I was younger as I am a messy writer as my hand goes over my writing and tends to smudge it, but that's not an issue with the BL@CK + as the free-flow water based ink system means hours of writing without scratching and smudging.
The barrel of the pen is also covered in an easy grip, non-slip covering, making it very easy to hold and you don't need to apply excess pressure. I seriously want to nab these pens off the girls and keep them for my journaling. I especially want to get my hands on the other two colours available - turquoise and violet. £9.02 direct from STABILO for the wallet of 4.
Both girls received a pack of 3 mini pastellove highlighters. They are a modern twist in a mini size, on the classic and iconic STABILO BOSS highlighters. These have been a big hit and will prove very useful for their school work come September. For now, Miss E has already started to use them for some of her art projects as there is never a day when she isn't doing something arty. £4.39 for three on from STABILO.
Both girls received an ergonomic pen designed especially by STABILO for children to help them
clear and fluid handwriting. These are designed for children age 6 upwards and realistically I don't think they will use them out of the house as at age 11, they both felt they looked babyish.
I like that there is a left and right handed model, so they can establish the right grip and above you can see Miss E using hers and she really loved it. Miss E struggles with her handwriting and is dyslexic so she doesn't find English a joy and she loved using her EASYoriginal pen as the rollerball just glides and the ink isn't messy. Both pens can be refilled and Miss E's came with an eraser pen, which she thought was awesome. I haven't been able to find this one to buy anywhere though, so maybe it is new. A single EASYoriginal pen costs from £6.70 from STABILO.
These really are our favourite felt-tip pens as they are available in 47 bright colours (this pack has 25), have really rich colour on the page and have a cap off capability of 24 hours before they start to dry out. Also, as I mentioned earlier they last for such a long time, we have some that are over three years old now and they still work.
The ink is water based and washable, as well as odourless, and they have a 1mm nib, which is just right for both colouring and mind-mapping/ doodling/ journaling. These particular ones come in a fabulous rollerset, meaning they roll up small enough for the girls to fit nicely in their school bags and the red velcro tie is sturdy and will last I'm sure. STABILO sell this pack for £39.60 but my advise is to shop around as I've seen them for half that money and there are often offers on in the Supermarkets and stationers.
In all, the girls are super pleased with their new STABILO pens and can't wait to get back to school to show them off.
Disclosure: We received the pens free of charge for the purpose of this review. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.
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