Diamine Blue Flame with a Karas Kustoms Ink in Gold: Monday Matchup #127

A blue and gold illustration of a flame that reads, "Talent is a flame, genius is a fire." Drawn with Diamine ink and a Karas Kustoms gold fountain pen.

Hi there, fountain pen friends, Jenni here, bringing you my latest Monday Matchup. This week, I chose the Karas Kustoms Ink in Gold Aluminum with a Broad nib and Diamine Blue Flame. I was excited to be able to showcase the different colors this ink is capable of. Read on to hear more about my experience with this pen and ink.



I drew inspiration for this piece directly from the name of this ink, Blue Flame, which is perfect for this ink. It starts off blue then turns red and gold as it dries, like a flame. I wanted to be able to showcase that change and I knew I couldn't do it in a photo, so I made it a video Monday Matchup! There is something about watching the ink turn from blue to a red and gold that makes you realize this ink's potential. I also felt like this was a great opportunity to show people that you don't have to have amazing handwriting or artistic skills to achieve a cool effect with fountain pens and ink. For this piece, I chose to use my normal fast paced handwriting to prove that. When you have amazing tools, like sheening inks and a pen that can showcase that, it doesn't matter how gorgeous your T's look. The ink will far outshine anything else on the page.

To start, I drew a template of the flame on a piece of scratch paper then placed that under my page to use as a guide while writing. I taped off the border because I knew I wanted a clean line around the edge of the page. Then I started writing as straight of a line as I could. Whenever I got to a part that overlapped the flame, I left it blank and skipped over those letters until I got to a part that wouldn't be covered. By the end of the page, I had the outline of the flame in the negative space. I then drew in the outline of the flame. Before I started working on filling it in, I made sure to shake the ink bottle to distribute the sparkle particles. Using a pipette, I drew up ink and filled in the flame. After it had dried for a long time, I was able to clearly see the sheen in both my writing and the flame.

I was very excited about this pairing. I love this ink and I was so happy with the sheen I achieved. I felt like the pen really complimented the ink as well. If I were to do this piece again, I might choose a lighter pen however. I have small hands and the Karas Kustoms Ink was a bit heavy for my hands. It is a large metal pen. I feel it may have been better suited for someone with larger hands. It is a beautiful pen though.

A blue and gold illustration of a flame that reads, "Talent is a flame, genius is a fire." Drawn with Diamine ink and a Karas Kustoms gold fountain pen.
A blue and gold illustration of a flame that reads, "Talent is a flame, genius is a fire." Drawn with Diamine ink and a Karas Kustoms gold fountain pen.
A blue and gold illustration of a flame that reads, "Talent is a flame, genius is a fire." Drawn with Diamine ink and a Karas Kustoms gold fountain pen.
A blue and gold illustration of a flame that reads, "Talent is a flame, genius is a fire." Drawn with Diamine ink and a Karas Kustoms gold fountain pen.
A blue and gold illustration of a flame that reads, "Talent is a flame, genius is a fire." Drawn with Diamine ink and a Karas Kustoms gold fountain pen.

You can find the Karas Kustoms Ink- Gold Aluminum for $100 at GouletPens.com. Diamine Blue Flame is available in a 2ml ink sample for $1.75 and a 50ml bottle for $20.

Follow the directions below for a chance to win this pen and ink. We're excited to see what pen and ink you have matched!

How to enter Monday Matchup Giveaway:
  • Match a pen and ink together. They don't have to match in color, any fountain pen and ink works.
  • Take a picture of your pen and ink matchup. 
  • Find the entry details and instructions below on how to share your picture with us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or as a blog comment*. 
  • You can choose to enter only one way, or submit up to 4 different entries if you'd like. Feel free to use the same picture for all 4 entries.
  • Confirm your entry via the Rafflecopter widget below which will record your entries. This is how we'll draw a random winner. Since it's totally random, you're eligible to win each week! 
  • To see more of Rafflecopter's privacy policy, click here. Your email is never shared, and is only used to contact you should you win.
  • *Due to recent changes with the Disqus platform, you must register for a Disqus account in order to post a photo entry in the blog comments.   
a Rafflecopter giveawayThe contest is open Monday, January 30, 2017 at 12pm EST until Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at 12pm EST. One winner will be randomly selected and announced tomorrow once the contest closes. The winner must live in a country that Goulet Pens currently ships to. Click here to see the Official Contest Rules.

What is your favorite shimmer ink?

Write on,
Jenni

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