I’ve been asked to review the basic tool set from Cricut. There are five tools designed for use with the Cricut machines and cutting mats: spatula, weeder, scraper, scissors, and tweezers. All of the tools have end pieces suitable for hanging and any metal components are well attached to the plastic handles. I’m going to look at each, in turn, discussing their use(s), before giving my overall impression.
With things being so quiet in the Studio at the moment due to COVID restrictions, I thought I would find something to hone my skills or add to my repertoire. Browsing Amazon recommendations (as you do) I came across a book ‘Adobe Master Class: Advanced Compositing in Adobe Photoshop CC’ by Bret Malley. The blurb sounded good, the reviews were excellent and it made it to my wishlist. And there it languished for a few days before I decided it was training and therefore a business expense. Purchased and arrived the next day (oh the joys of Prime). Here’s one of my completed pieces based on a tutorial from the book, alongside the source images:
A little while ago I reviewed a box of goodies from The Paperbox Ltd. Today, I continue the review showing a few makes along with some notes.
Well, it’s a strange world at the moment. I’m not in self-isolation, but I, like many other self-employed freelance workers, am finding things a wee bit quiet at the moment. So, I’ve been flicking through some art journaling magazines and came across a course I thought looked great. It’s ‘Digital Art Journaling’ from Jessica Sprague and despite it being published a couple of years ago, is still available. Here is a flick through of the finished journal and after, a quick review which I hope you find useful.
I’ve just received a sample box of paper and card from The Paperbox Ltd after they asked me to review them. Here’s my initial review (will do ‘in use’ reviews in future posts):
I’ve recently bought a new Bible specifically to journal in – actually I’ve purchased two (NIV & NLT). There are probably some people who think that drawing in a Bible is sacrilegious, but I see it as creative worship, and an extension of my sermon sketchnotes. As a pastime, it seems to have become very popular and perhaps a spin off from the adult colouring trend. Some journaling bibles even have illustrations waiting to be coloured. I christened my new NLT bible this evening:
It’s no secret that time flies when you’re busy! Lots of prep going on behind the scenes ready for my TV return next week, and a weekend away in the Lakes wasn’t exactly a rest, but it was a lovely break with lovely friends. But back to the here and now, and I’ve rustled up another art journal page. It’s been a while, but I have to make an example for Monday night’s art journal session in The Studio!
The highlights of this page are: brayer layers, and the newly available Molotow Liquid Chrome pens. These are alcohol based markers in various nib widths, and on a smooth surface, they really are impressively flat and mirror like when dry. I’ll let you know if they perform better than Krylon leafing pens after a couple of weeks of non-use. And I’ll let you know when and where you can get them – I’ve been sent samples to play with 🙂
One of the great things about my job is that I get to play with new products. Yesterday I had a go with a sample of coarse Decor Concrete from Pentart. It resembles sand when dry, and once the bonding agent is mixed in it moves like the magic sand stuff you can get in toy shops. It needs to be packed in a mould, and doesn’t mould round something such as a balloon as it doesn’t particularly stick to itself. A quick whizz in the microwave sets the bonding agent, and once it’s cooled, it can be removed from the mould. It becomes waterproof when baked at 200°C for five minutes. There is quite a lot of weight to the finished objects, and I’m amazed at how resilient the thin edges are. The finished surface looks like a light sandstone.
360° product shots are so much easier now I have a foldio360 to fit in my Foldio 2 photo booth. They still have some kinks to work out (such as coordinating with DSLR remotely), but so far, so good! All I need to do now is practice getting items in the middle of the turntable…
This disc was moulded in the inside of a finished roll of tape, and then imprinted with a stamp image [That’s Crafty! ‘Beck’] and filled after baking with a water-based black outliner paste. I also added the metallic gold to the edge. Both items required a felt base to be added to avoid scratching any surface they were placed on.
As promised in my previous post, I used spray inks and copious amounts of water on my test journals. I’m delighted to say that all three passed with flying colours. I wanted to check that the paper didn’t become saturated, there was minimal bleed through of colour to the reverse of the page, and that generally the journals behaved themselves when wet. Here are the results, the journals I used and any notes I made:
Frisk layflat Sketch Pad
This is an absolutely perfect journal – it is 300gsm, pretty much A5 in size, with a laminated cover and 20 pages. The pages really do lay absolutely flat with no gutter in the middle fold – it looks like Frisk have managed to fuse flat sheets of cartridge paper together to make the pages. There was no more buckle than I would expect from wetting any paper and no bleed through. A cracking journal!
Frisk Sketch Book
This is a 140gsm, 40 page, A5 landscape format journal with staple binding. It has a laminated black cover, though kraft covers are available as are other sizes. The pages are definitely a lighter weight than the layflat sketch pad, but are no less flimsy when wet. Again, no bleed through to the back of the page. An excellent everyday journal.
Hahnemuhle Travel Booklets
I used the small A6 size which makes for a dinky journal, but handy for very quick pages, or journaling on the go. At 140gsm with 20 pages, the twin pack of booklets features stitched binding. The paper was a little more absorbent, with the wet ink soaking in to the page faster than the other two. Even so, there was no bleed through the page and thus it passed the test. It also comes in various sizes.
As a result of my tests, I was happy to recommend all of them to Hochanda buyers in preparation for my art journaling shows on 16th June 🙂
I’ve been asked to review this book by the publishers, Design Originals, and have been provided with a preview copy. Other than that, this review is independent and I haven’t been paid for it.
Florabunda Style is billed as the next generation of zentangle, and the author should know, as she has written more than 200 craft and hobby books including the popular Zentangle series. With the rapid rise in popularity of colouring books for adults, this book seems ideal for those that are looking to create their own illustrations to colour and benefit from the relaxation that that affords.
The FloraBunda aesthetic is based on simple nature inspired doodles. The book is printed on high quality artist paper, and readers are actively encouraged to draw in the book with plenty of white space to practice in around the examples. The paper is of a sufficient quality to decorate with markers, pens, coloured pencils, watercolours and more. As well as providing more than 200 different designs the book also includes a selection of craft projects with step-by-step instructions. The reader is actively encouraged to experiment, have some fun, be eclectic, be whimsical and above all have some fun.
The book opens with a chapter on the various tools that you can use to draw the elements as well as colour them in. The following chapters follow a similar pattern, opening with a preview of all the designs, step-by-step instructions to draw them and examples of finished artwork by other zentangling experts. There’s a basic guide to plant anatomy, and every element of a typical plant is included, including stems, vines, tendrils, flowers and seed heads. There are tips and tricks scattered throughout the text, as well as snippets of encouragement to develop your own style and creativity. The book finishes with both a visual and written index of all the designs and projects. The author has a chatty style of writing, and even if you don’t dare draw in it, the book is well worth the read in it’s own right.
