text stringlengths 503 33.4k | labels stringclasses 23 values |
|---|---|
I loved the art work in this paint by number kit. I loved the art work in this paint by number kit. Bought it as a gift but was really disappointed when opening the 'kit'. A small box with some paints, brushes and a folded canvass. I decided to revisit the 'paint-by-number' kits I so loved as a young girl. Thought it would be fun to give to the women in the family as Christmas gifts as well. Maybe I did not really read the description well enough to understand what was being said. This needs to be stretched in some way to paint on it. And the printed pattern on the canvas is somewhat confusing...to me at least. Someone who is used to this style of kit may love it. I will be returning it. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Terrible. Don't waste your money. I tried two cans and both cans failed. The first one worked for about 5 seconds, then it started fizzing clear coat and propellant non-stop. I had to bag it in plastic and put it in a garbage can outside overnight so it could run itself out. I returned it for another can with pretty much the same results. It didn't fizz non-stop like the first one, but what did spray was propellant and occasionally the clear coat (mostly without glitter).
After some online research, I found that this is a common problem. In fact, I read some reviews in which people had to go through 4 or more cans to get one that worked.
What did apply looked great when it was dry. Too bad the spray cans are a total fail -- otherwise the results would be excellent. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Excellent Palette. I'm a professional artist, art materials consultant and author of Making Art: Materials and Techniques for Today's Artist available on Amazon. I received this palette to evaluate. It is a good size durable, light weight palette with numerous mixing wells. I like the thank you post card that was included which also included a suggestion to rough up the surface area so the water does not bead up. Most artist would not think of this. Unlike other plastic palettes I have used, the dry color stay attached and do not release to float around and fall out during travel during travel. Thanks for the opportunity to evaluate. I will be using this palette. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
A nuisance to remove card stock from die. Spellbinders' 2012 releases started this annoying feature of no longer releasing the paper from the die unless you first placed a piece of wax or freezer paper on top of the die and then the card stock. Also, the color of the dies changed from a dull bronze to a bright copper. And the dies are now made in China.
Yes, the die cut is pretty, but getting the card stock out of the die is a whole other story. I work with intricate dies all the time, most of them much, much more intricate than the rather bold designs of Spellbinders, and I have yet to encounter such a nuisance issue with dies that are manufactured in America.
If you're only running the die once you may not mind so much having to sit there and poking every hole out to insure a clean cut next time you use the die again. But if you want to run it several times for more than just one card, this sitting over a trash can and poking out the holes even after using wax paper will make you swear under your breath. Made in China and quality going downhill seem synonymous.
As for me, until Spellbinders solves this issue, I think I'll stick with companies well known for their intricate and high quality dies such as Cheery Lynn, Memory Box and Poppy Stamps, Marianne, and even Die-Versions. For the price Spellbinders wants I expect more than what I am getting. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
First time A+.... second time C. I am a high school art teacher and I bought The Akua ink with my own money but it was really for some of my students who are interested in printmaking. The ink was very runny and not opaque as I had expected. Also, instead of getting red yellow blue and black I got red yellow black... and black, so can only mix red and yellow. it was disappointing because I had been to a CAEA conference workshop where the inks had been demonstrated and the ones I used were fabulous: I was very impressed but for some reason the ones I ordered just seemed of a lesser quality. Given the expense I would not buy them again unless I knew the quality control were better. Maybe I just got a bad batch :( | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Decent enough. <div id="video-block-R33HUR9K0CY85C" class="a-section a-spacing-small a-spacing-top-mini video-block"></div><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/C1g-zkppCnS.mp4" class="video-url"><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81CdS-9IIVS.png" class="video-slate-img-url"> Pros: light, thin, easy to use, ordered on Prime for quick delivery, good light on high setting, power by usb or plug in to standard outlet
Cons: price (value vs investment), inconsistent light on medium setting (occasional horizontal "ripple' across full frame), no carrying sleeve
I needed a light table in a hurry and ordered the AGPtex 17" (A4) LED Artcraft Tracing Light because there wasn't anything comparable available at local stores. It is a decent enough light pad to get the job done, but if you need to do a lot of precise work, I would recommend doing some research and possibly spending a little more. As I said, this one will get the job done, but for the price (almost $50), it does leave something to be desired. That said, I need to qualify this review with a little disclaimer: Long ago, I was a graphics specialist and photographer, and have recently had to revive my game after 20+ years for some projects. I've used various forms of light tables over the years, both for graphic design and for working with slides and film. The light tables I had used in the past were big, bulky boxes - literally boxes - that most often used regular light bulbs or light bars, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to my search resulted in lightweight, thin, and truly portable light pads. I purchased the AGPtek 17" because it had good (although not many in total) reviews, was moderately priced, and was a good size for a temporary solution to my needs.
On the good side: Every time I pick up this little tablet, I am amazed at the size and weight. It is thin (less than 1/4") and light, but it has a solid feel to it. The surface is completely smooth, front and back, so there are no edges to interrupt the flow of your work. There are small footpads on the back to give it a little lift off the table, which makes it easy to pick up and move around but also help keep it from sliding all over the place. The power connection gives off a blue light to show that the unit is plugged in to a power source.
On the "could be improved" side: I won't say "bad" because the "negative" points are really more about my personal preference and wanting to get as much "bang for the buck" as possible. The only truly negative thing I can say about this unit is that the medium light setting is flawed with a rapid-cycling horizontal ripple in the lighting, and the power button sometimes needs more than just one tap to change settings. That may just be this unit. I don't know. It hasn't really been a problem, as I mainly use the low or the high settings, anyway, but it could be annoying if I were using the medium light setting for long periods of time. My biggest complaints are that 1) the unit has no battery capability isn't truly portable and 2) for the price, it would be nice if there was even a thin cotton sleeve included with the unit. But to be fair, I knew it was corded when I bought it and there was no mention of a cover or protector in the description so I didn't expect one.
Overall, this is a decent little unit. I have only had it a few weeks, and only used it for one project. Time will tell if it is a really good value, and I will try to remember to update this review later. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Works, though I had to come up with own process. My primary complaint about the sheets is one won't cover the 'whole screen' but I've found regular scotch or packing tape will block out the paint just as well as the blockout goo.
1. When wetting down the sceen, I've found holding the screen vertically, and spraying it for a few seconds with my sinks sprayer and shaking it off made it 'properly' damp on a consistent basis. (If you do not have a sink sprayer, a garden wateringcan will achieve the same effect being water pressure is not necessary).
2. I set the emulsion sheet on the screen and use the squeegee to rub it onto the screen (again still upward at an angle)and this has always removed all the air bubbles for me, then flip it over and spray any 'dry' areas with a spray bottle, rubbing it in with fingers until all dry zones are clear.
3. I usually make my screen the day before my project, so that it has plenty of time to dry. I live in Louisiana, humidity central. So I usually do three cycles (or just let it air-dry in the dark overnight) and then let it stand an hour in the dark. Remove the protective sheet slooooowly! Ripping it off in a hurry guarantees tears in the image. If it shows resistance, work on the opposite corner of the screen and come at it from a different direction.
4. When exposing, Find someone good at tracing, and let them trace the image with a black permanent marker on the STICKY side of the transparency. This will make a deep black line that will completely block out the light and my screens have rinsed off beautifully since we started doing so.
With a little trial and error, I found the sheets very preferable to the jars of emulsion goop, if too small for a single sheet to cover the whole screen. Have masking or weak tape handy each time, and remove the tape during the screen rinsing process after paint jobs so it doesn't hold ink on the screen. We made over 25 shirts for a christmas party without needing the blocker. I only recommend that product for minor defects on the screen to extend its use-life before it has to be redone completely. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Not really a brush pen. The Sakura Pigma brush pen has some nice features but is severely limited as a brush. The pen doesn't has an actual brush but a long, flexible, conical nub that allows you some control to vary the thickness. But you can't really produce the tapered lines possible with a brush. It would be impossible, for example, to use this for Chinese calligraphy. If this is what you have in mind you should look at the Pentel brush pen or similar brands that has an actual brush.
The Sakura Sigma still has features that you can't find with other throw-away pens. It still provides a far more dynamic range of thickness and it's great for filling in large areas. But you need to be aware of its limitations. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Very good sketchbook. The binding might fall apart. I really like this sketchbook. I bought and filled up a few of them. The size and the weight of the paper are perfect for what I need it for. I'm okay with this type of binding, but the make is a little rusty. I'm not sure if the adhesive used isn't strong enough or if there isn't enough of it, but the book has a tendency to fall apart if you're not careful. I don't ever want to use tape to fix a sketchbook's faulty binding, but I had to in this case. Some of the sketchbooks of the few I ordered ended up fell apart a little, but some were okay. But other than that, I love these sketchbooks. I recommend this if a horizontal sketchbook fits your needs. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Practical yet Elegant. This has to be one of the most elegant paint sets I own!
Aside from the fact that Schmincke Horadam makes world class watercolors,
the presentation of this set is astounding to say the least.
This set comes with the Navy Leather Case, Schmincke 12 half pan paints and box,
1 Koh-I-Noor Hardtmuth Toison D'Or 1900 H pencil and a Grumbacher Goldenedge 4620 #8 Brush.
The navy blue leather case is fine quality, soft and supple and the white stitching really makes it pop.
The Schmincke logo is embossed on the front flap and is tasteful.
It was genius to have a place holder for a pencil and brush on the side of the holder.
The back of the holder is completely flat so it can sit nicely on any pad of paper while traveling.
With the flap closed this case measures 9"L x 3 3/4D x 1 1/8H.
This would make a fabulous gift for any artist or a stunning treat for yourself! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great Quality Color Pencil Set to Own. Love the quality of these pencils! The color is nice and vibrant for the adult coloring books. Can't beat the value you get with a set like this. I own Derwent pencils and a set of Prisma, the woodless ones are in a category by themselves because they are not super hard or soft, they are somewhere in between. I have enjoyed playing with them to see how they layer and blend. The only thing I would say is to watch the quality of paper you use them on, because like I said they are not what you would call an extremely soft creamy color pencil. Also the extended color range is a really wonderful edition to this line of pencils... | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Day 8 With the CM350. I have yet to really do anything with it other then to set it up and update the firmware. But, there are somethings that are immediately relevant to your understanding of the machine. The system has 2-USB 2.0 connectors; a USB "A" male and a USB "B" male. Their use is important for you to understand.
The USB "A" male is specifically designed to take a flash-drive (more on that in a moment). The USB "B" male is to connect to your computer. There are dire warnings in both the manual and the web-site about using the wrong port for the connection. It seems odd to me, because a USB is a USB and should be able to take data from any source.
The other point has to do with the flash-drives themselves. I tried to install the firmware update from a 64-Gb drive and it wasn't recognized. I then formatted a 16-Gb drive with straight FAT and it saw it. It may have been the drive size, the fact that the 64-Gb was USB 3.0 or the file structure. I will be calling Brother and see if they can narrow it down.
* * *
The ScanNCut 2 connects to the cloud based service Canvas to do all of the online work. It does NOT work with Firefox, works POORLY with Internet Explorer (very slow) and seems fine with Google Chrome.
* * *
According to Brother Tech Support, the USB ports (both of them) are effective used for limited communication. The "B" port will show up on your PC as a removable drive, but it's not bi-directional. The same can be said for the wireless card. It's good for moving files down from Canvas" but that's about it.
I am beginning to feel made a mistake. This is not fitting into my work flow as smoothly as I had hoped.
* * *
Well after making 6 cuts with the system my mat is almost shot (and it's getting cut up). I used the Brother guide for blade depth bases on material type and it still cut into the mat. So now I have learned to back off at least .5 on the cutting depth setting.
I've cut 1-sheet of plain paper and 5-sheets of card stock. (DON'T use plain paper! You will spend an hour getting the leftovers off!).
The first few cuts on card stock went well, but because of the loss of tackiness, the scan developed what I would describe as "chatter". Rough cut lines and edges on part of the cut. I brought the cut into Canvas and saw that, indeed those portions of the design were ragged.
So 6-cuts and the mat has lost the ability to hold. (This is not a new issue, from reading other post). Maybe it's time for the Krylon Re-position Spray and painters tape around the whole mat.
* * *
Between the Canvas software, lack of hands on classes (the tutorials are NOT showing what I need) problems with the mat and things that should be simple cuts (see 2nd image), I think it's time for this machine to go back. It is screwing up my work flow. 3rd image was not me tearing the cut off the mat. It was cuts not being aligned and completed properly.
The 2nd image was converted via Canvas with 5-color recognition and seemed fine. The end result was not.
Unfortunately I am going back to using laser color printed acetate for my clear work.
* * *
Thank you Amazon Customer Service. Today I set up the returns for the Brother and associated items that I purchased to support it. They gave me no problems, even when I explained that it had been used and that the mat was worn.
WARNING: If you are planning to buy this or any other machine in this range beware. If you are doing outline cuts or large, non-complex work its fine. BUT, if you are planning to do intricate small cuts and complex designs, forget. The machine can't seem to handle it and the Canvas software does not provide the granular control necessary to work.
I primarily work in Visio and Paint. Net. Even saving the drawings in .svg doesn't help. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Nice assortment of colors, but not the best quality imo. I love the color assortment of these pads, and also the metallic silver and gold stamp pads! For the price you get a LOT of colors. The ink pads are set up off the base, too, so you can ink larger stamps. The colors on these stamp pads are really vibrant. When I tested out the orange - it came out just as bright and pretty as it was on the pad.
The problem is that these pads are not very dense and the ink is pretty wet, so you are going to get muddier results if you are trying to stamp out something that is very sharp and precise. I tried making finger prints and didn't get any good prints as the ink didn't adhere to my fingerprint ridges, but rather came out on the paper in tiny wet droplets. I think that's because the ink pad is very spongy and not super dense. See the attached picture to see what I mean. Because of this, I recommend using them on heavy / thirsty paper to get the best stamp impression, and not to expect "professional" results.
Despite all that, I'm not unhappy with this set because of all the colors and the fact that it will do in a quick pinch for "O.K." but not super quality stamping (in my opinion and experience). They are a good bargain product that I think would be appropriate for kids who want to do some goofing off stamping, or for a crafter who needs a lot of colors and won't mind if the stamped product doesn't come out as sharp as it will with other pads.
I received these ink pads for free in exchange for my honest review. This in no way influenced my opinion, as all of my reviews are totally (and sometimes brutally, lol) honest. I don't always give out good ratings!! I buy most of my stuff online, so I really LOVE online reviews and try to make my own reviews as useful as possible and make sure to write details into my review(s) that I would want to read, if I were trying to make a purchase decision. Please leave a comment if you have any questions, and I'll try to answer asap! :-) | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Very handy colored pencil blender. This type of marker is perfect for blending colored pencils. The chemical (which isn't specified on the package) dissolves the wax so the colors blend without leaving the pencil lines in the colored areas. When the chemical in the marker dries out I dip the end in a tiny bottle of odorless paint thinner like Turpenoid and the pen will last as long as the nub doesn't get mushy (which depends on how hard you push on the tip when blending the colored pencils.) I really like that there are 3 markers in the package. I gave one to my grand daughter who had just taken a summer art class on using colored pencils, and kept two for myself. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Awesome Purchase. I had been looking for an easel that didn't require me to stand while painting. When I saw this item on Amazon I must admit that I didn't expect much considering the price, but again what really did I have to lose since the price was so low. When the easel arrived I was greatly surprised to see the quality of the product. The easel can be locked in place for painting from a 0 to 90 degree angle. The height can be adjusted to handle a pretty large piece of canvas/watercolor paper. The storage area is large enough to carry most of your painting supplies (of course watercolor brushes are supposed to be kept in a vertical position). The bottom of the easel actually has non-skid, non-scratching rubber pads. The hinges, latches, even the handle are extremely well made. I must admit that I actually use the easel while painting in bed at night. I shop for all my painting supplies through Amazon, and all my purchases have been great, but this easel is one of my favorites (except for my chromebook). | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Faber-Castell artist pens (Pitt basic colors. Colors: Pink Carmine, Dark Chrome Yellow, Manganese Violet, Phthalo Blue, Permanent Green Olive, Cadmium Yellow
Pros:
Dries fast
Standard, classic colors
Long lasting
Cons:
The package says waterproof but the ink runs when in contact with water. Only a base line (colorless) will remain permanently if artwork gets wet.
Two yellow? Come on. The cadmium yellow is so light it's hard to see.
These colors have been used as a complementary set and paired with basic colors from other brands. The result of using these pens has always been appealing. I'm proud of this set because they weren't expensive, and I wasn't expecting much. Glad to be proven wrong. The brush-like tips are good for applying the pen in a paint motion. Made in Germany. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Not a great non-photo blue. Not a huge fan of Prisma's non-photo blue, but it was partly my error as I didn't realize it was a soft lead. The lead was so soft that even a light sketch would come out dark and heavy, and the lead broke so often that I blew through 2/3 of the pencil sketching one comic. The point of non-photo blue is to not show up in a scanned copy, allowing outlines to be isolated easily. The dark marks left by this pencil actually showed up as a light gray after scanning, requiring extra clean up with my art software.
Overall, not my fave. It would probably work fine as color in a traditional piece, but it's not great for scanning. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Best small sketchbook available IMHO. I *love* these things -- small enough to carry around with you. Use it as a sketch diary, a logbook, a notebook, whatever. The paper is a bit on the smooth side, but it's a tough little book that will not drop pages, it's properly bound. You NEED one of these. Even if you don't set out intending to use this to keep track of your activities over time, it works out that way, it's fun to look back over the years and even decades of sketches and doodles and reminders of where you were, what you were doing, who you were with. Easily worth the price. These 5.5" x 8.5" sketchbooks are invaluable. And, best of all, every page is gloriously BLANK, no one second-guessing what you might was to do with the paper, no lines, grids, calendar squares, all the dubious "features" some bound books have. You find your own way home. Very nice sketchbook, very nice, indeed! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Works well, locks loudly, consult google for directions. So far I really love this machine. Its a bit heavy but thats expected. The instructions were very minimal. I have to use google to figure out that my pressure was too high and thats why I couldn't get it back open without using some muscle. I really don't like that when I click it down to lock it, theres a screw that it hits and it makes a loud noise. No avoiding that. Otherwise easy to use. Well worth the money. I bought the 3 yr warranty that was recommended. I noticed a chemical smell using it which Im guessing is considered the burn off. I used it right out of the box and didn't notice issues with my shirts. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Good Stuff . I bought this primer in white only because I intended to paint pearlized white over it as my base coat and that is semi transparent. I think I will get some gray and black as well along the way. Anyway, the long and short of it is I really like this primer. I've used it on plastic and on wood so far with good results. I do find I need to thin it a bit to be able to layer the paint and build it up as I want it vs blasting on one thick coat. I thinned it with a combo of Liquitex Airbrush Medium ( designed to be used in all acrylic paints and retain the medium base of the paint) and my own thinner I make up, I cut the primer maybe 15-20% or so and it sprays out of my Badger 200 with a medium nozzle very smoothly. I only gave it 4 stars because white is not my favorite primer color at all but was needed because of this pearlized white base I was shooting on top of it. No fault with the paint, just me.
I find that plastic does need a scuff before spraying so it can get a good grip to a smooth plastic surface. No scuffing and you can scrape it off but scuffed it won't scrape off, at least not easily. This primer sands well too fwiw, I use OOO steel wool to scuff it. Probably even OO would work well since OOO produces almost a slight sheen to the surface. But the pearlized white went right to it fine and subsequent coats of various other colors to that as well. No sign of lifting or chipping thus far. Yep along the way I'll pick up some gray and or black as well. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
but I'm very happy with it's performance to date. I'm still learning about all this machine can do, but I'm very happy with it's performance to date. The best part is it is a stand-alone machine as well as connecting to internet. You can go through the internet if you choose but it's not necessary. An image can be scanned and saved directly to the machine, a jump drive, or to internet files. It cuts paper, fabric, leather, poster board, and more. Most users will use the ScanNCut 2 for scrapbooking, card and other paper project making, and quilting. I bought it to cut out patterns for cutting out stained glass. The only negative I've found so far is that the operations manual on CD is confusing. Including videos would be much more helpful. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Can be used as pencils alone or as watercolors. I've recently taken up adult coloring and was looking to start Bible Journaling, this set is perfect for and will work great in my Bible Journaling.
I feel like for the price this is a very nice set of pencils. I received the 48 different colored pencils, eraser, small sharpener, watercolor blending brush as well as the canvas case to hold them.
-The pencils are 48 individual colors. They work exactly like regular pencils, the water color is an added feature. The colors aren't named or marked with any indication or name of the color other than the paint on the pencil itself. The pencils are regular hexagon shape, and have a small paint brush with the works COROT Watercolour 7728 written on them. When I opened my box two of the pencils had broken tips but they sharpened very easily with the included sharpener. All of the colors seem to vary with the exception of 2 yellow and 2 orange colors that are so close to being alike it is very hard to tell there is a difference at all in the colors.
-The sharpener works well and is your basic plastic pencil sharpener. No frills at all and very basic, made of a lightweight plastic. It works it's just not a high quality item.
-The eraser works well, as expect and again it is just your basic everyday eraser by Faber Castell, no frills there.
-The watercolor blending brush is a #2 brush with a maroon handle.
-The foldable canvas storage case is nice, put together well, features a faux leather flap to protect the pencil tips when traveling. The case offers storage areas for each item included and features the industry standard button snap closure.
Overall, this is a decent set of watercolor pencils with everything needed to go right to drawing. The pencils work well and blend nicely with the blending brush. Everything in the set works well. Decent value for the asking price.
*I was provided a sample of this product at a reduced price for testing and review. No promise was made for a positive review. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
I have gone through 3-4 book stands and this one is by far the best one I have ever owned. I am a full time student and I spend a lot of time reading, so naturally I decided to buy a book stand to ease the tension on my neck and back. I have gone through 3-4 book stands and this one is by far the best one I have ever owned. From big thick textbooks to small paperback books, this stand securely holds them all. I even use it as a stand to hold my 13" macbook pro. I love how it folds flush so it is easy to put in and out of my backpack. I highly recommend this book stand to any student or anyone who spends a good amount of time reading. For the price, this stand is a steal. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Compared to Jen Foam Brushes & HD Brushes. -The Jen foam brushes cost three bucks more for a 48 pack.
-Jen brushes are made in the USA, these Darice brushes are made in China.
-Jen's have a fairly solid wood handle, much more comfy than Darice's paper thin plastic.
-The internal plastic support on these travels only half-way up the foam, so not only do you have a floppy mess of an ineffective brush, but 5 minutes into use the internal support will tear thru the foam:< The internal support on the Jen brush travels almost to the very tip, and even after heavy use stays in it's place:)
-The foam itself on these has a "glitteriness" and a structure that poorly holds whatever liquid you're asking it to hold. The Jen brushes have a high quality foam with a powdery appearance.
-The foam head on the Darice brush is lazily attached at whatever random angle, the head on the Jen brush is attached perfectly aligned to the handle.
To close out comparing the two, I'll tell you the few beefs I have with the Jen foam brushes. First, the wood handles have two raised edges that seem like they could potentially annoy some. Second, because they last so long, I wish there was a hole in the handle to hang them by. Finally, where the the foam and wood handle meet, there's a very subtle hump, which doesn't affect use but just looks a bit weird;)
Oh, and compared to both of these the brushes you can get at HD or OSH are substantially more expensive, made in China, and about the same quality as the Darice brush, save for the fact that they have a wood handle (a very cheap and light wood).
Finally finally, Lowes sells Wooster brand foam brushes, which are about three bucks each, and are ever so slightly nicer than the Jen brushes, also made in the US. I think the Wooster's are the only ones that explicitly state they can be used with shellac and varnish. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great customer service, even better stamps. I love Penny Black Stamps! So much so that I accidentally ordered this twice! Luckily Penny Black was awesome and when I realized and contacted them through Amazon (Whom I also LOVE). They quickly cancelled it and immediately refunded my money.
But back to the stamp set, it's super pretty and really high quality. There are 14 individual stamps including a super cute tiny dragon fly and 3 different umbrellas. There are also a couple sentiments and some really unique rain drops. Whether you have friends in the Pacific Northwest, London, or its simply springtime this stamp set will offer you tons of different opportunities to use it! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Pain in the ... to put together, but hey it looks cool. Definitely a cool looking desk. Picked this up during Prime Day so I got a good deal on it. But a few minor things I noticed while just trying to put it together. Ive put together a lot of furniture and this was by far the most pain in the you know what to get set up! The directions are unclear. For the most part you are just looking at a picture and marching shapes and numbers on the screws because the parts themselves are not labeled. I had to take a few pieces apart and flip them around a few times because of the bad directions. On top of that the give you the screws in 6 compartment with other screws of different sizes you have to guess/match to the ones at the front of the book. Oh yeah and because of the taking apart and putting back together I noticed that the silver scratches off very easily. And lastly just FYI the glass comes with a not that it only holds up to 25 lbs. I don't know that all the work was worth the payoff but like I said to begin with hey at least it looks cool. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Vibrant and versatile. This is a review for the Raniaco Art Colored Pencils Set of 48 Assorted Colors, 48 Oil Based & WaterColor Pencil Set, Painting Brush Included. I like to use color pencils, crayons and oil pastels for drawing. I wanted to try watercolor with colored pencils. I came across these by Raniaco and decided to give them a try. The range of colors in this set is fantastic! These pencils are durable (like tradition writing pencils) and don't break easily (like some other colored pencils can) and seem to be very high quality. These pencils also sharpen nicely. This colored pencil set comes with a paint brush so you can transform your colored pencil drawing into a watercolor piece of art. I used these on watercolor paper and they worked just fine. The colors are vibrant and using a wet paint brush to paint your drawing is amazing. You will get hours of fun from this box! Overall, very pleased with this set of watercolor colored pencil set by Raniaco. I highly recommend them! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Product Yippee! Packaging Boo. This product is everything that I expected. The colors are clear, bright, pure and go on the paper smoothly with excellent blending and coverage properties. The packaging however is another matter. When I opened the box, I found that a couple of the sticks were already broken. As an artist that doesn't bother me all that much because a lot of us eventually break sticks to make them more useable anyway, but the ones where half of the sticks were shattered to crumbles I did and do find objectionable. Plus the sticks were so crammed into their stiff plastic wells that I was unable to remove a couple of them without breaking them myself. I contrast this method of packaging to the Rembrandts that I also purchased. The Rembrandt pastels were each nestled in soft foam spaces and covered by a thin foam cushion no breakage there even coming all the way from Great Britain. If not for the packaging I'd give them five stars. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Blush to Ivory Lace. Took a huge gamble considering I was treating a lace top that I had planned to wear for my wedding in 2 weeks that was no longer sold in stores/online. The top was more of a blush color and I wanted it to be ivory to match my skirt. This product worked wonderfully on the lace which is 45.0% Cotton/ 40.0% Polyamide/ 15.0% Viscose. I do not know what the lining fabric was but the color remover did not work on it, so I'm assuming it's some 100% synthetic fabric like polyester. I used the stovetop method and the fabric turned ivory immediately. I stirred it for an additional 15 minutes to see if the lining would turn but it never did (wasn't a big deal in my case). I used the ventilation above my stove and didn't have any big issue with noxious fumes. I had opened a window in case, but I'm not sure it was totally necessary. Afterwards, I hand washed the top with a little laundry detergent and hung it to dry. It smells just fine.
One thing to note is that I purchased the product at my local Joann Fabrics for only $2.49 (less with a coupon), but I wanted other folks who are searching online to see how well this product worked for me. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Works great but not much paint. These are fun and easy to use. Just like markers. Paint is a little thin sometimes. I bought these for my 6 year old who really wants to paint on a canvas like me but I thought he might be frustrated with brushes. I thought this would be a fun step up from markers and would have a great result. This is true but only for very small areas. There is not much paint in these paint pens so they run out after covering much area at all. Very frustrating. Not very cost effective to keep buying entire sets for the job. So, these are best for lettering and small jobs. Use regular paint if you want to fill in any decent sized areas. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Smooth and colorful but run out very quickly. I love the variety of color and styles of these pens. They write very smoothly and work well. The reason for 3 stars is because they run out so fast. I did quite a bit of comparison between gel pens before ordering these and these had the best reviews and I liked that more popular colors had doubles, so I ordered them. I was not aware that in one use, they would run out so quickly. I wrote a story on a few pieces of small notepad paper and my purple pen was almost empty by the end. I was also surprised that they are filled only half-3/4 of the way and not entirely down the ink shaft. That was a disappointment as well. If I were ordering gel pens again I'd probably give a different brand (on my comparison list) a try instead. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Not as bad or as great as I expected. This is definitely a tricky machine. But I am willing to play trial and error to get it figured out.
As for vinyl cutting, this gets more like a 4. I can put in a long roll and cut long banners/borders/etc. Downfall - the roller in the back is a little strange. I have found that it doesn't keep the roll perfectly straight so it can jam the paper after about 30 inches or so. I am still working on a fix for that. Next, both with vinyl and paper, it doesn't track perfectly I will have letters that don't meet up perfectly, but I am using sure cuts a lot so it might be an issue with the software or with the particular font.
For paper cutting - i give it a 2. Yes, you don't have to buy an expensive matt, but you do need something as a stabilizer. I have used a piece of cardstock with mostly positive results. For more intricate cuts, I have had success with using a piece of transfer tape stuck to the back of my piece of paper. I buy transfer tape in large 100 yard rolls so it only adds 17 cents to everything I cut, but that 17 cents will add up if I use it every time. I have also had problems with tracking when cutting large objects out of paper. I have had (on occasion) cut out an object that is 12x12 and had it be almost an inch off at the end. But it doesn't happen every time. The stabilizer seems to help with this.
As for the software that comes with it - The program that comes with it can only be used on Windows, no mac version. Sure Cuts a Lot seems to have more features so I don't even bother with it. The cutter itself has an SD card that you use like a cartridge so it doesn't need to be hooked to a computer, but the interface is very tedious, especially if you have a lot to cut. Also, I don't think you can load your own images onto an SD card because they are in a strange format. The new SD cards are around $35 and don't necessarily have what I want. So other than when I first got it and was playing around, I don't use this feature. Which is a slight bummer because it is the only way to automatically add "tabs" to the things you are cutting (neither sure cuts a lot or their software seems to be able to do this automatically, you just have to make the cut lines dashed).
So not as abysmal as some reviews made it out to be, but not as great as others. I use it a lot to cut vinyl and will continue to do so, but if my machine dies, I would probably buy a vinyl cutter over this next time and buy a separate paper cutting machine. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
If you are like me, reading reviews after reviews, stop here, save yourself time and buy this. I normally don't write reviews but I have searched high and low for a heat press and read many many reviews. This one is wonderful!! It's easy to understand, simple directions and does the job. The handle clamps down nicely so you don't have to hold it. They sell this for a great price and I'm extremely happy with it. It was really hard for me to decide on a press because I had bought one from a different ebay seller and it was terrible and I had to return it. Very very happy with this. I use siser easyweed for my vinyl and press my shirts at 305 degrees for 15 seconds. The press looks exactly like the photo, a nice bright yellow. So far, so good. A+++ | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
I read the reviews and was happy to hear so many say how small they were. I read the reviews and was happy to hear so many say how small they were, because I want small, for my journal pages, to say things like Happy Thanksgiving, etc. I have several larger alphabet sets and was looking for very small, but not teeny-tiny. I have seen sets but I thought too expensive. These are perfect, easy to use, (with the help of a tooth-pick to get them out), and the box is an added perk. I have used these and I am so very happy with the results and would recommend to anyone who does cards or journals and in need of small lettering. The gift of the six color inks was so very nice too!! Thanks so much for that unexpected addition! :) | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
These pencil cases are smaller than advertised. Global Art's Panel Style cases say they can hold 3 pencils/pens per slot, however as Ric pointed out it is an extremely tight fit and next to impossible to use 3 pencils per slot. You can however comfortably fit 2 pencils/pens per slot. So...
24 Advertised = 16 Actual
48 Advertised = 32 Actual
72 Advertised = 48 Actual
96 Advertised = 64 Actual
120 Advertised = 80 Actual
That being said, it is a great product & completely suits my purposes. I have a 96 black case to hold my pencils/color pencils. I use my 96 brown case to carry my Copic Multi-liners. I have all the black ones and color BS/.3 pens, but didn't have a good method to hold them until now.
I went to my local Blick Arts stores to find one of these, with no luck. I decided to order it off Amazon which funny enough, was fulfilled by Blick.
Regarding the color of the case, I don't really care if the leather is a rich dark brown, but Ric makes a good point that having a waterproof case is useful. So I ordered a $5 jar of Sno-Seal Leather Protection wax and used some paper-towels and a blowdryer to seal the leather in both my cases. It turned the tan colored leather into a supple and rich brown which I have to admit looks much better than the original case. I also love that it is pretty much water/stain proof now.
You can find small plastic or metal pencil sharpeners with clips on them, that can easily fit on the outside of one of the bands. I got a plastic one from Staples and a metal one (often referred to as a carpenter's pencil sharpener) from Amazon. So it's definitely doable as long as you alot some space. If you don't want to take up space that could be holding pencils, it's really easy to modify the case slightly by putting a strap in stitches, krazy glue or epoxy. Or even velcro or any other mechanism you want to use to attach it. There are a lot of creative solutions you could make, especially since the cases are fairly large and have space which are not taken up by the items you're holding in the bands. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
What a great cutting machine. Bought this as a gift for my wife. At first she begged me to return it because it was so expensive and she wanted to continue using her first generation 6X12 Cricut machine. Once she gave in and started using this amazing cutter, she fell in love with it. Just the other day she finally suggested selling her original Cricut. She loves the ability to download SVG files from the interent and cut them with this machine. No longer is she limited to the cartridges she has. The only complaint has nothing to do with the machine, but is with the iPad app: When using the app, cut shapes are limited to what Cricut makes available to you. It is very limited compared with using the computer. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Best air brush I've ever used! until it stopped working after only a few uses. Absolutely the best air brush I have ever used!!! It stays on the whole time I need it and can create soft light detail to being able to cover large areas with color. It's not too noisy, but does tend to move a bit from the vibrations. I am a professional cake decorator and I have used and bought/returned other kinds of cheaper air brushes and they were horrible. This is a bit pricey but so worth every penny! Great for cake decorating!
I originally thought this was a fantastic airbrush. But I have had my airbrush for less than a month and have only used it a few times. I have never dropped it or mishandled it and all of a sudden it just stopped working. I need a working airbrush for my cakes next week and I am praying that this company will replace it ASAP and Ill get a compressor that lasts longer than a few uses. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Nice. I am working with my toddler on primary and secondary colors and wanted a nice color wheel to show him the colors he could make. He already knows but I am planning an experiment with him using water cups and primary colors and letting him create other colors. I showed him how the wheel works and he was fascinated. I have also put together a little portfolio for his work (at the tender age of 3 he's very prolific). There is space in there for a color wheel and paints, he has paper and a bag for his pencils and other utensils. He thinks it's the greatest thing that he has a portfolio like his mama. I love that this was a 2 piece set, there is a larger and smaller. I let him choose which he would like, he chose the smaller one so I can use the bigger one and read the information to him and he can follow along with me. I'm very happy with this set. When he's older I'll get him a really posh one, for now this one is pretty basic but that's all he needs. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Worked great for acrylic and even watercolor paint. This 12 pack of 8"x8" Canvas Panels by US Art Supply come wrapped together, they are also individually wrapped. The canvases are made of 100% pure cotton, contain an acid-free heavy board, have an 8-ounce finished weight with turned edges, and are triple acrylic gesso primed for acrylic or oil painting. The back of the canvases contain the product description and other product information, which I believe will make them easy to reorder.
I used some of these canvases with acrylic and watercolor paint (I don't think they are made for watercolor paint but I wanted to try it out on one of the canvases anyway). Amazingly, they did great not only with the acrylic paint, put also with the watercolor paint, which I wasn't expecting. The water in the watercolor paint did not drip all over the painting but made its way through the patterns of paint from the picture. I did need to use more than one coat of paint with both types of paint with most and maybe all of the paintings but that is pretty much a given for me with anything I paint. The acrylic painting turned out more rich in color, which I understand because that is one type of paint these canvases were made for.
I like that these canvases can be propped up on a book shelf, table, or stand as long as there is something that they can lean against.
These canvases would probably work well for professional and student painters of all ages.
I received this product free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
WOnderful purchase. This was a great transaction and I enjoyed my experience......
Just a little reminder to consider....My items were in a cardboard envelop which was PERFECT for my order....however the sticky that comes on the flap is basically not dependable.....two of my items fell completely out of this envelop because the vertical middle came apart and the envelope flap was completely open....would not stick shut...My recommendation would be to Use Clear Packing tape on the seams of these heavy sturdy carboard envelopes....OK.....Please understand that this was a satisfying transaction but a little tip to add Clear tape reinforcement on the seams and flaps....Thanks so much...I hope I get to purchase again sometime.
Ken | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
The best eraser that I know of, hands down. I am a graduate student in engineering. I don't use erasers now as much as I used to, the graduate level courses require homework to be done more on a computer, but when I was an undergraduate, and doing lots of hand written homework with calculations, and making mistakes constantly, being without a quality eraser could be just bad news.
I have used Magic Rub, Pink Pearl, Staedtler Mars, Union Paper Mate, and Design Kneaded Rubber, and I except for maybe the Staedtler Mars, none of these options comes anywhere close for the purpose of erasing and re-erasing engineering calculations at 1:00 AM when you can't figure out how to do the stupid, hard homework than the Factis Black 18.
Most of the erasers I've mentioned here are just too abrasive - they wear away the paper when you use them, so if you have to erase twice, or even once, you start rubbing a hole in your paper. The Union Paper Mate, ink end, is probably worst for this, but the others are bad too. With the Factis Black 18, you'd have to erase like 20 times before this would happen. When you pick up the eraser and feel it, you can feel that it is smooth - it doesn't have anything hard embedded in it that wears through the paper.
Some of these erasers are also horrible for collecting the graphite from the pencil, and then rubbing it back down the next time you use it, creating horrible smears. In my experience, the Magic Rub, particularly an aging Magic Rub can be horrible in this way. The Factis is not as prone to this problem.
Another interesting advantage of the Factis is that it can't become blackened and ugly from use, because its already black!
The only disadvantage I can think of in this eraser is that it leaves big black eraser "chips" on your table where you've been using it, but most erasers leave these to some extent, and it makes your work area look really hardcore at the end of a long night of studying anyways. It's not like these are difficult to clean up or anything, just sweep off the table. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Torn- Love the concept but room for improvement. I do love the concept and was excited to get them for my daughter to practice tracing letters on her dry erase booklet. I'm not sure what I would expect out of a dry and erase crayon anyway but they are so-so in my opinion.
They leave waxy chunks behind and are kinda hard to erase so we use wipes to erase and a towel to dry off. It also seems to take a couple layers to get the color to appear more. My daughter doesn't seem to be bothered by any of this except sometimes the erasing issue and actually seems to like using them alot. These are just my experiences with crayons.
My reasoning for the 4 star rating is the concept and my daughter tends to forget to put caps on markers (she's 4 and gets distracted very easily and so do I). There's no smell like markers have and they have lasted a really long time.
So all in all, it's not expensive compared to quickly going through dry erase markers and my daughter likes them so whenever we finally run out we will buy again. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Decent Paint Cups. First of all, these are fairly decent paint cups. I was somewhat concerned after reading some of the other reviews regarding these cups that they would be too big, but was pleasantly surprised once they arrived. They are ~4" high (including top hinge), with a bottom diameter of ~2 ", and a top diameter of ~3 1/16 (or ~3 if you include the thumb-opening). They have a fill line ~1 from the bottom which is the maximum it is recommended to fill these in order to prevent accidental spills. The lid snaps shut reasonably securely, and flips opens almost 270 degrees (250 perhaps?) and so will not fall closed while in use. The lid also has two sets of ridges on it that can be used to balance a paintbrush across in your choice of two different angles.
In use I have found these a good size as they are small enough that my young son can easily maneuver them, and yet big enough that they don't easily tip. I also chose to only fill them under " for three reasons: (1) limits waste if my son accidentally mixes colors by putting a dirty paintbrush in the wrong cup, (2) prevents my son from dipping the paintbrushes too far and getting paint on the handles, and (3) will hopefully allow him to use the paint fast enough to prevent it from drying out. I should also mention that my 3 year old son has no problem opening or closing these containers.
The reason I docked these cups has mostly to do with quality. While these seem sturdy enough, it was somewhat frustrating to put the lids on as they only have a single thread and it was tedious to try and get them on straight. These are obviously also not airtight by any means (no rubber seals, etc). For the price that is not unexpected, but would have been nice to not have to worry about the paint drying up if my son takes a week off from using them. These are also, as expected, made in China. I should also mention that they arrived stacked together very tightly (perhaps due to the heat during transport?) and were difficult to separate.
On a side note, it would be nice if there were better options out there (ie. airtight, good quality, etc). While other brands are likely better quality, they tended to be available only in sets of 4 for primary colors (plus green). These were the best, no-spill option I could find that offered a good selection of colors and yet I am somewhat disappointed that no one makes a slightly larger set (anyone notice how there is no pink?). Naturally, I could (and eventually will) teach my son how to just mix these colors on the side, but, at my son's current age, that would be far too messy. I have noticed that Amazon now offers the individual cups for sale and so I may eventually pick up a few of the white ones and mix the other colors for him (pink, gray, and perhaps sky blue with how appealing outdoor scenes normally are for kids), but it would be nice if matching cups were available. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Needs a bit more engineering to make it work. I generally make and sell between 150 - 200 greeting cards per year to benefit our local library, and I like to color some backgrounds with multi-color ink pads. Kaleidacolor is Tsukineko's multicolor ("rainbow") dye inkpad that is supposed to provide a continuous inking surface when in use, after the pads are pushed together. There is a button that makes it easy to slide the pads up next to each other.
The bad news is that the button sticks up above the individual ink pads, so you can't really get at the colors nearest the button, unless you arrange to use the pad at the very edge of your work table, so that the button protrudes into space when you stamp down. Even when I used this technique, the pushed-together colors did not stamp evenly.
The 'Baby' text in the customer image of an A2 (5.5" x 4.25") Baby card is colored with this Blue Breeze inkpad.
I like the idea of the push-together pads. It just needs a bit more engineering to make it really work. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great for the kids or yourself, just for fun. <div id="video-block-R1TYJ544JDIS22" class="a-section a-spacing-small a-spacing-top-mini video-block"></div><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/D1wKRtJ4XeS.mp4" class="video-url"><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/01e-X4RKLWS.png" class="video-slate-img-url"> I received this product to test and review, so made a short video talking about it.
I was honestly intrigued to try this canvas out because of the way the product listing made the disappearance of the water "paint" sound so magical. You get in the package a plastic trough that doubles as a canvas and brush holder, the canvas itself, a neat bamboo brush and a small set of instructions.
The trough is pretty well made and has rubber feet on the bottom to keep it in place. I put about a 1/2 inch of water in the bottom, set the canvas board up in its slot and got to painting!
The canvas board is of plastic construction, but I honestly cannot tell what material the front it. All I know is that you can paint on it with the water and within minutes it's cleared back up. That's pretty cool!
The included brush is very basic, but the raw bamboo handle add to that "Zen" feel.
Overall I would say that this is a cool product for someone looking to doodle without the permanence and mess of paints. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
a Must have for the adult colorist . Can't be without these pens ! I have been into adult coloring for a couple months now and I purchased a pack of these at a local store, that being said I used that one pack on several different pages. Not only did they last they have amazing colors ! I saw this on amazon and had to have all three sets I am so glad I got these I even got my mom this 3 pack set for a starter set for her coloring when she decides to do so! these always go on smooth and seem to last to the very last drop I have pushed more then one to it's limit. I highly recommend these for adult coloring books in the better books they do not bleed through the pages. In the not so great books if it's a double sided you may want to make a copy of the page on card stock and color that way or it will bleed through. These are a must have for anyone who wants gel pens and color adult books ! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great brush but be careful on parts. Really good air brush with fast shipping from Amazon.
Paints very fine and detailed and atomizes paint very well, with smooth action on the trigger and great feel in my hand.
BE VERY CAREFUL when disassembling for cleaning! The nozzle (part # 20-106 or 20-107 or 20-108 on the manual) is not screwed in / threaded like many other airbrushes. It is completely loose, and if you remove the tip covers or disassemble your brush you will LOSE IT like I did.
Luckily I found it on the floor after 1/2 an hour searching.
My only (minor) issue is that it does not come with an adapter for a standard 1/8 air hose (need to buy this separately). I guess they want you to buy the badger branded compressor as well? | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
LOVE my Marcos. I have been hearing about Marco Raffines for quite some time. This my first set. To say I am impressed is an understatement. I love these pencils! The color selection is great. I love the green and blue selection in this set. They blend nicely and they have nice soft leads. They are a standard length. They have a colorful cap. They have the color number on them. I like that very much. I have six different pencil brands. Each brand offers me something. I love the consistency of the lead when I am coloring. They are a little dusty, but, I just gently brush the dust away, or, blow it off the page. I have decided, I have to save up for a larger set. Honestly, it could take nearly a year, but, I don't care. I want the biggest set they make. I cannot wait! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
these markers are OK- not great, not terrible, just OK. The first package I got was broken, but they replaced it quickly so that part is fine. Some of the markers were also dried out in that broken package, but the new ones were good.
The ink is OK- not super vibrant but I have lots of color options which is what I wanted. The cap color doesn't quite match what is underneath. The ink does go on nice and doesn't bleed tooooo much through the paper.
My main issue is the outside of each marker- I bought these in February and after about 6 months the printing on the plastic of each marker is sticky and comes off on my skin as I color. 6 months in it was just a couple of them but now it's all of them. I have never before had this happen with markers. To use these I'm having to wrap a tissue around them to keep my hands from staining.
If you just want a cheap set of markers for the short term, these are fine, but I am currently shopping for a new set that will actually last me longer than a year. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Sturdy and acrylics stick well. I'm in the process of trying to organize my acrylic stamps using this product and its tabbed companion. My thought is to separate sets into their different components: critters in one section, botanicals in another, sentiments, clocks and so on. I only ordered one pack of each to see if the stamps stick well, and I can say that the acrylics stick very well -- even the tiniest ones! I'm using the front and back of each page and so far, so good, even putting them in a binder and flipping the pages.
I find however, that the cling stamps do not stick as well. Some do, some don't. I solved that problem by putting a photo page in the binder with those stamps in the pocket | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Perfect for making signs. I purchased these chalk markers to make wedding table signs and they worked perfectly! I was worried about the thickness of the marker tip, but it were a great size for my faux-calligraphy.
They are decently opaque with one coat, but look better if you go over your letters twice - if you look at my photo the word "Vanilla" in the front center stands out much more than the "Iced Tea" behind it because I went over the letters twice.
These markers ARE washable, as long as you are writing on a real chalk surface (non porous). I used a damp cloth to erase at first which results in a little bit of chalk residue, but if you want every little bit of chalk removed, use a Mr. Clean magic eraser. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Terrible product - lasted me less than 4 uses/just over a month. Terrible product - do NOT buy. My husband ordered these (from Amazon, but I don't think it matters where you buy them) for a Christmas gift for me, and I thought they were great at first. Now, just over a month later, and after only about 4 uses, they are completely useless. The red is no longer metallic, the silver tip is so frayed that I can barely write with it, let alone do brush lettering, and the other pens are leaking ink all over my hands when I write with them. TERRIBLE product - save your money and buy Tombows. They don't make metallic colors, but at least they last longer than 4 uses. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Does its job... Most of the time. This mannequin does its job in most cases. It isn't capable of pulling off too many poses such as action/dramatic poses as well as it is able to pull of simple poses. It not only has magnets on its feet, but on its hands as well, which seems useless since the doll's body is too heavy for its arm to hold its body, but still, this doll is pretty good in the articulation. I feel like the doll should have smoother pieces, since it seems like I'll get small splinters, but that hasn't occurred yet. I also wish the doll was ball jointed for easier articulation and because its joints are spring joints, which will move back depending on the pose. The packaging wasn't nice, it was a clear, flimsy, plastic box that barely held its own. The base could've had the black velvet applied much nicer. I'd still recommend you buy one if you want one, especially if it's going to be removed from the base. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
These Made a group of ladies extremely happy. I work in a assisted living facility & purchased several sets of these pens for a group of ladies that are addicted to the newer coloring books because it stimulates their mind & great for their motor skills & bless them they were all sharing 1 package of pens & I took it upon myself to surprise them with several packages of pens & felt like for the amount of pens received they were a great price & when I asked the ladies how they liked them they all raved on about they were a great quality & loved the huge selection from 60 pens per package, so there were a lot of happy ladies & something I've learned is there's no better critique that a 80 year old woman so I would say the pens were a great hit & I definitely will be ordering these again for them. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Epica books are first class. I own an Epica journal, and it is by far one of the nicest books of any kind I have ever owned, or even seen. The quality is unsurpassed. When visiting Florence years ago I stopped in one of these hand made books shops, and always regretted not purchasing one in my visit because try as I might I could never find something that matched the beauty and quality, until I found Epica.
I use my journal as an ongoing art project book, and have found the pages are very resilient to holding inks without running or bleeding through, the paper will even hold watercolor without warping. I am very impressed with my Epica journal and feel it was worth every penny spent, as I am sure it will long outlive even myself. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Kind of a nightmare. I purchased white kids chef aprons for my son's birthday party. I wanted to write the kids names on each one and have them decorate cupcakes. The set has a nice variety of colors, some were very similar with the only difference being sparkle versions of the color. I first tested the paint on some paper to get a feel of how to use them. I couldn't make mistakes because I had exactly 6 aprons! First of all, this set wouldn't last you very many projects, the paint runs out fast. Another issue that occurred was the paint wouldn't come out and I had to shake the stick over and over, also air bubbles were my enemy! Every time that happened I would be writing a letter and everything was going smoothly and I was feeling happy with the outcome, then a mini explosion of paint would shoot out and completely ruin what I was doing. I ended up drawing some random pictures or designs to hide these mistakes. It just wasn't an easy process and I'm sure there is a better product out there for drawing on fabric. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
These pens are fabulous. One of my most fun purchases yet! These are absolutely beautiful high quality gel pens -- rich and vibrant in their colors. Fit nicely and comfortably in your hand and they have a beautiful metallic sheen to them! I love being able to share fun times, so I shared these with my granddaughter and she had a blast feeling all grown up creating pictures. I love how these pens perform! The ink runs nice and smooth, not spotty at all. Perfect for calligraphy or special invitations too! There's no limit to the uses! They work great on just about everything. Great for crafts. coloring, writing. Come in a nice reusable case. Overall a great, good quality product that works very well.... Great value! I would definitely recommend this product to anyone who loves coloring.
DISCLAIMER: I received this gel pen set at a promotional price in order to share my honest experience and opinion, which I have now provided. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
BUY FROM THIS COMPANY! CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR GRAFFITI ARTIST GRANDSON. This was a gift for my grandson who is a graffiti artist. i did not realize this was considered an "accepted" form of art until researching this subject and was quite surprised.
A High School approved and used my grandson's artwork on the side of a building, I am proud of him for that. I ordered this to go with his Prismacolor markers, sketch books also a gift. I am hoping this gift helps to spur his art and dreams.
What amazed me about this is , it was not an Amazon 'quick ship' item and this wonderful company got it to him in two days for Christmas without charging additional shipping. A big "thank you" to them. I was not expecting delivery for 10 days and was so surprised it made it for Christmas. It made it extra nice he received all his gifts at the same time. If you buy Markers I found it is important to buy this blender marker as well.
Mediocracy is so rampant these days so it is refreshing to see someone go out of their way in doing their job. Again, thank you for going beyond the call of duty. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
but the grains are so fine it is manageable. The only reason this paint gets 4 stars and not five is because it is not truly white. The paint has a slight green tint. I really just wanted pure white. This paint is about as thick as Basic acrylic paint you can buy at Hobby Lobby. It is sandy, but the grains are so fine it is manageable. A good description would be almost powdered table salt mixed in with an acrylic base that drys a semi-transparent off-white. You will need to let it dry between layers to build up brighter areas. I thin coat will give you a slight glow and a thick coat will glow VERY bright. Here is a pic of the wall I am still working on. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
A winner. I love this journal and the price is great. I use pencil, ink, Inktense pencils (water soluble ink), and light washes of watercolor. The paper is sturdy enough to stand up to erasing (but not scrubbing) and does well with light washes. I wouldn't use it for serious heavy water media. The paper is a nice white -- not glaring. Sometimes there's a small amount of show through to the other side so I've started using just one side of the paper. That would be my one negative -- it would be nice if the paper were just a tiny bit more opaque.
The colorful cover that you see in the product photo tears off. Under it is a nice plain brown cover that's not flashy. The cover is nice and stiff for working on your lap if need be.
This journal is a winner. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
An elegant die. This die is so versatile. It is a Tim Holtz die which means you can try out all his grunge techniques. It also, I think, an elegant die which means you can use it for other styles. If you have to mass produce something like invites or cards, it is strong enough to go through 6 sheets of cardstock. It might be able to do more but that's about as much as I have dared to try ;) It does cuts through cardboard easily in one pass. I have also used it to make tags and small cards. If you buy the mini Baroque version, you can also use it to make frames. The Cuttlebug is compatible with it. Just use the two B plates - one on top, one under it. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Poor quality, scissors especially terrible. For the same price as Crayola, I expected better. I purchased two kits for each of my daughters (7 and 5). The case is sturdy enough, but the crayons were very cheap and are easily breakable. My daughters are not rough with crayons.
The markers are poor quality and there are multiple duplicate colors. Not a very wide range of color palette.
We have not used the paints yet as they are set in the case. They are simply dried color circles, so to use them I either have to use them IN the case and let it dry thouroughly before closing it, or try to pop the cakes out individually, break off a piece of color, and wet it in the plastic tray provided.
The paint brush never stayed in the slot and always falls out with the ruler when closing the case (and subsequently now both are lost from both sets after a few months).
The scissors are not scissors. They are a plasticky scissor shape. Both girls were quite disappointed as they both love cutting.
The stapler also never stayed in it's spot and is now lost. However it never worked to begin with so that is not a loss.
Overall they do provide my daughters with numerous drawing and coloring implements and fortunately they are young enough so the quality is not a deal-breaker for them. However, my 7 year old noticed the poor crayon quality right away, but still enjoys the set overall.
For the same price as the Crayola set, I feel I should have gone with the name brand as the paints, paintbrush, ruler, scissors, glue etc are all un-usable and my girls mostly wanted drawing implements. The Crayola set lacks these "extras" but at least the quality of the markers, crayons and pencils will be known. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Best gift ever. I bought this for my granddaughter for Christmas. She loves making cards and doing projects for school. This little machine is awesome!!!! She has made some of the cutest cards and the cost is not prohibitive for the extra pieces for this little machine. It is well worth the money. It is made well and for the price, and the fun that she and her mom are having using it, it was so worth the cost. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a cute little machine and not spending a lot of money. I have a Cricut and would have bought the Cuttlebug first if I had known about it. I just loved it myself. Definitely would recommend this machine. My granddaughter is 12 and has not problems using it. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Colorful sturdy drafting desk. For the price, this is the most wonderful drafting table ever. I had another that cost as much, but it was wobbly and had a wood top that stained. This is all metal with glass top that adjusts to several positions. The storage is great. I did have a bit of a problem in that the glass top arrived in pieces, but two days later I had a brand new shiny top. The black plastic storage drawers were a little hard to make them snap into the slots to put them together, but I used the palm of my hand and slapped them into place, worked fine. This desk is sturdy and beautiful. Color is exact match to picture. I put it together by myself, about 2 hours. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Good markers. First I will start off with the cons and then the pros. These markers are not true to the cap colors so you will need to make a swatch chart first before using. Also they didn't include anything that could be used as a skin tone, the colors are all strong on orange or yellow..but it is a pastel set and not a skin tone so no big deal!
I have purchased spectrum noir before in a turquoise set and I wasn't that impressed with the ink quality but they do have unique colors that other companies don't have. The colors seem to make cross over lines a little easier than other brands, you can see how sensitive they are on my swatch. They leave behind a "wiggle" in the ink as if I smashed the tip down hard during the quick swatch. I also didn't like that a few colors are nearly (if not) identical. Kind of a waste.
Now here are the pros, they are a lot cheaper than copies and are a great starter set for anyone wanting to learn to use alcohol markers. They don't roll off the table. Their colors are unique. They also came in a reusable box that seems sturdy enough to tote them around in for awhile. I probably would not buy them again but I would still recommend them to others, maybe if these had brush nibs I might feel totally different! These are still a very good buy. I am including my swatch and it also has artist's loft markers, winsor and newton pastel brushmarkers set and my other spectrum noir set. My other upload is of a tracing from an amazon coloring book on Bienfang graphics 360 marker paper, it is all spectrum noir pastel set except for the skin which is winsor and newton. I hope this helps. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Not too hard...not too soft...perfect for my general needs. This review pertains to the Kimberly Graphite Pencil - 4B.
This is a rather soft graphite pencil and is one of my favorites. I purchase these things by the box (12 per box) and find, that for the money, they are the best as to meeting my needs. The graphite goes on quite smooth and has that `soft' feeling to it. It is easy to manage heavy to light or light to heavy. They act more like charcoal than many of this sort of pencil but you do not have the mess. They sharpen well using either a pencil sharpener or blade. I use these for general sketching and often times even for the finished drawing. I must admit that some brands, Derwent comes to mind, are slightly superior in many ways but then again you are paying a premium price...not something I am willing to do for general sketching.
Unless I go complete gorilla, the points stay well and there is little breakage during use or while sharpening.
I am quite happy with these pencils and have been for a number of years now. I purchase these at a local art store and the cost here (If you don't count the shipping) is quite competitive. As our independent and comprehensive art stores in our area continue to go belly up at an alarming rate, I may be forced, in time, to order from Amazon...thank goodness I will still have a source.
This is an excellent product and I have been quite happy with it and other Kimberly pencils.
Don Blankenship
The Ozarks | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Really Cool. This is my first watercolor paint set. Frankly its just plain really cool. Setup is simple, open the box, set the pallet on the left or right side. fill pen with water screw on brush head. Paint. Thumb loop on the bottom is comfortable for left or right hand orientation. The color selection is ample enough to satisfy most of my needs so far. The paints are bright and vibrant. The water brush is a real joy to work with, its really quite versatile you can do washes or finer line work with it. One load of water in the brush is definitely enough to paint a whole 5x8 picture with ease. The box is solid and the hinge mechanism seems sturdy. Sized right to fit into cargo pant or jacket pocket. Matches really well with a Moleskin or Canson watercolor sketchbook. Another great feature is the cap for the pens water reservoir and cover for the brush tip. The cap allows you to store the filled reservoir without constantly saturating the brush head. All in all this is a really nice product. For me its been the perfect little introduction to watercolor painting. Id recommend this to anyone who's got the slightest inclination to try out painting. Its so delightfully simple to use, you cant help but have fun with it. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Love these 16" easels! {But definitely buy the natural ones. The easel packaging all says it's a set of 6. The set is 4 easels, though. There are no instructions included to help put these together {this is the only reason they got 4 stars instead of 5}. I have ordered the smaller version of these before, so I had an idea how to put them together.
{Be careful not to tighten the nuts too much - I had a black set of the smaller easels that cracked when I put the bolt on too tightly. However, I think the natural colored easels are much more well made. I was able to get the bolt pretty tight without any damage. I would DEFINITELY suggest these over the black ones.}
Pros:
-Easy to assemble
-Inexpensive
Cons:
-No directions included on how to put them together
I received these items for free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions shared are completely my own. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Nothing like straight lines to keep me happy. I love this! It drives me nuts when I am writing out an address on an envelope and it is crooked. With the Exactly Write I no longer have to worry about that. This is very easy to use and my address that I am writing comes out perfectly! I plan on hosting a bridal shower and a baby shower within the next few months and now I don't have to worry about my letters looking awful when people receive them. This has become my new favorite tool to use when writing out addresses for invitations it looks so elegant to me when the address is straight I am very happy with this and plan on using it when I do my scrap booking in the fall. Nothing like straight lines to keep me happy! The Exactly Write is very durable and can be used over and over!
***Please note I have no relationship with this seller. This item was sent to me at a discount in exchange for my honest unbiased review. My rating is solely based on my own experience with this product. A positive review is never a guarantee. If my opinion changes for any reason, I will come back and update my review | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great, saturated color and sturdy construction. Very, VERY happy with these pencils. I'm a definite amateur with art and am pretty much planning to use these pencils for adult coloring books and my own zentangles. Ever since I was a kid, my major criterion for loving a pencil or paints was rich, saturated color. I've spent far too much money on more expensive pencil sets, including the biggest set of Prismacolor pencils available but many of them are still not saturated enough for me. Consequently, I'm always pushing too hard and breaking the ends. I just got the 36 pencil Ashleigh Nicole set and tried them all on a piece of paper. I'm THRILLED. Deep, saturated color without having to push too hard and even if I deliberately push very hard, I haven't managed to break any of them. Also, for some reason I've always loved cardboard tubes so I love the packaging. The other thing I like about them: For some reason, the color of the pencil upon application actually seems is true to the color of the pencil itself. I can't tell you how many times I've started using other pencils and been peeved because it doesn't look how I thought it would look. I'm really thrilled. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Worst paintbrushes forever, several time award winner. Bare with me. This horror story takes a little time to tell.
I visit my dad's side of the family every Christmas. They live a few states away, and it's a big family gathering. Usually, we expect 15 people from all over the US. Since it's hard to know what 15 other people want when you talk to them only on Christmas and Thanksgiving every year, and because we're a very modern family, we trade amazon wishlists every year. I moved some time back and lost my figurine paint brushes in the move, so I decided to request some replacements for the holidays. These seemed to be just the thing; they're not expensive, they vary in sizes, and they didn't seem low quality. I was delighted when I, naturally, received them. If I didn't, I wouldn't be writing this review and copy and pasting it to all 20 listings of this same product at various prices across several categories. (Do NOT BUY THE 600 DOLLAR ONES. DO NOT.)
I didn't open the product until I flew home, or this whole nightmare could have been avoided. Tonight, I decided to paint. I opened up the package - not noticing the curious office-type staple that held it closed, which is neither in the picture nor was it centered- and started preparing for a good night of artsy fartsying. Imagine my dismay when I discover that half of the paint brushes are covered with glue so strong it can only be removed by nail polish remover. All of them, including the ones that have been glued, are shedding and fraying. One of them is cracked. I can't even return this waste because I wasn't the one who bought it, and the person who is lives in DC.
That's the last time I acquire any paint supplies online. Seriously, how many times is this thing listed? | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Yes its worth it....for now. So Ive been using this hat press for about a week now and its been awesome! I want to address some issues people have had with this thing. Sharp edges on heating element? Like one reviewer stated, just sand it down. I used 180 grit sand paper and now the corners are as smooth as eggs. Line marks? reshape the rubber using a rough metal file and round off edges. Instructions? It really isn't that difficult to figure out. Its like setting the time on your digital wrist watch. The corresponding numbers flash when you are setting them. If you haven't figured out already, holding down the button will get you to your desired number a lot quicker. Yes, I had to do a couple things to make this machine work better but a small price to pay for a small price to pay. The real question is longevity. Maybe if I am not too lazy and still care about you guys Ill let you know if its worth it months from now, hence the title. Good luck with the tinkering. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Kind of disappointed. These come highly recommended but unfortunately I don't think Id buy them again. I use them to put Glossy Accents and Ranger Multi Medium Matte into for better control then what the original bottles provide. My disappointment is that the ball of the needle is colored and that color bleeds into the product. I have to squeeze out enough product until it runs clear again. Not a big deal with the Multi Medium, but the Glossy Accents, yes. One bottle had become clogged. When I cleaned it out there was some unknown yucky brown substance lodged in the tip. One of the other bottles is on the verge of clogging. I emailed the manufacturer and they didn't seem to really care. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Machine is fantastic. User interface is horrible; buy the Silhouette instead. If this machine were jailbroken so it didn't have to use the Cricut Design Space app it would be a 5 star purchase. With Design Space, you spend an inordinate amount of time maneuvering around Cricut's a la carte for-profit system. It wants me to pay for everything. If I pay for it, I don't have problems. If I upload my own pictures etc... it may or may not work. It almost certainly turns into a hassle. Because Design Space is really a website under cricut.com it feels like every job I do is being send off for approval; like someone is watching me. I don't care about the stuff Cricut is trying to sell me. I already paid >$250 for the machine. I gave this 1 star to level out the artificially good reviews. It's actually a 3.5.
I wish we'd gotten the Silhouette instead. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
may work for you; not for me. Good stencils are unbelievably difficult to source at a reasonable price in these digital times. I thought this assortment looked like a good deal & I liked the sizes. I had assumed that the colored plastic these are made from had to be translucent (photo is a trifle ambiguous). Unfortunately, they are OPAQUE. This means it's virtually impossible to reliably align the letters/numbers to each other, since you can't see through the template at how the previous one is located. There are no alignment holes or slots which could be used for this purpose either. In addition, several of mine have casting flash within some of the letters, which necessitates some X-acto surgery. Five dollars isn't a financial disaster but rather than bother returning these, I'm giving them to an elementary teacher friend for her students. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Sketchbook made in Heaven! (picture to show how well it is. I was looking for a new sketchbook or paper to use with my Copic Markers. The price is pretty good for this sketchbook, especially since I draw pretty big. The paper is extra smooth, the ink doesn't bleed through unless you're putting a lot of color in one spot, which is normal for Copic paper. I am very impressed by this sketchbook especially since I've heard that Copic paper isn't very good. Don't know what those people were saying. I give this a 5/5 because it's great quality, comes in a spiral book-that's a plus because the paper won't fall out, and has very little to no bleed through on the back. Below is a picture I did in the sketchbook. As you can see the color goes on smoothly and evenly. There is no streaking and the colors blend really well on this paper. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Wonderful for art. I ordered this to use on a gift I was painting for my friend. The painting is done in watercolours, and it works over all of the colours I used (I used the entire spectrum practically). I would suggest using at least two layers of it. ie, paint on 1 layer thinnly, then paint over it again once it is dried. To make your life easier, use a blacklight to see it when you put it on because you cant see it at all in the light. I am a professional artist and I find this to be a very good choice for those on a budget. all and all, it is a very good product, just be sure you know how to use it or it won't turn out very well, do a little bit of web surfing to find some techniques to make your project sparkle in the night! Have fun with it, but don't expect it to cover a huge area, it is only a 2oz. bottle. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
The brushes for acrylics were quite nice (red handles. The brushes for acrylics were quite nice (red handles). The watercolor brushes are just okay - they do shed a little. I am a beginner so they will serve their purpose helping me to decide if I want to invest in a set of good brushes. The oil brushes are the worst of the lot. The bristles are stuck together like they've been glued. There are big globs of something or other melding them together. I have not been able to separate any of the flats or filberts yet. The round separated with some coaxing. I also had to cut some curly, stray bristles from all of the brushes. Would I buy these again? Probably not. But for only twenty bucks, they will get me started with the watercolors.
UPDATE: After trying for several hours to separate the bristles on the oil brushes, I decided to return these. I know these were only $20 and that you get what you pay for. The shedding was expected to some degree in a cheaper set of brushes but I did expect that I would be able to use all 36 brushes. Fully 1/3 of these were not serviceable - to me, that is unacceptable no matter what the cost. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Pentel 36 Color Pen Set -- Fine Points Suitable for Detail. Vivid colors but if using with color books, the hard fine point on the pens make this set ideal for tiny details, not for larger areas where the output is streaky and the work is time consuming. A couple of the colors of the ink were not a good match to the barrel so it is worth the time to create a color chart to use as a guide to avoid possibly ruining a picture or project by trusting barrel color alone..
Bleed-through is a definite problem. Paper quality will vary from one adult coloring book to another, but even on reasonably thick paper and while using light pressure, the ink bled through the back and left some ink spots on the next page. So, a two-sided coloring book will not be a good choice, and a protective sheet between pictures is a necessity.
The caps are on quite tight so if the user has issues with hand strength first gently twist them off with something like a small pair of pliers and then lightly but firmly replace so they are ready to use.
This set has been around for years for use in other types of art projects -- long before the current popularity of adult coloring books..I like the reasonable price and vibrant hues, but if used with a coloring book it is best for one-sided illustrations on tiny details. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Birthday gift for my granddaughter. I purchased this product for my eight year old granddaughter. I had been sharing my 24 pan set with her and she seemed ready to move from her "kid" sets to something more intriguing. I also purchased a brush set and a nice watercolor block. My granddaughter was thrilled with the gift. Her paintings are beautiful with these vibrant, strong colors and you can't beat the price. She also loves the fact that she can easily take her paints with her anywhere--which is a great selling point for any artist (whether one is eight or seventy-eight.) Never underestimate a child; they need good products with which to experiment. I am very happy with this watercolor set! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Work well. These pencils color like the crayola color pencils. They are similarly smooth and rich in color. Unlike the crayola pencils, these are not all round, but have the hexagon shape that prevents the pencils from rolling to the floor. The colored lead of the pencil is securely fastened to the wooden body. This sounds irrelevant until you find pencils where the lead just slips off... In this case, they are all properly made and securely attached.
When sharpening the colored pencils I noticed that the lead is nice and strong and doesn't crack as often as the crayola pencil leads. This means that you can really sharpen a pencil for detailed work. Even when sharp, they color or write smoothly and without issue. If there's a downside is that the color names are written in Chinese characters and not English, Spanish and French like I'm used to. That being said, I think I know green from yellow...
The assortment is reaally good and includes multiple shades of each basic color. Perhaps not 50 shades of gray, but you know. Enough They are a good idea for coloring Querkles <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Querkles-A-Puzzling-Colour-by-Numbers-Book/dp/1781572402/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Querkles: A Puzzling Colour-by-Numbers Book</a>.
I received these pencils free for review and evaluation. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Really enjoy these oil paints, great quality, beautiful colors. This set of oil paint is really wonderful. I like that there is not a strong odor, as I have tried a few other oil paints that really smelled. These oil paints are thick in consistency which is great because it makes it easier to work with these. I am not professional and I am fairly new at this but so far I enjoy this set very much!
This nice set comes with 12 beautiful vivid colors and are .4 ounce- of which the colors are labeled. The bottles are sealed and the top has a great sharp piece to open them right up. There is a handy little paint palette to use if you like!
I had some oil paint that was not as thick and it took a lot more effort to paint- with which became pretty frustrating. I found it pretty easy using my white to create a tint, And of course also making shade by using the black, this was fairly easy as well. I did my darkest paints first and worked my way to the lightest, but I did the backgrounds last as to not smudge it. It works beautifully on canvas. I am going to try on some wood and see how it does. I used synthetic brushes as they are softer. I have learned that painting in a darker lighting such as night versus during the day sure makes a difference so I chose the daylight! These colors are beautiful!
I am still really learning but I feel like this set is great to work with. I have had a really cheap oil set that did not paint as nicely as this. I'm definitely not Picasso but learning the do's and don'ts of oils have been fun.
I think I may stick with these oils after I finish with this set as they are working really well for me so far. Of course oils take a while for drying but I am really loving this oil paint set and look forward to creating more artwork with these.
I was able to order this at a promotional price in exchange for an honest unbiased opinion. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way. My time spent on this product review is not compensated in any way. I do not have a relationship with sellers and manufacturers. I base all my reviews on quality, value, and personal experience of the product. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Very happy. In November I was at my sister in law's house and got to try her mother in law's Cricut machine. I was really impressed with it and had been wanting a Cricut for a while but something about the cartridges you needed to purchase for the Cricut bugged me so much. They were so expensive and you couldn't guarantee that you will be able to find the one you want.
I did a few searches on google and found the Silhouette machines. So glad I did!
I originally wanted the Cameo but after Christmas I had two $50 amazon gift cards and decided I would get the Portrait instead.
I have no regrets at all and think it's an awesome machine. I think I'd still like to upgrade to the larger Cameo but as of right now I have not needed to cut anything larger than the Portrait's capabilities.
I wish it came with two cutting board sheets but it's not a big deal at all. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Good Pens for the Price. I have limited experience using gel pens but have long admired pieces done by people in my coloring groups who used them. I debated between going with an all-glitter set or a mixed set. This set seemed like the best of both worlds for the price. Unlike other reviewers who had problems, my delivery arrived without any damage to the container or the pens. The plastic container is packed tightly into a square box which prevented any damage. As for the pens, so far they are working to various degrees of success. I've found one pen that was less than 1/2 full, and some do need to be primed on a piece of scratch paper before the ink flows. I do like how they don't bleed through the back side. I just got two-sided books as a Mother's Day gift, so I'll most likely hold on to them and just use pencils and these pens. Having them mixed in one container is going to drive me crazy, so I'm going to separate by type and store in divided cups to make it easier to find what I'm looking for. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great Ability but with Faults. I received the older version for Christmas last year and quickly fell in love with it. Bought the Explore so I could expand my cutting abilities and the things I have been able to do as compared to the old machine are phenomenal. I love this machine! I am giving it 3 starts though, because ProvoCraft got ahead of themselves in releasing this product I think.
I run a small home business with this machine so when it breaks, my business is impaired. I have had this machine for less than 3 months and already I am being sent a replacement because the pen clamp no longer works. I told Customer Service about the issue, they sent me a replacement part even though I knew that wasn't the issue. Told them the replacement part didn't work upon receiving it and now am being sent another machine. This has taken over 2 weeks and I have been unable to perform all of my business tasks because of it.
Second issue is with the blades. Again, I use this for a business so I use it a good portion of the day. I can go through 2 or 3 blades in a week. They made "special long lasting" German Carbide blades for this new machine and they are never in stock at any of the craft stores and they cost an arm and a leg on cricuts website. This now is setting me back another week.
Id' say the machine cuts great, it's got great ability but they need to fine tune a few things! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Caution if buying for a Paasche airbrush; quality control issues. Great customer service from TCP Global. Edit 5/13/16
I have updated my product rating to this item from 1 to 4 stars purely based around the customer service provided by TCP Global. After receiving the initial shipment, I described the problems to them, and they immediately shipped out a replacement Paasche adapter. Unfortunately the second one turned out even worse than the first one, and would not thread on to either the airbrush or the air hose properly. I assumed this would be the end of it, and after doing extensive searching discovered that this is basically the only adapter of its kind that anybody makes. I contacted TCP Global again, and they offered to hand test an adapter at their location first before sending it to me. When this one arrived, clearly marked as tested with a date of testing, I was able to confirm that it worked correctly.
I cannot give this product a 5 star rating because of the complications that arose from getting a functional adapter for the Paasche airbrush, but can highly recommend TCP Global as a seller. My original review is below for completeness.
Original review:
Of the three adapters in this set, two would thread onto the 1/8" air hose correctly, but the one that I needed - the Paasche adapter - will not thread more than a quarter turn. No obvious signs of wear or physical defect on the adapter, but it does not work. I have contacted the seller to see if there is anything they can do before I return these for a refund. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Very nice easel. This is a very nice table top, solid oak easel. It has enough weight to keep it sturdy and it is a nice looking easel that you can use for displaying some artwork.
The reasons for the 4 stars instead of 5 are;
1) The bottom sliding rail is only tightened on one side and due to this the other side of the rail wiggles a bit.
2) It came with instructions of how to set it up but thank God I'm not an idiot (like a couple of people I know) because it shipped to me put together wrong! The base was installed at the factory 180 wrong. Once I figured that out, the mast was also installed 180 wrong. After fixing these problems I was able to use the instructions to put it together (although it was pretty easy to assemble).
3) The lowest that you can secure a small size canvas or board with the mast and bottom rail is about a 12" to 14" up. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Overpriced but very handy and quite cute. A bit overpriced so 1 star off for that but otherwise a sweet little setup!
I do a lot of "urban watercolor" style painting and this is a nice compact way to take a few pens/pencils, travel paints, 5x7 block of paper, a small container of rinse water, a couple different types of erasers, a bit of chamois, and a couple water brushes.
The lid opens up all the way flat for watercolors and is usable as an easel. The wooden palette is where I place my small portable tin of paints, and the base contains all the other bits previously mentioned while I'm painting. It all packs up with a bit of room to spare when I'm finished painting.
The thumb hole is comfortable in either landscape or portrait mode.
(My erasers do not fall out of the thumb hole because I put them in small plastic cases I purchased from the container store. I bought the little cases to keep the erasers free of pencil/charcoal dust in my kit, but they serve an additional purpose now as they keep the erasers from fitting/falling through the thumbhole in the bottom of this paint box.)
I did not buy the pre-made matching case for it. Instead I bought a canvas military map case that allows space for this box, a water bottle for myself, and my phone and wallet. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Big markup for the word "Hogwart's. The best thing you can say about this quill is that it comes in a very nice package. The box is excellent quality with an attractive ribbon for closure, and a Harry Potter graphic to inspire the new owner. The quill, however, is a different story. It looks and feels cheap. The feather looks like it came from a bird that was roughed up, with some gaps and bent barbs. Even my 10 year old was unimpressed. The quill wrote ok, so that was a pleasant relief, but it is simply not worth the price for mediocre performance. If you, or your child, are inspired to get a quill, I would suggest looking for a different product. In this price category, there are a number of much better alternatives. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
I am surprised how nice these are. No joke I bought these on a whim becasue the price was so cheap that I figured if they sucked I would pass them on to my 5 year olds. I got them yesterday and tested them all out. They are smooth to write with and have very vivid colors. Just for fun I tried them along side my prismacolor soft core pencils and they were almost as good. The watercolor part is really fun and the case is descent quality. The only small complaint is that the seem runs in such a way in 2 areas on the case that 2 pencils sit a bit crooked. That really is my only complaint. I feel like I got the deal of the century with these pencils. There has to be a catch. If you are just buying them for fun or for homeschool etc then go with these and get a set for each kid. Good stuff! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Fun Project. Just got into this art and am enjoying it. This will be my second piece. My reason for dropping a star is that the product is advertising the original art it is based off of rather than showing what it will look like when you are done. The finished piece will not look like the painting. It just can't. It's a different medium. Another reviewer posted a pic of their project finished. That is what the seller should do. Show the completed diamond painting and the actual materials used to make it. The description says you will get solid colored round plastic jewels to work this with. It clearly states the size is not as big as the paintings in the images. If you read the description you will know exactly what to expect.
I want to incorporate some clear jewels in my project so for the price, this image was well worth it. I can spend the extra on some crystals or clear acrylic jewels. Looking forward to working on these fish. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great service, good product, but two notes. My Vyco Board Cover order arrived on time with no problems. I just wish I had made sure that Tiger had also handled the double-sided tape portion of my order! Somehow the tape was shipped from another supplier, and it got lost in delivery for nearly a week. Maybe the shipper's mistake, not the vendor, but still, next time, I'll pay more attention to where each part of my order is placed, and put it all with Tiger.
The board cover works well (although getting the multiple layers of old cover off my old table was a grueling job... the first layer had been applied decades ago with black mastic of some sort probably toxic!).
But take note:
1. I ordered my cover a size larger than I needed, to make sure I could trim it back to the exact table size. Come to find out the covers are shipped slightly larger than the stated size, so I didn't need to do this. Now I've got an extra piece lying around which is too small for another table, but too large to throw away. Maybe I'll cover a dollhouse drafting table???
2. After letting the rolled up cover "relax" flat as recommended in the installation instructions, and letting it sit in the sun to make it supple during the installation, I cut the excess off, precisely matching the table top size. Having put double-sided tape on all four edges of the table, it was a very smooth install, with no wrinkles, thanks to the little bit of flexibility the material has. But over the next week, I noticed the material shrank away from each edge, leaving about a quarter inch total of wood table visible in each dimension (meaning the top and bottom combined gaps and the left and right combined gaps each ran about a quarter inch on a 31" x 42" table).
My advice:
1. Buy the size cover which most closely matches or slightly exceeds your table size.
2. After putting the cover on your table (especially if you let the cover relax in the sun or any kind of slight heat!) DON'T TRIM IT TO SIZE IMMEDIATELY. Let it sit for a week or so until is has settled down and shrunk into its steady state, THEN do any trimming you might want to do. This should help ensure a great result. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
These Tanmit Gel Pens will AMAZE you with their awesomeness. <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Tanmit-Gel-Pens-for-Adult-Coloring-Books-Set-of-60-Assorted-Fine-Point-Color-Pen-including-Glitter-Metallic-Neon-Pastel-Classic-Great-for-Sketching-Drawing/dp/B01ER9U4P0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Tanmit Gel Pens for Adult Coloring Books,Set of 60, Assorted Fine Point Color Pen including Glitter,Metallic,Neon,Pastel,Classic,Great for Sketching,Drawing</a>
I absolutely LOVE these pens! I color in adult coloring books as a way to deal with chronic pain, it's like meditating; these gel pens provide full, bright, vivid coverage. The variety is awesome, glitter, solid, twisted, and neon. I especially love the twisted pens, I've never seen these before. I received this at a great discount but truthfully would have ordered them at full price as they are well worth the money. They were delivered very quickly as well. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Does anyone know how to smooth them out and keep them wet w/o losing consistency. I actually have more of a question then a review, and am looking for some help.
I have a question about the Holbein Water-Soluble Oil Colors. I started a painting with them yesterday. I had bought them based on reviews that said they feel buttery and work a lot like oil paints, but without the smell and the messy clean-up problems. That sounded good to me!
However, as I have been trying to use them, I have encountered a couple of problems, and I am really hoping that someone will have a solution for me so that I can finish this painting. Here are my two problems.
1. I have found that once I put them out on the palette they tend to dry out very quickly. Especially if you mix colors together, and they are spread out a bit they dry on the palette right away.
2. When painting, the paints don't go on very smoothly. They tend to be a bit bumpy coming off of the brush. Im unable to get an even stroke. I get a scrubbing effect with most strokes no matter the brush position.
Ive tried mixing them with various mediums to try to get that buttery feel with mixed results.
Water. It thins it. But, it loses its heavy body feel and Im unable to get the thick brush stroke look that I was going for in the painting. Too much turns the paint into a beautiful watercolor however!
Liquitex Professional Clear Gesso. For some reason, this sort of balls it up. It thickens the paint and makes it gritty. Sort of the consistency of grits. I had thought that this paint was compatible with acrylics, but I guess not acrylic mediums.
Duo Aqua Oil DO505 Painting Oil Medium by Holbein. I tried a few drops of this, thinking this would go with the paints, but it thins it a lot, and again loses the heavy body feel and look that you have when the paint first comes out of the tube.
Does anyone have a recommendation of how I can help this paint stay wet on the palette a bit longer, and mix and spread a bit more smoothly without losing its consistency? Is there a product out there or a technique that would help me?
Thanks in advance for any help you can give on this matter! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Sponges are sized like eggs. Evidently sponges, like eggs are what the seller calls them. The "large" sponge is approximately three and three sixteenths inches tall at its longest point, and an average of two inches on a side. The "medium" sponge was not appreciably smaller. Two and three quarters of an inch at its longest point. Set side by side on a tabletop there is NO real difference in them other than color.
Perhaps I'm being overly critical but I imagine that the sea sponges used for bathing would, using this criteria be called "Titanic" in size. Sort of like calling a VW Bug "Large" and a Five Ton vehicle from Motor Transport "Titanic". My little girl now has sponges for washing her Barbie Corvette in the bath. I will seek sponges elsewhere and never buy this "Susan scheewe" brand again. I won't waste my time returning them. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
30 sheets of super bright adhesive vinyl. This set includes 30 sheets of adhesive vinyl. I have a Silhouette Cameo 2 machine and typically use name brand vinyl. I wanted to give this a try just for stencils or projects for myself. I haven't used it yet, but I love how bright the colors are! I'll definitely use as stencils and for crafts at my home. I like that they're packaged in smaller sets of 10 sheets each for easy storage and use.
Pros:
-Super bright colors
-Set includes 30 sheets
Cons:
-Not a ton of difference in price between this brand and name brand
How I rank products (with Amazon's ratings in parenthesis):
* 1 star (I hate it!): I would either return or throw away this product. It was a waste of my money and not functional.
** 2 star (I don't like it): I'm not a fan of this item and I won't order it again, but it has at least one positive quality.
*** 3 star (Its ok): This item has both positive and negative qualities. It may work for some people, but I wouldn't go out of my way to purchase or recommend it.
**** 4 star (I like it): This item arrived and functions as advertised. I would change a few things about this, but is a good product overall. I would use this item.
***** 5 star (I love it!): This item is AWESOME. I will use it and recommend it to others! I just LOVE it! It works as advertised and is an all-around great product.
I received this item for free or at a deeply discounted rate in exchange for my honest review. All opinions shared are completely my own. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Beautiful Fan Brush. I was searching for a set of brushes for my oil paints that might contain a fan brush, but not a one of them did, so I was particularly pleased when I saw this offered separately. All of my new brushes that I purchased for oil painting came on the same day, so I tried them all out on the day they were delivered. I wanted to see how they would perform with the oil paints for which I purchased them. This fan brush works very well. I couldn't be more pleased, especially with the fact that my pet peeve with brushes is when I sit down to use a new one, and a hair comes out immediately. That did not happen with this brush. It seems extremely well made and laid out the paints as I wanted them to go down. I recommend this highly for oil paints, and think that it would perform equally well with gouache. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
WOW Best Paint Brush Set. WOW..... That was my reaction as soon as I opened this package ..... WOW .......what a nice assortment of sizes and types of brushes and what an awesome storage case to keep them in their best condition. And you get 15 brushes ranging from a fine point to a fan brush. There is a brush for whatever you are going to be painting... and they can be used with a variety of mediums.... acrylic, oil, watercolor and even for face painting. These sturdy well made brushes will last a long time as long as you clean them properly after each use. I am using these brushes with acrylics and love how no bristles fall out when I am painting.
I received these brushes at a discount in exchange for my honest and fair review. I recommend this brush set highly for any artist ... new or experienced. These brushes are very nicely priced and packaged.
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/PROFESSIONAL-ARTIST-PAINT-BRUSH-SETS-Wide-Variety-15-Piece-Paintbrush-Kits-For-Acrylic-Oil-Watercolor-and-Face-Painting-Canvas-Quality-Art-Supplies-Kit-for-Artists-Kids-MONEY-BACK-GUARANTEE/dp/B01CKE0TTU/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">PROFESSIONAL ARTIST PAINT BRUSH SETS - Wide Variety 15 Piece Paintbrush Kits For Acrylic, Oil, Watercolor and Face Painting - Canvas Quality Art Supplies Kit for Artists & Kids - MONEY BACK GUARANTEE</a> | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
This sketchbook will be your markers best friend. It's a pretty great type a paper to have available when you want to color with you're copics. Feels great, clean, and smooth to the touch . The only downside is that the paper is exactly what it says it is. Authentic 70 lb white paper and there's 50 sheets. That's 70 lbs a sheet and 3,500 pounds for the entire sketch book. You need enormous amount of strength to flip these pages let alone the sketch book. I'd say a solid 4/5. it looses a point for being so heavy. Although now I'm jacked from carrying the sketch book around with me. My back muscles look like a lumpy mountain because of the books uneven weight but it's a price you must pay. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Excellent product - great for keeping kids of all ages entertained. I bought this for an Easter gift for the grandkids so they had more than just chocolate to keep them occupied. What a success!! They wanted something more challenging than just colouring in (which they love), they wanted to make their own pictures to colour. The old Disney style cartoon-like drawings that they are now learning to do is exactly what they wanted. I printed out the CD onto paper so they each had a physical copy to work from, and that kept them occupied for hours on end, as they worked through the lessons. The lessons are very easy, they more or less copy a finished drawing, which has been broken into simple steps. I would recommend this product. My grandkids are aged 4 years to 7 years. It was most suited to the 7 year old, the 4 year old was too young to follow properly, although he did still enjoy it. He was more or less copying what the eldest one did. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.