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One of the best paintings. I have only done two or three different paint-by-number kits before painting this one. I have to say that you can be a beginner in painting and still manage to crate this painting. The paint that is used with the kits are fantastic, except for the light colors. The numbers tend to blend through the colors. When the happens, I slab on a lot of white over the number and then cover the white (after it dries) with the color it needed. It seems to work pretty good, but it leaves paint texture on the canvas.
I made this painting for a friend that recently bought a home and it was her "welcome home" present. She loves it and I loved painting it. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
This present easel does everything that the other did except that the riser is far more sturdy and made of a harder wood. I had a similar easel. The difference was the flimsiness of the adjustable rise. It ended up splitting after awhile. This present easel does everything that the other did except that the riser is far more sturdy and made of a harder wood. I often paint on the horizontal and I paint rather large canvases, so the ability for this easel to accommodate that positioning was important to me. It comes with a second tray for some reason which I have no need for, but I guess it would be useful if you were working on 2 paintings at once. All in all, I'm very happy with this easel. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
It is overall study and will easily hold canvas and staple sturdy though a decent stapler . The bars are 3.8 cm wide with a 3/4 cm lip to prevent "ghosts" on the canvas when painting. The joint that goes into another piece is 1 cm wide (will not match into a medium duty bar). There is a 4 cm lip on the back side with a 2 cm drop after for a total of 6 cm height The wood itself is reasonable quality though there are obviously smaller sections that were put together to form the bar. It is overall study and will easily hold canvas and staple sturdy though a decent stapler will need to be used to get the staples to go all the way in without hammering them. They are easy to combine different length bars to get rectangular frames. I got the bars in order to make a frame for a painting canvas and they work as expected.
Pros:
1. can combine to form rectangular frames
2. quality wood
3. not terribly heavy
4. won't fall apart after being put together without nails
cons:
1. hard to push together
2. medium duty won't fit into heavy duty
3. corners are sharp without sanding | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
This is a really great product, I was a bit skeptical at first. This is a really great product, I was a bit skeptical at first, but it turned out to exceed my expectations. For my first use I was testing almost everything I believed had a non porous surface, and every time it came right off (even on some rough wood a bit polished), some instances it didn't even have to be wet (but I still recommend to use a wet cloth or even paper towel). Feeling a little bit crazy, I decided to use it on a porous-ed surface, and either two things will happen, you will be scrubbing for a while, or a stain will be left, but may come with right direction (but they tell you not to do that so). Also something you may like, or may not like is that they are quite wet so if you use two colors on or near each other it will mix, unless you let it dry for a bit, but this can be thing you probably love or find a bit irritating, but it is really no biggy. Last but not least, can your children draw on the walls with it, the answer is it depends. For me it worked perfectly, which came by complete accident, as my little sister saw me testing it out she, went all on the first try, and luckily for me it came right off. I was unsure if the wall was porous or not, so if you're unsure and want to try, dot a small area of your wall, at your own risk, I really believe most walls are nonporous even with bumps, but I am no expert. This product is really cool, usually I would recommend to certain people, but if anyone is feeling a bit artsy I'd recommend it to them. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Works great. I am very happy with this heat press. I knew there would be a learning curve because this is a brand new hobby for me but the item did not come with very good instructions! Here's what I did, I searched for a similar heat press and found their manual online. It was very helpful and eased my fears enough to get started, [...] . So far I've pressed a few shirts using EPC Film and Heat Transfer Paper, both have turned out better than I could have hoped for. Regarding some of the reviews mentioning a 4 prong plug, those are the attachment plates that get plugged into the machine, not a wall outlet. The machine has a 3 prong plug that goes into your wall outlet. The only negative I have to say is that the cord that goes from the main box that plugs into the wall looks like it gets close to the hot plate when it swings up and over after pressing a shirt. Be sure to watch that. It could be a simple fix by making sure its gets plugged into an outlet that's to the far left of the machine. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Wish there was a better ink flow. I tired this on a chalkboard and it worked OKAY. It took a while for the pen to flow and then the ink wanted to take breaks. It says to be cautious on porous surfaces because it might not come off easily. This chalkboard didn't look porous, it brand new and looked like there wasn't many pores created with the type of paint used. I erased the first message after about 45 minutes and it was pretty hard to get off. I haven't tried to erase the new message. The chisel tip is also so hard it was difficult for my aunt who has perfect 2nd grade teacher handwriting and myself (also pretty good penmanship) so write neatly. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Top of the line paint markers. This is about as good as it gets for a high quality acrylic water based marker. I've used and abused many high quality acrylic markers and nothing compares to the Uni-POSCA PC series for quality versus price. Posca ink is world renowned for it's silky smooth, slightly chalky finish, not to mention the high opacity.
These markers are excellent on paper, canvas, wood, plastic, glass, or metal, and just about any smooth dry surface can be painted. Really smooth surfaces such as plastic may need a slight scuffing with a high grit sandpaper to ensure proper paint adherence. Rough surfaces will work in some cases, but tend to eat up the nib and require more ink for complete coverage.
One coat is usually suffice, but I like to apply two coats to smooth out any uneven areas, with at least ten minutes of drying time between coats. Several light coats of a matte acrylic clear coat will ensure permanency as well for long term archival of projects. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
You'll Spend ForeverTrying to Remove the Tiny Interior Pieces. It's a really pretty heart die cut - especially for Valentine's Day - but you'll spend forever trying to release all the tiny interior pieces without tearing the paper heart. When it comes loose from the die, a lot of the interior pieces aren't cut all the way through, and those that are, still stick and are difficult to get out.
I bought this to use for cutting die cut shapes for my shop but so much time is being spent with each one trying to get the sticky wickies off it's not worth it.
It would be great if you're making your own Valentines and it doesn't matter how much time you spend trying to get the inset pieces out/off. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Teen niece and nephew love it. I have been wanting to try a 3D printer for a while, so when I saw the opportunity to get this I grabbed it, and Im quite glad I did! It is so much fun!
What this is is a 3D printing pen. It functions similar to how a glue gun does. You insert plastic filament refills, and the mechanism inside the pen heats them up to melt them, and it extrudes out of the tip of the pen. After the filament comes out of the pen it hardens quickly, allowing you to draw in 3 dimensions. The tip does get very hot, so be careful, and kids should be supervised when using it. Also, the pen itself can begin to overheat when used for a long time continuously, so it's best to give the pen a break here and there.
This is super fun to use. I am pretty good with artistic things, and I found it simple to set up and begin to use. My teenaged niece and nephew enjoyed practicing with it. She tried making floral designs, and he attempted to make a skeleton. Honestly, did they come out greatno, not really. There is a bit of a learning curve, and it isn't as easy as it looks. However, for me, this is more about the process than the product. The hours of enjoyment that my family has gotten from using this are easily worth the full price of the product. That said, consider your purpose for purchasing with this item If you are looking for something to produce arts and crafts for resale, such as jewelry, this is probably not what you are looking for. However, if you are looking for an affordable introduction to 3D printing, or a fun craft to work on with kids, this pen is wonderful!
I received this item at a promotional price in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
A Safer Face Paint Option. I've always steered clear of face paints. What's in that stuff anyway?
Well, nothing good, it turns out. According to The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics:
* Ten out of 10 children's face paints contained lead at levels ranging from .05 to .65 parts per million (ppm)
* Six out of 10 children's face paints contained the potent skin allergens chromium, nickel and/or cobalt at levels ranging from 1.6 to 120 ppm - far exceeding safety recommendations of industry studies of 1 ppm
* Snazaroo Face Paint, labeled as "non-toxic" and "hypoallergenic," contained some of the highest levels of lead, nickel and cobalt found in the study
Yikes!
Lyra, a German company, produces these pencils. Unlike much of what you'll find lining the shelves on Halloween, Lyra/Giotto tests their face pencils for lead, and the pencils do not contain parabens. This doesn't mean they're 'natural' or that you'd want to apply them daily to a child. But for special occasions like Halloween, they're perfect.
The colors aren't as striking as more traditional face paints. They are somewhat translucent. We used them over a layer of white zinc sunblock to create a super-scary zombie and alternately to accentuate wrinkles and warts on what ended up being a very convincing (and creepy) four-year-old witch. The pencils blend nicely, and are overall easy to work with. Application allows for more precision, but it also more time-consuming, which can be a little difficult on a wriggling child.
I was pleased with how our face paintings turned out, and heartened that there is a better option out for when the kiddos want their faces painted.
Lyra/Giotto pencils are made in Germany. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Superb tool. I'm not a scrapbooker, but I can well appreciate why scrapbookers would go nuts with this machine. Of course, the range of possible artistic/design applications for technology like this is limitless. In addition to being a very versatile tool (with thousands of pre-set designs), the JAEDG is also -- as other reviewers have noted -- a very easy one to set up and use. I am just beginning to explore it myself, but wanted to weigh in with my own highly favorable impressions so far. Assuming this cutter is built to last (only time will tell), then it's a brilliantly useful (and well designed) piece of technology. I'm just beginning to imagine the many uses I'll be making use of mine in the months and years ahead... | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
A step above plain colored pencils. I love these water color pencils, I really do,... I have never used water color pencils before so for me they are fun and amazing. There are 48 water color pencils and the set even comes with a paint brush and a small pencil sharpener.
The pencil lead is nice and soft, which makes coloring with them a pleasure since the color just glides over the paper as you draw. These pencils blend very well too. You can dampen the brush with a bit of water to further blend the colors leaving areas darker, or add a bit more water to turn your drawing into a water color work of art. When you add water the colors will soften and become more pastel, but it gives you that misty look that you see in regular watercolor paintings.
You can even lightly mist sections of your drawing with a spray bottle and go over areas with a dry brush, it's easy to figure out when you need to add a bit more water. These water color pencils are a lot of fun to use, you can even use them along with regular pencils and gel pens, just add them at the end for an additional misty or opaque look.
These pencils can be used in coloring books, or in drawing tablets for freehand drawing. Thicker paper works best since you use a bit of water, I even used copy paper and it worked out great. I can't wait to use these with my grandkids, I think they will really enjoy drawing with them,... I know I have!
Free product sample received for review purposes. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Bright, Even Light from a Thin Package. This is a very good board. It is a nice size. You can still fit it in your lap if need be, though putting it on a table is more stable. The light is even across the whole board. The light is dimable, however I needed to read the instructions to figure out how (Press and Hold the power button to adjust brightness). The range of brightness is good too. The brightest is enough to shine through thick paper, or you can set it on low when working on thin stuff.
One downside is that the on/off button is very sensitive. It is easy to accidentally turn the board off by brushing it with your hand or a ruler, etc. So it is best to rotate the board such that the button is far from where your hands need to be.
Update: Lately, it has begun to need "warm up" time. For a few minutes after I light it up, the board blinks off and back on intermittently. After that, the light shines solidly. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great product! Works as advertised. I wanted to make my foosball table blacklight reactive without messing up it's look under normal lighting conditions. Tested this product on a piece of wood before applying it on the foosball field. You can also add some highlighter ink to make it a color of your choice. It dries almost transparent and retains the matte finish very well. Finally after testing, applied it to the foosball table using a flat brush making sure it was evenly applied. The result was excellent and my friends love it. It still works after two bottles of beer spilled on the table. The whole process used only about 1/8th of the 250ml medium. I am going to use it for some more blacklight projects just because I have so much left. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Awesome liquid chalk markers. These are so cool... my kids love writing on the windows.... in a good way that is :)
My boys practice writing their spelling words and leave notes on special days to each other and the rest of the family.
I think they get a kick out of being able to write on something typically you are supposed to write on. So when receiving these for free for my unbiased opinion, I got excited for my kiddos. If you don't know how to use chalk markers it's very simple... press the tip to release pressure, put the cap back on - shake gently (cap-side up), remove cap and press down gently on hard surface until the liquid fills the tip....then have fun and go wild on the windows!!! It comes off the windows very easy as well, all I had to use was a dry paper towel and the kids started all over. I also, absolutely recommend US Art Supply to everyone; their products and they way they conduct business is top notch and they are super friendly. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
eBosser vs. Cuttlebug. I bought the eBosser recently after having returned the Cuttlebug machine for a full refund from Amazon. There is absolutely no comparison between the two machines. The eBosser wins hands-down.
The eBosser is sleek and heavy duty whereas the Cuttlebug is of clunky appearance and cheap manufacture.
The eBosser is completely hands-free while operating; the Cuttlebug requires hand-cranking.
The eBosser remains perfectly steady when operating on all surfaces without moving; the Cuttlebug does not adhere to wooden surfaces and is very unsteady. I had to use one hand to crank the handle and the other to try to stabilize the machine.
The larger size of the eBosser enables embossing sheets of paper up to 8.5" x 11"; the Cuttlebug is very small and unsuitable for larger greeting card designs.
The embossing feature of the eBosser is razor crisp! The Cuttlebug embossing was crisp in some areas and fuzzy in others.
The die cutting result with the eBosser is outstanding and it will take "any die ever made" (claim made by the manufacturer -- and, so far, I believe it). I cannot comment on the die cutting results with the Cuttlebug as I had given up in despair at that point and was already printing up the return label.
The eBosser is definitely an expensive alternative to the Cuttlebug but if you are serious about paper crafting I believe this is the machine to buy. I'm very happy with my purchase, as you can tell! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Beautiful colors but hard to get started. This package has a good variety of colors. The purple, blue, brown, and red have softer tones, while the orange, pink, yellow, and green are neon-bright. The black doesn't have any blue or brown tones, and the white doesn't have any yellow; they are nice and clean-looking. We use them on bathroom mirrors and a vinyl "chalkboard" sticker on our fridge. To start them, alternate between shaking them and gently but quickly pressing the tip against a hard surface with a piece of paper under the tip. The tip will retract into the pen as you press down on it, and you don't need to press very hard. It takes about 30 seconds to get the color to start to descend into the tip. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Solid Drawing Easel With Some Quibbles. I got this Mont Marte tripod easel today. It's always a bit nerve-racking to open up a package that contains a hefty purchase based off of almost no reviews and only a few pictures to go by. So hopefully, here's a review of this product substantial enough for you to make an informed buying decision.
The first thing that might be obvious is that this is a plein air drawing easel. Since it is portable, there will be a natural comparison with the French box easel. If you are a painter, you should be looking at a French box easel, as it provides nearly all the features of this easel in addition to the box to hold painting supplies. If you, however, are mainly an artist who draws, then you may consider this easel, as it casts off the French box and saves you space and weight.
Doing a bit of research, you will see many other plein air tripod easels like this one. In fact, you will find that they fold and open the same way as this, but they will cost roughly half the price. The main design difference between this Mont Marte easel and the others are the inclusion of the carrying handle and the tool tray on this easel. So, keep in mind when you're considering buying this easel that you are paying about twice as much as another similar tripod easel for the added features of a handle and a tray. For me, the addition of the tray was worth the cost, as I would rather have my tools in front of me when I draw instead of having to rely on my art bin or a separate tray next to me. This would especially be the case if I'm working outdoors.
The tool tray, by the way, is pretty roomy, and you have enough real estate to put your charcoal, pencil, sharpening knife, chamois, eraser, and stump, with plenty of space left for other things.
The one flaw in the tray design, though, is that it's not self-contained with the folding mechanics of the easel. All other parts slide and swivel together when you need to fold up the easel, but the tray has to be detached by way of two screws and bundled together with the folded easel by a pair of Velcro strips. I was, however, surprised to find that when you put the tray on the back of the folded easel, the tray was designed to slide nicely into place among the other parts and not just sit on top of everything as though it had no business being there. So that was a very nice touch on the part of the designer, and the thoughtfulness of that idea is not taken for granted.
Once folded, the easel is a bit longer than I had anticipated. It measures about 36" in length. The carrying handle is in a good place, as the easel balances very well when picked up in its compact form. I would rather have a shoulder bag of some sort to lug it around, since an artist who draws tends to have one hand on an art bin and the other on a sketchboard. But getting a carrying bag to accommodate 36" could be pricey. So at minimum, you get an intrinsic handle to carry it.
As mentioned above, two strips of Velcro keep the easel folded together. But unlike the carrying handle, the strips of Velcro are not attached to the easel. They are separate, and when the easel is unfolded, you don't really have a place to put them. Personally, I just loop them around the carrying handle to not lose them.
The unfolding part of this easel is a bit of a challenge at first go. You probably wouldn't think it much of a struggle looking at it, but I would say it's tougher than trying to assemble a French box easel the first time around.
In concept, the tripod design is easy enough to figure out. You have to release all the parts by unscrewing the various hand knobs. One screw, for the mast, is operated by a screw with a hand lever. Once you loosen all the screws, you extend three legs and the mast. You swivel out the mast, and if you tighten everything back up, the basic setup is finished.
In practice, however, trying to get everything to balance correctly and making sure both front legs remain at the same length when you try to join them correctly to the mast is cumbersome. This easel also comes with the bonus feature of additional base clamps. The mast itself provides a base clamp to hold your canvas or board. But below that are a pair of additional base clamps that move independently from each other. If you want to secure a bigger board, you may use these secondary base clamps. But since they move independently from each other, and they sit upon the legs of the easel and are, therefore, influenced by how far you extend the legs, trying to get these base clamps balanced correctly is a chore.
These secondary base clamps are also where you attach the tool tray. And trying to get the tray leveled while everything else is moving is a bit like tinkering with a Rubik's cube through trial and error: after you get one side solved, you mess it up when you try to solve another side. Obviously, this challenge is much more forgiving, but there is that bit of frustration in setting up this easel. It took me about seven minutes to get it right on the first go, even though I managed to set up the seemingly more complicated French box easel in a couple of minutes on my first try. So, there might be a steeper learning curve to getting this easel set up than you might have guessed.
Once you have this easel unfolded, it stands at a giant 74" when extended to its fullest. The top clamp is adjustable, able to go all the way to the top of the mast. On my easel, this top clamp seems to stick, and it doesn't slide very smoothly.
In terms of canvas size, it appears the biggest canvas that will fit between the top clamp and the secondary base clamps would be about 43.5".
After a few tries at folding and unfolding this easel, I would say the key to getting it set up properly is to have conviction when you do it. When you extend the legs, you have to mean it. You have to know you want those legs extended so far, then tighten the screws to lock them into place. Then you move on to adjusting a different part. You don't really want to have all the screws loose, then try to figure everything out at once. That'll just mess you up. Set things up as though they're supposed to be that way, no matter what shape the easel is in, then start adjusting part by part.
Some people may be interested to know if this easel can double as a table top easel, and I would say no. You may possibly manipulate it enough to sit upon a flat surface, but I believe it would highly limit the canvas size. I would judge that a French box easel would make a better table top easel than this one.
A list of pros and cons below:
PROS:
- Seemingly durable quality.
- Light weight.
- Fairly compact when folded, considering how big it is unfolded.
- Takes up less than half the width of a French box easel.
- Balances well when the legs are set properly.
- When unfolded, you may pick it up with one hand, by the top of the mast, and carry it around with confidence (in contrast, carrying around an unfolded French box easel can be less than stellar).
- The mast can swivel into a horizontal position for working with watercolors.
CONS:
There's really one con for me about this easel, and it's a big one. In the top clamp, there is no groove in which to set your board securely in place. A lot of plein air easels have grooves in both the top and bottom clamps. This groove was originally made for the French box easel to give a space between the canvas and the easel so that when you're done painting, you may flip your oil painting around and lock it between the clamps and still have space between the surface of your still-wet painting and the surface of your easel to prevent smearing. But aside from protecting your painting from smearing, this groove in the clamp also helps lock your board in place.
Every plein air easel I've seen has had this feature. It's so ubiquitous that I figured it was just standard and didn't bother looking for it on this easel before buying it. It would be as if I had to make sure a knife I was interested in buying had a handle.
But on this easel, instead of being able to secure your board by way of locking it into a groove, you are relying on friction against a smooth wooden block. And since this is supposed to be a portable easel, I'm mystified as to why they would design the clamps this way. It's not as if it's a studio easel where once you have your canvas in place, it stays there for basically the life of its creation. With a portable easel, you may be switching out canvases or changing the orientation of your sketchboard, or going from newsprint, to colored paper, to Bristol board in a class. And each time you make a switch, you would probably want to be able to secure your board quickly with confidence that it's locked in place.
For now, I've tested the clamp with my sketchboard, and it did hold firmly on the easel. Nevertheless, I was very disappointed to find the aforementioned feature missing. If you look at every other plein air easel, literally every single one of them has grooves or an overhang in the clamps. And every other Mont Marte easel has these clamps, as far as I can see. But this one design--of all easels--does not. If you find that feature unnecessary, this won't be a problem for you, but admittedly, if I had been aware of this missing feature, I would not have purchased this easel. Since I now own it, I'll have to make do with it.
Overall, this is a nice portable drawing easel to have, with some qualifications. For those who don't focus on painting, this easel discards the French box that may be bulky or weighty, and gives the essentials of a plein air easel. In contrast to many of the other similar portable tripod easels out there, this one also offers a tool tray and an intrinsic handle. The tool tray, however, is separate from the easel and requires unscrewing in order to attach and detach the tray. I've dropped the hand knob while unscrewing the tray a few times already, so there is potential to lose a hand knob if you're outdoors. The easel folds very compactly, although unfolding it can be quite a task. Once assembled, it can handle quite a large canvas size, but the clamps have no grooves for locking in the canvas or sketchboard, and rely simply on friction. If the shortcomings are not significant to you, and you think the tray or handle is worth twice the price of other easels similar to it, then this is a solid easel to own. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
render beautiful results but they do have practical drawbacks. Soft pastels with beautiful, rich hues. The quality couldn't be better. However, because of their odd shape they are the most difficult to sharpen of any brand I've tried. They don't fit any of my hand sharpeners. Electric sharpeners break them.
I got the tip to try freezing them before sharpening and it helped but two still broke. I'm going to try the freezing again though. I am going to have to discover a reliable way of sharpening these before I buy more of them. One group of artists recommends sharpening them with a scalpel. Caran d'ache offers its own electric sharpener but I've read very mixed reviews about it and it is very expensive.
My husband is experimenting with yet another manual sharpener and just managed to sharpen 4 of them without breaking. So there may be hope yet. Perhaps manufacturers ought to make this a kit or package deal for buying your first set (include sharpener).
I have been trying a variety of water soluble media to use on arches hot press water block. Overall, watercolor pencils and water soluble pastels are the easiest and most reliable to use. The pastel-pencils are a great third choice but they require a lot more fuss. They also leave a dust like residue when you use them which the other two did not. However, they leave a lot less residue than the pastels in stick form leave.
So, overall these render beautiful results but they do have practical drawbacks. I am unsure at this point whether I will stick with them or not for these practical reasons. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Need more gesso, but overall good product. I have bought these twice now. As far as canvas panels go, they are good quality. They all come individually wrapped, so you don't have to worry about any of them getting messed up if you're not using the whole set all at once, and I've never had any of them come bent or bowed like I have with other companies. My only issue would be that they say they are triple primed with acrylic gesso, but I still found them to be quite rough and had to prime them with another 3-4 coats. Other than that, I like the weight, loved the price and shipping time, and find them to be a quality product that I will continue to use as long as I need them.
I did NOT receive a discount or any of these items for free--this is a completely unbiased and un-bought opinion. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Box needed repair. My niece really loved this art set. BUT when it arrived I opened it to make sure it was intact. Nothing worse then getting a christmas gift, opening it and finding it broken. The stuff inside seemed to be good quality (for a 8-year-old anyways). The box however needed some repair. One of the metal hinges was detached from the box causing the slide out tray to flop around. I found the screw in with the crayons on the bottom. When I tried to put it back in place the hole it screws into was too large and the screw wouldn't stay. I had to glue it so it would not fall out. A minor inconvenience for sure, but this set is not exactly cheap and I expected better quality. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great little sketch book. My 13 year old is a budding new artist. I thought that it would great to try out several different pads to see which size and texture she would like best. This one is very nice. The paper is thick, has a nice subtle texture and the spiral is great for flipping pages and keeping all work together. Right now, she isn't experienced enough to fill are large page and this is the perfect size for her. I am an artist and I approve of this little sketch book. You can use several mediums with this paper: pen and ink, pencil, charcoal, conte, prisma pencils and markers! We did receive this item for free/discount for our review. Our reviews are as honest as we can be. Please see my other reviews for reference. If your product stinks, you'll know lol! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Big Shot Express Excitement. The Sizzix Big Shot Express was a Valentine gift from my husband. It's a delight to work with, does an excellent job of diecutting and embossing, and is joy and wonderful toy to play with and experiment. Card making is easier, quicker and lots more fun! My Stampin' Up demonstrator uses hers in our camps and also just purchased a Vagabond. We were sorry to know that the Big Shot Express had been discontinued, but that's how we ordered from Amazon.com through Karen L. = Our first experience with your firm was efficient and most satisfying. We will search for various items when the need arises and look forward to doing business with you again. A review was previously sent to Karen L. to advise how pleased we were with her offer. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Much better than soil separator fabric. To trace pattersn, I used to use the soil separator fabric that you can buy in the plumbing/sewer section of home improvement stores. Now that I have used the SSTP, I will never go back. This is much sturdier, easier to write on, and you can actually see the pattern marks on it when you lay it on your fabric. It does take longer to trace the pattern on this because it is opaque and it is hard to see the pattern underneath ( I have to keep peeling up the SSTP to check if I am on the right path).
It saves me time in the end because I only have to trace my pattern once on the Swedish paper, then I can easily use it as many times as I feel like sewing the garment, vs the opposite, which is to easily trace the pattern once on SSF, then do all the extra manipulations to transfer the markings to fabric every time I want to use the pattern again. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
I am very satisfied with both it's construction. I bought this kit for painting my AR 15.
I was skeptical about it because of the low price and some of the negative reviews, but got it anyway since it was so cheap.
After using it, I am very satisfied with both it's construction, and performance. You literally have to be a butter-fingered moron to break this thing.
If you follow the instructions properly, despite their hilariously poor translations from chinese to English, then you won't hit any snags. The instructions are pretty damn easy to understand even with the grammatical errors in translation. If you have an I.Q. over 70, you will be fine. This kit is perfect for small projects... so don't buy it to paint your house or car like an embecile. Use common sense. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
It is fantastic. This art paint brush set has all the . This is an unbelievable art paint brush set. It is fantastic. This art paint brush set has all the bells and whistles. There is nothing you couldn't paint with this set. This paint brush set has thirty six different brushes in it. It has twelve acrylic, twelve oil and twelve watercolor brushes. It also comes with a case that holds all the brushes and it ties up to protect them and hold them together. This art paint brush set is made of very top of the line products and materials. They are well made, large variety and work very well. I am happy I ordered them. I received a discount on this product in a special promotion. My review, my opinion and experience is honest and 100% genuine. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Everything dyed beautifully and evenly. The instructions for this have to be read with care. The bottle label gives a website that has more detailed instructions than are on the bottle. Having said that, there are some details on the bottle that aren't on the site, so reading BOTH is required to give you the full instructions of what you should do to dye different fabric types.
I dyed cotton, and added the salt to the hot water. I had too much fabric to dye for the size of my bucket, so I dyed in 3 batches, leaving each for at least 20 minutes, and stirring them regularly. Everything dyed beautifully and evenly, though the last batch was a little paler, as the water had cooled. The colour was very close to that on the bottle. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
A BIRTHDAY GIFT FOR MY DAUGHTER. I ordered this Royal & Langnickel 48-Piece All Media Easel Artist Set for my daughter as a birthday gift. I receive the set in just a few days. When I received the set, I unpacked it from the shipping box and repacked the Royal & Langnickel 48-Piece set and sent it off to my daughter without opening it to take a peek. My daughter called me when she received it and said this was one of the best gifts she had ever received... Several weeks later I stopped and visited with my daughter and her family. My daughter brought out the set and showed it to me, she was so happy and proud. When I finally took the time to look at it, I could not believe what I was seeing. The set is not a cheap thrown together piece of crap! The Wood Easel is very well made and very ridged. Inside everything had its parking place. Very neat. My daughter is 33 years old... This set is not kid stuff... My daughter is an artist. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Almost Awesome. We were so, so, so excited to try this. The concept is that the child is able to, using an airbrush, paint his/her very own car and stencil on designs and decals. The concept was a huge hit in my house; we set aside a few hours to design a car and paint it perfectly. We were then going to race it with the other hot wheels that we have. An airbrush gun, airbrush stencils, and even a drying chamber. How cool!!
Then the frustration started:
First beware that you will need 4 C batteries. So after a little hiccup in our plans while we found 4 C batteries, we were excited again and underway.
Next: The kit was very easy to assemble and the instructions easy to follow. our excitement grew...
until, We discovered that the color that we wanted to paint the car was dry. The gun uses pens that are placed into the airbrush gun. Unfortunately, not only was the red entirely dry, but so was the yellow. The blue and black were pretty dry too; but we did get a little bit of "paint" to spray. But no matter what we did we could not get anywhere near a constant pattern. I think this may have been because these other pens were pretty dry too, but I'm not sure. The car did not look very good despite the adults taking over and trying for more than 30 minutes to just get a base coat on the car. It's impossible.
And because it is so impossible to lay down a consistent base coat with a paint gun that barely sprays no matter what setting it is put on, it is impossible to paint a stencil out. The stencil idea seems so cool, and well designed. A rubber piece with cut outs is stretched over the car, and then the paints sprayed over the rubber design. But the paint was no where near dense enough to allow a design to be painted.
I was anticipating that we would need to be buying many more plain white cars (only one is included), and I was ok with that because the concept of painting them yourself was just so cool and was going to offer us such good daddy-daughter and daddy-son time.
Alas, it didn't work at all, and is going in the garbage instead. I am giving it two stars instead of one, hoping that there was just a manufacturing defect in the paint pens that we received.
Almost awesome. Garbage Instead. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Faster Cards - Works Great in the Fiskars Fuse. I use this in my Fiskars Fuse to bust out shutter cards in a fraction of the time. The die requires using up an entire 12" x 12" piece of paper, which gives a nice sized card base, but it is difficult to fit the paper on the die exactly, since the cutting edge goes nearly up to the very edge of the paper. It took me a couple of tries to get it right, but it works just fine once I did.
Instead of throwing out the scraps that I didn't fit on the die just right, I kept the pieces to use as embellishments for future cards, so I don't have to measure each panel of future cards that I want to apply another color of paper to. I only wish there were a companion die for this that would cut out the individual panels for me without having to run another entire sheet through, but luckily I have a lot of scrap paper I've collected over the years, so it's not a huge problem for me. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Very pleased. I purchased this to mix with some Colorplace paint I got at Walmart. I used it on my kitchen cabinets. My kitchen cabinets are not high quality and they had been painted previously. The problem that I was having with the paint is that it pealed off easily. After degreasing and scrubbing the cabinets well I followed the instructions on the Dover's Chalk Paint container. The paint is thick and went on easily. I watched a few tutorials on YouTube before using this and I was glad I did. You have to pay attention to your brush strokes with chalk paint because they stand out more than regular paint. I finished off my paint job with a coating of wax. I have had the cabinets done for a month now and I am very pleased with the outcome. The paint is durable and even with scrubbing has not come off the cabinets. Because of the dull texture of the paint, oil and other spills will show up on your paint more easily, but it provides more incentive to keep the cabinets clean and nice so I don't mind. I would recommend this product to others because it is easy to use, durable, and did what it says it does. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
My kids have been having tons of fun with this. These remind me of giant stick on tattoos, but for items instead of your skin. They both use the same concept of wetting down a the thing you're going to stick to something, holding it to where you want it to stick, then peeling off the baking and getting your desired result. These work well on smooth shiny things, and were great for making cute iPhone and iPod cases. We had a few cheap plastic cases laying around and my daughter decorated those.
You wet down a giant sponge, put the item you want to put a skin on inside the giant sponge (with the desired skin) and then turn on the little vacuum machine. It pulls the air out of the bag and tightens the sponge around the object, pressing the skin against the item and causing it to stick to it. We let the items sit and dry a little while too, so the skins would be less likely to peel off or move around. The skins will even stick to the other skins, so you can layer them or do patches on them.
My daughter 13 year old had a lot more fun with this than she does with most toys. She's already ready for me to get her more packs of the skins and my son wants the boys set with cammo skins to decorate some of his call phone cases. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Fun to draw and write with. I had seen someone using these pens on Instagram and just HAD to have them. The shipping took awhile because they came from overseas, but that was clearly stated when I ordered them, so I was expecting to wait a couple of weeks. The quality is great! All of the pens are juicy with ink, all of the tips are the same and flow evenly. I really wanted the brush tip to practice the trendy informal calligraphy I've been seeing everywhere and am very happy with my choice. The tips bend, to create thicker lines when I press down (thinner with less pressure). The price, quality and performance all met my expectations. Great pens! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Encaustic Brush Holder is Required, Note to R&F. I am just beginning encaustic work and bought this as part of a kit. I am struggling with how small the surface is and there is Nowhere to lay your working brushes!! (You can lay brushes on the surface, but the brush bristles stay above the heated surface which makes painting difficult and laborious. I should have gotten either the R&F 16"x16" kit that comes with the brush holder or an $30 electric griddle with a ledge around the sides. Trying to navigate brushes that need to stay warm but with nothing to prop them up a bit (if you think you'll want to use more of a color, just keep the brush warm) on such a small surface is frustrating. Remember to keep in mind you will need to have metal containers of slick and medium (plus white, black, XL medium, etc.) on your heated pallet the whole time.
Hard to use, expensive, and frustrating. WHY R&F doesn't include a brush holder (or even Sell one for the 12"x12") is lost on me. Do yourselves a favor and skip this $175 item. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
NOT GOOD FOR ART SCHOOL. This product is NOT a good one. I bought it for my painting class because I thought that the paints would be good enough to at least compare with the more expensive ones.
If you are an art student, don't bother with these. They're okay for recreational use but if you are trying to work on developing more skill in a short time, these paints will just be frustrating. There's a lot of filler in these, which means that they have more liquid in them than pigment. When using mineral spirits or liquin to paint with, this is really gonna make the color diluted and more transparent.
Granted, they are a lot less expensive. But to say that they are "artist" paint is a blatant lie. They are under the quality of studio and student paints, let alone artist quality. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
All The Skills Start Wiih Tracing For Some People. Very useful if you want to practice your line work by copying pubic domain drawings to train your fingers to do complicated art work and deconstruct images a section at a time to improve your skill for your own projects. Also good if you want to copy your own work by hand and transfer a drawing of yours to canvas sketchbook or wall. If you've read anything about art history you know the great masters of the past learned by first copying the work of their more famous contemporaries as they moved on to their own ideas and to learn techniques; a lot of art students do this today- you might see them sitting in quiet museums doing it if you look. Tracing is one technique; you can transfer one of your drawings over and over into a sketch book and then once that is done shade and color and even paint the same image in different ways. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Beautiful design but poor quality imprint. These look like Maori tribal, not at all like Native American tribal, nevertheless, kudos for great, not run-of-the-mill design. Unfortunately, even if the design is gorgeous, the stamps don't have a very good imprint. They do seem to be the kind to leave a deep well defined imprint, but they actually don't. I think it's the material they're made of. Usually very fine lines when made of a softer material than the regular grey or red rubber, they get squished quite a bit in the process of pressing the stamp on the clay and thus lose definition and depth. I was rather disappointed. I made a negative and then another positive of it with "bake and bend" and that seems to do the trick. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Strudy unit that hold up to abuse. Bought this for my 3 year old daughter who loves to draw on everything. Has a dry erase board that is still in good shape. The chalk board is nice and cleans off well. And a convenient storage for a paper roll. We do not use the paper very much but my daughter uses the dry erase and chalk board on a daily basis. This is a sturdy unit, we have it out in my shop so that she has something to keep her occupied when mommy and daddy are working in the shop. She carries this thing all over the shop, drags it, kicks it, puts her feet on it and over all abuses it and after a few months it is still holding up. The chalk board eraser that came with it went in the trash day two, It is small and cheap and didn't work well. We bought a regular felt eraser to replace it. Other than the eraser this is a very nice toy for an aspiring artist or scribbler. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
It was fairly easy to put together. I bought this desk for my craft room. It was fairly easy to put together, I only had to undo the first section one time to get it right. The only thing that bugged me about assembly is that there were diagrams of the screws and one set of screws that they indicated was not on there. I had more of another set. Hmm... Anyway, I have to cats and it's been hilarious to watch them walk across the table and fall off because they don't realize the desk has ended and air has begun! The kitten does it the most, hehehe. But yeah, nice table, serves it purpose for the price. I tightened it as best I could so that it doesn't wobble and shake. It's a comfortable height, too. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Not permanent. I bought these to fix a stain on a pair of black pants I own. I followed all the instructions to a tee. The markers seemed a little dry and the dye did not flow out very freely. Still I went back and forth quite a bit and managed to eke out enough to mostly cover the small spot. I ironed the pants on high heat as stated and overall the result seemed ok. Not perfect but good enough. Alas, I looked down today at my freshly washed pants and saw to my dismay that the black dye had completely washed out. Perhaps my pants are not made of fabric that is most conducive to the dye in these markers but in any case they didn't work for me. I wouldn't recommend these. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Love these pens for my adult coloring books. I'm totally into the new adult coloring books so the more colored pens I have the happier I am. This set offers a full spectrum of distinctive 6 Standard, 6 Neon, 6 Swirl, 12 Glitter, 10 Metallic, and 8 Milky gel pens, with tip sizes ranging from 0.8-1.0 mm. They are smudge-proof, bleed-proof, fade resistant pens so it makes your artwork look awesome and they will stay that way for years to come. I love how these pens fit in your hand they have a design that I don't get hand pain, cramps, or even finger calluses after hours of use. They also are non toxic and acid free so the ink is safe for the little ones to use too. When these run dry I will without a doubt be ordering more!!! I received product at discount in exchange for honest review. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
I really liked the sepate bottles with spray caps that clicked into . I first tried this set for a plastic model building project. I really liked the sepate bottles with spray caps that clicked into the airbrush body, which made clean up (I use Tamiya acrylic paints) as simple as rinsing the bottles and caps after spraying. The included propellant can was a failure though; the propellant continually escaped the can despite reconnecting the hose several times. Also, there was no way to regulate air flow. I ultimately purchased a Badger 250 external mix spray gun, which has performed better only because the air regulator cap attaches better to the propel can and the cap has a air regulator valve to control the flow of air. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great Machine! Hear me out. So here's the deal: I loved this machine. But I am going to write my review from both perspectives of dislike and like.
To start, you have to keep in mind that letterpress is a complex printing technique, so for it to be replaced by a platform and a stencil press is a big feat. With that in mind, I'd say it does a great job. I posted photos to show what I was able to accomplish with this (don't mind my hand, hiding some personal information. Lol!) I used L platform on the Bigshot, and I ran it through the press 280 times!! My invites were 5 x 7 and 220 lb letra, pretty big on the platform and thick on the platform, and had three layers (one un-inked). As my photo indicates, I did eventually get a crack on the top of the platform ... HOWEVER ... This is because after I was done with three layers of my invites (210 runs) I decided to quickly do one extra and quickly put a plate on, with the backing of the adhesive of the plate (if that makes sense) and I think this added an extra layer and it was just too much pressure for the press. BUT, I knew better. It felt harder than usual going through and finally it cracked. But this was me not being careful, and I did add ANOTHER layer to my already thick invites but not removing the adhesive protector of my plate. But after this, I was able to print 70 more detail cards without it affecting the platform. The crack was an internal crack and nothing external happened.
As a reviewer showed, the base doesn't fit well into this one section. It fits but you have to push it down hard and then I taped down all four corners with scotch tape. This prevents any warping but also might prevent any cracks.
Overall, is this perfect? No. Is it a great letterpress replacement if you can't get your hands on a traditional machine or you don't have the money to get this professionally done? Yes! I am immensely happy with what I was able to print with this machine. I am here to say that beautiful printing with this machine is possible. You just have to be patient, and smart about it. I was very careful (until I cracked the plate; got comfortable I guess). I examined my L platform to adjust it, and I did a lot of research. If you google L platform, there are a few blogs on this; mostly from Boxcar Press. This gives you everything you need to print well. I think printing with ANYTHING the L letterpress provides you, like the brayer, ink and plates is in fact asking for horrible prints and broken plates and platforms. Their plates are just too hard (in a stiff bad way, not in a durable way like Boxcar plates) that it breaks. But there are blogs out there that show you how to use this machine from technique, paper and modifying the machine (taping it haha).
I was scared to use this machine for a while because it got such bad reviews and I'm not a lucky person. I thought (great, this is going to break on me mid invite and I'll be out all this time and money.) but nope. Was able to get 70 invites and detail cards printed successfully!
I recommend this for sure. Just be careful. If you feel it is hard to run your platform through your chosen machine ... Don't force it!! Do research, and take be patient! :) | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
AWESOME. Best Halloween decoration EVER! One thing I would like to say, not that it is a negative thing, is that aside from the black image of the skeleton and it's spider, the background is clear. I was expecting a colored background instead because of the pictures. It actually is a lot better looking with the clear background. The size is really great as well. I have a small shop on a four lane highway and when driving past, I could CLEARLY see the entire image from the farthest lane away. It would be perfect for home users too I'd imagine. I'm not sure of the exact specs, but I'd say after eyeballing it that it is probably around 2-3 feet tall and 1-2 feet wide.
Also, the best way I found to put it up was to put the clear vinyl and it's white background (also part of the packaging) up to the spot on your window where you want it. Press the back and the vinyl up against the window until it is completely flat. Then peel the white back piece away from the vinyl (it will stay stuck to the window) and this will neatly place the vinyl onto your window with hardly any air bubbles.
When going to take it down, you basically do that same process but backwards. Press the white back piece against the vinyl on your windows, lining up its edges. The slowly peel from the top down, while also clamping the vinyl to the white backing. All the while, roll the two pieces together. After you roll once or twice, you shouldn't have to line up and it will roll up easily from there. Definitely something you can reuse! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Wonderful and relaxing. This is the first time I have done this kind of craft and I love. I find it very relaxing and calming. It is one of the simplest things to do and the outcome is simply beautiful. It is just like painting by numbers except you use tiny crystals and place them on the corresponding numbers. Make sure you save the film cover that comes with the canvas that covers the picture. It keeps the the area with glue clean and free from dust and dirt so it doesn't loose it's hold. So place this same plastic film back over your canvas when your not working on it to keep it clean. There will come a point where it will no longer stick because of the crystals so I would suggest that you lay it flat, place the film over it and place a book over it to hold it in place. The canvas where the numbers are and the crystals go is coated with a thin layer of glue that holds the crystals in place. I would recommend this craft to anyone as well as this company. They have some very nice canvases and the price is perfect. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Smooth ink for coloring; won't bleed through. I bought my first set of Zigs about 18 years ago for scrapbooking. Most of them still work but I ordered a new set as some of them were starting to dry out and some of the colors becoming less distinct (not bad after 18 years). Now that Bible journaling is all the rage, I've tried different sets of pens and gels and am going back to my trusty Zigs as the large tip is smooth for coloring and doesn't bleed through unless you keep going over the same spot so many times it disintegrates the paper. The small tip is great for underlining and note taking. I prefer these to any of the other pens, gels, and colored pencils I have tried for Bible journaling. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Nice quality, nice texture, and nice pricepoint. What's not to like. Wasn't quite sure what I'd be getting when I ordered but I'm happy to report these are exactly what I needed. The wife decided to do hand/foot print Xmas themed pictures for presents for the grandparents this year. I ordered these hoping they would be wood frames with canvas stretched all the way across and around to the back. That's exactly what I got and I'm happy with the quality. They are nice and white and the canvas is nice and thick. It took the paint well (we used Crayola Washable Tempera) and the pictures look great! Happy wife, happy kids, and very happy grandparents. I'll definitely buy again in multiple sizes. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
The gravity-fed brushes are wonderful, btw. Everything is as described, the shipping time was questionable however. Amazon pushed the ship and delivery dates back, because the seller hadn't yet shipped it by the time they initially stated, but it wasn't a substantial time frame difference (only aggravating, due to my having based my schedule around the original deliver-by date). Also, all was packed very well, and arrived in mint condition, all items from listing were also 100% accounted for. The gravity-fed brushes are wonderful, btw, however the E91 got on my nerves fairly quickly (good thing, for me, that I expected that to happen, as I've always hated siphon-fed airbrushes). I purchased this package with the intent to have the 2 main brushes, comp and the rest of the package, sans the E91. I'll always hate siphon-fed brushes, though, because they're royal pains in the rear to clean up and oftentimes are also a pain to use. They're 1-hit-wonders, and for the most part do what they're intended for, but they're also very basic and cheap. The other 2 brushes, however, are wonderful. I'm still getting used to them, though, so we'll see how they are long-term. They work well, clean easily, are comfortable to hold and handle, etc. The comp is nice, too, and does run fairly quietly, but the auto-off-auto-on is rather annoying. Thankfully, however, it doesn't cause any psi drops (none that I've noticed anyway). The brush holders could do with better placement, too, and the PSI regulator/adjuster doesn't seem to be very useful (for the life of me, I couldn't find any difference in the PSI, regardless of how much I turned it in either direction). For $140, though, I can't really complain. It's exactly as I expected, and that's a plus. Now, I just need to research how to turn off that auto-off-auto-on crap, lol. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
The paper is important. These markers work well if you use good quality paper, but work poorly on lower-quality paper. I purchased them to use plein aire with my Daler Rowney Cachet Travel Sketchbook, which has 120 pound pages and usually accepts watercolor well. These markers felt like Crayola markers on this paper. I could not manipulate the color at all. The reviewer who called them "just another marker" must have had a similar experience. However, I tested them on 140 pound Strathmore paper, and I had a completely different experience. The colors liquefied as soon as water was added and were easily manipulated. The product description for these markers does recommend you use the WN water color paper, and yes, you definitely do need to use them with a decent-quality paper. I have included an image showing Daler Rowney 120 pound paper on the left and Strathmore 140 pound paper on the right. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Nice selection of colors, no two markers are the same and the writing quality is great. I know these are "drawing" pens but for me these are perfect for writing. I have quite a few friends in the military and try to send them handwritten letters whenever possible and these pens are perfect for that. You get 24 different colors, a few of them, like the yellow, are a little light for writing but are perfect for adding in little pictures or doodling. I loved the selection of colors and feel that now two are the same. They all worked great for me, with no problems with ink flow or anything like that.
I love the plastic carrying case, it definitely helps keep them more organized and less likely to misplace them. The case is pretty study too so it won't break after a few days. Overall I'm really impressed with these pens and I'm excited to use them for writing letters and cards.
I received this product for free in exchange for my honest, unbiased opinion. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
I really love this paint by number. I really love this paint by number. It was very easy to follow but there were a couple errors in the directions. I believe a wrong number was in a few boxes because when I compared the painting to the picture, I couldn't put my finger on what was wrong... then I realised what it was. It was easily rectified by painting over the wrong colour. Enough paint was provided... more than enough actually. The written directions were very little but not really needed. I'll be buying more of these for myself and to give as gifts. Also, the canvas was folded which left creases... lie it flats for a couple days before painting or try a light iron on the back BEFORE painting. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
So excited...and I'm not a Scrapbooker. I have absolutely zero interest in scrapbooking. I know crazy right, buying something geared towards scrapbooking. I used a friends for my daughter's party.
We did a cupcake themed party. This tool was phenominal. This was and can be used for all sorts of things. It had to of saved a lot of money being able to make it at my home vs. buying these things at the store.
* Little confettis for your table (any event you want to spice up)
* We did a bulletin board that said "my first Year" and had pictures of her during that timeframe
* We did little cutouts all over the windows.
I also used this a ton for a shower we recently did that was a Dr. Seuss themed. Everything turned out phenominal. As long as you read the instructions and follow it step by step and found it increadibly easy to use.
For this upcoming Thanksgiving we are going to go crazy. Cannot wait as the kids will abosolutely love it!!! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Just OK Dustless Chalk. Purchased the chalk along with <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/FolkArt-2543-8-Ounce-Chalkboard-Paint-Purple/dp/B001DZYSZY/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">FolkArt 2543 8-Ounce Chalkboard Paint, Purple</a> so I would have it on hand to condition the table I'm converting (I ordered it in the midst of Hurricane Sandy so I didn't know how soon I'd be able to get to a store). It's just OK. It's soft enough to write on colored construction paper without dragging and scratching. My only issues are that it breaks very easily and there does seem to be a bit of dust. I'm sure you could find better priced chalk (IKEA, for instance, sells it for less than $2) but, if you must order chalk from Amazon, it's not too bad. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Now I'm really happy. I had to wait about 3 days to start to use Screenit, the problem was I needed a transformer / voltage converter as I am from Europe. When I purchased one I plug it in and forgot about the yellow bulb so obviously it shuts off and I had to throw it in the bin. But! I have succeeded to create a print on my first attempt! I used a candle instead of the yellow bulb, used a Transparent Tape instead of Tacky Reposition spray to tape the emulsion film sheet and the standard paper that I printed a logo and used a permanent marker to make it black as possible. I burn the design for 8 mins than rotate and burn it 8 mins more. I done a lot of research and viewed the reviews and as I needed this sort of machine then I had to give it a try. Now I'm really happy! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Very satisfied!! After receiving the order I start testing . Very satisfied!!
After receiving the order I start testing my new chalk markers, and I have to say that Im very satisfied. The colors are very bright and come off very easy with a wet cloth (baby wipes work great). I have written with these on both blackboard and whiteboard and the results were awesome on each of them. They don't make any dust when used, like normal chalk does, and it dries very quickly.
The markers are fun and easy to use by kids also. Me and my son love them!
The labels included in the pack are easy to peel and stick on all surfaces, and the best part is that they are reusable (they work just like a blackboard: the drawing or writing can be simply erased.
These are my new favorite! I highly recommend! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
A fun set of MANY markers. These are a nice set of markers... SO MANY COLORS! They are not listed as artist quality or archival markers, but as suitable for children or for fun projects, and my rating is based upon that idea.
There are 60 markers, but when I tried them all, I came up with three sets of doubles... Or what seemed to me doubles (see photos. I've included a butterfly wing which showcases two of the markers that I think are the same. Also a color chart where I link the three sets which I think are the same)... So 57 colors. Not a problem, I'm just pointing it out in the interest of a complete review. There are PLENTY of different colors here for anyone. A good variety. The only thing I might want is another brown or two.
I wrote with several colors on a cotton napkin and washed it about 20 minutes later... It all came completely out. (See photos) I expected to see a bit of the blue or green at least (as typically those colors are difficult to remove), and because the description in the listing said to wash immediately. So I tried again on an apron, left it all day, and washed it in the evening. (I'd assume a cotton apron but I really don't know) Again every bit was removed. I can't say how they will react to other fabrics, and would still suggest anyone proceed with caution and use common sense, but I was very satisfied.
These dried quickly on the first sketchpad in which I used them... on another type of paper they stayed loose long enough that my hand tended to smear the color just a bit if I moved across it too quickly, so again I'd suggest just being careful if you are doing a more important project. I think you'll be happy with the results, just check that you are allowing enough drying time... It didn't take long but a few seconds can matter.
These blend about as well as I expected, (which is not that great) but for general marker work should be quite acceptable, as long as you don't need archival quality ink.
They were especially useful for a grown up coloring book, such a popular trend right now, having a fine enough tip to get into very small spaces but also being able to fill larger areas in, and having so many color options. And washable is nice, because most people doing these are doing them for fun and relaxation. They don't need a ten dollar marker whose color will stay true for years... They need a fun yummy variety of colors and the ability to wash it off from their hands when the boss says BACK TO WORK. ;) I'd highly recommend this set as part of a gift for an adult along with a fun book to color.
Cautions on the packaging are not written in english. I'm assuming it says that it might stain fabric so use caution, and it definitely says not recommended for children three and under. I will let my three and a half year old granddaughter try out one of my doubles. If she doesn't crush the tip, I'll let her use them sometimes when we color. (I don't let her color alone and wouldn't leave a small child with these. Too much temptation!!)
I received a free sample set of these markers to test and review, and I'd fully and heartily recommend them for any child OR adult who is considering them and looking for a broad spectrum of color. I was really impressed with the variety. (Particularly blues and greens) I made certain I used every shade of blue on one butterfly for you to see (photo), every shade of green on a set of leaves (photo), and every color marker somewhere in the whole coloring page (photo). I hope it helps.
Pros:
-a value for the price listed jan 2016.
-Color variety-great!!
-Sturdy cardboard storage cylinder, durable and space saving
-washable
Cons:
-not archival (obviously if you want washable markers this is not a con for you)
-some of the shades are a bit different from the plastic encasing them... Familiarize yourself with them before you begin a project. You'll be glad you did.
-i might have prefered a few less blues and greens, and a few more oranges and browns, but really the variety is quite acceptable
Nice markers! I'm very happy with them and will recommend to anyone who asks me. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
I LOVE IT. I got this for my birthday, the basic label pop out. I have made so many different cards with it now, I am having a ball! SO far, I have bought 2 more inserts for the base and am planning on buying 3 more real soon.
If that isn't a good enough reason to buy this base set then think of this, you can still use this base set as a side popper instead of straight up. AND if you are careful with the cuts, you can use acetate to cut out the popped out area, cut out the card's backing pop out and glue the acrylic one in, will make your pop outs look like they are suspended in mid air!
Using a bit of Fireline fishing line, I had hearts and stars shooting out of the pop out. You will definitely love this trend of cards. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Disappointed but waiting for some response. With respect and affection for the Russian brothers, I am forced to say the following:
1-The product I bought it for its announced preparation based on gum arabic and honey ... but in the carton or box, it says nothing about honey. Only gum arabic, something that painters already know.
2-The product, like pigment or dye, is not bad, but neither is wonderful as it says. I thought about buying it, it could become a substitute for other brand that yes, uses honey, but it is too expensive for me and does not have such a wide range of colors.
3-The product has a big problem, it is sticky. But the problem is not really that, because to be sticky, it seems that it does use honey, according to my experience .... but, the problem is that the boxes containing the pigment are not secured or fixed to the bottom, so it is They get up, they stick in the hand, they mess up and make life difficult for ekl artidta when he tries to concentrate on painting. I will add some photos and where you can see this and you can see that one is missing, the penultimate, the color sepuia, so needed. I asked for that color in one of these battles to prevent the pigments from falling out of the plastic box and two days ago and I still can not find it .... ... Lose my investment with such an important color Or at least give me some discount for buying that color, in relief ...
4-one last thing is that the quantity has been announced as a complete box of pigment ... but they bring very little amount compared to another brand that I have for a long time and that yes, it is a complete pan.
I'm really sorry. They had high expectations with this product, but they have been short. Ojalá better for the good of all who admire that town
Edgard from Nicaragua and this is a goggle traduction. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
BEAUTIFUL... but doesn't come with the plastic protectors. I like this, but I feel a little deceived. I should have read the questions people were asking before I purchased, but as the last photo showed plastic page protectors, I assumed those came with the album. THEY DON'T!!! I find this photo extremely deceptive in lieu of this. Additionally, as people have said,some assembly is required, not that big of a deal to loop the rings through the covers and pages. However, the covers wiggle a lot on the rings, so I would avoid putting photos directly on the first and last pages, otherwise they might get dog eared. The album seems thin at first, but you have to realize you're putting photos in it and it'll bulk it up, so maybe then it won't wiggle so much?
That being said, the cover is very nice, it looks well assembled and the leather is soft and it feels durable. I got this for my mother in law so she could put family photos in, and I'm sure she'll love it, but I'm not sure how the pages, without the plastic protection will stand up to my 1 year old niece. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
pigment-rich and low cost -- but look out for mis-mixed crayons. Although I'm generally reluctant to write reviews, and that's because of a combination of reasons, I wanted to give others the benefit of my experience. And I expect that there are many who are in the same situation as I was -- that is, of deciding between various competing watercolor pencils/crayons (WCPs) -- and are looking for further insight before making a purchase decision.
Recently, I decided to 'get into' the water color pencil/crayon (WCPs) market because it offered a less-messy way of painting that combined drawing and using a brush. Since that point, I've had the opportunity to experiment with a variety of types of WCPs and have been able to reach some conclusions.
Initially, I had focused on using pencils, under the belief that the sharpened pencil point would allow me to add details and overlay sections I needed to emphasize. While this was true, my initial experience with WCPs was with Caran D'ache Neocolor II's, and I found that I missed the speed and ease to which they afforded adding substantial amounts of pigment to paper. I'm used to working fast, and pencils were a slower way of working that didn't mesh as well with my working style.
One of the concerns I'd had about crayon types of WCPs was over detail, which is harder to control when using them, but it turned out to be far less of an issue than I had expected it to be. Also, since I typically focus on landscapes which I render in an impressionistic-expressionistic style, control over detail was not particularly important, especially for the early stages of a picture. Moreover, I can always use pencils to add details during the later stages.
LYRA's Aqua Colors offer a very pigment-rich and quite reasonably-priced alternative to many of the other WCPs on the market. In fact, they probably rank very near the top when both criteria are measured together. This also makes them an appropriate media for beginners, since one can add lots of bright colors quickly without using much pressure, and also without the 'scratchiness' of many of the water color pencils.
* - late revision: it seems that one of my aquacolors was mis-mixed during the production process, which resulted in an almost unusable crayon. Currently, the seller is offering no real resolution to the problem. The color suffering the defect is "moss green," which is in the 24 set, as well as being in the 48 set (which I purchased).
I plan to contact the manufacturer in order to learn whether they have corrected the problem. Until I hear from them and amend this review, potential buyers should be appropriately cautious of flawed merchandise. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Bar None, the Best Colored Pencils I have Used to Date. I know there are a lot of people out there that think spending this kind of money on colored pencils is just a waste of money and in all honestly, depending on just how serious you are about your artwork and the quality of your artwork....well, you may just be right. If you just want a cheap set of pencils to play around with, especially with adult coloring becoming so popular, you can buy a set of Crayola colored pencils for like $5-$10. That being said, if your really serious about your artwork and want the highest quality, make no mistake about it, spending this kind of money on colored pencils is worth every last cent. Many of the great techniques one can use with colored pencils isn't even possible with the cheaper pencils. Things like layering, blending, etc.
Personally, I started out using Prismacolor pencils as they are a good mid quality pencil and are much more affordable than your high end pencils like Faber Castell and Caran d'Ache. I went to art school for photography, but I also love to draw and have been doing so for most of my life, although I really didn't get serious about it until I went to art school. Pretty much everyone in the drawing department used Prismacolor pencils and copic markers so my first big set of colored pencils was naturally from Prismacolor. They are great pencils and I actually still use Prismacolor pencils from time to time even to this day, but as the years went on I got curious about other brands and started experimenting with higher quality brands like Faber Castell and Caran d"Ache and I am really thankful that my curiosity got me to do so as the difference in quality from the mid level pencils to the high level pencils is really something to behold. Yes, they are expensive, but once you start using them and you see first hand the difference in quality...well, chances are you will wind up buying more, not look back regretting the money you spent. Of all the different colored pencils I have tested, my single favorite is without question Caran d'Arch Luminance. I also really like Faber Castell Polychromos, but Caran d'Ache's Luminance line is the line I use when I want the absolute best possible quality. The pigments are just absolutely beautiful and they have the perfect smooth feel to them, not to hard and not too soft.
Honestly, even if your only into adult coloring, I would recommend at least testing a few of these pencils out. You can buy them individually from various art stores like Dick Blick so you don't have to spend a fortune to be able to buy a small set of primary type colors. I openely admit, even I have enjoyed some of the adult coloring books that have come to market. I am a big comic art fan and I really enjoyed the Marvel Civil War coloring book and DC's Batman Hush coloring book. And yes, I still used my higher end pencils even for those.
Bottom line - In my opinion, Caran d'Ache Luminance pencils are the best colored pencil's on the market and I have tested pretty much every brand I could get my hands on over the last 10 years. The pigment is stunning and they really do have just a perfect smooth feel to them. The lead is perfectly bonded to the wood all the way through the pencil, which is actually California Cedar, so you won't have pieces of your lead falling out like you can get with cheaper pencils. I highly recommend learning how to hand sharpen pencils if your going to use these. Electric sharpers will just chew through them really fast. The only downside to these pencils is once you get used to the quality, its very hard going back to cheaper brands.
5 Stars! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Fantastic Product. Swedish tracing paper is a great product to keep in your sewing arsenal, particularly if you draft your own patterns or make a lot of pattern alterations. It's not crisp or stiff like artist's tracing paper, it's more like sew-in interfacing, very soft and pliant. It's semi-sheer, so you can see through it to trace your patterns. It's also sturdy, so you can draw on it with a pen or pencil, cut patterns from it, pin them together, and even baste them, if you're so inclined, either by hand or machine.
It's excellent for tracing your patterns before making alterations, so you keep your original pattern intact and make any changes to the traced copies. It's also good for copying your patterns, even if you don't need to make alterations. Normal tissue doesn't hold up to repeated use. Vintage patterns are especially fragile, so it's a good idea to trace them off using Swedish tracing paper.
If you make your own patterns, it's great for that, too. I used to use Viva-brand paper towels for drafting my own patterns, but on a whim, I decided to give this stuff a try. Honestly, I've never looked back! It's sturdier, less likely to tear. It's much easier to draw on. It lasts a lot longer. And you don't have to tape a bunch of sheets together to get a large enough piece for an adult pattern. It comes on a wide roll, which lasts forever.
I use a 2B (soft) mechanical pencil. It works a lot better than a regular (HB) pencil, gliding over the slight texture of the tracing paper with ease. When I used a regular pencil, it was too hard and wouldn't leave a dark enough line, and when I repeated the lines to make them dark enough, the pencil would tear right through the tracing paper, leaving jagged rips. I finally switched to 2B mechanical lead, which works beautifully.
In short, I love this product! It works great for tracing or drafting patterns, so I'll give it five stars. Recommended to anyone and everyone who sews. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
They have real brush tips instead of felt so they handle quite a bit like a paintbrush. I bought these as a gift for my daughter who is in art college. I chose them based on the number of high reviews. They were a smashing hit. My daughter has shared her thoughts with me on why she likes these markers so much:
They have real brush tips instead of felt so they handle quite a bit like a paintbrush. You could use them for painting or for brush calligraphy.
The control is very precise, you can get a very fine or a very thick line out of them - your choice.
There are lots of colors to choose from and the colors are very vibrant.
My daughter has discovered that she can use these markers as watercolors. First she lays down the colors where she wants them, and then using a separate brush she goes over her markings with water pulling the colors where she wants them. She is able to get the brightness or subtlety that she is after based on the concentration of the marker colors.
I have watched her use them and she is really able to get a lot of precision, color, texture, intensity out of them.
It is always nice to get someone a gift that really goes over well - it felt really good to give this one. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Excellent Ivory Bristol Vellum (there's a difference between "vellum" and the heavier "Bristol vellum. Vellum is lightweight and might be described as a heavy bodied tracing paper. Vellum Bristol is a heavier card stock. The description here clearly states this is vellum Bristol and the color (in the title) is ivory. The manufacturer has it available in other colors. The customer must carefully read the entire description before ordering and be aware of the difference between light weight vellum and heavier card stock weight Bristol vellum. It's prudent to educate ones self before placing an order for something of this nature. This paper is a great quality ivory colored vellum Bristol paper perfect for pencil drawings or pen and ink drawings as well as watercolor colored pencils. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Awesome pen. Wasn't dry on delivery (as some others stated) as that made me nervous. Used this in conjunction with a stencil (see attached image) made of vinyl die-cut from a Silhouette Cameo. Would recommend removing your stencil after 2-5 minutes of applying ink otherwise the vinyl pulled the ink back with it (when left for 24 hours). Still wait 24 hours before baking though. I would not recommend applying multiple coats unless you allow it to dry several hours as it tended to deteriorate some of the first coat. Lastly, DO NOT FORCE AIR DRY or else small cracks will arise in your paint/design- allow it to sit in a room-temperature room for 24 hours before baking. Baking before then will cause the ink to crack. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
chrome that is blinding in a pen. The Ink is great,shimmers, flows good, but I don't personally like the nib. I now know you can buy this pen with a different nib and you can get refills. The pen I bought I decided to use as a costly test! over 10 per pen..I say that is costly..but I found it works great on Kid Robot's Munnys,it worked great for paintings "but it drys really fast" so you have to work in a speed. After the Munny test.it dried and you can hold it..with out being overly sticky.. This is more of an art treat,then for me a every day pen. I want to make sure what ever I draw with the pen is perfect and this is the last step to make it pop. The ad says it dries like a Mirror is No Joke! a good tag would just be that much better with this pen..even if that isn't my skill set.. I am not sure how many surfaces this can go on. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
I love this set. I love this set. It is high quality watercolor paint. However, the pigment color (dry) in person is paler than in picture and also the pigment when painting with water is bright and medium-heavy so it is easy to work with. In terms of price, it is a bit more expensive. After I almost finish the set bought the set from here, I went to Michael's craft store for another same set for my project. The set from Michael's cost around $6.99-8.99. I am still however, very satisfied with this set and would love to buy more other craft supplies from Artist's Loft. It is cheap but high quality ( not too quality like winsor). They have the best craft supplies for students and people who desperately need art supplies but can't afford over expensive ones) I really recommended this set. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great colors..... Loved it. I have always used gel color but my nephew wanted a cake that required metallic gold and I could not get the gel in time for his birthday so I decided to try airbrushing the color. I had airbrush tools for paint so I decided I would pick up a cheap gun and give it a try. I LOVED IT. The gold came out gorgeous, shiny to the point that I was being asked if we could eat it. I also used some of green and blue and colors came out brilliant.
I did not know what to expect for the color or how long the little bottles would last but after using it I think I am hooked. The little bottle goes a long way with great results, not sure I will go back to gel colors ever again. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Love the brand but the charcoal pencil kept breaking. I didn't care too much for this product. I usually really enjoy the Generals brand and their products are usually very good at what they do, but this one wasn't as great for me. I bought this simply for the extra pencils and especially for the charcoal pencil. I was extremely excited to have another charcoal pencil. I was so disappointed. The first couple times using it it would break after I sharpened it. I ended up sharpening this pencil so much that within the first week it was shorter than the other charcoal pencils I used to buy in that time frame.
I had super high hopes for this product but it simply fell short for me. I do however recommend their other products! This is a very good brand and I think that they usually put out good products! You should not feel weary because of this review because their other stuff is very high quality! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great little (and I mean little) pigment pad set. Love the colors in the "Jelly Bean" set (though there is no blue!?).
The set is very tiny but I like that it's compact, and at a good price for so many paint-thickness pigment pads. The ink is high quality too. Even on my tissue paper test, it didn't just absorb into it like some other stamp pads.
I like the design of the set but I do wish the layers locked together so I could throw them in a bag without wrapping a rubber band around them - they're more efficient to use like this, though.
I'd recommend the sets to anyone who is lightly into stamping or only needs a little of these colours. They're not substantial enough for a whole lot of stamping over a long period, but great for most people. The set will get me through a holiday season of card making and that's plenty okay with me for the price.
If it included a blue, I'd be even happier. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Cult of Pantone. Pantone color is a necessary evil in the textile world and it's sad that it costs this much to use a system that is so flawed. After a year of working with vendors trying to create products using Pantone, I can honestly say it's not the best method.
1. Printed pantone books can be incredibly inconsistent. A color in one book may print very different in another. A color system should have a better standard of printing.
2. Fibers take color very differently. You can't properly judge how any specific fiber will look dyed based on these. I have found the actual dyed textile color is much brighter and sometimes 2 or more shades lighter than the printed versions. Yes, you can spend a TON of money to buy these swatches on cotton, but cotton isn't the only fiber out there.
3. As far as this book itself, it's a good tool but not the best. It's very hard to judge individual colors in a bound fan book like this. The colors near the joint are especially hard to visualize in any isolated fashion. My book happened to fall apart after a couple of uses, which worked out fine. I find it much easier to work on projects with the loose strips.
I can not understand why Pantone has such a monopoly on world color. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Easy with great results. i generally think of Speedball screenpinting products as being good for amateurs and beginners. While I've transitioned away from Speedball products for the most part in my seven years screenprinting I have stuck with Speedball's photo emulsion because it always gives me great results. This photo emulsion creates great results, the quality and resolution of the imagines I've fixed with this photo emulsion is always great and the only thing limiting the fine details is the mesh count of my silkscreen fabric, not the photo emulsion.
This photo emulsion kit is easier to work with using a homemade setup, I use a 300 watt bulb that I bought at the hardware store for 3 dollars. Cleanup is always easy and this photo emulsion seems to be less toxic than a lot of the other competitors. Overall a great product that I recommend to everyone who wants to get into screen printing. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
eh. Bought this to have a model for my sketches, but wasn't efficient at all.
The fingers bend and pose smoothly, but cannot fan out at all. And although in the picture the wrist looks like it may be positional, it is NOT.
But my biggest issue is the thumb. The thumb is TERRIBLE. When I pose the hand the thumb gets in the way of fingers. It is very hard to move the thumb and I am afraid it will break off if I push it too hard. This is because the thumb has only two joints instead of three. the thumb will not even curve enough to make an OK symbol.
Everything seems to be correctly proportioned though.
In conclusion, I would say this is more of a decoration than an art tool. Everything is in proportion but the options of position are very limited for the fingers will not spread at all and the thumb can barely do anything. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Love these doily dies. I absolutely love these 'doily' dies from WRMK, the sizes are perfect for greeting cards, whether used alone or layering several for additional impact. These dies have 'ejection foam' on the small doily insets so each little hole releases so easily and cleanly.... I've been so frustrated with many other dies I've tried that have a similar same type of edge...you wind up 'picking' all those little holes clean.
I use a Sizzix Big Kick with magnetic platform or multi purpose along with medium weight papers, usually pearl, metallic or even plain white scrapbooking papers have made beautiful rectangles for my cards.
Can't wait to buy other shapes asap. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Pleasantly surprising given the low price. These are wonderful so far, and they've taught me I don't really need anything smaller than 3/0 to meet the needs of my skill level in this scale (25-30mm miniatures). If something in this scale is so small it requires using the super tiny brush points, I probably can't see it too well (or at all) anyway, much less paint it with any accuracy. Given the very low price, I do have some reservations about how they might hold up over the long run, but they have performed well for me in light use, so I'm pleased. My next purchase won't include any 15/0 (or anything smaller than 3/0 -- and I do have supposedly better quality (more expensive) 5, 10 and 15/0 brushes from Micron in my collection) brushes. At least for the foreseeable immediate future, packages including 2, 1, 0, 00 and 000 detail brushes (and a few each flats and filberts 0 to 6 or 8) will handle my painting needs completely. Pleasantly surprising. These turned out to be better than I expected. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Okay for casual drawing, not for serious sketching. The best part about these pencils is the erasers, in that they're big. They don't erase too well, but they are good for smudging. The pencils are average, nothing remarkable about them. They're clearly marked, so you can tell which one is which. I'm giving this whole set 2 stars because the all lead pencil--the one my son was really eager to use--snapped in half the moment my son tried to sharpen it. It continued to snap as he tried to sharpen the half pencil too. Pretty disappointed overall. If you want this for casual drawing and don't care too much about fine details, this is for you; otherwise, pick a more expensive set and save yourself the disappointment of this product. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Excellent brushes. I am new at water color painting. I have one set of brushes that came with a kit I received for Christmas. Now this is my second. I can see how one might develop a paint brush addiction. I had no idea that brushes could be so different. I thought a brush is a brush. What an ignoramus! I like my first set, but I love these. There is a nice variety of sizes and types. I like the big brushes - there is such a feeling of abundance when I do a wash with them. I like that no hairs come out when you paint. I did have a couple of brushes that were shedding like crazy. I like the paint palette, as well, especially the different size of the partitions. The water kind of beads on the plastic so it's hard to mix the paints effectively, but maybe it's me and my lack of skill. All in all, I like these and all I want to do is paint. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Good but not great. This purchase arrived in about one week and was well packaged and complete. I was primarily interested in the mini-compressor for airbrushing model trains but selected this package as it included hoses, fittings, cleaning items, and airbrushes. The compressor works well and is quiet although I have not figured out how to get the regulator to actually adjust the line pressure. The supplied manual is a fun read.
The Point Zero PZ-360 airbrush intrigued me as it is a copy of a highly regarded and not inexpensive AB. Upon testing, it performed surprisingly well. It has a nice finish although the trigger is a bit rough and the threaded connections a bit sloppy. I applied some chapstick to the trigger and threads along with a little bees wax for some improvement. At 10-20 psi, thinned acrylic paint produced 1/2" down to 1/16" lines. Below the color cup is a micro air control (MAC) valve which is a joy to have as you can adjust the air pressure right at the brush. Cleaning is very easy as the brush comes apart without a wrench. It will be interesting to see how this AB holds up over time. A source of spare parts, especially O-rings would be nice as they are necessary to keep these copies working. For a gravity feed, internal mix, dual action airbrush with 0.2mm needle and tip, the 9cc cup is a bit large and I would prefer the 2cc cup on the PZ-400.
The single action, external mix, bottom feed airbrush does not suit my needs as it has very poor tooling. This kit can be raided for parts as the hose fittings are useful and the bottles will fit other bottom feed ABs. An AB of this type has its uses and I would recommend the Badger 350 over this copy.
The hoses are very nice but at 6' are a bit short. I opted to buy fittings to splice these together and bought additional 10' hoses and quick connectors. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
I enjoy using these. This is my first water color pallet. The little tubs are tricky to remove but they fit snug once they snap in. One issue I had was when my paints were dry, the colors that I had yet to use fell out of their tubs but after all of my colors have been wet down and used I no longer have that problem. I think the colors are vibrant. The set has two plates that can be removed which is nice and I have plenty of space in each of the sections on the plate to mix my colors. It is small enough to fit in my purse or my back pack when I am traveling. I think these paints are a good investment if one does not want to spend a ton of money. I think these paints are pretty decent for beginners and travelers. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Portrait is Perfect. Loved some Cricut designs but they required buying 2 pricey cartridges for the design I wanted. They didn't have the cut files I needed for download on their website.
Sihouette gives a free weekly design, there are lots of sites with free designs and you can make your own design.
After the initial purchase the cost is just supplies. I got most of my card stock at Michaels and Hobby Lobby.
Had to call Silhouette tech support a few times while I was learning how to make my own designs. They were extremely helpful. Each time they required leaving a message but they called back within a few hours.
Cameo machine is bigger but Portrait is perfect for my needs. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Dependable Trustworthy Prime Service. well, actually I have loved this paint in the past and ordered this when I ran low on that color but this tube arrived crushed and leaking. Amazon refunded me instantly as soon as I requested the refund. Great service is why I always use Prime. As far as Cotman paints, they are good for what they are: quality student watercolors at an affordable price point, and most of them are transparent unlike many other student level watercolors that are chalky and opaque. I started off with Cotmans and I now prefer professional grade paints, but I still use the Cotmans with a wet dilution for pastel colors or to try out some new to me techniques, paper or brushes when I do not want to worry about "wasting" good/pricey pro paints. I also set them out for my grandkids to use as these paints are non toxic (unlike my pro paints) and deliver more color per stroke than the child watercolor paint sets. They enjoy using them. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Perfect!! Could be more honest about actual full price. It is advertised as $59.95 but with shipping at $14.95, its actually $74.90 total.
With that said it is still cheaper than all other brands. I have been going to various art stores in person and online to comparison shop. I needed one asap and it came fast, only a week to travel across country. I took a chance on this one and its really terrific. It is tough and stable enough for my needs. Over 6 years ago I used to draw caricatures for a company outdoors and the company works off of easels just like this one, old and beat-up by the elements.
Fresh out of the box its feels really light(important because of all the other stuff you have to carry), the legs screw in nice and tight, not wobbly and the adjustments are not sticky. Plus it comes with a carrying strap! Its great! If you need one, get this one, why pay more? | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Decent basic easel that should include some quick set up instructions. I just finished setting this up with my son, which was no quick and easy feat. This easel came without any instructions at all and it wasn't immediately intuitive to us how to set it up. There are lots of moving/folding parts on this thing, and maybe if you're familiar with them the lack of instructions isn't an issue but for two first-timers like us it required bringing up the pictures from Amazon to figure it out. Now that it's up it seems like it's a little flimsy and won't take much pressure or force to cause it to come out of alignment or move (or collapse). It does look like it will allow him to set up his pictures or paintings at a comfortable height for him (he's 6'1") so that's a good thing. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Bring those pictures to life. I bought this because I have a small screen printing business and I needed it for my designs and those of others to go from paper to product.
It is an attractive slim 15" x 20" light pad with a 12" x 17" working area. Plug in a small AC adapter and turn on the switch and a bright even white light illuminates edge to edge. Works as advertised, best thing is it stores away and does not require a dedicated work surface. Portable and bright, it's a great tool to work with on your projects. Stores in felt sleeve to protect acrylic screen. Use it to trace new art ideas, register pictures and text on a project, with many possible uses for the budding artist. May not be such a great tool for the professional graphic artist as it does not have rule lines, a glass top or variable light power. I use it to help register artwork for screen printing. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great color variety. I bought this speedball ink set for personal use on t shirts. I made a shirt for my daughter to wear for valentines day and it turned out great! I'm not sure if it is common for the white to be a thicker consistency than the other colors but I did notice that. It had nice coverage though. I applied the inks over an ironed of freezer paper stencil onto the shirt with a foam makeup sponge. What I love about this set is that you get all of the primary colors needed to mix a large variety of custom colors. I've used this set a few other times and have been happy all around. You use so little that it really stretches far, but when I do eventually run out I will order again! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great little compressor. I bought this compressor to supply air to my Iwata-Medea Eclipse HP BCS Dual Action Bottle Feed Air Brush ECL 2001. The compressor is quiet and stays in place. A previous compressor I had in the past would move along the floor with the vibrations. The compressor is oiless, which is a big plus, and has a built in filter. The compressor doesn't appear to heat up nearly as much as some compressors I have owned in the past. The compressor is nice and compact. The compressor supplies enough pressure to do everything that I need to with my airbrush, but doesn't really give you 35 psi on the maximum setting. The most I have gotten is closer to 25 psi. It is still a very good compressor, however, I have to deduct one star based on cost versus value and the lower than stated maximum pressure. The price of the compressor is pretty high, relatively speaking. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Major disappointment. After the excitement of getting this for Christmas, I was soon extremely disappointed. It connected to my computer but didn't stay connected for long. Any time I tried to cut anything, it would crash and I spent more time waiting and restarting than I did cutting. I have a shop where I sell items made with my Cricut and in no way would have time to use this machine with the current issues. I also find that Cricut automatically places the images on the mats, often not utilizing the space on the paper well enough. Most of the time, I can get more use out of my paper without sacrificing the cut quality and that isn't possible with this machine. Those, of course, are secondary issues because if it's crashing all the time, it doesn't matter how the mat is set up.
I'm sure this is great for new Cricut users but I use my Cricut every day and haven't found a better combo than the Expression 1 and Craft Room. If this machine could reliably connect with Craft Room, I'm sure it would be fantastic. The online program limitations and connectivity issues are the problems. It got 2 stars because it does cut beautifully. It's even quieter than the machine I use now. But the negatives far outweigh the positives in my mind.
With the great reviews, I thought Cricut had finally hit a home run but the "Easy" features just stifle me. I don't find the previous programs hard and this takes away critical features that I find to be deal breakers. Sending it back. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Fun product for kids but watch where they use them. The item arrived as described 2 days after shipping. I got these for my kids but it does require parental help to get things going. First thing you have to do is prime the pens. Doesn't take long however, it was extremely cold while pens were shipping so the pens took longer than usual to prime. Nothing wrong with them but my kids were convinced they didn't work! Got them primed and the fun began.
The work wonderful on glass, especially mirrors! There were some templates that came with the product for the kids to color. One thing that is hard for kids to understand is blending the colors. If you attempt to blend like the pictures on the product, you will contaminate the tips. Yes, they included more tips but only one additional set. But they really like to use them on glass and mirrors. My son got crazy and used them on some surfaces not listed as safe but elbow grease and rubbing alcohol removed the color.
When it came to cleaning the mirrors and glass my daughter found that dry paper towel worked better than the cloth that came with the product. A quick swipe with alcohol removed lingering residue.
I would recommend this product for older kids. It really is fun to use. I was offered the opportunity to buy the product at a discounted price in exchange for an honest review. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
The outcome was pretty good - the color fairly opaque and and the . The first marker I tried out was a white one on a little chalkboard. The outcome was pretty good - the color fairly opaque and and the draw of ink fluid enough to not have to stop mid-word to release more ink. It did take quite more time to start the marker - I felt like I had to press a long time to get it to start writing and the felt tip of the marker got more crushed than I would have liked.
I wanted to update my board a couple of days after that and tried the green next. I was really put off on how flourescent it was. I thought it was going to be bright leaf green, but it was a NEON green. The yellow as the same. Not a bright lemony yellow, but a NEON yellow. I wiped it all off again and tried the white marker instead. Hmmmm. Not working. Couldn't get it to work again despite storing it as the directions listed (tightly capped and in a horizontal position.) Fairly crushed the tip anyways trying to get it to work.
I did just try the green one again and it is still working after vigorous shaking.
I tried the blue one next to use on some chalkboard labels I cut out and it had a nice appearance. A nice, bright baby blue - not neon. I was able to get that one to work a second time, but it has since stopped working as well.
Orange ended up being quite translucent - I felt like I had to trace over my letters again to get them opaque enough to be read on the black surface. Purple was also too clear to read without tracing over or letting the ink pool up. It is practically unreadable on a blackboard.
I have not tried the pink and red ones yet but I don't have much confidence on the attractiveness or opacity of the colors.
-1 star for how translucent some of the colors are on a black board.
-1 star for the white only working for one use.
I would recommend the Sanford Bright Sticks (wet erase markers) instead for their longevity. I only wish those came in packs of white only. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Very nice set. The color is smooth and there is a good amount of shade work/transition from light to dark that can be accomplished with these. All the colors arrived sharpened and ready to use and I've colored a few pages with no breaks so far. They seem to be strong and with 48 colors, this is the only set I need for my newfound adult coloring habit. Art is an on-again off-again hobby for me, but as far as I can tell this is a very nice set without flaws. I love having the stand-up container to keep them in since I have difficulty keeping organized. I can just keep it next to my pens and sharpies and grab them whenever I need them. I did receive these colored pencils at a discount in exchange for an honest, unpaid review and will update the review if my experience with them changes over time as I use them more. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Perfect Performance. Though somewhat new to airbrush art, I feel confident in saying that this brush is most certainly at the upper-end of the spectrum as far as performance, quality, and reliability are concerned. A gift from a family member, this Iwata replaced my then current Harbor Freight special (a surprisingly good brush for the money mind you) and has since then blown me away every time I pick it up. The feel is solid, comfortable, and well-balanced in my hand. The action is smooth and effortless, and the precision is.. well, at a level higher than my own ability permits! Though a substantial investment, I have every reason to believe this airbrush will stay with me for as long as I paint, and feel confident recommending it to anyone serious about learning to airbrush. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Gaps and holes in the cakes. I like it....but I wish I could love it. The cake is not flat in the jar. When water is sprayed in, the water sat in the middle and softened the middle. After only one use, a hole developed in the center of the cake, which is hallow below. So, the next use I now have a hole and when I spritz with water to activate the paint, the water just settled in the bottom of this hole, making the cake barely wet to use. It was okay the first use....and the shimmer is nice (it's not like this huge twinkling sparkle, just a light shimmer when looked at, at an angle). I guess I'm just disappointed. This has happened with two of the jars I used from this set. The jar is tiny (1 1/2" diameter about) and with the huge gaps / hallow areas, it isn't a lot of cake, even though it appears that way at first glance. And, this is true (the gaps/holes/hallow areas) for several jars (if you look at the sides of the jar you can see it too). This isn't just a single 'bad jar'....this is just how they are. I bought three packs of different colors. All three have jars doing this. And, I suppose I will get comments telling me I did this wrong. I suppose I could sit there and swirl the spritzed water around during the five recommended minutes to wait to get the paint ready....maybe this would work....but eventually the gaps are there. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
1-Star 0-silkscreens. Let me preface by saying that I'm an excellent crafter and pick up new things very easily. Except for how to get the super expensive emulsion to stick to the screen. I've gone through 2 packs (and I even cut them into smaller pieces so as not to waste the whole thing) and I still can't get the film to stick. OK that's an exaggeration, it did half-way stick in one attempt. Then I burned an image only to have some of the design rub off when I rinsed the screen.
I have $300+ worth of equipment and supplies and I can't bring myself to ruin another pack of emulsions because of the so-called learning curve. I mean come on - it shouldn't be that tricky. I'm giving the machine one star because I haven't made a print and I'm hoping that it will bring down Yudu's overall rating so no one else gets suckered like I did.
OMG, I just went to Erin Bassett's typepad page (she 'hearts' the Yudu here in the reviews), she is SPONSORED by ProvoCraft. Nuff said. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
The best palette box out there. Worth the wait on shipping. What separates this palette box from others Ive purchased (more below) is that this SAA box has a gasket seal on the lid. Plus, the four hinge latches are very easy to open and close to provide a tight seal. Its a perfect size for my 9x12 disposable palette pad. Its worth noting that it will take at least a couple of weeks to receive the item via Royal Mail but it is well worth the wait. To address my note above, Ive purchased two Masterson palette boxes from Amazon before discovering this SAA box, one blue which didn't provide an airtight seal and a red one, which provided a slightly better seal, but not nearly as good as this SAA box. As I noted in my review, this SAA box is a breeze to open and to close with four hinges that provide a tight seal while both of my Masterson boxes are difficult to open and close as they rely on ridges between the lid and base to snap on to. Hands down winner in my Studio is the SAA palette box. Definitely worth the wait on shipping. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
A Better Way to Scrapbook. I love using Smash Books! They are the perfect scrap book for someone who doesn't have the time to worry about making each page look perfect or buying those pricey stickers and accessories. After placing my order I received mine very quickly, and it was packaged well in the shipping parcel. This is a great price for all of the extra add-ons that the book came with. The pages are adorable and work with a lot of different occasions in life, and I was very impressed with the quality of all the pieces. Michaels craft store used to carry these do not anymore, which made me sad to hear, but I am happy with Amazon I can still access this item for purchase! These books are a creative way to layout pictures, saved ticket stubs from your favorite concert, or record memories in. I now have 3 filled Smashbooks and look forward to buying more! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
So Over this Rainbow of Colors. In my original order was placed direct through the Best Pysanky website with several items. When my order arrived the dyes where not included. They did send them after I called and emailed. I only received 29 out of 30 dyes because black was not included.
I have been quite disappointed with the dyes. The color is not consistent. I have had to do my own chemistry to get the professional results that I had expected. In order to get a true consistent color I have had to dip my eggs into several different colors in order to achieve total consistent coverage. I was very much looking forward to enjoy a wide rainbow of colors that this company offers and ordered all 30 dyes. Initially I assumed that it could just be one or two particular dyes within the pack that were substandard. Out of the 15 that I have made each one was not produced desirable results. I am so over this rainbow of colors. The spectacular spectrum I dreamt of has turned into cloudy skies with a 100% chance of color chaos.
If you have a suggestions on a resource to get some quality dyes please comment below. I had better luck with the dyes from my starter kit. Thanks | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Excellent buy. It is perfect. I have a Silhouette and Cricut as well but nothing compares to my Sizzix in performance. Those die cut machines are very costly to keep up with and I am a fabric crafter, not paper and so this is excellent because I cut ALL of the time on my Sizzix. I have had it for nearly a year, and I still have never replaced my cutting pads! Granted, I have an extended pair and a regular pair that I switch between depending on die size but this machine has literally ZERO upkeep. These tags are perfect for any material items I make to sell locally and online and just throw a nice Thank you stamp on them with the right kind of paper and they look professional. I love the variety and Tim Holtz does a fantastic job at designing- seriously Thank you Tim Holtz! Those electronic die cutters have blades to replace, cutting mats to replace-all of the time when barely even used and the way you need to get the settings right is just annoying. Sizzix is great. Amazon is great to get your Sizzix needs, seriously- the cheapest and fastest shipping with Prime, I love it. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Did not work as well as I hoped. I was so excited to receive these and freehand wrote on a wine glass using all of the colors after I had primed them for use. They wrote well, no glopping or anything. They dried nice and shiny. I waited 24 hours and baked the glass in the oven following the product directions. Unfortunately, the colors, except for the black, turned matte when they baked. The colors stayed true but the shine was gone. I tried using mod podge and a gloss sealer to bring back the shine but those left obvious marks on the glass and looked bad. I guess I will try them out on my ceramic tile coasters instead and spray them with engine enamel to restore the gloss. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
It was easy to use this brush and I used the yellow . I'm thrilled to be writing a product review about the Paint Brush Set by Brush Artistry. These are 36 high quality, long wooden handle paint brushes featuring synthetic, hog and pony hair bristles. They can be used with watercolor, acrylic,
oils and other paint media. They are ideal for beginners and experienced artists.
These 12-inch long wooden handles are color-coded for ease of selection. I used three white handle brushes and one green handle brush for my first watercolor painting. The brush I used in the next photo had a tuft that was round at the tip. Several of the brushes in the entire set have the same tuft. It was easy to use this brush and I used the yellow watercolor and dabbed at the paper.
The brush I used next had a tuft that was flat at the tip. This allowed me to make a different stroke in red and I used a short stroke with the brush. I then switched brushes and used a brush that had a tuff with a round tip. I pushed the brush into the paper with the blue paint and continued doing this all over the paper as with the other strokes of the brush.
I used the first brush again, once it was cleaned in water. I noticed how easily it was cleaned and it took in the green paint and I made dabs with that paint all over the paper. Since I had used up most of the space on the paper I decided to stop there and save this as my first watercolor painting.
Some of these brushes would be great with nail art as well. This would be with the broader strokes covering most of the nail as nail art brushes are smaller and more precise.
I just love these brushes and I intend on sharing them with my friends when they come over this week. I'm going to work on more paintings and try other strokes and see how to use them.
The case is cloth and is durable and has small pockets for each brush on the inside, as the flap covers the brushes and then this can be rolled and tied shut.
I would recommend these brushes to anyone of the age to appreciate brush care as these can be used by the beginner through the experienced. This is a set that you will use for a long time.
They can be found at Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LHMVC5C/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_37
Disclosure: I was provided with this free product in exchange for my honest review. I only share those products on my blog which I find are appropriate for my readers. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Decent Brushes/Falsely Advertised. Falsely advertised. The brushes I received were mismatched from the ones advertised. I received duplicates of 3 or 4 brushes and the others advertised with the set were simply not included. It's like they just grabbed a handful of brushes from the ones with the set and I got all the same ones. A couple of the brushes tips were smashed and ruined as well due to bad packaging. The brushes themselves though honestly don't seem too bad. The tips that aren't smashes paint well and have nice sharp tips for detailed painting. Unfortunately I can't return them because my wife already used them. My complaint is more with shipping/packaged items than with the quality of the brushes. That is why I'm giving them 3 stars. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
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