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80 piece deluxe art set. <div id="video-block-R2H5JVRLR5TBTH" class="a-section a-spacing-small a-spacing-top-mini video-block"></div><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/D1J8qtK%2B5uS.mp4" class="video-url"><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/7160alpvwZS.png" class="video-slate-img-url">I totally love this deluxe art set! It has everything you could want to get started! There are colored pencils, regular pencils, crayons, paint, brushes, and eraser and sharpener! This is a great set! I also love that it comes in a wooden box. So professional looking. Perfect gift for anyone that loves to draw, paint, or color. Add a few coloring books to the set and gift it as a birthday or Christmas present. I am most definitely keeping mine all for myself since I like to color while I am talking to customers. It is very relaxing. I got this set during a lightening deal but its not expensive and well worth it! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Vibrant Calligraphy Colors. The Colors on this set are VIBRANT! That being said, i can tell this was sitting somewhere for a decent amount of time, a few of the colors are a bit difficult to get back to vibrancy seeing as all their "sparkle" is condensed on one side of the bottle. (most notably the Iridescent Violet and the Copper Gold) I have provided a picture comparison. The pictures show the Violet and the Copper Gold BEFORE shaking, and After.
After shaking, the Gold is 100% functional and usable, but the violet is STILL stuck to one side.
I'll keep shaking to see if it Unsticks itself eventually and maybe will be the color it's supposed to be.
Otherwise, this is a wonderful set of colors and I'm Excited to try them on my next project! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Good quality kit for the price but be prepared to spend a significant amount of time on this project. Clearly, by the detail of the painting, I should have known that this paint-by-number kit would be arduous. Putting the frame together and affixing the canvas to the frame took me about 2.5 hours over a period of 2 days. The frame was not a perfect, symmetrical fit so the canvas did not lay flat. Once I started working on the painting, I soon discovered it will take me hundreds of hours.
I was impressed with the timeliness of delivery, the care with which the box was packaged, taped and the manufacturer's attempts to make the directions clear. The paints are also decent quality. I do wish the paint by number lines had darker print. Some of the numbers are so faint in certain high detail areas, it is nearly impossible to distinguish between a 7 and a 1, a 6 and an 8, etc.
I bit off more than I can chew with this purchase and may not finish it but if you're up for the task, the final product will be beautiful. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Excellent Quality, Perfect Size!!! Love it. I just loved this smaller, compact, yet big enough to carry alot of paints palette! The plastic is very, very sturdy, not flimsy, not thin like the others. This is a quality palette. I bought it to put those paints I just know I really want with me but don't want to fill up the large wells on my Pike Palette (another excellent choice). This fits inside the mixing area on my Pike Palette and I can travel with it this way, only taking up the same amount of space as my original palette. Certainly, thinking of getting another one because its so sturdy and easy to use, loved the size. I don't have a Guerilla Plein Air product, only this. I actually have the setup from "Plein Air Pro", which comes with a nice messenger bag that carries my tripod, easel and palette. So, my space was limited on taking another palette with me. I was hoping this would work and it's height is perfect, quality is 100% and I know any artist would love this. I use it for all of my earth colors, Bt. Sienna, etc and some of those wild colors like Quinacridone Coral that I wouldn't give an entire well to on my main palette, but so love to use. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great desk for teens. Ok. so I bought this for my artsy angsty teenage Emo-ish daughter. She practically lives at this desk. We replaced the stool with a real desk chair but the desk itself has stood up to some pretty serious tantrums. Artsy/Angsty teenage girl tantrums. We're considering buying one for my son next. He's older teen and super mellow so this should it will probably last the rest of his life. Said son is the person who originally assembled this desk for artsy/angsty teen daughter so it can't be rocket science. Then again, he is studying to be an aerospace engineer...soo. I don't know how complicated it was to put together. But it has lived this long (10 months) while being horribly abused. So, I would highly recommend this desk. And for the price, you really can't go wrong. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Not a general purpose pencil sharpener, and not the best for a classroom. I accidentally bought this when I was looking for a small electric sharpener. It has very solid blades inside, and since it's actually designed for colored pencils, it offers two different profiles for the point. You will find out if your pencils are dry or cheap, though, as it will eat cheaper pencils fairly quickly, and it often breaks the lead. On the other hand, it is a very efficient sharpener. I'm a high school teacher, and about 4-5 full turns will get a new pencil ready for writing.
Although it looks cool, the lid is held on by a very thin piece of plastic. Also, the black curved piece that sticks out on the sides makes it look cool, and it probably was intended to give you a good grip, but that thing's actually pretty sharp. A rounded edge probably would have been better (probably cheaper to mold and release, too, ironically). I accidentally tagged this while looking at a couple of cheap electric sharpeners, and I eventually bought this, not realizing my mistake (and it wasn't the cheapest one I was considering!). So, it's obviously in a higher price range than most handheld sharpeners...
If I specialized in artwork with colored or regular pencil, it might be worth it, but it's not the best option for a classroom or regular pencil sharpening. I'd probably give it 3 stars, but it is very well made, looks cool, and the blades seem to be really good quality. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
I think you could do better. I thought this would be the perfect needle for a new project(120 stitches wide). I used the longest and started. After about three rows the needle became unscrewed and I dropped about 25 stitches trying to get it all back on. I then began tightening the cable to the needles after every row in order to not have the ordeal of dropped stitches and lost time. I was not over tightening. Five rows later the cable snapped off the needles and I had to quickly put my work on some straight needles and go and get a normal US 8 29" circular to finish my sweater. DO NOT purchase this set--just buy what you need when you need it. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great paint brush pen type thingy and I use it in watercolour artwork. Great paint brush pen type thingy and I use it in watercolour artwork. A little pricey but still worth it if u get with free shipping otherwise next time you are out go to your local art or office depot stores.
SIDE NOTE AND A GREAT FIND!!!
Benjabelle Mini Brush Tree:
I know these are made for make up brushes, but the key word here is" brushes". As Artists we need to keep and
dry our brushes tip down, especially watercolour brushes as a size 12 in Pure Kolinsky Sable
will cost you up to $400 retail and around $300 on sale!! When water gets into the brushes' ferrule, it degrades the brush and
the brush also CANNOT be left with the tip down or standing in water.
This is the perfect solution. A Must have!!! And it comes in different sizes and colours. I have mine assembled and then I mounted each one on a block of styrofoam to make it even taller. Just cut in a cross and used glue to keep it there. I will decorate the styrofoam to make look better LOL | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Just awful. I love sprays, have tons: Ranger's Color Wash and Dylusions, Tattered Angels' Glimmer Mists, and Moonglow. I bought several different sets of Sprinklers to achieve a more matte finish. Over half the sprayers were clogged at both ends: the nozzle and the intake tube. Soaking them in soapy water didn't help, as the particles settled out and formed an almost solid mass at the bottom. Finally had to run pin pins through them, then rinse and repeat several times. Once the sprayers were usable, the paper sprayed and then dry, I found that the color sits on top of the paper and when touched comes off as a chalky powder. The colors were lovely, but between clogging issues and the impermanence of the product, I will not buy these again. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Issues right off the bat. This was our first airbrush kit. I thought it would be a good starter kit, but no such luck. Two out of three of the guns were broken right off the bat - just did not work out of the box. The hose also developed an issue. The compressor itself seems to be doing good so far though. I have contacted the seller to see if they will exchange the two broken guns. Also the instructions on set up are non existent. I had to watch youTube videos to figure out the proper set up and PSI. The cleaning instructions and gun use instructions are sketchy as well...more youtube videos helped though. My third gun broke the other day. I cannot blame this on the seller as I am not sure why it broke and am looking it over still. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
NOT WASHABLE. These window crayons are listed as "washable" in the item description. Maybe this means washable from the windows. However, in kid world, parents expect the term "washable" to mean it will wash out of clothes, off skin, etc. THIS PRODUCT DOES NOT WASH OUT. We used once and the kid's whole outfit, the towels i used to clean the windows, AND the couch (window is right next to the couch) are all completely stained and ruined!! I can't believe a $6 pack of "washable" crayons could take down that many items. Obviously it is not amazon's fault that this is such a terrible product, but please know- these are not WASHABLE at all. They are a fun product but maybe better for using outside on patio doors, in clothes you're not worried about staining. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Saks Fifth Ave." quality sketchbook for a dollar store budget. NOTE #1: I am NOT an artist but have plenty of family members that are artistically talented so this is an observation from a non-professional artist with some knowledge of what drawing/sketching & painting artists look out for when buying art supplies!!
NOTE #2: I just received this about 2 hours ago & am only basing this review on the physical attributes since my 12 yr. old daughter hasn't had a chance to use it for her drawings/sketches because she is currently at school at the time of this review. I will upate this later once she has had a chance to use it.
So WHY would I provide such an instant & hurried review?? Just upon my picking the book out of the box was very impressive on its' own quality alone! The thickness, texture, weight, & binding high quality of the book covering alone is on par with any hardcover best-seller book from big publishing companies or university/college brand textbook. The high quality thickness of the pages are most definitely made for drawing/sketching but quite possibly thick enough for watercolors &/or permanent marker bleed-through. They are most definitely much thicker than copier paper & can tell they will provide a decent amount of tooth while drawing/sketching. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
The replacement worked fine for a while and lasted for about 4-5 hours . Practically worthless junk. I've gone through three of these things and all have failed.
The first one was defective right out of its plastic wrap. It leaked air no matter what you did to seal it. It wasn't in the threads that connect it to the air hose, but in the body of the disconnect itself. Even without the airbrush fitting in place it leaked. Amazon replaced it quickly with no wait or fanfare.
The replacement worked fine for a while and lasted for about 4-5 hours worth of airbrushing before it started leaking the same way as the first one did.
I complained to Paasche itself through their Tech Help line number. Chuck (who was very helpful and friendly) replaced it, also without fanfare. This one has lasted the longest with about 10-12 hours of usage without leaking. Then, just tonight, that one failed, too, in exactly the same way as the first two. The body of the disconnect leaks whether plugged into the QD fitting or not.
I give up on this crap. I don't need this. I'm going to buy a different air hose to connect the Paasche compressor I bought to use with my Paasche Talon airbrush and buy a Quick Disconnect from another brand. It cant be any worse than this. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
cheap, and a great place to start. I bought the 24 set from amazon and these are some pretty good markers for the price. They indeed deliver rich and vibrant colors. They might not be huge professional markers (like copic markers) but still are way cheaper for the people who don't have that kind of budget.
There are only a few things I have to complain about these markers. The color labels are misleading, and the marker's color is usually a lot darker than what it says on the label, but that isn't too much of a problem. Second, they don't blend as well. You'll still see streaks, but they still overall blend a lot better than regular markers.
If you're thinking about buying the 24 set, you won't get too much of a variety of colors, since they mostly come with primary and secondary colors, which are the basic of the basic. Like the other reviewers said, you might want to get some grays for shading. Also, if you draw human figures a lot, a set of skin tones is a must. The 24 pack only comes with one skin tone (peach) and that won't look good enough. Since I'm an illustrator, I draw human characters a lot, so I had to go out and buy some skin shades.
Also, these will bleed quite a lot on regular paper. You might want to get marker paper to keep it from bleeding so much and not waste too much ink.
Is this a top professional marker? well, no, but is this a good place to start for beginners who are leaning towards being a serious artist and want to use something other than regular markers? absolutely. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Absolutely Stunning. I absolutely am in love with these pencils. They are not my everyday pencils but they create a gorgeous shimmery color that lays down easily, can be blended and layered. Thr pointe stay sharp and the casing of the lead is excellent. Ive posted some pictures of what these pencils look like in a mandala in my review of 100 creaties Mandala book. For the price, which is heavily discounted on Amazon this is an artist quality pencil that is unlike any of the regulars ie. Prismacolor, Faber Castell, Staedtler, etc. it can produce a totally different result - a light shimmer can be invoked depending on how you use them. I highly recommend this item from Lyra which produces some of the best artist mediums available. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
A great product and a great price. I have been using Apple Barrel Acrylic Paints for about a year since I have taken up small craft projects that require a coat or two of paint. These paints go on very nice. (So far I have used them for altered Altoid Mint Tins and unpainted wooden boxes). They go on smooth and I have not had any problems with bubbling. I use a very inexpensive collection of (Alex) brushes on them that I picked up at Five Below and even with using inexpensive brushes, this paint goes on like butter. The best thing about these paints is the easy cleanup. I am not what you would call a "neat painter" and find myself covered with paint splatter. A quick wash up with warm water and foaming Dawn dish liquid does the trick to clean up spills on surfaces and skin. At $18.00 and change for 18 bottles (about $1.00 a bottle), how can you go wrong. If you make sure the lids are on tight (I use a bit of plastic wrap on the top before I screw on the caps) these last a long time. I have nothing to compare these paints to because I am a new crafter when it comes to paints but they are great for small crafting paint jobs and I am sure any student who is learning how to paint with acrylics will like them, as well. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Worked for what I needed. I initially bought these for my 4 year old daughter's cupcake decorating party. They worked perfectly for what I needed. I've also used this for my kids to do their painting activities and worked well there also, though you can't use too much paint and mixing colors can be a little difficult, but take this with a grain of salt because it was my first time mixing paints and we accidentally used too much. The only disappointment I had with this order was I received one of the palettes broken, even though it was bubble wrapped inside the box. Luckily I didn't need all 10 so I was okay with it, though having all 10 fully functional would have been better. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Perfect little sketchbook. I love this sketchbook. The paper is so smooth and can really take a beaten from an eraser without tearing. It says it's "exceptional" for pencil and just "good" for color pencil & pen but I think it's also exceptional for them as well. The colors come out nice & vibrant. The pen doesn't bleed through to the other side of the paper and drawing in pen or color pencil is just as smooth as drawing with a pencil. The paper size is perfect for doodling and I love that it's spiral bound. The pages are also perforated so you can even tear and hang your drawings up or give them away when you're done. Will definitely buy again! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
GOOD VALUE - GREAT PRODUCT FOR YOUNG OR HOBBY ARTIST. The quality is on parity with the price. The only part that was "crappy" was that lower folding mechanism. That section is not solid wood. I cannot figure why put particle wood in an area subjected to hinges for opening and closing. The directions to put this together was poor and elementary, but can be figured out with some patience.
The good news: Well designed with cams as fasteners. Real wood all the way except the part I mentioned earlier. The hardware was tagged. The mechanism for adjustments are good quality. The mechanism can move freely, very little snags. This I would not recommend for a professional artist.
So it is a buy for young artist or hobby artist. Again the price point is good. My wife is pleased with it. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
couldn't be better customer service! Quality product. I am so impressed with this seller and product. I had a minor problem with my order. The seller was very responsive and helpful and easy to work with. I'm using the easels for 4 of my art classes taught through city programs. They are sturdy enough for children, teens and adults to use. I use these specific easels with 11x14 and 12x16 canvases. They fold up for easy storage in the classroom. I am so happy that I intend to purchase more and use them with my larger public school classes. I will continue to use this seller as a supplier. They are professional, trustworthy and have a quality product. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
can't trust the label's color, but good quality. The quality and the pigmentation is obviously top notch. I never realized how poor US Art Supply paint was till I compared it to this (this was my first purchase of non-US.AS. airbrush paint). However, the color is just wrong. Not even close. And no, it's not a bad picture posted on amazon - the picture here is exactly the color on the label of the container. But the paint itself is PINK once it dries. The color name is "light flesh tone", but they must have been talking about pig flesh. Or rather, I supposed if you're painting a pink nipple, this ought to be about right. Or the inside of a perfectly cooked steak. It's kind of odd to have such a drastic color change - the wet color looks good, if a little bit pinker than the label, but the dry color is so different. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Artist Choice Colored Pencils. Lead breaks way too easily when sharpening & coloring. The lead seems to be broken the kength within wood of pencil. Several of the pencils are that way. Wood seems to be quite dry or old pencils. Brand new pencils during first time use now only 1 1/2 long due to lead CONSTANTLY BREAKING! Started coloring right out of the box & lead beaks just touching pencil to paper U have to press hard for descent color results. Color just doesnt transfer to paper with normal pressure of pencil. I guess u get what u pay for. Invest in a better quality color pencil set......or u may want to purchase an electric pencil sharpener. Youre going ro be using it a lot. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
The ease of my mind. I had not realized how potent is this tables role in my life until I went on a trip with my friends. Where? Woodstock. Wasnt the first time this week. Had gone there for Jannes friends wedding just a couple of days before the trip.
I don't like trips and I think it makes no sense to interrupt your life, your mindset and your solitude for a stressful dense activity a few miles away from your surrounding walls in another set of surrounding walls. Its loud, meaningless, exhausting and more importantly! theres no working table over there. You try to read or do a little something but you're completely lost and ditached from your reality. Lost like a socially engaged machine. Do You really enjoy the walk in the forest? No, I rather sit by the fire and stare at it for hours. But you need to PARTICIPATE! Youre already on the margin of getting completely isolated...there are moments of horror resulted by that. Only the table can ease your tired scattered mind. Thats your spot, right there behind the table.
Plus, its easy to assemble and dissemble this piece of furniture. Ooo one more thing: you can also use it as a light box simply by putting a lamp under the table! Isnt it all you want in your life?!
Seriously thumbs up baba! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Beautiful color, but defective leather. I got this to coordinate with the Project Life Baby Edition for Her Mini Kit, and I absolutely loved the color, but I was very disappointed that it was defective. I purchased it in "used-very good" condition, so I knew it was not going to arrive perfect, but it had too many air bubbles in the leather to ignore. I am so bummed because I have been searching for the perfect album that would match the colors in the Mini Kit, and this color is 100% perfect, but just defective leather, which seems to be a common complaint on Amazon. Too bad. I did really like what came inside though- it had 5 pocket pages, protectors, tall pocket and sheet lifter. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Very nice dual action airbrush, performs as good as top brands for a fraction of the price. I've tried a lot of high end airbrushes (Badger, Aztek, Harder & Steenbeck) and I've found this one to be the best one as far as versatility and simplicity. It's also a hundred dollars cheaper than some of the other brands, and I've found it to perform just as well. Comes with 2 different size needles (which is nice), a compressor adapter (quick disconnect) and wrench. The case is not bad, but the pre-formed insert seems a bit cheap. I've had some good results with the dual action trigger, it operates pretty smoothly and allows for fine control. My only complaint is that like most gravity fed airbrushes, it isn't terribly easy to do a deep cleaning. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great pen that works exactly as advertised. Spectacular pen with a couple quibbles. I'm an illustrator, so my review is only really relevant for that.
For starters, it makes incredibly crisp, clean lines. It's very juicy and lays down ink pretty smoothly unless you're trying to pull off large board strokes. This is stronger as a detail brush, instead of a large brush for filling in areas with black. Makes great short strokes and tapered lines and unlike literally every other disposable brush pen I own, this will last till the last drop of ink. The tip is a single rubbery wedge and I've yet to get it to fray or soften. It stays sharp till the end.
My only real complaint is that the ink is not water-proof. My guess is that the mechanism of how the pen works and to prevent clogging necessitates that but it is a bit of any issue depending on your project. So, if you need to lay a bit of white gouache or white ink on top of it, it will immediately bleed all over the place. If you make an illustration and need to clean it up a bit, you're only real solution is to edit the final product digitally. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Outstanding Quality Stamp, Exceeded My Expectations. Unlike the photo, these arrived as separate stamps rather than one large stamp, which is even better. Its made out of light blue rubber, deeply etched, and cut perfectly so all the designs are perfectly centered on the stamp, laser cut around the designs to perfection. Its probably one of the highest quality stamps I've purchased in a really long time. It also comes on a clear piece of acetate if you like to store you stamps in clear stamp storage envelopes rather than keep them in the original packaging (the packaging was flimsy and the stamps did arrive bent a bit from being sent in the mail in an envelope and shoved into my mailbox with other packages but the stamps flattened out after sitting on a flat surface for about a half a day). I'm really happy I bought this for all my "fairy" stamps and die cuts etc. and just having Julie's doodles to go with some of her mixed media stamps (I love her mixed media canvas art). | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Not quite what I expected. I was very excited to get this in the mail, but was dissapointed when I opened it up to look at it. The product pictures make it look like you're getting more than what you end up getting. I had clicked on costomers images and it had shown a yellow paper with dinosaurs on it-that is not included in what you get. You get 6 papers and 3 pages of stickers. I understand that this is a Lego themed set, but the Dino page shown did match the colors and having that pic on here was misleading. I will say-the 12x12 pages are heavy duty and nice looking. I didn't like all the sayings on the stickers either, but that is just my opinion. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
BEWARE . . . you may wind up with several sets of MARCO RAFFINE under selling guidelines. It's not that I don't like these pencils, they sharpen fine, lay down and blend fairly well, however,I now have at least 4 sets of the SAME IDENTICAL pencils all sold under different names such as Ipow, Creyart, Marco Raffine,Lanxivi, and another I cannot think of off the top of my head. But they all have the exact same code and all come in the same cheap cardboard box which forces you to use another container for them and they are NOT color coded but do have numbers, so be willing to spend the time making yourself a 72 count chart for them. All the different brands are indeed Marco Raffine, so if you think that by ordering another set you will get an additional 72 colors, throw that idea out the window!
Had those selling them advertised them as a Marco Raffine product I would certainly not have purchased any more as I already ordered 2 sets,. I am on a low-income fixed budget and it not only makes me angry these are sold under different names, but it was certainly money wasted. Due to my disabilities I was looking for something else that I could due along with my sewing projects and perhaps use colored pencils and gel pens for some of my customers that wanted something hand designed (which I already know I can use gel pens and Sharpies).
CreyArt Color Pencil Set says NOTHING about them being Marco Raffine pencils, CreyArt Color Pencil Set With 72 Drawing, Shading & Coloring Pencils - Colored Pencils for Adults, Teens & Children for Art, Sketching & Coloring Books, nor do any of the pouch sets or a few of the others.
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/CreyArt-Color-Pencil-Set-With-72-Drawing-Shading-Coloring-Pencils-Colored-Pencils-for-Adults-Teens-Children-for-Art-Sketching-Coloring-Books/dp/B018GQFGEO/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">CreyArt Color Pencil Set With 72 Drawing, Shading & Coloring Pencils - Colored Pencils for Adults, Teens & Children for Art, Sketching & Coloring Books</a>
I am very disappointed that Marco Raffine ( AND Amazon) would allow so many other companies to use their name on their products (maybe adding another name to them such as Creyart or Ipow to allow the consumer to think they are something entirely different) and not tell the consumer as such.
As I stated, they are decent pencils, PLEASE BE SURE AND ASK if they are indeed Marco Raffine before buying another set, as all sets have the exact same color and rarely does it tell if they are wax or oil base. So far, each one I've ordered (even the one with the holder, when I opened it I was extremely upset to have a 5th Marco Raffine set of 72) has not given the details of wax, or oil or some do not even tell if they are water pencils.
Please be sure to ASK the manufacturer if they are indeed Marco Raffine. If I could afford to send them all back but one, I certainly would do just that!
However, the shipping was decent I had no broken pencils or tips, They sharpen very well with my electric sharpener. And as I stated, they are a decent pencil, they do lay down color fairly well and blend okay but far from being professional grade.
I certainly hope this helps all AMAZON customers in the future. I would have given it a 4 star rating other than Marco Raffine allowing their brand to be sold under different brand names, Each one will come with the number in the corner as 7100-72BC, and all come in the same colored box other than there may be of course another brand name written on it as well; here is yet another Marco Raffine I wound up buying hoping I was getting 72 additional colors to add to my sets.[ASIN:B00Z9OH0SW 72 Marco Colored Pencils with Pen Pouch Set / Color Professional Art Drawing Pencils for Artist Sketch Drawing Oil Base High Quality Drawing]]
As I've stated, if I could afford to send all but one set back I would certainly do so, however, my budget does not allow that and it really upsets me to pay so much money out for the exact same products. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
I want to chalk paint everything now. This was my first time using chalked paint and I was so happy with this product. It was so smooth and creamy. It covered in one coat even though I used two. I then used a coat of clear wax and a dark wax. I'm in love with this product. I tried a different brand for another project afterwards because I wanted a color Poets Paint didn't carry and I found out how superior Poet's Paint truly is. I hope they start carrying more colors because I want to paint everything now! I put a before and after of my kitchen cabinets. They were painted black when we moved in and I painted them with the Poets Paint Stonehenge and I did sand them first as shown in one half of the before. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Super Cute. I am an avid card maker and scrapbooker, and even though this was a complete impulse buy for me, I am very happy with it!
I purchased this for $2.22 because it was the cheapest add-on-item I could find that would bring my order of add-on-items to over $25. Since I knew I would use it, I had no qualms about buying it. I am glad I did, because about two days after it arrived my best friend found out she was having a baby boy and we used this frame to make the announcement we sent to her grandparents!
The frame is definitely glittery, though it is slightly darker than the picture shows. The rhinestones are well adhered to it and don't seem like they would come detached easily. However, this frame lost a star due to the adhesives... Or lack thereof.
This frame was hard to pull off of the backing, which lead me to believe that it would adhere to card stock quite nicely... Not so much. I ended up having to use a few small glue dots to keep the fram from peeling up at the edges. It seems that once you peel it off its backing the adhesive looses a lot of it's sticking ability, which is a bummer. It is an easy fix though.
Overall this frame looks great and would work for a variety of projects! I would still recommend it, even with the adhesive issue. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Nice pencils (Marco Raffine. So first thing, these are Marco Raffine pencils. Pencils arrived well packaged and quickly via prime. 3 tips were broken, but the pencils sharpened back up just fine. I also had 2 copies of color # 534. These are colored pencils, not Water Color pencils, the title is a bit confusing.
I included a picture from the Creative Haven book Creative Cats that was done exclusively with the pencils received.
Positives about these pencils.
The colors are vibrant and are pretty close to the colors shown on the end of the pencil. They sharpen up very nicely and you can get a very sharp point. It is very easy to add details using lines with these pencils. They are hard and I had no problems with breakage even when pressing hard. You can blend colors together reasonably well. The colors lay down very bright and true with a sharp point. The pencils really shine when using lines.
The less positive.
Coloring with a circular style the results are less pleasing, the color washes out and things can become blotchy. I wish the black color was blacker, it took a lot of layers and pressure to create the black areas and I was never completely happy with the coverage. I experienced more hand and wrist fatigue since I had to press harder and go over the layers multiple times.
I own a set of 12 Prismacolor Premier and a set of Prismacolor Scholar pencils. I would rank these pencils just slightly below the Scholar pencils. They do not compare to the premier set. I will use these pencils to add line detail to my coloring as these pencils really do perform well when used that way!
If you are unable to afford higher quality pencils this is a fine set to purchase. You will be able to create pleasing pictures with nice colors and effects. Be prepared to adjust your style to what works best with these pencils.
I received these pencils at a discounted price for an honest and unbiased review which I have happily provided. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Review of the Da Vinci 5359 Russian Red Sable Deluxe 5 Brush Watercolor Set. I rate a product as 5 stars or 1 star. If the item is delivered in the time promised AND is exactly what was promised then that is excellent and if not then the 1 star. As I said both of these conditions were satisfied. When I was in the Air Force many years ago we were told that when it comes to food preparation there is absolutely clean or filthy, no in-between so this how I judge. What I do want to comment on is the beauty of these brushes. Most of my painting has been either interior/exterior house painting or model airplanes so very large brushes or small disposable ones. These brushes are beautiful. Sorry to gush about them but the ad picture does not do them justice. The stem, barrel and especially the brush hair itself are quality all the way. Maybe someone with more artistic painting experience will differ with this opinion but I am truly impressed with the quality of these brushes. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Love these pens. I have both the A and B sets and use them for drawing and journaling. They are great for lettering and coloring in small areas. Beautiful colors and just the right amount of sparkle. All of the colors in the A set are vibrant. The B set colors are significantly lighter and the lilac, blossom, peach, buttermilk, mint and sand are barely visible on white paper. I have not tested them on darker paper so they may do better on that. If you will use them exclusively on white or cream paper then I would recommend just getting the A set. However, if you make cards or scrapbook on darker paper,s then the B set may also be a useful tool. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great set of large easels. I am a big art fan and love to paint and draw during my down time at home. It is a very big passion of mine that I have enjoyed doing ever since I was a little kid. When purchasing supplies for my artwork, I do not like to buy cheap or low quality items. I was looking for an easel like these ones to use to teach my boyfriend's five year old little girl how to paint with me because I felt it would be a great bonding experience for us and fun for her at the same time. They also are large enough for me to really commit to some bigger sized canvas projects if I want to and I really love that I have the freedom to choose any size canvas for these easels that are up to 40 inches wide! They come unassembled, but to be quite honest, that was part of the fun for us! I got to teach her how to put them together also and that part went relatively quickly, as it only takes a few minutes with just a few pieces that are all included. However, if you are not familiar with easels and this is new to you, you will want to look up instructions on their website or use google because it does not come with instructions on how to assemble it in the package. The easels are a nice black wood that you could leave as is if you're going to use the easels just for painting purposes, but it also looks quite beautiful for displaying your artwork as well. These easels firmly held our canvases in place and provided a nice sturdy platform for us to work on. We had such a blast together with this experience and it is a memory both us will always remember with each other! I will be purchasing any future easels from this company. They were made from very high quality materials and worked great! * I received this product for free in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion * | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Nice Sleek Case. Gets the job done! I don't yet have a large collection of pen nibs and holders, so for now I can fit my complete collection into this case. In the future I might invest in a much larger storage/organization system. For now I can bring my supplies with me without worrying about them being damaged in my bag. I will echo what another reviewer has mentioned about the tiny gap between the dividers and the lid... With some moving around, the thin pen nibs could slip through and end up in a section other than where it was originally placed. Something that would improve this specific case is having the dividers come up to the lid completely so that small items don't slip through the cracks within the case.
Was just a little sad that the case I received had lots of scratches and scrapes all over it... it looked like the case had been dropped or kicked across the floor a few times before it was packaged and sent to me | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Overall a good table. Pros:
Nice and sturdy
Adjustable angle
Glass working surface
Drawers
Cons:
The instructions were poorly illustrated and it took a lot of extra time to figure out how things fit together.
The cup holders are undersized so a cup won't fit in them. I've yet to find a use for the round holes other than to hold small ink bottles.
The pencil trays are not how I like to store pencils. I prefer a cup. See comment above.
I ordered the recommended chair and it is way too short. This table needs a chair that is taller than a normal desk.
There really is no place to put a lamp. You will need a stand alone floor lamp or good overhead lamps.
Overall, I give it a good rating and worthwhile to buy. You might need a special chair and a table to go with it to hold your other things and a good overhead lamp. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Nice set and the same price as 1 new release video game. I'm a fan of this Faber-Castell Tabletop Art Studio! Yes the current price is $58 for this quality art set...which is about the same price of that new release video game "Zombie Baby Slaughter 9" for your zBox. Which investment feels better?
The cleverest aspect of this set is the actual box...a fairly nice versatile wood box that stores your stuff...it folds as an easel or a magnetic whiteboard or just a plain old drawing surface (handy for car rides). Then of course there is the good stuff that comes inside the box for all your kids basic art needs - paper, crayons, paint, etc etc and it's always easy to restock/buy more (if you're feeling really wild you can restock some with different brands). Faber-Castell is also a well-known / reputable brand.
So overall I'm a fan of this Tabletop Art Studio...it just feels better giving this to your kid or as a gift to another kid instead of Zombie Baby Slaughter 9 (plus they already have ZBS 1-8 anyway). I think this is good/healthy value at current price of $58 - 5-STAR rating by me in consideration of overall price/value. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
No support for Android. Like so many people here, I too was one of the original backers of StickNFind when it was on Indiegogo. Keep in mind that this was back towards the end of 2012/beginning of 2013. Sometime after going live (I have no idea how long it's been now) I received the product, just as I'd ordered it.
Unfortunately, as many people have discovered, it only seems to work with Samsung devices, which wasn't clearly explained in the beginning. The only app listed in the Play Store is for Samung, so LG, Motorola, HTC, etc aren't compatible. As I was actually working for a cell phone service provider at the time, I understood, however, that these things happen and contacted the SNF team asking if support would ever be made available for Motorola phones (which is primarily what I use).
But here we are in May of 2014 (I'm sure I've had these things for at least a year now) and there has never been a change or update made for any Android device on the market, except of course for Samsung. The only response I've ever gotten is that they're working on it. Which if I had been made aware in the beginning that this was the case, I would have never gotten the product. I have no desire to switch to an Apple phone (the only other manufacturer it works with) and I just don't personally care for Samsung phones. (It's not that they're bad per se, I just prefer Motorola).
I can't tell you how or if my StickNFind trackers work. I've never been able to do anything with them, and they are currently sitting on a shelf, in the box they came in, gathering dust.
If you have the RIGHT kind of phone, you at least have the option of trying them out to see how and if they work. But after a year of owning the product, and who knows how long of waiting for the product to finally launch, I have never once had the opportunity to even try StickNFind because I'm not one of the select few who owns the right kind of cell phone.
So before you get carried away with novelty of this product, please check to make sure you own the RIGHT kind of cell phone, otherwise, you'll be wasting your money. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Awesome System. I finally tested it out after buying Sharpies from the store the other day. I bought this system during the 24-Hour Craft show on HSN. It was on sale plus it came with ALL the adapters. I was kind of hesitant in buying one after seeing a lot of bad reviews. I'm glad I bought it anyways. I didn't want to use my Copic markers yet (or the Spectrum Noir that was given - expensive markers lol) that's why I bought Sharpies. Long story short I was able to airbrush a glass mini cake/cupcake stand I made, successfully without any problems. Well I had to airbrush it several times because you can see like tiny dots. I actally made two glass stands so I tested the Spectrum Noir markers also, that one came out nice and cleaner. The hose can be a pain to attach, it's a tight fit (at first) when attaching to the eBrush and compressor. I personally love the eBrush. It's pretty fun to use once you get the hang out it. I need to try it with paper and see how it turns out. Can't wait for more adapters to come out.
Update: Airbrushing on glass with a Sharpie will wash out. I mean I washed it the next day and the color was gone. I guess I need to add something before airbrushing it? I am so new to this. At least I know it's working how it suppose to.
May 11, 2015 - Made 3D paper roses for the in laws as a Mothers Day gift. Pretty cool how it turned out. Each rose was lightly eBrush with the color pink or yellow using Spectrum Noir markers.. I then darkened each end of the petals. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Packaging is poor, but products are good as a Starter Kit. I saw there were some mixed reviews on this, but I'm happy with this! First, for <$30, people need to be realistic about what they expect. This is great for a young artist or an amateur artist. I am not an artist but after some adult BYOB painting classes, I wanted to paint at home for a hobby. This got me started on the right foot. I received this as a sample to test out with the U.S. art watercolor paper pad, and they're both perfect for an amateur artist. I have two complaints - well, one complaint and one "wish." The wish is that it came with an easel and canvas of sorts - BUT, for a higher price, you can get a bigger kit with these extras. My only complaint is over the packaging/case. When I first opened it, pieces tumbled out everywhere - I took some photos of this. Thinking I opened it with the "wrong" side up, I put it back together and opened it the other way. Sadly, same result, pieces came tumbling out. They need to be better secured; the same thing happened when closing it - you have to be magician-fast to close it and keep the pieces in their place... Also, the trays are not properly glued to the box - see photo. Now, for the kit - the products included are great! The paints, the starter brushes, the cored pencils and the pastels are awesome! The paints arrive sealed to ensure freshness. The figuring is to help with drawing human forms - a neat idea. There's also a knife, sharpener and pencils, along with an eraser which I originally thought was modeling clay because it was kind of greasy). However, for the price, the products themselves and the intent (starter kit), I'm very happy. I'm trying to be reasonable with expectations, but because of my disappointment in the packaging reliability (4th and last photo), I'm taking a star off. But, I do recommend this! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Best value around for Tempera paints. I am currently painting part of my sons Halloween costume (he is going to be Steve from Minecraft) and I knew I would need quite a bit of paint. I have seen 16oz bottles go for $5 each - and I couldn't find any for less than $3.50. Even though this set had many colors I didn't think I needed, I bought it anyway.
I am SOOO happy with my purchase. I am painting cardboard, and much of what I have painted has needed only one coat and it looks good. My younger daughter is also painting pictures along side me and loving it. The colors are very vibrant, the paint mixes well, and again - you can't beat the price.
These are nearly as nice as my acrylics - I am forever a customer of Prang now! Thanks for the great price Amazon! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
It's okay....hang on to your Aztek A470. It's okay....hang on to your Aztek A470. So far, I'm not completely sold on the Patriot, or it's siphon feed cousin the Anthem. I've been using the Testors Aztek for 18 some years. Thinking I could get more precise fine lines for plastic models, especially in camouflaging, I splurged and bought both Badger editions.
So far, the Badgers don't really outperform the Aztek and, if anything, they are MUCH higher maintenance. One of the more annoying things is how neither Badger is consistent - get the thing adjusted JUST right, and a few seconds later it's splat or nothing. I understand EVERY airbrush has its own quirks, but my experience, so far, is that once set, the Aztek retains it's spray pattern better. The Aztek also works well as a gravity feed and I can get some fairly small freehand lines - I'd prefer pencil line, but honestly, what good is it if it won't stay that way for any length of time during a project? I can't spend several hours, in an afternoon, which I did with the Badgers, trying different paint mixes and adjustments to get the same line more than once and for more than a few seconds at a time.
I will give Badger ONE thing, for sure: Customer service seems OUTSTANDING, something Testors USED to be.
At least one is probably going back. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
BUY THESE NOW! Their GGRREEAATTT! ;-D. A WONDERFUL, DEEP VIBRANT palette, I use them all the time and am very VERY happy with them.
I did a Fade Test on them and they DID NOT FADE.
Placed under the Southern sun in the middle of Summer for 7 days these things barely faded AT ALL.
I have NOTHING but praises to sing for these paints.
The only "down swing" I can find is that they ARE cakes/pans, dry watercolors that have to be re-wetted and therefore they've curled, buckled and are a bit annoying, like any other Dry watercolors are when having to deal with them. For lack of how else to describe it they are a bit chalky in their cake form, but they dry out FAST and are NOT chalky, or powdery on the page AT ALL.
Their color/pigment is DARK, BRIGHT and overall WONDERFUL. I use these for everyday painting, and they are PERFECT for travel too.
I recommend these to ANYONE, Especially if you're just getting into buying more high end, or EXPENSIVE watercolors, try these out first, they are GREAT. =-D | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Love How my Cricut Fits in This. I have the Cricut Expression machine and I love this bag...I was tired of looking at the bulky box in my craft closet and decided that I wanted this bag to have as a sort of dust cover and if I ever want to take it with me, I can. It is a cute bag.
A few suggestions on putting your machine into the bag. Make sure that if you are putting the Expression in it that you have it expanded the entire length...next ignore that pocket on the front when putting it in...there is a zipper on one end, open it there....place the lined cardboard bottom that is included into the bottom....place on a flat surface then slide your machine into it...wa-la, your machine is in there.
One thing is I wish that it was padded, but I bought it primarily to protect it when it is not in use from cat hair and dust (plus I like everything to have its own place and this bag give the Cricut just that) so it lacking padding is not that big of a deal....but it would be nice to have that backup. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Nifty Scanner/Cutter Unit That Doesn't Require Cartridges. This will need to be a preliminary review on this scanner/cutter because it arrived at a busy time at work which was then followed by our vacation, and I have not had a good deal of time to work with it. However, Im approaching retirement age and hoping to get more time to do things I always wanted to do, including scrapbooking, and I do occasionally make handmade greeting cards. Since I was a neophyte at this hobby at the moment, I did not want to invest in something like a Cricut where expensive cartridges are required. This seemed a perfect simple alternative, and, if nothing else right now, could be used as a straight scanner.
This unit sets up quickly and starts doing things directly out of the box; it took less than a half hour for me to figure out and most of that was because I was testing it in an area with low light. The most difficult part may be setting up the cutting tip and choosing the correct length, but there is a useful cheat sheet to help you. I find that the mat that you place the paper on to be cut is not quite tacky enough for my liking, but I understand you can use painters tape to get around that. Once you do determine the correct cutting tip length (sadly I have already scored the turquoise standard mat), the unit makes a nice clean cut. I particularly remember a Christmas ornament I made as a kid that involved cutting identical shapes out of old Christmas cards; this gadget would have come in handy for that!
The unit comes with some stock patterns that can be combined; I could make a half dozen cards right now just using the pre-set patterns. You can also make the patterns in different sizes for layering effects. Im particularly interested in using the welding feature, which will let you combine two images. I tried scanning and cutting an image I drew, but it did not work out, but I believe I made the drawing too complicated; I need to stick to a plain outline rather than a detailed drawing.
I cant wait to play with this a little bit more!
I also just used it as a plain old scanner to send a document to my office. The scan came out crisp and clear and I was quite satisfied with the quality.
Sorry to say I cannot review it for its usefulness in quilting, as I don't sew, but I can see where it would come in very handy cutting out quilt pieces and applique. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
FUN. These remind me of a paint pen, but are much easier to use and last much longer between primes. They have a marker like tip that is reversible so you can switch between chisel or rounded. We found that the chisel side is best for outlines and the rounded tip is better for filling in when coloring. My kids loved these!! We played around with them on our black dry erase board and they had a blast drawing and coloring with them. I did notice that they are a little smeary while first using them, if you're not careful you get the chalk all over the inside edge of your pinky, but they are water based so clean up is very easy. They would work really great for menus or widows that you don't want the writing to come off right away, because when they dry they don't rub off as easily a dry erase maker would, but still come off easily with a little bit of water and paper towel. We are homeschoolers and my kids enjoy switching things up, so this morning I put math equations on the sliding glass door and windows. it was nice because after the marker had dried they could come over and do the problem without having to worry about smearing it all off. They all really enjoyed practicing their math and handwriting in the bright colors and have asked to do more and more!! All in all, I would definitely recommend these to anyone who uses chalk or white boards on a regular basis, or even if you're just looking for something different and fun for the kids to dray and color with. I know they will get TONS of use in our house!! DISCLAIMER I am a product tester & received this product at a discounted rate in exchange for my honest opinion & review. I have no ties the company providing me products to test. I am thorough, unbiased, and honest. I never receive payment or compensation of any kind. To see these in action check out this and other videos on my youtube channel @ [...] <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/ChalkTalk-Premium-Liquid-Chalk-Markers-Unique-Reversible-6mm-Chisel-Round-Tip-8-Pack-Erasable-Paint-Marker-For-Menu-Board-Bistro-Glass-Kids-Art-Labels-ChalkBoard-Whiteboard-Bright-Neon-Colors-White/dp/B01DE0Z8UY/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">ChalkTalk Premium Liquid Chalk Markers Unique Reversible 6mm Chisel/Round Tip 8 Pack Erasable Paint Marker For Menu Board Bistro Glass Kids Art Labels ChalkBoard Whiteboard Bright Neon Colors & White</a> | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Simple and effective. These are a very simple solution to a common problem. And they work very well, they don't leave marks on my work and they elevate everything enough to get to the edges of whatever Im working on. The price is hard to beat too. You get plenty in a package for most jobs and they are made well enough they I have not broken one yet. I never used the old version but these New and Improved ones are very easy to clip together. This allows me to have two side by side so I can lay out long pieces of trim for staining. You can also mount them to your work surface, but I haven't had the need for that yet. So Ive been happy with them. If I ever need more I won't hesitate to buy them. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Perfect Tips for Card Making. Could not work in card making without it - it has the very finest point for all those very tiny, tricky areas - I must always have a supply on hand. You must remember to wash it out, IMMEDIATELY, after use, when you are completely finished or it will clog. I hold it under running water (cool) till I can blow through it and feel the breeze on my hand - then it is clear and ready for use. Be very careful not to swallow it, its very small but I don't want to scare you, it's not that onerous a task, if you're careful. If it does clog, soak it in Goo Gone or some such glue remover and it should come clean. If you're serious about card making, you shouldn't be with out these tips, they are wonderful. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Top of the line set of pigments with a sturdy handy attractive real wood carrying case/box to house them in. Top of the line, luxury oi pastels. They are pricey so you might have to start off with a sample kit or single pastels if you are new to working with oil pastels or you are using them just for accents. I was introduced to oil pastels years ago when a painting instructor actually had the class use them to block out/experiment with basic color composition of larger oil works. I loved how soft smooth and creamy they were but I never really used them on their own exclusively until the last 5 years. Because I'm not a billionaire, I have often used some cheaper brands as the base ground coat to lay out my composition and I use the Sennelier's on top for the detail work. If you do this you have to experiment a bit with other brands to test their hardness and of course being sure they are artist quality. If you have the $$ and know you like working with oil pastels (what's not to love???) then just go ahead and use the Sennelier's. I didn't buy my 120 wood box set off Amazon-- I managed to stumble upon someone who purchased a set for a course and then apparently decided to try a new hobby: their loss, my gain. But the sets are standardized so what I purchased should be the same as what's offered on Amazon. There is an extensive color palette with 120 crayons, the only thing NOT in the set are the metallics. Also, I tend to work with these pastels on certain themes and so I do go to the local art store to stock up on singles I might need more of (certain greens for landscape certain blues for ocean). The reason I wanted to splurge and get the full box set vs just having shoe boxes of half crayons is because on those days that I want to approach a new work with a sense of organization it's a relief to pull out a nice wooden box of well organized colors and just focus on the new work. The old method of mixed crayons in shoe boxes though less expensive, meant I'd have to dump out the contents, organize the pastels to find what I wanted and then spent half my free time trying to organize things. I like this approach with an organized set better. When I use up a pastel then I just trot over to the local art store and get the replacement. Easy peasey. At a couple hundred dollars this set is not for everyone. If you are new to oil pastels and just want to experiment, I wouldn't suggest it unless you are independently wealthy. On the other hand if like me you've decided to work with oil pastels as an art tool and like to seemingly paint with a pastel that glides upon the surface with a consistency of the world's most luxurious lipstick, leaving down a trail of luscious pigment, well then I'd suggest you just start a rainy day fund and treat yourself to the full palette in a very nice, convenient wooden box. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Simple, lightweight and nice-looking easel. I bought this easel for a workshop in landscape painting, because I needed something cheap, portable and reliable. It turned out to be a great choice! It is lightweight (I don't drive, so I had to carry it around, and it caused no problems), quite stable and very adjustable. It doesn't have a manual, but you won't need any! It is very easy to handle.
Consider, though, that if you take this easel outdoors, you will have to bring something to put your brushes, paints and other stuff on. Because this thing doesn't have any shelves on it. Other than that, it's a great value for money and I absolutely love it. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
My little ones love crafts and I am constantly trying new products and . My little ones love crafts and I am constantly trying new products and trying to find the best and most reliable for my family.
I often try to find new crafts, ideas anything to keep my little ones occupied and entertained. (Our youngest are ages 4, 8 and 11)
Most markers, colored pencils, dry erase markers, paints, that we have in our house are used a lot and typically need refilled sometimes more than I would like them too.
Dry erase boards are a big, big, big part of our lives here. I rely on them to write to do lists, schedules for our family, appointments, our children's chore lists and rewards chart, leave messages and even use them at my pt job I have on the weekends. (I am a bartender and we rely on those cool black dry erase boards that light up.)
So, we definitely put these to the test!
I have used similar products in the past, mainly due to my job at the bar. We use these to keep track of club meetings, daily drawings and winners, announcements, drink specials, basically, we use these every day.
The bar owner tends to buy the cheaper dry erase markers and they will end up drying up and losing liquid in a matter of a couple weeks. Sure, we use them a lot but not any more then I do at home just for regular family type needs. So, I like to use this set on the weekends when I go to work since I can't stand when the dry erase glow markers at work only show up half of the time and only want to work after shaking and pressing on the tips repeatedly. When I use these, they show up as if they were brand new! I don't have to rewrite over letters or numbers just to make it visible and I don't have to wipe it all off and redo it because somebody says they can't see what I just wrote.
These glow chalk markers are always super bright, vibrant and colorful! They write smoothly each time and they never leave half of the letter or number, missing or make it almost vanish in thin air.
They act the same at home on black construction paper, glass jars or our dry erase boards.
Oh, we use old glass mason jars for a few projects, the most recent one, a time capsule...
Each of the kids picked out a mason jar to use for their time capsules but before decorating them, they spent a couple hours, drawing with these markers on the jars and it's awesome because you can wipe it off and redo it just as you would a dry erase board!!
I also make herb planters and paint them with chalkboard paint. I used these markers to write the names of the plants and they went on so smooth and bright that I will be using these from now on before the others I have used in the past.
We have a lot of fun with these. The only semi annoying part would have to be that a few of the markers seem to need more TLC than others. Meaning, you may have to shake them and press on the tip before each use if you haven't used them for a few days. It doesn't take long and it isn't necessarily annoying, it's just the only thing I feel I should point out.
They come with complete instructions and before you use them the first time, you will have to shake and press a little bit but that is normal as with all of these markers.
When our pack runs out, I will be grabbing another set.
** We received a free sample of this product in return for our honest review. All of my opinions are my own. ** | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Surprising high quality. The consistency of light across the entire tablet is very good. There is some light leak from the edge but that is not really a problem, often times it is nice so that you can see where you set your pencil/pen down! The single button operation is nice. Simply touch it and hold to bring the brightness up to where you want, or turn it down the same way. Single taps will bring it to full brightness or full off.
When purchasing one of these guys, the Huion, Turcom, and Dbmier are ALL the same light boxes. I purchased this one and the instructions were branded Huion but the tablet was unbranded. Find the size you want and buy whichever one is cheapest - you are getting the same thing. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Perk up your Wardrobe. As another reviewer stated - RIT dye is great for when you want a specific color. I got a Great new scrub jacket for work with Roses on it that I fell in love with but couldn't find scrubs in the right shade, size AND style. So I purchased a set in white....Now after just a little time in a dye bath in my washing machine, they are the perfect shade of mix and match pink.
I have also used another pink dye to perk up an old grey sweat jacket that I love to wear but hated the color. The dye picked up in the white areas, but not the grey so it is now grey and pink. I added colorful shoe laces to replace the neck and waist ties and now I have a cute new jacket that I love for beach days and hiking days.
I also had a white embroidered skirt that i just didn't like white. Using the RIT washing machine method it is now a soft flowing purple skirt. As a bonus, the white embroidery stayed white - it looks great in contrast!!
I also use the machine method every spring or so to perk up my winter blacks. (but don't do socks....I learned the hard way and the dye bled into my sweaty feet...oops!!!) It tends to help anchor all my blacks into the same shade range and also darkens them a bit.
I love the machine method. It is extremely simple works well if you follow the direction. The items do not seem to fade even after multiple washings....but if they start to , I know I could just wash them in another dye bath!!
RIT also has a great website showing directions for different methods including front load washers and has a great color mixing guide. Also a guide for which fabrics will take the dye well and which won't Highly recommend going to website as bottle directions are limited and tiny!!
If you want to try but aren't sure, just experiment on an old t-shirt/sweat shirt/handkerchief/towel first | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
The cut would not align properly and I wasted a lot of materials because of it. This product gave me a lot of problems. The cut would not align properly and I wasted a lot of materials because of it. I contacted customer service about my problem and was greeted with the worst customer service that I had ever experience. They gave me the typical run-around telling me to re install the software and reset the device, which is a load of bull. My portrait was under warranty and so I told them to just repair my machine or refund me. They did neither. I hope whoever reads then review to look for another product. I got rid of my portrait and decided to go with ZING KNK and never looked back. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
It seemed that it would be easy to work with. Just not quite what I was expecting. It seemed that it would be easy to work with, but it wasn't. I was trying to paint the little palm trees on bamboo, thought it would be easy because one side was sticky, keeping it from moving around. However, after painting and taking the stencil off, a lot of the paint came off as well. So I had to do my best to sand the bamboo down and repaint the area. All I did was basically made a mess. I think it would depend on what you are using the stencil for. It might work well only for glass etching. I tried using it twice on the bamboo, but both times I ended up with a mess and more work. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Deserves five stars for what it's supposed to be used with but I add ink and that's where I have slight issue. I was going to give this five stars and I really should it works nicely with my HB pencil. But I ink over my drawings and brush marker them in. I'm using a Prismacolor brush pen and fine liner specialty pens/ markers. Illustrator to be exact. The fine point smears when I erase the pencil underline. The brush doesn't. You'd think it was the same ink. I use a brush now for all my outlines. This is the perfect size pad to sit on my desk and just doodle while I work on the computer. Look for it on deal got mine for like five and change. Multi-purpose paper doesn't smear by the way. So I know it's just that this paper is so smooth. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great stuff. I really like this paint, it sprays out in uneven, kind of globby amounts and looks like a web. There is some skill that you need to use it, I would advise testing it out first. It adds great depth to textile art, and really is fun to use. It is fairly inexpensive too, which makes it even better.
The spray nozzle can get clogged, and the instructions tell you never to stick a pin in it to clean it. I think this is because the mechanism to keep the paint spraying out unevenly is in the nozzle itself. I was able to clean it easily though, by just blowing plain air through it.
But here is the downside, Joann is a horrible online store. Their customer service is non-existent, they don't follow the shipping or even confirm your order. And the shipping is SLOW. It took ages to get this order. The shipping was so slow that I thought the order had been lost. When I asked them to help me track it, I got no response from them at all. And I tried several times to contact them. So if you can find it at another merchant you will be better off. I have seen this in Hobby Lobby. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
I love the earth tone colors. I love using chalk markers and these rich earth tone markers make a nice addition to the few that I already have. I have never seen chalk markers in these colors before, so I was happy to be able to try them for my honest review. The markers are fairly big, making them easy to use and hold in my hand. The tips are the standard marker size though, so I like the way they write on my smaller labels. I like to have things organized in my kitchen and have started to put labels on my containers. These markers will allow me to have many more different color labels now. These colors will also fit in better with my kitchen colors than my brighter color markers. I had to press the tips of the markers down quickly for quite a few times to get the ink flowing. I could see the color seeping down the tip, so I knew when the marker was ready to use. I love that I am able to write on a label and if I don't like the way it turns out, all I have to do is wipe it off with a damp paper towel and start again. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Not what it's cracked up to be. The case itself is well made and looks really nice. My disappointment is in the actual usability of it. When I put my cartridges in the pouches, it was a tight fit and very challenging to get them back out - especially the top row. And the booklets & overlays - hard to see any other than the first one without taking them each out and when I had only 8 in there, it was tight to zip. I'd imagine that full it would be almost impossible. I have read other reviews that praised this as an awesome product...perhaps the Cricut quality control is not that good if one person uses it with ease and another finds it difficult. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Excellent for a wedding album. It was hard for me to find a wedding album. I bought this one and it worked great. I used the white pages that it came with, to put half letter and letter size pictures (pictures from the studio and the outdoor location). You need to buy picture corners or tape to hold pictures in place, as it is a scrapbook, not an album. But, the nice thing is that I could also inserted my wedding invitation and the wording for the religious ceremony.
For my 5x7in secuence pictures (ceremonies and reception), I bought <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/C-Line-52572-Clear-photo-holders-for-four-5-x-7-photos-3-hole-punched-11-1-4-x-8-1-2-50-bx/dp/B000WA8S48/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">C-Line 52572 Clear photo holders for four 5 x 7 photos, 3-hole punched, 11-1/4 x 8-1/2, 50/bx</a> and inserted it in this album The combination was great. I had a lot of pictures, so I had to buy 2 albums.
All pictures are protected and organized. This way is easy to pass them around in parties to family and friends. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
This thing is GREAT. Mixing and stirring paint is one of those jobs I just don't like, so I got the stir whip. I'm not a big review writer, but this product made a big difference in the large paint jobs I just completed.
I used it to mix different colors of paint together. I had some paint that was the same brand, type, etc, but very different colors (including vivid orange). Most of the paint had been sitting for a year or more so it was separated. I mixed 4 gallons together in a large bucket to get enough to spray paint an old rather large shed. (It was a dark beige in the end and looked fine, btw) It did mix the paint thoroughly to a uniform color and consistency. It probably took about 4-7 minutes of mixing time total. I did strain this paint because it was old and I was using a paint sprayer.
I also used it on some other paint jobs where I again mixed various shades to get beige pastel and a deep brown. Both were 4-6 gallons. It worked great in each of them. Also, when I went back the next day to stir for the second coat, it was very quick.
I used a portable drill to do this, and put it on high speed part of the time since it's kind of a wimpy drill. But I don't recommend this if you have a stronger drill.
The one thing that I'd point out about this is that it didn't fit through the hole in the lid of the 5 gallon container, since that lid had a special pouring spout. I got the smaller one, too, but haven't used it yet. I'll use it to stir finishes for wood and will leave a review there.
It's also very easy to clean, I just put it in a bucket with water in it. But one time I left the paint dry on it and it peeled right off. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
TerrificProduct. As a 30 year practitioner of pointillism (stippling) I was intriged to learn of the availability of this product. Very soon I wanted my own. And now I do have my own. The Dotspen is a well constructed, nicely functioning drawing instrument. I am highly impressed with it's performance! and thrilled to have it. I unreservedly recommend this pen to other artists. There is a bit of a learning curve in mastering the product, but practice soon ends that concern. The dotting experience is hugely different from manually tapping out dots for hours on end. While awaiting delivery of my pen, issues arose over shipping (due to domestic postal mess ups.) Considering that the product is shipped from the far side of the world, such is not surprising. Regardless, when the issues arose, the seller demonstrated excellence in customer service by ensuring that I received my purchase in as timely a manner as could be hoped for. I am so pleased with this product that I will probably buy more at a later date. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Crazy Expensive and Performed Poorly. I found this $20 set of dies in the clearance bin at Michael's, perhaps I am not the only one who finds these dies to be way over priced. We tried following Spellbinder's instruction leaflet, also found at Michael's, for several of the machines compatible with Spellbinder acid-etched dies. While the dies cut easily it was no simple matter getting them to emboss. In fact, the instructions stated to use so many pads that the "sandwich" broke the gear on our QwicKutz Revolution. After multiple attempts, we were finally able to emboss with the Sizzix Big Shot, but not using Spellbinder's instructions. And once we got the dies to emboss, they would not stop. By that, I mean that when we just wanted to cut, the dies continued to emboss the paper.
Considering the manufacturer intends this product to sell for $20, these dies performed poorly. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Wonderful product. Very well-made and a good range of motion. BUT... I used my Dremel and burred away some areas to increase the range of motion even more. The mannequin is made of excellent quality styrene so it was easy to do. I read some of the other reviews complaining about the body shape and head size but they are of no bother when the artist mannequin is used as they were intended - to give the artist a starting point of reference to do his/her own interpretation on a 2D or 3D project. I think the folks complaining about the body are trying to use the artist mannequin as a kind of a "GI Joe" doll. I also bought the female version. I sculpt figures and these will be great to have. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Brilliant. I am an mixed media artist and am just starting to get my feet wet in watercolor and gouache, which are not cheap mediums at all! So I had been looking for a way to use and save my paints when I am done, until I am ready for another go. I was so happy to find this hidden jewel from Mijello, and after using it, I am so happy I got it!
I love the fact I can close the lid and the paints that are watered down don't leak out. Also I can take the clear tray out to use and wash for future sessions. In fact the entire pallet is washable!
I know a concern I had was if the water color's would bubble up since it's not metal or ceramic, and I am happy to report they do not!
The size is perfect, it is big enough to use at home and small enough to toss in a bag to paint in the field.
All in all I am very pleased and will more likely order another one to have for just at home! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Standard, and no more. I thought these would be satisfactory pastels. After all, I wasn't that adept at this discipline and didn't think there really was any difference in pastel pencil brands. That was until I purchased the Conte a Paris pastels and was wowed. The Creatacolor pencils skip, even on computer paper. They don't blend or overlay well and are more frustrating than fun. I don't even think I'll give them to a grandchild because I want to encourage them to express their art. I remember as a preschooler , though we were by no means rich, receiving a set of oils and canvas and good brushes along with the big box of crayons. That indulgence had its intended effect. I was convinced I was an artist and went on, thoroughly convinced that I could, to actually be one. I'd like to repeat that experience and these pastel pencils just won't recreate that state of confidence in a young child or elderly budding artist.
My opinion? Give yourself an advantage, wait, save if you have to. Value yourself, trust in your abilities. Buy a small set at first if necessary, but purchase a better quality product. That translates to Conte a Paris for me. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Terrible for cleaning oil-based paint from brushes. I can only comment on my experience with trying to clean a paint brush of oil-based paint with this product. In short, this product is SIGNIFICANTLY inferior to mineral spirits for cleaning brushes. I have painted for many years and never had an issue getting a brush perfectly clean using mineral spirits. After a good deal of effort and multiple rounds of refreshing the Green Envy during cleaning, I realized that the paint just wasn't being cleared from the base of the brush. The solvent system here just isn't adequate. I then turned to mineral spirits that cleared quite a bit more paint from the brush that the Green Envy couldn't clear. I have gone through the same process on two different occasions now, and have found that the brush tends to remain "gummy" feeling even days later...some kind of residuals from the Green Envy. This will never happen when cleaning with mineral spirits...the brush will dry completely if properly cleaned. Green Envy just doesn't work as advertised. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Smooth and simple. These chalk markers were even better than I expected them to be. They're definitely smoother than others I've tried. Getting them started the first time took a little effort, but after the first one it was simple and fast. I mostly wished I didn't have my 3 and 4 year old watching and waiting to use them as I did it. Actually I got the first 3 started and my 4 year old got all the rest ready, they were that easy. We drew on the sliding glass door, chalkboard wall and my decorative chalkboard. They wrote smoothly and easily and wiped up easily. My 1 year old got ahold of one and drew on her hand and that washed off easily as well. My kids were able to clean up after themselves easily. I loved them for the kids, but I loved them even more for me. I'm super excited to use them even more for my wall chalkboard in my kitchen. Ones I've used in the past have been a pain to write with and erase, but these made me excited to be able to switch it up again! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great New Hobby. The premise of Paint by Numbers is great. A painting is drawn and labeled by certain numbers. Each number corresponds to a particular color. The novice artist, who doesn't know how to paint, has a great landscape on how to move forward.
The kit that comes is all inclusive- paintbrush, paint, and a drawing with numbers plotted. Though it can be intricate, you can lose yourself for hours. For people who have no painting experience whatsoever, it's a great way to jump in.
Since the painting has so many different numbers and combinations, you can start and stop frequently without missing a beat. You can go slow or fast, but I estimate it provides at least 15-20 hours of painting time. It's an excelled return on investment if you're looking for something cheap and casual to do.
I've never painted before, and feel elated every time I finish another section in the painting. For people that like turning off their brain by TV or movies, give Paint by Numbers a try. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great, but NOT safe or easy. I love this stuff, but it is not safe or easy! It eats through two things: glass and humans. Wear gloves and eye protection (plastic!) at all times, even as you open the bottle. Don't lean over the bottle as you open it. Use it next to a good water source, just in case. Have plenty of ventilation. I always work in the kitchen, on a giant trash bag I cut open and tape to the floor. This has paid off for me twice, once a splash on the back of my hand (teensy scar) and once on my collarbone (no scar, I leaped into the shower fully clothed). It will ruin your clothes, so I also turn a giant trash bag into a cover-up with head and arm holes, just big enough to fit (see "collarbone" above). Don't worry about getting enough on the glass, take your time, I tested and it seems to make no difference how long you leave it on, the appearance of the etching is always the same. It's a good idea to practice on a cheap mirror first. This is a fantastic product, but it's only for rational adults! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
IFFY yet good yet .. not . You get 12 pieces (3 of each) so that is good for the price. However, they were not "white washed" ... more like white dribbled - they were barely touched with the white and the ugly gray showing through is the prominent color, they also seemed more fragile than other Prima resins I have purchased, almost like plaster instead of resin. They came in a cute divided wood container about a foot long, 3 inches wide and about 5/8" tall, divided into 4 small areas for each style of fairy. But, they are not "secured" in the box so they crash in together. 3 of my 12 - all of the style where the fairy is holding the flower bouquet, came broken :( I can paint the others and will try to repair the broken ones. Overall, just an average rating. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Awesomely Versatile Stencil. I LOVE Crafter's Workshop stencils. The quality is consistent and the designs are always cute. This one is no exception. I used the entire stencil on a couple of projects - and the projects turned out well. That said, I also like using just a portion of the stencil - using just part of the design can totally change the look. These work really well with spray inks, pens, acrylic paint, Gelatos/gel crayons, spackle, etc - just about any medium you can throw at them. Crafter's Workshop Templates are made from a translucent white mylar - so you can easily see where you are positioning the stencil on your project. (The importance of this cannot be underestimated once you've worked with stencils you can't see through.) Easily cleaned, nice weight, and durable. I love this design - and always return to Crafter's Workshop Templates. It's awesome that the designs TCW's offers are available in both their large (12"x12") and small (6"x6") sizes. They also have TONS of ideas on their site at [...]. Be careful - they are addictive! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Gecko Heat Press. Works as well as advertised. There is a learning process of getting used to how the different fabrics heat up and react to the transfers, but the machine works fine and consistently throughout. The heat is spread evenly the timer and digital display makes it easy to use. If you are deciding between a swing away or clamshell heat press, I don't see there being a comparison. I can lay my garment flat and adjust it from any angle without needing to make sure I don't burn my hand. I've used a clamshell since I got this press and I'm glad I had the forethought to get this model. The only thing I needed to do was put non slip rubber pads on the base of the press because I used a wood surface to work on and the metal would have cut into the wood. The rubber pads cost 4 bucks for a pack of 12 and one set of four has and is still lasting since I bought the machine in July. 100% satisfied with this purchase. Machine is sturdy and I had made my money back, in profit, with small projects within two or three months. Considering I do this when I have spare time, this was a great investment and would recommend it !!! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Buyer Beware. I got this on Saturday. I am currently assembling it. First problem, there is a support bar that is supposed to go in the top back of the unit, but the holes are not there...they are up front. In other words, they welded the parts in the wrong places on BOTH sides of the big part of the desk.
Next problem, the holes do NOT line up, I have had to fight with this thing almost every step of the way. I don't know if I got a bad set altogether, but based on what I am dealing with so far, I would NOT recommend this to anyone! The place they have "predrilled" in the front to put the pencil guard, is actually the BACK. How do I know this? Because the hinge holes (which also do not align, btw) are on that side. I double checked to make sure the mistake was not mine, it was not. I have put together a lot of these sort of things. I'm pretty adept at assembling these things. This one, however, is not what I hoped it would be. It is too cheap for the price that is being asked. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Inexpensive accessory for the Wacom alternative tablet. I got this and an additional stylus for my "Huion H610 Pro Graphics Drawing Pen Tablet" for free with a special discount offer from Huion. You cannot argue with free! Although the offers on available through Amazon vary, it definitely pays to search each items' page for "Special Offers and Product Promotions" which may offer free or discounted bonus goodies.
As for the item itself, freebie status aside, I give it a 4 star review because:
Pros:
-It does what it says it does. It holds 4 replacement nibs for your tablet's stylus, removes nibs from the stylus when they need replacing and is a holder for said stylus.
-It is relatively attractive.
-It is inexpensive (or free or discounted, depending on Huion special offers)
Cons:
-Minor gripe: I wish the base were grippy and weighted on the bottom so it *really* stuck where I set it down, i.e. the slick and slanted surface of my monitor's base.
-Minor gripe: I also wish the little pen-holder dents in the top of the cup were slightly grippy so the stylus would sit more securely
-I consider the above items to be very minor flaws, because it is not like my desk is located aboard a ship on the high seas during a raging storm. I also don't randomly flail about, smacking over desk items in a whirlwind a la the Tasmanian Devil. The cup is secure enough for my needs but the weighting and the grippiness would make this item *even better*, design-wise.
Hope this helps! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Beautiful Pens. The only negative thing I can say about these is I'm upset I didn't discover them sooner!! I haven't used gel pens since I was a kid because I didn't like how smear-y they were. Well as long as you aren't rubbing your hand over the fresh ink no need to worry about smeariness. And other than that, coloring with them is awesome! They are so smooth, the ink comes out easily, the colors are vibrant and beautiful. I never would've thought to use these for coloring books, I've always used colored pencils or markers. But these are better because it's way easier to color with than colored pencils, and it doesn't bleed through paper like markers. Overall, I would highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys coloring! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY. I haven't used these brushes extensively, about a dozen eleven by fourteen watercolor crayon paintings, and find them to work well. I take good care of my brushes, clean them, smooth them into shape and dry them bristles up. There has been minimal shedding until yesterday. The largest filbert (#22) started shedding on one side and I pulled out the loose bristles and it was like unraveling a sweater. A large chunk of the brush came out. I might try to clamp the metal down tighter but on the other hand, I'll probably just run it into the ground. Hope the others last longer. This set is very good for trying out the different brush styles and seeing which ones you use the most and maybe replace those with a better quality brush as they wear out. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
FINALLY. After a TON of research I decided to give the Sihouette a try. I AM SO GLAD I BOUGHT THIS rather than any other die-cutter out there! The ability to buy the patterns you want from Silhouette (usually $.99 per pattern) made much more sense than buying a whole cartridge of patterns from Cricut and only wanting one off the cartridge and then spending $40 and up for the stupid cartridge AHHHHHHH! The Silhouette Portrait did cost a little more than other die-cutters but what I'm saving with the $.99 per pattern makes up for it in a hurry! This cutter works like a dream, easy to use and I love the website and online store! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Homer Art. These are some very nice artist paints that take nicely and look great.
The color looks pretty much the same on the canvas as it does out of the tube - and in general they have a very vibrant and colorful hue. Thick consistency - no real odor - and they dry pretty quickly. These can be used on a variety of substrates but I generally paint on thick paper and do stupid art things with my photographs. I then hide the results in my basement deluding myself that one day society will see it as art and Im just before my time and not a total hack. Regardless, like many things I am not great at I still have enthusiasm for the artform and better tools and supplies is always a good thing even if it is just for enjoyment.
I had used the paint brushes from Artscape for ages and they are a great little set. Most actual talented painters i have known are the same they pick their type and stick with it but the budding student could do worse than give these a shot. I remember getting a friend back into painting just by buying him some paints and telling him it would be rude to waste them so a gift option is there if they are not for you.
I cant really confirm the fade resistance over time since I haven't had them long enough to test. Time will be the judge of how they hold up and obviously the conditions of storage / display and the like will contribute.
The stylish black box is good for presentation but I just throw them in the tray and all the 12ml tubes are clearly marked so they are easy to find and sort. I was able to mix pretty much any color I wanted although you would probably want to top up on your black and white bases if you want different shades and such.
On the whole they are decent artists paints and they work for me.
Product provided for review - its just my opinion | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Good value. I got this since I liked the Sonnet paints and wanted to compare the two. I think this set could have benefitted from less opaque colors and more transparent ones for versitility. It comes with a lot of Cadmium colors so if non-transparent pigments bother you or you feel uneasy painting with toxic pigments I wouldn't recommend it. The Cadmium yellows in particular are very opaque and make mixing bright greens very difficult. The greens I attempted to mix with just the yellows and blues came out very muted and opaque. Thankfully it comes with two vibrant greens so you don't have to depend on the yellows for that. Where the cad yellows do shine however is mixing a yellow ochre with a bit more body than the one included. White Nights yellow ochre is unique in that it is transparent but it is also very subdued compared to other brands. The paint itself has very strong color and glazes well. The palette is plastic and stains very easily. They were not as sticky as the Sonnet paints I had purchased. The black came with a powdery substance on it. It did not effect the paint's color or behavior. I think this set works best for portraits and scenery. There is definately an earthy, low chroma feel about the set. I recommend it if you like more subdued and harmonious color choices. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Wow. I'm a new artist in an old body. The talent has always been there, but never the confidence to put my heart into it. So I started with sketching (am still working on that) and tried acrylics, which I like but could certainly use improvement on, and then I watched some YouTube videos on water color painting because I thought...."not me. I could never....." Again, the confidence thing. My father was a good amateur artist who, in his later years, painted exclusively with water colors and it was a long learning curve even for him. But I thought about this and realized that the tool you use is as important as anything, and paints are the tool. So I spent the money (it seemed like a lot at the time) and bought myself this kit, and I am not sorry. I thought "how good can it be? It's in such a small package," but the old saying is true that the best things come in small packages.
I love these paints. As untutored as I am, even I can paint with these. They are marvelous. And the better I get over time, the more I am sure I will love them. You can buy cheaper and you can buy more expensive, but these are truly good quality paints, the brush is excellent quality, and I can only say try them. You'll love them. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
A nice budget set of pencils with above average results. These are Marco Raffine colored pencils. These are sold under many various sellers brand names, but they are Marco Raffine 7100s. These are oil based as opposed to wax based. These pencils have a nice smooth lay-down of color without any scratchiness that you sometimes encounter with budget colored pencils. Though these are budget colored pencils, they perform nicely. They do not have color names printed on the pencil and you cannot reliably tell the color by the color of the lead or the color on the pencil end of the barrel. It is best to have a piece of scratch paper where you can test the color before using the pencil on the picture you are coloring or drawing you are doing. If you press a little pressure, you get a nice rich color that goes on easily. The pigments are above the average budget colored pencils. That said, there are some that seem identical or almost identical in color which amounts to duplication, but not all by any means. I recommend these pencils which come usually in sets of 48 or 72 at very reasonable prices for the quality. They originate in China, hence the cheaper price. For everyday coloring in coloring books these are great. I have used them also to color in sketching and they have served that purpose well too. they sharpen well with my manual sharpener. I have several sets of colored pencils from the top of the line down to budget sets, but I have more of these than any other budget pencils because they are reliable and I like the consistent results. A good value. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Amazing little machine. I almost had a heart attack when the box came arrived at work... it could barely fit in the front seat of my car when I took it home. I live in a little one-bedroom condo so you can imagine I was wondering "what have I done" and would I need to return it, etc etc. Anyway, after opening the box-within-a-box-within-a-box I found the cutest, light little machine you could imagine. Big relief. Six hours straight of cutting followed, which I had never done before and was in fact questioning this purchase before I started. Long story short: I'm addicted. The machine doesn't miss a beat.
The below comments are neither pros nor cons:
- It's fairly quiet but does upset my anxious dog when it first starts to cut. Gets quieter as it gets going
- It doesn't have a sensor to determine whether or not you actually inserted the mat, so just double check before you hit the cut button
- The mat is super sticky at first. I ruined 3 items because the paper I used was too light and wouldn't come off the mat. The advice I got on a cutting forum was to dab an old, clean t-shirt all over the mat. It will pick up the lint just enough to keep the mat from being overzealous. Adhesive cardstock in particular does not like being parted from the mat
- Did I mention it's cute?
- The included software is not intuitive. Read the tutorials before you end up frustrated. The erase button in particular is quite unpredictable and caused me many "WTF" moments. Once you get some practice, the software is fine. Definitely a learning curve though.
- Every cut it made was perfect. No issue here.
- Careful you don't set it to cut too deep as it will cut your little hearts, ice cream cones and pigs straight into the mat for you to cherish forever
- There are tons of designs on the online shop. And definitely get to know the trace functions inside and out. BUT there are quite a few cutting forums where you can download .studio files for free - totally awesome designs too, sometimes. I'm in awe of the talent pool out there that use this machine
- Start with simple projects. I began on a 6-layer frame and was quite discouraged at the result, which was not the machine's fault. I scaled things wrong, I forgot to put the mat in, cut the wrong colors. It's not a race...take your time, set everything properly, and enjoy the results. If you treat the Cameo like the lady it is, she'll treat you the same. Unless you're a guy of course, then...I don't know. Just buy it. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Not a chalkboard effect, but rather an aged-paper effect. I bought this from the Warehouse deals for about $6, so I figured it wouldn't be too much of a waste if I didn't like it. Well.... it's just "okay." One stamping did NOT give me the results that appear in the picture. Several layers, though, in different muted shades of cream to brown (I used Distress Inks) gave me a good result of a very aged-look piece of paper.
I tried using this flat on it's back with laying the paper on top; I tried using it on my Fiskars big stamper with the orange foam feet; I tried using it on an acrylic block; I tried it on my art table with no cushioning; and last but not least, I tried it on a hard foam cushion. So... it wasn't for lack of trying. The result SHOULD look like a chalkboard, but I'm only finding it useful for creating the aged-paper look, which is still useful, but it requires several layers of ink. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great little set. I am not a water color pro by any means, in fact, this is the first set I've picked up in a while (probably since childhood). That being said, for the price and colors, this set is perfect for a beginner like me!
I primarily got it for Bible journaling as I've just begun and wanted a few different mediums to create art. I tested it out in my sketch book, and the colors really showed up great. You can get varying shades within one color depending on how much or how little amount of water you use.
The brush it comes with isn't that great, but that's really not s problem because I have many others. I know I'll be using this a good bit and look forward to improving my skills. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Brilliant color--watercolors from Japan. Impressive. I have only used these briefly, so I cannot attest to light fastness, but they are wonderful, full-pigment, bright colors and I'm very impressed. They may end up being my favorite water colors. The only "con" is that they come in a cardboard container, so you need a separate pallet to mix colors, but that is no big deal to me. They are not traveling watercolors, but great for home use. I will likely buy more! You can even use these for coloring books if you keep your brush damp and not full of water.
BTW I bought these, they were not sent to me for review. I will use for adult coloring books and for my pen & ink watercolor sketches. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Impressabilities are fun and versatile. I saw the Impressabilities and thought that they were plastic embossing folders like the Cuttlebug folders. They are not. However, I still like them because of their versatility.
You can use them as stencils and for dry embossing. But what I learned from a video on Facebook is that you can also ink them up (chalk ink works well) and when you emboss it, it has the effect of letterpress. Lovely. Keep in mind that for the letterpress process, it's a two in one: first you ink the Impressabilities die (i.e using it as a stencil) then you run it through your machine for the letterpress effect.
Also, I was able to use my Impressabilities dies in my Cuttlebug. I used the A plate along w/the two B plates. I also had to use something like the plumbers gasket and some shims.
Oh, and one final note: the Impressabilties are fragile so use them with care and caution. They are definitely worth purchasing though. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
A great ink pad for embossing. I generally make and sell between 150 - 200 greeting cards per year, and I like to emboss the backgrounds, and then color them so that the raised pattern stands out. I tried all sorts of ink pads until I finally found this antique linen Distress Ink pad from Jim Holz. It's advertised as creating "an aged look on papers, fibers, photos & more" which wasn't quite what I was looking for. But it also works very well for coloring a raised pattern after I've run my cardstock through my Cuttlebug with an embossing folder. Please see the customer image for a baby card that I embossed with a swirl-themed folder, then colored with the antique linen Distress Ink pad (the background to the main image).
The only drawback to using this Distress Ink pad is that it takes a few minutes to dry. The antique linen color will appear to be almost green on yellow or blue card stock. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
The Expression 2 Model is excellent. I have an older 6" model and it was great, but WOW this newer Expressions 2 Model is wonderful. I love that you can see the layout of what is going to be cut so that you can get the most out of your paper.
Other reviews said it was hard to use in some instances yet I have not found that to be so, maybe it is because others are expecting more from it that what it can do??
With its ability to lay out the mat we will be able to make vinyl letter signs for our Christian Book store, besides the many scrap book projects that I want to finish.
Well worth the 250 spent to purchase the Machine really can not find a reason to dislike that would be worth writing about. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
It works with the really detailed dies. I was having a problem getting a clean cut with some of my really detailed dies, especially the fancy Cottage Cutz dies. This Universal Shim Plate from Cottage Cutz solves the problem of incomplete cuts (see customer image for a card that is decorated with a die where I used this shim). I ran the die and shim through my Spellbinder Grand Calibur die cutting machine, and it was a very tight fit (I was cutting 80 lb. card stock), but it did come through with a clean cut. The directions that come with the shim show how to use it with a Cuttlebug or Big Shot die cutting machine, so you may not even want to use it with your Grand Calibur machine.
Next, I tried the shim with my Sizzix Big Shot die cutting machine, using the Sizzlet die "Happy Birthday #3" phrase. This particular Sizzlet always gives me problems with an incomplete cut. However, when I ran it through with the shim and 80 lb. card stock, the phrase cut cleanly. So if you are having problems with incomplete cuts, you might want to give this shim a try. Even with the Big Shot, it was a tight fit using the shim, so be careful not to force your die cutter past its breaking point. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
I hope mine is just defective. Biggest waste of money. It worked fine for about 6 weeks, then all my print and cute files started cutting off to the side about 1/8 inch. I calibrated 4 times trying to get it to cut correctly, but nothing worked. It actually made it worse. I contacted customer service and she told me to calibrate it again. I said, okay but I don't think it will help since I've done it 4 times over the past two weeks. She told me, "if it's an issue with print and cut not cutting correctly, then calibration will fix it. Is there anything else I can help you with?" Well obviously calibration for the 5th time did not fix it. In addiction to the cuts being off, some of the lines are also crooked, like the blade slipped. I've checks to see if the casing is loose, but it seems sturdy so I don't know the cause.
I chose Cricut over the Silhouette because the software was easier to use. However it also didn't have features that I needed, like two cut runs (so one can be kiss cut and the other can cut through the whole paper) on one project.
Also, Silhouette requires you to buy another program in order to be able to upload your own designs. Cricut offers that option for free.
Cricut only runs online, I believe Silhouette can be used offline. I've never had problems with this except when my internet is running slow.
Another big issue for me is that Silhouette has clean, straight bleed lines. Cricut bleed lines are not even directly connected to the he actual images (there's a thin lighter line between where the bleed starts), and it's blurry, making the project look very unprofessional and messy if it is something that you plan on selling.
On the plus side, I works really well for cutting out paper shapes or vinyl. As long as you aren't trying to match it to a printed design, it works fine. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Great idea for scrap journaling, a little too structured and childish in action. I love the idea of smash books. I tend to keep a lot of paper bits and keepsakes. Some people might look at a box and wonder why I have ticket stubs from 10 years ago. I look at that box and year after year imagine it going into a scrap book. The only problem is, I have zero, negative time for scrapbooking. In comes Smash, the pre-scrapped book that only requires you to take everything out of your "junk (but not really) box" and stick it to a page. The idea is pretty brilliant. No buying paper, or trimmings etc. Only taking your old Paris boarding passes, and sticking them on a page. And with the kit, you've got a lot of extras, like the tape, which I found convenient for sticking in larger items like...old birthday cards from when I was 4.
In summary, the good, the okay, and why I'm giving it 3 stars
The Good
* Fully assembled book that only requires you to stick stuff on pages.
* The kit comes with everything you need to get started and Finished with a project (stickers, tape, weird labels)
* It's the perfect thing to carry along on a vacation or something. I travel quite a bit and I find the smaller form factor Perfect for scrap journaling.
The Okay
* The glue pen is terrible. It's really bad. It doesn't glide well, it goes between thin lines of goop, and larger clumps of goop. It reminds me of rubber cement from elementary school. If rubber cement were in a glue stick with a hybrid liquid/solid form and you could never guess whether it would be liquid or solid as you glide it across the paper...that's my stick. Maybe it's defective. Maybe they aren't all like this.
* I was really looking forward to opening the book up and just going page by page sticking stuff in it, forever cleaning up my memory boxes. But it turns out not to be that easy. This could be my fault for taking the book too literally, but I find many of the pages distracting. They seem to try to guide you into posting certain things on certain pages. Maybe this is good for someone learning to do proper scrapbooking. I personally found it distracting, taking away from the whole idea of, "just smash it in." I know, I should probably just ignore what the pages say and continue to smash things, but it inevitably biases me when I'm making pages. So now, instead of just smashing everything in like I originally planned, I find myself trying to fit things into the pages where they "belong."
Overall, it's 3 stars because although it's a brilliant idea, I found it too structured, to the point I got lost trying to smash. It also doesn't feel age or sex agnostic. Feels like it caters to high school girls. I'm sure the marketing people know what they're doing; they know their audience best. I just wish I could find something like this with more abstract smash pages. I could do without the "List of top 10" or "Super freaking cool stuff" pages.
That said, I haven't found a replacement type yet, so I'll continue to use these. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
small & beautiful. I bought these to be decorative hinges on cabinets, & thought I understood from the description that they are for decor in crafty projects. So I bought them, & bought sturdy hinges that went inside, but ugly. My mistake, that these are really tiny, in case anyone else makes the same mistake, really tiny enough for a schoolhouse cabinet! But they're just as beautiful as they look & my mistake for not reading more carefully, so I kept them, & though I haven't figured out what to use them on yet, they are as described, beautifully crafted & I think look beautiful on a size that they were intended for. So I recommend, & in case you might be in a hurry & skimming for bigger cabinet hinges, just wanted to leave a heads up for any other "like me" out there. But again, they're so beautiful, just as they look!!! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Almost Great: with an orange-y colored blue. The paints that were in this package were all quality acrylics. The cap on each of the paints has a point that can be used to open the seals. This also dabs the point with the color, allowing you a better look at the color for all subsequent uses. The reason I say this is because the colors on the labels are slightly different from the paint inside. I used these for some miniature painting, and thus mixed the paints quite often. They mix well with both other paints, and thinned well with water. The only problem I had with any of the paints was with the Phthalo Cyanine Blue, #537. What I expected to be a beautiful deep blue was instead replaced with a neon orange traffic cone color that did not do the water I was painting any favors.
Had all of the paints been correct, I definitely would have given this product a full five star review. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
The best brand of shimmer coat out there. I love this shimmer paint. It gave a perfect shimmer to the purple chair I just painted. Keep in mind that it's a shimmer coating; it's NOT intended to function as an opaque paint. So all you have to do is coat the object you're painting in two coats of a solid corresponding color ( in this case purple), let that paint competely dry and then make sure you very thoroughly shake up this can of shimmer paint can and lightly spray on a coat of it, LiGHTLY nos, not too thick, and continue shaking up this can as you use it to help prevent clogging the nozzle. It worked for me! Two coats of high-gloss clear coat and it's a wrap. I am most satisfied with the results I obtained. Over the last three years I have used so many colors produced by several brands of this sort of shimmer coat, and so far in my ecperience, this is the best of all of those brands. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Save your money. I purchased these from another vendor, I paid half price and it was too much. The brush tip is a joke. They seem like they are just a bullet tip marker claiming to be a brush tip. The tips fray quickly when coloring in a larger area so I didn't even try to use the brush tip feature after coloring in one area as they are so stiff and were already fraying. I didn't want to end up with a broken off tip and an inky mess on my hands. The coverage was not great either. I had to go over the area two or three times and it's still splotchy, plus it does bleed through significantly. I was using a decent weight paper, not the stuff in some of the cheaper coloring books. They might work great for kids in coloring books, I don't know, but the bleedthrough problem would ruin the image on the other side of the paper when coloring on double sided coloring book pages and even possibly onto the next page. I did have a few dots on the next page of the book I was using at the time. Not happy with the product and glad I only paid half price. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Derwent Battery Operated Eraser. I don't know if it was just this particular one or if it was because it arrived totally open with the plastic ripped off the carboard and somebody used it previously so you can take this review with a grain of salt or just look at it as an Amazon review. However other people have met you that the Eraser wobbles and I turned it on and indeed it did wobble. To use in small areas on let's say a charcoal drawing or a adult coloring book with prismacolors I would find it very difficult with a round blunt and eraser even tilted with a large black device at least for my hand to fit into even reasonably small areas. Even if it did not wobble I would not like it because I want it to get into small spaces. I currently use a faber-castell eraser pencil. Now you can get right in between things with that but it can get hard on the hand to go back and forth forever and it won't get all the color off but it is great for shading. Or let's say you just want to erase around the edges of a drawing or a coloring book. But then again it does not take color up off the page. I do not know if this Derwent eraser would do the trick but I am sending it back and I still have not received the erasers and that's a joke I had to wait forever just to get a used Derwent eraser let alone the extra Racers I still have not received but oh well... Hope this help somebody! | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
More Than Excellent Drawing and Watercolor Painting Board. When I got back into watercolor painting because of my advanced art class in high school, the teacher gave us a sheet of cheap hardboard. The board immediately became rough and unsmooth when we tried to stretch the watercolor paper onto there, and even worse the tape ripped off entire layers of the board when removed. I thought it was time for an upgrade considering that I'm going to further my skills in watercolor/gouache and need a work surface since my desk is cluttered beyond reason with art materials and sketches.
The board is smooth, but with very slight tooth. It's nice and thick so that it doesn't bend when you hold it up.
The board holds up very well to all the tapes I've used (masking, duct, painters, packaging) and does not even rip off a single fiber.
I haven't stretched anything on the board, nor will I ever think I have to because I use 140 lb/300gsm weighted watercolor paper and can just tape the paper directly to the board without worry of warping. However, I still coated one side of the board with multiple layers of matte seal/glaze so that it would be waterproof and would not warp the board. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
Better than I thought. I wasn't sure what to expect from this product. I ordered it only to fill out an order. I had it with me one day when I spotted something I wanted to sketch and watercolor. I had no water only my watercolor pencils and this brush. I felt so fortunate to have had it with me because I was able to immediately get the watercolor effect I wanted. The only drawback I saw was not having several of these in order to change my colors easily. I think for a quick on the spot watercolor reference drawing it is awesome to have. I keep mine in a small pouch and it goes everywhere with me. The flat side for laying the brush down works great too. I have also had no leaks and the bristles are keeping their shape. I need to order other sizes. | arts-crafts-and-sewing_painting-drawing-art-print |
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