Friday, December 30, 2011

Art Supplies!

I'll be writing more later about art-related news, but right now I just want to share some of the goodies I picked up at Michaels today.

michaels-group
The bulk of my haul

First of all, let me just say that Michaels does a weird thing to my sense of time (Hobby Lobby is the same way). It creates some sort of time warp vortex thingy where I manage to spend two hours there and have no idea that I've been wandering the aisles that long. It's freaky. (My friend Laura reminded me that bookstores are the same way - YEP!)

Anyway, I went this morning and entered said time warp wherein I managed to find some pretty great things. Some things I knew were on sale and intended to pick up. Others were total and wonderful surprises.

Canson sketch pads were BOGO, so I picked up a 12" x 18" watercolor pad for $14.99 and got a Mix Media sketchbook for free (normally $9.99). Score. I'm close to the end of the first Mix Media journal and have another waiting in the wings, but they're so nice, I figured it wouldn't hurt to have another. I'm excited to have the heavy weight watercolor paper, too, especially the larger size.

As you can see, I also went crazy in the yarn aisle. 11 packages, to be precise. It was all 40% off, so I stocked up. I've added knitting (of a sort) to my list of creative outlets and I'm completely hooked (har). I'm making neck wraps and people are really liking them, so much so that I'm considering opening a etsy shop. I'll keep you posted!

Next up, watercolor pencils.

watercolor pencils

I already have a set, but I can always use more colors. Plus these were ridiculously cheap. Seriously. They were $4.99 for 24. That's insane. Most run 4x that price. Granted, they're "Artist's Loft" brand which is a ultra cheap line from Michaels, but you can't beat the price, and I've been happy with all of the things I've gotten from that line. I'll be doing a tutorial on a REALLY fun thing you can do with these pencils so stay tuned for that.



watercolor pencil colors

This picture just makes me happy. Look at all of the colors. Dreamy sigh.

I was very excited to find the next item as well. I was looking for water soluble oil pastels, but I saw these wax pastels and figured, "Close enough" especially at $9.99.

wax pastels

In the same section I had my FIND OF THE DAY.

ink pencils

As soon as I realized what these were, I gasped, audibly. (I talk to myself under my breath when I shop as it is, but this was a honest to goodness gasp.) They're ink pencils. "Big whoop" you're probably thinking. Here's the deal. After you draw with these pencils, you add water—like you would with watercolor pencils—but these turn to INK. As in, they're permanent when dry. This is big. Huge, even. What this means is that I can layer over the top of anything I create with these and they won't smear or run. The same can't be said of watercolor pencils unless you spray the page with fixative before adding another layer.

ink pencils-back

ink pencils-bottoms

They had two kinds of packages for these, a 12 count tin and the 24 count one. The 24 count price wasn't marked but I didn't care. I had a coupon for 50% off one regular priced item and THIS was going to be that item. FYI, I just goggled these and found them on Amazon for only $41.10. They were regularly $59.99 at Michaels! I still saved, but not as much as I thought I did. Don't care. I'm still head-over-heels happy about these.

Next I found some stencils for a great price. I'd been wanting some larger ones, but when you look at traditional scrapbook/art stencils, they tend to be a bit spendy for what they are. I got the smaller ones for $3.99 and the large ones for $5.99.

stencils

I picked up a Crafter's Workshop stencil for $4.50 (which was the best price I'd seen) a few weeks ago and love it, but look at the difference in size to the large one from Michaels.

stencil compare

This next item has no right to make me as happy as it does, but I can't help it.

date stamp

It's just a date stamp—something I'd planned on picking up at an office supply store—but this one had cute little sayings with it and it's the same price as the plain boring one I was going to get. It's from a new line by K&Company called Smash. When I saw the products, I thought, "It's like a non-digital version of pinterest." (Clearly I'm addicted to pinterest. It's impossible not to be, not kidding. ) It's a funky scrapbook/journal/lookbook, or as they describe it, "for the moments and musings that stick™." It looks like a really fun line. I probably should have picked up some of their SMASH pads. They're so cute.

And the last on the list that I'm sharing with you are these:

canvases

24" x 30" canvases. The largest I've ever bought and will be the largest art I've ever made. I'll talk about all of this in detail later, but I've signed up for Flora Bowley's Bloom True: the e-course, a five-week painting class. (You might have noticed the button over there on the right). These canvases are equal parts terrifying and exhilarating and I'm so excited to start the course on February 6 and see where it takes me. More later...

5 comments:

  1. What a fun way to start the new year - with new creative outlets!

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  2. Your talent and creativity freaking amaze me. I am in awe of you! Happy creating!

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  3. I go crazy at the art stores myself - I really have to stay out of those places. Nice to see that you caved to the yarn fetish as well LOL

    Back several years ago I caught an unusual bug - Tatting - couldn't get enough of it. I actually turned out a few nice pieces. I have a box of supplies here and I should get back to it.

    Have a Happy New Year!

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  4. Thanks everyone!

    Libby- Tatting - WOW! I think that might be to delicate and precise for me, beautiful, though! I'm into big and chunky right now. :) Happy NY to you as well!

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  5. Nothing like new pencils and a blank canvas to inspire you. Can't wait to see some of your creations. How is your 6to40 project going? Would love to hear more about what you are doing to achieve that big bucket list you created! Happy New Year Kelly!
    Robin Sue

    ReplyDelete

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