Thankful Lessons And Hard Work

Hello Everyone!

I have missed you all so much! This blog is a little different than my usual blogs. I am updating you all on what has been going on. Life is amazing and very busy.

Computer problems. Car problems. Finding a full time job problems.  ALL of this things has been taken care of. I am truly blessed. God provided.

So much as happened to make my life a LOT better than it was a year ago and definitely better than it was two years ago. For a long time I was struggling with a long term job search, I finally got a full time job in an office.

It was a long difficult stressful process but I learned a lot about being persistent and believing in myself. In order to get back into an office environment, I had to work in retail for a while which was something I thought I would never have to do again after having so many years of office experience.

Today I am in a place in my life where I have never been so thankful and blessed. Never giving up and a lot of hard work was the key to bring me through the tough dark times. I was also forced to learn to be patient. You have to sometimes go through the process to discover new things about your life.

The best thing about my long  job search is that I started my blog Thomasina's Words. Lately my work schedule is really busy and long hours, I realized just how much I missed blogging regularly. Learning how to use my time wisely and being productive as possible was a huge lesson I learned when I was searching for employment. I am determined to fit in blogging more often into my schedule.

I will be doing another blog post on the hard learned lessons of being in a long term job search.

Being an artist and a writer helped me cope with the stress being out of work. I had an outlet to vent my feelings in my journal, write a blog post or create an art piece. I would not be the artist and writer I am today if I had not had the time during my unemployment to focus on this important part of my life.

More blogs to come :)

Thank you for reading!

Thomasina

Sketchpad and Sketchbook for Only $1.99 Review

Every once in a while you are in the right place at the right time for an unbelievable

amazing deal at Michaels Arts and Crafts store.

This sketchpad and hard back bound sketchbook was only $1.99! Woo Hoo!

The regular price was $7.99 and even that is not bad for good quality paper art supples. Every artist knows how expensive good quality art supplies can be.

No joke this was a great value. LOL! I was browsing the clearance section (every store I visit, I always walk to the back to look at the markdowns first) and I saw stacks of these sketchpads on the shelf. They did not have a price tag. I walked over to the price scanner and the price on the screen said $1.99.

You know what happen next. I load up a hand basket and headed to the checkout  lane. 

I was content with being lucky enough to stock up on inexpensive art supplies but I was even more thrilled that the sketchpads are a good weight paper (65lb) and a very pale beige.

This is the embossed logo on the back of the sketch book. 

The front of the sketchpad. The paper is very smooth. I drew on it with pencil and was happy with the results.

Hopefully you will be able to find this item on clearance at your local store. I have walked around in Michaels several times many days and come up empty handed finding a good sale on something I needed.

Always look at the clearance shelf, you never know what you will find.

Tell me about a bargin you found at Michaels.

Thank you for reading!

Thomasina

Create The Best You

I saw this little sign in a store and the message is powerful.

For many years, I waited for someone or something to give me "permission" to become a writer and an artist. If I just had that outside "validation," then I could feel completely comfortable telling everyone about how important my creativity is to my life.

Life is too short to wait to become your true self. Be courageous and be the real person you always dreamed of being right now.

Start exactly where you are. You don't need a lot money or any money at first.  Find ways to begin your true self journey by just visualizing and planning your path to your dreams and goals. 

I always wanted to be an artist and a writer so I just started writing and drawing. Just do it now. You must begin to learn and to practice your skills in order to master your craft. 

Through the years, I always kept a journal   of my thoughts, blessings, frustrations, book ideas, pain, wishes, art, etc. My journals were my creative outlet.

Find your creative outlet. Create a blog - it's free. Grab a piece of paper and write down your amazing idea.  

You have been given your talents, interests and hobbies for a reason. The things you are interested in are important because they make you who you are. 

Create the happy and fulfilled person you have always wanted to be. Go forward boldly towards your dreams and goals. Stop comparing yourself to others. 

You are unique. There has never been another you in existence. Love yourself. Accept yourself.

Life is absolutely about creating the BEST you possible.

Thanks for reading my post!

Thomasina

If you have questions or comments, you can also email me at Thomasinawords@gmail.com

Tangled Art Set - Goodbye To Store Sale

The Disney store in a local mall is closing. I am so sad about this. Every time I would go to that mall, I would stop into that store to smile at the happy atmosphere.

I got a Tangled Art set as a saying good bye gift to the store. 

I always loved shopping the clearance shelves. The merchandise doesn't go on sale very often but when it does, it was really worth it. 

Tangled is one of my favorite Disney movies. Rapunzel is an artist and this always made me identify with her. Also she did not let her isolation make her bitter but maintained her creativity through some very lonely and difficult times in her life.  This was very inspiring and motivating to me. 

The cover of the plastic art set case. It has a push button closure. I hope this does not break over time. Love the cover picture. 

Enclosed were three sets of the same small stickers, small sized pencils, a slim blank sketch book, two tubes of liquid glitter (gold and purple), a set of ten color watercolor paints. A soft bristle brush was included too. 

The set was marked down to $9.99 then an extra 25% off. The total with tax was $8.02. 

Honestly, this is still a bit more then I would like to pay for cheap quality art supplies. These type of art sets are for children to play with. 

I use art supplies like theses for sketches and journaling. For art pieces you want to last for years and be displayed, I would suggest paying more money for better quality materials. 

This is a lovely sweet picture of her. 

These are the watercolors. 

I love art sets especially ones with fun graphics on the cover of the cases. 

Sorry to see this happy place for children leave the mall but I can still visit the store in Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh. 

Do you buy inexpensive art supplies or do you only buy the better quality ones?

Thank you for reading my post!

Living The Life Of An Artist and A Writer Is Not Easy

My writing desk and artist tools

 

 

 

 

It is only recently that I made my decision to acknowledge to the world that I am an artist and a writer. This was a huge moment for my life and the way I present myself to people I meet and my family.

I decided not to wait until I finished my mermaid novel I've been working before I would tell the world who I really am. Being an artist is not easy. Most of the time people will look down on you and tell you are wasting your time. "How will you make money?" is a very common question. I will work very hard and constantly market my art and my skills this is how I will make money is my reply.

The artist David Mack is a huge inspiration for me. He is a very talented artist and writer who has worked on graphic novels for DareDevil and his own creation Kabuki. Following his career over time, I realized very quickly, you have to be a hustler to be a successful artist.

On Mack's twitter page and his tumblr, he is constantly interacting with his fans and promoting his art. This is essential in this fast paced internet world. You have to constantly remind people, who you are and what you do as an artist.

One of my favorite youtube channels is Shameless Maya. She made a very good point of noting that some artists have great art that they create and just sit on not going out into the world promoting their work. Clients are not going to come to you. You have to go to them. A lot of artists have you tube channels to demonstrate their art and techniques. This is a way to market your artistic brand to the world.

Blogging has made me learn to overcome my natural shyness and interact with more people than I ever have in my life. Writing is taking a chance. Not everyone will agree with what you write or the way you write it. But it is definitely worth the risk.

The life of an artist is not easy. The life of a writer is not easy. But the interesting people I have met online and in real life, have made my life a lot more exciting and happy.

Thanks for reading!

Colored Pencils Organized In A File Folder Tray

RoseArt and LightMark Colored Pencils

I got an idea about how to organize my colored pencils. Lay them in a single layer in file folder trays. When the pencils are displayed in this way, it is so much easier to see the exact color pencil I need. No more sorting through pencils in a cup. This idea is best for sitting at a desk. The trays can be stacked on top of each other no problem. Be careful not to tilt the tray forward as the pencils will roll out.

The idea came to me from watching a behind the scenes featurette for the movie Kick Ass. I believe it was the artist who was the inker for the the comic has a really long drawer in his drawing table that housed all of his pencils and pens.

Thanks for reading :)

Thanks Hey Claire for the Tip

These are my artist tools and supplies for today.

After looking at a picture posted on Hey Claire's instagram which featured  random items neatly organized in a square formation, I got inspired. I love organization but I have to be on constant guard not to let the clutter that comes with being an artist and writer take over. When things are organized and easy to reach for, this creates such a sense of calm and focus for me. Truth be told, I have been very bad at just putting everything into a pile then just working from that pile. This has seemed like a very good idea. One big pile will not take up much space but every time I need something, I've got to upset the balance of the messy small mountain.

Today I decided I would try the new organizational system of neatly putting everything on the floor spaced out in a square. What a huge difference in productivity. I was able to very quickly complete several tasks. Also seeing everything, made me aware of concentrating on the present task because I could see the next task that was waiting for me.

Only organization geeks will really get this post. I'm tired of wasting time looking for what I need. I've just started my blog and it is a LOT more work than I ever imaged it would be. But I LOVE blogging. It's funny how a photo on my twitter feed inspired me to get a lot more done in my life. Thanks Claire.

How do you organize your artist materials?