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

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!

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?