Back from Vacation & World Watercolor Month!

Hi friends! I spent the last week in a cabin on the lake and it was wonderful. I had a leisurely time of relaxing, painting and spending time with my family. Here is the first sketch I did over coffee on the deck:)

As usual I brought some art supplies for me and the kids. Most of it got used too! See what I brought in today’s video!

I really LOVE the palette I brought, it is a Portable Painter and it has 2 small water containers that attach to each end of the palette which can sit on the ground or table or over your leg (see photo below) making it great for plein air painting, urban sketching or even painting in a kayak! I will be reviewing the Portable Painter palette soon (spoiler alert: I LOVE it!) and they have me a discount code to share for 10% off: FRUGAL

Here are the other supplies I brought:

• Qor watercolors
• Strathmore visual journals
• Strathmore 400 series 6″x12″ book
• Last years blocks make with fabriano studio paper *DIY watercolor block tutorial here
• Color it coloring books
• Color it Gel pens (Included 48 refills & case!)
• Mozart 12 set of dual brush pens (Waterbased like Tombows)
• Chameleon Color Tones Pencils
• Crayola Dual tipped pencils
• 24 color watercolor cake set (for the kids)
• Stamped “Be Yourself” embroidery kit (kit does not contain hoop)
• My first Stitch kit (comes with hoop)

Well, we did not run out of things to do! The kids got the most use out of the coloring books, they loved have the choice between pencils, pens and markers. I had no takers on the embroidery kits so I tried one and after a frustrating tangle on the first word of the design I went rogue and make some whimsical flowers and used the rest of the thread to make a friendship bracelet. Man, I forgot how much I loved making friendship bracelets, I spent summers making them as a kid! My kids did not see the appeal LOL.

The following photos are some plein air sketches I did on the trip. I figured since July is world watercolor month it is appropriate to share!

Here is the list of prompts for world watercolor month created by my friend Angela Fehr. Angela is also offering a free monthly watercolor challenge, and she has a fabulous prize giveaway worth over $500 of watercolor supplies!  You can sign up here.

You can find out more about World Watercolor Month on the Doodlewash website and join in on the challenge on their facebook page or by tagging #worldwatercolormonth on your favorite social media:) If you need a jumpstart on your watercolor journey consider checking out my Essential Tools and Technique for Watercolor painting course, it will get you started off on the right foot with 5+ hours of in-depth watercolor instruction for beginners to build your skills and confidence in the medium. I want to share one more painting from my vacation, it is a quick sketch of my daughter Lila I painted when she was coloring. Just a reminder you can sketch anything and everything and it will make you a better artist! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Chameleon Color Tone Pencil Review {Are They Worth the $$$?}

Hi friends! Today we will take a look at the new Chameleon color tone pencils.

They are dual ended pencils that have 2 shades of the same color on each pencil so all you have to do is flip the pencil around to shade your image.
Cost: $50
Pros:

• Easy to use
• Blends well
• Little wax “bloom”
• Highly pigmented
• Opaque
• Quicker coloring due to the fact the coordinating shade/highlight color are on one pencil
• High quality
• Price (25 pencils = 50 colors-about $1 per color)
• Strong lead resists breaking
• Layers well
• Smooth laydown
• Intense color can be varied with pressure of coloring
• Nice packaging serves as a storage caddy so you can see all of your colors when working.

Cons:

• Only 25 pencils available for a total of 50 colors
• Currently no open stock available (they do offer open stock for their markers as well as replacement nibs and ink refills so maybe they will offer open stock pencils in the future)
• No lightfast rating given (Although the pencils are made from the Breviller company in Austria and is known for quality, it would be nice to have this info though but it is often left out for products aimed at the craft market vs. fine art market.

Watch the video demonstration to see them in action!

Observations:
These are a medium/hard colored pencil. They are not “creamy” like a prismacolor or as soft as a polychromos. They are wax based but not as waxy as others and burnishing produces very little bloom. These are semi opaque and are nice if you want to color on dark cardstock as well as light. Colors dissolve well with solvent.

Bottom line: I like these for quick and easy coloring. I would still probably take the time to pull out my Coloursoft, prismacolor or Polychomos pencils if I was doing a large serious artwork but for cardmaking and papercrafting I would reach for these first because they are space and time-saving. I like them:)

You can find Chameleon Color tones pencils as well as all of their markers on their website. Click “buy” and select your country and you can get the products worldwide.
In the USA the prices are a bit better on Amazon. They have good prices on their markers too.

You can find the stamp set I used from TopFlight Stamps. Use coupon code thefrugalcrafter10 to save 10% on your order!

What do you think? Are they worth the money? I think they are great for portability and for keeping 50 colors on hand in a small space. They are a bit harder than I like but that keeps them from breaking as easily, again making them portable. Let me know what you think in the comments below and til next time happy crafting!

Got 10 Minutes? Make a card!

Hi friends! Today I am going to share an inexpensive to make limited supplies card. I love to have a few quick and easy cards to make when time runs short but I still want to get crafty!

Watch the video and see how easy it is!

This video is sponsored by Rubber Stamp Tapestry  Use coupon code: LINDSAY17 – 20% off peg stamps and peg stamp sets on orders of $10 or more. Coupon expires July 3, 2017

Supplies:

• Peg Stamp set Delicate Rose 
• Unmounted Stamp Set Hello from Holland
• Stamp mount
• Kraft cardstock
• Basketweave embossing folder
• Blending brushes
• Dye inks (colors)
• Black waterproof ink 
• Clear marker waterbased blending pen
• White cardstock or watercolor paper
• Ribbon
• Post-it notes

Directions:
1. Stamp bicycle and hello with waterproof black ink on watercolor paper or cardstock.
2. Use a post it note to mask the basket and handle bars then stamp roses.
3. Color image with a clear marker and inks. *Press ink pads to a stamp mount to make a palette.
4. Emboss a 4″x5 1/4″ kraft panel and ink with a blending brush. Ink background of car as well with the blending brushes.
5. Wrap embossed panel with ribbon and tie a bow at the edge. Adhere to an A2 kraft card and then adhere your stamped panel on top.

A lovely card in minutes with limited supplies! If you had time to watch this video you have time to make this card. Happy crafting!