#MTepicgiveaway (CLOSED!)

Hey everyone! Like I have announced over on my social hang outs, I have been working on an epic giveaway for you guys as gratitude for your support in my creative journey. I have gathered so many wonderful goodies for you which includes a TON of my favorite products which you can see below.

This giveaway package will include:

Dina Wakley white Gesso

Liquitex Muted collection heavy body paint in Rose

Cloves and Honey LE Dr. Girlfriend shimmering watercolor

Cuttlebug embossing folders

3 Andy Skinner Mixed Media Stencils

Dovecraft rubbertamp pigment ink cacao

Dovecraft alphabet stamp set

Aurelie tulip clear stamp set

Joy crafts poppy clear stamp

Steadtler micron drawing pens

Sakura Gelly roll sampler pack

Tombow Dual Brush Pens sampler

Caran 'd ache Suracolor Discovery set

and more...

Some close up pictures

YES! ONE lucky person will receive all of this yummy goodness!

What do you need to do to enter this giveaway?

1) Follow @MissThundercat on instagram

2) Repost the giveaway picture

3) Make sure to use hashtag #MTepicgiveaway AND have an open account but no giveaway accounts! (yes it is open Internationally!)

Steps 4 and 5 are for additional entries

4) Follow my Facebook page and my blog and comment on both giveaway posts

5) Repost the giveaway picture on Facebook/Twitter and comment here with the link to the repost (tagging me on twitter is also an option)

The giveaway is open until September 8th midnight CET and the winner will be chosen at random via Random.org, will be announced in the weekend after the giveaway is closed 

The winnings will be shipped shortly after. 

Disclaimer: This giveaway is in no way sponsored or administrated by blogger/instagram/facebook or twitter. These are items I have purchased myself and are new or only used for review purposes.

Good luck Thank you all again for your support in my creative journey! 

Art Journal: Find your courage to journey the great unknown

This is an art journal page I made while experimenting with different media and techniques. The main focus was to use my new materials; paints from DecoArts Media  and Neopastels from Caran d' Ache.

I stared with an A5 sized advertisement flyer on which I created some texture with a stencil from The Crafter's Workshop and heavy gel medium. Then I dabbed some DecoArts media traditions paints on them in Magenta, Teal and yellow. Sprayed with water to get them running and spattered some yellow on the page as well. The background was done.

Then I gathered some elements I wanted to use and played around with composition.

After I decided which elements I wanted to use, I glued them down in a composition, added some more stenciling on the right under the word journey and intensified some colors with caran d'ache neopastels. The colors I used are corresponding with the butterfly which is going to me placed over on the number at the right side. 

Added the last few elements and created some shading in various aria's with a Stabilo Marks all pencil and a water brush.

The sentiment is made from various text stamps from Viva las VegaStamps!, Paper Artsy and Lost Coast Designs. I spattered some liquitex inks in magenta, teal and white over it and called it done. 

Here's the page adhered in my black spiral bound journal. I love how vibrant the colors are! It was a fun experiment to layer layer pastels over paint and I'm definitely going to use this technique again. 

I would like to enter this art journal page in the following challenges:

The STAMPlorations Mixed Media June challenge 

The Craft Stamper Take it make it challenge June

Art Journal Journey June - 

theme is circles and my page does have a few circular elements

Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #37 - A year of choices 

#32 - put a stencil on it was one of my favorites as I love using stencils in my work.

Stamps and Stencils; Words with meaning June 2017 challenge

Hope you all will find your courage to journey the great unknown as well :) 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

You stand in your own light, make it shine

Yesterday I took out some my new supplies from my Art Specially haul this year and made the above card. I used my Lindy's magical shaker's on the text background (vintage typewriter text), Tim Holtz Alterations dies, Patio Lights and Alice from Stampotique Originals. I also used some fabulous caran d'ache Neopastels which I got at La Couronne du Comte and I absolutely LOVE working with them on my projects!

They are so bright and colorful to work with! I used the die from the TH mixed media set on heavy 200gms card stock, applied a good amount of white gesso and when that was dry, I rubbed all the oil pastels over the edges of the design. The colors really pop! The images were stamped on neenah classic white cardstock and colored with Letraset promarkers. I fussy cut them out and adhered with ZIG 2way glue pen. I applied a heavy amount of yellow pastel's around the lights so it looked like they shines brightly. Then outlined the sires and bulbs with a black uni posca marker. on the inside, I added a quote;

It's a quote I got in a fortune cookies once and it's been in my wallet ever since. A reminder to let your light shine brightly! The lettering is done with tombow markers and outlined with faber castell pitt marker.

Wanted to show you how the card looks on a white background, but the lights really shine on the black background in the first picture above :)  The Stampotique text background challenge is still on until tomorrow, so do link up your projects :)

I also would like to enter this card in the following other challenges:

Try it on Tuesday - use a quote 

Craft Stamper's Take it Make it Challenge April

Love to create - #7 anything mixed media goes

Mixed Media Monthly Challenge - What's your super power?

With this post I hope to convey my power to use and blend color in various mediums and have it POP! 

Thanks for stopping by and hope you'll come by tomorrow to see what I've made for the new challenge theme for Stampotique which goes live then :)

Have an awesome day!

Art Snacks subscription update/review

So I have mentioned that even though I have received my Art Snack subscription boxes from the past 3 months I still have not had the chance to review them. But I wanted to at least show you the content of the boxes received and tell you about what I think about the products, some of which I have used already. 

In the december 2016 box we have the following items (taken from the artsnacks site):

Caran d'Ache Discovery Set

The Caran d’Ache Discovery Set is not sold on its own - but this month, ArtSnackers get special access to this exclusive set! It includes five colored pencils and one Full Blender Bright, an oil-wax medium used for blending and burnishing. Use it right out of the box, or sharpen it and try blending with a point. The bright, soft colored pencils are also water soluble; just use a wet brush to create a watercolor wash effect. 

Magnesium Long Point Sharpener by KUM

It’s important to get a sharp point on your pencil to get maximum control and performance. The Magnesium Long Point Sharpener by KUM (pronounced “KOOM”) shaves off wood while also shaping the graphite core, all in one motion. This small, lightweight sharpener is a great addition to your art studio or travel art kit. 

Higgins Black Magic Ink Pump Marker

The Higgins Black Magic Ink Pump Marker lays down artist ink with ease and control. Black Magic, this brand’s darkest ink, dries to a matte finish. The 1mm nib delivers a bold, thick line. Give this marker a good shake before using. 

Stabilo Point 88 Fineliner Marker Pen

The Stabilo Point 88 Fineliner Marker Pen is made to last. The pen tip is encased in metal to extend pen life, and this pen won’t quickly dry out if the cap is left off, thanks to specially formulated ink. Stabilo produces this pen in 20 vibrant colors.

My fave item was the Caran d'Ache watercolor pencils set. I have used it for the Heart Collector mailart envelopes. They blend very nicely with water. Surprised to see there is a full bright blender included in a watercolor set though. I would have thought a brush would be more fitting. But the blender is superb, as I already tried one of those. I already know the stabilo fine liner, fun to have it in my fave color though! And I am very curious to see how the Higgins Black magic Ink marker will perform on my mixed media projects.

The January 2017 box contained these items: 

Art & Graphic Twin RB+F by ZIG

ZIG has re-mastered their most notable double-ended marker into a totally new one that hasn’t hit stores yet: introducing the Art & Graphic Twin RB+F by Zig! The “RB” stands for “real brush,” because one side of this marker has an actual brush tip. The opposite side has a thin 0.8mm felt tip, or “F” for short. The ink in this marker is water-based, so you can dip the brush tip end into water to achieve a greater watercolor effect.

GOLDEN High Flow Acrylic Paints

This prestigious brand is the leader in high-quality paints. We’ve packed your box with 2 bold colors for a colorful GOLDEN experience. The GOLDEN High Flow Acrylic Paints act like ink when wet, but dry like acrylic paint–making them fluid enough to be used with dip pens, brushes, or empty pump markers. Once dry, High Flow paint will not bleed or reactivate with water. The High Flow line has 49 colors and is compatible with many of GOLDEN’s gels and mediums. Please note: Before using these paints, unscrew the cap and pull off the protective white seal.

Koh-I-Noor Magnum Black Star Pencil

Kick off the New Year with the soft and smooth Koh-I-Noor Magnum Black Star Pencil. Produced in the Czech Republic, this oversized pencil adds some darker tones to your sketches and illustrations. If you’re looking to tune up your shading technique, we recommend practicing with this comfortable, fat-bodied pencil.

Snap! Series Paintbrushes by Princeton Brush

Oh SNAP! (We could say that all day.) We’re excited to have the SNAP! Series Paintbrushes by Princeton Brush in this month’s box. This versatile brush comes in an assortment of sizes and shapes, including round, fan, flat shader, and bright shader. The synthetic hair tip will guide your paint evenly. To clean, use mild soap and water, then reshape the bristles into place. Afterwards, stand it upright on the handle to dry.

I am really excited to work with Golden High Flow acrylics. The fluorescent colors in chartreuse and blue are really fun colors. The princeton brush does snap nicely! I have used it several times for watercolor cards and love that I got a small round brush which a fave to use. The pencil has an interesting shape and size, which you can get nice thick lines with. Another ZIG product in the box. I do like it, the brush is bouncier than the Clean Color one and having a fine tip for detail coloring or underlining lettering is definitely handy.

On to February's (2017) box the sweet edition.

Pentalic Drawing Set

ArtSnacks subscribers get to try the new Pentalic Drawing Set before anyone else! While many sets on the market only include one medium, this set of six pencils features a mix of graphite, charcoal, and pastel. Using only this set, you can build from underdraw- ing to midtones to shadows to highlights. From the smooth feel of the soft charcoal pencil to the rich darks of the 6B, this set is the total package. 

K-70 Permanent Ink Marker by KRINK

KRINK’s K-70 Permanent Ink Marker is better than ever! In this upgraded version of the marker, not only is ink flow smoother and cleaner, but the tip is now reversible. Just remove and flip it to switch from a bullet to a chisel design, and see the variety of fine and heavy lines that this versatile tool can create. 

ZIG Clean Color FB

Similar to the KRINK marker in this month’s box, the ZIG Clean Color FB is a fresh take on a favorite tool. This marker – a new product in the Clean Color family – features the same highly blend-able, water-soluble ink as the Clean Color Real Brush, but it has a new, firmer fiber brush nib (“FB” for short). Try using a watercolor brush to wash and blend this ink on the page to achieve a softer effect. 

Stabilo Pen 68

Another pop of color in your box this month comes from the Stabilo Pen 68. The shape of this pen is similar to your everyday pencil, giving you a comfortable drawing experience.

The premium fiber bullet-tip on the Pen 68 holds odorless, water-based ink and will create a perfectly even ink application on smooth surfaces. 

Well the candies were pretty sweet for sure but was a bit disappointed that there was yet another ZIG and Stabilo items in the box. Though I do have all the brushes in the ZIG line now with help via the box so I can compare them better and see which one has my preference. I should definitely do that in a separate post! The Krink is a great addition to my black paint markers for Mixed Media! And I am quite in love with the Pentalic pencils set.

Everything you need to get started to draw with graphite and charcoal pencils. When I as in high school I used to draw a lot and these got me itching to do so again. I think that is the whole purpose of these boxes, to get you to start something or pick up an old creative habit you have lost along the way. 

So the verdict is that I am still very much enjoying the subscription and will continue! Am very much looking forward to the march box, which is not only their birthday month, but mine as well (on the 14th :) so I am excited what kind of goodies they will have for this month.

Also while I haven't done the review style like I did with the other boxes, I still hope this was still useful to you if you're considering signing up for Art Snacks. If you have also subscribed, let me know what you think of the content.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

MailART Monday: The Heart Collector

It's about that time of year where hearts are all over the place. Since it's always good to send out mail to loved ones and now it's a great excuse to use all those hearts stamps and a splash of red. I used a couple of my recent Stampotique Originals Stamps for this MailART monday.

My focal image is the Queen of Hearts by Janet Klein and the background is Daniel's Hearts by Daniel Torrente.

The process of these envelopes are actually quite simple, yet effective. I stamped the queen, masked her off with a space next to her for the address. Then stamped the hearts with Ladybug Red from Memento and colored them in with Caran d'Ache aquarelle pencils. The discovery set is from the december Art Snacks box.

Colored the queen in with alcohol markers, accents with a white gel pen and a bronze edding, chose some fun postage stamps to go with it and that's it!

These were sent to my partner's for last month's swap. Glad they got received well :)

I am entering this for the Love Bug SDC266 Challenge at the Stampotique Designer's Blog. My bug (besides using the Ladybug ink from memento ;) is Johnny Bravo! When he loves you, he bugs you, haha :)

Also entering this in the "30 minute or less"Challenge at Country View Challenges. These envelopes take less then 30 minutes to make and one you get going, you can make a whole lot of them ;) 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day (and a wonderful valentine's day tomorrow!)

Pens and Ink: Pelikan M200 Taupe with Caran d'ache Storm

Keeping up with the Pelikan and purple hues theme, I got another great pairing for you today.

The Pelikan M205 Taupe (special edition release in 2012, more info here at the Pelikan's Perch) with Caran d'Ache colors of the earth Storm (which is discontinued with the release of the Chromatic Inks, More info about that on Gouletpens blog here).

This pen was a special release in 2012, but I found it not too long ago at Akkerman in the Hague. They still had a couple of them for sale and when asking to see one up close, they provided me one which had a BB nib fitted in it. Really hard to resist that beauty! And look at that tipping! It puts down a wet and juicy extra broad line.

The color of this pen is "taupe" upon googling which hue that actually means I came across this on Wikipedia

"Taupe is a word that is used to denote any of a variety of colors. The colors it denotes fall into a range from dark tan to grayish brown or brownish gray. The word derives from the French noun taupe, which in turn is from the Latin talpa, both meaning "mole" (the mammal)." 

So it's a greyish-brown or a brownish-grey, which when you look at it, yeah I can see that. But you have a whole set of color tones that falls into the "taupe" aria and to me this pen looks more like a Mauve Taupe, the purple tone in the taupe spectrum. And because of this I thought a dusky warm purple would perfectly suit this pen. 

Comparisons of some dusky purples: J. Herbin Poussiére de Lune, Caran d'Ache Storm and Diamine Damson. I chose to ink the pen with CdA Storm because of the warmth this color has and came close to Mauve Taupe. And I should use the LE inks more instead of hoarding it, right?

The BB nib in this pen shows off the shading in the ink very nicely and the ink highlights the warm tones in the pen body too. A winning combination and a joy to write with on these colder near winter days.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

namasté

Pens and Ink: Pelikan M620 Shanghai and CDA Sunset

This pen has been high on my wishlist even since I have been researching the Pelikan M620 City series collection and bought the Athens. Last year an opportunity arose to buy this gorgeous pen from another collector and I jumped on it! It did cost me a pretty penny, but oh, so worth it! I am so smitten with it! Look at that gorgeous two tone barrel!

The pelikan Shanghai has such a beautiful pen body #Fpgeeks #FPN #fountainpen #beingpelikan #pelikansouverän #shanghai #pelikan #funtainpen

Een video die is geplaatst door cheetarah (@missthundercat) op 14 Feb 2016 om 12:31 PST

I paired it with a gorgeous ink color, Caran d'Ache Colors of the Earth Sunset. Sadly this line has been discontinued so it's not widely available anymore. If you're lucky to find it at a brick and mortar store (like I did) grab your chance and get it when you can!

These are the Caran d'Ache Colors of the Earth ink bottles. From left to right: Carbon, Grad Canyon, Storm, Caribbean Sea, Saffron and Sunset. (not pictured in this line is blue sky, blue night and amazon) For a great comparison of the old Earth ink and new Chromatic ink of CdA with other inks, see this blogpost from Goulet Pens.

The pen has a nice wet writing Broad nib and the shading really comes out great with it.  It's not too saturated and behaves rather well in my Loving Kindness written meditation journal which has pretty absorbent paper. It shows off lovely pink tones a nice sunset can have.

This is what the shading looks like on smoother paper. Oh and see that ink sloshing in that pen body! So pretty!!!

By the way, Gouletpens has a fun giveaway going on Instagram on Mondays. And when you post your fave ink pairing of the week, you are in the running to win their pen and ink match-up of the week. Check out their #mondaymatchupgiveaway for more info!

I'm also curious what your fave pen and ink match up of the week is. Let me know in the comments :) 

Thanks for stopping by!

namasté