art supplies

I Am An Obsessive Collector

| marandarussell
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Part of my toy/collectibles/art room, unfortunately you can’t see all the stuff organized in the closet or in the cabinets behind me.

I collect too many things. I collect tons of toys/action figures/dolls/squishies/stuffed animals/minifigures (Barbie, My Little Pony, Sesame Street, Looney Tunes, Lego, Nickelodeon, Disney, Schleich, Funko Pops, Reborns, Cabbage Patch Dolls, Coraline, etc.) I have an entire room for all my toys and collectibles. I collect books, especially children’s books and books about subjects I am obsessed with, ranging from Michael Jackson, Nirvana, and Dance Moms, to art/artists, writing/writers, poetry, comics/manga, and antique books. The books also have a room of their own, which they share with my husband’s smaller but still sizable book collection (mostly history, true crime, and science fiction grace his shelves).

I have a huge collection of art supplies and stickers (which also get shoved into my extra “toy room”). I have a large collection of cds, especially from my favorite artists (MJ again, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Enya, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, 60’s 70’s & 90’s hits, Disney soundtracks, etc.)

I have an entire dresser drawer full of bookmarks, a wide selection of cute or nerdy notebooks/journals/stationery and a cabinet full of magickal/pagan themed objects I use for my little ritual altar. I also have a large collection of sentimental items I have saved ranging from photos to cards to letters to objects from loved ones who have passed on.

I am emotionally connected to many of the things I collect and the idea of parting with them is traumatic. I figure this need to collect things is part of the autistic side of me, but sometimes I become overwhelmed by the size of my own collections!

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New Artworks Using My New Markers!

| marandarussell

I shared a post last week showing the art markers I bought with some prize money I won from an art contest, and I have been having fun experimenting with them! I am really impressed with the quality of the markers so far, considering that they were only around $25 for a pack of 50. I would have liked to have gotten some Copic markers, but they are just ridiculously expensive!

Anyhow, here are a few ACEO (art trading card) artworks I have created with the new markers:

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The first image is obviously just an abstract. I do like the snake-like feel of it. The cat picture sold within a few minutes of listing it on Ebay, so someone obviously liked it a lot! The last image was inspired by the Illuminati “all-seeing eye” symbol. If you would like to buy one of these artworks, or see my other art for sale, check out my Ebay store!

New Art Markers, Reborn Doll Halloween Outfit, and Sleepy Hollow Action Figure!

| marandarussell

Today is just going to be a fun post where I share some cool stuff I got recently! First off, we have these new art markers that I bought with the prize money I received from a recent art contest win. It has been so much fun experimenting with them so far:

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While I was at Walmart yesterday, I saw an adorable newborn-sized Halloween black cat sleeper and had to get it for my reborn doll Anya. I haven’t been as invested lately in my reborn dolls, but like all of my hobbies, my interest tends to come and go:

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And lastly, I finally got this Headless Horseman action figure from the 1999 Sleepy Hollow horror movie (starring two of my favorites, Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci)! I already had the Ichabod Crane figure, but this one is probably even cooler. It comes with two heads that snap on, the skull as you can see in the photo, and the Christopher Walken head next to the figure:

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ArtSnacks March 2018 Subscription Box Review

| marandarussell

First off, I want to let everyone know this will actually be the last ArtSnacks subscription box I will review. Honestly, I just didn’t feel like I was getting enough use out of it for the cost. I feel like I’m better off just shopping the discount art supplies at local shops. I did subscribe to a different fun subscription box that I will be reviewing from now on, but it isn’t an artist one (you’ll have to stay tuned to see what it is)!

Anyhow, here is what I got in this month’s ArtSnacks box:

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  • A custom ArtSnacks Pencil Case
  • ArtSnacks Sticker Sheet
  • Orange Copic Ciao Double Ended Marker
  • Copic Multiliner
  • 2 Lyra Color Giants Color Pencils (red and purple)
  • Warheads Candy

Even though I stopped subscribing to this box, this still might be my favorite box so far. I do really like the custom ArtSnacks pencil case and am sure I’ll get some use from that. The pencil case seems to be made of good quality materials and is double-zippered with two separate compartments. It isn’t big enough to hold a lot at a time, but it is still handy.

I was also thrilled to get a couple Copic products. I’ve always wanted to have the money to invest in some Copic markers, but haven’t done so yet because they are so pricey. Of course, I’m not sure how much I’ll get done with just one orange marker lol.

The Lyra Color Giants color pencils are really cool as well. They are from Germany and seem to be well made. Their huge size kind of reminds me of the big, thick colored pencils that are sometimes made for really little kids. I’m not sure how much I’ll actually use them, but they are pretty neat.

Overall, this was a cool box, but not enough to make me sorry I unsubscribed.

February 2018 ArtSnacks Artist Subscription Box

| marandarussell

A few days ago I received the February 2018 ArtSnacks subscription box! I love getting these every month because it gives me a chance to try new art supplies I might not give a chance otherwise, and also challenges me to use the new supplies to create new, original artworks.

Here is what we got this month:

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  • 2 Sennelier French Artists’ Watercolor Tubes
  • Raphael Mini Precision Paint Brush
  • Faber-Castell Goldfaber Sketching Pencil, 2H
  • Sakura Pigma Micron PN Pen
  • Sweethearts Candy Hearts
  • A bonus sheet of Fabriano Artistico Watercolor Paper (shown below)

Of all the items included, my favorites are definitely the french watercolor tubes. Together, these two small tubes of paint retail for $23.50…so they had better be good! I am not a huge fan of the sketching pencil because it is very light and I prefer a darker lead when sketching. The paintbrush is very nice, but it is so short, it kind of annoys me when painting with it. The Micron pen is fine, but nothing thrilling to me.

Every month, ArtSnacks encourages recipients to try to create new artworks using only the materials in that month’s box, which I did, so here are a couple I came up with. The first uses the bonus sheet of watercolor paper that came in the box, which was bookmark shaped:

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I also made an expressionistic ACEO art trading card using the supplies:

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As always, these artworks will be listed for sale on my Ebay store, along with my other art currently for sale!

Playing Around with Alcohol Markers

| marandarussell

Recently I found a great deal ($4!) on a package of Brea Reese alcohol markers, so I’ve been experimenting and playing around with them. My husband couldn’t believe that the markers originally retailed for over $17 for a pack of six, so I told him to never look at the price of Copic markers then!

Here are a couple ACEO artworks I made with the markers. I do like how they are a bit smoother and almost more watercolorish than regular markers, but I don’t like how much they bleed through the paper:

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As always, you can find my current artworks for sale on my Ebay store!

New Year’s in The Twilight Zone

| marandarussell

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I’m still struggling with this nasty cold I caught, so I am spending pretty much all day laying on the couch or in bed. Since it is New Year’s Eve, I am watching The Twilight Zone marathon on Syfy Channel, which has pretty much become a yearly ritual for me. I love this show and wish it was on more often.

Other than watching that all day, I don’t have much in the way of plans. I doubt I will even stay up to watch the ball drop tonight or anything like that. I’m not sure if it is just the illness or the depression, but I haven’t felt like doing anything this week and the weekend is pretty much proceeding the same way. I haven’t even been making art, which is kind of sad, especially considering all the cool new art supplies I got for Christmas. I am sharing an artwork I made right after Christmas while playing with some new acrylic pens I got. Hopefully I’ll be motivated to do more soon.