Owlcrate January 2018

      I was wondering if a blog post was going to be possible today because I had not received any subscription boxes for a while thanks to delays at Aramex. I was going to review some paints and Markers I had bought but have not tried out yet but then the bell rang this morning and Aramex brought me a box! It was the Owlcrate box, January 2018. Funny part was that they had a typo on their info card and it had 2017 instead...eh, it happens to the best of us! So the theme for the box is Fearsome Fairy tales and I really am in love with the items in the box.

          The first item is a box of gingerbread scented wax melts from Spireside Candles and they are exclusively made for Owlcrate! I can’t wait to try these.

          Along with the wax melts there was a burner to use them with. This burner can be used with the wax melts ir with essential oils. This burner was designed by Owlcrate.

        A handmade bracelet from Authored Adornments that featured a quote from Rapunzel. It has a faux leather strap and the charm can slide on and off.

          From Stella’s Bookish Art, we have a pillowcase which I can’t wait to use. It was inspired by the story of Sleeping Beauty.

          This print was inspired by the story of Little Red Riding Hood and is by Anne Lambelet.

          Funally we have the book. As usual it comes with a signed plate, and a letter from the author. It also has an Owlcrate exclusive cover and sticker.

From Goodreads:"Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever. 

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe. 

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. 

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself."

Paletteful Packs - January 2018

        January box from Paletteful Packs arrived a little molested but very much intact. The theme of the box is Acrylic Paint. As usual with all the Paletteful Packs the box includes everything you need to start a project.

          Golden Heavy Body Acrylic paints in four different colors. These paints have no fillers, no extenders, no pacifiers, no toners, and no dyes. They have excellent permanency and lightfastness.  The colors are Hansa Yellow Medium, Napthol Red Light, Ultramarine Blue, and Titanium White.

          Golden Light Molding paste and Golden Heavy Gel Matte both are mediums that add texture to any painting or mixed media composition.

        Most of the paint brushes included in the Paletteful Packs are Princeton brushes. This one is no different. This is a Princeton Catalyst Bristle brush which can be used for heavy mediums, gels and pastes.

          These are Princeton Catalyst Contour tools, they are used for creating fun and interesting textures. They are heat resistant, solvent resistant, and dishwasher safe.

          The final piece from the box is a Masterpiece Monterey Premium Cotton Canvas 5” x 7” which is a stretched canvas suitable for acrylic paints.

Zakka Kit - December 2017

          The Zakka Kit for the month of December 2017 has the theme of Holiday kit. The kit this time doesn't look like it has as much stuff as last time but once I saw the items I knew why.

          A Japanese owl stamp by Kodomo No Kao.  It is a wooden stamp which can be used in crafting. 

          Sarasara Clip Metallic Ink Pen by Zebra. I could have gotten either a gold or copper I got the copper one. The pen glides on the paper beautifully.

          Gold Patter Washi Tape by MT (Kamai Kakoshi) Washi tape is my one of my weaknesses so this was very welcome.

          Holiday Gift Tags by Neko Box. I don't think I will be using these as tags, but I certainly will be using them in m mixed media compositions.

          These little cuties are stickers. I don't know who their makers are but they should totally make more of them lol.

          I wish I could convey the feeling I get from these. The texture is out of this world just like the patterns on them. These are Chiyogami Washi paper by Sasagawa.

          Nostalgic Holiday Card by Chikyu Greetings. I've been eyeing that beautiful girl all day today and thinking how I can use her in my compositions. (I rarely ever use greeting cards the way they are intended lol)

          Finally, Metallic Snowflake Stickers by Pinup Japan. I don't know what I will use these for yet but there will be a use for them either in my planner or my compositions.

My Thrill Club

          This is a quick look at one of my no fuss no muss just lots of fun subscriptions. As usual the box has one movie and two books. 

          From Wikipedia: "Hide and Seek is a 2005 American-German psychological horror-thriller film starring Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning. It was directed by John Polson. The film opened in the United States on January 28, 2005.A newly single father discovers his daughter is caught up in a web of evil in this thriller.
          David Callaway (Robert De Niro) has been left to raise his nine-year-old daughter, Emily (Dakota Fanning), on his own after the unexpected death of his wife. David is at first amused to discover that Emily has created an imaginary friend named "Charlie," but it isn't long before "Charlie" develops a sinister and violent side, and as David struggles with his daughter's growing emotional problems, he comes to the frightening realization that "Charlie" isn't just a figment of Emily's imagination. Hide and Seek also stars Famke Janssen, Dylan Baker, and Amy Irving."

Another movie from the great team at My Thrill Club that I have not seen before.

          From Goodreads: "For state prosecutor Bradlee Aames, psychosis is a fact of life, a waking nightmare from which modern medicine’s soulless jargon and mind-numbing meds have offered little relief. Bradlee stays focused by winning trial after trial, even while she’s self-medicating with booze, dope, and midnight surfing sessions at a classic LA point break. But when a thick fog of delusions engulfs her, she blows a case, and her reputation and competence are called into question. To rehabilitate her career, her boss gives her an easy assignment: Dr. Don, a popular TV shrink and former state Medical Board expert, now stands accused of sexually exploiting a vulnerable female patient, yet the broken woman won’t testify. If Bradlee can settle the matter quietly, the board, avoiding further embarrassment, will be pleased. But Bradlee Aames doesn’t do things the easy way—not when a predator like Dr. Don is primed to debase more helpless women. Illusive LA is the gritty, sun-blasted setting for He Said, She Said, a thrilling story of trust, betrayal, truth, and deception. Told from multiple perspectives, it affords the reader a front-row seat to a tense legal battle while exploring the many human consequences of power and corruption."

          From Goodreads: "On India's frontier with Tibet, peace is just a façade and security a myth.

The sleepy Himalayan hill station of Mussoorie, near India's border with Tibet, is home to an eclectic mix of residents including Tibetan refugees and former guerrilla fighters, foreign missionaries, Indian military, tourists, and spies. Here, in a top-secret facility facing the snow-clad Himalayas, India’s legendary spymaster, Colonel Imtiaz Afridi, keeps a watchful eye on sensitive high-altitude borders. Having been a mountaineer in his youth, Afridi once climbed many of these peaks, including Rataban, a mountain with a treacherous history.

When an American agent is shot dead in Mussoorie, both the CIA and India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), dispatch undercover agents to investigate. The American's death is quickly linked to the slayings of two Indo-Tibetan Border Police guards, suggesting possible Chinese infiltration. Working with Afridi is the brilliant junior analyst, Annapurna “Anna” Tagore, who helps him unravel these clues and other disturbing signs that something dangerous is brewing. When more violent acts shatter Mussoorie's calm, the CIA and RAW have no choice but to team up. Soon Afridi and the young Indian and American agents are piecing together a bloody conspiracy of revenge and murder that could shake the very foundations of world peace."

I have a long list of To Be Read books but these seem like they might go up the list order.

Spotlight Stationery

          Spotlight Stationery is back with a new box with a really interesting theme and stationery collection. The theme is East and the stationery comes from Japan and Korea. I swear the people at Spotlight Stationery seem to be following my mood as I have been a little obsessed with Japanese and Korean stationery lately. As usual the purchase price of every stationery box includes a donation to Gloucestershire Young Carers, which is a charity that provides a range of services for young carers and their families.

          So the first this to come out of the box was the personalized envelop containing four post cards by different artists. The postcards and the artists are shown below. If you were to ask me which one is my favorite I'd have to say the bottle with the skull on it by Adam Forster.

          Next up is the Iconic 2way Deco Pens which come in five colors and each color has to different nib widths. I'm looking forward to using them in my drawings and journal. They comes from Korea.

          This pen gave me flashbacks to my childhood. No matter what grade I was from the first time in school I was allowed to write in pen I have used some form of this pen. Apparently this is the more grown-up version from Tombow called Reporter pen and it comes from Japan.

          I have accumulated a lot of pocket notebooks lately, but I have also been using a lot of them so more is always better. These two beauties are Paperways Mini Notes. Each notebook comes with a different type of paper. The blue one is lined in a way that makes me think that it would make for a great handwriting practice book and the second one is a bit weird as the pages have a sort of honey comb thing going which is really fascinating. These pocket notebooks come from Korea.

          Finally, LIFE Tsubame A5 Notebook which comes from Japan. I love the A5 size as I can add it as an insert into my journal. The ruled pages of the notebook are really soft but they also seem sturdy and the cover is pretty yet simple.

          I keep saying that this box is my favorite from them yet every month...maybe I should stop saying that and my readers should just consider that a given? 

Owlcrate -December 2017

          Happy New Year everyone, I wasn't expecting to take a hiatus but that is how it ended up being. So let me start back up with one of my favorite boxes. The theme for the Owlcrate December box 2017 is SEIZE THE DAY. 

I really love the candle included in the box from Novelly Yours. It was inspired by The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord. The moment you open the cover the green apple smell hits you.

I'm going to hang this in my car. It is a wooden ornament inspired by Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon and was created by Juniper & Ivy Designs.

This magnet is going on to my fridge door. It has a quote from Rick Riordan and was designed by Ink & Wonder Designs.

Lately I've gotten a lot of tote bags, but that is okay. I can always use a new one and this one is really pretty with a quote from Harry Potter's Ron Weasley. And blue is one of my favorite colors. This tote is from Bookworm Boutique.

I think apart from the ornament this is my favorite item in the box. It is a planner and reading journal. I love planners and reading journals are something I've always wanted to use. Two birds, one stone. The planner is from Blue Star Press.

December's book is Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills. It is an Owlcrate Cover exclusive and it comes as usual with a signed bookplate, and letter. There is also an embroidered patch.

**From Goodreads.com:

A contemporary novel about a girl whose high school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream leads her to new friends—and maybe even new love.

The day of the last party of the summer, Claudia overhears a conversation she wasn't supposed to. Now on the wrong side of one of the meanest girls in school, Claudia doesn't know what to expect when the two are paired up to write a paper—let alone when they're both forced to try out for the school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

But mandatory participation has its upsides—namely, an unexpected friendship, a boy band obsession, and a guy with the best dimpled smile Claudia's ever seen. As Claudia's world starts to expand, she finds that maybe there are some things worth sticking her neck out for.