Papergang Box no. 16

          Papergang is becoming a staple of my planning notebook. I use the calendars they send out with each month's box as my monthly view and I love how hardy it is. I just stick it on to the page and refer to it all month. But I'm moving too far ahead.

So this is the design on the outer covering of the box and as usual it is very pretty and indicative of the design on the inside.

I was very sad to see that Aramex had stuck a sticker on top of the origami for this box, which was a fox. I really wanted to work on that but getting the sticker off the box without ruining the paper underneath proved impossible.

So, even though as usual the Kuwaiti customs had opened the outer box they didn't open the tissue paper and my stuff was nice and neatly settled in its place... as it should be.

Papergang this month has partnered with Tree aid and every 4 Papergang boxes sold one tree will be planted. So I am happy that my purchase is helping to plant trees across African drylands. Now let us get into the stuff in the box.

This brass ruler is pretty well made and quite substantial. I was thinking that I needed to get a small ruler for my planner and this saved me the time to go looking for one that I liked. It's retail price is 9.95 pounds.

Next up is a greeting card which says Happy Birthday. It was designed by Susan Castillo and was printed in the UK. I love the design! The retail price is 2.50 pounds.

This is a freebie. The calendar was designed by Susan Castillo and was printed in the UK. This is what I love using as my monthly view in my planner.

Finally, this beautiful linen notebook also designed by Susan Castillo. It is an A5 size, which is my preferred size for all my notebooks and its retail price is 12.95 pounds. What I love most about it is that it is not dated so I can use it anytime. And since starting next month I've decided to separate my planner from my diary this is going to come in handy.

Total cost of the box: 25.40 pounds.

Total paid: 11.90 pounds.

So basically, the box contents are over twice what I paid for it. Good value for good quality and very useful stuff.

Planner Society Box

          This might actually be my favorite of all the Planner Society boxes that I have gotten so far. As usual the Kuwaiti customs has gotten into the box as well as the stuff inside.

   
          The box had some great stuff in it. The theme is very summery and there were lots of goodies in there that I am going to have a lot of fun using.

 
          This pencil case is the same as the one I'm currently using, the only difference is the pattern on the case from the outside.

Flower paperclips.

Side dividers and labels to use with them.

Sturdy stickers with phrases on them that can be also used as journaling prompts.

Border stencils.

Summery die cuts.

Stamps of the days of the week and a banner, as well as a mason jar meant to hold orange or lemon juice judging from the slice on the side.

Memo Pad.

Ball point pen that writes in black.

Washi tape with a beautiful flowery pattern.

Different patterned yardstick paper, which can be used as dividers or for other projects.

Small summer themed stickers.

          I love everything in this box. Everything is something that I can either use in my planner or in my mixed media projects. The theme was very happy and bright too.

OwlCrate Box June 2017

          This has got to be one of my favourite OwlCrate boxes so far. You'll see why in a minute. 

          I was worried about this box and Kuwait customs because I knew it contained a bath bomb. Thankfully, it passed inspection with no problems. I opened the box and the first thing I saw was the info card, which as usual had beautiful artwork. 

The theme for the box is "Make It Out Alive". So let us get into the items in the box. 

From Little Inklings Design, a beautiful magnet inspired by An Ember in the Ashes, which now lives on my fridge door.

Hey Atlas Creative gave us a beautiful bookmark inspired by A Court of Thorn and Roses series. 

          Next up is a bath bomb created by Fizzy Fairy Apothecary exclusively for OwlCrate. I don't take baths because I prefer showers, but I know who is going to love it. 

A zombie sleep mask from Archie McPhee, which is very useful to me as I don't sleep easily.

          I'm not one for wearing patches but I loved the patch included in this box by Laserbrain Patch Co and OwlCrate. 

          So in the beginning of this post, I said this was one of my favourite boxes from OwlCrate and the reason is that this box has two books instead of one. The first is New World Rising by Jennifer Wilson, published by Oftomes Publishing. 

          And the second is the star of the box: The Sandcastle Empire by Kayla Olsen and it comes as usual with a signed bookplate and a letter from the author. 

          I love this box!!!!! Oh! and next month's theme is interesting too!

Indie Book Connect June 2017

          This month's no fuss no muss subscription...had a little fuss and muss attached to it. But I'm not going to get ahead of myself, let me start at the beginning.

          This is how my books arrived. So I knew that customs had gotten into it as usual. Also, usually I've gotten the first book in the series...this month...not so much..well I think...You'll see what I mean in a second.

          There is the usual piece of paper that tells us about the Goodreads group that these books are being discussed in as part of the Indie Book Connect group. Also a beautiful bookmark, which is always a win with me.

I'm going to start with the easy book, from Goodreads: 

Dixie’s back in her hometown, but the last thing she’s looking for is a reason to stay . . . 

Dixie Barnes has no desire to change the life she’s built in LA, fast-paced and full of glamour, and a million miles from Moreover, Tennessee. When she’s badgered into an impromptu hometown reunion, the thing she’s most looking forward to is her flight back to her celebrity clients. She has no plans to rekindle relationships with the town’s meddling citizens—those kind-hearted people she abandoned ten years ago—and she definitely doesn’t intend to take up where she left off with Deke McAllister.

Then she discovers the nerdy, gangly crush of her past has matured in every remarkable way possible. Perhaps getting reacquainted with Deke isn’t such a bad idea after all. But loving that boy was the catalyst that had her leaving the water tower town she was so fond of. And the more quality time she spends with him, the more difficult she finds the notion of doing it again.

She’ll agree to amuse herself with him until it’s time to leave. She’ll enjoy his soul-scorching kisses, and maybe even tangle with him in his sheets. But her heart won’t be on the line this time. Deke’s already been warned her days in Moreover are numbered. And this time she’ll say goodbye before she boards her plane."

I'm guessing this is the first in the series...guessing because I honestly don't know. I tried to find out on the author's website but could not find anything on it. It is obviously a romance and this is one of the genres that I enjoy so I'm sure I'll read it when I feel like a light read. It comes with a signed bookmark and the book itself is signed.

Now for the fuss and muss. On Goodreads this book is numbered 5...only there are 3 books in the series including this one. Let the author explain this to you better...errr...maybe.

This one was published in 2016 and there is another book that was published this year which the author numbered as 2. I'm one of these people who needs a bit of order and so I went and bought the other two books in the series so that I could read them in order...er...so far anyway. 

So let me get into the book.

From Goodreads: "What would you do, if the things that went bump in the night were suddenly as real to you as life itself? My name is Freia, and I believe in phantoms. A part of the expedition from the plains, my family and I have come to a land where no human has stepped in over a century. But we are not alone. This land is home to the druids, creatures of legend that wiped out all traces of humanity in the deserts, the hills, and even at sea—creatures that should not be real. I hear their voices, in the night. I feel their eyes, watching me. We are not alone."

I think the premise is interesting and the other books seem interesting too...I just hope I get the story so far by reading books 2, 3, and 5. Number 1 and 4 have not been written yet...I think.

The book came with a flyer which told me where to get the other books from www.rad-writing.com

Paletteful Pack June box

          The theme of the box for this month is Water-Soluble Graphite. When I first opened the box I was a bit disappointed because it didn't seem to me like I was getting my money's worth of supplies. I should have had more faith. So let us get into the items.

          I had no idea what these two discs were, I had to go look them up on the information card Paletteful Packs provided. These are ArtGraf Pigment discs. They are soft and water-soluble. 

          Versatil Synthetic Kolinsky Brush, a number 2 round. It has a nice feel to it and the hairs spring back to their original shape.

          General's Sketch and Wash Graphite pencil kit. It has two graphite pencils and a metal sharpener. They can be used for sketching or you can add water to them and make wash drawings.

          Fluid 100 watercolour paper block, 6x6 inches, 140 lbs and cold pressed. For those who don't know, the paper on this is glued down on three sides which prevent the paper from warping and saves on taping it down. I love the feel and size of it.

          Before I go into prices I wanted to show you a swatch of the two discs using the paint brush provided and the Watercolour easy-block. The paint dries pretty fast and it was easy to get gradients from the paint just by adding more and more water on the paint brush.

Now for prices:

Paletteful Packs Subscription: 34.95 $

ArtGraf Pigment Disc (Blue): 9.09 $

ArtGraf Pigment Disc (Yellow): 9.19 $

Versatil Synthetic Kolinsky Brush: 7.99 $

General's Sketch and Wash pencil kit: 6.09 $

Fluid 100 Watercolour Paper Block: 15.10 $

Total: 47.46 $

          So it is safe to say that I got more than my money's worth in this box. That will teach me to look at how much there is in a box without taking into account quality. I can't wait to use all the supplies from this box.