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.

Indigo Artbox June 2017

If I had not seen previous boxes where Indigo Artbox had included something other than pastels I would so cancel my subscription. BUT, I shall continue on for two reasons. Even though I hate pastels, the supplies included in the box are actually pretty good for a beginner like me. The second reason is that I get instruction videos with the projects as well as a mini art history lesson which I really enjoy. So onwards!

This month's artist is Edgar Degas and the medium of choice is soft pastels. The package arrived opened by customs as per usual. 

So the package contains a drawing pencil and dry-erase pen and I must admit the dry erase pen puzzled me until I read the instructions for the project.

Reeves soft pastels.

A plexiglass sheet...yep, very puzzling until you read the instructions.

Two inspiration prints from Degas

Sketch paper, note card, and soft pastel paper (the coloured ones)

As usual, I am supposed to watch a mini history lesson on Degas and his art then watch the project video which gives exercises and then an idea of how to use the pastels. (Indigo Artbox) The dry-erase pen and the plexiglass are so you can practice your lines and tracing without having to use up papers or supplies.

I am going to give pastels another try and see how things go. These are my previous attempts using the pastels from the previous Indigo Artbox.

"The Road to Nowhere"

"The Castle"

V. Paperie June 2017

This box from V.Paperie had an interesting theme: Create for you!

Once you open the tissue paper you are bombarded with bright beautiful colours.

The reason for the box is the greeting cards and that is where I'm going to start. There are three cards by V.Paperie, one says "Happy Father's Day", the second says "Happy Birthday" and the third has no sentiment which means it can be used for any occasion. The fourth one though is the most interesting to me. It is a "Create Your Own Card" sort of thing so I can't wait to turn it into a project. I tried to find out the cost for these specific cards but couldn't find them anywhere so I looked for similar ones. They range between 2 and 6 dollars so I decided to go for the middle road of 3 dollars each: approximate cost for all four is 12 dollars.

Next up is a small sketchbook. The paper is pretty sturdy and its size is 5.2in x 4in. Again I could not find a price for this specific one but I found something similar for around 3 to 5 dollars.

I think this next item is my favourite of the whole box. It is Johanna Basford's Secret Garden colouring book but instead of pages, it is actually 20 postcards that you can colour yourself and send.  This book costs 4.97 new on Amazon.com. 

My second favourite item in the box and the final one is a bundle of markers. These are BAZIC 12 Fine Line Washable Watercolor Markers. They are conical tipped which means you can draw fine lines and they are water-based and bleed resistant. On Amazon.com they cost 4.33 dollars. 

The box almost comes up to 25 dollars, which is what I paid for it. I like this box more than I liked last month's offerings. 

Papergang Box

The Papergang box this month proudly supports Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

At the back of every Papergang box there is an origami project, so this month I decided to try it out.

I fussy cut the bumblebee and then put it together.

I had a lot of fun doing it and also a moment of losing myself in a small project that didn't need too much thought or planning. Now let us get into the box itself.

I was kind of surprised to find the box intact and not really opened. I'm guessing that because it was Ramadan no one wanted to really work 😏

So the first things that I noticed were the pencil and the postcards. They were both designed by Amy Lesko and the postcards were printed in the UK. The pencil costs 0.50 pence while the postcards were 2.25 pounds. There was also a Riso printed calendar designed by Amy Lesko and it is an extra in the box.

The final item in the box is an A5 felt Notebook with 3 inserts designed by Amy Lesko and it costs 12.95 pounds.

The box costs around 12 pounds so the cost of the items in the box exceed the amount I paid for it. Anyone who knows me knows I love notebooks and so this box is a big hit with me.

Holly Journal June 2017 Box

          I always look forward to the Holly Journal box because I know I'm going to get something interesting in the form of the journal, but this month's box, I think, went that extra mile. So let's get into the box.

          The first thing to come out the box was the list of items in the box and a list of quotes that was included in the journal. The reason the quotes were included was that they were written in artistic font and might not be easy to read. 

       

          This is one of the bonus items in the box. It is a beautiful tote bag and I forsee myself carrying it around to put all my supplies in.

          While the theme of the box is "Picnic Perfect" I would say based on the items here it is more like ladybugs ☺ I love the ladybug stickers and one of them is actually a magnet. The three pens are also cute though I have to say I've gotten that white pen in three other boxes so far. 😆

          Finally, the journal, and as usual I love all the different "pages" included between its covers. I love using the journals as art/junk journals and the pages make that so easy! Another awesome box from Holly Journals.