Meiliang Watercolour 48 Set

This is Paul Rubens Student Grade Set of 48 colours Meiliang 
36 Vivid colours and 12 Pearlescent set all in One,  This Kit includes a swatch card, Water brush Pen with a fine Tip and a plastic cover that shows where each paint is located really easy for reference.
Comes in a nice metal tin and the area that holds all the paint is plastic with a space for my brush.

The cost of this set is really Reasonable you can pick this up on Amazon 

So how did they swatch up well I took the picture while they where wet but I did like how the colours went down I now am using my swatch sheet for a light fast test so it's now in my window so I know which colours will fade in direct sunlight which, I like to do with most of my paints that don't have it showing. Pearlescent colours are usually use Mica Powders that can be very fugitive so it's good to know when to add a touch of another colour to keep it bold and true to you 1st painted it. 
Student Grade Paints are for you to have Pressure free fun and just play without the worry of using expensive paints and getting it right these are perfect for Hobbyists, beginners and those who love to just colour.

Here are a couple fun Samples I created using the Mei  Liang paints One using more Pearlescent then the other Mermaids just need to shine and I had fun creating both of these girls up

Pros 
Lost of colour to play with and a huge pallet to mix new colours 
Metal Pallet with a good size mixing area 

Once you use up the paints you will get an amazing paint pallet to use (these are full 1/2 pans so it will take a while) 

Ring on the bottom for holding the pallet easy 

Cons
No Pigment info for those that like to know this 

no light fast info

Plastic pallet holds the paint so can not shift them around but it is student grade so this really doesn't bother me at all (It pops out easy FYI, okay I checked was curious lol)

I have always been impressed with this company they take great care in packaging their products to make sure it gets to you along with how well they listen to those that buy their products they really want you to use and love them so give them a try for sure 

Hugs Nikki

Acrylic Paint Pour -Lightwish Brand

 So I just purchased this little starter kit for paint pouring. I have been eyeing all the lovely work that pour art can create. 1st off I need more practice this is my first swipe mix. I over played with it sure but it was fun. 

The Kit Includes 8 paints 6 gloves and 2 drop cloths table protectors ( I did not even realize these where in the kit when I bought it so BONUS !!! ) 

The Colours are bright and vibrant and Poured really easy there was two reviews when I bought these that said they didn't pour but I did not believe them at all and so Happy I did not listen to them 

These poured quickly and the gloves are needed !!! I am a messy painter the paint did wash really easy from my hands which makes you a happy painter :) 

Kit includes White, Black, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, Purple and Red.
 I do see me using the White up first as it's such a nice bright contrast to the other colours 

Pros - They pour easy and are smooth and moved around the paper well
Wash off Easy 
Come with bonus gloves and table cover
Great amount to start out and play with 
Price is a good point for what you get too 
Bright Colours that go together well 
Just good messy fun and Great to use for kids or adults 

Cons - Will use up the White too Quickly Would be great if they sold larger solo containers

But you can say that about any paint lol
Also when I snapped the lid back make sure there isn't a lot of excess paint as it will fly off and hit you as they close up well and tight. 

To Get Cells you will still need to buy another product no matter what paint you Buy 

I tried using a little heat on this so you can see that the paint puckered a little where it was thick 
that is my fault air drying would have created a flat look 

You can buy these paints here on Amazon.ca 

New Blog

 Hi All I've made a new blog just for my art and this will be more for reviews and the odd creation that I make up 

you can find my new blog here --- Nikki's Oddities  Please follow along if you want 

I have really cut back on my crafting over time as I just wanted to change things around and got back into my art of painting t

Pentel Arts - Oil Pastels

 Today I am going to talk about Oil Pastels now these oil Pastels are a great stepping stone into playing with Oil Pastels as they do not break the bank at all you can pick them up for Under $15.00 On Amazon 

This is the 50 Stick Set 49 Colours with 2 white. White is a great blender they are surely the ones that will be used up 1st. The colours are all nicely saturated and the colour on the stick is the colour you will be putting down. 

Blending you can use your fingers which will get very messy but fun too 
Or Odorless blending solution (Gamsol), Old Markers , Baby Oil and a cotton tip to blend.
Paper towels kleenex etc you get the point 

Now my pastels where a gift to me from a neighbour that was moving and they where new but older so I found the package had a strong smell to them but if memory serves me correctly they do have a odor to them. The little forest I did below I used the wrong paper Watercolour rough and the blending felt choppy to me. (Wrong paper to use)

Next on Cardstock  allows finer details and blends so much easier and I did like the way they layered up on each other I didn't use that many colours but I'm pretty sure you can see how much nicer this looks with the blending. I did an ink sketch before hand to start me off.

Cons : this can be messy,
Does have a odor
Will have to spray a sealer over it to stop it from moving around once done
If you have it in a book. 
Not found open stock but does have smaller sets 

Pros : Blends with just your fingertips 
Not expensive 
once you get the hang of them you can do anything great to get you into using them 
Can be blended with found items.
Good amount of colours 
Can be sharpened into a tip which I will do eventually 

Thanks for looking
hugs Nikki 

If you have any questions please ask away 

Fluid watercolour paper

 Hot Press and Cold Press Fluid Watercolour Paper 

Some info about the Paper 
140LB / 300 GSM HOT PRESS PAPER - High alpha cellulose paper, archival quality with the look & feel of 100% cotton , ACID FREE WATERCOLOUR PAPER  - made in the USA 

Hot press is very smooth allowing you for super fine details which is just wonderful to play with
amazing for line and wash work 

Cold press does have some texture but I would consider not very rough with just a slight texture still allowing for fine details too

Comes together glued on two sides which allows you not to tape it down and found it super easy to remove using a exacto blade without tearing the paper. Can take a lot of water without pilling and can be scrubbed back a bit without damage.  For the Price point this paper is fantastic and I have enjoyed working on both the hot and the cold press. It's tough to pick a favourite as my style of painting I like choices and variety so both will be getting again 

Here are 4 Examples of work done on the Hot Press you can notice how the details in the backgound and on them can hold delicate details while they had to have texture added in to them allowing more control. This reminds me much like drawing with pencils but I've used a brush in it all. 
Paint feels like it can slide across the paper so takes a little bit getting use to but well worth it to master it 

These are all on bright white papers 

Examples on Cold Press Paper

Great for landscapes and less holds the colours well 

Thanks for looking 

hugs Nikki 

These are all my paintings you can find more of my work on my new art page
Here Nikki's Oddities 

Arrtx - Portable Palette Review

 Hey All So here is my review on  This adorable small Portable Arrtx Bamboo Pallet
 (holds 12 1/2 Pans) I love stuff that isn't oversized and compact so this checks all my boxes for sure 

Adorable Packaging 

first inspection of it the bamboo is sanded smooth  and sealed.
Fits really well in my hand my hands aren't that big 

Size = 87 by 81 mm or 3.18 by 3.42 inches 

4 strong magnets that will hold the top on really well ,

 has a tiny little indent to help pop it off easier 

Base is bamboo so a great plus will last a long time.

 The top is a piece of 3 mm acrylic so hopefully it will survive it I ever drop it

(I am a klutz so I'm not testing that out lol)

I used my Paul Ruben Pearlescent paints 
to pop in the pan.  They fit perfectly nice and tight as you can see and 

don't fall out 
tried my other half pans and they would fall out easy so I would recommend 

getting a set of Paul Ruben paints to pop in it for sure 

Filled it up with the 1st row of paints 

Afterwords I realized I had limited myself a little too much so I swapped them 

around with some more colours that I love to use and swapped them around

now it's a perfect little portable pallet to play with 

This is perfect little pallet for those on the go and want something portable 
I could toss this in my purse and it wouldn't take up much room at all 

It's not that heavy weighs about 3.5 ounces with all my paints and the lid 

Edit 
After using this for a while, a magnet on the bottom would be great to attach the lid on and perhaps being able to stack them which would make this great for a larger variety of colours or I could have gotten the larger one but I am a sucker for small stack able stuff so I prefer the 12 set 

So I'm off to paint now 
Have a wonderful day and pop in again to see what 

else I'm sharing with you 

hugs Nikki

Where to get your pallet Amazon - Arrtx Watercolor Palette Case 

Koh-i-noor Rapidomatic Pencils

KOH-I-NOOR Rapidomatic Pencils 

 For those of you looking for a super sturdy Mechanical Pencil here is one for you 

You can feel the weight of these with how much metal they have in them the sizes are fantastic. 

Lead Sizes from 0.3 - 0.9 mm size 
0.5 & 0.7 are the most common size you can find 
while 0.3 & 0.9 are a little tougher to find but you can find the refills 

Just realized that the top turns to allow you to say what type of lead type you are using inside... brilliant!!

I love the weight of these and they are so easy to use and fit well in my hand I will say the metal around my hand does remind me of a soft sandpaper which I hope will make my hands super soft lol.
To get more lead you just press the top down and that little top is hiding an eraser which you just pull off the the metal top and voila your eraser is there so handy and kept clean with the cover.

I find me reaching for these all the time, I do have to buy more 0.3 and 0.5 lead cause I worry I will run out very soon from over use

So from my research you can buy them on Amazon no problem

just look up Rapidomatic Pencils and you will see these beauties at the top 

Thanks for looking

hugs Nikki 

PS. I am sharing this review of my own choice I was lucky have won these in a giveaway 

so they don't even know I am writing this 

My Adventures into Art

As a few people know I am mainly painting or drawing these days I still have the Digi shop open so you can still get some of my images Please check them out when you can 

I am now selling my art on Ebay for those of you who would like to get a OOAK piece from me 

Mainly ACEO cards but sometimes larger will pop up too !!

Aceo Card is a 2.5 by 3.5 inch art Card these are highly collectable art at a reasonable price and once you start collecting you will want to create coffee table book for those that visit to look through 

My place on FACEBOOK Is call Nikki's Oddities   The art work is constantly changing I will try to share here also 

Hey if you want you can buy me a Coffee to help out with my creativeness Link in Sidebar !!

Thanks for your Support and for checking out my work 

Hugs All