Monthly Card Club - On Break

CJ Thimble Bright said:
I was absolutely blown away by the card I received yesterday from @dakotadarkhooves !!! It is amazing! I am totally putting it in the Moondancer army display (once i make that display a reality...) thank you so much for brightening my day with your art!

Because I am searching for a new, quality brand of colored pencils, I have to ask - what kind did you use for this?
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Ahh I am so glad you liked it, that's so good to hear it arrived safely and everything! <3

So this card was actually a mixed media card, not something I try too often! I used Prismacolor colored pencils (that's my go-to brand, I've always loved them), and the more vibrant parts (like the shading in the hair, eyes, the rainbow, etc) were actually done in marker! I used this generic brand of markers I got from Hobby Lobby. A lot of the reviews are negative but I find them to be a lovely set of markers and I haven't had any of the problems the reviewers mentioned; plus, you can't beat the price! My sister also uses them and since her main medium is markers, she's made a lot of beautiful works with them.

I received my card from Skybreeze and it was so lovely! She even included a whole bunch of wonderful pony stickers that I will totally be using because I love stickers <3 I'm away from my computer atm so I can't post pics but I will definitely do so when I get the chance! Thank you so much, Skybreeze!
 
dakotadarkhooves said:
Ahh I am so glad you liked it, that's so good to hear it arrived safely and everything! <3

So this card was actually a mixed media card, not something I try too often! I used Prismacolor colored pencils (that's my go-to brand, I've always loved them), and the more vibrant parts (like the shading in the hair, eyes, the rainbow, etc) were actually done in marker! I used this generic brand of markers I got from Hobby Lobby. A lot of the reviews are negative but I find them to be a lovely set of markers and I haven't had any of the problems the reviewers mentioned; plus, you can't beat the price! My sister also uses them and since her main medium is markers, she's made a lot of beautiful works with them.
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Okay, see.... prismacolor has always been my favorite brand of pencils. My husband bought me the huge 150 color set as a birthday gift several years ago. But I am having the WORST luck with the lead breaking when I sharpen them. I have their brand of sharpener and am so careful when I do it. But it just falls out in chunks sometimes. It's as if the color is already broken inside the pencil or something. It is so frustrating to lose a quarter of the pencil without even coloring with it. I love the true brightness of their colors, but don't want to waste money on new pencils if they are just going to keep doing this.

I purchased a set of Hobby Lobby's pencils to try when they were half off, but the colors aren't great. And I'm considering trying the Staedtler brand...
 
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CJ Thimble Bright said:
Okay, see.... prismacolor has always been my favorite brand of pencils. My husband bought me the huge 150 color set as a birthday gift several years ago. But I am having the WORST luck with the lead breaking when I sharpen them. I have their brand of sharpener and am so careful when I do it. But it just falls out in chunks sometimes. It's as if the color is already broken inside the pencil or something. It is so frustrating to lose a quarter of the pencil without even coloring with it. I love the true brightness of their colors, but don't want to waste money on new pencils if they are just going to keep doing this.

I purchased a set of Hobby Lobby's pencils to try when they were half off, but the colors arent great. And I'm considering trying the Staedtler brand...
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Yeah I've noticed that too. I generally find it's when I've stored them in my pencil bag so they get jostled around a lot, it's like, as you said, the lead breaks inside the pencil.

Okay so I do have another pencil brand to recommend, and again, another small generic brand. My aunt got me this huge set of colored pencils as a Christmas gift one year, and I love them to death. I've found them to be nearly as good as Prismacolor in terms of actual color. They do feel a little harder, not as easy to use (they don't go on as smoothly), but maybe having harder lead is what you need to prevent them from breaking!

Lemme see if I can find any examples of art I've used them on...

EDIT: Okay here's one!

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@CJ Thimble Bright - Faber-Castell has always been my go to brand for pencil crayons. I usually use either a good metal or automatic sharpener with them. They’re a great soft and vibrant pencil crayon. Prisma is my back up brand. Have you tried contacting the company about the issues you e had with your set? You could’ve just gotten and old or defective box.

@dakotadarkhooves - Yay! I’m so happy it got to you finally. Sorry I didn’t include any artwork, free time has been scarce for me lately.
 
dakotadarkhooves said:
Yeah I've noticed that too. I generally find it's when I've stored them in my pencil bag so they get jostled around a lot, it's like, as you said, the lead breaks inside the pencil.

Okay so I do have another pencil brand to recommend, and again, another small generic brand. My aunt got me this huge set of colored pencils as a Christmas gift one year, and I love them to death. I've found them to be nearly as good as Prismacolor in terms of actual color. They do feel a little harder, not as easy to use (they don't go on as smoothly), but maybe having harder lead is what you need to prevent them from breaking!

Lemme see if I can find any examples of art I've used them on...
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See, I wondered if it was happening because we have moved so many times and they've been jostled in the moving truck... but it did start with some of the pencils before we left the state they were bought in. And, if they are so delicate, then just getting them from production to the store could break them! Frustrating.

I will look at that off brand set you linked. I really appreciate your insight.
 
Skybreeze said:
@CJ Thimble Bright - Faber-Castell has always been my go to brand for pencil crayons. I usually use either a good metal or automatic sharpener with them. They’re a great soft and vibrant pencil crayon. Prisma is my back up brand. Have you tried contacting the company about the issues you e had with your set?
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I did actually start the process of communicating with the company about them just before Christmas because so many of my pencils have started doing it. And they did respond and asked some follow up questions. But at that point, I realized it had been so long since they were purchased (2014 or 15?), and we've moved so many times (WA to MI, MI to ID, ID to AZ)... it didn't seem worth the hassle.

I will look into the Faber-Castell brand. Thank you for the suggestion!
 
@Skybreeze oh my good gravy! That Faber-Castell brand is spendy, isn't it?! I assume you use the high-end "polychromos" style pencil? I will have to put them on my wish list and watch for a sale to try them. :surprisepony: Or wait until the hubby's lawyer paychecks start coming in, at least! :satisfied::unsure::lolpony:

But in searching that brand on Amazon, I did find a brand called "Castle" that was a Lightening Deal for the day, and had really good reviews comparing them to Prisma. So, we will see how they are when they arrive!
 
CJ Thimble Bright said:
@Skybreeze oh my good gravy! That Faber-Castell brand is spendy, isn't it?! I assume you use the high-end "polychromos" style pencil? I will have to put them on my wish list and watch for a sale to try them. :surprisepony: Or wait until the hubby's lawyer paychecks start coming in, at least! :satisfied::unsure::lolpony:

But in searching that brand on Amazon, I did find a brand called "Castle" that was a Lightening Deal for the day, and had really good reviews comparing them to Prisma. So, we will see how they are when they arrive!
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Ya so I totally thought that I mentioned they’re pricey but clearly I thought it but didn’t write it. Geeze. They’re worth the money if you can save up for them, they last a long time and are smooth and wonderful. They do have cheaper lines that are good too. In general they’re a good high end brand. ;p
 
Skybreeze said:
Ya so I totally thought that I mentioned they’re pricey but clearly I thought it but didn’t write it. Geeze. They’re worth the money if you can save up for them, they last a long time and are smooth and wonderful. They do have cheaper lines that are good too. In general they’re a good high end brand. ;p
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No worries! And I thought Prismacolor were costly... lol. I don't mind paying for quality - though perhaps right now is not the best time for me to do that. They are definitely something I will put on my wishlist for future purchase. If I were truly an artist, someone who did a lot of drawing and sketching, I could see paying that price. But as I really just use my pencils for coloring books and card making... lol. I'm more of a hobbyist.
 
My beautiful card came today from @CJ Thimble Bright and I will be totally honest. I really want a Cricut now. I love this card so very much and I will be getting a pin board just so I can have this up on my wall all the time (and all my other pony related cards/art work I’ve received over the years).
But now I feel really bad that I didn’t have time this month for actual artwork. I will do better for March!
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Skybreeze said:
My beautiful card came today from @CJ Thimble Bright and I will be totally honest. I really want a Cricut now. I love this card so very much and I will be getting a pin board just so I can have this up on my wall all the time (and all my other pony related cards/art work I’ve received over the years).
But now I feel really bad that I didn’t have time this month for actual artwork. I will do better for March!
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To be fair - I don't have a Cricut. :winkpony: It is a brother brand Scan n Cut. And as I still barely know how to use it... I don't really know what the difference is, other than Cricut brand stuff can be found in stores and brother doesn't seem to be. Lol
 
CJ Thimble Bright said:
To be fair - I don't have a Cricut. :winkpony: It is a brother brand Scan n Cut. And as I still barely know how to use it... I don't really know what the difference is, other than Cricut brand stuff can be found in stores and brother doesn't seem to be. Lol
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Yes, but Cricut is a little more affordable ;p

Only reason I say that because it looks like I can do more with the Brother cutter. It’s just not affordable for me right now, so Cricut would have to do for me. I’ve done so much reading and research on both it’s kind of disgusting. Ha ha.
 
Skybreeze said:
Yes, but Cricut is a little more affordable ;p

Only reason I say that because it looks like I can do more with the Brother cutter. It’s just not affordable for me right now, so Cricut would have to do for me. I’ve done so much reading and research on both it’s kind of disgusting. Ha ha.
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I know! All these machines are so hideously expensive! That's why I never planned to own one.

Oh good! With all your research knowledge, I may have to come to you with questions! Lol. I still barely understand what to do with this crazy thing! I just this morning tried designing a new card, similar to the one I sent you, but with cut out words on the front... it was only partially successful.
 
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