Review of Crayola Lettering products

I'll start with the Crayoligraphy Activity Set.

This set is sort of a sampling of their products. It comes with the practice papers and instruction sheets you see pictured, two gel pens, two brush tip (dual tip) markers, and 10 graphic tip (dual tip)markers. It's so-so for a beginner kit, but it should have more brush tip markers.

Also, I don't understand why the detail tips at the other end is a different color. I use the detail tips to touch up my lettering so making the detail tip a different color is not helpful. Maybe you can see what I mean in my sample pages:

Only one detail tip matches the graphic tip. I suppose you could add the different color detail to your lettering as a highlight for dimension. I haven't tried blending yet. I'm new to lettering.

By the way, I haven't seen the graphic tip before and I wasn't sure how to hold the marker. You can see by my feeble attempts above that it will take me some practice to get used to these markers. It is much easier to use the regular Crayola Washable markers than the graphic tips.

The only two brush tip markers in this set came in blue and black. They are very nice and almost the quality of Tombow brush tips. Again, the detail tips did not match. 

The bleed is much the same of other markers on this quality (which isn't great) paper.

The Crayola markers are a little less expensive than Tombow, but for my money, I think I will stick with Tombow. 

Next I tried out Crayola's glitter markers:

Now these are fun markers! They act more like a paint marker in that you may need to press down on the tip to get the marker to flow. The glitter is subtle and can be best seen holding the paper at an angle in the light. Definite bling factor. 

They are easy to use, but not good for lettering. See my sample page above, left hand side.

The glitter markers bleed a wee bit more than the others.

Crayola's Metallic markers have a more subtle bling. They can be used for lettering with some practice. See my sample page, left hand side, second section.

I am absolutely delighted with the gel pens. Check this out:

They come in this really cute tin. Here is a better picture of the tin:

Am I right?

I was amazed at the quality of the pens. This set includes glitter gel pens and metallic gel pens.

This is what is inside the cute tin.

As you can see on my sample page, left hand side, third and fourth sections, that the colors vary from glitter to metallic. The glitter pen colors are brighter while the metallic pens are more subdued.

I like the gold of the metallic better than the glitter and the orange of the metallic looks more like copper. Both sets write smoothly.

Writing utensils are like books--you can never have "too many."

Keep on journaling!

Always,

The Journey Continues...

Sometime, in the middle of August, I found the disc system to get a little obnoxious. I added four vertical bookmarks, hand-punched by me. I trimmed them a second time but still found the pages difficult to turn. Even without the bookmarks, the pages had become difficult to turn more than 2-3 pages at a time. It was kind of frustrating when I wanted to flip back and forth from planner to trackers.

It was time to go back to the old fashioned ring binder. I didn't think I wanted to go smaller. I haven't been a fan of the A5 size of most bullet journals. So, I went to the 8.5 x 11 size. The ring binder definitely made turning pages easy again, but it took up so much space on my desk.

And, I found the thought of journaling/scrapbooking an entire page a little daunting. I avoided journaling anything for the first 3 weeks. I spent the last few weeks trying out different options.

I went back to the composition sized (7.75 inches x 9.75 inches), but in a spiral notebook. I wanted to keep my pages mobile so I clipped the pages where they connect to the spiral binding.

This gave me the ability to move my pages around, and they still held together well, plus I could turn the pages easily. I made my calendar pages and some gratitude pages.

I especially liked the ability to fold my journal in half to write, but the gratitude pages on the bottom side fell out. Well, that turned out not as convenient as I thought. Bummer.

The next option was the A5 size. I don't like the regular bullet journals where they make an index of pages instead of being able to move them around and group like pages together and add pages where needed. That wasn't an option for me at all.

I thought I could try that size if I could find it in a ring binder. There are a lot of possibilities out there, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money on an experiment that may turn out temporary. I found a clear plastic, 6-hole binder in the A5 size for $7.99 on Etsy. I could do that.

At first, I thought the calendar was way too small to write in, but I decided to give it good try so I made all the pages I normally would use. I even made little pocket divider pages from the full size dividers. It turned out kinda cute. Actually, it is stinkin' cute.

Getting used to the calendar size after an 8.5 x 11 page was not as hard as I thought it would be. I write a little smaller, which I like my handwriting better that way. This size fits my desk top with room to spare, but the ring binder is not quite an inch, which meant something had to go.

My spiritual journal, where I chronicle "How has the Lord reached out to me this week," and notes on lessons and conference talks would go in this journal:

I've been using this A5 lined journal for over a year, just for church stuff and then copying the pages into my regular journal. I decided to reduce and simplify. This little journal works well without duplicating my efforts. I don't need to move pages around and rarely ever add pages to it.

Next, I had to find a home for all of my menu/meal planning and shopping lists, cleaning and chores schedule, and my financial pages.

I renamed my 8.5 x 11 planner as the "Family Management Planner." It has my bill-paying trackers, password trackers, contacts list, meal planning and shopping lists, gift lists, wish lists, etc. That frees up my little A5 ring binder to just be my planner, journal, and a few trackers. I am very happy with this new size and that I found it in a ring binder. A5 found a new convert. It really is a nice size to fit in my bag and on my desk and it is big enough I can read it.

Always journaling,

How to Make Journaling Easier with FREE Printables!

I have a good friend who is interested in journaling, but afraid to start for fear of "making a mistake."

First of all, there's no such thing as mistakes, only experiments!

You have to explore and experiment. How else are you going to know what you like? Besides, you have to practice.

But, what if you had a little help?

In the Library of FREE Printables there are 6 pages of arrows, tabs, banners and icons in blue, red, yellow, green, purple and rainbow.

Print what you need onto full sheet adhesive paper and cut out. OR, if you have a sticker maker, print out on regular paper, cut and run through your sticker maker.

There is also a rainbow page of larger banners:

Subscribe to my email list and I will send you the link to access the FREE Library of Printables.

My Favorite Lettering Supplies

Starting with the Rhodia dot pad... I sort of got into brush lettering because I wanted that cool calligraphy look in my journaling. I saw fantastic journal spreads and wanted to learn more about it.

I could've spent all kinds of money on this craft, so I knew I had to watch myself. There are really expensive watercolor brush pens out there, and expensive paper. I also learned that you get what you pay for. If I wanted to do this professionally, then yes, I should invest in the best supplies. If I was really going to do this professionally I'd use the free fonts I collect. But for my journaling this is what worked for me:

The Rhodia dot pad

This has nice dot grid paper that doesn't bleed readily. There is one exception I'll show you later. The paper is smooth so it doesn't wear out your markers.

This pad is really great for practice. Practicing every day is the number one thing you need to do to build your skill. These are some of my first attempts. I don't practice near as much as I should.

I need to work on getting those flourishes down.

Lettering Books

These two books come highly recommended on Amazon. The Creative Lettering book on the left focuses more on traditional techniques while The Ultimate Brush Lettering Guide focuses on brush lettering, like it says. This is a comprehensive book that teaches about the types of supplies to use, different techniques to get those flourishes and composing signs using complimentary fonts. The practice sheets are specific to letters, phrases, and flourishes.

Brush pens

In most of the blog posts I've read about brush lettering Tombow Brush Pens are the most recommended. These are dual tipped, brush tip on one end and fine point on the other. They run about $20.00 a set. They are a little expensive for just practicing, but you really need to practice with them because they have a completely different feel in how you hold them. The brush tip makes drawing the letters a lot easier than regular markers. I have not used a watercolor brush yet. I don't think I'll get into it to that extent.

Don't forget about the inexpensive alternative to the brush pens--Crayola markers. Crayola markers give me a lot color selection. It takes some practice holding them just right because they are so different, but they work out really well.

The one set of markers I'd suggest you don't waste your money on is the Sharpie brush tip markers. The set costs about $12 but they smell very strong. The colors don't match the caps exactly. They come out a little darker. The other thing is:

They bleed. It is very difficult to control the amount of ink that hits the paper. As you can see, the ink bled onto the third page. I ended up giving these markers away. You can also see that still need a lot of practice.

This is on of my later attempts. I draw it out with pencil first. I used the Tombow markers, both ends. I really need to work on color choices, font choices, composition, and flourishes, but it's coming along. It is really quite relaxing. I enjoy practicing.

Keep on lettering!

Always,

The Experiment

This stage took me three to four months of designing pages and using my journal/planner daily to determine what pages I'd actually use. The only thing I knew for sure was that I  wanted to make my pages only once and then copy off more as I needed them.

I started with a composition notebook for a few reasons:

• I like the size (9.75 x 7.5), will fit in my purse, and I can add more pictures. I also have more room to write on my calendar page.
• They are inexpensive. I can get these during Back-to School sales for 50 cents. It didn't matter if I totally messed up my experiment.
• I used so many composition notebooks in college that using them now feels like going home. I buy stacks of them every year even if I don't need any.

I made lists of everything I wanted to keep in my journal/planner.

• Monthly calendar with a to-do list
• Gratitude pages
• 13 Virtues of Benjamin Franklin
• Quotes
• Reverse Bucket List
• Story and Blog post ideas
• To be Read list
• Home projects
• Fun with Grandkids
• journal pages

I designed a blank monthly calendar with space for my to-do list for home stuff and writing goals. I have to add the dates and holidays but I don't have to plan out a new spread every month.

4 Gratitude pages came right after the calendar. I numbered each day and left 3 spaces per day. I should be able to find at least three things to be grateful for!

13 Virtues is a habit Benjamin Franklin started to improve his life. I took many of his ideas and added some of my own. I focused on one virtue every week. At the end of the day I evaluated my behavior and wrote it down.

I added a quotes page, a page for story ideas and blog posts, a to-be-read page, a fun with grandkids page...

And journal pages. I discovered having journal pages with my planner helped me write more consistently because of the convenience.

I experimented with tabs and borders and added pictures wherever I wanted. I tried out different colored inks. I tried out almost everything I saw on Pinterest.

I used stickers for the index instead of numbering pages. I thought it was brilliant at the time. I also added paperclips to the calendar pages for faster access.

At the end of four months I could see which pages I actually used and the ones that went to waste, like my doddle page or my Amazon wish list page.

PROS

• I really liked being able to see my whole month and to-do list at the same time.
• I was able to group my gratitude pages together after each calendar.
• I really liked the size. Like I said before, big enough to add pictures and be able to write on the calendar and it still fit in my bag, but I also found that it fit my desktop perfectly.

CONS

• I still had pages I didn't use.
• I could only schedule one month at a time. Future trackers were just another list. I needed to see my months mapped out.
• I had to tape in extra pages or cut out pages when I miscalculated how many pages a spread would take. I still wish I had more mobility.

Enter the Disc system.

To be continued...

Happy Journaling,

My Journey into Journaling

Timeline:

2008--I started a Gratitude journal and only wrote when I
             remembered. It was not a priority.
2013--I discovered Art journaling. Not always pretty but it
             held my interest and I kept coming back. There is
             something about water coloring my own backgrounds
             that made me feel like a kid again.

I added favorite quotes and song lyrics.

It gave me a creative outlet.

I have always struggled to find a relevant planner. Pre-printed planners meant a lot of wasted paper because they didn't fit my life.

About this same time I decided what I wanted in a planner:

• A desktop calendar/planner, a month-at-a-glance with a to-do list on the side.
• Gratitude journal pages.
  
  

April 2013--I discovered the Bullet Journal on Pinterest.

          There are so many different ways to use a Bullet journal.

          I think it was originally designed as a minimalist way of

          of tracking a to-do list and goals. It's a type of planner

          that turns a calendar into more of a list.

Free printable at this website (copy and paste into your browser)
https://www.tinyrayofsunshine.com/blog/bullet-journal-reference-guide

PROS

• I love making lists and this is the grandmother of all lists.
• The journal most often used for this had good quality paper--dot grid helped me keep my letters more uniform in size.
• It made a good goal tracker.
• It was adaptable to any life.

CONS

• The most common journal used was small 5 x 8.
• Had to draw out new daily, weekly, and monthly calendars/spreadsheets.
• Had to number all of the pages and make an index because like pages were rarely grouped together.
• Had no way to schedule future appointments because one month at a time is built. The future tracker was a list. I need to see the whole month.
• The whole process seemed to take more time than I wanted to invest.

My Epiphany

At first thought, the Bullet journal system was not for me. But, wait a minute...the Bullet journal is adaptable--what if I tweaked it to fit my life?

Stay tuned for The Experiment...

Happy Journaling