School Supplies - Art on a Shoe String

It is so that time of year again.

Time for school supply shopping. 

At our house, we home schooled for

12 years. School supply shopping was a

never ending venture with so many

educational items on the market.

Eventually our home school career came to

a close and I started looking at school supplies

in a whole different light. 

 Now with the Frankles living in Maine,

school supplies will once again become

a staple in our summers.

Yep! The little Frankles starts Pre-K this year!

Where has the time flown?

She was pretty excited to get herself a new

backpack.

And while us grown ups shopped,

she managed to slide a couple of her own

choices into my shopping cart unnoticed until

we got home and none of us knew why we

had those things. 

Hahahahaha!

Let's talk art.

YouTube it if you'd like, you will find

several videos showing the use of hand sanitizer

with gelli plates. 

This is what our Walmart had today for hand sanitizer. Last year in Florida, I was able to get a bottle of glow-in-the-dark to use with my gelli plate.

Talk about cool effects!

The smaller bottle up top is more than enough

for your needs and at $1.98 it is cost

efficient as well. 

 For several years I did a whole lot of traveling.

A lot of time in the air and on the ground,

a lot of hotel rooms and lots of solo nights in front

of the computer watching Netflix while I tangled

under a hotel room lamp.

I needed a sturdy kit to travel with.

One that would withstand baggage handlers

literally throwing the bags on the carts

(I've watched them from the airports and from

the planes),

one that was large enough to carry all my needs

but not overly large and take up too much

luggage space.

These little pencils cases are metal, they cost a little

more than the other items you will see in this post,

but I have been using my Hello Kitty box for about

7 years now.

(No, this is not it - this one is new and is currently

located in Walmart on the school supply aisle.)

Well worth the money you will spend on it.

I promise. 

In my Hello Kitty box right now I have:

one circle template, one plastic 6" ruler,

various index cards, 3.5" tiles, and bijoux,

one eraser and one pencil sharpener,

one roll of washi tape, one zenstone,

18 various microns, copic multiliners, and 

assorted pens,

3 full size pencils,

4 gel pens, and 2 tortillions. 

It holds a bunch for just $4.97.

You know how much I love dragons!

I couldn't pass this case up.

 Maybe you don't travel as much as I did.

Maybe your needs are simpler and you just

want a tangle kit to carry to the sofa with

you each night.This little plastic box is actually 

a bit longer and taller than the metal cases.

Hard, sturdy plastic and it's just 97¢. 

Don't underestimate the pencil pouches.

At just 97¢, this hold both pens, pencils,

tiles, ruler, and whatever else flat-ish you

might want it to. 

And a perc is - it fits in a 3 ring binder for

travel if you want.

Or it could totally be a child's tangle kit. 

Need something solely for pencils?

Or pens? This pencil case is - wait for it -

97¢. 

Apparently a popular number this year in

school supplies.

 I get asked all the time for organizational

tips for your tangle patterns.

There are literally thousands of patterns out there

lurking around. How to save the ones you like best?

There are many, many ways but

here are a few economical ways to organize

up those tangles.

Above you see a brand new size of composition

book available this year.

(I apologize for it being backwards,

but some rocket scientist applied the labels wrong.)

This little book is 7" x 5".

It is a great place to draw your step outs for the

patterns you want to keep.

Should you want to use markers for adding some

pops of color here and there -

they will more than likely bleed through these

pages. Easy enough to fix. Take a glue stick

and glue each set of 2 pages together.

Makes your pages thicker to withstand markers.

Yes, you will get the benefit of only half the pages,

but at 67¢ a book - who cares?

And they come in about 5 different colors -

so everyone should be able to find 1 or 5 that

you like!

 These are called something like 

Pop Art Index Card Folders. 

Cute, cute, cute!

Draw those favored tangles on index cards

and store them in this awesome little pouch.

Carry it on the road, in the air,

or just to the couch at night.

 Not as cute, but at roughly half the price,

these little sturdy plastic cases might be

just what you need.

I believe the 2 cases will hold roughly about

the same number of cards.

 Want to keep this organization project affordable?

Use the white graphed index cards and the plain

colored plastic box and you have a tangle

organization system for 100 patterns at $1.36.

 Or live on the wild side and match these color

index cards with the pop art folders for a total of $2.59.

The Frankles endorses this path.

These cute little card files on a ring are

2 1/8" x 3 5/16".

You get 75 cards on a ring.

If you need readers like me - 

this might not be the way to go.

But if you like cute, stylish, and easy to carry

this could just be what you want.

For $1.88!

(Yes, I know you can read that in the photo,

but wow! that's a good price!)

 Need something a little larger for your

tangle organization?

Or to do your Getting Sketchy in each week?

Or to use as an art journal?

Here is a 100 sheet - that means 200 work

surfaces - book at roughly 9" x 7".

Just for 50¢.

 Not a whole lot of pretty patterns on the

covers this year, but they do come in several

colors. And though I didn't get a photo,

they also come in graph paper style.

I sometimes use those for art journals.

Just do the same trick -

glue each set of 2 pages together with a glue stick.

 If you are trying to encourage someone

younger to tangle and want a 'cool' way

to do it, check out the Frozen (Anna) comp

books - they had Elsa ones, too - for $1.96.

 Don't want to miss the Spiderman composition

books. They had several styles. And, if you

haven't seen that movie yet - 

what is wrong with you?

Get out there and go see it!

Here is another option.

Hard backed book, about 10" x 8".

Sorry I have no idea how many pages.

The paper is thicker and sturdier.

I have one from last year that I still

haven't broken out for use yet. 

It is really nice! 

Great choice for a journal.

 Thinking about adding some affordable

color to your art?

Here is 10 piece marker set for a mere

50¢. You are never going to beat that.

Anywhere.

 Here is another 10 count set of markers -

apparently they are preferred by teachers!

Hahaha! I am guessing they are washable,

but I totally didn't think to look closer.

Sorry. 97¢ - that is still a great price.

 Let's look at 12 count packs of colored pencils.

And yes, you can shade with just 12 pencils.

You do not need a huge crazy box of colors

unless you feel you need to.

Here is a set at 97¢.

Or you could go with this set of 12 pencils

at 50¢.

 I've tried to gear this post towards making

affordable art on a shoe string budget 

and using Walmart as my host of choice.

If you still get a headache from all the choices,

hit the register where they had these cute

little 100 calorie size chocolate bars for 44¢ each.

Gotta love me some Walmart!

When we got home,

Frankles was quick to get to work in 

her art area at our house.

(Think Harry Potter's cupboard 

under the stairs.)

She's got a good set up there!

Art on a Shoe String?

But of course!

Hope you found this post helpful,

useful, and most of all -

affordable!

Crayon Resist, Art on a Shoe String

 Are you ready for another

Art on a Shoe String?

A couple weeks ago I posted the above piece of

art that I made using a watercolor resist pen

with watercolor paints.

Not everyone has access to a watercolor resist

pen, or to frisket, but most everyone has access to

crayons. Yes. Crayons.

So let's see if we can make a successful

watercolor resist using a white crayon.

Keeping with the theme of

Art on a Shoe String -

I headed to Walmart and went straight to

the school aisle. 

That box of 24 crayons was just 47¢.

(The 16 crayon box cost 57¢.

Go figure.)

 I used a scrap piece of mixed media paper -

you could try cardstock if you wish.

(The real question is: why does autocorrect keep

changing my word 'cardstock' to 'yardstick?'

Because it's a real pain.

So I just won't use that word again in this post.)

 I used the white crayon to draw a tangle on the

mixed media paper.

Next time I won't use a pattern that needs

precision, but this is a learning curve.

 I used a paintbrush to cover my paper in water.

You can already see that the crayon is resisting

the water, so the watercolor should work as well.

 Then I started adding color.

I used an inexpensive child's watercolor

pan set from the school row. You've seen

it in these posts before. 

 And I kept adding color and more water as needed.

The precision in that tangle is totally lost.

I think if I had used a light tan crayon

or a light yellow crayon

I would have been able to make the tangle better.

Sorry to all you serious tanglers.

Do better than I did. 

 Of course, according to the 

Hendon School of Color

one can never have too much color!

 I did blot up a bit of that liquid,

cause you can have too much water.

Hahahaha!

 While that piece sat to dry,

 I started another.

This time I drew a string line with the white

crayon and that works much better!

Pink, purple and teal are my go-to colors.

My mantra. 

Cause I love them so much.

Then I sat this aside to dry.

 OK.

Time to evaluate.

Can you successfully make marks that watercolors 

will resist with a common, every day crayon?

Yes. You definitely can!

Even in the one I messed the tangle up on -

it worked.

And I learned something.

Which is what this is all about anyway.

I learned 2 things actually:

* don't try precision tangles, unless I

* press down to make solid, substantial lines.

I like the way the first one worked,

the way the resist definitely worked,

I just wish I had made stronger lines to start with.

I pressed down harder with the crayon in this one and you can certainly see the difference it made. I can take both pieces and tangle them with success and be happy with my art.
Success of this Art on a Shoe String? 100%
And if you don't have crayons on hand - they are only 47¢ at Walmart. Or you can borrow one from your kid. Or a neighbor. Have fun!

Art on a Shoe String! - Spirography©

 Spirography©!

My new word for this artstyle and I'm 

putting a © on it! Hahaha!

Actually spirography is a real word that has

to do with breathing measurement and

breathing capacity.

I believe it correlates to the zentangle art form

due to the relaxation and calming effect

your breathing and tangling can give. 

Hence, spirography! 

Here is where the  Art on a Shoe String  part comes in!
To get started - grab your old spirograph  from the attic, or basement, or eBay,  or the local Good Will, or thrift shop,  or dollar store, or the nearest kid!  Seriously, there are so many places to find a spirograph for next to no money - or free! Then just have fun and go for it!

 I used my regular tangling pen -

an 0.1 micron.

(Some people use colored pens,

colored pencils, gel pens, 

anything with a narrow tip.)

For paper, I just used card stock.

Nothing pricey in this art project at all!

Not as easy as I remember it being as a kid.

Or maybe we just kept right on drawing

over those slipped lines and 

loved it anyway.

Hahaha!

I had the hardest time.

The inner ring that I had my pen in

kept slipping above the top edge of the

boundaries ring.

 I was getting really discouraged at this point.

But I am no quitter. Hahaha!

So I kept trying.

And trying. Ugh.  Actually, 'ugh' was the word for the day.

I looked through what I had and found one red loopy line that wasn't too bad. Then I added some tangles. Nothing too fancy to get started.
In the photo just above, the red line is the spirograph part. The black lines are the tangling I added. You can see that the tangling takes your eye away from the boo-boos. Spirography!

 Today I pulled my extras sheets out of the

trashcan, seriously, and tried again.

This one wasn't too bad.

I lifted my pen too soon and moved the ring.

Then I realized I hadn't completed the line

but it was too late to figure out how to fix it.

 I'm going to show you step by step

how I tangled this.

I started with some simple perfs (little circles)

around the spiro-ed section,

and made two pencil circles around the whole piece.

A couple simple lines divided this into 

more sections.

 Then I started joining the lines together

with triangles. Easy peasy.

 I turned the triangled boxes into a

somewhat version of knightsbridge.

 I thought about leaving the piece at that point,

but it didn't seem finished.

So, I added another circle around the 

outside and a little flying geese.

I liked how the piece looked at that point, so I called it complete and shaded it. I love shading - although I hate to do it. Spirography! I will keep working on this art style. Because it is so much fun! And so affordable!
Art on a Shoe String comes from the idea that art doesn't have to be expensive to be fun and enjoyable! I hope this series of posts help you realize that you can make beautiful art without it being costly.