Well… hey.

It’s been quite some time, hasn’t it?

Can we just talk about how tough it is to try and juggle the many facets of life? Managing time between my day-job, my side gigs (Etsy and TeePublic) and the general fun of creating–whatever form that may be–has not been easy for me. I know it must be definitely more challenging for little ones, I absolutely empathize.

So here I sit as Halloween approaches: in a new homestead, watching Ghostbusters, enjoying a cocktail and tossing a crinkle ball for Otis as he paws at my leg to let me know he’s retrieved it from the last throw. Outside it’s crisp and lovely, finally feeling like autumn. And as a typical basic girl–who liked autumn before it was hip–I’m soaking up every bit of it. My new apartment is decorated to the brim with pumpkins, fall sayings, autumn leaves, some more pumpkins… it’s definitely my time!

One of the things I’ve been doing recently is working more on my watercolors and pointed pen calligraphy and a few months ago–read: like a year–I started getting The Inky Box, which is a monthly lettering and calligraphy goodies subscription box. Last month, in order to save some money I got The Inky Box mini which, included a new dip-pen and some new Pentel Brush Pens! And to my surprise, this months box was all watercolor joy! Seriously, I cried… that’s how excited I was to get it.

Here, I’ll tell you why…

If you’ve never gotten an Inky Box before, I have to start off with:

1. WHY?

2. Seriously why?

Ok, kidding aside, I love this particular box over other artist subscription boxes because The Inky Hand (aka my calligrafriend and fellow lefty Sarah) includes a wide variety of tools that provide a great resource for newbies especially. Not only that, but she includes fellow artists to contribute to share with others!

Like I said, this month was a watercolor theme and I was excited to pull these goodies out of my box. I hadn’t tried the Faber-Castell watercolor pencils, but can’t wait to dig into these. I love their brush pens, so I know these are quality. This months box also included a Princeton #3 Round Brush and (OMG) Strathmore Watercolor Cards!

Side Note: I used to live down the street from the Strathmore Arts Center in Bethesda, MD and so any time I hear this name I get all warm and fuzzy inside. Despite this, I NEVER actually went to a performance while I lived there for almost two years… it is despicable, I know.

Right now I’m participating in a mail exchange, hosted by the fabulous podcast “How to Fail!” (not to be confused with the How to Fail with the British lady, she started hers after Kristin and Tina). The “Fail Mail Exchange” brings together folks from all over the world to share some inspiring words and fall themes! It’s been a blast and I can’t wait to use these watercolor cards for my last one! (Will share in another post).

Here’s where things got soppy. I pulled out the Kuretake (note I TOTALLY spelled this wrong on my image… dwerp) Gem Color watercolor pan, I laughed because I had put them on my wishlist just the day before because the gold watercolors by Kuretake are GORGEOUS. (Seriously, go buy them.) I then pulled the Koi watercolor tube out in one of my favorite nail colors of which, I can’t wait to use.

THEN, came the Ecoline. Ok, I have a confession to make: I do not have any Ecoline Liquid Watercolors, but I PINE for them. I watch so many on Instagram make gorgeous pieces with these and I always immediately go to Amazon and browse the jars, petting my screen in the process while one single tear drips down my cheek. To be honest, I’m not sure why I never bought any… ok the price is a little steep to spend on one set of these and I just cant pull the trigger so to speak. So when I pulled this out I literally cried. AND it’s in my favorite color. Now, I am the proud owner of a jar of Ecoline and I’m pretty sure this is the gateway to the whole damn collection.

Last, but certainly NOT least, is the gorgeous cards that are included! Each month they go along with a theme and this month’s features two amazing artists: Jessie Arnold (@ms.arnoldsartroom) and Shauna Panczyszyn (@shaunaparmesan).

Remember how I mentioned how awesome this box is for beginners? Included in each box (no mater the size) are downloadable practice sheets to practice your brush lettering!

I broke out one of my Pentels that I received from my Inky Mini and played around with the watercolor. SO lovely, I’m already obsessed with this. I played around with dipping my Ecoline pens into it, this pink (#350) with the turquoise (#522 pen) is INSANE. Definitely will be using this combo in the future!

If you’re interested in checking these out for yourself, go The Inky Box* and sign up for November! And if you’re already a fan of these boxes, show me what you’ve made with the items!

Who knows, maybe you’ll be lucky enough to get one of your own in December? *wink*

Can’t wait to show you my fail mail!

Till next time,

Heather