10/29/2024

Canson Montval 300gsm/140lb Cold-Pressed Watercolour-Paper Wired Pad (20 sheets, 5.5x8.5in)

I love Canson watercolour paper pads as they're always very decent quality, affordable and perfect to use as sketchbooks. I've been using this pad often, and the paper quality is good  for mixed media, which is what I bought it for. I haven't used it with watercolours yet; mostly with acrylics paint, acrylic inks, crayons, pens, Posca ad Pitt Pen markers and it stands most things beautifully even without previous gesso priming. I love the pages micro-perforation as it allows me to use them as stand-alone sheets, or keep them  as a pad.
 
On the flip side, this Montval series is more like a student pad, so worse paper quality than other Canson pads I own and also re the quality of the front and back covers, which is quite bad. Besides, the paper doesn't handle rubbing well, and sometimes the paper sands off if not primed. That being the case, now I gesso the pages that I intend to rub or scratch. I would not use this pad paper for professional purposes.

For the rest a good affordable study or student watercolour pad with decent quality paper.

Maydahui Canvas Pencil Roll Wrap (Vintage Plate Number,48Slots)

I bought the medium-size pencil wrap just to store some stand-alone pencils and markers. The canvas quality is stupendous, sturdy, and better than another one I own. The printed design is cool and vibrant and very good quality printing; I would say that the motif is genderless. The wrap rolls well despite the canvas thickness and it can be stored vertically. I love this sort of wraps as they really protect the pencils tips, can be stored vertically, something I usually do to maximize storage space, and it it's perfect for travelling as the wrap adds minimum weight to the pencils. Good value for money.

10/26/2024

Double D Sugar-Free Choco Drops 70 g

These lollies are really nice, and taste similar to what a sugar lolly would taste. However, the taste is not really chocolaty or does not remind me of chocolate either except for the colour. It reminds me more of the sugar-free version of Werthers Original flavour. The sweetener use in this candy is laxative, so there is a limit to the number of these I consume in a day. For the rest nice lollies.

Uni- Ball Signo 1mm Gel Pen -- Silver (UM153.26)

This is my preferred silver marker among the ones I own. I don't lime most of my acrylic silver markers. However, this one won me over for many reasons. The metallic silver colour is really noticeable and the colour it should be, not too dark not too clear, just a beautiful silver tone. Also, the ink flows effortlessly and cleanly. The marker draws crisp neat lines,  which makes it perfect for highlights or accents on any acrylic paint if the pieces are dry; Otherwise, it would smudge and the nib would get ruined. The marker is made of good quality material and the to cap fastens well.Well priced, too.

Ain't sure about the pigment lightfastness  but the information I've  found online seems to indicate that is more so than other types of markers. It is not a waterproof marker I would say but it gets fixed using a fixative once it has completely dried.

BIC Velocity Mechanical Pencil with Eraser, medium 0.7 mm (2-Pack & Refills)

This is such a great value-for-money set.  The two colours pen-looking mechanical pencils came in two gorgeous colours. They hold medium-thickness lead (7m), something I love as it's allows for very smooth and velvety writing. The pack comes with a refillable leads tub and a replacement erasers tube so these are kept tidy and safe. The pencils are very plastic looking but also very light. Nothing I would use to impress anyone, but just what I needed.

Natural Chip Co Sea Salt Potato Chips 175 g

Very nice brand of chips. Just chips and salt, nothing else added. They are crunchy but not as crunchy as other brands. I don't like chips that are too salty, but, to me, these reduced-salt is a bit too reduced. For me, they would have needed of a tiny bit of more salt to be tastier. For the rest, lovely chips.   

Maxwell & Williams Teas & C's Dahlia Daze Sky-Blue Creamer (230 ml)

This jug is part of the Dahlia Daze blue background porcelain tea set. The whole collection is gorgeous and very arty, like a materialised watercolour in your hands. The set pieces are sold individually.
 
This jug is one of my fav pieces. It's not just the beauty of it as it looks like a hand-painted watercolour. It is also that it is very practical for me, something I use almost every day. I love having small milk jugs or creamers beside my tea pot or coffee pot. The piece comes is a gorgeously designed beautiful good-quality box, perfect for gifting. 
 
The main downside is that, unlike most of Maxwell & Williams porcelain products, this one is not dishwasher or microwave safe, the latter I guess because of the gilded motifs. I love hand-washing, and that's not a problem, but not being microwave safe it's just annoying because it forces me to warm the milk in another container and then pour it into this. Just senseless.