- Ellie Taylor
Scrawlrbox Review for December 2016
So I will admit it! I love to watch unboxing videos on YouTube and some of my favorites are the art box subscriptions. I really like the Scrawlrbox and I decided to try it out! I received the December box and I thought I'd share my impressions. If you would like to try some of these supplies for yourself, I have included my Amazon Affiliate links to some of these products in this post.
This is what you see when you open the box. Lots of goodies!
This month's theme was about calligraphy. I am not very good at it, but it's kind of fun to try occasionally.
The first items were three Artline Stix Brush Pens. The colors I got were pink, blue, and black.
The nibs on these pens were a soft brush tip. These pens are water based and they can make thin and thick marks. The unique thing about these pens is the Lego like connectors on them. You can connect the pens together and make double lines. You can buy these at Amazon in a group of 16.
This is an Artline Stix Colouring Marker. I got a grey color.
The nib on this marker is a bullet nib. It is not very soft so this marker has a more consistent line width. This pen also has connectors on it so you can make double lines with this kind too. I couldn't find this kind of marker anywhere online except on Etsy. Here is their website http://artlinestix.com.au/our-range/
Apparently these markers are great fun for kids. They even make little toys to stick on these pens!
These are Ecoline Brush Pens. I got a pink one and an aqua one. These pens have watercolor inks and are water soluble.
These have a nice soft brush nib and are even softer than the Artline Stix Pens. You can add water to your drawing and create nice washes with these pens. You can buy these at Amazon individually or in packs of five or ten. If you want to buy these individually it is more economical to buy them at dickblick.com.
The next item was the Edding 1200 Metallic Colourpen. I received the gold colored pen.
This pen has a bullet nib and is fairly stiff. The ink is waterproof and has a nice shimmer. It would look nice on a black or dark colored paper. You can find these types of pens in sets on Amazon. The set listed below is just their regular pens, but they do have a metallic set available from a third party vendor. There are also some UK sites that carry these pens. One is called cultpens.com and here is the main Edding website http://www.edding.com/creating-and-decorating/products/fibrepens-and-fineliner/edding-1200-metallic-colourpen/
The final pen in this box was the Crayola Broad Tip Marker. I remember using these when I was a kid. In this box I got a green colored one.
The nib on this marker is broad and apparently calligraphers like to use it for broad and thin strokes. Of course these markers are easy to find. They can be found on Amazon, at Walmart, Michaels, and tons of other stores. They are great for quick color sketches too.
Lastly, there was a piece of candy. This was a whistle with some candy on it. The candy was from the UK and it tasted a lot like the Kool-aid pouches with sugar sticks that I really liked as a kid.
Scrawlrbox also included some lined paper to practice calligraphy on, a short lesson on calligraphy, and a postcard with information about the featured artist of the month. The featured artist of the month was Emma, who is the founder and creative director of Black Chalk Creative. Emma teaches how to make beautiful handlettering. Check out her website at www.blackchalkco.com. Also, in the box was the information card and a Scrawlrbox sticker.
So there it is, December's Scrawlrbox for 2016. I really enjoyed getting this box and it had several art supplies in it that are not readily available in the United States. That is a major strong point of this box for me because I get to try unique art supplies that I wouldn't have access to normally. Scrawlrbox costs £15 with free shipping for UK residents. Customers outside the UK pay shipping costs. I live in the United States and the total cost for me was about $25 per month. This price is about what other art boxes cost so it is a good value. Check them out at http://scrawlrbox.uk/
Doodlin' Time!
I just had to start playing with all these new toys so I made a lot of marks and little doodles. The Artline Stix Brush Pens were fun for making thick and thin marks and I found that they were water soluble. The Ecoline Brush Pens are very nice watercolor pens and they made a really smooth wash. The Artline Stix Colouring Marker is also water soluble. The Edding 1200 Metallic Colourpen made very nice lines and it is waterproof. The Crayola Broad Tip Marker is also water soluble.
The Scrawlr challenge is always on the back of the information card. This month's challenge was 'Brush' so I doodled a little paintbrush using all the pens. I added water to smooth out the paint and got a nice watercolor look. I used some Canson Marker Paper to test these supplies.