Artline Monday - World Meditation Day

Tomorrow is World Meditation Day, a time to focus on yourself and your wellbeing.  I have been thinking about ways I can unwind recently so when I discovered this day it felt a little serendipitous!  I am definitely going to give it a go tomorrow and if it helps me it might become part of my daily routine!

World meditation day - created with Artline pens

The best way to celebrate this day is by making an effort to relax and clear your mind, whether that is by finding a quiet spot and sitting there while you try to calm the thoughts whizzing around your brain or by doing some yoga or other physical activity that helps you find peace.

If you can, take some time tomorrow and find a place where you feel at ease and relaxed.  This could be outside in your garden or somewhere with a nice view or you could sit in your lounge or lay on your bed.  Then get into a comfortable position, close your eyes and focus on your breathing, slow your breathing right down, inhale for 7 seconds, hold it for 5 seconds and then exhale for 7 seconds.  Try to let go of all your thoughts and clear your mind.  Even if you don't master the art of mediation straight away you should feel more relaxed and less tense after you have spent some quiet time focusing on yourself and your breathing. 


Do you already meditate or are you thinking about giving it a go?  I'd love to know!

Artline Monday - Birthday tracker for your bullet journal

It feels like it has been a while since we have done any kind of bullet journal spread so I thought I'd show you a nice and easy birthday tracker today.

Birthday tracker

I know you can add birthdays to your monthly log but if you have a place to record all the birthdays together it is easier to plan ahead for buying cards, presents and arranging celebrations too.

I started off by writing "birthdays" across two pages of my bullet journal with a Supreme brush marker, in magenta if you are trying to place the colour, and then drew six boxes with pink and magenta Artline 200 fineliners.  I halved the boxes so I had space for all twelve months and the wrote the first three letters of each month at the top of these sections.

To make things look a little more interesting I added backgrounds to the boxes by drawing a second shape behind them, either a little bit higher than the first box or a little lower and then drew diagonal stripes across them.

I also doodled a little banner on the right hand page and wrote "celebrate" inside it and then added a flora sticker in a small space I had left over.  

Now all that is left to do is for me to fill in the birthdays of all my friends and family!

I have written quite a few bullet journal posts over the last two years, including how to set up your own journal if you wanted to get started.  You can find all my previous post here if you are looking for some more inspiration.

Thanks for stopping by!

Send a letter day with Artline

Today is the last day of National Stationery Week, it's send a letter day and the Sunday before a Bank Holiday, how perfect!  

If you've been here before you might know that I love to decorate the envelopes of any cards or letters I send so they cheer someone up before they have even opened them.  I had an idea about a vintage style letter and envelope the other week so I thought I would give it a go and show you how to make your own.

Writing paper, envelope and Artline pens

You will need:

• Writing paper and an envelope
• A used tea bag
• A little bit of coffee
• Artline Supreme brush markers in brown or dark brown
• Artline fineliners in brown and dark brown

Ageing the envelope

I started by adding some colour to my white envelope with a cooled, used tea bag.  Make sure you squeeze out most of the excess water before you start as you don't want to soak the paper!

You can cover the whole envelope in tea or just sections of it, get started and see how you like it.

Adding teacup stains

The next thing I did was add a splash of hot water to a teaspoon of instant coffee powder and stirred it.  Then I dipped the bottom of my teacup into the super strong coffee mix and added some ring stains to a couple of corners on the envelope.

Distressed with stains and splashes

I also added a few splashes with the coffee and then I dried the whole thing out with my hairdryer.  I could have left it to dry on it's own but I was eager to continue!

Adding some doodles

Once the envelope was dry I doodled a little birdcage in one of the corners with my brown fineliner. 

Drawing a butterfly

Next I added a butterfly in the top left corner.  I used a dark brown fineliner for this as I think pairing two different shades looks more interesting that doing it all in the same colour.  I also drew an old fashion style key on the flap of the envelope.

Addressing my letter

I addressed the envelope with my Supreme brush marker and then use a sticker that looked like a vintage stamp.  I placed it next to the spot where I will add my real postage stamp so I wont need to hand deliver it.

My writing paper has vintage style Alice in Wonderland illustrations on it so I think it already goes well with my newly decorated envelope but if your paper is just plain white then you could repeat the process to make a matching stationery set!

Now I am ready to start writing my letter, I'm going to sit down with a nice cup of coffee and drink it this time instead of using it as part of my craft!

Will you be sending anyone a letter today?

World Stationery Day with Artline

Happy World Stationery Day!  I think today is always my favourite day of National Stationery Week because absolutely anyone, anywhere in the world can join in with the celebrations!  If you are looking for ways to join in with the fun today you can try some of these ideas!

Ways to celebrate World Stationery Day - created with Artline pens

Send a letter

You could send a letter or card to a friend today or write a love note or message for someone special to find!

Write in your journal

Don't have a journal?  Start one today!  Already use a journal?  Great!  Spend some time recording your thoughts and feelings!

Make a wishlist

What shiny new stationery do you need (or want!)?  Make a list of all the things you have been dreaming about!  Also check out all the new Artline products here!

Get creative

Break out your paints and brushes, find your colouring books and pens, grab your sketchbook and pencils, today is the day to do something you love!

Treat yourself

Buy something off your wishlist!  There can't be a better time than World Stationery Day to treat yourself to some lovely new bit and pieces!

Share your favourites online

Get online today and tell people about your favourite pens, pencils & paper etc!  Use the hashtags #worldstationeryday, #natstatweek, #nationalstationeryweek, #stationerylove and #stationeryaddict to find other stationery fans to talk to.  You might discover something new to add to your wishlist and you could inspire someone else to try one of your favourites!

I hope you have a great day and enjoy the rest of National Stationery Week!

Artline Monday - Roald Dahl Day 2018

Ever since I was a child I have absolutely loved Roald Dahl's books so I couldn't let Roald Dahl Day go by without doing something special to mark the occasion!  It falls on his birthday, the 13th September and it is a day to celebrate the wonderful characters and worlds he created and the love of reading he inspired and is still inspiring in generation after generation of children.     

There are so many great Roald Dahl books that is hard for me to choose a favourite but I have always loved this quote from The Twits so I thought it would be nice to write it in my notebook using my fineliners and Artline Supreme brush markers as a little reminder to be kind and have good thoughts.

Roald Dahl quote with Artline Supreme brush markers

Mixing different styles of lettering, pens and colours creates an interesting look and adding extra outlines, swirls and spots shakes things up a little too! 

Okay, now let's move on to the craft project I have for you today, we are making dream jars from the BFG!  If you remember the BFG is a big, friendly giant who makes nice dreams for children by mixing good things together, capturing them in a jar and then blowing them into the ears of sleeping children using his special dream blower.  These jars will also make a sweet nightlight for little ones who are afraid of the dark as well as being fun to make! 

You will need:

• a glass jar - storage, mason or an empty jam/pickle jar
• Artline poster and/or paint markers
• stickers for decoration
• LED tealights
• Glitter glue or glitter paint (optional)

Supplies

In the book the dreams look like little colourful clouds and when they are caught in the jars they shimmer and shine which is why I added the LED tealights to mine to make them look extra magical but before we get to that part we have to decorate the outside of our jars.

Adding colour with my poster marker

You can decide with your children what kind of colours and design they would like on their jar, I started by painting the bottom of mine with one of the poster markers and then added some big, glittery flower stickers.  

Embellishing around the stickers

The base dried very quickly and then I used more poster and paint markers to create a whimsical pattern around the jar.  Both sets of pens work really well on glass and will stay in place once they are dry.

Drawing flowers

When my pattern was finished I wanted my jar to look more cloudy and less see through so I painted the inside of the glass with gold glitter paint (but you can use glitter glue if you like) and then left it dry.  

Pink and flowery dream

The last step was to turn on the LED tealight, pop it inside the jar and put the lid on.  Because the tealight is so small and battery operated the jar will not get hot whilst the light is on so it is safe to use overnight.

For my second jar I decided to deviate from the description in the book and I drew a woodland scene instead.  Again I used the poster markers to decorate the jar and this time I added some cute animal stickers too.

Creating a scene 

I think it looks like a perfectly nice dream to have!  

Woodland dream

Here are my finished dream jars, I can't wait to see how they look tonight in a darkened room with the lights flickering inside them!

My dream jars

I shot this short video of the jars with the lights on so you can see how they look when they are finished and lit up.

 

Please let me know if you have a go at making your own dream jars, I'd love to hear how you got on!  Also if you are on Facebook or Twitter tell us how you will be celebrating Roald Dahl day, you can find Artline here and here and I'm @Shes_Eclectic.

Thanks for stopping by!

Pen and Pencil Day - a plethora of pens!

Yes!  It's finally National Stationery Week!  I'm so excited, I can't wait to get online and celebrate my love of all things stationery!  Make sure you are following the National Stationery Week Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts so you don't miss out on any of the fun and if you aren't already following me you can find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram too!

Today is Pen and Pencil day so I want to show you some of the pens that I was given by Small Man Media.  They sent me a lovely parcel of stationery to use during NatStatWeek which included lots of fab new pens, an Nu Elite notebook and some fun bits and pieces from Mustard, including the cute doggie page marker you can see poking out from the top of my notebook.

Pen and Pencil Day

Whenever I get new pens I like to try them out to see how well they write and what the ink colours are like so I cracked open the notebook and got to work testing them all.  I didn't just want to write my name or hello over and over again to try the pens so I thought it would be fun to do a kind of Bullet Journal spread with them.

Sheaffer pen test

On the first page I used a Stabilo pastel highlighter to write Pen and pencil day and then went over the top of it with a black PointMax felt tip writing pen (also by Stabilo).  Then I was ready to try out the pens!  The first two I tested were both Sheaffer 100s, I have a ballpoint and a rollerball in this model.  The ballpoint is a stylish black and chrome pen that is well balanced and a pleasure to write with.  The ink flows freely and I found the pen comfortable to hold.  The ballpoint has a twist action to draw down the tip which means I wont lose the lid while I am using it, that is always a plus point for me!

The rollerball pen is red and chrome and looks very similar to the ballpoint, but they are the same model just with different inks so that is to be expected.  The rollerball does have a separate pen lid though to stop it from drying out and it feels slightly heavier than the ballpoint to me.  It is still a comfortable pen to write with though.  The rollerball ink did skip a little while I was using it but I think that was my fault for not scribbling enough with it first to get the ink flowing.  You can see both pens in the photo below along with the Stabilo PointMax.  

Stabilo and Edding pen tests

On the next page I used lots of Stabilo pens, the pastel highlighters are a particular new favourite of mine.  The Sensor fineliners are nice and bright and they have a patented micro-cushion tip making them a precise pen to write and draw with.  The last set of Stabilo pens I tried were the Pointmax, these pens have a nylon tip and look like felt tip colouring pens when you take the lids off them but they are actually really nice to write with!  The 0.8mm tip is a good size, it's not too big or too small and the pens are available in a variety of colours.

Pens, pens, pens

I also received some Edding pens, their metallic colours in silver and gold caught my eye so I tried those out first.  The silver 1200 metallic is a fibrepen that is perfect for writing on dark coloured paper and the vibrant ink dries quickly reducing the chance of smudges.  The gold 751 creative is a gloss paint marker which is actually made for writing on smooth surfaces like glass and once applied it is water, abrasion, light and heat resistant.  I can't wait to get crafting with these two pens soon!  There was also a pink gel roller pen I thought looked rather nice so I tested that too.  It has a comfortable rubber grip giving you greater control when you use it and the ink was really bright and fun.

Okay, so I think we have covered the pen part of Pen and Pencil Day quite well, what about the pencils I hear you ask!  Well keep an eye out for my second post later today where I will be introducing you to Write Size pencils!

Thanks for stopping by!

*Disclaimer - all products mentioned in this post were given to me free of charge by Small Man Media for the purpose of National Stationery Week.  I was not paid to write this post and as always all opinions are honest and my own.

Hand Made Day - Staedtler Triplus Fineliner review & giveaway *Now closed & the winner is announced in the comments*

Hello!  I was a little stumped over what to do for today's hand made theme so in the end I decided to talk about these Staedtler Triplus Fineliners because, well, I use them when I am colouring in (with my hand!) so whatever I do with them becomes hand made.  That works doesn't it?  Yes?  Ok, lets carry on then! 

Staedtler Triplus Fineliners

The Triplus Fineliners are brilliant for colouring in an adult colouring book because they have a 0.3mm tip.  This makes them perfect for small, intricate designs and patterns which can be difficult to fill in with a pencil crayon.  Also colouring with the fineliners gives you a much brighter look than when you use pencil crayons, the whole image jumps off the page because it is so vibrant!

Vibrant colours

Staedtler's fineliners have an ergonomic triangular shaped body so they are comfortable to use over a long period of time and it makes them easier to grip.  The case they come in also converts into a handy stand so you can get the pens out quickly and simply in one smooth move.

Triplus Fineliner pen test

The fineliners aren't just for colouring either, they make a nice writing pen too!  I love using coloured pens in my planner to make things stand out on the page and these do the job nicely!

The prize

If you would like to win this four pack of Triplus fineliners then tell me which birthday Staedtler UK is currently celebrating (hint, you can find the answer on their Facebook page).  Here are the rules:

• Tell me which birthday Staedtler UK is currently celebrating.
• I will number the comments with the correct answer and use random.org to pick a winner.
• This giveaway is open internationally. 
• The giveaway ends at 12pm UK time on the 9th May 2016.
• I will announce the winner on this post on the 10th May 2016.
• This is the only prize (for today) - there is no cash alternative. 
• If the winner doesn't contact me within 72 hours of my announcing the winning entry, I will have to draw a new name.
• If you are under 18 years of age please ask your parent's permission before entering the giveaway.

Good luck!