Let's learn how to fold Origami Stars ☆ ☆ ☆

 ✬ Today we're going to learn how to make origami stars! ✬

For this, you'll need strips of origami paper! There are many different varieties of origami paper on the market. 

I purchased mine from Etsy & Amazon. 

 

This paper I got on Amazon. Here is a direct link to these. I like these because one side is textured so it feels nice to fold...

They glow in the dark, I like the pastel colors, and they say i love you.♡

Having different sizes of paper will make for different sizes of stars! ★

The colorful holographic paper shown in the first photo, and the elegant floral patterned paper I purchased from a seller on Esty. The paper comes from Singapore so it will take a little while to get to you, but this is the only seller I found that sells this kind of paper and at a good price. You also get enough strips to last you a lifetime! ❀❀❀❀

This is the direct link for the floral paper and this is the link to the holographic paper.

This seller offers all different sizes of paper, so you can make mini stars to really humongous stars! 

Okay! On to the step-by-step! 

You're going to begin by taking one end of a strip and folding it into a ribbon shape.

Take the end and fold it around and through the loop of the ribbon.

Take a minute at this step to ensure that the edges look aligned. I usually have to fiddle with  tightening and loosening at this stage until I get it just right to proceed. Ensuring that the top point looks crisp, and that the long strip you're holding is snug, will establish a good foundation for a nice looking star!

This is where you fold and flip and fold and flip! 

You'll find that the paper has a way of naturally guiding you to which side it will fold over next! Keep folding and flipping, all the while not being too loose, but also not folding too tight. Do not sharpen / press down on the creases or at the end it will be too tightly folded to puff out. I gently pinch each crease as I fold. You'll get the hang of it once you make a few...

As shown above, you'll fold over and fold over, till you reach a neatly folded pentagon shape. You should have a little tail of paper remaining that you will then use to secure it shut. [Note: if the tail is too short, unfold it one time to make it longer, then cut it shorter. If the tail is too long, it will peak out of the side and not look good. Simply snip the end so that it hides tucked inside.]

Using your nail to gently push into the pentagon shape will start puffing it up and revealing the star hiding inside! 

I had to make a lot of ugly ones before I figured out how to get them just right! Different kinds of paper will also affect how it folds and looks... 

Troubleshooting 

So that's it folks. I hope I was able to explain this thoroughly enough for you to learn how to create your own origami stars! Remember to have fun and not get frustrated. You'll get it! 

✫

9/25/21

 

Every time I wrote today's date I got a twinge of anxiety. What's up with that?

Anyways~  how goes it? Long time no write. 

I had (until recently) been busy with a full time job at a school, and didn't have much energy afterwards for anything else. But guess who got laid off? This girl. Something about budgeting. At first, I was upset, naturally. But soon (very soon) I realized how truly unhappy I'd become at my old job. Being let go had become a relief!

I now have time to catch up on house chores (which would usually pile up and be ignored), cook everyday, spend more time with my cats (they love it), and more time to paint! I've also taken to writing, and have already accumulated like 10 fountain pens + 9 bottles of ink. But that's for another post... 

I have good faith that better things are in store for me. After all, God always provides. When one door closes, another one opens, and all that jazz. 

ArtSkills Brush Markers

 

So for my birthday I received this dual-tipped marker set by ArtSkills. ☄

Like the name suggests, one side has a soft brush like tip, and the other a harder felt tip. The set comes with 50 different colors. If you get these from Sam's club, they cost about $15 usd, which is a steal for this many markers! I swatched each one and was very satisfied with the way both sides wrote and the vibrancy of each color.

Now when I first opened the box, I thought I had been given doubles of a lot of colors because the caps looked the same. Also, none of these markers have names written on them. There is no way of knowing exactly which hue of a color you're getting until you use it. Now, this didn't fly with me. I gotta know exactly which color i'm picking up. 

So, what did I do? 

I bought these labels. I swatched each marker on a label, and stuck it to the corresponding marker. ⤵

Now I will know exactly which color i'm picking up! ♡♡♡

I pride myself with how organized I am. Everything must have it's place. Only then can I really relax. 

So, to conclude, if you're looking for a nice set of brush markers that won't break the bank, I can definitely recommend these. I keep all my brush markers in a nice pastel bin that I found at Target awhile ago. I found keeping my supplies easily accessible helps to keep them in use more often, and helps me to stay creative! ☼

Below is a video I made opening and swatching each marker. Enjoy and take care! ❤

The Dahle 155 ❦

welcome back to my blog! ☼

Today I will be discussing my favorite pencil sharpener, the Dahle 155 professional.  

I've had this pencil sharpener for a few years now, and it has never let me down. It sharpens all sorts of pencils (even eraser pencils) to a nice, crisp point. It can be a little confusing at first if you've never used one of these before, so I made a quick little video showing how! ♥

You can also adjust the point sharpness in the back, but I just keep mine on the sharpest one.

The only negative thing that may bother some, is this thing has teeth. Not really, but it has metal clamps that really grip your pencil in place, and in doing so, create little teeth marks on your pencil:

Now I really don't mind this at all, because it only affects the pencil's 'aesthetic', but just something to be aware of! 

Now most people probably don't like their pencil sharpener as much as I do. I just love how quaint it is, how it sits idly by on my desk until needed. I just love it. So much so that i've already painted two portraits of it ↷

So yeah, that's my little review of the Dahle 155. You can buy this little guy several places online. It goes for around $24 usd, which is a small price to pay for something that will reliably sharpen your pencils like never before. Sounds like I work for them right?? I swear I don't, though!

Hope you guys enjoyed this, and let me know if you get one of your own! Take care! ☺

Opening yet another stationary package

 

Everything in this parcel came from my favorite online stationary store: www.jetpens.com  ✄

I added some random stuff to my cart to get free shipping ♡ So let's see what I got! 

Rohrer & Klingner sketchINK Thea Fountain Pen Ink

This is the main reason I placed an order. I saw Teoh Yi Chie recommend this ink on his YouTube channel. It's waterproof fountain pen ink!

I've been wanting to try my hand with a fountain pen, so I ordered the Platinum Preppy 03. It comes with a cartridge of yellow ink and a fine nib. 

If you want to add you own ink, you can purchase an ink converter.

Here's a quick video I made using the converter  ⤵

And here is a quick sketch I did to get a better look at the color ⤵

As you can see, this ink is a dark grey, with lovely brown undertones. The pen draws and writes smoothly, and is most impressive for only being $4.50! Definitely worth it if you're wanting to try fountain pens out for the first time, like I was! ✿

I needed to throw a couple more items to my cart for free shipping, so I chose these cute frog & cat stamps! ♡ 

Well that's all I got for now folks! I hope you enjoyed this post and consider widening your horizons and trying new things! Who knows what you might just fall in love with! ♡ 

Till next time!  

 

All my gouache & watercolor

So these are all the gouache & watercolor paint I own! 

I keep my tube gouache in a fancy Louis Vuitton box. 

These are the swatches I made for all the tube gouache I have. It's important to make swatches any time you get new paint so that you can look to them later for reference. I make swatches of everything. It's also important to note the brand you buy each color from, because each company produces it's own version of a color with their own pigments. So for example, Winsor & Newton's Yellow Ochre might be slightly different from the M.Graham version or Holbein. 

Something I need to mention based on my experiences with M.Graham gouache: I don't like them. Gouache paint typically has gum arabic as a binder, but they add honey. Which I didn't think anything about, until I noticed only these two colors were growing mold in my palette box. And the white I will need to replace as well, because whenever I squeeze it out of the tube it's runny and has this brownish liquid that just ends up yellowing the paint. Not something you want in white. 

These are the Holbein colors I have. Aren't they pretty? ♡ 

So all the colors in those swatches I made above are Winsor & Newton's designer gouache, except the 5 colors shown above. (Oh, and the Green Apatite Genuine is Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor. I just really liked that shade of green...)

MOVING ON~ 

This is the Himi Miya gouache set, available here

And these are color swatches I made. The set comes with two whites, and they are slightly different, but not that noticeably. The consistency of this paint is really nice and creamy! The colors are very pigmented and opaque. I removed the palette that it came with because it touches the tops of the paint and gets messy. If they dry up on you, just add a little bit of distilled water (helps prevent mold), mix them up and you're good to go. 

And last but not least, my very old Van Gogh watercolor set

And the swatches I made

This is the only watercolor set I have experience with, but I am satisfied with it. The colors are nice and pigmented. (Hard to tell my photos, I know.) I'll be getting some waterproof ink in the mail today from jetpens (only the best stationary store online), which i'll be able to enjoy coloring over with some nice washes! 

Well I hope you made it to the end of this long as heck post and maybe even learned something! Remember to make time to be creative! ❤ Take care till next time!