Jane Davenport Butterfly Effect Books - Travelers Notebook Review

Jane Davenport and American Crafts partnered to create this beautiful collection of Jane Davenport Butterfly Effect Books (which are similar to travelers notebooks) in there different canvas style prints and one plain cover book.  If you have spent any time on my blog, then you know I love travelers notebooks because they are so versatile when I am on the move. 

I can insert a calendar and have my schedule available at a glance.  I usually have one with me that has watercolor inserts because I never know when I might be inspired to doodle or paint.  I like the fact that Jane Davenport offers such a delightful collection of covers in a man made material.  These books make great gifts for my vegan friends who are not fond of the leather ones that I have in my own collection.        

Anyway, the Jane Davenport Butterfly Effect travelers style notebook can hold a Midori Insert and most other standard inserts. However, Michael's does carry a varied assortment of these type of inserts to meet a variety of needs.  Jane Davenport and American Crafts also offer some inserts for these travelers notebooks.  They are the JDMM Marker Paper Inserts which are a smooth paper and perfect for using with markers.  They also have the JDMM Watercolor Paper Inserts which are very nice for watercolors and markers.  What I like about these insert papers is that they are not bound.  You just slip them through the elastic to hold them and then you can easily remove them later.   

Book Details:

Each book measures approximately 8 3/4" x 10"   opened flat.  Folded it measures 8.3/4" 

by 5" folded 

(I used a metal measuring tape so it might be a little different from a standard measuring stick). Each book has a plain fabric interior with no pockets.  If you are using it as an art journal it will get dirty.  

Each Book comes with one 12" elastic that is woven into the book to hold 2 or more inserts. The line also has available additional sets of elastic available for purchase.

By using some elastic to connect two books together and just utilize the elastic already in the book, I was able to stuff a lot into the book 

and still have it close well.

Elastic with Charm Set Details:
The Jane Davenport Butterfly Effects Notebook (or Travelers Notebook) line offers two different charm and elastic sets.  Each set comes with one charm and three colors of elastic.  The set above comes with the girl charm and a red, green and blue elastic.  The other set is a female genie charm that comes with a pink, purple and turquoise elastic.

Pocket Pages Details:

The Jane Davenport Butterfly Effects books do not have any inner or outer pockets.  However, Jane Davenport does offer a JD MM Butterfly Effect Book Pocket Kit which offers four different plastic pockets.  The plastic pocket folders are 8"x 8" opened flat and fold to 4" x 8".

The colors of the pocket folders are yellow, pink, blue, purple. Each folder has a different print that works well with the color of the plastic pocket folder.  

These folders are perfect for holding the refill insert pages, since the pockets are located on the outside of the plastic folder instead of the interior.  You can also slide the plastic stencil into these folders and then add the refill paper inserts.  They are sized big enough to hold some paint brushes or pens.  I found them perfectly sized to hold the Jane Davenport stickers sets that I purchased at Michael's.  

Jane Davenport Butterfly Effect Book Stencil and Washi Holder:
Additionally, the Jane Davenport Mixed Media Line of products for the Jane Davenport Butterfly Effects book also has some really cool stencils and Washi Paper holders.

These are created to work well in both the Jane Davenport Butterfly Effect Books and her new line of Art Journals.

If you want to read my review of the Jane Davenport watercolors, Gel Mediums, Jane Davenport Acrylic Paint Sets, or the Jane Davenport Mermaid Markers, just click on the name or use the search engine provided on this page.


NOTE: I do not work for Michael's, American Crafts or Jane Davenport.  I purchased all the above items with my own money at Michael's.  I am not affiliated with any of the above companies, either.
My opinions are my own, and may vary from others who use and review the same products.

JoAnn's Blue Moon Bead Grab Bag Contents

I really enjoy visiting the Joann's store in Irvine (California) and searching for their cool deals like the above Bead Grab Bag.  Each bag has 12 items in it that can be used for beading, bracelet making and pendant making.  The bags retail at $10 but Joann's often has sales on jewelry making supplies and those discounts often apply to their grab bags.  I purchased two of the Blue Moon Bead Grab Bags and they were on sale for around $7 each.  Since the packaging is clear, I was able to sort through all the bags and pick two that I felt would be the most applicable to the projects I was planing.

The first grab bag was mostly filled with items for making necklaces and bracelets.  In the photo above, you can see the cool selection of chains and Polyester Cording that this particular bag held. I like using the pollster cording for hanging focal pendants.  The colors are so pretty but the material is strong enough to hold a heavy pendant. I got sets in this bag which is fabulous.

The bag also had a great assortment of chains which I will use to make necklaces and for hanging planner charms off my various planners.  This bag had two packages of the dark metallic chain, 1 silver chain and 1 gold chain.    The silver chain is actually a bracelet and I am giving that one to my daughter who wanted for a project she is planning on making.

The gold chain is also a bracelet and will work well for hanging some new planner charms on my planner.  Below you can see how I cut apart a silver chain to make a long hanging chain for the beads and charms for my Prima Planner.

Additionally, this same package had these three necklace kits that included

the snap closures so I could cut them to whatever size I want them to be. Plus, I can use the extra closures for other projects.

The last item in this bag is this 6.5 inch bracelet extender/connector.  I am not sure what I will make with this but the chain is pretty strong which makes it versatile for a number of potential projects.

The second grab bag was full of pendants.  Again each bag comes with 12 items in them which if you look at this selection is an amazing deal.

When you see these spread out you can really appreciate the fun shapes and colors that I got in this bag.

I chose the second grab bag for this beautiful hummingbird nest pendant that the grab bag had in it.

The next two pendants were from their Amulet collection. These are pretty fun. I especially liked the owl pendant.

The packaging also described the meaning behind the pendants.

Here are some of the other pendants that were in the grab bag.

And these particular focal bead is great for using with the polyester cording I got in the other bag.

The selection of craft supplies at this particular Joann's is excellent.  Additionally, the Irvine Joann's store is well organized and they have a knowledgeable and helpful staff there.  I have one closer to my home but it is not as big and therefore has a significantly smaller selection of product to choose from.  Although if you want a really great selection of products to choose from just check out their website.  I think if you sign up for their mailing list, you get coupons that can be used at the store and online each week.  Which can be helpful if you are trying to purchase some of their higher priced items.

If your Joann store is sold out of these grab bags then keep an eye on Tuesday Morning stores. I have seen them show up on their shelves too.

Note: I do not sell beads or anything else.  Additionally, I do not work for the Joann stores nor for Blue Moon Beads.  I paid for these grab bags myself.  Thanks for stopping by.

Boxy Charm Monthly Box - April 2017 Unboxing

Boxy Charm provides me with a monthly selection of full size beauty products from a variety of companies that provide me with a really good value for my monthly investment of $21.  Monthly Beauty boxes are really popular right and most of them come with various sized products samples. If you do a google search you can find one to fit almost every budget and type of product line.  I have purchased Korean Beauty Products boxes, Ipsy, Birchbox, Sephora Play and others. While I really enjoy the product selection in my Sephora Play monthly subscription box, I find that my current favorite is Boxy Charm.  I have been subscribed to it for a year and have yet to be disappointed in a box. Granted there have been months where I received products that were not quite right for me, my daughters have loved getting the items that did not suit me.

Each month, Boxy Charm sends me 5 to 6 full size items to try.  One of the reasons that I enjoy the Boxy Charm monthly subscription box is that they provide a range of products that vary so much from month to month.  They can vary from eyeshadow to lipsticks to hair shampoo.  I have also received several boxes that have included some interesting pallets from a variety of companies. Each box also includes a card that gives a brief description of each product, the retail value of the product and links to the manufacturers website.  This makes it so easy to look up a particular product when I want to repurchase it.

The first item in the April 2017 Boxy Charm Monthly Subscription box is a concealer palette from Measurable Difference.  The Measurable Difference Concealer palette retails at $19.99 and has 16 different shades of concealer in it. This is great for my daughter who is taking a makeup class and needed a palette that could be used for a variety of skin shades.

The texture of the concealer is creamy and easy to apply.

I also liked that they concealer palette did not have any weird scents (I have purchased some in the past that have a heavy perfume scene that made it hard to use a palette).

The second item that came in the Boxy Charm Monthly Subscription box is a 3 piece set of contour blending sponges by PUR.  The retail value of this set is $36.00.  I have several items from the PUR line of products so I am familiar with the quality of their products. Plus,  I can never have too many blending sponges so this set alone is worth the price of the box.

The third item in the Boxy Charm April 2017 Monthly Subscription Box is the Rodeo Drive Highlighter by OFRA Cosmetics.  The Rodeo Drive Highlighter is beautiful.  It is a really light powder that goes on smoothly.  I swatch it on my arm and  you can barely see it in the shade.  The highlighting effect is there but it is very subtle.  And as you can see it is also very pigments, since it covers the green vein you can see on my arm.

The Ofra Cosmetics highlighter can also be layered for more of an effect. However, if you are going to be photographed using a flash, then use only a light dusting of this product.  When I put my arm in the full sun, I could really see how well the highlight worked.

I was really impressed with how shimmery the product is and how easy it glided onto my skin.

The fourth item in my box was a lip gloss by Cargo Cosmetics in the color Umbria.  It retails for $16 on their website.   This lipgloss is supposed to have a high shine that delivers an intense long lasting color.  It is also not supposed to be sticky.  Unfortunately, I do not look good in browns so I chose to not open it.  While the color did not work for me, I easily found someone who was very excited to have the product and it looked great on her.

The fifth product in my box was from Hairgurt By Project Beauty. This is a yogurt shampoo that is supposed to be smoothing and moisturizing for the hair.  The Hairgurt Yogurt Shampoo retails for $10.  I was really impressed with the ingredients of this shampoo.  It has botanical oils, Keratin, nuts, and yogurt.  The product is sulfate, and paraben free.  The scent I got was Banana.  It smells so good. Additionally, I was impressed that the shampoo actually had a metal seal.  This keeps the product fresh.  I liked how well it cleaned my hair.  The same brand also has hair masks on their site that look pretty interesting.

I think I get a lot of value in my boxes.  The selection this month was really good.  Even though I did not like the color of the lip gloss, I still feel that the other items in the box were great.  I also get the Sephora Play box. If you would like to read my review of what came in the April box, just click on this link.

Note: I paid for this box and I am not affiliated with Boxy Charm, however I do have a link that earns me points.  So far I have not earned enough to cash it in for anything but I will let you know if I do and how that process went.

Plaid Paint Products Unboxing & Review

Plaid Enterprises recently sent me some of their paint products to sample the include some bottles from 2017 new product line. I was thrilled to receive a boxful of Plaid Enterprises Paint Products in the mail to unbox and Review.  There is an excellent sampling of a variety of paint products and a portable loom kit.

The first item in the box is the new FolkArt Stencil Sprays which were released in March 2017.  These stencil sprays come in a plastic 2 oz tube that has a spray pump on the end.

I like that it is long and skinny because I can put sprays into a jar to keep them together on the go.  Anyway, the colors I got in my box are: Bright Red (6186), Yellow (6182) and Brown (6195).  There are a total of seventeen colors in this new line.

I used a Waverly Inspirations Laser Stencil called Floral (60514E).  I find the Waverly stencils are perfect to use in my watercolor paper journal because they are a flexible plastic that lets me place them on a variety of surfaces.  Plus they are super easy to clean up after use.  I decided to test them out on a journal page to see how they worked.  These FolkArt Stencil Spray paints work great with stencils but you have to remember to hold the spray bottle at least 8 inches away if you want to get a fun splotched paint look like the one below.

If you spray closer then you can also achieve different looks just by adjusting how hard to spray and where you spray the paint.

The clean up from using these paints is pretty easy. I just wipe off the paint from the stencil with a wet paper towel.

The second set of paints in my box were 5 bottles of the Plaid Fabric Creations soft Fabric Ink in yellow (25985), Poppy (25977), Tangerine (25983), Carnation (25974), and Shamrock (25988).  The Fabric Creations Soft Fabric Inks are really pigmented inks that can be layered to achieve more opaque effects.  I wanted to test out the fabric inks that came in the box, so I used a brush to add some of the paint onto my journal page which is a cold press watercolor paper.

I set aside to dry and decided to see how well it worked with the Wavery Stencils.

I wanted the page to dry faster, so I decided to put a paper towel onto the page and I think the results are pretty cool.

The page came out great and these inks work great on the watercolor paper.

I wanted to test the fabric ink on some fabric so I grabbed an organza flower hair clip which had a bit of paint that had stained part of the flower.

As you can, the Plaid Fabric Creations Ink worked well on the organza fabric and the paint stain is a lot less noticeable.

It will be even less noticeable once I spray a bit of glitter onto it.

The third product line in my box were a set of four 2 oz bottles of the new FolkArt Pickling Wash in Driftwood (5824), Champagne; Stormy Sky (5825) and Papillon (5821).  These paints create a transparent wash of color on wood and other natural surfaces that are natural and porous (baskets, unfinished wood, straw, etc).  The instructions for use are pretty simple, just shake and paint onto the porous surface.

Allow to dry for 20 to 30 seconds (depending on how much color you want the surface to absorb) and then wipe with a soft clean cloth.

According to the bottle, it will cure within 24 hours. The FolkArt Pickling Wash were released in March 2017 and will be available at Michaels in June 2017.

The fourth product included in my box was 2 oz bottles of the FolkArt Glaze in Cafe Noir (5799) and Cream Puff (5798).  The FolkArt Glaze creates an antique finish on wood and other natural porous surfaces.

I decided to test them on the piece of wood frame that I had painted with the pickling wash (once it had cured for the 24 hours).  the Folk Art Glaze is pretty easy to use. I shook the bottle and just painted the surface with the glaze.  I used a piece of soft fabric to soak up the excess and set it aside to dry.  I found that the wood surface sucked up the glaze fairly quickly.   Once it dried it left a really nice satin finish on the piece.

The fifth product included in the box was 2 oz bottles of Leather Studio Acrylic paint for leather and vinyl.  The colors included in my box were Ruby (71435), Cobalt (71433), Yellow (71417), Metallic Pure Gold (71430) and a high gloss finish (71451).  I did not get a chance to test them out but when I switched the paint onto the watercolor paper, it was pretty pigmented.  I will post a future review and project using these paints in the future.

The last product included in the box from Plaid is a "Weave It n' Leave It" kit from Bucilla.  I am especially excited about this kit because I have always wanted to learn weaving but I did not know enough about weaving to figure out what all I needed to purchase to create anything. These kits are completely inclusive and have everything you need to create the featured project.

This kit contains:

• mini wood oval loom
• plastic needle
• 100% acrylic yarn in various colors
• 100% cotton warp string

and easy to follow instructions with great step by step photos.  I also like that they include some tips for newbies in their directions.  I will do another post in the future showing how I made the kit and the final piece.

I would like to thank Plaid Enterprises for their generosity in providing me with all this product to do some future projects and posts with.

Note: I do not work for Plaid Enterprises. These products were sent to me for my honest review and use.