Craft Loot, Hooray!

One of the first things that I did when I arrived in the U.S. is get myself more calligraphy and crafting tools. While the handcrafting movement in Manila is starting to grow thanks to her, her, her, and her, the tools needed to get into the movement isn't as available as we would've liked. 

I took advantage of this onshore assignment in buying stuff that I wanted to buy but couldn't find in Manila. The first thing that I had intended to buy was a Speedball Linoleum Cutter. I have the woodcutter version which I was able to buy at National Bookstore for 150 pesos. It was a decent set, but when I tried out Mansy's Speedball cutter during our Crafternoon Session, there was a huge difference specially when I wanted to carve out finer details on my stamp. 

I got some Hunt 99s and 101s as well as Windsor and Newton Calligraphy inks from my uncle when they visited Manila. I hoarded on nibs coz I know they're not sold in Manila except in Scribe Writing Essentials in Eastwood. I wanted to try more nibs, I also ordered Esterbrooks and Nikko Gs from Paper Ink Arts! 

Here's a couple of things that I came up with using my crafting purchases:

Flower stamps that I made using my Speedball cutter. The stamp ink brand is Inkadinkado. Weather is quite dreary these days so I made this. I can't wait for spring!

A patterned stamp that I did while experimenting on my Inkadinkado stamp colors. 

The best thing about it is that I get to only use my per diem for my purchases, and shipping is free when you buy a certain number of products and reach a certain amount. Work has been taking up too much of my time this past month, but with things stabilizing in my I.T. life, I have more time to work on my calligraphy and watercolor. I guess wherever I go, even if I am miles away from home, I will always end up doing something creative.