Art Supplies!

We got our lovely, lovely art supplies from Mercurius today. The girls were so excited. I am glad they got here today so I have some time to read up on the wet-on-wet watercolor technique we'll be using tomorrow. It's probably one of those things that will be really simple once I do it, but seems overwhelming from the descriptions. You know, like, when you are dreading something and so you keep putting it off and putting it off and then you finally have to do it and it takes two seconds and leaves you wondering why you put it off and stressed about it for such a long time? Unless it's something I think will be a breeze, because those things never are. I always say there must be some sort of cosmic inverse ratio to how difficult or easy you think something will be to how easy or difficult it actually is.

The crayons and main lesson books are very nice. I knew the crayons would be, because we've had them before. The crayons are by Stockmar and are on the expensive side, but it's a case of getting what you pay for. The colors are vivid, but translucent, and the wax is blendable. Another nice thing is that they are made with beeswax instead of the petroleum that is used in most crayons. I got the largest size of main lesson books, in purple (as requested!) and they are quite substantial. For some reason I was expecting something flimsier. They are very large, too. I can't remember the exact dimensions (in fact, it's possible that I may not have even been aware of the actual dimensions when I ordered, due to them being listed on the site in cm. though if asked would swear that I do know the difference between inches and centimeters).

For the modeling wax and the watercolor paints, I chose the Artemis plant colors over Stockmar. The Stockmar wax and paints are non-toxic, but I was unable to find any information on the specific colorants used. I suspect they are FD&C colors, which may be non-toxic to most people, but are a big problem for my sensitive kids--whether ingested or absorbed through the skin. The plant colors were about twice as much as Stockmar, unfortunately, but worth it to not have to make Lissie paint in gloves and be constantly monitoring her. She loves making art and we're really hoping these will be a good solution for her.