The poop with Faber Castell Gelatos - brutally honest craft product reviews

Gelatos. They were on sale, ok? I hoarded a few and they...sat and sat.

I played with them briefly. They're like drawing with lipstick, they re-activate with water, and they never seem to truly dry either, like an oil pastel having a bad day.

I was not enjoying the Gelato kool aid, and they sat for a while in my stash.

A not so secret? The poop with gelatos, is apparently that the "scrapbooker" level item and the kid's item which costs half as much are the same thing repackaged, though Faber Castell swears up and down that they're not.

Here's a nice shootout on YouTube by the Frugalcrafter, shout out to her. . Apparently there's no fading difference after 1 month either.



My gelatos sat and sat, and then I watched this Donna Downey tutorial for some reason - and that changed everything.



I'm a sucker for dripping paint. I Blame one of my favorites from the high art world,  Pat Steir.

So I thought I'd get a little cascade going on one of my journal spreads. Lo and behold, gelatos really get happy when you add the water to them. They deposit color while moving down the page in a way that a wash of Cotman watercolor just doesn't even come close to! (I tried both.) I'm not sure that Neocolor 2 would move with the flow the same way.

Would I use these to draw? Not really. Would I use these on fabric? How are people getting any kind of permanent adhesion with 'em? I can't see it. They don't stamp brilliantly well. But they do flow down a page of paper like butter when you spray them.

So I like having these for my dripping paint moments.

Others will disagree and insist that gelatos are a great multitasker, but I find them a single-use item. If you don't really care about dribbling things around - use your watercolors, use some good acrylic ink washes, use neocolor, use inktense blocks or pencils, use stamp inks for stamps.

Supply Side Friday: Kickin' It Old School: Manto Fev

Hey lovely people.

New Feature - Supply Side Friday!

Look for the tag when you want to read them all - and I'm going to dedicate Fridays to a shop, source, tool, or material.

Today: Manto Fev.
 
Have you been to Manto Fev?

Maybe you're saying "duh." Then you know.

Maybe you're saying "what?"  Then you should hasten on over to this charmingly minimalistic an un-gussied up shop which is all about the stuff.  You'll find an amazing mix of charms and materials, some of the designer items, but where Manto Fev really outshines a lot of the competition is in its offerings of inexpensive, often bundled - ACTUAL FACTUAL old stuff.

This is the stuff that the collage-sheetists digitize.  Handwritten notes, odd tickets and ledger papers, weird tokens, vintage cards and greeting cards, and all that old old acidic yellowing patina!  I can scarcely contain myself.

Here's some awesome, subject to availability:

Vintage Paper Ephemera at Manto Fev

Labels! Nice ones.






Font-a-riffic.

 matchbook mania.









I love Sarah's sense of humor too, and the personality of the shop really shines without having to "look crafty".  Visit. Really.

Oh and the prices are pretty special - actual vintage from Manto Fev  is often less expensive than popular reproductions.