Crayola Haul and Review

During my trip to the Crayola Factory I picked up some products: Some I was dying to try, some old standards, and some that I needed to replace because I used them up. The largest purchase was a Crayola Factory exclusive where you choose a tin and for $14.99 you can fill it to the brim with whatever crayons and markers you can. The wall of color that you could choose from had colors that everyone needs, like black, red, and blue; but also metallic yellows, sea foam and teal greens, and skin colored markers. With some clever packing and stacking I was able to grab everything on the wall, except for a few markers that I knew were already in my collection. The problem with this method of filling your tin was that there was only one size of tin instead of having smaller or larger so that you could have a way to spend less for the colors that you want rather than fill the box because you would be loosing money if you didn't. There was no way I could purchase one or two crayons, which for the enthusiast, might be a cool feature. I did not mind since I was looking to stock up my crayon and marker collection, but if that wasn't the case, I would have had to purchase a whole box to have a certain color. The box I chose was the vintage Crayola tin, which you could purchase alone for $9.99. What I can say, is if you would like something like this from home, you can check out the customized box product and make your own art chest products on the Crayola website.

The first and obvious choice is Crayons! Crayola Crayons are the best in the land and as far as I am concerned they always will be. If I could be perceived as any art product, excluding stickers, I would want to be a crayon. They are the best, and you are wrong if you think otherwise. The tin was filled with every color they had available, which by no means is even close to all the colors that Crayola has.

My favorite colors that I picked up were radical red, Caribbean green, electric lime, robin's egg blue, and the ever wonderful macaroni and cheese. Fun fact that I learned at the Crayola Factory was that out of the top ten favorite Crayola colors, 6 of them were a form of blue.

In the name of Crayons I grabbed a packet of Twistables, which was not included in the tin. These were in Extreme Colors, mostly bold neons and such. I have always loved Twistables, due to the fact that they are really difficult to break, have smooth application, and come in all the same colors that I love. These were attractive to me because I already have so many, and wanted something different. These colors are so bright it is hard to see some of them on white paper, but they work on dark paper well. They are not conventional colors and I am sure I will use them at some point, but they are not the colors that you would normally use, or even buy. I am glad to have them, but I suggest getting the standard colors first, and these as additional colors. You can pick these up here.

 In the twistables family is the next item I picked up, the 12 pack of Twistables Slick Stix. I saw these items elsewhere when I mistook them for the window crayons that I love so much, but I saw that they were more like oil pastels in a twisty crayon form. I passed on them previously because I thought I would use them as much as I use my pastels, which after my art class is absolutely zero, and I don't know if it was the elated feeling of being at the Crayola Factory, or whatever, but I purchased them this time. I believed they would be benefitial for my Resident Assistant job where I make door decorations, bulletin boards, banners, and flyers all the time; these would be good for easy bold and large lettering and coloring. My fear came from my thought that the color would leave a residue and these would run even after a bit of time, or smudge if touched, but I was pleasantly surprised. The color goes on smooth and doesn't run or smudge or stick at all.

The colors in the ten pack were pretty basic, but the silver and gold stix have sort of a metallic sheen. Like I said, they are smooth as the name states and they will serve their purpose wonderfully. While sitting there using these I thought to myself, 'maybe they could work on skin,' and needless to say I ended up with some wicked tattoos, though I don't suggest doing that yourself. They work on skin, and will be messy. They feel like lipstick, but don't smudge. Maybe Maybaline and Crayola should get together. How brilliant would a lipstick line of Crayola colors be? They could give Lime Crime a run for their money. Now I am really disappointed that those lipsticks don't exist. When they do, will I be getting some in the mail since I came up with the idea? I can only hope; give me a call Crayola.

I was happily wrong about this product and am looking forward to using these over and over. You can order these for yourself here. 

Next were the markers that I picked up with my fill a tin, tin. The Crayola washable marker has been a household staple for years, and there isn't anything better than these bright colors that will wash off your hands and clothing as quick as it got there. I love these markers, and the selection of colors really made these stand out. As I said before, I wasn't able to get everything to fit in my tin, so I had to pick and choose. I ended up with quite a few beautiful colors, and a black which everyone knows you cannot live without. My favorite of the bunch were electric lime, teal, flamingo pink, and sea foam green. The electric lime is my ultimate favorite just because of how bright and interesting it is. See!

 The markers are wonderful as always, but I was especially impressed with the beige and bronze colors. These colors are part of the multicultural marker collection which utilizes all the shades of skin, which normally are reduced to brown and beige. I was assuming the color would be too dark, like some markers can be, and that it would not be worth it to purchase the whole pack, so I grabbed the two that were at the wall and that was it. Now looking back at it, I wish I picked up those markers too. The color is clear and light, and the slight differences between the browns are noticeable but subtle when they need to be. I think it is a revelation, and really wish I got the whole box. What if I want to make a doodle for all of my residents this year? What would I do then if they didn't have these? They also have these in multicultural crayon and pencil form.

The next product was something that I heard a lot about from my Costume Design professor. She does renderings with watercolor as her favorite medium and she always said that these provide definition and control where a brush can't always detail. So, when I saw them, I had to pick them up.

These came in a pack of 24 and have all the same colors that colored pencils have. The colored pencil has not been my favorite means of coloring, but they do serve a purpose, to be able to be detailed. My favorite colors from this product were magenta, yellow, and aqua green. I haven't used these very much since I don't want to use them for something they were not meant for, but I do know that they have a very good consistency and act as normal pencils until the magic happens. Just add water!

In the picture you can see where I scribbled the pencil before using the brush to blend it out. The redish color is actual watercolor to show how the color looks blended with another product, and how the purple by itself looks like water color. I am excited to start working with these since they are a non conventional way to paint, but they could be the answers to my eyes and lip definition problem. They have a lovely color, and blend nicely.

The last thing I purchased was something that I had used up over the last school year and was excited to replace. The Erasable Highlighter is something that theatre students from across the land have been begging for. It bugs me to no end when I have highlighted a line by mistake and forever have to look at that bolded yellow line over something I don't need. That might just be a pet peeve, but the Crayola gods have answered this clumsy theatre kid and given u the erasable highlighter. The highlighter has two ends: Yellow for highlighting, and white for erasing.

Now, I give this product a thousand flying colors, but as you can see, it does leave a tiny bit of a shadow of where it was highlighted, which is only amplified when on thinner or older paper. This shadow doesn't bother me at all, in fact it makes me feel better since I know my highlighter eraser is working. I suggest everyone who has ever felt this way about false highlights, should pick this up.

That concludes my Crayola Haul and review. If you have any questions or would like to see what I think about the other products I have used, Crayola or not, please leave a comment below. 

 I just f*cking love crayons.