Altoids Tin Pencil Case

A quick search on the interwebs shows that there are dozens of potential uses for an empty Altoids tin, mostly for survival kits or as a case for small electronics projects; but not a pencil case.  So, having sprayed mine with some leftover gold paint I assembled a few stationery items I just happened to have to hand...

Many just use the tins as they bought them, but I prefer to paint mine.

A couple of pencils, a Cult Pens pocket ballpoint, Muji sharpener and eraser, a couple of pins and paper clips and we're good to go.

The pictures of the Dumbbell Nebula and the Pleiades were pasted in to stop the contents from rattling too much.

Caran d'Ache Pencil Holder

One of my presents for Christmas 2012 (!) was a Caran d'Ache pencil holder, which I have used on and off since.  It has held up pretty well in my work bag, and usually holds a stub of a Staedtler Tradition HB.  As you can see it is finished in a smart glossy red finish.

Although the quality is very good, the holder is a bit large for the Tradition so I need to put a piece of tape around the stub end of the pencil so it stays firmly held on to the holder.

Layout

Just for info, I have decided to use one of the basic Blogger templates after a few complaints about the green scheme I used before.  So until I get around to using a better template (erm...) this should hopefully be a bit easier on the eyes.  Good job I didn't go for orange, then.

Tombow meets Muji in London

Just back from a couple of days out in London, where there were a couple of things I found which would interest readers of this blog.  At the British Library, in the gift shop I found a couple of pots of Tombow Mono 100 pencils - fortunately they only had 2H, so I was able to pass.  They were there among a range of goodies connected to the comic art exhibition currently taking place.

Later I popped into the Muji store on Tottenham Court Road and picked up a pocket pencil sharpener and a white eraser for a grand total of GBP2.00.  I have had a quick play with them and they seem to work well, The sharpener is very small indeed and looks good for going in a pocket or bag.

So it seemed appropriate to photograph the new purchases with my Tombow pencils.  I really ought to take up sketching again - I haven't done much drawing since I was at school.  At the time comics were a major influence and I wanted to be the next Brian Bolland (though I modelled my drawing style on Mike McMahon's).  But that was years ago...

Please forgive the awful mobile phone picture.  I hope to post more frequently now that I have had to update my technology, including a newish mobile phone.