Sharing a roundup of my favourite things 2022. It’s always fun to look back and see what products I used the most, and where value for money was, for me. 2022 was filled with some bigger ticket items for me and, so far, I’ve had no regrets in those purchases. There are some purchases that I’m on the fence about but want to give it a fair try before passing judgement – especially the more expensive ones (side eye my Wacom drawing pad). But let’s get started with the stationery goodies (because that is why we’re all here, after all), and then get into the bigger stuff.
My Favourite Things 2022 Stationery Round Up
The Pigeon Letters Studio Brushes
Last year, I started my term with The Pigeon Letters Design Team. One of the perks is free/discounted product. So I was super lucky enough to order these brushes (I had bought some before but got to grow my collection), and I love them. They are the first proper, high quality brushes I’ve bought and they have been a dream to use. Sizes 04 and 06 are my favourites, but the liner brush is pretty cool too.
Gouache Paint
My favourite thing to use are the Acrylograph paint pens (a standard favourite thing at this point). But sometimes I need to cover a larger surface area. I have found gouache paints to be perfect for this. They don’t dry plastic like acrylics, and they are more opaque than watercolour. For 2023, I will be looking at expanding my gouache paint experience and trying different brands. So far, I have liked using the Art Philosophy brand. They have the perfect variety of colour and size tubes for working in my journal.
The Pigeon Letters Studio Monoline Pens
These pens actually show up on a favourite things list from a couple of years ago. Peggy just recently restocked them and I grabbed quite a few – both as part of my Design Team privilege and with my own money, because they are so great. They are a dark black – not a brown black like other drawing pens on the market. And while they are similar to the Tombow Monoline pens (my default favourite when the TPL pens sell out), I find the Pigeon Letters pens hold up better writing on paint or surfaces that aren’t standard paper. The Tombows will stop working pretty quickly writing on paint, which becomes an issue for me.
Archer and Olive B5 Dot Grid Notebook
I will die on this hill! B5 is far superior to A5. Lol! But seriously, it’s personal preference all the way. I love the B5 size journal. Mine stays on my desk at home which helps, I’m sure. But I love having the extra room to use for decorative elements, notes, and to do lists. And, of course, the Archer and Olive brand is so beautiful and versatile with the 160GSM pages. Pour one out for my poor abandoned A5 notebooks! Lol, but I will use them and share those uses with you.
Nota Large Ceramic Paint Palette
My favourite things 2022 list has been very paint-supply heavy but I HAD to include this ceramic paint palette. I bought it from Chapters in Canada and I have loved using it. It cleans so easily, and the dried watercolour paint on the ceramic, makes my heart sing – it’s beautiful and still quick to clean even though its dried. I wouldn’t leave acrylics or gouache on the palette to dry, but watercolour is beautiful.
I really want to gate keep some of the amazing products that Chapters has been carrying – including smaller brands too. But definitely check out their great collection of stationery item and home goods (and yes, they are a bookstore so throw some books in for good measure!).
My Favourite Things 2022 Makeup (?)
I am not confused, and no you haven’t switched to make-up influencer wanna-be land. I am a stationery blog/channel. But as a human, who likes and collects makeup, and even wears it once in a while (see what I did there), I have some favourites for 2022. Two were definitely worth mentioning.
Firstly, the Makeup by Mario Softsculpt Transforming Skin Enhancer (say that 5 times fast), has been amazing. Total game changer for me. I don’t often wear make-up but want to, and this is such a great product to pop on and feel (and look), put together. It is pricey but does go on sale every once and a while. I have combination skin and at first swipe of my brush, thought this was too oily, but my sensitive, high maintenance skin, handles this product really well.
My next favourite make-up product is the Mac Stack Mascara. Fun fact about me, I’m surprisingly picky about my mascaras and have tried a whole bunch. So, of course, I have many opinions about these different mascaras I’ve tried. But, for 2022, it was the Mac Stack Mascara. I will probably use this brand for a while (I previously used DiorShow for 2 years), so I am locked in.
The Big Purchases
The ArtBeat Club
Okay! So this isn’t a big ticket item per se, as you can sign up for her free newsletter. But she does offer courses and an online community. I love her! She is artsy, fairy, free-spirited, and my type A perfectionist is here for every minute of it! I can’t remember how I found her – maybe a Facebook ad – but I wanted to art right away. (Stopped typing this blog post so that I could get paint on a page to dry to create a project!) She is so inspiring and her passion is contagious. So, if you want to broaden your art horizon, sign up for the newsletter, explore her website and courses, and enjoy.
Immersion by Bonnie Christine
In 2022, I decided to dive right into what I need to do surface pattern design. This included registering for Immersion by Bonnie Christine. It has been so informative, and so great to see her process, that I feel I may actually be able to pull this off! Lol! To fill you in, Bonnie Christine is the queen of the surface pattern design world. There are many other amazing, and incredible artists (Liz Kohler Brown first got me hooked), but Bonnie tends to be the name most associated with Surface Pattern Design.
I am still working through the course but my confidence is growing – very slowly – as my knowledge and understanding of the process grows. If you are curious about surface pattern design, there are other avenues you can explore first, Liz Kohler Brown being one of them.
MacBook Pro
And now for the ultimate in my favourite things 2022, my Apple MacBook Pro! It was hideously expensive, and been worth every penny. I already have an iPhone and iPad, so having all 3 devices “talk” to each other has been AMAZING! As my contracting/freelancing picks up, being able to access everything across platforms without worrying about compatibility, is a game changer. Apple owns my soul at this point.
My Favourite Things 2022 wrap up
So there you go! Things I really enjoyed using this past year. There are other supplies I still use from previous favourites lists, namely Acrylographs and Tombow Dual Brush Pens. But this post was to focus on items I found/re-discovered in 2022. I would love to hear about your favourites for 2022, products you recommend. As you can tell, I have varied interests (which I will talk about one day), so let me know!
Thank you so much for your time today!
