I bought these to use with that little blue Dritz snap press that you pound with a hammer. I had previously been buying the Dritz refill packs, but that gets expensive after a while! Much to my delight, these snaps worked just perfectly with the snap press-they seem to be a little more lightweight than the Dritz brand snaps, but they are holding up fine to wear and tear. The other day, I put a snap in the wrong place, and I have yet to successfully pry the bugger off. These are a good value... next time, I'm buying the 100-pack!
Iwata CUSTOM MICRON CM-C PLUS AIRBRUSH-MAC Valve with FREE AIR
I really, really enjoy using this airbrush. I had trouble manipulating the controls on a Badger years ago, so I went to the simpler Aztec series. When my last Aztec broke, I decided to go back to the more sophisticated Iwata style airbrush .... I wish I had made the leap sooner.
After I overcame a bit of the learning curve in manipulating the needle control, I found I could paint very precise patterns with this airbrush. Additionally, even though I have a variable psi setting on the compressor, I found the ability to regulate air flow near the head of this brush perfect for fine tuning air pressure --especially as I'll normally use slightly different viscosity paints.
This brush is more expensive than most, but I still consider it an excellent value as it has allowed me to accomplish paint schemes with this airbrush that I couldn't previously achieve.
After I overcame a bit of the learning curve in manipulating the needle control, I found I could paint very precise patterns with this airbrush. Additionally, even though I have a variable psi setting on the compressor, I found the ability to regulate air flow near the head of this brush perfect for fine tuning air pressure --especially as I'll normally use slightly different viscosity paints.
This brush is more expensive than most, but I still consider it an excellent value as it has allowed me to accomplish paint schemes with this airbrush that I couldn't previously achieve.
Paasche VL-SET Double Action Siphon Feed Airbrush Set
List Price: $115.00
Sale Price: $72.37
Today's Bonus: 37% Off
I use an airbrush daily and I was needing a larger poster style airbrush and my 1960's Thayer and Chandler brush is worn out and in need of retirement. I've heard many good things about Paasche brushes from fellow painters so I took the plung and ordered this airbrush kit mainly because of the bottle sizes it offered.
After receiving this brush I was extremely disappointed. The quality was much worse than I had expected. I had to hone and polish the action to make it smooth because the machining on it was very poor and it was rough and dragging. The ergonomics of this brush is horrible! The hose is mounted so close to the bottle and the handle is so poorly designed that I have to wrap my fingers around the paint bottle when I use it rather than holding it like a pencil. The handle is so thick and tapers so quickly that it is very awkward and uncomfortable. This is not a brush that would easily support the kind of detail work that would be expected of any double action brush nor one that you could use for any length of time.
Also, the hose connector is an unusual thread and doesn't fit any of my other brushes which all have graciously come with a standard thread connector. I have to use the provided hose as a dedicated hose with its own quick disconnect just for this brush. That in itself is a problem since the hose that came with this kit is fairly short and very stiff for an airbrush hose and continues to maintain the bends reflecting how it was stored in the shipping box even after being hung straight with weights for many days.
On the positive side, this brush does seem to spray pretty well and handles a variety of paint viscosities. I'll keep this brush only for an emergency backup or for use on a paint that may destroy a better brush. I would not recommend this brush for any serious airbrusher or anyone seriously considering airbrushing as a hobby.
Epson Premium Photo Paper GLOSSY (4x6 Inches, 100 Sheets)
List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $7.24
Today's Bonus: 64% Off
I needed some extra sheets of 4x6 photo paper to run the ink cartridge in my Picturemate down to empty. So I thought I would try this premium paper. The Epson website is very vague about what paper will work in the Picturemate. Well my experiment shows that the S041727 paper works better than the T5570 paper that comes with the refill kit. The S041727 paper is thicker and whiter than standard picturemate paper.
JUKI MO654DE Portable Thread Serger Sewing Machine
List Price: $1,320.00
Sale Price: $397.00
Today's Bonus: 70% Off
This is my fifth serger and, so far, my favorite. For the last five years I have mostly sewn on a Baby lock Imagine, and then a Baby Lock Evolve. These are excellent, very easy to use sergers, but very expensive. In addition, I found the Evolve, the one I used the most, had trouble going over thick seams. When the Evolve was getting serviced earlier this year I bought a vintage Juki (MO-104) and loved it but decided I needed a more modern one with differential feed and a rolled hem.
This Juki has it all. It is very stable--never moves around when you're serging--has a wonderful knife set-up that cuts through anything smoothly, and has a beautiful rolled hem, either two or three thread. It doesn't have the jet air threading of the Baby Locks, but threads easily. Everything is color-coded. The tensions are also very easy to set. I haven't had any problem with them at all.
I would advise you also to order a good, basic serger book because the instruction book with this Juki doesn't explain how to make the variety of stitches that are possible with it. With most of them you just have to tweak the tensions or stitch length or width, all easy to do on this machine. The electronic, high end machines (that go for a thousand dollars or more) will either make these adjustments automatically, or tell you how to do them on the screen, but I find a good serger book works just as well, and is much, much cheaper.
Do be aware that this machine does not have a coverstitch, or coverhem, as it is sometimes called. It's the two or three thread stitch used to hem knits. To get this stitch you need to buy an expensive, high-end combo serger, or a separate coverstitch machine. I like having a regular serger, this one in particular, and a separate coverstitch machine, like the Janome CP 1000.
This is shipped from Ken's Sewing Center, a store with an excellent reputation in the sewing community. Mine arrived quickly in perfect shape, but had there been a problem I know Ken's would have taken care of it.
Really, this serger is an amazing deal. Juki is an excellent brand; I understand they make the Bernina sergers as well.
Update: When I reviewed this serger it was $399.00 and was shipped by Ken's Sewing Center. I see now that the price and vendor have been changed. It is still an excellent serger but not quite as good a deal now.
Jesse James Beads 5900 Design Elements African Violet
These are plastic junk as far as I am concerned. I looked and looked to find out before hand what they were made of. Now I know. Will never buy again.
Darice Big Bling Flowers and Round Gem Value Pack Rhinestones
List Price: $15.99
Sale Price: $14.39
Today's Bonus: 10% Off
This is a good size bag of rhinestones and perfect for the little girl who loves to craft! My 7 year old and I use them to decorate frames and other items. A good variety and quantity for the price.