March’s Maker Monthly Box Review

March’s Maker Monthly box is what you make it. If you’re gearing up for some Spring cleaning, then consider this your Spring cleaning kit. If you’re intrigued at the idea of writing on stuff other than paper, then consider this your surface type starter kit (here’s looking at you @surfacetype). With a little creativity, you can even craft your own personalized paper maché pencil box with this toolkit.

While there were several worthy candidates for a proper Spring notebook, complete with floral cover designs and the like, I couldn’t help but give in to the craving for something a bit more refreshing, or shall I say sweet? March’s featured notebook is the Field Notes Brand Spring limited-edition release: Sweet Tooth. These peppy pocket memo books are made of perforated, fountain-pen-friendly paper in three distinct colors, making them perfect for color-coded project notes and sketches, jotting down ideas without worrying about whether they look good or keep with the prevailing subject of the notebook, and creating colorful memos for colleagues and strangers (see Practical Applications on the back cover of each notebook for entertaining ideas).

The combination of lead, charcoal, paint and ink in this month’s kit will have you equipped to venture beyond the pages of your notebooks to experiment with different surfaces as the canvas for your lettering and artwork.

You can use the General’s graphite and charcoal pencils to lay down your guides and outlines on various materials. The soft charcoal produces a dark matte finish that is much easier to see under light when compared to the glare of the graphite. Mind your hands and clothing when using the charcoal, as it tends to easily smudge, quickly making a mess of your masterpiece.

The Pigma Graphic marker and Pen-Touch paint pen, both by Sakura, are versatile tools every maker can appreciate. The one millimeter (1 mm) tip on the Pigma is great for filling and outlining artwork, creating monoline lettering, writing bold notes or titling your journal entries. The white fine-point paint pen can also be used for filling and outlining, but is especially great for adding highlights to artwork and personalizing items of all colors and materials, such as your new paper maché pencil box.

Bonus items for March include a typographic postcard by award-winning letterer and designer Jessica Hische (@jessicahische) and a photo captured by the talented Giorgia Katerina (@giorgiakaterina).