I received The Megan clutch in blush pink from Glass Ladder & Co. in my Spring Causebox (more about Causebox another time, perhaps), but it's also available on their website. Glass Ladder products are vegan and designed for working professionals, which isn't me, so initially I thought I'd end up gifting it. However, once I came up with the idea of using it as an art kit, I was excited to try it out!
I've been attending a women's Bible journaling group at my church, which has been a huge blessing. I love to paint, do other art, and be creative, but it's hard with a little one who isn't really old enough to do art with me or to entertain herself yet! The other ladies at the group help me keep an eye on her and it's fun to see the joy she brings others too! We have a short devotional, discussion, and prayer, and then the coordinator demonstrates a technique or project. Some weeks everyone does what's demonstrated, other weeks we tend to go our own direction. Sometimes the conversations are deep, other times it's just about whatever we've been doing that week. It's super flexible and a fun, and a great way to build community!
Although all the needed supplies are provided by the group coordinator, I've found myself toting a few things back and forth with me each week, as I don't always finish what I'm working on in one meeting or I want to use my own pens or something. I thought this clutch might be a good fit for keeping it all together (and my paper pieces flat). Here's a pic of what wanted to put in:
And it fit no problem! The clutch folded shut and snapped and didn't even look fat. I thought maybe my composition-book journal would be too thick, but it really wasn't at all.
Since these supplies fit so easily, I decided to try to load the clutch up with what I would take along if I was going to be doing some scrapbook-style art journaling, brochure-and-ticket-stub saving, and sketching on a week-long trip. Here's what that looked like:
It closes! The designers were smart and put two snaps options, so in the picture, it's actually snapped in the top snap. But I think this was too much thick stuff like glue and tape, and the colored pencils didn't fit even with it open. It's designed to accommodate some thickness, but think more flat, like paper or a phone. Also, when I folded it shut, the thickness caused the pencil points to leave marks, which wiped off pretty easily, but I wouldn't want to leave it on there, or risk stabbing the fabric for that matter. I played around a bit more, and the scissors and eraser fit okay, but the tapes, glue, and watercolors were just to thick to fit nicely.
So, would I recommend using The Megan as an art kit? Maybe. It depends on what type of supplies you want to carry. Paper, stickers, and a few pens? Sure! More mixed-media? Probably not so much, unless you're carrying enought flat stuff to make it worth using this and also using another tote for other supplies! All that said, for art purposes, I personally wouldn't pay the $120 retail for it, since I could probably find something better suited for me. As I mentioned at the beginning, I'm not exactly Glass Ladder's target market, and art supplies isn't what this clutch was designed for! However, since it came in my Causebox (which costs about $50 and included a bunch of other fun stuff too!), I'll definitely enjoy using it for my weekly journaling group!
So tell me, do you enjoy doing creative projects? How do you organize or travel with your favorite supplies?