Key Takeaways
- Cricut Joy pen value: The Cricut Joy Fine Point Pen Set sits at bestseller rank #18, the strongest small-Cricut machine deal in the lineup.
- Cheapest pencil entry point: The Prismacolor Thick Core Colored Pencils took the deepest percentage cut of any product here.
- Beginner sketching kit: The Faber-Castell 9000 graphite set covers 8B to 2H, the range most drawing instructors recommend for newcomers.
- Largest dollar markdown: The Elmer’s Teacher Pro Sharpener takes the biggest absolute price drop of this week’s selection.
Late April hits a strange spot in the crafting calendar. Big spring break projects are wrapping up, Mother’s Day cards haven’t quite started, and the supply drawer is somewhere between empty and embarrassing. This is the window where I do quiet inventory. Which pen tips dried out over winter, and did I lend my good sketch pencils to a niece and forget?
This week’s Berry Basket leans hard into pens and pencils for arts & crafts work, with three Cricut pen sets all dropping at the same time and a Faber-Castell sale that I can only describe as suspicious in the best way. Prismacolor showed up too, with one colored pencil listing hitting a price I had to double check. The arts & crafts category gets a lot of marketplace junk, so when the trusted names go on sale together, it’s worth paying attention.
Heavier on writing and drawing tools this week, with one Elmer’s sharpener thrown in because the markdown genuinely surprised me. Prices verified April 29, 2026.
What are the best Cricut pens for writing and drawing?
The best Cricut pens for writing and drawing projects depend on which Cricut machine you own, since the Joy line uses a smaller pen barrel than the Maker and Explore series. All three Cricut sets in this week’s lineup come from the official Cricut brand, sold by Amazon, with strong bestseller ranks. None of them are interchangeable across machine types, so check your model first.
Cricut Multi Pen Set
If you run a Cricut Maker or Explore and you write or draw with the machine, this five-pen black set covers a lot of ground at a low entry price. It sits at bestseller rank #25 in its subcategory, which is the kind of number that suggests people buy these and keep buying them. Pair it with cardstock for invitations or notebook pages where you want machine-precise handwriting.
- 5 black pens
- For Cricut Maker and Explore
- Bestseller rank #25
Cricut Joy Fine Point Pen Set
The Joy version uses a different pen housing than the standard Cricut machines, so make sure you’re buying for the right one before clicking. Eight 0.4mm fine point pens give you variety for journal cards, planner inserts, and label work. Bestseller rank #18 tells you these move fast at full price too.
- 8 pens, 0.4mm fine point
- Cricut Joy machines only
- Bestseller rank #18
Cricut Metallic Pen Set
Metallic Cricut pens are a niche purchase, but if you’re making greeting cards, holiday invitations, or anything on dark cardstock, the 1.0mm tip lays down a brighter line than the regular pens. Five colors in the set covers most occasions where you’d want shimmer. I keep these around for when standard ink looks flat against navy or black paper.
- 5 metallic colors
- 1.0mm tip
- Designed for dark cardstock
Which drawing pens fit ink and brush work?
For ink illustration and brush drawing, the Faber-Castell Pitt Artist line is what most working illustrators reach for. Pitt pens use archival India ink that holds up under scanning, framing, and watercolor washes. Two formats showed up this week, the rigid nib wallet and the brush pen Landscape set.
Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens India Ink
Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens – 4 Black India Ink Pen Wallet Set – Assorted Nibs Artist Markers (S,F,M,B Nib Styles)
Pitt Artist Pens are what a lot of illustrators reach for when they want India ink without dipping a nib in a bottle. This wallet of four covers small, fine, medium, and broad nibs in black, the assortment most people end up wanting eventually. The ink is archival, so anything you draw should hold up if you scan or frame it later.
- 4 black pens
- S, F, M, B nib widths
- Archival India ink
Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Brush Pen Set
Brush pens take some practice to control, but once you get the angle right, they fill in surprising amounts of color in a single stroke. The Landscape set is a hand-picked palette for outdoor scenes, mostly greens and earth tones with a few sky blues. If you already do watercolor or gouache, these are a fast way to sketch on location without water cups.
- Landscape color palette
- Brush nib
- Archival ink
Best sketching and graphite pencils for beginners
The strongest sketching pencil sets this week come from Faber-Castell and Prismacolor, both well known for graphite quality. A 12-grade range from 8B to 2H is the standard recommendation for beginners. Prismacolor’s Premier set goes bigger with sharpeners and erasers included.
Faber-Castell 9000 Graphite Sketch Pencils
Faber-Castell 9000 Graphite Sketch Pencil Sets Art 8B – 2H set of 12
The 9000 line is the pencil set I recommend when someone asks where to start with sketching. Twelve grades from 8B to 2H gives you everything for shading studies and detail work without overwhelming a beginner. The wood casing sharpens cleanly, which matters more than people realize when you’re doing thirty pencil sharpenings in an afternoon.
- 12 grades from 8B to 2H
- Bonded lead resists breakage
- Beginner-friendly set
Prismacolor Premier Graphite Drawing Pencils
Prismacolor Premier Graphite Drawing Pencils With Erasers & Sharpeners, Adult Coloring, 18-Piece Set
Eighteen pieces means you’re getting graphite pencils plus erasers and sharpeners in one tin, the practical way to start a sketching kit if you don’t already own anything. Prismacolor’s graphite is softer than Faber-Castell 9000, so blending happens with less pressure. I’d grab this for a teen who’s getting into drawing and isn’t sure yet how committed they are.
- 18-piece set
- Includes erasers and sharpeners
- Soft graphite
Are colored pencils worth grabbing this week?
Yes, especially the Prismacolor Thick Core set, which dropped to one of the lowest prices we’ve tracked on a name-brand colored pencil listing this season. Faber-Castell Goldfaber and the erasable Col-Erase line round out the colored pencil category for adult coloring and layout work.
Prismacolor Thick Core Colored Pencils
This is the kind of price drop on Prismacolor pencils that doesn’t show up often, and the thick core is what makes them worth grabbing for adult coloring books or layered shading. Bestseller rank #982 is unusual for a single colored pencil listing in such a crowded category. Read the listing carefully for which set size and color you’re getting before you order.
- Thick core for layered shading
- Bestseller rank #982
- Adult coloring use
Faber-Castell Goldfaber Color Pencils
Faber-Castell Creative Studio Goldfaber Color Pencils – Tin of 48
Goldfaber sits below the Polychromos line in Faber-Castell’s range, which means you’re getting good lightfast pigments without paying the premium price for the artist tier. A tin of 48 is plenty for most adult coloring projects and covers enough range for portraits or nature studies. The wax binder lays down smoothly but won’t blend as buttery as wax-heavy brands.
- Tin of 48
- Lightfast pigments
- Wax binder
Prismacolor Col-Erase Erasable Colored Pencils
Prismacolor Col-Erase Erasable Colored Pencils, Adult Coloring, 12 Pack
Erasable colored pencils are a niche but useful tool if you sketch out designs in color before committing to ink or paint. The Col-Erase line is what animators and illustrators have used for decades for rough sketches that need to disappear later. Twelve colors covers basics. Erasure isn’t perfect on heavy applications, so use them for layout work, not final color.
- 12-pack
- Erasable color leads
- For sketch and layout work
What sharpener should you pair with these pencils?
If you’re sharpening colored pencils or graphite sketch pencils in volume, an electric classroom sharpener saves your hands and gives a more consistent point than a handheld one. The Elmer’s Teacher Pro is heavy duty, designed for school use, and rarely shows up at this kind of markdown. It’s the biggest dollar discount in this week’s roundup.
Elmer's Teacher Pro Sharpener
This is a heavy duty electric sharpener, the kind that lives in classrooms because it sharpens hundreds of pencils without burning out the motor. The discount is unusually steep for this model. If you’re a teacher, art instructor, or someone who burns through colored pencils every weekend, it’s worth grabbing while marked down.
- Heavy duty electric sharpener
- Classroom grade
- Sold by Amazon
Frequently asked questions
What are Cricut pens used for?
Cricut pens snap into the accessory clamp on Cricut Maker, Explore, or Joy machines and let the machine draw or write designs instead of cutting them. They’re useful for cards that look handwritten and for addressing envelopes in calligraphy fonts. The pen draws while the machine moves the carriage along the design path.
Can you use any pen with a Cricut machine?
You can use non-Cricut pens with a third-party adapter, but the official Cricut pens are designed to fit the housing without slippage and use ink formulations that don’t bleed through cardstock. Off-brand adapters work for hobby use, but for clean lines on detailed designs, the official pens give the most consistent results.
What’s the difference between Cricut Joy pens and standard Cricut pens?
Cricut Joy uses a smaller pen barrel than the Maker and Explore series, so the two pen lines are not interchangeable. Joy pens are physically thinner and slot into the smaller machine housing. Always check which Cricut machine you own before buying pens.
Are Faber-Castell 9000 pencils good for beginners?
Yes. The 9000 line is one of the most recommended starter sketch pencil sets because it covers a wide hardness range and uses bonded leads that resist breakage. A 12-pencil set running 8B to 2H is enough for most beginner exercises and many advanced projects.
What pencil grade should I use for sketching?
For most sketching, start with HB for layout and 2B or 4B for general shading. Push to 6B or 8B when you need very dark areas. H grades are mainly for technical drawing and very light underdrawing.
Discounts in this week’s arts & crafts pool ran from the high thirties to the mid seventies, with the steepest percentage cut on the Prismacolor Thick Core pencils and the largest absolute markdown on the Elmer’s sharpener. Trusted brand names dominated, which is unusual. Most weeks the deeper discounts come from marketplace brands you’ve never heard of, but this round the markdowns sit on Prismacolor, Faber-Castell, Cricut, and Elmer’s. Pricing looked clean. No inflated original prices that I could spot on a quick check.
If I had to call out standouts, it’s the Prismacolor Thick Core pencils and the Cricut Joy Fine Point Pen Set. Both sit at strong bestseller ranks and the prices reflect real cuts, not theater. Pastel pencil sets at the upper end of the price range are excellent products, but they’re niche enough that I’d only buy if you already know you want pastel work in your practice. The Faber-Castell Goldfaber tin is the safer middle ground for adult coloring or general drawing.
Looking ahead, Cricut tends to run pen and material sales as Mother’s Day approaches, so if you missed any of these three sets, watch the next two weeks for similar pricing. Faber-Castell has been on a quiet sale streak across multiple product lines, which usually signals warehouse cleanup before summer inventory. If you’ve been waiting on a Pitt Artist Pen set for ink work, the brush pen and India ink wallet prices probably won’t get much better before Prime Day. You can browse all the deals if you want to see what else is live this week.
