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Same here. SU WW works great. I struggled with which colors to buy, you know, Copic, Prisma, etc. but in the end I got the Prismas also from Michael's with a 50% coupon. They are so expensive! The sales lady said that a young mom came in and bought 2 complete sets for her little girls they day before without even using a coupon!!!!! Man, my kids used Crayola! Also, I kept getting Gamsol all over my desk no matter what I put it in. Finally someone on here suggested these manicurist bottles from, I believe it was Gina K. I bought the amber one and LOVE LOVE LOVE it! No more mess and it's always right at hand. They are glass and metal because someone else had said not to use plastic. Don't know if that was right or wrong but didn't want to chance it. Good luck.
Also, I kept getting Gamsol all over my desk no matter what I put it in. Finally someone on here suggested these manicurist bottles from, I believe it was Gina K. I bought the amber one and LOVE LOVE LOVE it! No more mess and it's always right at hand. They are glass and metal because someone else had said not to use plastic. Don't know if that was right or wrong but didn't want to chance it. Good luck.
I bought a plastic one and after 8 months no problems with the gamsol eating the bottle. I love the glass bottles, but the price was not I wanted to spend if I didn't know if I would like the bottles. I just love the ease of the bottle. I keep my sponge top bottle for travel.
I use blending medium and pencils all the time. I use Daler Rowney odorless thinner to blend pencils.
I have a little glass jelly jar with a natural sea sponge in it with the medium.
The little glass jelly jars ( about 1" high) come in gift boxes at Christmas. Buy a small natural sea sponge which are sold in HL, Joanns or an art store. It MUST be a natural sponge the medium will dissolve synthetic sponges. Cut a piece of the sponge to fit snugly in the jar. Use an eye dropper and put enough of your medium on the sponge until you see it in the jar about half way up. Then just touch your blender stump on the moist sponge and you will have the exact amount of medium you need to spread the color .
I don't use blender stumps I have a way to fold paper towels to a sharp point and I use those. If any one wants me to explain the paper towel blenders let me know
Barbara
I use blending medium and pencils all the time. I use Daler Rowney odorless thinner to blend pencils.
I have a little glass jelly jar with a natural sea sponge in it with the medium.
The little glass jelly jars ( about 1" high) come in gift boxes at Christmas. Buy a small natural sea sponge which are sold in HL, Joanns or an art store. It MUST be a natural sponge the medium will dissolve synthetic sponges. Cut a piece of the sponge to fit snugly in the jar. Use an eye dropper and put enough of your medium on the sponge until you see it in the jar about half way up. Then just touch your blender stump on the moist sponge and you will have the exact amount of medium you need to spread the color .
I don't use blender stumps I have a way to fold paper towels to a sharp point and I use those. If any one wants me to explain the paper towel blenders let me know
Barbara
Yes, please Barbara. Would love to know how you fold the paper towels to use them to blend.
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
Cheap paper towels work the best. The cloth type paper towels like Bounty are too soft.
Take one sheet of paper towel
1. Fold it in half ( you now have a rectangle)
2. Fold the left side toward the right side to form a square
3. Fold it in half again to form a small rectangle
4. Fold both side toward the middle as if you were making a paper airplane.
You now have a triangle
5. Fold the edges in again toward the middle ( paper airplane fashion) so you have a very sharp point at the top of the narrow triangle.
6. Fold it again toward the middle and you have a blending stump with a firm sharp point.
I hope this makes sense. IF not let me know.
Water color pencils become paint with water.
Buy a "clear" flexible kitchen cutting mat . They have a tooth or slightly rough surface. I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond. Walmart has them too, but they are colored and it is difficult to determine colors on a colored mat.
Put a drop or two of water on the mat and then scribble the water color pencils on the cutting mat near the water puddle . The tooth of the mat makes the color come off the pencil. I use a "damp" brush to pick up a little color and mix with the water, but I'll bet you can use your Aqua brush to pick up the color and it would mix it
You can do the same process with your Prismacolors. Put a couple of drops of Gamsol on the mat, scribble your Prismacolor pencil near the Gamsol puddle. Use a brush to mix the two and you have paint.
Barbara
Last edited by crowfeather; 02-09-2009 at 09:51 AM..
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Tutorial
In case you needed more details, here is a link to my blog with step-by-step instructions for coloring with Prismacolor Pencils. I also have links to a great dealer to buy your supplies.
Diane that is a fascinating tutorial !
I have never tried baby oil as a blending medium, perhaps because I normally use Faber Castell pencils. I have some Prismacolor pencils and I am going to try your method.
Dick Blick does have the best prices! And they frequently have specials and discounts.
Thanks!!
Barbara
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Thanks Barbara! I have been talking to someone on SCS about coloring this way and she needed some visual assistance. So my DH was out one night so I made the tutorial for her. Plus I now have something to hand out to the class I am teaching about this at the end of the month.
Thanks for looking!
Diane
Quote:
Originally Posted by crowfeather
Diane that is a fascinating tutorial !
I have never tried baby oil as a blending medium, perhaps because I normally use Faber Castell pencils. I have some Prismacolor pencils and I am going to try your method.
Dick Blick does have the best prices! And they frequently have specials and discounts.
Thanks!!
Barbara
The papertowel idea is wonderful, Barbara! Thanks for the explanation.
I use baby oil, also. Anything you use that is not archival quality should not touch the photo, it can be on the page just not touch the photo...well that is my understanding after about seven yrs of scrapping.
I use the Staples White cardstock for my Prisma's, I have used the SU WW and liked it but I find the the Staples cardstock is less expensive then the SU, I think I paid $8 for 250 sheets at Staples Canadian. I also find that the Palette Noir ink works the best for me, I have had no problem with it so far. I put my Gamsol into a glass cup with a sponge in the bottom, I do plan on getting the glass manicure jar but I haven't got around to it yet. I really like using the Gina K blending stumps, they seem to hold there point longer and don't dry out as quickly as the other stumps do. When I got my Prisma's I purchased them on eBay, I ordered the 120 set for $75 including shipping, handling and exchange, they were brand new still in the shrink wrap.
I've been looking at the Prismacolor online. I noticed someone mentioned "Blender". Prisma also has "Watercolor", "Premier", "Verithin" and "Art Stix". What would you recommend?
Read somewhere that "Gamsol" is mineral spirits. Is that the same thing as the thinner mentione here?
Gamsol is the same as Odorless Mineral Spirits, it's just a brand name. Watercolor Pencils can't be used with Gamsol the technique doesn't work. The premiers are the ones I use and they work but I have also used Crayolas before I had the money to buy Prismacolor Pencils and they work almost as well. Just don't give as deep color as Prisma without using a lot of pencil. I use the Georia Pacific cardstock from WalMart for this. No piling or anything.
Hope this helps.. Michelle
__________________ Democracy does not guarantee equality of conditions -it only guarantees equality of opportunity.
Irving Kristol
I've been looking at the Prismacolor online. I noticed someone mentioned "Blender". Prisma also has "Watercolor", "Premier", "Verithin" and "Art Stix". What would you recommend?
Read somewhere that "Gamsol" is mineral spirits. Is that the same thing as the thinner mentione here?
All suggestions welcome to this novice.
If you want to use the odorless mineral spirits, you do NOT want watercolor pencils. I have the Prisma Premier. I'm afraid I can't tell you anything about how they differ from the Verithin or the Art Stix.
Gamsol is a brand name of artist-grade odorless mineral spirits. Another common brand is Mona Lisa. This is what I use. It has a picture of the Mona Lisa on the front, and it says Odorless Paint Thinner on the front label. But if you look at the contents on the back, it says 100% odorless mineral spirits. I know some people buy less expensive, commercial grade paint thinner at their local hardware store or big box home improvement store, and get the same results when using their colored pencils and blending stumps. However, the fumes will be more noticeable. Even with the artist grade OMS, you still need to be cautious and follow label directions in terms of using in a well-ventilated area, avoiding contact with skin, don't use it near heat or open flames, etc.
The Prismacolor Blender is just a colorless wax pencil. It is used over the pencil to blend the colors and also it give the work a shine.
Verithins are not only thinner but harder lead. They sharpen to a very shape point which is needed to get very close lines. I use them dry on vellum and they work beautifully. Since I am new to regular card making I don't know how they will work on CS.
In my gallery ( crowfeather) I put a card called "Pansy's where I used dry Verithins to color it. I didn't use the blender
Barbara
does anybody know of any tutorials - preferably video - that show using the blender pencil for blending with the prismas? i have achieved that ONCE and failed every time after - so frustrating!!! so i want to figure out what i'm doing wrong.
i normally use baby oil and get pretty great results - any "icks" are all user error!!! LOL!! But I prefer the baby oil b/c I don't have to worry about it like the OMS.
I have been using Prisma pencils for a year now and have tried every paper on the market. I recently tried stamping on watercolor paper and I love the look that I achieve with the pencils and OMS. It actually looks like watercoloring.
Prisma color pencils
Tutorial
Colored Pencils
