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I was viewing some of your cards and a tool called, "aquapainter" was used to blend colors.
It's used for water coloring. Instead of having an actual cup with water and a paint brush, it's all in one. Very handy. I use mine with ink and the water color crayons.
I like the aqua painters and blender pens, because I don't own all the markers, and when I need to color in details, I grab these. The blender pens are awesome, too.
They come in different "sizes", which means that the brush end is sized differently. SU sells them in sets of two, but I've also used my coupon at Mike's to buy them.
Water is the intended filler and when used with reinkers or the ink from smooshing the lid of an ink pad together and picking up color (smooshing IS the official term for that), it really looks like watercolor! In fact, pick up some inexpensive watercolor paper at Michael's to practice with! It then makes all your ink pads a perfectly matched coloring tool!
Another use is to put alcohol in the receptacle and use it with reinkers for a fake Copic marker look.
Hero Arts and some other companies sell a brand of aqua painter pens in 3-packs (can't remember who manufactures them). I have never heard anything really good about these pens. I think that in the case the the aqua painters, you're better off spending the money to get the one SU sells or buying a higher quality one at the art store, particularly if you are going to be using it a lot.
I think the really good ones are Niji. I have a set of two and they are amazing! A friend brought her niece over and the girl wanted to color as we talked. I had the aqua painters out, but I had forgotten how rough some kids can be with things. After they left, I was sad to see that my brush was destroyed, or so I thought. She had scrubbed the brush around and it was all splayed out, ruined. But when I took it to the sink to clean it and tapped it against the edge of the sink, it magically reformed itself into the perfect shape. WOW! I had used the set to make over 80 hand painted Christmas cards and they still look like new. Worth the cost, for sure!
Jutta
Last edited by jutta; 08-15-2008 at 04:49 AM..
Reason: wierd movement of typed words!
It's a WONDERFUL tool 'cause it allows you to use reinkers (everytime I buy a stamp pad, I also buy the reinker) and not have to invest in markers. I put a drop of ink in the pad lid, then dip the aquapainter and color away!
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Wanda Cullen ~ Dirty Dozen Alumni, On design team for Papertrey Ink, Designer for Color Throwdown and Fusion Card Challenges Cullen-ary Creations[/URL]...my blogHERE'S MY GALLERY[/URL]
I like the 'whatever the Michael's brand is' better than the SU ones, because you can choose brush sizes (and I find that the SU ones are leaky) Mind you, my friend Kim finds the Michael's ones leaky, LOL. I love them in general. Might graduate to a Niji, sounds great!
They work fabulously with SU watercolour paper and SU markers for faux watercolouring. Maria's has an amazing video tutorial on it here:
Can people *make* cards without an Aqua Painter? I'm not sure I can anymore Very useful, neat and handy. I leave my stored tip up in a pencil cup on my desk with water in it all the time. Can't believe how often I grab it to use!
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I have 2 Michaels brushes and 2 SU! aquapainters. I keep floorwax in one of the Michaels brushes for use with pearl ex. It is stored tip side up in a cup and has never clogged. The other Michaels brush is used for bleach, but I don't store bleach in the brush. The SU! aquapainters I use for watercoloring. I keep water in one and alcohol in the other to use with reinkers. These are also stored tip side up in a cup. I have never had a problem with leaks and they are always ready when I want to use them.
I bought the Michaels brushes first, as they are much cheaper than the aquapainters, because I wanted to see if this waterbrush thing was something I would use. Even though I was a demonstrator at the time I didn't buy all of the gadgets, I was just in it for the stamps. (Hobby Demo)
Once I got the hang of them I liked them and then I had the opportunity to try the aquapainters when someone ordered them from me. (I had to teach them how to use them) I liked the aquapainters too! They were longer, so they fit in my hand better. The reservoir holds more and I could control the flow of water better. So I ordered the aquapainters. Keep in mind that my Michaels brushes are old and I'm sure they have improved them since I purchased mine. I love them for the way that I use them, but I also love the aquapainters. Then again I love my paint brushes..............
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Cyndi My gallery My Blog - AGreenEgg
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I LOVE my aquapainters, like some of these ladies have said, and have owned them ever since Stampin' Up! came out with them. I've never had a problem with leaks and I leave water in them all the time. I take a paper towel or napkin and put it on my lap or on the table and then every time you want to change colors just wipe the painter on your towel until the tip is clean. Also, if you have too much water coming out, just wipe it on the towel a little. Sometimes I put drops of reinker on the top of the stamp case and pick it up from there, or you can scribble with your SU marker on a stamp case and pick that up to color with....not to mention the SU Watercolor Crayons! I think the important thing is to get quality ones, either Stampin' Up! or some other good brand. They're fun. If you have any difficulty at first using them, just keep practicing because you will get the hang of it!
aqua painter??
