Blendabilities Markers Tutorial


Today I've been trying out the new Blendabilities Markers from the latest Stampin' Up! Catalogue.  I love that they come in a 3-pack of co-ordinating colours that are guaranteed to match each other AND your other Stampin' Up! inks, cardstock and accessories! 

I have never used alcohol markers before, so this has been a steep learning curve, but I wanted to learn it so I can sell them to my customers properly.  There are a few videos on the Stampin' Up! YouTube channel, plus I watched one by Patty Bennett showing some different techniques, but then it was over to me to practice and see what works!  So here are some tips I have put together:

1.  Always use Tuxedo Black Memento Ink - it doesn't bleed like other black inks (such as StazOn).  I love that the Memento Ink washes up easily on the Stampin' Scrub as well.
2.  Colour with a light touch, you don't need to press hard at all.
3.  Start with the darkest shade, then medium, then light.  Use the lightest one for most of your blending to remove the sharp lines that occur when you change pens.
4. Use either a flicking motion or a circular motion when colouring.  You should always be working in one direction only - do not go back and forwards.  Left to right, left to right, left to right.  The idea is that when you change pens, you are picking up some of the ink that's already on the page at the same time as applying new ink from the pen - this is how they blend.
5. With that in mind, colour small sections at a time - eg. finish one whole petal or leaf before starting the next one.
6. Don't use your darkest pen to go right up to the outline of your image - they do sometimes bleed a little bit if you go too close to the edge.  So leave a 1mm gap, and fill this in with your medium or light pen with gentle flicks towards the outer edge.
7. There is a Colour Lifter pen for those times when you do accidentally colour outside the line.  I have found it to work best on the Light and Medium pens.  It is not an eraser, you use it to push the ink back inside the outline.
8. Be patient and work slowly.

After putting these skills to the test, here is my finished product with the In This Together stampset:

 
 
This card uses 5 of the 6 colours that are currently available (you get all 3 shades in a pack - Dark, Medium, Light) and in a few weeks there will be another 6 colours released.  The Memento ink and refil, Colour Lifter pen, and Skin Tone Assortment are also available now.

Available now:
- Rich Razzleberry
- Cherry Cobbler
- Pumpkin Pie
- Daffodil Delight
- Old Olive
- Coastal Cabana
- Skin Tone Assortment (6 pens)

Available in August:
- Melon Mambo
- Calypso Coral
- Night of Navy
- Crumb Cake
- Wisteria Wonder
- Smoky Slate

Each pack costs $25.95, and the Skin Tone Assortment is $47.95.  The Colour Lifter is $10.95, and the Memento Ink is $11.95, and the refil is $10.95 (all prices are NZD$).

You can check them out, and see the introductory video, here.

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