Blendabilities--shading with beautiful color is easier than ever!

One of the biggest new product lines to come with the new catalog on June 2nd are the Stampin' Blendabilities markers: sets of 3 pens in light, medium, and dark shades that color very smoothly because they are alcohol based.  Most markers, including the classic Stampin' Up ones, are water-based and do well for most coloring needs.  But alcohol markers enable you to smoothly blend colors in a way you never thought possible.  In  nutshell, here are some of their distinctive properties:

1. No streaks when coloring--you can cover large areas and not see a single hard edge or those tell-tale coloring lines. Shading lighter/darker tones or different colors is super easy and blend seamlessly.
2. Markers come in 2 tips--fine and brush.  The fine tip is larger than in the classic water-based markers; I find I'm using this a lot for better control.
3. You must use a water based ink to stamp your images, not alcohol (like Staz-On).  The new Memento Black Pad is great for this; allow 30 seconds for the image the dry and go for it!
4. Images will be colorfast and not fade over time (like water-based colors).
5. Standard Whisper White or other colored card stock is fine, special watercolor paper is not needed. You will be blending color over the same area repeatedly and not see any shredding or pilling of the paper.
6. Blendabilities tips are made from nylon and won't fray as with other types of pens.
7. Pens have rectangle barrels and tight caps, so they won't roll off the table or dry out.
8. You can color most any surface: rhinestone jewels, pearls, buttons, ribbons, clear window sheet, etc.  Imagine what you can color to match your Stampin' Up cardstock and Designer Series Prints!

 Like any new tool, it takes a while to know how to control the pen and get the look you want.  I stamped some line images here and enjoyed some therapeutic "playtime":  coloring in different ways to see how the shading with the pens worked. The first butterfly was done with 3 shades of Coastal Cabana, dark in the center and shading out to light on the edges.  But look what happens when I used the medium Coastal Cabana to shade the center, and then blended with Light Daffodil Delight in the middle to the edge--a nice shade of green betwtween them!  Remember your color theory in school?  It will come in handy as you blend your tones! 

I have always loved the color shading on fall leaves, and really look forward to using the Blendabilities to do that.  Here I've done a couple of shadings with the Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, and Daffodil pens to get some really nice fall colors.  Very easy to do, and no worries about color transfer between pens -- it won't happen here. Imagine how much more I could do with a bigger leaf!

Stay tuned for the June class pictures, you'll have the chance to see how great these pens look on one of the cards that we'll be making. And wait until you try them out in person, you'll be impressed at how artistic you really are!