Refilling markers

Yes, you read the title right, you can refill the Stampin' Up markers! What a great way to save money. As long as you take care of the tips, your Stampin' Up markers can literally last for years.

A friend wanted to get markers in the new colors and said she needed to replace some of her old markers. I told her how she could get the new markers and an insert for her marker case. I love how Stampin' Up took into account that many people had bought their whole case of markers and would like to get just the new colors. They even went so far as to include a label you can slip in to your case to replace the old label. There are 13 markers in the "New Color Kit" for $35.95. That's like getting almost 3 markers free!

On to her second thing, to replace some of her old markers that were going dry. You can use the reinkers for ink pads to refill your markers. It is easy and nearly mess-free. I have heard of 3 different ways to do this. I took pictures of each way so you can decide for yourself which way will be the best for you.

First, you can pull out the brush marker nib (the bigger end) out with some tweezers and drip the ink down into the barrel. Pro - This is quick and easy. Con - the ink might not all get right in the center of the ink holding part of the pen and leak out the other end. Guess how I know.

Second, use a pair of pliers and pull out the whole plastic end of the pen. Take out the ink holding part from the pen and drip ink into each end, replace it into the pen and put the plastic end back on, be sure it snaps all the way back into the pen. Pro - you can be sure all the ink gets into the center of the pen. Con - it can be hard to pull the plastic end out of the pen.

Third, pull the brush marker nib out and soak it into a puddle of ink placed in a small container. Let it soak in plenty of ink for a couple of minutes and put it back into the marker. Pro - quick and easy and you get plenty of ink in the tip. Con - I don't think the ink would last as long this way. You might as well put a few drops into the ink holding middle piece while the nib is soaking.

One last note: Did you know the tips of the reinker bottles come off? You may never need to take it off for any reason but it is important to know this when you are reinking an ink pad. I found out the hard way. I was teaching a class and discovered that the ink pad was too dry to do the technique I was teaching. I decided it was a good time to show how to reink an ink pad. As I was applying the ink I rubbed it too hard on the ink pad and the top popped off and ink went spewing everywhere! Luckily I had my sample in plastic and the ink actually washed out of my blouse, although I had a sweatshirt with me and went and changed into it and rinsed out the ink right away. I don't have to work hard to goof up a class, it just kind of happens!

I hope this helps and you can get out those markers you thought were dried up and refill them and start using them again. If you need reinkers, I can help you out!