Blendabilities

I ordered 2 sets of the new Blendabilities alcohol markers on my pre-order and have had a little time to play with them.  Here are my first 3 attempts to color a flower with them.  Can you believe my first attempt was better than my second???  I was basically just coloring with them and couldn't get them to blend.  I watched a couple of videos but didn't get the "magic" tip that could make my blending better.  Then I was at a friend's house who has had a lot of experience with the other alcohol markers and she told me to just color 1 or 2 petals at a time.  I was going over the whole flower with the dark, then the medium, then the light shades.  By the time I started on the next shade the previous one had dried too much to blend.  Makes total sense but I never thought about it while I was coloring with them before.  And none of the videos I had watched had included that tip.  It made a huge difference in being able to blend the colors, as you can tell with the 3rd attempt.  The coloring was kind of sloppy but you can see that the blending was much better.  I still need a lot of practice but I'm more excited about the markers now that I can blend them and have the shading look better.

I used the new Blended Bloom individual stamp to stamp the flowers with Memento ink that Stampin' Up has added to it's catalog because it is the best ink to use with the Blendabilities markers.  The markers come in sets of 3, a light, medium and dark shade so that the colors will be the right shades to blend well.  I used the Coastal Cabana trio to color the flower. 

After I got the hang of it I got out a second color set of markers, the Old Olive assortment and stamped up a card front from a new hostess set that will be in the new catalog that will begin on June 1st called Bloom With Hope.  It is an 11 stamp set that has 5 sentiments and 6 flower parts.  I used the largest flower and the stem and leaves.  The Happy Birthday also is in the set.  I stamped it a little crooked, it may need some intervention unless I get used to the tilt of it.  The blue cardstock and ribbon may look a little unfamiliar to you, it is from the new 2014/15 In Color collection.  It is called Lost Lagoon. I love the new Stitched Satin Ribbon that comes in the new In Colors shades, isn't it beautiful?  I will be using the other 4 colors in projects soon.  They are Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, Mossy Meadow and Tangelo Twist. 

I'm not saying I am now an expert at blending but I am very pleased with my progress.  I will get better as I practice and get more experience.  I wasn't being all that careful in my practice pieces either so I need to watch the lines more.  Another tip I heard was to not color all the way up to the lines because the alcohol ink tends to bleed some.  I think I need to pop open the small end more often too so I can get in the smaller areas and tight corners. 

The new catalog is an amazing catalog, I'm so excited about it!  There are still many of our favorite stamp sets from the past in it but there are so many new sets that will be so much fun to add to my stamp collection.  I hope to spend more time scrapbooking now.  I have neglected my scrapbooks for making cards the past couple of years.  Scrapbooking was my original passion but cards are so quick and easy, I have been going with the more instant gratification of seeing my art finished more quickly.  It is nice to have lots of cards ready any time I need to send one to someone too.

There are 12 color sets of the new Blendabilities markers.  The set of 3 sells for $11.95 so that is only $4 per marker.  That's better than the regular price of the other brand of alcohol markers in the local craft stores.  I was pleased about that.  Of course, having them in colors that match Stampin' Up's cardstock is a wonderful bonus!  I love not having to struggle to find something to match.  There is also a skin tone assortment of 6 colors so you can color anyone  :~)  I need to get the new Color Lifter pen too, I make so many mistakes!