Just Add Color

I have always loved to color, even when it was considered a “little kid” thing to do. I remember shopping with a cousin and I bought a coloring book and new crayons. We were probably about 9 or 10 and I could tell from her reaction that she didn’t think coloring was an appropriate pastime for kids our age.

Fortunately, I found Stampin’ Up! where coloring is encouraged. And we have lots of coloring options. (Another fortunate event in my life – Miss Amelia loves to color. She’ll spend hours with crayons, markers, paint, or pencils. And she’s very good. At not quite 3-1/2, she stays in the lines and is very thoughtful in her choice of colors. Yes, I’m biased, but still, she’s quite artistic!)

I decided to put together a comparison of different coloring mediums that we offer in the Stampin’ Up! catalogs. I used the Color Me Happy stamp set for each sample, as well as the same embellishments (Tutti-frutti Washi Tape), colors (Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie), and sentiment (from the All Things Thanks stamp set). I wanted each to be identical so the comparison would be very obvious.

First, here’s a look at all of the options.

From left to right – top row – Brusho, Stampin’ Blends, Watercolor Pencils with Blender Pens; bottom row – Classic Stampin’ Pads with Blender Pens, Stampin’ Write Markers only, Stampin’ Write Markers with Aqua Painters. Here are details and each card separately.

 I used Brusho Crystal Colour to paint this one. I stamped each Lantern in Basic Black Archival Ink on Watercolor Paper, then stamped over each with VersaMark. Using the Stamparatus made this super easy. Then I embossed with Clear Stampin’ Emboss Powder and heated with my heat tool. These colors were a bit tricky, since the Brusho colors aren’t the same as Stampin’ Up! colors. There is a Moss Green in the Brusho bundle, but I wanted one a little brighter. So I mixed Yellow and Prussian Blue together for the green lantern. The Bermuda Bay lantern was a bit more difficult. I needed a little more yellow to brighten it up. The yellow and orange lanterns are simply Yellow and Gamboge powders, and the Rich Razzleberry lantern is a mix of Brilliant Red and Prussian Blue. I mixed in little palettes and applied the color with an Aqua Painter.

For this card, I used our wonderful Stampin’ Blends with Whisper White Cardstock and Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. Since the Stampin’ Blends are alcohol markers, you need to use the Memento ink, because it’s water based. You can also use any of our Classic Stampin’ Pads, as they are also water based, but I wanted to use the same color ink on all the cards. The colors are Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry, and Calypso Coral. I used both the light and dark markers for each lantern.

For this card, I used Basic Black Archival Ink to stamp the lanterns and sentiment. I colored with Watercolor Pencils and a Blender Pen on Whisper White Cardstock. I like to use Blender Pens with Whisper White instead of an Aqua Painter, because you have a bit more control. I colored with the pencils, then blended the color with the Blender, adding more pencil color for shadows as needed.

This is Classic Stampin’ Pads and Blender Pens. I picked up color from the lids of the Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry, and Calypso Coral Classic Pads, then blended into the image. Again, I stamped in Basic Black Archival Ink on Whisper White Cardstock.

For this one, I stamped (again) on Whisper White Cardstock with Basic Black Archival Ink. Then I colored with Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry, and Calypso Coral Stampin’ Write Markers. You can get all except the Calypso Coral in the Brights Collection of Stampin’ Write Markers. The Calypso Coral is a Subtle, but you can easily substitute Pumpkin Pie or Tangerine Tango (the two oranges in the Brights Collection) if you don’t want to purchase two collections of markers.

This is the result of Stampin’ Write Markers and Aqua Painters on Watercolor Paper. Again, I stamped in Basic Black Archival ink. Then I added color to the lanterns and used an Aqua Painter to move the color around to create shadows and highlights.

By the way – the Color Me Happy stamp set is not in any current catalog, but it is available in the online store (see list below). The stamp set and a coordinating project kit were launched with the Stampin’ Blends. These sets are so fun to color, and can be used for many different occasions.

There are several things to remember when watercoloring. First, if you’re using alcohol markers to color, you need to use a water based ink to stamp with (either Memento or Classic Pads). If you’re using water or a water based product to color, use our Archival Stampin’ Pads (Basic Black or Basic Gray). And if you’re using an Aqua Painter or paint brush, you’ll want to use Watercolor Paper.

I hope this helps you understand some of our products and shows you different “looks” you can achieve with a variety of coloring mediums. Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Have a colorful day!

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