Thursday, April 2, 2009

Easter Card with a Dove Blender Pen

Last Saturday when I went to the craft show, I purchased a Dove Blender Pen. I had not heard of them, but the friend I was with had it on her shopping list. So, when in Rome....She bought a starter kit that include pen, replacement tips and a bottle of the blending fluid for approximately $10.50. I was not convinced, so I bought a pen and replacement nibs for around $6.00. A gal doing demonstrations at the booth, suggested that the pens could be used to blend either chalks or water color pencils. She also stated that you could use the pen with Gamsol. If you have not heard of the Dove product, it is a refillable pen with a fluid in it that blends the applied color.

Today, I got a new stamp set from CTMH. It was perfect to try with chalks and water color pencils. I personally don't mind using a stump with Gamsol so I am not even going to try it (at least for now :o) ). Here are the results...


I like chalked images to appear "soft." In my opinion, the blender pen muddied the colors. I was not pleased with the results and will not bother doing the technique again. I did like the results of the blender pen with the water color pencils. The Blender Pen mixed the colors easily which allowed for shading effects. The colors remained vibrant. The other great thing is the image was stamped on normal cardstock. I think the pen would work great for a quick project when you don't want to "bother" with water color paper. The CS did not curl or run like it can when doing the normal water color technique. Here is the complete card using the water color image. The card layout was for the SCS sketch challenge SC222.



Paper
CTMH – Unforgettable, Key to My Heart, Juniper, Sorbet and Colonial White
Stamps
CTMH – Bunny Love
Ink – Stamp Pads
CTMH – Sorbet and Desert Sand
Accessories
Ribbon, Water Color Pencils and Dove Blender Pen

So, Frugal, Frivolous or Foolish...For using the with chalks, I rank it Foolish. The results just weren't good. For using with water color pencils, the Dove Blending Pen was Frugal. It was easy, enhanced the colors and for small projects saves time because it worked well on plain cardstock. I will definitely use it again with water color pencils. For Now, Happy Crafting!

11 comments:

laos348 said...

I have not really used a blender pen myself before - thanks for the demonstration. I did like the result you got with the watercolor pencils - and very cute card.

Becky said...

Thanks for the demo. I love my prisma and gamsol :), this is an adorable card, cute image.

Lisa Phillippi llelsik@aol.com said...

Cute bunny! I agree, the watecolor pencils with the blender looks great- I love that technique! The card turned out beautiful, perfect spring colors!

Joanne Travis said...

I love that darling bunny with the ears coming through the bonnet. How cute is that!!
Thanks for sharing the coloring tips.

xiumaiyuki said...

Such a darling card! I love how the watercolor image turned out as well! Thanks for the review!!! looks like this pen will be on my wish list. I have Prisma pencils and I hate my blending stump!

Lisa Phillippi llelsik@aol.com said...

Cindy, I have an award for you! Just come by later today & pick it up!

Rosie Lilya said...

Thank you for sharing your experience with the different techniques. I really appreciate learning new things

Shirley said...

A very pretty card, Cindy. I have used the Dove blender pen with Radiant Pearls too. It also picks up color and is a great eraser that way. It is made from glycerin. I wanted to take a minute to thank you for your comment on my card on the I/O blog. I do it for them weekly and also have my own blog too! Thanks again and I love your blog too! Wish you would start a Follow Me so I could Follow You! :-)

Jennifer Talley said...

Thanks for sharing this. I do like how the one with the watercolor pencils turned out.

~*Joni said...

What a sweet bunny! I love the side by side comparison, it gives such a great visual in your demo. I also love this card - he's such a sweety! And your FFF mantra is just so funny, I'll have to remember that every time I go shopping. ;)

Penny said...

I didn't even know you could use a blending pen with chalks... interesting.