Sharpie Pens

I’ve been using Sharpie Pens for a while now. I love how easy they are to find (meaning I can usually find them on sale somewhere), how long they last, and how well they write on photos and glossy surfaces. They call them “pens” but I would call them a marker – there’s no rollerball which in my mind is what makes a pen a pen. These have a nub? Felt bit? Not sure what it’s called but I’m sure you know what I mean :) Anyways, I found a set of twelve that has ten different colours ( you get two each of the black and the blue). I found them at Target for $12CAD, but you can easily find them at office supply stores.

Sharpie Pens

They’re great for writing on photos, or those journalling cards that have a bit of a slick surface – I’m looking at you Crate Paper The Open Road. They dry quickly, and don’t have an odour. They also don’t bleed through so they’re great to use on cut apart type journalling cards if you’re planning on the reverse side showing on the other side of your pocket page. I used Recollections white card stock, and that bottom left photo is the back side – you can’t see where any of the writing is. They write smoothly, and the nib (again?), doesn’t fuzz up so your line stays crisp even after a lot of use.

For me, the black is a basic that I always have around. Finding them in colours was a happy find – sometimes black is just too dark, too high a contrast on a lighter page. I also think that having the additional colours will be useful for adding a simple lined border around elements. The price and quality means these are a great value – something I always love.

 

N.B. I have no connections to Sharpie or any retailer, and I bought these of my own free will :)

 

Liquitex Professional Paint Markers

I had to jump on today and show you my newest product find – I love them that much! They’re Liquitex Professional Paint Markers. I found them at Michaels, in the art supplies section, but a quick peek online shows that they can be found at most art stores – DeSerres, Dick Blick, Curry’s, and the like. Their colours are amazing, and the paint is so incredibly pigmented. That’s one coat on those Studio Calico wood veneers and just look at them!

Liquitex Paint Markers

On paper, that’s plain old Recollections white card stock in the pictures, they leave a highlighter type mark at the end of the stroke. It’s more visible with the aqua and green than with the yellow. They’re not too wet – the paper didn’t warp, but the tip isn’t soft so I would expect that with multiple coats on paper you could end up roughing up the paper. On the wood veneers, the colour is super saturated but the texture of the grain is still visible. I’m not sure if with multiple coats the paint would start to sit on the surface more, but I’m so happy with the boldness of the colour that I didn’t feel the need to add additional coats. It dries quickly, about 2-3 minutes, on both the paper and veneers.

So, the details: the paint is a water-based acrylic, it’s lightfast, opaque, and it’s permanent. The markers shown have the smaller chisel tip, 2-4mm, but a broader tip is also available. They sell for about $8 CAD at Michaels, but I couldn’t find what the MSRP is – I find Michaels hit and miss on pricing for art supplies. Sometimes they work out to be the better deal, especially if there’s a coupon, and sometimes the art store has stuff a bit cheaper.

For me, I love how pigmented they are, the colours they come in, and how easy the pen is to store and use. Price wise, they’re not too different than other scrapbook products like Tim Holtz inks and paints or Heidi Swapp Color Shine mists. I’ll buy them with I have a definite project in mind, but unless I find them on a huge discount I won’t be stocking up. What I’m excited about is trying them out on chipboard. They have some stunning reds that would be just perfect for use on a December Daily. I’ll let you know how that works out :)

N.B. I have no connections to Liquitex or any retailers, and I bought these products of my own free will :)