Watercolor crayons

[howdyheidi]

Does anyone use watercolor crayons?  I have seen some older videos where Stampin up had some, and more recently the Frugal Crafter uses them directly on the stamp. I really like the look and it seems like it is easier to blend colors than using watercolor markers.

I wonder if it is enough different to have both watercolor markers and the watercolor crayons. 

I also wonder if they are a lot different from the Faber Castell Gelatos. 

Anyone have any input on this topic?

[CarefreeSadie]

I have watercolor crayons and watercolor pencils and markers and a few gelatos.  They all work in the same manner.  If you have gelatos you can use them directly on the stamps, then spritz, and then stamp.  The watercolor colors are great for making a background.  I find it hard to do fine lines with them so I mostly use my watercolor pencils or markers for images and the watercolor crayons for backgrounds.  To me they are all so similar that a person could use them interchangeably if you were good with them.  None of them are what is considered permanent, if using underneath something if the top something uses water the colors will move.  The only watercolor pencils that are permanent are Inktense pencils after they are dry.  Even gel medium will move gelatos, watercolor pencils and pens, and watercolor crayons around after they are dry. 

As far as I can tell watercolor anything (gelatos, crayons, pencils, distress ink, dylusions spray, watercolor markers, watercolor paints)  will all move if you put more wet medium on top.  The only things that are permanent are Inktense pencils, acrylic paints, and different brands of alcohol pens.

If you already have gelatos you can do everything with those that you could do with watercolor crayons.  The watercolor markers do work really well on stamps.   

[SWLady]

I'll be watching this thread. I purchased some used watercolor crayons at my Stampin-up lady's yard sale before we moved. Just found them today and haven't used them yet! I also have watercolor pencils, Inktense and a few gelatos. Haven't used the gelatos yet either! Guess I better get busy.

[howdyheidi]

SW Lady, if you like to watch videos, like I said I saw the Frugal Crafter use them several times in the last year.

[howdyheidi]

Thanks for all the info Sadie!

[lovepug2]

I don't have any watercolor crayons but I've seen the videos on them from frugal crafter. They look pretty interesting. I do have some gelatos and enjoy using them sometimes.

Are the inktense blocks similar to watercolor crayons?

[howdyheidi]

Good point, LeigAnn, about considering the Inktense blocks.  There are some fun things you can do with those like grating them up and so on, and I wonder if you could color on stamps with them and then stamp?  The images would be permanent when dry, which is different than all other watercolors, right?
hmmmmm......

[lovepug2]

I couldn find anything about using them to color directly onto the stamp. They seem to be popular in mixed media art. I love how bold the colors are. One thing I found is a tutorial for taking the shaving and making your own ink spray with them. They seem like a pretty versatile medium.

[howdyheidi]

I pinned this ages ago regarding using Inktense blocks and stamps: http://www.lovepencils.co.uk/post/2012/01/30/Valentines-Card-Project-with-Sarah-Hurley.aspx 

Not sure how versatile, but it looks nice in this instance. 

[djc]

I remember seeing videos of Fred Mullet where he used watercolor crayons directly on his fish stamps.  They looked great.  I went looking, but I haven't found that video . . . yet.

Here's a tutorial by Lisa Spangler.  She's using watercolor crayons direct-to-rubber.  Using Watercolor Crayons, Part 1; Using Watercolor Crayons, Part 2

Hope this helps.
Daria

Still looking . . .

Splitcoaststamper tutorial by Beate Johns

[howdyheidi]

Thanks Daria.  I have to say the more I think about it, the more I want the watercolor crayons. They are not too expensive. However, the frugal crafter said she thought you might be able to get a similar look with your watercolor pencils, so I might try that first.  I will be checking out your links!

[Far North]

If one does a Yahoo search on Fred Mullet watercolor crayons a great collection of Fred's work ) pops up and unfortunately some others too.  On his main website there is a technique category on the sidebar.  The spritizing page offers some additional thoughts beyond our typical spritzing.

[howdyheidi]

New Prima Watersoluble Oil Pastel Crayons

Used in a project:
https://thefrugalcrafter.wordpress.com/2015/11/04/stamp-school-playing-with-punches-prima-water-soluble-oil-pastels/

Also a video comparing these new crayons to watercolor crayons and gelatos. 

http://youtu.be/JsPe8okmWPY

[Far North]

Thank you Heidi for sharing this terrific comparison video! 

[howdyheidi]

I loved the comparison and since I do not have any, I think I am going to go with the Watersoluble Oil Pastels., but I have't quite pushed the "order" button.  In the project video, Lindsay says that when you stamp with these, they retain the stamped image just a little more when you go to fill in the image with color, and I really like that idea for retaining the stamped image more but still getting the pretty watercolor look.

At under $20, it is a great price compared with gelatos.

But she did say that if you have Gelatos you really probably do not need these, they can do very similar things. 

The one thing I haven't seen is the Watersoluble Oil Pastels creating a background like people do with gelatos.