Penny Black + Get Sketchy + a review

Today I want to share with you my thoughts about a new product that may interest any Copic colorers out there: X-Press It Blending Card. But I wanted to share my cards first in case you don't feel like reading today. :)

I've already shared one card I made with my very first Penny Black stamp set, Jolly Friends. I fell in love with their precious hedgehogs... but I have no idea how to color them! So I started with the mice and the snowman. Here are the other 2 cards I made with this adorable set.

(You can't really see in this photo, but I created an embossed frame by scoring at 1/4" all around the perimeter of the white mat.)

The next card is one I made for the Get Sketchy Challenge #59.

Now, Nichol Magouirk recently mentioned on her blog that she'd found a cardstock specifically designed for Copic coloring, called X-Press It Blending Card. I've been having a lot of issues with my coloring on Neenah Solar White cardstock, so I really wanted to try this new product out. I'd previously used Gina K. Designs Pure Luxury Heavy Baseweight cardstock and really liked how the Copics behaved with it; however, if you colored too many layers it would sort of bead up and not blend properly. I found a 10-pack of the Blending Card on ebay for a good price, and decided to give it a go. My first 3 cards using Penny Black stamps were all colored on it. Let me tell you, if you do any Copic coloring, you must try this product! It is so smooth and just really enjoyable to color on. Nothing bled or smudged or "overflowed the dam" as my Copic guru Jenn said. Nothing, no matter how many layers of shading and blending I added. Not even the dark red. That's a big deal. I did a lot of coloring with my Colorless Blender to get a subtle gradient of color on the mice and to shade the snowman. Eventually, the paper where I was coloring the brown mouse's face did start to tear and pill just a little bit, but I'd already said to myself probably five times that he was done and I should just have left well enough alone. :) So that's just something to be aware of. Another thing I found is that this cardstock smudges and shows little bits of dirt and schmutz really easily. So just make sure your desk and your fingers are clean and be careful if you're doing any ink sponging.

If you're lucky enough to have had a three-day weekend for Columbus Day, I hope you had lots of fun! Thanks for stopping by!