"When I was in college learning how to paint with watercolors, it was my least favorite medium. It was hard to control, unpredictable and you only got one shot with the paper. I stuck to oils and acrylics.

Years later, when I had been hired to create cartoon-like illustrations, I was having trouble finding something to work for me. I bought a set of watercolor pencils. That started a love affair that hasn't ended to this day. I own at least seven sets, not including the watercolor crayons that I love love love! I even bought regular watercolors to augment my new pencil obsession.

So when I went full-time on scrapbooking, I wanted a way to incorporate the watercolor pencils. What I found was that the pencils could be used on most scrapbooking papers, as long as they aren't coated. The trick is in how you add water. Obviously, the thinner the paper, the smaller amount of water you want to use and if it is very thin, just skip the water and use them as colored pencils. When I did want to add water, I started using Aqua-Flo brushes made by Royal Langnickel. They are brushes, but the barrel is a water receptical, so you never have to dip the brush in water. I found with the pencils that this was when you made mistakes. The water pens/brushes took that part out of the equation.

So, how can these wonderful pencils help you? Use them to fill in your rubber stamping or patterns on paper, or any other figures that could use some color. They work better than markers because you can control the amount of color added and if you are careful with your water, they don't bleed outside of the lines. You can also erase some of the brands of pencils before you wet them.

More on my favorite brands another time. If you are going to invest in a set, get the larger set. Don't scrimp and get a set of six or twelve. The sets with 36, 48 or 72 are worth it. You will wish you had done that in the first place, anyway. Enjoy!
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