Caly Person

I ordered a 60 count set of the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers from Amazon about 3 weeks ago and it was being imported from Japan. The tracking info stated that it would be delivered between 6/22 and 7/14 – so I was pretty excited when the doorbell rang yesterday and I had to sign for something from Japan! These markers are so unique: though they are waterbased – they blend well like Copics – but are for use on watercolor paper. They are not refillable – but I hear they last a long time. Their tips are made of real brush fibers instead of the typical felt nibs – so you can do brush lettering with them too! I’m excited about this feature.

My first goal, of course, is always organization. I have a very small crafting space so everything has to have it’s place. Jennifer McGuire has done some amazing tutorials on these markers – so be sure to check out her YouTube channel. She also organizes her pens this way and I found it to be very helpful and it was exactly what I wanted – so I duplicated it. I created color swatches for the tops of these pens using watercolor paper, the ink colors and a Ranger detailer brush. Once a sample of the watercolored ink is dry, I used a standard whole punch and punched it out. Then I glued it on the top of each cap with Multi Medium Matte glue. I started out with this MMM glue and then switched to the Tombow Mono Liquid Glue – no reason – I just wanted to see if it would stick as well and it did. Then I colored half of the swatch with the true ink color (untouched by water). So – you’ll see what it looks like as a marker and as watercolor. To finish the look, I topped it off with Crystal Effects (similar to Glossy Accents) – I think this provides a protective barrier for the swatches. Plus – it looks great! 🙂

These desk cubes are from Amazon (will be listed in the supplies section below). I got two – one unit for my distress markers (which I didn’t have a storage solution for before now). Distress markers have to be stored horizontally – so this is a great solution. The Zig markers can be stored either way – but personally – I like for all my markers to be stored horizontally – I think it’s easier to see the colors and to grab them for use. These cubes are 6″x6″x6″; Zig Markers are 6″; Distress markers 7″-so it overhangs just a tad, which doesn’t bother me.

You can really watercolor with these markers – I made a quick card to show that you can create a watercolor background using the Zig markers – just like you can with Distress markers. You really don’t have to have both kinds of markers – you can really create the same looks with either. They are just unique in their own ways – not to mention the colors are very different.

I wanted to use vellum on this card because I want to use it in Darlene Devries’ Live Love Cards June Challenge.

I also want to mention that this card is inspired by Carissa Wiley’s Card in the Pretty Pink Posh Watercolor Blog Hop. You can visit the Blog Hop here or click on the image. So I’ll be entering this card there as well in addition to on Darlene’s Vellum Challenge. 2 for 1 – YAY!

Here’s my video on the storage of Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers and a quick tutorial on this card:

Supplies:

Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers used on the card: 028 pale pink, 026 light pink, 021 light carmine

Zig Clean Color Real Brush	Canson XL Watercolor Paper Pad	Recollections 110 lb	Basic Black Cardstock
Crumb Cake Ink	Stazon White and Refill Ink	Feathers Framelit Dies	Banners Framelits Dies
Ranger Detailer Water Brush		Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue	ATG Gun
Mini Multi Medium Matte Glue	QC Precision Tip Applicator Bottle	Deflect-O Desk Cube	SU Dots & Stripes
Four Feathers	LYB Love, Laugh & Smile	Vellum Cardstock	Crystal Effects

*Disclaimer: This is a supply list that I’ve created myself and have links to the site where I think you can get the best savings or more specifically, where I may have purchased these items. For this reason, only one site will be listed for each item. Please note this in no way means the item can only be purchased from the site listed here. J