kids markers- tips and tricks for adults

Here is the deal...I LOVE kid's markers, specifically Crayola Washable Markers (and no I was not paid to say this). Even in my days before before Lucy, I would grab kid's markers instead of spending lots of money on all those fancy markers. Today I thought I would share some of my favorite tips and tricks when using kid's markers for adult mixed media projects!

Any washable or water soluble markers will work with the things that I share but I really do have a special place in my heart for Crayola Markers. They remind me of coloring as a kid, they come in a really great variety of colors and they are a super affordable way to add color to drawings and mixed media projects. The best part of using kid's markers is that I don't feel guilty when I am hard on them or treat them bad! I am notorious for loosing, ruining and and using my supplies in crazy ways so spending $3.50 on a package of markers is perfect for me.

My three year old Lucy loves to color which means we always have markers around but I also like to keep my own stash on hand. I typically will purchase a few packages at a time and I set one set aside for coloring only and then I use another set for experiments, layering and blending.

Markers and colored and colored pencils are so easy to toss into your purse and head out to create on the go!

Kid's markers are great to use for adding color to doodles and drawings. While they may not come in the color options that fancy illustration markers come in, they still have really nice classic colors that will transform any line drawing into something vibrant!

You can also layer and blend with them which makes coloring WAY more interesting!

I like to start with a light color and then I go over the top with another color (typically in the same color family).

Then I grab the lighter color and go over the top of everything- the two colors will begin to blend together.

I repeat this process over and over again until my colors are blended to my satisfaction!

I like using this blending technique when I am coloring my designs. It is a great way to add depth and layers of color.

One of my favorite things about the Crayola Washable Markers is that they are water soluble which means they will wash out of clothing but they also can be used like watercolors!

Add water to the surface and you can dissolve that pigment and blend it or even paint with it!

I LOVE using this process to transform marker drawings into something that look a little more like watercolors by softening edges and blending the color.

Remember a while back when I shared how to make a watercolor pencil travel palette? Well the cool thing about washable markers is that you can do the same thing!

Simply fill a page with marker pigment. When you are ready to paint, you can pull out your sheet of paper, add water and use the pigment for painting.

TIP: I always use a water brush when I am painting on the go. Because you fill the handle with water, it cancels out the need for a jar of water!

You can toss these pages into your pencil pouch and paint on the go without the hassle of bringing lots of supplies!

Another cool thing you can do is actually wet your paper first and then use the markers to draw onto the wet paper- you get a pretty bleed very similar to a watercolor bloom.

I like to use this technique to create real loose, watery background that I draw on over the top of.

And last, one of my favorite ways to use those markers is when they begin to dry out! I remove the ink and drop it into a small jar of water overnight. The ink will seep into the water and you are left with a liquid watercolors! I add this to spray bottles and misters and use them in my mixed media backgrounds.

TIP: You can even add the ink to rubbing alcohol to create your homemade alcohol inks!

There you go! I hope I have convinced a few of you that kid's markers are GREAT supply for adults!