Tag: Neocolor II

Handmade Swatch Bookmark

I recently made some Caran d’Ache Neocolor II swatches and wrote about them in a previous post. I used Color Combo stamps from Waffle Flower to print the layouts and spent about 2 hours coloring them in.

If you aren’t familiar with Neocolor II, they are highly-pigmented water-soluble crayons. You can use them dry or activate them with water.

Finished Neocolor II swatches.

I love making things with my manual die cutter and I have a steel rule die from Waffle Flower (obviously one of my favorite suppliers) that I use to make tags. I decided to use some of these swatches to create a bookmark.

First, I cut out the swatches I wanted to use. Then I glued them to the tag. As a finishing touch, I added a tassel.

I was so pleased with it that I decided to start on another one! It was an easy project when using the right tools.

Prismacolor Premier colored pencil swatch on Canson XL paper.

I’m going to use Caran d’Ache Luminance and Faber-Castell Polychromos to do the other two swatches.

Stay tuned for my second bookmark!

Caran d’Ache Neocolor II Swatches

Caran d’Ache products are the crème de la crème of art supplies. Any item they manufacture – whether it be colored pencils, water-soluble pencils, graphite sticks, etc. – is a shining jewel in an art supply collector’s studio.

I was introduced to the brand while meandering through my local art store and stumbling upon a giant open-stock display of Neocolor II water-soluble wax pastels. At the time, I had no idea how to use them, but the vibrant colors beckoned to me. I picked up a tin and went to my studio.

There was a bit of a learning curve. Actually, I’m still learning different techniques. Today, though, I just felt like coloring, so I did some swatches.

I used Arches Rough Watercolor Paper which turned out to be an excellent choice. Because the paper is so toothy, I only needed to make a light pass to get adequate coverage for filling in the squares.

Eventually, I’m going to cut these out and put them in my scrapbook.

The last square is still drying.