Testing New Watercolors - Nuvo Watercolor Pencils & American Crafts Paper Fashion

[@annettefournier9655]

You can blend your pencils colors before you add water and get many nice colors depending on the pigment load of the brand of pencils. Plus it's easy to draw in stems of flowers and fine lines or outlines of drawings. Like line and wash but with colors that blend into your watercolors leaving no real contrasting pencil lines like with graphite. Small details are easy and precise added to a watercolor painting with the pencils as well. Plus all you mentioned.😁😁😄

[@maggiedonaldson8432]

I love the Nuvo pencils. I spend a lot of time sitting at craft stalls, and I take a whole load of pre-stamped images, the Nuvo pencils and some aqua brushes and colour in situ. It gets a lot of attention from buyers, especially seeing finished images on cards so they KNOW they are handmade by me. The lightweight portability and cleanliness of the pencil system really works for me. I agree a light touch is essential. They also work well on really smooth paper

[@carriedoty4527]

I am sew very happy that Kristina did this review. I have the full set of the Nuvo Watercolor Pencils & I can’t wait to try them later today. I thank you for your opinion of them also.

[@dianeoneil9563]

I was wondering if stamping and pencil water coloring on the smooth side of water color paper would spread easier??!!

[@andrealavigne7824]

Thanks for such an honest review, Kristina! I have never had a love for watercolor pencils, except for my Inktense pencils. With those, I never color on the paper with the pencil, but rather pick up the pigment from the pencil with a damp paintbrush & then apply it to the paper. I find I can get a lot of control over shading & color intensity that way, & I don't have to work to get the pigment to spread on the paper and not leave pencil marks or lines. I know someone suggested dipping the watercolor pencil in water first to get more intense color. But at least in my experience, the paper seems to want to grab the color even more, making it harder to spread out. Don't know if I may be missing something, but there you go. I love how the second piece came out--very vibrant! It's funny, though, because when you first swatched the colors, they seemed brighter, but the finished piece you put on the card looks kind of muted--almost like earthy jewel tones. Of course, that could be just the video color difference. Anyway, thank you again for doing this. Love your "live" (no voice-over) videos! Take care, & have a wonderful day! :)

[@kays-gee9018]

Try the inktense pencils by Derwent, you can blend them into each other before touching them with water and they are not muted at all!

[@wendyodell356]

Beautiful! I'm lovin the new paints and pencils you used. I think for the most part the turned out fabulous. I have Stampin Up's water color pencils and they are awesome. They blend very nice, smooth, vibrant and the colors are exactly like the color shown. It's a huge set, probably 36 or 40 markers. God bless you Kristina ❤ XOXO

[@Studio_ODF]

I enjoyed your "live video". I love hearing your thoughts while crafting and all the crafty sounds 😊😊 Xoxo Olga

[@Kammitoes]

I don’t use a brush to blend watercolour pencils I just don’t enjoy the lack of control. My preference is Zig blender pen or water brush pen. Personal preference only but I like the softer effect of pencils over palette Thanks for the review 🌸

[@Kammitoes]

Melissa Sullivan pleasure treasure🌺

[@heleenglazenburg1405]

I love watercolor pencils There are Many ways to use Them and every brand have different intensity.The watercolor pans you used are very beautiful too. love the results of Both cards.

[@CoolCakesandCraftswithAmalia1]

I like you speaking extemporaneously vs voice over. Hearing your thought process as you work with the products is really great. I understand your view of the pencils vs the pans. Gorgeous results either way.

[@Lauraisabelgonzalezart]

I TOTALLY agree!

[@carriedoty4527]

I agree as well! I just love 💕 hearing her voice (she has a very soothing voice IMHO) on her KZbin Tutorials/reviews. I read her Blog all the time and I have learned so much from her.

[@verblu8507]

WOW! The vibrancy of that second watercolor card is beautiful! I truly enjoy watching your creative work! Thanks Kristina for continuing to inspire artistically! God bless!!!

[@jmspegel]

couple of things about watercolor pencils. 1. use hot press paper 2. watch youtube channel Marty Owens interview with Caran Dache rep. that teaches what their different mediums are used for.

[@NancyLynn]

For me, I just love to watch you paint LOL! Thank you Kristina....always a joy!

[@judysander2684]

Nice pencils for subtle color and they do fade out. However, I love my Inktense brand pencils for bolder colors. All brands have their own properties which can be advantageous for certain things. I really like the colors of the water colors. Thanks for showing these and reminding how you apply the color to water color paper properly really makes for s good test. .

[@cathyscroggy7574]

I’ve used both before. I’ve used a heavy hand with pencils to get the darker more vibrant colors like you do with the paint pods. Either way, both cards are beautiful

[@confidential5897]

I love watching your watercolor cards but hope you give watercolor pencils another shot! Not sure what brands you tried earlier but Arteza is surprisingly good quality. Unlike most others who have commented, I prefer them on textured paper, with lots of light layers. A little more tedious than brushing on traditional watercolor but you can layer and before adding water and get really interesting depth of color. Not necessary to mix colors on a palette first!

[@TheV398]

Kristen, You know what I do with pencils I take the brush to the tips of the pencils and they will get VERY bright. Love your cards.

[@lindaholt2235]

I love working with colored pencils for the reasons you mentioned but also because managing all the variables: brush, water, pigment control is a learning curve.

[@leanakhouang8998]

Christina, just keep on keeping on! Love your videos and love watching how talented you are! Thanks for the good feedback and honest reviews!

[@BornAgainFarmGirl]

I prefer this sort of video Kristina 🙋🏻‍♀️ and my only real use for watercolor pencils are when I travel . That watercolor pallet was really interesting, very earthy or natural . I’m very involved in Kathy’s 30 day challenge too , great discipline .

[@elizabetheddy1073]

Thanks Kristina, I too love ur real time videos vs voiceovers.😊💗👍🏼 I’ve always felt the same way with WC pencils. Especially when owning mission gold WC paints! 💗

[@erj1230]

Please try QUALITY watercolor pencils. And yes, you can color over what you painted to blend. I took a whole watercolor pencil class at art school and love working with them.

[@MaryPrasadArt]

Thanks for the review; I was curious about those paints. Artist grade watercolor pencils are much more pigmented and melt away easily - Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer, Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarell are two excellent brands. Derwent Inktense are also really pigmented, although they are ink and dry more permanent (may not be as lightfast either) but you can layer them more easily.

[@nicoleengland9223]

Absolutely gorgeous water colours from American Crafts. Your colouring is impeccable- I can't get enough of it. Thanks for the video and inspiration

[@cheriereighard733]

I love the gold embossing powder. Looks like good thread and beautiful fabric.

[@denisefilippini7386]

I've never heard of watercolor pencils. Interesting.

[@constancehollenbeck8528]

I enjoyed the process of using the watercolor pencils and they do have a nice soft tone to them which can be hard to achieve with some paints.

[@22pvincent]

The second card looks three dimensional, really cool! Bring on more watercolor cards.

[@teresadoyle1396]

WOW Kristina, they are both beautiful! I do love the intensity of the pan set but when you want a more pastel/muted colour the pencils did a great job for that type of application.The round and round stamp looks awesome done like this. Thanks for sharing them both.

[@abbiclarkarts9092]

I love watercolor. It's one of my favorite mediums!

[@DanaJoy]

Hands down I like the watercolor pans better. I have pencils and I use them sometimes but nothing is more thrilling for me than using a paint palette. And those colors are so yummy too.

[@icemark2la]

The watercolor print looks three dimensional within each embossed area! Way kewl!

[@lindazabel5925]

Love hearing your thoughts as you’re painting! Thank you!

[@janesmith9138]

For more intense color, you can try dipping the pencil itself in water and color that way.

[@sarahmalm9684]

I have used watercolor pencils to add small detail to traditional watercoloring. I like the effect that has.

[@MsHazza73]

I loved these both, gorgeous cards and applications, colours are divine. Thanks for such honest opinions. The pencils would be great for when you want an almost pastel-look, subtle background...so as not to overtake another accent or title etc. You are so creative and talented. And the embossed sentiment is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!!

[@summer5851]

I love the second cards vibrancy. Both are very pretty, But love the look of those watercolors. Another great vid Kristina. Thank you.

[@blip-2024]

I love this format.

[@fantasticmio]

When I was a kid there were these painting/colouring books where you just added water and the colours appeared. I thought it could be neat to make one of these for my niece who loves painting but is still quite young, by using watercolour pencils.

[@madebylora]

I guess using the pencils very lightly gives a similar “intensity” to using really watery paint. With smoother, non watercolour, paper you could probably colour more intensely with the pencils (but obviously not using much water to avoid buckling the paper too much). I carry watercolour pencils and also paints in my travel kit because sometimes it’s just more practical to use the pencils and a waterbrush when sketching out and about. I use mixed media paper for both. Works fine for my sketchbook, but obviously you have different criteria for cards.

[@cindyhoneyman8259]

Thanks for helping us learn the differences between products. Videos like this can help us make an informed decision on what would work best for us before we purchase. Thank you for all you do!

[@judymathena2981]

I like the Pencils, I'm not good with water coloring, but I like color pencils, so I want to try these. I like the water colors a lot too. I like that they don't go to light. I really like the cards you made. TFS

[@TheSwissy4me]

I like to draw with the watercolor pencils before I paint with pan or tube watercolor paint rather than use a regular pencil. The watercolor pencil just disappears.

[@kwernerdesign]

That’s a great use for them! That totally makes sense. :)

[@lizziedae91]

I have pan watercolors, tubes that i’ve dried in a pan pallette, watercolor markers from 3 brands, & watercolor pencils. They all have their function. However as with everything its all about quality, I’d recommend you try Faber-Castell albrecht durer or caran dache supracolor watercolor pencils.

[@sharonshergold2372]

I do have a different set of watercolour pencils AND never used them. Now I know the proper technique I will try them. Thanks very much for this tutorial 👍🏻

[@deejohnson827]

Love both cards, Kristina. I like the watercolor pencil one better because I am drawn to muted colors when it comes to watercolor painting.

[@m.c.5124]

I watched a watercolor pencil expert who draws on duralar then picks her color up from there. Kind of like you do with the distress inks. Also looked up those paints. They are aquarelles. That’s why they are so brilliant. Thanks I’m looking them up. Thanks for sharing your talents.

[@leannemitchem8865]

Great review! I like this type of video from you better than the voice over ones. Seems more real and personal. Love the American craft water colours. Very pretty colours. Thank you for sharing! Your cards are beautiful!

[@Lauraisabelgonzalezart]

The Blue is gorgeous and your coloring was so nice to watch Kristina. It looks very dimensional and was SO INSPIRING!

[@stellarcraftsbypam]

When I first got these, they were with a kit from sparkle and sprinkle and they had us just take the watercolor brush to the colored pencil to get the color. May not be the traditional way to use it, but I did get some good pigmented color on the brush and painted similarly to this video.

[@Favorites2012mine]

Very helpful review. Both cards lovely but the difference in watercolor mediums was very apparent. I really like the intensity and color palette of. the pan colors. Thanks!

[@trudievick2359]

Loved this comparison. Like you I fell in love with the darker blue and the purple. But I do like them both. Depends on the look you are trying to achieve. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.

[@maureenlee6526]

Great informative video! I haven’t been impressed with standard watercolor pencils either, but I do like the Inktense pencils as they are much more intense and are permanent when dry, which makes color layering possible. The small Paper Fashion size is appealing as well, especially for traveling. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!

[@lesliev7874]

I use a larger brush with watercolor pencils. They hold more water and help spread the color so you don't have to do so much scrubbing.

[@arleneaua]

Lovely!! The second card is amazing❤!! I enjoy your watercoloring!!!

[@karenwilson7295]

Oh I just love these, simply beautiful. I too like the more vibrant colours. So pretty! ❤️

[@itmethishandleistaken]

10:42 she said its from prima cause it reminded her so much of it 😂 ALSO, the proper way to put the pans back in is to push the pins back inward (i recommend a lot more than halfway to make them rly secure) and THEN push the pans back in. if u want the whole tray to stay in place, take it out and then push the pins on the left and right outward then push the tray back into the palette

[@ckforester3822]

Omgosh your cards are beautiful! Both sets have it’s advantages. It’s nice to see a pastel that doesn’t need paper that’s soaking wet. But I absolutely love the AC version too! It looks museum-worthy and you really made this card sing! Great stamp set. I make A7 size cards and it kills me that all these background stamps are only 6”. If they’d only add one more inch, I’d be set. And, I find I’m always looking for a pattern match (which i don’t believe exists on stamps). Anyway, seeing your large natural border would make this do-able for me, but most of the time I can’t use without adding 2 or 3 layers behind it - and it’s too much visually. Anyway, yours came out great and your embossing powder is just beautiful; so smooth and even! I’ll have to see which you used - unless it’s the many coats that helped you achieve that. Just another Gorgeous card! Btw, i saw a CHA video for Prima Watercolor Pencils and demo involved taking an aqua brush directly to the pencil. But she did wet her paper first. I’ve never used pencils so idk. It worked for her, but was def a different color palette. This one reminds me of Easter and/or babies - and probably great for a newbie w/ watercolors (like me).

[@caringheart4990]

Kristina - watercolor pencils traditionally don't work well on cold pressed paper - it's too textured. Try them on hot press or bristol board. Bill up your layers so you don't burnish the paper. I have better luck when I lay down my shading and high lighting all in one go. If you build up the layers, there is enough pigment to move around and it will move around more easily and will dissolve the dry pigment more easily. That being said, there is, of course, such a difference in the quality of pencils. I recently purchased Albrecht Drurer (Faber Castell) and they are a dream to work with. You can also apply your wet brush to the tip of the pencil and apply the pigment with the brush - this can result is some very intense color. Enjoy your videos so much!

[@kristinevencel2898]

TYFS. ❤️ the AC colors and intensity. I actually may buy them for my first H2O color set. I love the thought process sharing aspect of this video. And I also love that all of your comments make sense and have meaning and don’t just fill up space.

[@MultiCoolkitten]

Love colored pencils! Different brands have more intense colors. Love the colors of the paints as well!

[@bearkat54]

These would be beautiful for FALL foliage!

[@WhereWhoMe]

Love the color pallet of the pans, but personally, I feel like I would like the pencils more right now. I mean, I've been using my inktense pencils and love how easy it is to move from one place to another with a bunch of colors. It seems easier to store too (I just have them in a 5x7 box), but then again, I haven't really played with the set I have in half pans... I should make time to experiment with them. Who knows, maybe I'll like it enough to splurge for a bigger set one of these days. For me, I find better luck with bringing the tip of the paintbrush to the pencil and have a pallet/laminated piece of cardstock to help me get the color more even on the brush before I bring it to the paper.

[@angelinamacintosh5796]

Loved watching this. Cracked me up so hard. Oh 💩 , I have to unwrap all these? I rewound several times to see if you said O-Kay or oh cr4p. Hilariously frank exactly how it plays out in our minds. Thanks for sharing and making my day 😁

[@BornAgainFarmGirl]

Lol 😂, I love hearing how real she is Angelina !

[@laudreystitch7662]

Hi Kristina! Thanks for this testing! It's a real pleasure to watch your videos :) you'r passionate and it is felt in your videos, it makes you want to try ^^ you'r an inspiration to me :) Have a good day !

[@whimsicalexpressions]

Looks like the larger piece had very little warping. LOVE the vibrancy of the American Crafts pans! Thanks for sharing!

[@melodieisreal5933]

Thank you so much for doing this video......it is great to be able to see how they work before buying them. I really liked the soft pastel colors of the pencils. You are awesome!

[@Holambrart]

Love your cards! I like the Nuvo card, nice soft colors, but i think you can get more vibrant colors if u put more pigment in the paper.

[@mcayton13]

Those watercolors are gorgeous! I will definitely be picking up this little gem of a box! Thank you for the demo!

[@shraddhatefft7619]

Thanks for sharing! I enjoy a good honest review, even if it is negative. If the reviews are always positive, they seem less genuine. You also added the bit that said “they are not for ME, but they might be great for someone else,” not that they are inherently bad products. Sometimes it’s to hard find reviews on interesting products, and i don’t know if it is because people don’t like them or because they haven’t tried them. I think both the cards turned out beautiful :).

[@Mad_Rian]

When I use watercolour pencils, I use more pressure than you do. All the pigment dissolves and I get great colour payoff, mine are Faber Castell student grade (in the blue tin). Also if you want even more vivid colours and maximum pigment, you could try Derwent Inktense pencils. I think they sell them individually so you don't have to buy a whole set, they are pretty pricey.

[@yvonnehusic9879]

Love this video! The circles are very beautiful!

[@TheStacysperry]

I enjoy hearing your thoughts while working!

[@stefaniestaniak4329]

I love both cards although I do love the vibrancy of the watercolors. Thanks for your review, it is very helpful.

[@vondasmith8046]

Also impressed w the American watercolor set. Thank you for reviewing them. I have several sets of the Prima and find them too chalky for my taste. These seem to be a better quality and great color choices.

[@kimlivengood5916]

Your right most watercolor pencils will leave pencil marks if you use pressure. But there are a few that you can use pressure & they blend out like a dream. But the ones that do that are very pricey. There is just something I like about them. Even though using pan colors may be a bit less time-consuming. I love them both. LOL TYFS Beautiful set of watercolors & the painting was beautiful as well. I really like that set.

[@kwernerdesign]

In your experience, what brands have pencils that will blend out? Perhaps I should give them a try. :)

[@kimlivengood5916]

@@kwernerdesign I will most likely spell these wrong, but the Caren Dasche watercolor pencils, & the Faber Castle Albert Duers. A friend of mine has them both & she allowed me to have a play with them a few months ago. Lots of fun. I can not afford them at the moment, but I will be getting the Albert Duers as soon as I can. They both can be purchased open stock. So if you want to just try them first. I would just get a few, then make up my mind. That way your not spending a couple hundred dollars on something you may not like. But I think you will. Good Luck, hope you enjoy them.

[@byulgzr]

I second these recommendations. Faber Castell Albrecht Durer is beautiful and the bonus is that they correspond with their Polychromos colored pencil colors. :) I have been able to lay down the colored pencils next to each other and then blend them out to mix the colors. Light touch is definitely important, also~ Caran D'ache is also creamy beautiful, but I only have like 3 of these cuz they are so expensive. I have the Supracolor line, but I hear Museum Aquarelle are even smoother and creamier, if that's possible. ❤

[@kimlivengood5916]

@@byulgzr Yes, I've heard the same thing about the Aquarelles being so creamy. I have wanted the Albrecht Durers ever since my friend let me play with hers. Your right about the Caran D'ache being so expensive. Maybe someday? LOL

[@rtd1791]

Kim Livengood I like buying open stock even though it’s more expensive that way. I don’t really have the self discipline to save up for sets and as a bonus I don’t really have regret like I do with an expensive outlay. Most pencils are less than $5 a piece. That’s my speed. I should preface my opinions by stating that I am not a watercolor painter. I make fiber art collages with both fabric and paper mainly. But I also do lots of paper crafts including card making. I also have decided to mix it up. Not every color is the same and I have found that I like certain colors in different brands. I’m mad about red and some brands really lack a red range and some have tons. I like both Faber-Castell and Catania d’Ache. What I love love love about Faber-Castell is color consistency across product lines color pencils, watercolor pencils, and their Pitt pens. It’s the same color which I really appreciate for mixed media pieces. Caran d’Ache will always have my heart because the first water soluble stick form I ever tried was NeoColor ll. Those are the dreamiest. Sublime. I like the pencils too but for fabric applications the NeoColor ll are the bomb. I’m also a fan of Derwent. I used the Inktense pencils before the watercolor pencils, so I was expecting to be disappointed in them. But I wasn’t. Smooth lay down and easy to wash out. Not as intensely colored as their Inktense line ( ink vs water color: Ink always wins) but still great. The first type of watercolor pencil I tried was one of the house brands of a big box craft store. They were not that great. I think watercolor pencils are one of those supplies where it’s better to spend more money and buy it from an art supply store. Doesn’t have to be super pricey. Dick Blick has lots of reasonably priced options and they sell more open stock options unlike the craft stores. Big name watercolor Manufacturers don’t necessarily make the best pencils. I was disappointed by Winsor & Newton’s pencil. I also didn’t like Daniel Smith’s watercolor sticks. I’m not a fan of Prismacolor or Koh-I-Noh’s pencils either. With all of these I think the problem is that the binder is less water soluble and there is less flow. On paper it’s likely to cause pilling especially if you have to scrub to get the color too move. On fabric the color catches on the individual threads and results in a more speckled appearance. My 2 cents.

[@janicerobinson4247]

I love the American crafts colours,they really stand out x

[@kellyfragoso374]

definitely live vs. voiceovers and a GREAT honest video

[@jeanettejeffries9611]

Thank you for your review. I thought it was very helpful and informative. I like to hear you talk as you work, it seems so personal.

[@elizabethruby-cunningham6028]

I'm new to watercolor painting. I learned quite a bit. Thank you!

[@ashleywang8665]

You can release intense colour by pickup paint directly from pencil tip with wet brush. To me the watercolour pencil are watercolour pan in the wood casing, actually I was turning some student quality watercolour pencils into pan paint by removing the pigment core and stuffed into pans, works out pretty good🤭.

[@mariafernandez6537]

Kristina, the watercolor pencils I've used once you've used water and spread out the color you and dries (a bit) you can't "respread" the color. I hope you understand what I mean. The panels looked great though.

[@kimhill6351]

When I use watercolor pencils (especially on textured paper), I make sure that they are good sharp and a use light hand. Being super sharp allows the color to get into the texture rather than laying on the peaks, which makes scrubbing almost unnecessary in order to blend. 😁

[@Fvgonzales]

Love them both but the second is my favorite beautiful work

[@annarodgers3385]

Nice review, Kristina. Thank you for your honesty. I actually liked both pieces. As you said, it would depend on what look you were hoping for as the end result. God bless you.

[@saritaschwedes8393]

i dont have the circle stamp BUT I do have separate circles! sooooo will try stamping the circles like the stamp! 🙂

[@taylorjudi]

Thank you for this great video. I love the Thank You card!

[@ebonymuller3498]

That card is absolutely gorgeous nice work

[@stacyamazedbylife7508]

You should try a springier watercolor brush. probably a synthetic would be better for you if you're using the watercolor pencils. I have never liked watercolor pencils, similar to you. but I've experimented, you need to work in layers, and use a stiffer brush and you might see more success. For the record, I prefer your live discussion as opposed to voice over. Just my two cents! I've stepped into card making in the recent past and I've thoroughly enjoyed all of your videos.

[@joweir2193]

I wish I could get my multi-layered heat-embossing as smooth as yours.

[@SimplyDonna]

The pencils are very padtel pretty colors. Very light

[@maryalcock2810]

I like both, the pencils are more of a soft pastel look.

[@lindaruschmeyer5298]

Wasn’t sure about this background stamp, but love the way it turned out. TFS

[@franciscaraffo9703]

So cool!!! Really beautiful!!!

[@slyseyes]

So, a question about using the watercolor pencils. Could you go back over them after they've dried and lay in some more color? I think there would be reasons to use both. The pencils are more pastel, and the pan paints are more vibrant. I like them both!

[@kwernerdesign]

Yes, I did that with the light blue color. However, even two layers didn’t show much added color.

[@susanblock9486]

Thank you for your honesty! I loved all the details!

[@nickflisher525]

As a beginner to water colouring the pencils appeal to me

[@KatheeRN]

Kristina..great video..very informative on these 2 products..never heard of either

[@imissmypencils]

I use watercolor pencils the way James Gurney does, he sketches with them so that some of the line melts when he applies his gouache or watercolors. There's a cool little Caran Dache neocolor 2 pallette (just a sheet of thick plastic, really) that has a smooth side and a grainy side that you can grind your watercolor pencils or crayons on and it leaves all the pigment where you sanded it down and you can use a water brush or wet brush to get the most color out of your watercolor or water soluble pencils. I'm sure a cheap piece of wet sandpaper will get the same results rather than spending $18 for another expensive Caran Dache item.

[@traceyvlaing7267]

I use a waterpen direct to the pencil ,you get very rich coulor that way.

[@patriciaschoenberg1261]

Thank you for the review. The watercolor pencils look like Prima watercolor pencils and like Spectrum Noir Aquablend watercolor pencils.