FUN, ODDS & ENDS

Pencil Tips

To The Bitter End: To extend the life of your coloured pencils, Crazy Glue the short stub onto a new pencil of the same colour. Apply a small amount of glue (gel variety) and hold together on a flat surface to align the two pencils for about 30 seconds. Let stand for 10 minutes before using.. Make sure to have the pencil number at the end that won’t be sharpened! When you sharpen the pencil close to the glued joint, be careful not to use it in an electric sharpener- the tip could break off in the machine and jam it. Either use a handheld sharpener until you are past the joint, or just snap off the small tip.

______________________________________

Sharpen Up: When using an electric sharpener, purchase a model that has a “pencil saver” feature, which will stop sharpening the pencil once it has a sharp point, such as Boston model 1818. Because the wax in coloured pencils builds up on the rotors of an electric sharpener, every once in a while, put a graphite pencil or two through to be sharpened ..it will clean out the wax... ..plus you’ll always have lots of sharp pencils around the house when you answer the phone!

______________________________________

Looking Good: When you are putting your pencils in their box or containers, always group the same colours together...it will allow you to see the range of shades better...plus it looks prettier.

______________________________________

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: To get a better perspective and objective view of your drawing and colouring, hold your work-in-progress in front of the mirror, and any irregularities and errors will jump right out at you. Scary but effective!

______________________________________

Keep It Clean: Always protect your work by placing a piece of paper between your hand and the drawing surface. Move it around as you colour so that there is a protective barrier under your hand, which could deposit oil onto the paper. It also protects against smears and transfer of colour.