Using my Hoard...Stipple Brushes

Ever since I rediscovered the stipple brushes in my sponge drawer and put them on THE LIST (#34), I've wanted to play with them. Do they work substantially differently from sponges? Are they worth the space they've been taking up in my drawer for so many years? Should I be using them more often?

If you're not sure what a stipple brush is, it's a flat-bristled brush intended for pouncing color through a stencil. Here's a picture of mine:

You'll notice that they have colors scribbled on the handle. I added those years ago (maybe 10 years ago) when I tried to stipple blue with the same brush I'd used for orange and ended up with a very ugly brown, even though I'd washed the brush between colors. I went out and bought 4, color-coded them, and haven't run into any problems since. You'll note that while there is one for yellow/orange, there isn't one for red...stippled red looks like blood, and just ewww.

Of course, it's been at least 8 years since these brushes got a work-out, as best I can remember.

So are they worth my keeping? Short answer: Yes.

Are they worth your going out and buying some if you don't have them? Short answer: Depends.

Today's card won't convince you of their value because the effect I got with a stipple brush wasn't substantially different from what you'd get with a basic--and cheaper--sponge. Instead of pouncing/stippling the brush (dabbing it straight up and down on the paper), I rubbed it in circles across the paper. This, it turned out, isn't a technique that allows the stipple brush to shine.

Here are the supplies I started with.

As you can see, the gradation of light to dark doesn't look substantially different from the effect you could get swirling around a sponge. In fact, a sponge might even have worked better, perhaps giving a stronger color on the bottom...the Hero Hues Ocean color is a very dark, rich blue-green. But my hand got tired from all the swirling while holding the brush, and I eventually gave up. The results were certainly good enough for government work.

The completed card background seemed a little dull, so I ran my clear Wink of Stella brush-pen over it, and also across the spray of water from the whale. The effect was AMAZING!

EEEP!!! This is AWESOME!

This will be a perfect birthday card for a kid, don't you think?

Using-My-Hoard Results

• Wink of Stella Clear brush/pen: Thumbs up
• Stipple brush: Meh (a sponge would do this easier and faster)
• Whale Punch: Thumbs up

Tomorrow, we'll take a look at actual stippling.


Supplies
stamps: A Muse
ink: Memento black, Hero Arts tide pool and ocean
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: stipple brush, copy paper for mask (cut out is 1.25" x 5", with 1/2" border on three sides), Wink of Stella clear brush