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Home / Craft Product Reviews / Crafty Tools / Gamsol Overview and Demonstration

Gamsol Overview and Demonstration

September 10, 2014

Gamsol Review and Demo

I recently bought some new rubber stamps and they are perfect for coloring. However, using markers can be a bit challenging and I was ready to pull out my colored pencils again. Recently Jennifer McGuire mentioned Gamsol- a colorless, odorless mineral spirit used for blending pencils and I thought it would be fun to try out!

I made this video, and there are some still photos too.

 

 

Gamsol Review and Demo

Here you can see that you can use artist OR student grade pencils and get the same results!

And here’s a few pics of my finished card:

Stamp is from "Kite Buddies" from Inky Antics

Stamp is from “Kite Buddies” from Inky Antics

Patterned paper from Martha Stewart.

Patterned paper from Martha Stewart.

Here are my take-aways from working with Gamsol:

  • Gamsol is odorless and very easy to work with.
  • Heed the cautions on the label, it’s flammable.
  • Only for adults.
  • You can color back over the areas you’ve used the Gamsol on to add more color and blend it in.
  • I got my kit for $15.95 (affiliate link below) and it included everything I needed. But you can just get the Gamsol alone for less.
  • It has renewed my love of colored pencils and makes me want to sell my markers!!!!

 

If you are on a budget- I have a post for you tomorrow where you can get similar results for about$3!

As always, questions and comments welcome and appreciated!

Disclosure: affiliate links below. This is not a sponsored review and I purchased this product with my own funds. All opinions are my own and are based on my first-hand experience with the product. 

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Chief Craft Test Dummy, Craft Evangelist, Founder, Editor, bottle-washer, trouble-maker, and creative whirlwind.
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Posted in Crafty Tools, Paints, Inks & Dyes |

Comments

  1. Linda Gorman says

    September 10, 2014 at 09:44

    Great technique! I have to try it!

  2. g says

    September 10, 2014 at 13:01

    I really love this technique, been using it for years. Your right about the markers, I’ve been slow to get them because I love the pencils so much. Although must have the Tim holtz markers different look altogether, I don’t think I’ll bother with alcohol markers to to expensive

  3. Susan says

    September 10, 2014 at 14:22

    I’ve been using Gamsol for years. First saw it and bought it at a rubber stamp convention in Cleveland. I’ve always wondered if “rubbing” alcohol would work. Silly that I’ve never tried it. I have a bottle right there with my various craft “liquids”. You said -not- to use Stazon. I’ve used Momento Tuxedo black. What happens with Stazon? Love your site and the videos. Keep the info coming. Thanks.

  4. Michelle says

    September 10, 2014 at 18:39

    Thank you for the video. I am curious how the gamsol blends two colors together – does it depend on the pencil quality or does it just fail entirely?

  5. Jan Scholl says

    September 11, 2014 at 01:55

    Gamsol is a brand and an expensive one at that, since it is from the UK. Buy American and get the Mona Lisa brand of OMS from Michaels or Joann for about a third the price. I buy it and then pour enough into my small dauber bottle. I have refilled it dozens of times in the 8 years I learned this technique and still have loads left. As long as it’s artist grade OMS, you are good to go. Don’t use stuff from Lowe’s or Home Depot, which is caustic.

  6. Jenny says

    September 12, 2014 at 11:40

    Susan- rubbing alcohol would not be able to “melt” or dissolve the wax. I don’t like Stazon for this because it has harmful vapors and fumes…and the Gamsol ALSO have harmful vapors and fumes (even though you can’t smell them!) So why use a more caustic stamp pad when a traditional waterproof dye-based pad will work just as well and is more inert? That’s my 2 cents! Best, J

  7. Cheryl hagen says

    January 4, 2016 at 13:39

    I have used this technique for years but my compliments to you and your excellent presentation!

  8. Mama Lynn says

    January 4, 2016 at 18:15

    THANKS so much for this! I’ve seen the results of this technique everywhere and wondered (with envy) how it was achieved! I love how it makes a simple colored pencil outline look like a highly skilled creation done with a much more complex medium. Just awesome!

  9. Corry Deale says

    January 4, 2016 at 19:36

    Hi,
    I love your video and presentation manner. I’ll be giving this a try.
    Thank you,
    Corry

  10. Narita says

    January 6, 2016 at 15:07

    Does it leave an oily residue on the paper or soak through.

  11. Jenny says

    January 6, 2016 at 15:08

    There is sometimes a bit of soak through- but no residue. And your results will be based on how much product you use. I don’t feel you need a lot- but you need to give it time to work it’s magic & dissolve the pigment.

  12. Dona says

    August 20, 2018 at 17:51

    Very helpful video & I like the sound effects…..? would this happen to work with markers too?

  13. Jenny says

    September 20, 2018 at 16:26

    No. Markers have a different media base- usually water or alcohol.

  14. Mel Harmon says

    February 18, 2021 at 21:55

    I am so grateful for the tone and tempo of your video. I ‘ve turned so many off but could listen to you ALL day and wish you were my neighbor because you sound so friendly and interesting. I have two sets of Prisma Pencils. One says water color and the other says nothing and I had NO idea the difference. When you said don’t use Gamsol with the watercolor pencils, my head went BINGO! I had done that far too many times and couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong.

    Also you gave me license to hate my markers and donate them to my great-grandson’s class room. I bought them when i first began stamping, in 2004, and was thrilled when my grandaughter gifted me with many more, but now I’m wondering what I intended to use them for. Prisma pencils really do make me look less like a crafter and more like the artist that is in my genes but seems to have skipped me. I have 5 siblings, 3 of whom got the artist gene in spades, along with our Mother. Even their signatures are gorgeous, but mine at 85 looks the same as it did at 7 years old….like a crafter rather then an artist.

    Many thanks for being you, the perfect voice for stamping videos!

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Hi! I’m Jenny, the co-host of Hands On Crafts for Kids on PBS and the Head Dummy behind CraftTestDummies.com where you’ll find craft product reviews, tutorials, and craft industry news.

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Jenny Barnett Rohrs is Head Dummy and Pied Piper behind CTD, which focuses on reviews, tutorials, and craft industry news. Jenny has appeared on HSN, Scrapbook Soup PBS series, and is currently the co-host of Hands On Crafts for Kids on PBS.

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