One of my favorites and an absolute fun way to practice lettering is BLENDING! I am sharing today a beginner’s friendly technique to blend the letters using Archer and Olive Brush Pens, Calliographs. Find the printable below to start with today’s blending project.

Hello lovely people I am Naina also known as @twitcherwrites on social media and an ambassador team member for Archer & Olive, @archerandolive

Before we start I want to share some important TIPS on how to efficiently blend the markers in this project:

1.Pick two colors you want to blend, one light and one dark (for example a yellow and a red). I always start with the lighter color and use the dark on top using a very small amount first, remember you can always add more later so start with less.

2. Use heavy paper, I would always suggest watercolor paper for blending but if you don't have that in hand, you can use any thicker and smooth paper you have. As blending can take away a lot of moisture from the paper and make it thinner during the process and can eventually break the paper. So to avoid that, use 200gsm/80lb or even better, use 300gsm/110lb.
3. Work fast while blending. Keep both markers handy when you start blending. The more the ink dries into the paper, the harder it will be to blend. So working fast when mixing the two colors will not only give you nice blends but will also save you time and the struggle of blending. 
4. Most important- Have Fun! Stressing about not getting it right can take away all the fun. Remember, you did your best and your best is GOOD!

I also want to share that, there is a youtube video on the project I am sharing today, so if you want to see the blending in action head over to the archer and olive youtube channel for details and process.

So let’s start blending by gathering the supplies that we need-

1. Calliographs (See the colors I used Below)
2. Heavy Paper (Print on a 200gsm/80 lb min)
3. White Acrylograph (For covering the smudges if any)
4. Printable Included (Included Below)

Swatches of the Calliographs I used for the project I am sharing below, you can use my affiliate code - TWITCHERWRITES for 10% off all archer and olive products:

Step 1- Printing out the worksheet and preparing the right markers

Choosing the right colors is the key in this blending technique. If you choose a different color palette, try blending them on a rough paper first before you start on the actual print out and test out how the colors blend and look together.

Step 2- Blending two colors together

Take the first two markers you want to blend. Using the big brush tip of the Calliographs, start by working on one stroke at a time with the lighter color, go on top with a darker shade, use a very small amount of the dark color and go back with your lighter color and blend them together.

Step 3 - Finish blending all the letters 

I picked 6 different colors for this project and changed the colors after every single letter. Changing the markers after every letter made it extra colorful and pretty. You can change things around how you like them. As you can see I smudged the letter “g” a little bit but I wanted to continue on the same page because we can fix the smudges in the end and I want to show you how by the end of our project. But to prevent that from happening, you can be a bit careful while blending but mistakes can happen and it is ok :)

Step 4 - Finish up by adding all the details 

Finish the project by blending all the elements around the saying. I continued with the same blending technique using different colors all around the letters.

Step 5- Cleaning up (If any)

Using the white Acrylograph, clean up any smudges or mistakes. For cleaning the blue color that I smudged, I used two layers of Acrylograph on top of the blue with very less pressure (more pressure can cause the color to spread) to cover it nicely. Let the first layer dry before going in with the second layer.

And we are done with our blending project!

I hope you enjoyed blending with me today and learnt some new tips and tricks to blend successfully, remember practice makes progress. You will understand the technique better with time and practice. But I hope you learnt something new today. I will see you again soon with a new project. Until then, have fun blending the letters.

FREE printable here!!

See me creating this blending project on the YouTube video below.

Checkout more related blogs for inspiration :)

https://www.archerandolive.com/en-nl/blogs/news/keeping-a-motivational-quotes-journal

https://www.archerandolive.com/en-nl/blogs/news/5-ways-to-decorate-the-inside-cover-of-your-notebook

https://www.archerandolive.com/en-nl/blogs/news/jumping-into-junk-journaling-creativity-made-easy

https://www.archerandolive.com/en-nl/blogs/news/creative-journal-bullet-journal-as-a-companion-and-a-creative-portal

https://www.archerandolive.com/en-nl/blogs/news/fitting-everything-in-your-journal