There are many household products that you probably already have in your home that you can use to blend your colored pencils. This is useful, if your budget is low or if you do not want to buy artist blending solutions.
Paper Products to Blend Colored Pencils
You can blend large areas and smaller areas with paper products wrapped around your finger or a paper stump (if you have one). A Paper towel is really useful for larger areas like backgrounds. You can also use toilet paper, tissue napkins, cotton balls, cotton buds (Q Tips), and makeup removal pads.
Petroleum Jelly to Blend Colored Pencils
You can use petroleum jelly to smooth out existing blended work by just wiping over with a cotton bud lightly dipped in Vaseline/Petroleum Jelly. You can also use the jelly when you are laying down the color by lightly dipping your pencil tip in the product and then coloring as normal.
As this is an oily product you should be sparing with your use to avoid staining the reverse of the page.
Baby Oil to Blend Coloring Pencils
A light dip of a cotton bud in baby oil and spread sparingly over your coloring will smooth out lines and soften the colors. This product is very greasy and oily and could easily damage the reverse of the paper by staining if overused.
Using household products to blend colored pencils in Secret Garden Coloring Book
Conclusion
All of the products work well and are a good alternative should you need a quick, cheap, and easy blending solution for your coloring projects. As the products are deemed household and not artist products they should not be used for work that is being sold or framed as they may not wear well.
As always, practice on a spare page or something that you don’t mind losing first.
Happy coloring x
Lea
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