Faber-Castell Gel Sticks

Whenever we get new art supplies, the girls and I like to sit down and experiment.  We had some new Faber-Castell Gel Sticks to play with, so I put out some white and black construction paper and some scraps of watercolor paper.

The gel sticks are a creamy, pastel-like crayon in a plastic, twist-up tube.  The girls said many times, “These are sooooo smooth!”  They really do just glide over the paper.

Unlike oil pastels, however, the gel sticks are water-soluble.  With a wet paintbrush, you can create fun watercolor effects.  Here is my before picture:

And here is the after:

Neat, huh?  I can see preschoolers enjoying the smooth way they glide across the paper, and the swirling colors when adding water.  Older kids will enjoy blending colors to create depth and shading, too.  These can be blended dry with a tissue or cotton ball as well – that’s what we’ll be trying next!

Happy Creating!