April's Review	Catherine's Review	Penny's Review	Renee's Review	Tammy's Review

Review by April

I love using acrylic paint to dress up my projects, but sometimes I feel like it's a hassle having to get out a paintbrush and palette and then all the clean up that's involved afterwards. When I first learned that Marvy Uchida recently introduced their new DecoColor Acrylic Paint Markers, I was excited at the prospect of being able to paint with a marker! Uchida is well known for their high quality products and has been developing and marketing office, craft, and art related materials for over 30 years. Their motto -"Encouraging creativity is what we do", represents their company and desire to constantly launch original and exciting products perfectly. I personally couldn't wait to get my hands on their new acrylic markers!

For this review, I received three DecoColor chisel tip acrylic paint markers. One was light blue, one was light green, and the third one was black. The vibrant light green was a cross between lime green and a light kelly green. The light blue was beautiful and reminded me of a sky blue. The black acrylic paint marker was pitch black and awesome because I love to paint and frequently use black since it covers up everything. The canister of the markers is a little bit bigger than a 1/2" around and is made of a hard black plastic. The caps on the markers represent the paint color and secure tightly to the body of the marker, yet are easy to take off when you are ready to create. There are also small plastic protrusions on the bottom of the cap so the marker will not roll if you lay it down on your desk. The acrylic markers have a 3-way chisel tip for creating thick and thin lines, and are available in 28 different colors including 6 metallic colors. Directions can be found on the marker explaining how to get the paint flowing and also how to extend the marker's shelf life. The unique Deco acrylic markers are filled with opaque water based acrylic paint, and have several benefits like being acid free/non-toxic, odorless, water proof, lead free, light fast, pigmented, and permanent when dry! You can use the deco acrylic markers on a variety of surfaces including paper, chipboard, wood, stone, acrylic, concrete, terra cotta, and metal.

To create my project, I started by ripping off the top layer of cardboard along the bottom so the corrugated part would show. Then I painted the inside of each corrugation with the light blue acrylic marker. I used the black acrylic marker to paint the rest of the cardboard and then tapped the light blue marker with my scissors so little bits of paint would splatter all over the black background. I wanted to cover up the car in the background of my large photo, so I painted the photo with my light blue marker. I loved that the DecoColor Acrylic paint markers seemed to work great on every surface I threw at them! I used the light green marker to paint a chipboard letter, a few metal brads and clips, and some grungeboard arrows. It didn't take long at all for the paint to dry on the embellishments and the colors remained bright and true. The markers provided great coverage and seemed to flow easily. To complete the layout, I added rub ons, stickers, glitter pen doodling, and journaling.

Title: What?
Products used:
Acrylic Paint (Marvy Uchida DecoColor Chisel Tip Markers: Light Green, Light Blue, & Black)
Cardboard (MemoryVilla Packaging)
Chipboard (Jenni Bowlin, & Scenic Route)
Metal Clips (7gypsies)
Grungeboard (Tim Holtz)
Brads (Making Memories)
Stickers (Jenni Bowlin, & Making Memories)
Rub Ons (Fancy Pants, & K&Company)
Pens (Sakura, American Crafts, & Sanford Uniball)
Rhinestone (Wal Mart Cell Phone Bling)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I had a lot of fun creating with these acrylic markers. I have used them on a couple of projects and I really like how easy it is to just whip one out and paint my embellishments. If I were going to paint large areas or backgrounds for my layouts, I would probably choose to use a paintbrush or paint dabber, however for smaller areas, embellishments, and just pure decoration these markers are awesome! There is no obnoxious smell like the old paint pens I used when I started scrapping years ago, and I also didn't have to worry about the paint accidentally splattering or smearing while I was painting. They were light and easy to hold and I really liked having the chisel tip which offered me a choice of creating thick or thin lines. I look forward to trying out the other colors and they seem like the perfect paints to carry with you when attending crops or traveling. They are priced well at only $3.59 each. Deco acrylic markers are perfect for all types of crafters, whether they are beginners or advanced, and I would definitely recommend you pick some up soon!

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Review by Catherine

Acrylic paints have become a staple in the scrapbooking world to create wonderful painted effects. One of the drawbacks of using acrylic paints can be the lack of control involved in using paints with foam paintbrushes. One of the latest releases from Marvy Uchida is an answer to that problem. DecoColor Acrylic Paint pens are a great way to add color to papercrafting projects with ease and control.

Marvy Uchida is a company whose name has long been recognized for creating high quality markers, pens, and other crafting supplies. I was recently sent three different colors of the DecoColor Acrylic Paint Markers to review. The paint markers contain opaque water-based acrylic paints that are waterproof, lightfast, and most importantly for us scrapbook enthusiasts acid free. These paint pens are available in 28 different colors, and the chisel tip can be used to create thick and thin lines.

The three colors that I received for review are Silver, Gold, and Orange. I felt that the Gold and Orange combo was perfect for documenting a fall photo. I decided to start with a white background so that I could have the paint marker really stand out on my page.

Title: Reflections of Fall
Products used: Cardstock (Prism Exclusives)
Patterned Papers (SEI)
Acrylic Paint Pen (DecoColor- Marvy Uchida)
Chipboard Alphabet (Heidi Swapp)
Journaling Block (K & Co.)
Chipboard Leaves (American Crafts)
Stamps (Autumn Leaves; October Afternoon)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech Permanent Bond Glue Runner)

I really like the look of the DecoColor Acrylic Paint Markers on my scrapbook page. I can see myself using these markers again and again, and am on the lookout for more colors. That’s always a sign of a great product in my opinion. I love the ease of use of these markers, as well as the fact that they did not warp my paper at all. Using the DecoColor Acrylic Paint Markers is a wonderful way to add color and flair to any papercrafting project.

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Review by Penny

Question: What can I use to add acrylic paint to my projects without having to find a brush, paint, palette and cleaning supplies?

Answer: Marvy Uchida's brand new DecoColor Acrylic Paint Markers are just what you need. The markers are available in 28 colors including 6 metallics. Each pen has a colored cap that is a very good representation of the paint color inside.

Similar in size to a standard "classic" marker, they feature a 3-way chisel tip which can create both thick and thin lines.

Instructions for use are simple. Shake the marker well before using. Then on a piece of scrap paper, prime the tip by pushing it gently into the pen and letting it out. The opaque water-based acrylic paint fills the tip after just a couple priming movements. As soon as the tip is covered in paint you are ready to go. It only takes a few seconds.

Suggested surfaces for the DecoColor Acrylic Paint Markers include stone, terra cotta, concrete, paper or wood. The acid-free/non-toxic formula makes them suitable for scrapbooking, too.

I used them here in my first project to add a frame to my photo and around the page.

Title: Charmer
Supplies: Patterned Paper (Fancy Pants)
Acrylic Paint Pens (Marvy Uchida)
Cardstock (Prism-Sunflower Dark)
Journaling Page (Making Memories)
String Clasp, Bookplate (7Gypsies)
Rub On (Creative Imaginations)
Chipboard (ScrapWorks)
Adhesive (Ad Tech Glue Runner)
Other: magazine clippings (leaves)


Title: Snakes Alive!
Supplies: Patterned Paper (Fancy Pants)
Acrylic Paint Pens (Marvy Uchida-pale orange, brown)
Stickers, Tabs, Tags, Paper Distressor (Making Memories)
Felt Alpha (American Crafts)
Chipboard (ScrapWorks, American Crafts)
Rivets (Chatterbox)
Ink (Ranger Distress)
Adhesive (Ad Tech Glue Runner)
Other: snake clip art, tickets, staple

There seems to be a large amount of paint inside of the marker. My second project, Snakes Alive!, used a good amount of Brown and Pale Orange paint and both colors are still flowing smoothly. I did notice on this project, where my paper had a smooth card-like surface, painting a bit slower seemed to help give thick and even coverage without the need to apply a second coat.

The company recommends cleaning the marker tip once finished. I have not found it necessary to do that and simply place the cap tightly back on the marker and store it horizontally.

The bottom line on the Marvy Uchida DecoColor Acrylic Paint Markers is that I found no reason to dislike them and every reason to love them. I think you will too.

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Review by Renee

Ever since I was a kid, I have liked to doodle, play with paints and create stuff. As much as I love the challenge of digital scrapping (well digital sketching mostly), I will never be able to give up that tactile feel of feeling the paper between your fingers. The only part of paper scrapping I could do without is paint/ink on my fingernails. I love the look of paints and ink, I could just do without the mess.

Enter Marvy Uchida. Marvy Uchida is a company that has a wide selection of punches, inks, paint pens, markers, and various types of glue for home and office use. Traditionally, the Marvy Uchida pens have been marker type pens that we all grew up on when scrapbooking. However, Marvy Uchida has now come up with an acrylic paint marker, called the DecoColor Acrylic paint marker, that is just plain fun to play with.

These acrylic paint markers come in 28 popular colors, including six metallic colors. These markers are acid free and non-toxic pigmented colors that are permanent when dry. They are opaque water based acrylic paints with a three-way chisel tip. This chisel type allows the user to make both wide and narrow lines along with the expected ability to fill in with color.

For my review, I received the white, violet and pink markers to play with. The Marvy website indicates that the paint markers are great for use on stone, terra cotta, concrete, paper and wood. However, I found several project ideas on the internet that indicated that acrylic paint markers could be used on regular fun foam. I decided to give this a try by making a whimsical frame for one of my favorite photos of my daughter. I had cut the shape of the frame and outlined it with the white paint marker, using it with the nib turned so that I made a thick line. I found the marker to move easily across the frame and found that I only needed to make one pass to get full coverage. I then used the pink and violet markers, with the nib turned to a point, to doodle on my title letters.

Title: Diva Frame
Products used: Acrylic Paint Pens (Marvy Uchida)
Fun Foam (Hobby Lobby)
Die Cut Machine (ProvoCraft Cuttlebug)
Die Cut Font (Sizzlits Notepad)
Adhesive (Adhesive Tech, A Fine Line…, PVC Glue)

I adore working with fun foam in my scrapbook projects, so I definitely see myself using this application again. I also think that these markers would be excellent for covering “naked” chipboard accents quickly and neatly. For those who are really brave, they would even make great accents used directly on your paper or cardstock.

So, if you are looking for a way to neatly incorporate acrylic paint into your scrapbook pages and projects, these markers may be just what you are looking for.

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Review by Tammy

Since 1973, Marvy Uchida has been providing the business and art world with a wide range of quality office, craft, and art-related materials. The new DecoColor Acrylic Paint Markers are just one of many of these quality products they have added to their product line.

Each DecoColor Acrylic Paint marker is packaged with a shrink wrap seal and a coordinating color cap so you can easily identify which pen you wish to use. Before you use the marker for the first time you need to prime it by pressing down on the nib a couple of times to help the paint begin to flow. Once the paint is flowing smoothly through the nib you are ready to start on your project. These markers also come with a 3-way chisel tip that allows you to create either thick or thin lines.

Before beginning my project I decided to do some research about the DecoColor Acrylic Paint Markers. I found these helpful tips about the DecoColor Acrylic Paint Markers on the Marvy website:

• Acid free/Non-toxic
• Pigmented
• Permanent when dry
• Opaque water based acrylic paint
• Keep tightly capped when not in use
• Store markers horizontally
• Shake well before each use
• Easy clean up when wet
• Clean nib when finished
• Avoid storing in extreme temperatures. Store between 60° and 85° F

I have recently been working with a group of children 3 to 5 years of age teaching them various craft projects and since the markers are lead free and odorless, I thought they would enjoy using the DecoColor Acrylic Paint Markers by Marvy Uchida. I designed this little ornament project for them to make and we used the yellow marker on the edge of the clear plastic circle that we inserted into the ornament. The marker was very manageable for the little hands to work with and they were able to complete their project with only minimal adult help. I also noticed that the acrylic paint dried quickly which was a big plus when working with young children.

Title: Fall Ornaments
Products used: Glass Ornaments (D&S Designs)
DecoColor Acrylic Paint (Marvy Uchida)
John Deere Sticker (Creative Imagination)
Fall Stickers (misc.)
Transparency Sheet (misc)

The yellow, blue, and green DecoColor Acrylic Paint Markers that I received were very bright primary colors but for this next project I wanted colors that were a little more subtle. On a piece of coated scratch paper I pressed the nib of the marker until a small puddle of color was left on my paper. With a water brush I began mixing some of the colors to get varying shades and provide me with a little bit broader color palette. The blue and the yellow gave me a darker shade of green and the blue and the green gave me a beautiful turquoise color. By using the water brush I was also able to achieve softer colors but if I wanted to blend colors I needed to move quickly because this is a fast drying paint. I used this water brush method to color a portion of scrapbook paper for my project and I was thrilled with the end results!

Title: Acrylic Desk Set
Products used: Patterned Paper (Luxe, Color Me Happy)
DecoColor Acrylic Paint Pen (Marvy Uchida)
Acrylic Frame (Dollar General)
White Pen (Ranger)

The DecoColor Acrylic Paint Markers eliminate the need for large paint bottles, brushes, and trays. They also work on so many different surfaces such as stone, terra cotta, concrete, paper and wood making this a versatile product to work with.

If you are looking for a product that you can take to crops or craft get-togethers that are fast drying, portable, and do not take up much more space than your regular pens, then the DecoColor Acrylic Paint Markers are what you are looking for!

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