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I went to Michaels today to inquire about Gamsol and Mono Multi. I failed on both attempts. I don't have enough information to have even helped myself. My husband bought me prisma pencils and I wanted to try my hand at some of the handiwork going on here so:
where do you buy Gamsol? what do I need to know to use it?
and where can I find mono multi that everyone is raving about here?
I have not purchased either one, but I believe that I remember seeing the Gamsol at Wal Mart near the scrapbooking section. I had read about people using it and I guess that is why it jumped out at me as I looked around. Hope you can find it. Not sure where to buy the Mono Multi.
I hate that. My Michael's is the same way. I asked if they carried sheets of chipboard (I asked 3 different people including a manager). None of them knew what it was! I was so frustrated. They are a craft store and chipboard is so popular and to not even know what it was!?!
Michael's used to carry gamsol. They do not any more. (The LSS around here seem to discontinue an item just as it gets popular!... I tried to find a giga scalloped oval at one and they said, "Oh. We used to carry those, but they didn't sell, so we stopped carrying them.")
Anyway, back to the subject at hand: I got my gamsol at inkyantics. They sell it in a nice small container with a sponge top dauber, so you can just touch your blending stump to it, rather than dunking it in an open container and risking a spill. It lasts forever. here's a link:
I love using gamsol. I couldn't find it locally, so I ordered it online from Inky Antics (www.inkyantics.com). I also purchased my paper stumps for blending the gamsol and pencils through Inky Antics. I did find paper stumps at my Michaels', but not the ones from Taiwan that were recommended here on SCS.
Mono multi I've purchased from several different places, but the cheapest, and best service was from: www. scrapbookpal.com
Have fun!
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Just an FYI - Gamsol is a trade name, all you need is odorless mineral spirits and Michaels carries one called Mona Lisa. It works great, I'm still using a bottle from over a year ago
I second Mary! I bought some Mona Lisa Odorless Paint Thinner over Christmas ast Michaels...keep looking in the paint aisle. It's in a white container (8 oz)...it took me months to find it because I was looking for the words "Mineral Spirits" but if you read the back of the paint thinner container it says "Contents: 100% odorless mineral spirits"
JoAnn's carries the Mono Multi, and Hobby Lobby carries the stumps from Taiwan. You will have to look a little harder to find the odorless mineral spirits, it doesn't just say that on the bottle. It's like odorless brush cleaner or something. Just look for the ones that say odorless and then check the ingredients for the mineral spirits part. (can you tell I went through the same thing?!)
I thought that the Gamsol is suppose to be a better grade of mineral spirits and that it works better than the other odorless mineral spirits. No? I just got my Gamsol in the mail today from Inky Antics but have not tried it yet. I would love to hear some more feedback about Gamsol VS other odorless mineral spirits.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stampinmomof2cuties
I got my gamsol from dickblick.com. Great service!
DICK blick is great, I get lots of stuff there, and the shipping is pretty quick too
As for your question on Gamsol VS other brands, I have used many types and most are comparable so I go with the less costly, Gamsol is a bit pricey, the only one I do not care for is Turpenoid, for some reason it doesn't work well for me. Also the pencils can have an effect on it, I prefer the prismacolor pencils, DH like Derwitt (sp?) to each his own Can't wait to see the Gamsol creations :mrgreen:
I got my gamsol from a LSS, that got it from Inky Antics, My mono multi I ordered from scrapbookpal.com very reasonable, quick shipping, highly recommended! The mono multi is awesome!
I learned about prismacolor & gamsol a couple of years ago and the only place I've been able to find"Gamsol" is Dick Blick. I've never tried anything else...but I love it and it is my favorite medium. I love to watercolor,but I find myself going to the Gamsol & prismacolors more than anything.
OMG thanks for all the tips. I can't believe the store was "up" on popular things. Of course, I should have checked for more info here first. Thank you, thank you...I will probably just look online at the sites mentioned above.
I just bought my very first bottle of mono multi today--at Joann's. I've been looking for it everywhere and this is the first place I've seen it! I can't even say how much it was--I was so excited that I finally found it!;)
They had a load of cardmaking supplies (Christmas themed) dirt cheap! I was able to pick up the DCWV 12x12 Christmas Stack--I'd been looking all over for it for many weeks (even before Christmas)--for only 4.97--for 180 sheets!! Let's just say that I spent a tad over that 4.97!!!:-D
As a previous Michaels employee - most employees there won't know what your talking abou. Michaels tends to hire a lot of teenagers to work there - and rarely there is an older person working who knows the section that they are working in - especially the art department. you might get lucky in scrapbooking or beading to find someone who knows what your asking for in those particular sections - but finding an employee in Art that knows about oil paints, and all of that stuff - good luck.
Michaels does carry Gamsol in their Art department - but not all Michaels have it in stock and carry it on a normal basis. You can get the Mona Lisa brand however - and all Michaels should have that in stock. You can go to a regular hardware store and get the odorless stuff much cheaper than you can at any art supply store and it is the same stuff.
I usually buy a big container to share in little glass containers and split the cost - or if I dont have anyone to share with, the bigger container goes into the garage for cleaning brushes etc for painting.
Gamsol is just a name brand of mineral spirits used for Gamblin products (or any other oil based mediums)- any odorless mineral spirits will work. I've even used Turpenoid as well as both a blender and oil thinner, but I personally prefer Gamsol myself.
I just bought my very first bottle of mono multi today--at Joann's. I've been looking for it everywhere and this is the first place I've seen it! I can't even say how much it was--I was so excited that I finally found it!;)
They had a load of cardmaking supplies (Christmas themed) dirt cheap! I was able to pick up the DCWV 12x12 Christmas Stack--I'd been looking all over for it for many weeks (even before Christmas)--for only 4.97--for 180 sheets!! Let's just say that I spent a tad over that 4.97!!!:-D
Thanks!! They change so quickly--much more quickly than their mother gets around to changing the picture!! He still even likes his little sister..a little bit! Ha! Ha!;)
It always amazes me that people are shocked when employees at Michaels (or Hobby Lobby, etc) can't help them with info about art supplies. (Although it would seem that they SHOULD be able to!) S_Anthony hit the nail on the head - Michaels employees do NOT know anything about art or crafts. They are NOT experts of any sort. They are simply hired to run the cash register and stock the shelves. Period. Most do not make much more than minimum wage. I know, I worked there for almost 5 years as Event Coordinator. If you want advice on art or craft projects, seek out the Event Coordinator, or the person in charge of classes... that is the only person in the store (besides the class instructors) who is actually hired for knowing anything about crafts! And forget about asking the manager... again, he (or she) was only hired because they had management experience, NOT craft experience! Most of them don't know a paint brush from a glue stick. Just my 2 cents! :mrgreen:
if you want scrapbook/card-making supplies michael's is not a great place to look because as previously mentioned they don't have a lot of knowledgable staff, and they are a generalized craft store, not specialty like a local scrapbook store (which would carry mono multi). my local art store carries the gamsol.. (although they've never heard of using it with prisma colours), and all art stores would, it's a popular paint thinning product.
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