A: With the water brush, you can control the flow of water by blotting the brush on a paper towel or dry cloth. It may just take some practice to get used to the water constantly flowing. You'll want a wetter brush for larger areas, and dryer brush for more detail. Also, the water will 'lift' the pigment rather than just move it, as you're used to with the blender pen. You can use a blender pen on watercolor paper but keep in mind that the paper won't hold up to much back and forth 'scrubbing'. I use mine mostly with watercolor or Inktense pencils when I want a more defined line or fine details.

A: We have a really great tutorial for making a lidded box HERE, and it's easy to modify the dimensions for any size box.

For the base of your box, you'll need to cut your cardstock to 9-3/4" x 11-3/4". Score at 2" from each side. That will accommodate the size of your envelopes (5-1/4" x 7-1/4") with 1/4" around them on all sides, and give you 2" of depth for your cards. For the lid, your cardstock will need to be 7-7/8" x 9-7/8". You will score at 1" from each side. The lid has an extra 1/8" of width and length, so it should fit easily over the box base.

For other size boxes, you'll find a formula for the dimensions in the tutorial above under Variations.

A: I think the larger blocks make neat themed decor items... I've also seen smaller blocks modified with velcro to create handles for blending tools. Here are some more ideas from the forums:
-- make handles for sanding blocks or scrubbing pads
-- make building blocks for kids
-- decorate them with letters for Scrabble-type tiles
-- mount photos on them
-- make texture stamps or tools for gel printing or backgrounds using found objects
You can find (or share!) even more ideas in the forum here, here, and here!

A: Dye based inks are water-based (dye dissolved in water). They are reactive with water and bleach, and the ink usually dries quickly, soaking into the paper. They can be used for watercolor techniques, and they don't dry on non-porous surfaces. ("Classic ink" is Stampin' Up's line of dye inks.) Pigment ink is also water-soluble, but it's in a thicker base. The ink sits on top of the paper and dries slowly, which makes pigment ink great for embossing and blending. It can be used on porous surfaces, and is permanent when heat set. ("Craft ink" is Stampin' Up's line of pigment inks.) Solvent inks are alcohol based. They are quick drying, and can be used on porous or non-porous surfaces. I like to use solvent inks when I watercolor, because they are permanent when dry. Archival inks are also waterproof, and permanent when dry. They're essentially a dye-based ink, but will not fade. As a general rule, "opposites attract" - so pair the ink you choose with a medium that has a different solvent... dye ink with alcohol markers, solvent ink with watercolor, etc. I hope that helps!

A: For white dogs, most of the texture in the fur will appear grey. You can use a pale grey pencil or marker to indicate a little of the curly texture or direction of the fur, with more details on the parts of the image that would be lower or further away (the areas that are typically shaded). If you want to leave white highlights and you're afraid you won't be able to resist coloring them in, you can color them in with your white pencil first. You'll still be able to work other colors into the edges of the highlight areas to create a smooth blend. You can also fill in color around the dog to set it off. The darker the color, the brighter the dog will look.