Review | Marvy Uchida Snow Marker

Reported by Susan Reidy

This holiday season, I'm going to make my own winter wonderland. Since I have no place to go, I'm going to use the Marchy Uchida Snow Marker to let it snow all over my projects.

I wanted this badly last year, but could never find it. When I saw it in September at Hobby Lobby, it went right into my shopping cart.

I know it says snow marker, and I did/will use it for that purpose, but there's so much more that can be done with its white puffy gloriousness. Think of the possibilities for Santa's beard, ice cream, fluffy sheep, icing, clouds (which are so hot right now), and more.

The marker is super simple to use: Give it a good a few shakes, and if it's your first use (or you haven't used it in a while), press down on the tip until the ink starts to flow. Color it on your project, in this case I used a silk flower.

Zap it with a heat gun. The marker puffs quite nicely, making for a great snow effect. Even though the ink was absorbed some into the flower, it still had a nice lift.

According to the Marvy Uchida web site, you should let the ink dry for 20 to 30 minutes before heating it to get a uniform effect. I didn't read this on the instructions that were on the packaging, so I didn't wait. I still liked the results, and to me, snow is rarely uniform.

I layered two flowers together, and used it as an accent on my December Daily.

It can be used on a variety of surfaces including paper and fabric. The water-based pigmented ink is odorless, acid free and is washable when applied to fabrics, although the delicate cycle is recommended.

Marvy Uchida says not to rub it after heating it, and to avoid ironing directly on the ink.

I wanted to try it out on some fabric, so I die-cut a tree out of some Papertrey Ink wool felt. Again, I didn't wait to let it dry; I was afraid it would absorb too much into the fabric.

It wasn't getting quite the puff I expected so I thought I should keep heating it. Bad idea, especially with wool felt. Oops...just a few scorch marks.

I tried again, being much more careful with the heat tool. I did scorch one end, but overall, I was pleased with the results.

Here they are side by side. The snow wasn't as puffy as it was on my flower, but it still looked like snow.

I was adding my tree to a card, and wanted my pink (yeah, pink) snow drifts to have a little lift. I like how I can get different results depending on how I apply the ink. It's not as puffy when I use long strokes vs. dotting it on.

Here's my finished card.

Next up, I wanted to try adding dimension to Santa's beard and his other white fluffy parts. This time, I decided to wait. Not a good idea, at least for me. I was hardly getting any puff, so I kept heating and heating. You can guess what happened. Poor Santa got scorched (must have been a hot chimney!). Also, the snow marker ink completely flattened and turned an unsightly yellowish-tan (think Miss Havisham in Great Expectations).

So for my next attempt, I didn't wait and I laid it on thick. I wanted lots of puff. Much better.

Here they are side by side.

Since my Santa was going to be coming down a tag chimney, I decided to add a little soot. I opted for chalk. The snow ink took the chalk well, and it didn't flatten the puff, but I used a light hand.

And here's my finished tag.

After playing with it some, I was curious what would happen if I added some glitter to the ink while it was wet, before heating it.

Once again, I was pleased with the results. I really, really added a lot of ink, because I wanted the glitter to stay in place.

Look how puffy it is!

I had lots of fun playing with this marker and learned a few things along the way. I personally don't like waiting for it to dry; I like the look you get when you heat immediately. Shake that sucker between every use. If you want the ink to really puff, lay it on thick.

Pros:

  • Adds great puffy dimension to make snow, beards, clouds, etc.
  • Easy to use.
  • Works on multiple surfaces, including cardstock and fabric.
  • Possible to add chalk, glitter.

Cons:

  • Results vary on different surfaces.
  • Don't overheat, or it will turn a nasty yellowish color and completely flatten out.

Have you used the Marvy Uchida Snow Marker to make your projects a winter wonderland? What's your favorite way to use it?

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