Monday, June 17, 2013

Fun with Watercolor Pencils

The new trend of being "artsy" on a page is feared by some, embraced by others.  I am definitely liking it, but I can see why it is intimidating to get messy.  One way I have found to exhibit more control while being arty is to use watercolor paints, and especially watercolor pencils.
When working with watercolors, I like to use watercolor paper, which is thicker than card stock. I have used it directly on my layouts, too. You can find it at any craft store.  I purchased my watercolor pencils at a local university's bookstore, but these are are also readily available at any craft store.

You simply color lightly on the paper...

Then you dip a brush in water and "paint" the water over where you colored.  See how it changes and looks like paint?

What I love about this is that I can do it mindlessly while I am watching TV, and then use it later in my scrapping.  Below is a sheet that I have colored, painted, and let dry.
 Then it's break out the stencils time!  I love how black marker and ink look on watercolored paper.


After you are done stenciling to your heart's content, fussy cut your letters or shapes.  Then, you can even stamp a pattern on them, like I did below:

 Below are some fussy cut stamped images:

So I haven't used any of these shapes in a layout YET, but I know I will soon.  Not long ago, I did a blog post for IFS about using the rainbow trend on your layout.  Below is a closeup of my embellishments---the red, orange, and yellow hearts were made with watercolor pencils, using the same technique I described above.  The only difference is I used a heart punch.

So if you sort of afraid to get messy and artsy, but at the same time you sort of want to try it...watercolor pencils are a must have!  Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you give this indispensable tool a try!

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6 comments:

  1. Hola bonita entrada y muy instructiva, yo tengo lapices acuerables y no los utilizos y ahora que he visto tu entrada ya se lo que hacer, gracias por este tutorial y copartirlo, bsssss

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  2. I don't play with my watercolor pencils nearly enough. And I've never cut letters from a page like that - they look fabulous! Thanks for the push to use these to try new things!

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  3. I have a set of watercolor pencils that I have never used. This project and your examples make me want to try to play with them!! Thanks for the inspiration

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  4. Awesome tips, Sheila! Thank you for the push past my comfort zone!

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  5. What an interesting technique! I love the way it looks on the embellishments.

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  6. This is great! I've seen so many people using these with art journals and stamping. I think I might need to get a set! :) Thanks for making it look so easy!

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