There are many ways to watercolor and to get that watercolor look on your projects. Stampin’ Up! has shared a video that highlights 7 different techniques that you can try at home. You can view it here:
What did you think? Did you come up with a favorite technique or method?
It’s fun to see all of these different methods. They all have a different look but how do the finished products compare?
In this photo you can see four adorable gnomes from the Kindest Gnomes stamp set. I have watercolored all four of them with different techniques/methods. You can see how they all have a slightly different look.
The first gnome was done with what I’ll call Basic Watercoloring. The gnome was first stamped with StazOn Jet Black Ink which is alcohol-based. You need to use this type of ink so that it doesn’t smear when water is added. When watercoloring this image I did one part/color at a time. I first wet the section with my Water Painter and went then went over it with the brush. Then I picked up the color I wanted and added it to the paper. I then moved on to a different part of image, trying to do a section not next to the one I just did so the colors wouldn’t run together.
The second gnome was done with the No-Line Watercoloring Technique. This was the first technique described in the video above. This method is very similar to Basic Watercoloring except you use a light-colored ink when stamping the image. With this technique you want a water-based ink like Stampin’ Up!’s inks because you want the lines of the image to blend in with the coloring. Once again, you want to do one section/color at a time, moving to a section that is not next to the one you just did.
The third gnome was colored using Stampin’ Up!’s Water Color Pencils. This techniqe was also described in the video. The gnome was stamped with StazOn Jet Black. Then I colored the image with the Water Color Pencils. Finally, I went over each section with a Water Painter to blend and smooth the colored image.
The final gnome in the photo was watercolored using Stampin’ Up!’s Soft Pastels which are chalk. This method gave the softest look to the finished gnome. Stamp the image with StazOn Jet Black ink. On a piece of watercolor paper or Shimmery White cardstock color a line of chalk pastel with each of the colors you want to use on your stamped image. With a wet brush, pick up the color from the line of chalk pastel and then color your image.
There are so many different ways to watercolor with your stamping supplies. I hope you try some of them soon. Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!