Faux Watercolouring

01/19/2010

Faux Watercolouring

I have been crazy busy as usual and really wanted to sit down and stamp something, so while doing my frequent blog surfing I came across a really great sketch on Stamping 411 and then took it a step further by using their current colour challenge as my main source of colour for the card. I was also playing around with a few ideas for a card swap that I have joined and had the Inspired By Nature Stamp Set still out on my desk. I just love the images in this set as they are so soft and pretty.

I have been playing around with creating a watercolouring "look" without really having to watercolour. Everyone that knows me knows I love watercoloured images and my favourite technique by far when watercolouring is using my Stampin' Up Markers and Aqua Painter, but with that I have to use a line art image, Stazon and have a little more time on my hands. (Which is how I coloured my images Here and Here)

So I really wanted a watercolour look for this card and ended up using my Markers and Blender Pen. Now I could also achieve a similar look by using a "Direct to Stamp Technique" with Watercolour Crayons and then misting the stamp with water. This makes the images very soft and you would need to use Watercolour Paper, again a very pretty result but not quite what I was looking for. Plus I wanted something relatively quick and easy and with out having to use water.

After stamping my grass image with Old Olive several times (I did not reink in between), I coloured my flower image with Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo and Chocolate Chip markers and stamped it on Confetti White Cardstock. This cardstock is a little thicker than Whiper White and can handle the moisture of a Blender Pen. Using my blender Pen I softened the edges of the image and blended them inward. I really like the effect that it created and think this is a great way to "cheat" at watercolouring when you are in a hurry (or have to do a lot of it for a swap lol!)

The background Designer Series Paper is Old Olive and I used the Cutter Kit to destress the edges then sponged with Chocolate Chip Ink. The main image was also destressed and then "spritzed" using the Colour Spritzer Tool and a Chocolate Chip Marker (this tool creates little speckles and splatters of colour using the Stampin' Markers.) Oh and of course I had to use Taffeta Ribbon (I heart this stuff) in Pretty In Pink. And how could I almost forget the cute little tiny Butterfly? It is from the really cool new Sizzix Embosslit (cuts and embosses!) for the Big Shot and has several different Butterlies in different sizes and shapes.

Hope you have a great day and happy Stampin'