Thanks for being my friend (PPA 116)

A couple of years ago, I took watercolor classes. When I became a Stampin' UP! demonstrator I tried to apply my watercolor techniques in my cards, and I enjoy it a lot. The scene in this card was created on one of those days that I was inspired with watercolor. I had taught how to paint this scene in a class, and it had been lying around my studio ever since, so I decided to use it in a card for this week's Pals Paper Arts challenge.

I painted the watercolor scene using the Stampin' UP! aquapainters and markers. In some areas, I applied the marker directly on the watercolor paper and then blended the color with the aquapainter. In other areas, I used the plastic that comes in our Stamp-a-ma-jig as my pallete, placed some strokes of marker on that, and took the paint from there. If you want to darken some areas like the wheelbarrow, or the clothes of the girl, you can do so by letting the paint dry, and then retouching with paint only the areas you want to darken. On areas where the light reflects (like the front of the girl's shirt or her pants), try not to put much paint in those areas, or leave them white. It's much easier to leave these areas white or with very little color, than to remove color to lighten them up later.

It is so much fun to paint with watercolor. Don't be afraid! Give it a try and you won't regret it! It's definitely worth the try. As long as you work with watercolor paper, there are no worries about how much water you put on it, but remember to use Staz-on to avoid smearing the edges, and that the colors will run where the paper is wet. Don't hesitate to contact me for any questions you might have.

Have a great day! Leave me a comment and tell me your experiences with watercolor. I'll be happy to read about them!

Cardstock: Very Vanilla (101650), Poppy Parade (119793), Concord Crush(119792), Watercolor Paper (122959)
Embellishments: Crystal Effects (101055), Dazzling Details (124117), Basic Pearls (119247)
Markers: Poppy Parade and Concord Crush (119801), Daffodil Delight (119677), Melon Mambo (121074), Chocolate Chip (100071), Old Olive (100079)
The rest of the materials are discontinued.