I came across this card on a demonstrator website and since I have this set, I had to make it for myself. It is a technique I shared in my most recent newsletter. If you do not get my newsletter, sign up and you will be on my list...I have given some step by step directions below.
Watercoloring is one of my favorite techniques and it is pretty darned easy to do! One of my favorite stamp sets, retiring at the end of the month, is called Natures Nest (113826).Click on any of the photos to see tham at a larger size.
It is the perfect set to get is you love to watercolor or if you want to learn. My favorite tool to use is an Aquapainter that has no water in it. I prefer to dip the end into water to moisten it then pick up ink from the lid of the ink pad.
I use Staz-on ink and a detailed stamp image like the ones in this set. I also think the BEST paper to use is actual watercolor paper (122959). You can see from my example that I used a pretty small piece as it is somewhat pricey. A somewhat satisfactory substitute is our Naturals cardstock (White 102316, Ivory 101849) although it is not as forgiving of excess water as watercolor paper is. Anyway, Stamp your image with Jet Black Staz-on, let it dry for a minute or two. If you are using the watercolor paper, I like to moisted he stamped image before adding other color - just dampen - no water sitting on the surface.
Next use any of our classic ink pads (or our re-inkers) and with the lid closed, press the lid into the ink pad...open the pad and there should be a little puddle of ink in the lid. This is what you will use to color your image. I first used Sahara Sand and colored the lower portion of the turtle. I also used Soft Suede as a darker color. The idea is not to make the image a solid single color, but to have variation! I even put a little in the shell of the turtle and under him, to "ground" him on the page. For the shell I used Garden Green and Always Artichoke.
Again, don't try to get the color even across the image, leaving it with lights and darks create a lot of depth. That's all there is to it! I hope you will give watercoloring a try soon.
