Panpastels to the rescue

Every create a background then realize that it's just to bright to be a background that it will take over the entire piece?  Yes I've done it once or twice myself. One way to fix it is to some how cover it with a white or buff color. For this card, I started off with that problem but I used panpastel in white and a stencil to push the painted piece into the background

Ingredients

Acrylic Paints (Distress Paints)

Non-stick Craft Sheet

Spray bottle with Water

Watercolor Paper (Canson Mixed Mefia)

Panpastel (White)*

Sponge Applicator

Stencil

Stamps (Tim Holtz)

Stamp Pad (Archival Ink Jet Black) 

Pitt Pen

Adhesive (ATG)

Washi Tape

Card Base

Steps

1. Apply acrylic paint to craft sheet making sure that the color do not touch each other to decrease over blending. Spray with water. 

2. Lay watercolor paper on top of paint. Smoosh around just a little bit. Pick up paper and if more paint is desired repeat this step. If there is any paint let spray with water and repeat on a different piece of watercolor for additional backgrounds. 

3.  After watercolor piece is dry. Apply panpastel* over the paint using a stencil and a sponge applicator.  

4.  Stamp images with archival ink. Doodle around age with pitt pen. 

5.  Using adhesive apply panel to card base. Place pieces of tone washi tape around edges as desired. 

* I found Panpastels work best due to the binder in the formula. But you can use any chalk or pastel but you will not get the vibrancy of Panpastels and will have to use something like a fixative or hairspray to bind it. 

 

On this altered book page background, I did the opposite. I thought the background was to pale and flat so applied panpastel in a purple color and a doily stencil. 

Squid Watercolor......Kinda

I love watercolor. I think anyone who is a watercolorist is amazing and very talented. 

I want to be a watercolorist. I probably should at least take a class or read a book, huh?  Well instead I did some looking on the web and found a way to cheat at watercoloring so I was all for it. The website was 30 minutes crafts.

http://30minutecrafts.com

 I used inktense pencils and blocks instead of watercolor. 

Ingredients 

Watercolor paper (I used my mixed media journal)

Stencil (see below)

Masking Tape

Inktense Pencils 

Inktense Blocks

Pencil Sharpner

Waterbrushes 

Paper Towel

1.  Tape stencil to paper. 

2.  With a the darkest jellyfish color pencil outline the stencil. It is much easier to do with a very SHARP pencil. I applied pressure to the stencil as I traced it to decrease its movements. 

3.  Color in with the two lighter colors for the jellyfish. Connect the bridges created by the stencils.   I added some blue and yellow highlights to the body of the jellyfish to give it some depth. 

4.  Using the smallest waterbrush blend the edges and small sections of the stencil. Then with the medium waterbrush for the next largest areas and finally use the large waterbrush to color in the top and other large areas. 

5.  Use a paper towel to clean the brushes between colors and to mop up any extra liquid.

6. Carefully remove the stencil and clean it. 

7.  Color in the underside of the body with yellow and blend with waterbrushes. 

8.  With darkest blue pencil outline the jellyfish. 

9.  With the medium blue pencil color in between the tentacles and around the dark blue line.  

10. With lightest blue pencil color around the outline. 

11.  With inktense block in same color as the lightest pencil color the rest of the paper. 

12.  Use waterbrushes to blend the blues. 

13.  Let dry. 

Now all your friends will be impressed with your water color skills.

This stencil is a squid/octopus/jellyfish included in the book "Stencil Me In" by Marthe Le Van. 

I confess I have not read the book yet but it comes with 24 of the most awesome stencils. 

Watercolor on!!!!