facebook fans and watermarks...

Hello my wonderful friends!

(Little Sumptin' Peep)

So.... we're kinda CELEBRATING all of Unity's FANTASTIC facebook friends...

With a SALE! {and lots of new stamps!}

(sale starts @ NOON CENTRAL)

If you are arriving here from Kary's blog you are right on track... if not, go ahead and start at the beginning by clicking HERE.. You don't want to miss any of the fabulous inspiration (or chances to win!)

(Numbers etc, Wildflowers and Wings, You are simply wonderful)

I've been doing a bit of playing... with stamps, stencils and watercolors. (some of my favorite things to play with!)

I just love the way that plain old WATER reacts with the watercolor paints and inks... That was one of the things that drew me into watercolors years ago. Starting with Distress Inks, than adding watercolor crayons, pigment powders, markers.... ok... so maybe I'm a bit obsessed. *shhhhhhh. I won't tell if you won't*  HAHAHA!

The end result looks so much more complex than the actual process. I love that!

(Create Today)

Both the purple and teal cards were made essentially the same way... And since I {LOVE} sharing the how-tos... I took some pictures along the way for your enjoyment...

WATERMARKS....

Step 1: randomly apply a light colored acrylic paint through a stencil onto a piece of watercolor paper. I used Antique Linen Distress Paint, but any acrylic paint works.

Step 2: Once the paint is dry, completely cover your paper with a heavy watercolor wash. Again, allow to dry.

Step 3: you can simply splash water on it for random results, but for controlled results and TONS of pattern options... Lay a stencil over your paper and spritz with water. Remove the stencil, and allow to dry.

You can see here that where the water sprayed through the stencil creates a watermark (literally!) on the watercolored areas that will naturally have a darker outline as the pigment tends to move towards the edges of the re-wetted area.

As a side note.... I used a watercolor with mica in it (Magicals mixed with water), so not only does the acrylic paint act as a resist for the color, the mica tends to sit on top of the paint, subtly highlighting the original stenciled pattern. Not originally intended, but one of those happy accidents I now know how to work in the future. Love when that happens!

Step 4: Ink up a filler stamp (like this branch from Create Today) with a clear embossing ink

Step 5: Using a paintbrush, brush on some  Lindy's Stamp Gang Magicals powder. It will stick to the stamp thanks to the sticky embossing ink.

 (this is the only pigment powder I have found that works for this... If you don't have any, a fairly similar effect can be achieved by using a water based ink (like Distress ink) in step 4, skipping step 5, then continue with step 6.) 

Step 6: spritz with water... the more you spritz, the more blurred the image will be

Step 7: Stamp image.  Try doing some generation stamping here... simply spritz with a little water each time before pressing the stamp down.

*yes, your paper may be somewhat warped by this point... some people like to iron their papers to flatten them, I find that most of the time, if you attach it to a sturdy card base, it's just fine without the hassle of the iron. (so maybe I'm a little lazy too...)

Step 8: add your focal image(s) and any embellishments.

Super simple way to add a watercolor background to your next project without being too intimidating.

NOW....

Don't forget---
 Leave a comment on EACH blog in the hop (including the Unity blog) for your chance to win.  The winners will be announced Saturday night on the Unity blog.

Your next stop is Lisa!

Enjoy!