Technique 101 Colouring with Aqua Painters

This month for the technique 101 blog post we are showing ideas on how to watercolour using Aqua Painters and Stampin Up Inks.

It is a really cool technique but takes a little practice so if this your first time colouring with Aqua Painters try stamping an image several times and practicing your colouring.

It is best to use watercolour paper when you are watercoloring as the extra thick absorbent paper can take lots of water and not pill or ball as you are doing it.

I reached for the frog from You’re Sublime as I had an idea I wanted to stamp a frog into a Jar (as you do!)…

Isn’t he cute?

I stamped the Jar from the Jar of Love stamp set in Black StazOn Ink and tilted the lid as if it was leaning against the jar so Mr Frog could hop out if he wanted to.  You have to use StazOn when you are watercoloring otherwise the outline will bleed as you watercolour.

Mr Frogs legs were too wide to fit neatly inside the jar so I had to mask the outside of the jar with post it notes and then stamp the frog with StazOn.  I used a stamp-a-majig to use as a guide as to where to stamp the frog.

I also did not want to stamp the sentiment  as it would not be central so the post it notes made sure it did not come out on the watercolour paper. So to get the sentiment central I swapped over the post it notes and using the stamp-a-majig to position the sentiment in the bottom centre of the jar.

Now I am ready to colour with the aqua painters, I used Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, Pool Party and Sahara Sand ink pads.  Squeeze the ink pad when it is closed to press the lid into the ink pad.  Then when you open it the ink will be in the lid ready to pick up with your aqua painter.

I coloured from one side of the frog from left to right.  I wanted to create a shadow and make the ink darker on the left so I went over the frog in green several times but I always started on the left when the ink was darkest as I had just replenished my aqua painter.

I coloured the spots in Garden green and a little water at the base of the Jar using Pool Party Ink.  Finally I added a shadow using Sahara Sand Ink.  Each time I had finished colouring with a specific colour ink I rubbed it on my grid paper to get rid of any ink before picking up another colour (as shown below).

Most people get frustrated when they first start watercoloring as they expect their project to look like the others they have seen.  My advice would be to practice and not expect perfection on your first attempts.  The more you do, the better you will get. Give it a shot and I hope you enjoy it.

Now its time to go an see what Sonia from France has made using the same aqua painter technique –

Here are a list of participants from across the globe in case you lose your way.  Enjoy hopping around and I really hope you give this wonderful technique a try!

Here is the list of participants in the technique 101 blog hop –

1. France Poitras Martin – USA
2 .Sandi MacIver – Canada
3. Patrice Halliday-Larsen – New Zealand
4. Leonie Schroder – Australia
5. Heike Vass – Germany
6. Michelle Last – UK < (you are here)
7. Sonia Benedetti – France

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