To prepare for the free water color technique class I am hosting on Tuesday, I pulled out my water color paper, water color crayons and Staz On. Zoo Review is a perfect stamp set for a simple, handmade note to a friend – we don’t always have to send cards on holidays, do we? This stamp set is also a perfect stamp set for watercoloring. Zoo Review has been on my “to order” list since I started playing around with my watercolor crayons a couple of months ago.

After I watercolored the lion and mounted him on a couple layers of card stock, I stamped an image of tall grass in the same color as the card stock. The grass doesn’t stand out as a focal point on the card (that’s the job of the lion), but it adds a great texture to the card.

Here’s a closeup of the lion:

Water coloring Tips:

• With my Staz On permanent ink pad, I stamped the lion image on Stampin’ Up! watercolor paper. I pressed my Aqua Painter down on some scrap paper to get a good, moist tip and then brushed colors off the flat, back end of the crayons (you can color onto the paper with the pointed end of the crayon and then brush it out with the Aqua Painter, but I prefer to put the watercolor onto the paper with my brush). I always start with light colors and then layer on top. For example, I initially painted the entire lion with a So Saffron crayon (soft, light yellow). I then added some More Mustard (a darker, richer yellow), followed by Soft Suede (a tan) and Chocolate Chip (darker brown). With each additional layer, I paint a little less or add to a different part of the image. By the end, all the colors are well-blended so that you can see them all, but none of them are “stealing focus.” I used this same approach for coloring in the grass below the lion. I free-formed some Garden Green on the ground below the lion to give a nice depth to the image.
• Watercolor paper will change texture and start to bend a little as you paint. I use Sticky Strip to adhere the watercolor paper to the rest of the card. Simply cut the Sticky Strip, adhere to the watercolor paper and then remove the Sticky Strip backing. That lion is stuck.

Stamp sets: Zoo Review, Just Believe Inks: Staz On Black, Garden Green Paper: Garden Green, More Mustard, Watercolor paper Accessories: Aqua Painter, Watercolor Crayons, Sticky Strip

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Brian

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