A Watercolor Hack for you... use your stencils!
I love the look of watercolors, but they definitely challenge me. The Altenew Academy class All About Layering 7: Stencils Edition opened my eyes to an easy way to use watercolors with stencils. There are a few tips to success when watercoloring through layering stencils. The main tip is to control the amount of water you use. I'll give more tips as I take you through creating this card, but the real credit goes to Bridget Casey who taught this portion of the class.
This card was created with the Watercolor Dreams Set and 140lb cold pressed watercolor paper (for die cuts and panel) The name is a coincidence. You really just need a layering stencil set and dies. It helps to die cut your images first, that way you can easily align the stencils and don't need to let the images dry overnight before cutting them out.
The Prep Work
Tip: Tape your stencils down securely! You want to get the stencil as flat on the paper as possible so the water doesn't leak under it as you paint. Using scrap pieces of paper to cover other parts of the paper will also protect it from accidental drops of color.
Here's the Trick: Control the Water
Watercoloring inside stencils requires control of the water. This is more of a damp on dry technique. Spritz your watercolors and use a damp brush on dry paper. Starting in the center, you will be able to spread the color out towards the edges in the larger opening of the base image. This will allow for lightening the color as it is spread out as needed.
Tip: Keep a paper towel handy to blot off the water if the color is too dark or you have too much water. You can blot it quickly before it spreads under the stencil.
Painting Detail Layers
The next layer of my stencil was quite detailed. I began by painting in the outlines of each area and removing the stencil before filling in the centers, however, it was difficult to figure out where to paint when the stencil was removed. It was easier to just paint the entire area before removing the stencil. That's what worked best for me with this particular stencil.
This bloom turned out beautiful, but I personally wanted a little more of a loose look. I used a wet brush to soften the lines.
The leaves were painted in a similar way. I added my own touch to the base with yellow highlights, as well as a darker shade of green after the details were painted. I softened these lines with water as well.
Expand the Bouquet
After die cutting the blooms and leaves, more blooms and leaves can be added directly onto the panel. I arranged the die cuts, then simply held my stencil over the bouquet to plan where to watercolor. I slid the diecuts out of the way and taped my stencil down. You can see Anna use a similar technique in Lesson 3 of the class.
Add Shimmer and Shine
Add more shine and dimension with Shimmer Relief Paste. Brown Moonstone Shimmer Relief Paste was used through the stencil on the centers of the flowers. This layer is thick enough that it really stands out. To add some shine to the petals, you can water down the shimmer paste and apply it similar to paint. Be sure to wash your brushes right away!
Before adhering the die cuts, add some Shimmer Paste to the edges of the panel. I decided to trim my panel down and adhere it to colored cardstock for a frame, so I needed to add a little more shimmer paste back to the edges. One bloom and leaf was adhered with foam tape for more dimension.
Final Touches
I'll admit, I'm an "eyeball it" type of person. However, when it comes to a straight sentiment, a T square is a vital tool. Adding a few enamel dots adds interest, especially when they are of different sizes and shades of green. Tuck one under the edge of a leaf for interest too!
Altenew Products Used:
Cold Pressed 130lb watercolor paper
Watercolor Dreams stencil and dies
Bold Bouquet Sentiment and die
36 Pan Watercolor Set
Brown Moonstone Shimmer Relief Paste
Enamel Dots- Green Fields
STUNNING!!!!
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