Watercoloring the Art Impressions Way

I am so excited to share the incredible community of artists I have become a part of during this pandemic!  This wonderful group have supported my love of art by coaching and inspiring me to become a better artist in ways I could have never imagined.  This first post is about how I became hooked on "the Art Impressions way" of water coloring and found this great group of fellow artists.  In future posts, I will share some of tricks and tips, along with my latest inspirations.

In 2019, I made my annual trip to the Great Lakes Mega Meet in Novi Michigan to look for inspiration, learn some new craft skills, and increase my craft stash.  While I am more of a stamp and die cut paper crafter, I could not help but be drawn in by a watercolor demonstration that began with using stamps.  The instructor made it look so easy!  I stayed and watched some more.  Yes, it looked liked I could easily make water colored paintings.  So, I asked if I could keep one of her samples (see photo below) for future reference and set off to buy a few supplies to get started.

Did I mention, I am also frugal?  I decided to only purchase the basic foliage and floral stamp sets (#4051 and #4052) as recommended, but passed on the more expensive Decorative Jar set (#5123).  I rationalized the free stamp with purchase included a pot, I could use that instead.  Ironically, that is what I love most in the sample.  The lesson learned is to buy what you love, because ultimately you will, and you are only delaying your joy.

I also opted out of buying the starter set of markers, acrylic blocks for the stamps, and watercolor paper, because I had these items at home.  So I was prepared to make what looked so easy into a beautiful floral display...  It was not.  

I remembered there was a You Tube site with further instructional videos, so I watched a few and tried again.  But to no avail... I moved on to my other finds from the Mega Meet and forgot all about the Art Impressions way.

Then came the pandemic and ultimately the lockdown.  My annual trip to the Great Lakes Mega Meet was not going to happen... But then I got the word the show would go online with 2 days of demonstrations and crafting specials!  I was glued to the screen and making lists of things to buy... Then Bonnie Krebs came on and demonstrated Art Impressions watercolor... It had all come flooding back and I pulled out my stamps and tried again!

With the  help of some Art Impressions FAQ You Tube videos (https://youtu.be/3E3qti_Md-I and https://youtu.be/t_6y80jtQPA), I was on my way.  My new attempt above was better than my first, but I still plenty of room for improvement.   Using the same stamps but with better markers and watercolor paper, I was ready to make a bigger investment and brought what I loved!

 I found my way into the Art Impressions Stamp Group on Facebook.  It is by far one of the best groups on Facebook.  I learned to keep my early works and date them so I can see my progress.  We tune in to Watercolor Wednesdays on Facebook and You Tube for our weekly lesson.  Then we post our work and share our discoveries!

I hope this has peaked your interest in trying this art form and joining our community.

Coloring Tips for Stamped Images

 As a child, I loved to color.  I looked forward to a new school year and getting a new box a crayons; the more colors the better.  So you can imagine how excited I was about the trend towards adlut coloring.

However, this blog is focused on coloring stamped images. Through trial and error, here are my top tips.

Choose the Right Image.  Consider the complexity of the image to determine if it is feasible for you to color.  To start, sketch type stamps are the easiest. Pictured below are Stampin Up images from the Father Christmas set.  These are very detailed and challenging to color every item.  This is an image best left stamped in one color or selectively colored (adding just the red).

Stamp more than you plan to use.  This includes an extra for mistakes and one for determining colors and technic before starting the project.

Pictured below, the right side shows different greens and purples with markers and watercolor.  On the left is my final selection.

From Stampin Up Circle of Spring Stamp Set

Choose the right product for the job.

• For the outlines, use a fast drying pigment ink and heat set it before coloring. I use my embossing heat gun for this, but you could also use a hair dryer.  I use Memento ink with good success.

  

  From Stampin Up Summer by the Sea Stamp Set

• If you plan to use water use watercolor paper.  Also consider heat embossing the stamped image to assist in keeping colors in place and the bleeding of the black ink.  The image below is done with heat embossing.

From Stampin Up Summer by the Sea and Going Global Stamp Sets

• You can use your water based ink pads and markers as watercolor paint.  Rub some of the ink in a dish and and dip a wet paint bush or water pen into the dish to creat the color you want.  Then just brush onto your project.

From Stampin Up Sketches Stamp Set

• I am no expert on alcohol markers. But use Stampin Up markers because they coordinate with their inks and paper. This makes it easy to tie a project together.  They also offer a blender pen to give a watercolor effect as illustrated below.

From Stampin Up Summer by the Sea Stamp Set

I hope you find this helpful and please leave me comments on your best coloring tips.

NOTE:  All stamped images are copyrighted by Stampin Up.  To purchase, go to StampinUp.com or check on Ebay for retired stamp sets.

Beautiful Gifting with Punches Dies and Scrapbook Paper

This post is to illustrate how easy it is to make gifting fun and beautiful.  These packages were wrapped with scrapbook paper and creative tags were made with several punches and cutting dies from my collection.  My favorite are from the retired Stamping Up Mini Treat Bag dies.

Then I made a coordinating card and envelope to match.

The Mad Crafter strikes again!

My First Handmade Cards ... Birth of the Mad Crafter