Embrace Life and pumpkin pie

How did I spend my Sunday morning? Practicing my watercolouring technique ...

Here I have stamped a page of watercolour paper with images in stazon black ink. You can use the stampin' up basic black ink pad aswell because it is waterproof (ie. it won't wash away with water or other inks). You can see why Embrace Life is my favourite stampset at present. There is this lovely sprig of blossoms and also the open petal flower. I can't quite figure out what flower it actually is ... I thought perhaps it is a Hibiscus, but they have only one stamen ... any horticulturalists out there who know?

I took my inkpad and squeezed the plastic lid down onto the ink pad. (While it is closed) The plastic is quite springy to do this, so that there is a small amount of ink on the lid.

Then using my aqua painter I picked up some ink and coloured in one end of the petal.

At first the colour is quite solid and dark ... As you draw it from one end of the petal to the other you can gradually lighten the colour by allowing more water to fill the brush. If its too dry very gently squeeze the water chamber of the aquapainter. Not too much or you will have a flood. But that can look OK. You can come back and add deeper colour later.

Depending on the look, you may wish the colour to be deepest in the centre of the flower or towards the edge.

Dont worry if you cant keep between the lines you can cut the flower out neatly later.

Keep experimenting, most people find it is quite a tranquil act as you eventually come into the "zone". Time slips by, you relax a bit and either get quicker and more in the flow or slower and neater ... more particular.

I have taken a few photos because not being on video link yet, it is hard to hold the camera and painter at the same time.

Practice is the key with anything. Try different colours together.

Another way is to use your markers direct to the paper in lines across the petals or image and simply use the aqua painter to wet and blend the inks on the paper.

Here's a photo of the whole stampset, it is kind of like a opened rose, ... a rose, a blossom and a branch of bamboo? better pull out my rose red and regal rose to see if that works too. I will come back with the finished project later.