Watercolor Peonies

Hi friends! Happy Easter Sunday! Please join me in welcoming back special guest Anna-Karin Evaldsson! We are very honored that she inspires us weekly on our Monday Challenge blog as well, so be sure to check out her Layers of Ink blog too! For now, read on for this GORGEOUS Peonies panel tutorial! Enjoy!

Watercolor Peonies

Hi everyone! I am so happy to be here today with a fun and easy tutorial, perfect for spring and summer projects. When I saw the Pretty Peonies background stamp, I knew I wanted to turn it into the focal point of a project. It is such a pretty stamp. We will be doing a watercolor technique, with some simple masking.

Watercolor Peonies

I started out planning to make an art journal page, but after having colored the flowers, I changed my mind and turned the panel into a wall-hanging instead. But, you can of course make a card or an art journal page instead, or use it as a background for a scrapbooking page. The wall-hanging would make a great Mother’s Day gift, or you could do three of them in different colors and use as home décor.

Watercolor Peonies

Start by white embossing the Pretty Peonies stamp on a square piece of watercolor paper (7.3 x 7.3 in). Always be careful when using a heat gun so that you don’t burn yourself. For the masking, I used a Molotow masking pen. You can also use a white oil-based wax crayon or a white candle. Or you can skip the masking all together.

Watercolor Peonies

I used Distress Inks for the watercoloring, but you can also use watercolor paint. Smear the inks on a non-stick craft sheet. Mist with water and pick up with a paint brush. By varying the amount of water, you can get different shades of color from the same ink pad. Watercolor the flowers, using two or three shades on each flower, to create depth and dimension. I like having the stamp next to me so that I can see the printed design since some of the white lines might be hard to see.

Watercolor Peonies

Continue with the leaves. Don’t worry about perfection, going outside of the lines just looks good, since it makes the white embossing more visible.

Watercolor Peonies

When the ink is dry, carefully rub off the masking liquid, giving your flowers great highlights. If you are not happy with one of the white areas, you can paint it over – but that doesn’t work if you have used an oil crayon or a candle for the masking.

Watercolor Peonies

I used Distress Markers to darken the colors in some areas.

Watercolor Peonies

When I was done coloring, I didn’t want to add too many other details to this piece. To add interest, I layered and distressed various types of white papers: vellum, bright white paper, and another piece of watercolor paper

Watercolor Peonies

Apply tape in the center areas only and stitch around the main panel with a sewing machine. I mounted everything on chipboard to give it strength. 

Watercolor Peonies

Die cut the sentiment using the SSS Big Happy die. I die cut it from White Diamond and Spring Green glimmery papers.

Watercolor Peonies

You can also cut out the peonies and use them on card. 

Watercolor Peonies

The masking liquid technique is easy to do, and adds great highlights. You don’t need to worry about leaving some of the white paper showing while coloring. 

Watercolor Peonies

The Simon Says Stamp glimmery papers have such a nice shine, which you can see better here.

Watercolor Peonies

Layering different shades of white and cream papers, adds interest without stealing attention from the focal point.

I hope this tutorial inspired you to try out some loose watercoloring in combination with masking.

Thank you so much for looking! Happy crafting! -Anna-Karin

Watercolor Peonies

SUPPLIES:

Simon Says Cling Rubber Stamp PRETTY…
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp BIG HAPPY Wafer Dies…
[ SSS ]
Canson MONTVAL WATERCOLOR 9×12 Pad…
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp VELLUM SSSVEL12
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp Cardstock GLIMMERY…
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp Cardstock GLIMMERY…
[ SSS ]
Neenah Classic Crest 110 LB SMOOTH…
[ SSS ]
Molotow ART MASKING LIQUID 2mm FINE…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad TATTERED…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad WORN…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad ABANDONED…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad VICTORIAN…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad CANDIED…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad PICKED…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad PEELED…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad SHABBY…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad MOWED LAWN…
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp Embossing Ink Pad…
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp EMBOSSING POWDER…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Marker FESTIVE…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Marker PEELED…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Marker WORN…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Idea-ology CLIPPINGS…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium…
[ SSS ]
Ranger Non Stick CRAFT SHEET 15 x 18…
[ SSS ]
Ranger US HEAT IT CRAFT TOOL United…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz DISTRESS SPRAYER Ranger 4…
[ SSS ]
Sizzix BIG SHOT MACHINE Gray And…
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Tonic PAPER DISTRESSER…
[ SSS ]

Thanks so much for stopping by and thanks to Anna-Karin for being our guest!

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  1. I really love the watercoloring. So beautiful. This is a great Wall hanging. It would look great in my home.

  2. What a beautiful work of art! I love everything about this. The stamp, watercoloring, masking. Nicely done!!!!

  3. Beautiful wallhanging! I recently read another tutorial which mentioned using masking fluid. Such a great idea.

  4. This is simply beautiful! I love the idea of a wall hanging and I know what my Mom is getting for Mother’s Day! Thank you for sharing your creativity and inspiring me.

  5. This is one of the most stunning pieces I have ever seen!!!! I absolutely love it and never would have thought to use the masking pen in this way!!! So thanks for the tip. I am blown away by how beautiful this painting is!!! You did an amazing job on this!! Thanks so much for sharing!!!! Big Hugs!!!!

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